Patent ID: 6058340
Filing Date: 2000-05-02
Classification: B60G

Abstract:
A suspension control apparatus comprising:a shock absorber having a variable damping coefficient and disposed between a sprung mass and an unsprung mass of a vehicle;an actuator for setting and adjusting the variable damping coefficient of said shock absorber on the basis of a control signal;an acceleration sensor for detecting an upward acceleration and a downward acceleration of said vehicle and for outputting a corresponding upward and downward acceleration signal; andprocessing means, operatively coupled to said actuator and said acceleration sensor, for (a) detecting an upward absolute velocity and a downward absolute velocity of the vehicle based on the upward and downward acceleration signal from said acceleration sensor, (b) changing the detected upward absolute velocity and downward absolute velocity in accordance with a control parameter to obtain a control target, (c) generating the control signal for said actuator on the basis of said control target, (d) judging a roughness of a road surface on which the vehicle is running, and (e) adjusting said control parameter used to obtain the control target on the basis of the judged roughness of the road surface;wherein said processing means judges the roughness of the road surface by counting the number of times an amplitude of said upward and downward acceleration signal from said acceleration sensor exceeds a predetermined amplitude threshold value within a predetermined time period to obtain an amplitude change count number, and by judging that the road surface is rough when the amplitude change count number exceeds a predetermined number reference value.