Motion control 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 motion control 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.
Claims21
A suspension actuator comprising:
- a top mount;
- a bottom mount;
- an upper housing that extends from the top mount;
- a lower housing that extends from the bottom mount;
- an air spring configured to form a first load path between a first portion of a vehicle and a second portion of the vehicle, the air spring including a pressurized cavity having an upper chamber that is defined by the upper housing, and a lower chamber that is defined by the lower housing and a membrane that extends radially between the upper housing and the lower housing, wherein the pressurized cavity contains a pressurized gas that transfers force of the first load path;
- and
- a ball-screw actuator configured to form a second load path between the first portion of the vehicle and the second portion of the vehicle in parallel to the first load path, the ball-screw actuator comprising a motor coupled to the upper housing and having a stator and a rotor,
- wherein an air flow path is defined radially outward from the stator such that the upper chamber and the lower chamber of the pressurized cavity are in fluidic communication with each other through the air flow path.
A suspension actuator comprising:
- an upper housing;
- a lower housing;
- an air spring disposed between the upper housing and the lower housing and configured to form a first load path between a sprung mass of a vehicle and an unsprung mass of the vehicle;
- and
- a ball-screw actuator configured to form a second load path between the sprung mass and the unsprung mass in parallel to the first load path, the ball-screw actuator comprising:
- a motor coupled to the upper housing and having a stator and a rotor,
- a shaft,
- a ball nut to which the motor applies torque to transfer force of the second load path between the upper housing and the shaft, and
- a ball spline that applies torque to the shaft to prevent rotation thereof relative to the upper housing,
- wherein the upper 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 suspension actuator comprising:
- an upper housing;
- a lower housing;
- an air spring configured to form a first load path between a vehicle body of a vehicle and a wheel of the vehicle, the air spring including a pressurized cavity having an upper chamber that is defined by the upper housing, and a lower chamber that is defined by the lower housing and a membrane that extends radially between the upper housing and the lower housing, wherein the pressurized cavity contains a pressurized gas that transfers force of the first load path;
- and
- a ball-screw actuator configured to form a second load path between the vehicle body and the wheel in parallel to the first load path, the ball-screw actuator comprising a motor,
- wherein the upper housing surrounds the motor and includes cooling passages for receiving a fluid for cooling the motor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.