A method for operating a vehicle that includes a passenger is described. In one example, the method adjusts vehicle suspension and exhaust system sound in response to characteristics of the passenger that are monitored via a camera and a microphone. The method may operate the vehicle suspension and exhaust system in a way that soothes the passenger.

An operational assistance method for a vehicle, in particular for a motor vehicle, is provided. A movement of an area of a body of a vehicle occupant is captured and sensor values representative of the movement are provided, sensor values for an area of the body of a vehicle occupant are weighted with one another and are combined to form an acceleration value, and the acceleration value is provided. A weighting factor for a respective sensor value, as the degree of the weighting of the sensor value in the acceleration value, is dependent on the magnitude of the sensor value.

Chassis arrangement for a motor vehicle for passenger transportation, having two axles which are arranged at a spacing from one another in the motor vehicle longitudinal direction and in each case have wishbones with the incorporation of a spring element for the independent wheel suspension system. A first axle, lying at the front in a driving direction, is lowered from a neutral position by from 5 to 50 mm, 10 to 20 mm, in order to drive in said driving direction, and a second axle, lying at the rear in the driving direction, is raised by from 5 to 50 mm, 10 to 20 mm, in each case by way of adjustment of the spring elements, it being possible for the driving direction to be reversed.

A method for operating a vehicle that includes a passenger is described. In one example, the method adjusts vehicle suspension and exhaust system sound in response to characteristics of the passenger that are monitored via a camera and a microphone. The method may operate the vehicle suspension and exhaust system in a way that sooths the passenger.

The present invention relates to a method for operating a motor vehicle as a first road user on a road, comprising: obtaining information on the current and/or a possible future traffic situation on the road; determining, based on the obtained information, whether a deviation from the present travel and/or steering direction or from a navigation destination on the road is appropriate according to a predefined criterion in order to clear the way for a second road user directly or indirectly via third road users, and if yes: determining a new destination on or at the side of the road, determining whether it is necessary to drive onto an obstacle in order to reach the new destination, and if yes, checking whether an adjustment of the chassis of the motor vehicle is compatible with driving onto the obstacle, and if yes, prompting the motor vehicle to head for the new destination.

An electrically powered suspension system 11 achieves vibration control of a vehicle without disturbing a vehicle behavior and impairing riding comfort even if an electric motor 31 of an electromagnetic actuator 13 generates excessive heat, wherein the electromagnetic actuator 13 includes the electric motor 31 generating a driving force for vibration damping and extension/contraction; a target damping force setting part 51 setting a target damping force; a target extension/contraction setting part 53 setting a target extension/contraction force; and a drive controller 49 performing the drive control of the electric motor 31 using a drive force based on the target damping force and target extension/contraction force by limiting the motor current not to exceed a current threshold that is an addition of a damping current threshold and extension/contraction current threshold, which thresholds are separately configured considering a priority of riding comfort and steering stability.

A suspension system for a vehicle includes at least two torsion bars, each of which are connected on their first end to respective wheel suspensions that are arranged on opposite lateral sides of the vehicle. Movement of the wheel suspensions produces torque in the respective torsion bars. Each of the torsion bars are connected on their second ends to a frame of the vehicle through a damper system. Movement of the wheel suspensions produces torque in the respective torsion bar. The damper system selectively applies resistance to the torque in the torsion bars to selectively provide active variable spring rates to the wheel suspension, which application of resistance may be coordinated amongst the various torsion bars to inhibit roll of the vehicle during a turning maneuver or to increase occupant comfort when the vehicle encounters a bump or hole.

A method for configuring a configurable suspension, the method may include obtaining acquired sensed information that represent (a) one or more driving parameters of the vehicle, (b) one or more vehicle cabin disturbance parameters, (c) a configuration of a configurable suspension, and (d) a road segment that precedes the vehicle; selecting, out of multiple configurations of the configurable suspension, a selected configuration that one applied will attribute to obtain a desired human-in-vehicle comfort value; and triggering or requesting a setting of the configurable suspension to a configuration of the one or more configurations.

The present invention achieves a technique that not only makes it possible to reduce sensor-related cost but also makes it possible to estimate a ground contact load of a vehicle with sufficiently high accuracy. A ground contact load estimation device (100) causes an acquisition section to acquire a physical quantity related to a vehicle, causes a reference inertia load calculation section (111) to calculate a reference inertia load with use of the physical quantity, uses the physical quantity to cause a correction value calculation section (112) to calculate an inertia load correction value, and causes an inertia load estimation section (110) to estimate an inertia load by adding the inertia load correction value to the reference inertia load.

A method for estimating damping characteristics of shock absorbers in an active or semi-active suspension involves providing a reference model of a nominal relation between a road severity index related to vertical acceleration values, and the mean driving current of the control valves of the shock absorbers, acquiring respective relative acceleration or speed data of at least the front wheels of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle body, determining a value of the road severity index starting from relative acceleration or speed data of the front wheels of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle body, acquiring values representative of the mean driving current of the control valve of each shock absorber, comparing acquired value of the mean driving current with an expected value of the nominal mean driving current determined as a function of the road severity index according to the reference model, and determining a degradation condition if the acquired value does not correspond to the expected value.