Electronic control system for vehicle and control method thereof

• US 20070265748A1
• Filed: 03/09/2007
• Published: 11/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HL Mando Corporation (Halla Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mando Corporation
• Inventors: Koo, Bon Gyeong
• Granted Patent: US 7,739,010 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 23/00 Devices for measuring, signalling, controlling, or distributing tyre pressure or temperature, specially adapted for mounting on vehicles; Arrangement of tyre inflating devices on vehicles, e.g. of pumps or of tanks; Tyre cooling arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2260/06 Active Suspension System
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/171 Detecting parameters used in the regulation; Measuring values used in the regulation
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/1755 Brake regulation specially adapted to control the stability of the vehicle, e.g. taking into account yaw rate or transverse acceleration in a curve road vehicle drive control systems for control of driving stability otherwise than by controlling a particular sub-unit B60W30/02
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/184 with wheel brakes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/22 including control of suspension systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0004 In digital systems, e.g. discrete-time systems involving sampling
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/02 Control of vehicle driving stability

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electronic control system for a vehicle and a control method thereof, wherein communication is made between a main controller and at least one local controller to control a brake apparatus and a suspension apparatus in consideration of information of the controllers, thereby further improving and activating unique features of the respective controllers as well as simplifying the system. An embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic control system for a vehicle having a main controller for receiving vehicle information and creating and outputting a brake control signal and a suspension control signal for a vehicle; at least one local controller for controlling a damper of each wheel according to the suspension control signal outputted from the main controller; and an interface unit for performing data communication between the main controller and the local controller.

Claims

1. An electronic control system for a vehicle including a brake apparatus and a suspension apparatus, the electronic control system comprising:

a main controller for receiving vehicle information and creating and outputting a brake control signal and a suspension control signal for the vehicle;

at least one local controller for controlling a damper of each wheel according to the suspension control signal outputted from the main controller; and

an interface unit for performing data communication between the main controller and the local controller.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main controller receives vehicle information sensed by a steering angle sensor, a yaw-rate sensor, a lateral acceleration sensor and a brake pressure sensor, and the local controller receives wheel information of the vehicle sensed by a wheel speed sensor and a tire pressure sensor.

3. The system as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

a display unit for displaying the vehicle information thereon,

wherein the main controller receives tire pressure information from the local controller connected to the tire pressure sensor and causes the tire pressure information to be displayed on the display unit.

4. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the local controller transmits wheel speed information sensed by the wheel speed sensor to the main controller through the interface unit.

5. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the main controller sends the local controller a damper control amount determined by using state information of the vehicle received from a variety of sensors of the vehicle and/or the wheel information of the vehicle received from the local controller, and the local controller controls the damper according to the damper control amount received from the main controller.

6. A control method of an electronic control system for a vehicle including a brake apparatus and a suspension apparatus, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving state information of the vehicle from a sensor connected to a main controller and wheel information of the vehicle from a sensor connected to a local controller; and

creating and outputting a brake control signal and a suspension control signal for the vehicle based on the received vehicle information.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising the step of:

receiving tire pressure information from the local controller connected to a tire pressure sensor and causing the tire pressure information to be displayed.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the local controller receives the outputted suspension control signal and controls a damper of each wheel.