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US 11,827,232 B2Granted
High accuracy vehicle load management
AssigneeContinental Automotive Systems, Inc.
InventorsFelix Hägele, Matthew Letizio, Joseph Cholag, Daniel Gregory Goodrich, Harald Schaumburg, Frank Wolters, Klaus Wenger
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of calculation a vehicle load comprising calculating a first vehicle load value based at least on air pressures in air springs and height data of suspension of a vehicle axle, determining a second vehicle load value based on a change of track width of the vehicle axle, and calculating the vehicle load based on the first vehicle load value and the second vehicle load value.
Claims16
A vehicle load calculation system comprising:
- an air suspension system having four corner assemblies, wherein each corner assembly among the four corner assemblies is located at a respective suspension position corresponding to a respective wheel corner of a plurality of wheel corners of a vehicle and the four corner assemblies each comprise an air spring, wherein two corner assemblies of the four corner assemblies are associated with a vehicle axle of a plurality of vehicle axles;
- an air supply unit configured to adjust air pressure within each air spring;
- a pressure sensor located at a valve block of the air supply unit, wherein the pressure sensor is configured to measure the air pressure in each air spring;
- a plurality of height sensors, wherein each height sensor of the plurality of height sensors is located at the suspension position corresponding to the respective wheel corner of the plurality of wheel corners of the vehicle, wherein each height sensor of the plurality of height sensors is configured to measure a height for an associated corner assembly of the four corner assemblies;
- an electronic control unit connected to the four corner assemblies, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to calculate a vehicle load from a first vehicle load value calculated based on the air pressure in each air spring measured by the pressure sensor and the height measured by each of the plurality of height sensors associated with the respective vehicle axle of the plurality of axles and a second vehicle load value determined based on a change of track width of the respective vehicle axle;
- and
- wherein the change of track width is multiplied by a constant stiffness factor to calculate a vertical force acting on the two corner assemblies of the axle.
4 more elements
A method of calculating a vehicle load, the method comprising:
- measuring a plurality of air pressures in a plurality of air springs located at a respective suspension position corresponding to each wheel corner of a plurality of wheel corners of a vehicle;
- measuring a plurality of heights at the suspension position corresponding to the respective wheel corners of the plurality of wheel corners of the vehicle;
- calculating a first vehicle load value based on air pressures of the plurality of air pressures and heights of the plurality of heights associated with a vehicle axle of the vehicle;
- determining a second vehicle load value based on a change of track width of the vehicle axle;
- calculating the vehicle load based on the first vehicle load value and the second vehicle load value;
- calculating a vertical force acting on corner assemblies of the axle by multiplying the change of track width by a constant stiffness factor;
- and
- adjusting at least one air pressure of the plurality of air pressures based on the calculated vehicle load.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.