Patent ID: 8306696

Claim:
A method of positioning a vehicle chassis of a vehicle in approximate alignment with a predetermined datum, the vehicle chassis including a first longitudinal end adapted to be pivotally connected to a substantially fixed point and a second longitudinal end, the vehicle including at least one axle associated with the second longitudinal end and a two-corner fluid suspension system including a first corner fluid suspension member disposed between the axle and a first corner associated with the second longitudinal end of the chassis, a second corner fluid suspension member disposed between the axle and a second corner associated with the second longitudinal end of the chassis, a fluid control device, a pressurized fluid source in fluid communication with the fluid suspension members through the fluid control device, an exhaust passage in fluid communication with the fluid suspension members through the fluid control device, an alignment sensor supported on the chassis for outputting a signal indicative of the lateral orientation of the chassis and the longitudinal orientation of the chassis, and an electronic control unit operatively associated with the control of the first corner fluid suspension member and the second corner fluid suspension member, the method comprising: a) acquiring the alignment signal generated by the alignment sensor and comparing the alignment signal to the predetermined datum to determine if one or more of the lateral and longitudinal orientation of the chassis is misaligned relative to the predetermined datum and, if the chassis is misaligned, performing the method comprising: b) controlling one or more of the first corner suspension member and the second corner suspension member to laterally align the chassis with a lateral component of the predetermined datum; c) controlling the first corner suspension member and the second corner suspension member to longitudinally align the chassis with a longitudinal component of the predetermined datum, the first corner suspension member and the second corner suspension member controlled to be inflated an equal distance or deflated an equal distance until the chassis is longitudinally aligned with the longitudinal component of the predetermined datum; and d) acquiring the alignment signal generated by the alignment sensor and comparing said alignment signal to the predetermined datum to determine if the lateral orientation of the chassis is aligned with the predetermined datum, and if the chassis is misaligned, repeating steps b), c) and d).