Suspension Pre-Load Management System
AssigneeRobert Bosch GmbH
InventorKurt Person
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle suspension pre-load management system is disclosed. At least one suspension component, such as a motorcycle shock absorber, has an expandable chamber that with increased volume of a nearly incompressible fluid increases the suspensions pre-load. In one embodiment the system utilizes a controller, a pressure sensor, a pump, and a number of solenoids in a manifold block to allow a user to set a desired pre-load level. In another embodiment the controller monitors the pressure of the chamber and maintains a desired pre-load setting. In yet another embodiment, the controller identifies a hard braking event such that would cause a brake dive and increases the pre-load to counter act the dive.
Claims20
A motorcycle shock absorber adjustable pre-load system, comprising:
- a shock having an expandable chamber configured to correspondingly increase or decrease pre-load with increasing or decreasing of liquid volume within the chamber;
- a reservoir in fluid communication with the chamber configured to hold the liquid;
- a pump in fluid communication with and disposed between the chamber and the reservoir configured to move liquid from the reservoir to the chamber;
- and
- a controller in communication with the pump configured to, upon receiving an activation signal, engage the pump to move the liquid into the chamber.
A pre-load adjusting apparatus for a shock absorber on a vehicle, the shock absorber capable of correspondingly increasing or decreasing pre-load with the increasing or decreasing of fluid to the shock absorber, and a reservoir external to the shock absorber for holding fluid reserves, comprising:
- a manifold block having a first port configured to be fluidly connected to the reservoir, a second port configured to be fluidly connected to the shock absorber, and defining a number of fluid passages therebetween;
- a pump having an inlet and an outlet in fluid communication with the number of fluid passages, the pump configured to, when activated, move fluid in the number of fluid passages;
- a first solenoid valve fluidly disposed in the number of fluid passages between the first port and the inlet of the pump, configured to control fluid flow between the reservoir and the inlet of the pump;
- a second solenoid valve fluidly disposed in the number of fluid passages between the outlet of the pump and the first port, configured to control fluid flow between the outlet of the pump and the reservoir;
- a third solenoid valve fluidly disposed in the number of fluid passages between the second port and the inlet of the pump, configured to control fluid flow between the shock absorber and the inlet of the pump;
- a fourth solenoid valve fluidly disposed in the number of fluid passages between the outlet of the pump and the second port, configured to control fluid flow between the outlet of the pump and the shock absorber;
- a pressure sensor fluidly disposed in the number of fluid passages proximate the second port, configured to provide a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure of the fluid in the shock absorber;
- and
- a controller in communication with the pressure sensor, the first, second, third, and fourth solenoid valves, and the pump, configured to receive the pressure signal and engage the solenoid valves and the pump to move fluid in the number of fluid passages to control the pre-load of the shock absorber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.