Granted Patent B2

US 12,629,978 · App. 18/595,399 · Granted May 19, 2026

Inventors: Philip Guest (Warwick, GB); Jason Walters (Warwick, GB); Sam Anker (Coventry, GB); Edward Nicholson (Bishops Itchington, GB)

Assignee: JAGUAR LAND ROVER LIMITED

B60G17/0165B60G17/016B60G2300/07B60G2400/204B60G2400/302B60G2500/30

Abstract

Claims (22)

1 . A control system for controlling a target ride height of a vehicle, the control system comprising an electronic control unit (ECU) configured to receive a driving mode signal signaling that an off-road driving mode has been selected,

wherein when in said selected off-road driving mode, the control system is configured to select a first target off-road ride height when the vehicle speed is below a first speed threshold and to select a second target off-road ride height when the vehicle speed is above said first speed threshold, wherein said first target off-road ride height is higher than said second target off-road ride height, and

wherein the control system is configured to select a target ride height lower than the second target off-road ride height when the vehicle speed increases above a second speed threshold.

2 . A control system as claimed in claim 1 , configured automatically to select the first of said target off-road ride heights when the vehicle speed decreases below said first speed threshold for a defined first time period.

3 . A control system as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the first time period is dependent on a transfer case operating range.

4 . A control system as claimed in claim 1 , configured automatically to select the first or second target off-road ride height once the vehicle speed has decreased below said second speed threshold for a defined second time period.

5 . A control system as claimed in claim 1 , configured to output a signal to dis-engage the off-road driving mode when the vehicle speed remains above said second speed threshold for a defined third time period.

6 . A control system as claimed in claim 1 , configured to enable manual selection of said first off-road ride height when the second off-road ride height is selected and the vehicle speed is less than a predefined threshold.

7 . A control system as claimed in claim 1 , configured to set the target off-road ride heights in dependence on a detected terrain parameter.

8 . A control system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the control system comprises a driving mode selector configured to output the driving mode signal, the driving mode selector being operable manually by a driver or automatically in relation to automatically detected terrain parameters to signal that an on-road or an off-road driving mode has been selected.

9 . A vehicle comprising a control system as claimed in claim 1 .

10 . A method of controlling a target ride height of a vehicle, the method comprising receiving a driving mode signal signaling that an off-road driving mode has been selected, wherein when in said selected off-road driving mode, the method comprises:

selecting a first target off-road ride height when the vehicle speed is below a first speed threshold; and

selecting a second target off-road ride height when the vehicle speed is above said first speed threshold, wherein said first target off-road ride height is higher than said second target off-road ride height, and

wherein the method comprises selecting a target ride height lower than the second target off-road ride height when the vehicle speed increases above a second speed threshold.

11 . A method as claimed in claim 10 , comprising automatically selecting the first of said target off-road ride heights when the vehicle speed decreases below said first speed threshold for a defined first time period.

12 . A method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the first time period is dependent on a transfer case operating range.

13 . A method as claimed in claim 10 , comprising automatically selecting the first or second target off-road ride height once the vehicle speed has decreased below said second speed threshold for a defined second time period.

14 . A method as claimed in claim 10 , comprising outputting a signal to dis-engage the off-road driving mode when the vehicle speed remains above said second speed threshold for a defined third time period.

15 . A method as claimed in claim 10 , comprising enabling manual selection of said first off-road ride height when the second off-road ride height is selected and the vehicle speed is less than a predefined threshold.

16 . A method as claimed in claim 10 , comprising setting the target off-road ride heights in dependence on a detected terrain parameter.

17 . A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing instructions thereon that, when executed by one or more electronic processors, causes the one or more electronic processors to carry out the method of claim 10 .

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (31)