US 8315769

A technical analysis of U.S. Patent 8,315,769 is provided below.

Summary of U.S. Patent 8,315,769

Title	Absolute acceleration sensor for use within moving vehicles
Assignee	Vision Works IP Corp
Inventors	Alfred S. Braunberger, Beau M. Braunberger
Filing Date	November 22, 2011
Issue Date	November 20, 2012
Abstract	A communication system for a vehicle includes a vehicle speed sensor configured to emit a periodic function with a parameter correlated to the speed of the vehicle, an acceleration monitoring system, a braking system engagement detector to detect a braking status of the vehicle, an alerting device capable of signaling other drivers of a deceleration condition of the vehicle, and a control device. The acceleration monitoring system is configured to compute the acceleration of the vehicle from variations in the parameter of the periodic function of the vehicle speed sensor and to output a deceleration status of the vehicle. The control device is coupled to the acceleration monitoring system, the braking system engagement detector, and the alerting device, wherein the acceleration monitoring system sends signals to the control device and the control device operates the alerting device in a manner dependent on the deceleration status of the vehicle.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims

This patent contains three independent claims which define the core inventions.

• Independent Claim 1: This claim describes a device for a vehicle that uses a combination of an accelerometer and a gyroscope to accurately measure the absolute side-to-side (lateral) acceleration, independent of the vehicle's tilt or orientation. The device uses this measurement to signal a "suspension selector" which in turn directs multiple controllers to individually adjust different parts of the vehicle's suspension system. The core idea is a device that senses true lateral force to actively manage the suspension.

• Independent Claim 9: This claim outlines a broader system for controlling vehicle performance. It includes the accelerometer-gyroscope for sensing absolute lateral acceleration, a suspension selector that receives signals from this sensor, multiple controllers that receive signals from the selector, and one or more suspension systems that are individually activated by the controllers. This creates a complete feedback loop from sensing lateral motion to adjusting the vehicle's suspension to improve performance characteristics, such as preventing rollovers.

• Independent Claim 21: This claim describes a method, or a series of steps, for controlling a vehicle's performance. The method consists of:

  1. Sensing the lateral acceleration of the vehicle.
  2. Sending a signal based on this sensed acceleration to multiple control devices.
  3. Adjusting a characteristic of the vehicle's suspension in response to the signal.
     This claim protects the process of actively controlling the suspension based on lateral acceleration measurements.

Litigation Search

A search of the CAFC (United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit) 2026 dockets for patent number 8,315,769 did not yield any specific results. I do not have authoritative information to report regarding litigation for this patent in the specified court and timeframe.