SENSOR ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD FOR EASY INSTALLATION INTO A VEHICLE

• US 20110197414A1
• Filed: 10/08/2009
• Published: 08/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Burghardt, Roland, Heimel, Jörg, Theobald, Dirk, Hilser, Roland, Schmid, Bernhard
• Application Number:
  US13/123,964
• Publication Number:
  US 20110197414A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 29/407.01
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/166 Mechanical, construction or arrangement details of inertial navigation systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 25/00 Manufacturing, calibrating, cleaning, or repairing instruments or devices referred to in the other groups of this subclass testing, calibrating or compensating compasses G01C17/38
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/18 in two or more dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 21/00 Testing or calibrating of apparatus or devices covered by the preceding groups
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49764 with testing or indicating
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 Assembling or joining

Abstract

A method for installing a sensor arrangement into a vehicle having a vehicle chassis, wherein the vehicle chassis is in a defined position during the installation, and the sensor arrangement is attached directly or indirectly to the vehicle chassis, wherein the sensor arrangement includes one or more acceleration sensors with three linearly independent measuring directions, and the sensor arrangement has an electronic control unit which is configured in such a way that it includes a sensor calibration mode, wherein, after the attachment of the sensor arrangement, the at least one acceleration sensor senses the gravitational acceleration, after which the electronic control unit in the sensor calibration mode calculates and stores one or more relative positioning parameters from at least the detected direction of the gravitational acceleration (g), which positioning parameters include at least information about the relative positioning between the sensor arrangement and the vehicle chassis.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A method for installing a sensor arrangement into a vehicle having a vehicle chassis, wherein the vehicle chassis is in a defined position during the installation, and the sensor arrangement is attached directly or indirectly to the vehicle chassis, wherein the sensor arrangement comprises one or more acceleration sensors with three linearly independent measuring directions, and the sensor arrangement has an electronic control unit which is configured in such a way that it comprises a sensor calibration mode, wherein, after the attachment of the sensor arrangement, the at least one acceleration sensor senses gravitational acceleration (g), after which the electronic control unit in the sensor calibration mode calculates and stores one or more relative positioning parameters from at least the detected direction of the gravitational acceleration (g), which positioning parameters comprise at least information about the relative positioning between the sensor arrangement and the vehicle chassis.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein during the installation of the sensor arrangement and/or during the sensor calibration mode, the vehicle chassis is oriented with a floor plane of the vehicle chassis and/or with a positioning plane on which the vehicle chassis is directly or indirectly positioned, substantially perpendicularly or at a defined angle with respect to the direction of the gravitational acceleration (g).

13. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the sensor arrangement comprises one or more rotational speed sensors, for the operation of which one or more calibration values, which are dependent on the at least one relative positioning parameter, are calculated and/or stored in the sensor calibration mode.

14. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the electronic control unit and/or the sensors are/is part of a motor vehicle control system.

15. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the electronic control unit and/or the sensors are/is part of an electronic motor vehicle braking system.

16. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the installation of the sensor arrangement in the vehicle is carried out (i) during a mounting process of the vehicle before termination of production of the corresponding vehicle, (ii) in the course of repair or maintenance of the sensor arrangement, or (iii) in the course of replacement of the sensor arrangement.

17. A sensor arrangement for simple installation in a vehicle with a vehicle chassis, according to the method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the sensor arrangement comprises one or more acceleration sensors with three linearly independent measuring directions and an electronic control unit, wherein the electronic control unit is configured in such a way that it comprises a sensor calibration mode in which the gravitational acceleration is detected by the at least one acceleration sensor, after which one or more relative positioning parameters, which comprise at least one information item about relative positioning between the sensor arrangement and the vehicle chassis, are calculated and stored on a basis of at least the detected direction of the gravitational acceleration.

18. The sensor arrangement as claimed in claim 17, wherein the electronic control unit is configured in such a way that coordinates and/or position information of at least one attachment point and/or one attachment axis (a_n), to which the sensor arrangement is attached within the vehicle chassis, are stored in said electronic control unit, and in that the coordinates and/or the position information are/is used to directly or indirectly calculate the relative positioning parameters within a scope of the sensor calibration mode.

19. The sensor arrangement as claimed in claim 17, wherein the sensor arrangement comprises one or more rotational speed sensors, and the electronic control unit is configured in such a way that one or more calibration values, which are dependent on the at least one relative positioning parameter, are stored for operation of the at least one rotational speed sensor in the sensor calibration mode.

20. The sensor arrangement as claimed in claim 17, wherein the electronic control unit and/or the sensors is/are part of a motor vehicle control system.

21. The sensor arrangement as claimed in claim 17, wherein the electronic control unit and/or the sensors is/are part of an electronic motor vehicle braking system.

22. The use of the sensor arrangement as claimed in claim 17 in a motor vehicle, a passenger car, a passenger truck, an aircraft, a boat, a ship or a rail vehicle.