SYSTEM AND METHOD OF VEHICLE SYSTEM CONTROL

• US 20160082987A1
• Filed: 12/09/2015
• Published: 03/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Global Sourcing LLC (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Pulliam, David Bradley, Kumar, Ajith Kuttannair, Worden, Bret Dwayne, McGarry, Jeremy Thomas, Ruybal, Kevin Ray
• Granted Patent: US 9,751,542 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/003 to auxiliary motors, e.g. for pumps, compressors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 1/14 to electric lighting circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 13/00 Electric propulsion for monorail vehicles, suspension vehicles or rack railways; Magnetic suspension or levitation for vehicles tracks for Maglev-type trains E01B25/30; electromagnets per se H01F7/06; linear motors per se H02K41/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/20 for control of the vehicle or its driving motor to achieve a desired performance, e.g. speed, torque, programmed variation of speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/2009 for braking
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/2045 for optimising the use of energy
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/32 Waterborne vessels
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/36 Vehicles designed to transport cargo, e.g. trucks
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2220/42 with use of more than one motor
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/12 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/421 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/423 Torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/461 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/463 Torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/465 Slip
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/622 by satellite navigation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/647 Surface situation of road, e.g. type of paving
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/00 : Driver interactions
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/10 : by alarm
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/12 : by confirmation, e.g. of the input
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/28 : Four wheel or all wheel drive
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/44 : by parameter estimation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/106 : for maintaining or recovering the adhesion of the drive wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/108 : whilst braking, i.e. ABS
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/51 : characterised by AC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: B61C 3/00 : Electric locomotives or railcars characterised by power transmission B61C9/00; electrical features B60L; H02
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/00 : Indicators provided on the vehicle or train for signalling purposes
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 2201/00 : Control methods
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 : Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

A method for controlling a vehicle system includes determining a vehicle reference speed using an off-board-based input speed and an onboard-based input speed. The off-board-based input speed is representative of a moving speed of the vehicle system and is determined from data received from an off-board device. The onboard-based input speed is representative of the moving speed of the vehicle system and is determined from data obtained from an onboard device. The method includes using the vehicle reference speed to at least one of measure wheel creep for one or more wheels of the vehicle system or control at least one of torques applied by or rotational speeds of one or more motors of the vehicle system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining an onboard-based input speed and an off-board-based input speed of a vehicle system; and

controlling a torque of at least a first axle of the vehicle system based at least in part on a throttle setting of the vehicle system, the onboard-based input speed, and the off-board-based input speed.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a first vehicle reference speed of the vehicle system based on the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed, wherein the torque is controlled based at least in part on the throttle setting and the first vehicle reference speed.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the onboard-based input speed is obtained from output of a speed sensor measuring a speed at which at least one axle of the vehicle system rotates and the off-board-based input speed is wirelessly obtained from one or more sources disposed off-board the vehicle system.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising calculating a scale factor based on one or more differences between the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed and determining a wheel size of the vehicle system based on the scale factor and a previously measured wheel size.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling a torque of a second axle of the vehicle system based on the throttle setting and the onboard-based input speed of the vehicle system.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an uncertainty parameter of the off-board-based input speed, the uncertainty parameter representative of a potential inaccuracy of the off-board-based input speed and of a range of potential speeds of the vehicle system; and

modifying the off-board-based input speed using the onboard-based input speed responsive to determining that the onboard-based input speed is within the range of potential speeds represented by the uncertainty parameter.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the uncertainty parameter is determined based on the onboard-based input speed.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining wheel creep for one or more wheels of the vehicle system based at least in part on the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling a rotational speed of one or more motors of the vehicles system based at least in part on the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed.

10. A method comprising:

determining an off-board-based input speed of a vehicle system; and

in at least one mode of operation of the vehicle system, controlling respective torques of one or more axles of the vehicle system based on the off-board-based input speed and no other reference speed.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the off-board-based input speed is wirelessly obtained from one or more sources disposed off-board the vehicle system.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

obtaining an onboard-based input speed of the vehicle system;

determining an uncertainty parameter of the off-board-based input speed, the uncertainty parameter representative of a potential inaccuracy of the off-board-based input speed and of a range of potential speeds of the vehicle system; and

modifying the off-board-based input speed using the onboard-based input speed responsive to determining that the onboard-based input speed is within the range of potential speeds represented by the uncertainty parameter.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the uncertainty parameter is determined based on the onboard-based input speed.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising determining wheel creep for one or more wheels of the vehicle system based at least in part on the off-board-based input speed.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the wheel creep is determined based also on an onboard-based input speed of the vehicle system.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising controlling a rotational speed of one or more axles of the vehicles system based at least in part on the off-board-based input speed and based on an onboard-based input speed.

17. A system comprising:

one or more processors configured to obtain an onboard-based input speed and an off-board-based input speed of a vehicle system, the one or more processors also configured to control a torque of at least a first axle of the vehicle system based at least in part on a throttle setting of the vehicle system, the onboard-based input speed, and the off-board-based input speed.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors also are configured to determine a first vehicle reference speed of the vehicle system based on the onboard-based input speed and the off-board-based input speed, wherein the one or more processors are configured to control the torque based at least in part on the throttle setting and the first vehicle reference speed.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the onboard-based input speed from output of a speed sensor measuring a speed at which at least one axle of the vehicle system rotates, the one or more processors configured to wirelessly obtain the off-board-based input speed from one or more sources disposed off-board the vehicle system.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are configured to control a torque of a second axle of the vehicle system based on the throttle setting and the onboard-based input speed of the vehicle system.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine an uncertainty parameter of the off-board-based input speed, the uncertainty parameter representative of a potential inaccuracy of the off-board-based input speed and of a range of potential speeds of the vehicle system, the one or more processors also configured to modify the off-board-based input speed using the onboard-based input speed responsive to determining that the onboard-based input speed is within the range of potential speeds represented by the uncertainty parameter.