METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR OPTIMIZING VEHICLE RIDE USING ROAD PREVIEW

• US 20170240018A1
• Filed: 02/19/2016
• Published: 08/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: METTRICK, CHRISTOPHER J., PATEL, SHIV G., JAVID, FAHIM, OBEROI, DHRUV, AGRAWAL, ANKUR
• Granted Patent: US 9,902,229 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/0165 to an external condition, e.g. rough road surface, side wind
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/0182 involving parameter estimation, e.g. observer, Kalman filter
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2204/62 Adjustable continuously, e.g. during driving
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/82 Ground surface
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/821 Uneven, rough road sensing affecting vehicle body vibration
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2401/21 Laser
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/187 Digital Controller Details and Signal Treatment
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/01 Attitude or posture control
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/162 Reducing road induced vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/87 System configuration based on vehicle type or model
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0891 specially adapted for land vehicles

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for controlling a suspension system of a vehicle. In one embodiment, the method includes: receiving, by a processor, sensor data indicative of conditions of a roadway in a path of the vehicle; determining, by a processor, a continuous road profile based on the sensor data; and selectively controlling, by a processor, at least one suspension element of the vehicle based on the continuous road profile.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a suspension system of a vehicle, comprising:

receiving, by a processor, sensor data indicative of conditions of a roadway in a path of the vehicle;

determining, by a processor, a continuous road profile based on the sensor data; and

selectively controlling, by a processor, at least one suspension element of the vehicle based on the continuous road profile.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining at least one predicted vehicle motion response to the continuous road profile, and wherein the selectively controlling is based on the at least one predicted vehicle motion response.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining the at least one predicted vehicle motion response is based on the continuous road profile and a state space model of the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one predicted vehicle motion response is associated with at least one of roll, pitch, heave, roll rates, pitch rates, heave rates, roll acceleration, heave acceleration, pitch acceleration, suspension travel, suspension velocity, suspension acceleration, and tire force.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining an indicator based on the at least one predicted vehicle motion response; and

determining a control value based on the indicator.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the determining the indicator is based on at least one of a maximum and a minimum of the at least one predicted vehicle motion response.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

selectively setting initial conditions associated with the at least one predicted vehicle motion response; and

wherein the determining the at least one predicted vehicle motion response is based on the initial conditions.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the selectively setting the initial conditions comprises setting the initial conditions to a default number when the road profile indicates a substantially flat roadway.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the selectively setting the initial conditions comprises setting the initial conditions to at least one previous vehicle motion response when the road profile indicates one or more elevation changes.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the continuous road profile includes a plurality of data points representing elevation values of a surface of the roadway in the upcoming path of the vehicle.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the determining the continuous road profile is based on at least one of a combining method, an averaging method, a filtering method, and a time correction method associated with the plurality of data points.

12. A system for controlling a suspension system of a vehicle, comprising:

at least one sensor that generates sensor signals based on conditions of a roadway in a path of the vehicle; and

a control module that receives the sensor signals, that determines a continuous road profile based on the sensor signals, and that selectively controls at least one suspension element of the vehicle based on the continuous road profile.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the control module determines at least one predicted vehicle motion response to the continuous road profile, and selectively controls the at least one suspension element based on the at least one predicted vehicle motion response.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the control module determines the at least one predicted vehicle motion response based on the continuous road profile and a state space model of the vehicle.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one predicted vehicle motion response is associated with at least one of roll, pitch, heave, roll rates, pitch rates, heave rates, roll acceleration, heave acceleration, pitch acceleration, suspension travel, suspension velocity, and suspension acceleration.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the control module determines an indicator based on the at least one predicted vehicle motion response, and determines a control value based on the indicator.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the control module determines the indicator based on at least one of a maximum and a minimum of the at least one predicted vehicle motion response.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the control module selectively sets initial conditions associated with the at least one predicted vehicle motion response and determines the at least one predicted vehicle motion response based on the initial conditions.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the control module selectively sets the initial conditions by setting the initial conditions to a default number when the continuous road profile indicates a substantially flat roadway.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the control module selectively sets the initial conditions by setting the initial conditions to at least one previous vehicle motion response when the continuous road profile indicates one or more elevation changes.

21. The system of claim 12, wherein the continuous road profile includes a plurality of data points representing elevation values of a surface of the roadway in the upcoming path of the vehicle.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the determining the continuous road profile is based on at least one of a combining method, a filtering method, a time correction method, and an averaging method associated with the plurality of data points.