Patent ID: 8428819

Claim:
A method for providing a progressive optimal constrained damping response of a damper to a wheel assembly with respect to a sprung body of a vehicle, applicable to a multiplicity of jounce events based upon a progressive optimal constrained events damping function, comprising the steps of: determining a first plot of a predetermined damping force acting on the wheel center of the wheel assembly applicable to wheel center velocities below substantially a predetermined wheel center velocity between the sprung body of the vehicle and the wheel assembly, u 1 , the predetermined wheel center velocity, u 1 , based on ride and handling considerations for the vehicle; generating a peak initial wheel center velocity between the sprung body of the vehicle and the wheel assembly respective to each jounce event for the vehicle traveling at a predetermined forward velocity, each peak initial wheel center velocity obtained from a table; for each jounce event of said multiplicity of jounce events and each peak initial wheel center velocity respective to each jounce event, obtaining a second plot of a progressive optimal constrained event damping function generated from at least one predetermined equation of motion of the wheel center, wherein conditions applied to the at least one predetermined equation include no initial external forces acting on the wheel assembly, an initial displacement x 0 of the wheel center when the initial velocity of the wheel assembly is U 0 , and a total force acting on the wheel center being substantially constant during deceleration of the wheel center from the velocity U 0 to a predetermined wheel center velocity u 2 , wherein the substantially constant total force is related to a determined travel length of the wheel center such that when the wheel center is at the determined travel length, the wheel assembly velocity is zero, the first damper force is zero and the suspension spring is compressed the determined travel length by which the suspension spring force is equal to the substantially constant total force and when the wheel center is at displacement x 0 the wheel assembly velocity is U 0 and the suspension spring is compressed by x 0 ; constructing a low envelope curve passing through each peak initial wheel center velocity of the second plot for each respective jounce event; combining the low envelope curve with said first plot to obtain the progressive optimal constrained events damping function applicable to the multiplicity of jounce events; and adjusting the damping response of the damper to the wheel assembly with respect to the sprung body of the vehicle responsive to said progressive optimal constrained events damping function.