SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING A STEERING ANGLE FOR A VEHICLE AND SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A VEHICLE BASED ON SAME
First Claim
1. A system for determining an angular position of a steerable wheel of a vehicle having a plurality of wheels comprising:
- a relative position steering angle sensor configured to output data indicative of a change in position of the steerable wheel;
a yaw rate sensor configured to output data indicative of an angular velocity of the vehicle about a vertical axis of the vehicle;
a lateral acceleration sensor configured to output data indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle in a substantially transverse direction of the vehicle;
a plurality of wheel speed sensors, wherein each wheel speed sensor is configured to output data indicative of a rotational velocity of a respective one of the plurality of wheels; and
a controller in electrical communication with each of the plurality of wheel speed sensors, the lateral acceleration sensor, and the yaw rate sensor, and the controller is configured tocompare a first data set and a second data set to respective straight path conditions, wherein the first data set includes data from the yaw rate sensor and data from the lateral acceleration sensor and the second data set includes data from the plurality of wheel speed sensors,determine a substantially straight path of travel condition when the comparison of at least one of the first data set and the second data set satisfies the respective straight path conditions, andassociate data acquired from the steering angle sensor with a neutral position when the controller determines the substantially straight path of travel condition.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for determining an angular position of a steerable wheel of a vehicle can include a plurality of sensors and a controller in electrical communication with each of these sensors. The controller can be configured to compare a first data set and a second data set to respective straight path conditions, wherein the first data set includes data from a first set of the sensors and the second data includes data from a second set of the sensors. The controller can be configured to determine a substantially straight path of travel condition when the comparison of at least one of the first data set and the second data set satisfies the respective straight path conditions, and can then associate that data acquired from the steering angle sensor(s) with a neutral position.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A system for determining an angular position of a steerable wheel of a vehicle having a plurality of wheels comprising:
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a relative position steering angle sensor configured to output data indicative of a change in position of the steerable wheel; a yaw rate sensor configured to output data indicative of an angular velocity of the vehicle about a vertical axis of the vehicle; a lateral acceleration sensor configured to output data indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle in a substantially transverse direction of the vehicle; a plurality of wheel speed sensors, wherein each wheel speed sensor is configured to output data indicative of a rotational velocity of a respective one of the plurality of wheels; and a controller in electrical communication with each of the plurality of wheel speed sensors, the lateral acceleration sensor, and the yaw rate sensor, and the controller is configured to compare a first data set and a second data set to respective straight path conditions, wherein the first data set includes data from the yaw rate sensor and data from the lateral acceleration sensor and the second data set includes data from the plurality of wheel speed sensors, determine a substantially straight path of travel condition when the comparison of at least one of the first data set and the second data set satisfies the respective straight path conditions, and associate data acquired from the steering angle sensor with a neutral position when the controller determines the substantially straight path of travel condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for determining a steering angle of a steerable wheel of a vehicle having a plurality of wheels comprising:
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comparing a first data set and a second data set to respective straight path conditions, wherein the first data set includes data from a yaw rate sensor and data from a lateral acceleration sensor and the second data set includes data from a plurality of wheel speed sensors; determining a substantially straight path of travel condition when the comparison of at least one of the first data set and the second data set satisfies the respective straight path conditions; and associating data acquired from a steering angle sensor with a neutral position when the controller determines the substantially straight path of travel condition. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A control system for an all-wheel drive powertrain of a vehicle having a power source configured to produce torque, a steerable pair of wheels configured to be driven by the torque, and a second pair of wheels configured to be selectively driven by the torque, the control system comprising:
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a first clutch assembly selectively connecting a first wheel of the second pair of wheels to the power source; and a second clutch assembly selectively connecting a second wheel of the second pair of wheels to the power source; a yaw rate sensor configured to output data representative of an angular velocity of the vehicle about a vertical axis of the vehicle; a lateral acceleration sensor configured to output data indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle in a substantially transverse direction of the vehicle; a plurality of wheel speed sensors, wherein each wheel speed sensor is configured to output data indicative of a rotational velocity of a respective one of the plurality of wheels; and a controller in electrical communication with each of the sensors and the first and second clutch assemblies and configured to determine a neutral position for the steering angle sensor, determine an estimated steering angle until the controller determines the neutral position, modulate the clutches according to the data from the steering angle sensor after the controller determines neutral position, and modulate the clutches according to the estimated steering angle until the controller determines the neutral position. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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28. A method for controlling an on-demand all-wheel drive system of a vehicle to supplement an operator'"'"'s input to the vehicle comprising:
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providing a power source, a pair of steerable wheels driven by the power source, a pair of rear wheels selectively driven by the power source, a pair of rear clutch assemblies selectively connecting a respective one of the pair of rear wheels to the power source, a yaw rate sensor configured to output data representative of an angular velocity of the vehicle about a vertical axis of the vehicle, a lateral acceleration sensor configured to output data indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle in a substantially transverse direction of the vehicle, and a plurality of wheel speed sensors configured to output data representative of a rotational speed of a respective one of the pair of steerable wheels and the pair of rear wheels, and a steering angle sensor configured to output data related to change in steering angle; determining a neutral position for the steering angle sensor; determining an estimated steering angle until the neutral position is determined; modulating the clutches according to the data from the steering angle sensor after the neutral position is determined; and modulating the clutches according to the estimated steering angle until the neutral position is determined. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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Specification