Self-contained acceleration-responsive adaptive damper
OwnerDouglas L. Millikeninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A damper for a vehicle suspension utilizes accelerometer elements for controlling damping rate in response to lateral or longitudinal ("horizontal") acceleration of the vehicle. The accelerometer can be a mass/spring assembly within the damper housing. The accelerometer is linked to at least one damping rate adjuster element, such as a variable orifice or pop-off valve, so that increasing displacement of the accelerometer, in response to increasing vehicle horizontal acceleration, varies the setting of the rate-controlling elements to modify the damping rate. The horizontal acceleration/damping curve can be "tuned," and can be varied in X and Y axes, by selecting various accelerometer weights and springs, or by utilizing multiple accelerometers.
Claims15
In a vehicle suspension damper including hydraulic damping elements contained within a housing for providing damping force in response to relative movement between a vehicle wheel and a vehicle body element, acceleration-responsive damping control apparatus comprising
- damping rate controlling means, coupled to said damping elements, for controlling damping force amplitude in at least one direction of movement between the vehicle wheel and the vehicle body element, said rate controlling means including
- adjuster means having at least a first selectable setting and a second selectable setting,
- said rate controlling means being responsive to the selected setting of said adjuster means to vary said damping force amplitude in said at least one direction of movement in accordance with the selected setting of said adjuster means, and
- accelerometer means, located within said housing and coupled to said adjuster means, for sensing horizontal acceleration of the vehicle and for responding to said acceleration by controlling the setting of said adjuster means, so that the selected setting of said adjuster means is responsive to horizontal acceleration of said vehicle, whereby said damping force amplitude in at least one direction of movement is responsive to horizontal acceleration of the vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.