Method and device for estimating a transverse acceleration at an axle of a semitrailer or a trailer of a vehicle combination

• US 20020128764A1
• Filed: 04/17/2001
• Published: 09/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Hecker, Falk, Kraemer, Wolfgang
• Granted Patent: US 6,522,956 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/70
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/1708 for lorries or tractor-trailer combinations
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/172 Determining control parameters used in the regulation, e.g. by calculations involving measured or detected parameters B60T8/17551 takes precedence

Abstract

A method for estimating a transverse acceleration at an axle of a trailer/semitrailer of a vehicle combination including the step of measuring or estimating the yaw velocity ω_Z of the towing vehicle, measuring or estimating the forward velocity v_xZ of the towing vehicle, measuring or estimating an articulation angle ΔΨ between the towing vehicle and the trailer/semitrailer, particularly between a longitudinal axis x_Z of the towing vehicle and a longitudinal axis z_A of the trailer/semitrailer, and computationally correlating (or performing a relational operation on) the values ω_Z, v_xZ and ΔΨ to obtain an estimated value of the transverse acceleration a_yAA at the axle of the semitrailer/trailer.

Claims

1. A method for estimating a transverse acceleration a_yAA at an axle of at least one of a semitrailer and a trailer of a vehicle combination, which includes a towing vehicle and the at least one of the semitrailer and the trailer, the method comprising the steps of:

at least one of measuring and estimating a yaw velocity ω

_Z of the towing vehicle;

at least one of measuring and estimating a forward velocity v_xZ of the towing vehicle; and

at least one of computationally correlating and performing a relational operation on the yaw velocity ω

_Z and the forward velocity v_xZ to obtain an estimated value of the transverse acceleration a_yAA at the axle of the at least one of the semitrailer and the trailer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a distance 1_A between the axle of the at least one of the trailer and the semitrailer and one of a trailer hitch and a kingpin of the towing vehicle is considered in the step of at least one of computationally correlating and performing the relational operation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, in the step of at least one of computationally correlating and performing the relational operation, one of the following conditions is satisfied:

a transverse velocity existing at the at least one of the trailer and the semitrailer is equal to zero; and

the axle of the at least one of the trailer and the semitrailer does not have a slip angle.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the articulation angle Δ

Ψ

is estimated based on its time derivation and on the yaw velocity ω

_Z of the towing vehicle and a yaw velocity ω

_A of the at least one of the semitrailer and the trailer, the yaw velocity ω

_A being represented in the form of;

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the transverse acceleration a_yAA of at least one of the trailer and the semitrailer is estimated according to one of the following:

2. A method for estimating a transverse acceleration a_yAA at an axle of at least one of a semitrailer and a trailer of a vehicle combination, which includes a towing vehicle and the at least one of the semitrailer and trailer, the method comprising the steps of:

at least one of measuring and estimating the forward velocity v_xZ of the towing vehicle;

at least one of the measuring and estimating an articulation angle Δ

Ψ

between the towing vehicle and the at least one of the semitrailer and the trailer, the articulation angle Δ

Ψ

being between a longitudinal axis x_Z of the towing vehicle and a longitudinal axis x_A of the at least one of the semitrailer and the trailer;

at least one of computationally correlating performing a relational operation on a yaw velocity ω

_Z of the towing vehicle and the forward velocity v_xZ to obtain an estimated value of the transverse acceleration a_yAA at the axle of the at least one of the semitrailer and the trailer.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein a distance 1_A between the axle of the at least one of the trailer and the semitrailer and one of a trailer hitch and a kingpin of the towing vehicle is considered in the step of at least one of computationally correlating and performing the relational operation.

7. A device for estimating a transverse acceleration a_yAA at an axle of at least one of a semitrailer and a trailer of a vehicle combination, which includes a towing vehicle and the at least one of the semitrailer and the trailer, the device comprising:

an arrangement for at least one of measuring and estimating a yaw velocity ω

_Z of the towing vehicle;

an arrangement for at least one of measuring and estimating a forward velocity v_xZ of the towing vehicle; and

an arrangement for at least one of computationally correlating and performing a relational operation on the yaw velocity ω

_Z and the forward velocity v_xZ to obtain an estimated value of the transverse acceleration a_yAA at the axle of the at least one of the semitrailer and the trailer.

8. A method for implementing a braking action on at least one of a semitrailer and a trailer of a towing vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

estimating a transverse acceleration a_yAA at an axle of the at least one of the semitrailer and the trailer by at least one of measuring and estimating a yaw velocity ω

_Z of the towing vehicle, at least one of measuring and estimating a forward velocity v_xZ of the towing vehicle, and at least one of computationally correlating and performing a relational operation on the yaw velocity ω

_Z and the formed velocity v_xZ to obtain an estimated value of the transverse acceleration a_yAA at the axle of the at least one of the semitrailer and the trailer; and

performing the braking action as a function of the transverse acceleration a_yAA at the axle of the at least one of the semitrailer and the trailer.