Vehicle Damping Control Adapting to Load Conditions

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing vehicle damping systems fail to provide comfortable damping across all driving dynamics situations, especially under high loads, leading to wheel 'bottoming out' and reduced comfort, which can cause damage to vehicle components.

Innovation Solution

A device and method that adjust damping parameters based on both driving dynamics and loading conditions, using existing sensors to detect load status and interpolating between pre-set parameter sets for unloaded and loaded vehicle states, ensuring comfortable damping in all situations while preventing wheel bottoming out.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If damping is increased to prevent wheel bottoming out under high load, then wheel suspension reliability is improved, but vehicle comfort deteriorates due to harsher damping

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewheel suspension reliabilityVSAvoidvehicle comfort
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The damping characteristics are made dynamically adjustable based on detected loading conditions. The control system automatically transitions between different damping parameter sets (R1-Rn for unladen, RB1-RBn for laden) to optimize both comfort and reliability in real-time

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes damping parameters (force parameters) based on the detected loading state. When high load is detected, the system switches from soft damping parameters to hard damping parameters, preventing bottoming out while maintaining comfort when unloaded

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If a fixed hard damping setting is used to prevent bottoming out under high load, then wheel suspension reliability is improved, but comfort deteriorates in normal driving conditions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewheel suspension reliabilityVSAvoidvehicle comfort
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adapts damping characteristics based on loading detection. The control unit switches between soft damping (for comfort in normal conditions) and hard damping (for reliability under high load), eliminating the need for a fixed hard setting

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses feedback from load detection (height sensors in steel suspension or pressure sensors in air suspension) to automatically adjust damping parameters, ensuring the optimal damping characteristic is always applied based on actual vehicle loading

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Object-affected harmful factors

If loading condition detection and parameter adaptation is added to existing damping systems, then damping comfort is improved across all loads, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedamping comfortVSAvoidcontrol system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses existing sensors (height sensors in steel suspension or pressure sensors in air suspension) for dual purposes: their original function and load detection for damping control. This avoids additional sensors and reduces complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

Multiple sets of damping parameters (R1-Rn for unladen, RB1-RBn for laden) are pre-calculated and stored in memory. The control system only needs to select and apply the appropriate pre-prepared parameter set based on detected loading, simplifying real-time control

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP2429841B1Device and method for controlled damping of a vehicle
Publication Date: 2013.06.12 BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AG
  • EP2429841B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP2429841B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

The invention relates to a device for controlled damping of a vehicle, comprising a means for storing a set of controller parameters R1 to Rn for controlling the damping of the unloaded vehicle as a function of the dynamic driving situation thereof 1 to n, a means for detecting a loading condition b of the vehicle, a means for adapting the set of controller parameters R1 to Rn as a function of the detected loading condition b to a set of controller parameters R1b to Rnb, and a means for damping the vehicle as a function of the set of controller parameters R1b to Rnb as a function of the dynamic driving situation thereof 1 to n.