DESC:Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a suspension system of an automobile and more particularly, to a system and a method for automatic adaptive damping in a shock absorber.
Background of the invention
Current day passive suspension doesn’t have any road data input. Active and semi-active suspension with end user input to set them at either sport mode or city mode can result in accidents. When the user selects city mode while on a highway to have a comfort ride, the road contact of tire is sacrificed leading to less steering ability of the vehicle and thus resulting in accidents and possibility of loss of life. Further, there is no automatic change of settings in case of the semi-active suspension.
Accordingly, there is a need of a system and a method for automatic adaptive damping in a shock absorber that overcomes the above mentioned drawbacks of the prior art.
Objects of the invention
An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic adjustment of suspension settings for safe ride of the user.
Summary of the invention
The present invention provides a system for automatic adaptive damping in a shock absorber and a method thereof. The system and the method use a piezo sensory input of road load data to achieve an automatic adjustment of suspension settings for adaptive damping in active and semi-active suspensions. The piezoelectric membrane including a plurality of vibration sensors understands the road surface and provides the excitation voltage value to the actuation module through the amplifier bridge. The speedometer and timer feed the inputs regarding vehicle speed and duration of continuous excitation to the actuation module. The actuation module actuates the adaptive damper which in turn changes the vehicle’s driving dynamics by switching between a sport mode and a comfort mode automatically, without compromising on user safety. The present invention also provides a method for automatic adaptive damping in a shock absorber, which involves producing road load data by detecting excitation from road surface; coordinating the road load data and the vehicle speed data; and actuating the adaptive damper accordingly to change the vehicle’s driving dynamics automatically.
Brief description of the drawings
The objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description read in accordance with the accompanying drawings wherein,
Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a system for automatic adaptive damping in a shock absorber, in accordance with the present invention; and
Figure 2 shows a flow chart illustrating a method for automatic adaptive damping in a shock absorber, in accordance with the present invention.
Detailed description of the invention
The foregoing objects of the present invention are accomplished and the problems and shortcomings associated with the prior art, techniques and approaches are overcome by the present invention as described below in the preferred embodiment.
The present invention provides a system and a method for automatic adaptive damping in a shock absorber. The system and the method use a piezo sensory input of road load data to achieve an automatic adjustment of suspension settings to hard and soft for adaptive damping in active and semi-active suspensions without compromising on the rider’s safety.
The present invention is illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein numbers indicated in the bracket represent the components of the invention throughout the description.
Referring now to figure 1, in an aspect, there is shown a system (50) for automatic adaptive damping in a shock absorber (not shown) in accordance with the present invention. Specifically, the system (50) is used for active and semi-active suspensions. The system (50) comprises a piezoelectric membrane (5), an amplifier bridge (10), a speedometer (15), a timer (20), an actuation module (25) and a adaptive damper (30).
The piezoelectric membrane (5) is used for understanding a road terrain / a road surface. The piezoelectric membrane (5) includes a plurality of vibration sensors (not shown) configured thereon. The plurality of vibration sensors is adapted to sense excitation from the road surface to produce a piezo sensory input of road load data. The piezo sensory input is a potential difference also known as excitation voltage.
The amplifier bridge (10) is operably connected to the piezo-electric membrane (5) to receive the piezo sensory input produced by the plurality of vibration sensors. The amplifier bridge (10) includes a filter (not shown) to filter out noise from the piezo sensory input to measure the value of excitation voltage.
The speedometer (15) and the timer (20) are configured as parts of the system (50) to respectively measure the speed of the vehicle and duration of continuous excitation from the road surface.
An actuation module (25) is disposed in operable connection with the amplifier bridge (10), the speedometer (15) and the timer (20) to receive respective inputs of the excitation voltage value, vehicle speed and duration of continuous excitation therefrom. Based on the received inputs, the actuation module (25) actuates the adaptive damper (30) connected thereto.
Upon actuation, the adaptive damper (30) automatically changes the vehicle’s driving dynamics by switching between a sport mode and a comfort mode without compromising on user safety.
Referring now to figure 2, in another aspect, a method (100) for automatic adaptive damping in the shock absorber is illustrated in accordance with the present invention. Specifically, the method (100) is illustrated in accordance with the system (50) of the present invention as shown in figure 1. The method (100) begins at step (40).
At step (45), the method (100) involves detecting the excitation from the road surface by the plurality of vibration sensors of the piezoelectric membrane (5) to produce the piezo sensory input of road load data.
At step (50), the method (100) involves receiving the piezo sensory input from the plurality of vibration sensors by the amplifier bridge (10) to filter out noise from the piezo sensory input for measuring the value of excitation voltage by the filter of the amplifier bridge (10).
At step (55), the method (100) involves measuring the speed of the vehicle by the speedometer (15) and measuring duration of continuous excitation from the road surface by the timer.
At step (60), the method (100) involves receiving the inputs of the excitation voltage value, vehicle speed and duration of continuous excitation from the amplifier bridge (10), the speedometer (15) and the timer (20) respectively, by the actuation module (25).
At step (65), the method (100) involves actuation of the adaptive damper (30) by the by the actuation module (25) in response to the received inputs. At step (70), the method (100) involves changing the vehicle’s driving dynamics automatically by the adaptive damper (30) that switches to and from a sport mode and a comfort mode without compromising on user safety. The method (100) ends at step (75).
Advantages of the invention
• The system (50) and the method (100) eliminate the need of a manual interface.
• The system (50) and the method (100) do not compromise vehicle driving dynamics.
The foregoing objects of the invention are accomplished and the problems and shortcomings associated with prior art techniques and approaches are overcome by the present invention described in the present embodiment. Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein; however, it is to be understood that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure, or matter. The embodiments of the invention as described above and the methods disclosed herein will suggest further modification and alterations to those skilled in the art. Such further modifications and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

,CLAIMS:We claim:
1. A system (50) for automatic adaptive damping in a shock absorber, the system comprising:
a piezo-electric membrane (5) having a plurality of vibrations sensors configured thereon for sensing the excitation from the road surface to produce a piezo sensory input of road load data;
an amplifier bridge (10) operably connected to the piezoelectric membrane (5) to receive the piezo sensory input produced by the plurality of vibration sensors, an amplifier bridge (10) having a filter to filter out noise from the piezo sensory input to measure the value of excitation voltage;
a speedometer (15) configured for measuring the speed of the vehicle;
a timer (20) configured for measuring the duration of continuous excitation from the road surface;
an actuation module (25) operably connected to the amplifier bridge (10), the speedometer (15) and the timer (20) to receive respective inputs of the excitation voltage value, vehicle speed and duration of continuous excitation therefrom; and
an adaptive damper (30) capable of being actuated by the actuation module (25); the actuated adaptive damper (30) adapted to change the vehicle’s driving dynamics by switching to and from a sport mode and a comfort mode without compromising on user safety.
2. A method (100) for automatic adaptive damping in the shock absorber, the method comprising
detecting the excitation from road surface by a plurality of vibration sensors of a piezo-electric membrane (5) to produce a piezo sensory input of road load data;
receiving the piezo sensory input from the plurality of vibration sensors by an amplifier bridge (10) to filter out noise from the piezo sensory input for measuring the value of excitation voltage by a filter thereof;
measuring speed of the vehicle by a speedometer (15) and duration of continuous excitation from the road surface by a timer (20);
receiving the excitation voltage value input from the amplifier bridge (10), vehicle speed input from the speedometer (15) and the duration of continuous excitation from the timer (20), at a actuation module (25);
actuating an adaptive damper (30) by the actuation module (25) in response to the inputs received from the amplifier bridge (10), the speedometer (15) and the timer (20) respectively at the actuation module (25); and
changing the vehicle’s driving dynamics automatically by the adaptive damper (30) by switching to and from a sport mode and a comfort mode without compromising on user safety.