Patents by Inventor Steve S. Southward

Steve S. Southward has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6115658
    Abstract: A method of controlling a controllable force generator within a controllable suspension system interconnected between a first member M.sub.1 and a second member M.sub.2. The method includes the steps of obtaining a first signal (V.sub.abs) representative of the absolute velocity of the first member M.sub.1, obtaining a second signal (V.sub.rel) representative of the relative velocity between the first and second members, and setting a desired damping force for the generator based upon a control policy which defines a control surface. The control policy includes a preselected gain, an absolute velocity, and a shaping function of relative velocity wherein said control surface exhibits only continuous first derivatives for V.sub.rel *V.sub.abs >0 and wherein the control surface is devoid of any surface discontinuities. This control policy effectively eliminates the jerkiness in certain prior art control methods, such as skyhook.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2000
    Assignees: Lord Corporation, Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.
    Inventors: Mehdi Ahmadian, Brian Reichert, Xubin Song, Steve S. Southward