Patent ID: 7377533
Filing Date: 2008-05-27
Classification: B62K,F16F

Abstract:
1. A steering damper apparatus for a vehicle having a vehicle body, a front wheel steering system supported by a front portion of the vehicle body, and a vehicle speed sensor for sensing an instantaneous speed of the vehicle, said steering damper apparatus comprising: a steering damper for applying a variably adjustable damping force to pivotal movement of a component of the front wheel steering system; and a controller operable to adjustably control the damping force applied by the steering damper, wherein the controller is operable to adjust the damping force based on vehicle speed, wherein: the damping force is set to a maximum value when the vehicle speed is at or above a second reference speed which is greater than the first reference speed; and wherein the steering damper apparatus further comprises a current control map having a two-dimensional table of predetermined current values associated with specific vehicle speeds less than or equal to the first reference speed and greater than or equal to the second reference speed, and wherein the calculation of control current is accomplished by the controller referencing said table to obtain a control current associated with the acquired vehicle speed.