Ride Height Control System Using Feedback Sensors
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicles lack an efficient system for continuously monitoring and adjusting ride height, which can lead to inconsistent vehicle performance and safety issues, especially when loads are added or removed, and there is no user-friendly method for remotely controlling ride height settings.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle system equipped with sensors and a processing circuit that continuously monitors ride height data and automatically adjusts the suspension system to maintain a pre-selected ride height, allowing user input for various ride height settings and modes, such as load handling, obstacle avoidance, and transport modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ride height is manually adjusted or left uncontrolled, then device complexity is reduced, but ride height consistency and vehicle performance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback control system where sensors continuously monitor ride height and provide data to a processing circuit. The processing circuit compares actual ride height with desired ride height and automatically adjusts suspension components to maintain consistent ride height, resolving the contradiction between ride height consistency and system complexity by introducing automated feedback control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service through automated ride height maintenance. The processing circuit and suspension adjustment mechanisms work autonomously to maintain optimal ride height without requiring manual intervention, thereby improving reliability while keeping the complexity manageable through self-regulating control logic.
2Reliability
If continuous monitoring and automatic adjustment systems are implemented, then ride height consistency improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The processing circuit is designed to perform multiple functions: monitoring sensor data, determining desired ride height based on various conditions (load, terrain, vehicle mode), controlling suspension adjustment, and managing different operational modes. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components for each function, thereby improving ride height maintenance while limiting the increase in overall system complexity.
3Reliability
If automated ride height control is implemented, then vehicle performance and safety improve, but ease of operation is reduced due to system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The automated ride height control system operates autonomously to maintain optimal ride height for safety and performance without requiring continuous user intervention. The system self-adjusts based on sensor input and processing circuit decisions, improving vehicle safety and performance while keeping operation simple through automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by proactively adjusting ride height in anticipation of changing conditions. The processing circuit monitors various parameters and makes adjustment decisions before critical situations arise, ensuring vehicle safety and performance are maintained without requiring reactive user intervention, thus preserving ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, a land vehicle includes sensors that provide information relating to a ride height of the land vehicle. A processing circuit monitors data from the sensors and controls adjustment of one or more vehicle systems that affect the vehicle's ride height based on the data from the sensors. In some embodiments, the processing circuit controls a suspension system and can control the suspension system to have any of a multiplicity of height settings. In some embodiments, the processing circuit controls the ride height based on a user selection of a pre-configured ride height setting. In some embodiments, the processing circuit is configured to maintain a ride height of the vehicle at a consistent ride height when the suspension is unlocked after a load is removed where the suspension was locked after the load was added.