Patent ID: 6871731
Filing Date: 2005-03-29
Classification: B60G

Abstract:
1. A method for controlling the damping force for a shock absorber of a vehicle wheel suspension arranged between a wheel of a vehicle and the body of the vehicle, the shock absorber having a damping force characteristic, the method comprising the steps of: providing a damping force change unit which responds to first and second signals to continuously adjust said damping force characteristic; generating said first signal utilizing means which represents the speed of said shock absorber; generating said second signal utilizing means which represents a vertical bodywork speed of a suspended mass of said bodywork of the vehicle; computing a control signal based on said first and second signals in accordance with the skyhook method for adjusting said damping force characteristic; limiting at least one of a time-dependent change or rate of change of speed of the damping force and a time-dependent change or rate of change of speed of the shock absorber current when said shock absorber speed and said vertical bodywork speed have different signs; wherein said shock absorber is an electrically adjustable shock absorber; and, wherein the damping force is adjustable via the magnitude of a current, the method comprising the further step of: determining a desired current for a current adjusting member from a measured and stored characteristic field of the shock absorber in that said desired current is determined by interpolation from a desired damping force input and a determined shock absorber speed from said characteristic field.