Vehicle control system for exiting ruts
First Claim
1. A vehicle control system adapted to facilitate exiting of ruts, comprising:
- an active steering system including a steerable wheel defining a steering angle and a steering wheel providing a driver input control angle, said active steering system further including a coupler component, an actuator component, a controller component, and a sensor component, said components operably interconnected such that said controller component can selectively vary said steering angle relative to said driver input control angle, said steering angle defining an expected vehicle yaw when said steerable wheel is not slipping on a contact surface;
said sensor component configured to provide said controller with a signal corresponding to an actual yaw angle of a vehicle;
a braking system adapted to brake selected wheels of a vehicle;
said controller configured to determine if a vehicle is in a rut based at least in part upon said expected vehicle yaw and said actual yaw angle, said controller providing a braking signal to brake wheels on a first side of a vehicle more than on a second side to generate a yaw torque tending to increase said actual yaw angle and thereby facilitate exiting of a rut.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle control system adapted to facilitate exiting of ruts includes an active steering system having a steerable wheel defining a steering angle. The active steering system also includes a steering wheel providing a driver input control angle, the active steering system further including a coupler component, an actuator component, a controller component, and a sensor component. The components of the active steering system are operably interconnected such that the controller component can selectively vary the steering angle relative to the driver input control angle. The steering angle defines an expected vehicle yaw when the steerable wheel is not slipping on a contact surface such as a road surface. The sensor component is configured to provide the controller with a signal corresponding to an actual yaw angle of a vehicle. The vehicle control system also includes a braking system adapted to brake selected wheels of a vehicle. The controller is configured to determine if a vehicle is in a rut based at least in part upon the expected vehicle yaw and the actual yaw angle. The controller provides the braking signal to brake wheels on a first side of a vehicle more than on a second side to generate a yaw torque tending to increase the actual yaw angle and thereby facilitate exiting of a rut.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A vehicle control system adapted to facilitate exiting of ruts, comprising:
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an active steering system including a steerable wheel defining a steering angle and a steering wheel providing a driver input control angle, said active steering system further including a coupler component, an actuator component, a controller component, and a sensor component, said components operably interconnected such that said controller component can selectively vary said steering angle relative to said driver input control angle, said steering angle defining an expected vehicle yaw when said steerable wheel is not slipping on a contact surface;
said sensor component configured to provide said controller with a signal corresponding to an actual yaw angle of a vehicle;
a braking system adapted to brake selected wheels of a vehicle;
said controller configured to determine if a vehicle is in a rut based at least in part upon said expected vehicle yaw and said actual yaw angle, said controller providing a braking signal to brake wheels on a first side of a vehicle more than on a second side to generate a yaw torque tending to increase said actual yaw angle and thereby facilitate exiting of a rut. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A vehicle control system, comprising:
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at least one vehicle control device that can be manually manipulated by a driver to vary a vehicle control parameter;
a controller that selectively varies at least one vehicle control parameter to provide a yaw moment acting on the vehicle tending to displace the vehicle in a yaw sense;
said controller determining if the vehicle is in a rut by comparing the driver'"'"'s desired direction of travel to the vehicle'"'"'s actual direction of travel; and
said controller includes a rut exiting function including varying said at least one vehicle control parameter to provide a yaw moment tending to displace the vehicle in a yaw sense in the driver'"'"'s desired direction of travel to thereby facilitate exit of the rut. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A motor vehicle, comprising:
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a chassis, a powertrain, and a vehicle control system;
said chassis including at least one steerable wheel defining a steering angle;
said powertrain including an engine and a transmission coupled thereto;
said vehicle control system including a controller, an active steering system coupled to said controller, and a braking system that is also coupled to said controller;
said active steering system including a steerable wheel defining a steering angle and a steering wheel providing a driver input control angle, said active steering system further including a coupler component, an actuator component, a controller component, and a sensor component, said components of said active steering system operably interconnected such that said controller component can selectively vary said steering angle relative to said driver input control angle, said steering angle defining an expected vehicle yaw when said steerable wheel is not slipping;
said sensor component configured to provide said controller with a signal corresponding to an actual yaw angle of a vehicle;
said controller determining if said vehicle is in a rut and controlling said braking system and said active steering system to generate a yaw moment tending to displace said vehicle in a yaw sense to thereby enable said vehicle to exit a rut. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification