# US 11,440,368 B2 · Damper control system and method according to rough road determination > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,440,368 B2 - Document ID: US11440368B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/683,745 - Filed: 2019-11-14 - Published: 2021-01-14 - Granted: 2022-09-13 - Earliest claimed: 2019-07-08 - Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company; Kia Motors Corporation - Applicants: Hyundai Motor Company; Kia Motors Corporation - Inventors: Min Su Lee - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11440368B2 ## CPC - B60G 17/0165: to an external condition, e.g. rough road surface, side wind - B60G 2400/0521: Roll rate - B60G 2400/0522: Pitch rate - B60G 2400/10: Acceleration; Deceleration - B60G 2400/102: vertical - B60G 2400/202: Piston speed; Relative velocity between vehicle body and wheel - B60G 2400/82: Ground surface - B60G: VEHICLE SUSPENSION ARRANGEMENTS (air-cushion vehicles B60V; {cycle suspensions B62K25/00}) ## Abstract Disclosed herein are a damper control system and method according to rough road determination in which the number of sensors is reduced and a state of a road surface is subdivided and determined by a 6D sensor since an existing wheel G sensor is not used at the time of determining the state of the road surface. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A damper control system according to rough road determination for a vehicle, the damper control system comprising: a sensing unit configured for detecting vehicle posture information depending on a vertical acceleration, a roll rate, and a pitch rate of a vehicle body in the vehicle; a first deriving unit coupled to the sensing unit and configured for receiving the vertical acceleration detected by the sensing unit and deriving impact force generated in the vehicle body; a second deriving unit coupled to the first deriving unit and configured for receiving the vertical acceleration, the roll rate, and the pitch rate detected by the sensing unit and of deriving impact energy generated in the vehicle body; an estimating unit coupled to the second deriving unit and configured for pre-storing road surface data depending on impact force and impact energy and of estimating a state of a road surface depending on the impact force and the impact energy each input from the first deriving unit and the second deriving unit; and a controller coupled to the estimating unit and configured for controlling a damper depending on the estimated state of the road surface. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The damper control system of claim 1, wherein the sensing unit includes a 6D sensor configured to detect the vertical acceleration, the roll rate, and the pitch rate of the vehicle body. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The damper control system of claim 1, wherein the first deriving unit derives the impact force using the vertical acceleration received from the sensing unit and weight information. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The damper control system of claim 1, wherein the second deriving unit derives a vertical velocity using the vertical acceleration, derives a roll velocity using the roll rate, derives a pitch velocity using the pitch rate, and derives the impact energy using one of the vertical velocity, the roll velocity, and the pitch velocity. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The damper control system of claim 4, wherein the second deriving unit converts the vertical velocity, and the roll velocity, the pitch velocity into square forms, and then derives the impact energy using a highest velocity of the converted vertical, roll and pitch velocities. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The damper control system of claim 1, wherein in the road surface data of the estimating unit, a force reference value set so that a rough road level is divided depending on the impact force and an energy reference value set so that the rough road level is divided depending on the impact energy are pre-stored, and the state of the road surface is classified depending on whether the impact force reaches the force reference value and whether the impact energy reaches the energy reference value. ### Claim 7 A damper control method according to rough road determination for a vehicle, the damper control method comprising: a detecting step of detecting, by a sensing unit, vehicle posture information depending on a vertical acceleration, a roll rate, and a pitch rate of a vehicle body in the vehicle; a first deriving step of receiving the vertical acceleration detected in the detecting step and deriving impact force generated in the vehicle body; a second deriving step of receiving the vertical acceleration, the roll rate, and the pitch rate detected in the detecting step and deriving impact energy generated in the vehicle body; an estimating step of pre-storing road surface data depending on impact force and impact energy and of estimating a state of a road surface depending on the received impact force and impact energy; and a controlling step of controlling, by a controller, a damper depending on the estimated state of the road surface. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The damper control method of claim 7, wherein in the first deriving step, the impact force is derived using the vertical acceleration and weight information. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The damper control method of claim 7, wherein in the second driving step, a vertical velocity is derived using the vertical acceleration, a roll velocity is derived using the roll rate, a pitch velocity is derived using the pitch rate, and the impact energy is derived using a highest velocity of the vertical velocity, the roll velocity, and the pitch velocity. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The damper control method of claim 7, wherein in the road surface data of the estimating step, a force reference value set so that a rough road level is divided depending on the impact force and an energy reference value set so that the rough road level is divided depending on the impact energy are pre-stored, and the state of the road surface is classified depending on whether the impact force reaches the force reference value and whether the impact energy reaches the energy reference value. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The damper control method of claim 7, wherein the sensing unit includes a 6D sensor configured to detect the vertical acceleration, the roll rate, and the pitch rate of the vehicle body.