Active suspension system
OwnerJonathan L. Hall, Jacob L. Dawson +3inventors
InventorsJonathan L. Hall, Jacob L. Dawson, Paul J. Keas, Troy A. Carter, Roland R. Smith
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A suspension system includes a top mount, a bottom mount, a rigid housing, an air spring, and a linear actuator. The air spring transfers force of a first load path between the top mount and the bottom mount. The air spring includes a pressurized cavity containing pressurized gas that transfers the force of the first load path. The linear actuator transfers force of a second load path between the top mount and the bottom mount in parallel to the first load path. The rigid housing defines at least part of the pressurized cavity and transfers the force of the second load path.
Claims32
A suspension system comprising:
- a top mount;
- a bottom mount;
- a rigid housing;
- an air spring that transfers force of a first load path between the top mount and the bottom mount, the air spring including a pressurized cavity containing pressurized gas that transfers the force of the first load path;
- and
- a linear actuator that transfers force of a second load path between the top mount and the bottom mount in parallel to the first load path, the linear actuator including a motor having a rotor and a stator that are contained in the pressurized cavity;
- wherein the stator is in contact with an inner surface of the rigid housing and the rigid housing defines at least part of the pressurized cavity and transfers the force of the second load path.
A suspension system comprising:
- a spring configured to form a first load path between a vehicle body of a vehicle and an unsprung component of the vehicle;
- a ball-screw actuator configured to form a second load path between the vehicle body and the unsprung component in parallel to the first load path, the ball-screw actuator comprising:
- a shaft;
- a housing;
- a motor coupled to the housing and having a stator and a rotor;
- a ball nut to which the motor applies torque to transfer force of the second load path between the housing and the shaft;
- a ball spline that applies torque to the shaft to prevent rotation thereof relative to the housing;
- wherein the housing, the stator, and the ball spline are coupled to each other to form a stationary assembly, and the rotor and the ball nut are coupled to each other to form a rotating assembly that is rotatably supported and axially fixed to the stationary assembly with a thrust bearing.
A ball screw actuator comprising:
- a housing;
- a motor positioned in the housing, the housing surrounding the motor and including cooling passages for receiving a fluid for cooling the motor;
- a shaft that moves axially within the housing;
- a ball nut to which the motor applies torque for transferring axial force between the housing and the shaft;
- a ball spline that transfers torque between the housing and the shaft to prevent rotation therebetween;
- wherein the housing is coupled to the ball nut to allow rotation therebetween and prevent axial movement therebetween;
- and
- wherein the housing is coupled to the ball spline to prevent rotation and axial movement therebetween.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.