Electromagnetic strut assembly

An assembly for use in an active suspension system to couple a wheel to a chassis of a motor vehicle and for controlling the orientation of the chassis of a motor vehicle at a preselected orientation, said assembly comprising:

• a first selection including means for securing said first section to said chassis so that said first section moves with said chassis;
• a second section including means for securing said second section to said wheel so that said second section moves with said wheel, wherein said first and second sections are movable relative to one another along an axis of relative movement as said chassis and wheel move relative to one another;
• means for sensing acceleration and deceleration forces applied to said assembly along said axis and for generating a first signal as a function of the magnitude of said forces;
• means for sensing the relative position of the chassis and said wheel along said axis and for generating a second signal as a function of said relative position;
• force generating means for controlling the relative orientation of said chassis and said wheel as a function of the correction signal, said force generating means including an electromagnetic device comprising a coil, connecting to one of said sections, for receiving said correction signal, and a magnetically conductive member, movable within said coil and connected to the other of said sections so that a magnetic force is applied to said conductive member in response to said correction signal being applied to said coil so that said first and second sections move relative to one another along said axis so as to move said chassis and wheel relative to one another;
• and
• control means, electrically coupled to said force generating means, for generating said corrective signal as a function of said first and second signals so as to move said chassis relative to said wheel and maintain said chassis at a preselected orientation independent of the orientation of said wheel.

An active suspension system for controlling the orientation of a chassis of a motor vehicle at a pre-selected orientation, said vehicle being of the type including at least four spaced-apart wheels coupled to said chassis, said system comprising:

• at least four assemblies, each adapted to be secured between said chassis and the corresponding one of said wheels, each assembly comprising:
• an electromagnetic device including a coil and a magnetically-conductive member movable within said coil along an axis of relative movement between said chassis and said corresponding one of said wheels, wherein said coil is adapted to move along said axis with movement of one of said chassis and said corresponding one of said wheels, and said magnetically-conductive members adapted to move along said axis with movement of the other of said chassis and said corresponding one of said wheels, said coil being adapted to generate a magnetic force on said magnetically conductive member along said axis in response to a corrective current as a function of each of (a) any acceleration and deceleration forces applied along said axis, and (b) any difference between (i) the position of said chassis relative to said corresponding one of said wheels and (ii) a predetermined value of the relative position between said chassis and said corresponding one of said wheels;
• and
• control means for generating said corrective current as a function of acceleration and deceleration forces applied along said axis and the position of said chassis relative to said corresponding one of said wheels along said axis.

In a motor vehicle comprising a chassis and at least four spaced-apart wheels coupled to said chassis, an improved active suspension system for controlling the orientation of said chassis at a predetermined orientation comprising:

• at least four assemblies, each secured between said chassis and a corresponding one of said wheels, each assembly comprising:
• an electromagnetic device including a coil and a magnetically-conductive member movable within said coil along an axis of relative movement between said chassis and said corresponding one of said wheels, wherein said coil is adapted to move along said axis with movement of one of said chassis and said corresponding one of said wheels, and said magnetically-conductive members adapted to move along said axis with movement of the other of said chassis and said corresponding one of said wheels, said coil being adapted to generate a magnetic force on said magnetically conductive member along said axis in response to a corrective current as a function of each of (a) any acceleration and deceleration forces applied along said axis, and (b) any difference between (i) the position of said chassis relative to said said corresponding one of said wheels and (ii) a predetermined value of the relative position between said chassis and said corresponding one of said wheels;
• and
• control means for generating said corrective current as a function of acceleration and deceleration forces applied along said axis and the position of said chassis to said corresponding one of said wheels along said axis.

In a motor vehicle having a chassis and at least four spaced-apart wheels, an active suspension comprising:

• means for suspending said wheels from said chassis to allow relative movement between said chassis and each of said wheels along an axis of relative movement;
• means for developing a magnetic force as a function of acceleration and deceleration forces applied along said axis and further as a function of a difference between a present position of said chassis relative to said wheel and a predetermined position of said chassis relative to said wheel;
• and
• means for coupling said magnetic force along said axis of relative movement for correcting said acceleration and deceleration forces to maintain said chassis substantially elevationally constant and for substantially eliminating said difference between said present position and said predetermined position.