BRAKING CONTROLLER AND METHOD USING VERIFICATION OF REPORTED TRAILER CAPABILITIES

• US 20190084537A1
• Filed: 09/15/2017
• Published: 03/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (Estate of Heinz Hermann Thiele)
• Original Assignee: Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (Estate of Heinz Hermann Thiele)
• Inventors: Kasper, Phillip J., Tober, Michael D., Beyer, Claus, Macnamara, Joseph M., Sasmal, Subashish
• Granted Patent: US 10,525,950 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/00 Particular use of vehicle brake systems; Special systems using also the brakes; Special software modules within the brake system controller
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/20 specially for trailers, e.g. in case of uncoupling of or overrunning by trailer inertia-actuated overrun brakes B60T13/08
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/1708 for lorries or tractor-trailer combinations
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/17551 determining control parameters related to vehicle stability used in the regulation, e.g. by calculations involving measured or detected parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/28 responsive to deceleration B60T8/261, B60T8/262, B60T8/266 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/22 Platooning, i.e. convoy of communicating vehicles

Abstract

A braking controller and method in a towing vehicle towing one or more towed vehicles as a combination vehicle provides brake control of the one or more towed vehicles based on a level of braking force applied to the towing vehicle. A non-enhanced braking mode applies a first level of braking force to the towed vehicles in a predetermined reduced proportion relative to the level of braking force applied to the towing vehicle, and an enhanced braking mode applies a second level of braking force to the towed vehicles greater than the first level of braking force. The enhanced braking mode strategy is used unless trailer capability information reported by one or more the trailers fails to match against expected trailer capability information.

Claims

1. A braking controller for use in an associated towing vehicle towing one or more towed vehicles as a combination vehicle, the braking controller comprising:

a processor;

a controller manual configuration input operatively coupled with the processor, the controller manual configuration input receiving a manual combination vehicle configuration signal provided by an associated operator of the associated towing vehicle, the manual combination vehicle configuration signal comprising first combination vehicle configuration data representative of first combination vehicle configuration information;

a controller automatic configuration input operatively coupled with the processor, the controller automatic configuration input receiving an automatic combination vehicle configuration signal provided by the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle, the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal comprising second combination vehicle configuration data representative of second combination vehicle configuration information;

a non-transient memory device operatively coupled with the processor, the non-transient memory device storing the first and second combination vehicle configuration data; and

control logic stored in the non-transient memory device and executable by the processor to;

perform a comparison between the first combination vehicle configuration data and the second combination vehicle configuration data to determine a comparison result between the first combination vehicle configuration data and the second combination vehicle configuration data; and

determine a braking mode of the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle as a one of an enhanced braking mode in accordance with a first result of the comparison or a non-enhanced braking mode in accordance with a second result of the comparison different than the first result of the comparison,

wherein the non-enhanced braking mode applies a first level of braking force to the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle in a predetermined reduced proportion relative to a commanded level of braking force applied to the towing vehicle of the combination vehicle,

wherein the enhanced braking mode applies a second level of braking force to the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle greater than the first level of braking force.

2. The braking controller according to claim 1, further comprising:

a controller deceleration command input operatively coupled with the processor, the controller deceleration command input receiving a deceleration command signal comprising deceleration command data representative of a level of deceleration commanded to be achieved by the combination vehicle,

wherein the control logic is operable to, responsive to receiving the deceleration command signal;

selectively generate, based on the first result of the comparison between the first and second combination vehicle configuration data, a first brake control transmission signal to effect the deceleration command level in accordance with the non-enhanced braking mode of operation; and

selectively generate, based on the second result of the comparison between the first and second combination vehicle configuration data, a second brake control transmission signal to effect the deceleration command level in accordance with the enhanced braking mode of operation.

3. The braking controller according to claim 2, further comprising:

a controller brake signal output operatively coupled with the processor, the controller brake signal output selectively transmitting a one of the first brake control transmission signal or the second brake control transmission signal to the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle.

4. The braking controller according to claim 1, wherein:

the controller manual configuration input receives from the associated operator the manual combination vehicle configuration signal comprising the first combination vehicle configuration data representative of a first quantity of towed vehicles comprising the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle;

the controller automatic configuration input receives from the one or more towed vehicles the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal comprising the second combination vehicle configuration data representative of a second quantity of towed vehicles comprising the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle; and

the control logic is executable by the processor to;

compare the first quantity of towed vehicles of the first combination vehicle configuration data with the second quantity of towed vehicles of the second combination vehicle configuration data;

selectively determine the non-enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with a mismatching result of the comparison between the first and second quantities of towed vehicles; and

selectively determine the enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with a matching result of the comparison between the first and second quantities of towed vehicles.

5. The braking controller according to claim 4, wherein:

the controller automatic configuration input receives the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal comprising one or more towed vehicle identification data representative of one or more unique identification values of the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle; and

the control logic is executable by the processor to;

determine, from the one or more unique identification values, valid identification values as a second quantity of towed vehicles comprising the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle;

compare the first quantity of towed vehicles of the first combination vehicle configuration data with the second quantity of towed vehicles of the second combination vehicle configuration data;

selectively determine the non-enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with a mismatching result of the comparison between the first and second quantities of towed vehicles; and

selectively determine the enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with a matching result of the comparison between the first and second quantities of towed vehicles.

6. The braking controller according to claim 4, wherein:

the controller automatic configuration input comprises a communication circuit receiving the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal at a first message rate; and

the control logic is executable by the processor to;

determine, from the first message rate, a second quantity of towed vehicles comprising the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle;

compare the first quantity of towed vehicles of the first combination vehicle configuration data with the second quantity of towed vehicles of the second combination vehicle configuration data;

selectively determine the non-enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with a mismatching result of the comparison between the first and second quantities of towed vehicles; and

selectively determine the enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with a matching result of the comparison between the first and second quantities of towed vehicles.

7. The braking controller according to claim 6, wherein:

the communication circuit comprises one or more of a power line communication (PLC) circuit, an Ethernet network communication circuit, and/or a controller area network (CAN) communication circuit receiving the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal at the first message rate.

8. The braking controller according to claim 6, wherein:

the communication circuit comprises a wireless communication circuit wirelessly receiving the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal at the first message rate, the wireless communication circuit comprising one or more of;

a wireless networking WiFi communication circuit;

a wireless Bluetooth communication circuit;

a wireless dedicated short range communications (DSRC) communication circuit;

an LDP433 communication circuit;

a radio frequency (RF) communication circuit;

a wireless cellular communication circuit; and

/or

a wireless satellite communication circuit.

9. The braking controller according to claim 4, wherein:

the controller automatic configuration input comprises a communication circuit configured to receive the automatic configuration signal as one or more J2497 Standard signals corresponding to the one or more towed vehicles, the one or more J2497 Standard signals comprising one or more J2497 address claims made to one or more address identifiers by the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle; and

the control logic is executable by the processor to;

determine a count of one or more claimed J2497 addresses;

determine, from the count of the one or more address identifiers, a second quantity of towed vehicles comprising the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle;

compare the first quantity of towed vehicles of the first combination vehicle configuration data with the second quantity of towed vehicles of the second combination vehicle configuration data;

selectively determine the non-enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with a mismatching result of the comparison between the first and second quantities of towed vehicles; and

selectively determine the enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with a matching result of the comparison between the first and second quantities of towed vehicles.

10. The braking controller according to claim 1, wherein:

the non-transient memory device stores towed vehicle expected health data as the first combination vehicle configuration data, the towed vehicle expected health data being representative of a predetermined functional operability threshold value needed for participation by the one or more towed vehicles in the enhanced braking mode;

the controller automatic configuration input receives from the one or more towed vehicles the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal comprising the second combination vehicle configuration data as automatic towed vehicle health data representative of one or more functional operability values of the one or more towed vehicles comprising the combination vehicle; and

the control logic is executable by the processor to;

compare the automatic towed vehicle health data with the towed vehicle expected health data;

selectively determine the non-enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with a functional operability value of any of the one or more towed vehicles comprising the combination vehicle being less than the predetermined functional operability threshold value; and

selectively determine the enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with the functional operability value of all of the one or more towed vehicles comprising the combination vehicle being the same or greater than the predetermined functional operability threshold value.

11. The braking controller according to claim 10, wherein:

the non-transient memory device stores towed vehicle expected anti-lock braking system (ABS) health data as the towed vehicle expected health data, the towed vehicle expected ABS health data being representative of a predetermined functional ABS operability threshold value needed for participation by the one or more towed vehicles in the enhanced braking mode;

the controller automatic configuration input receives from the one or more towed vehicles the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal comprising the second combination vehicle configuration data as automatic towed vehicle ABS health data representative of one or more functional ABS operability values of the one or more towed vehicles comprising the combination vehicle; and

the control logic is executable by the processor to;

compare the automatic towed vehicle ABS health data with the towed vehicle expected ABS health data;

selectively determine the non-enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with a functional ABS operability value of any of the one or more towed vehicles comprising the combination vehicle being less than the predetermined functional ABS operability threshold value; and

selectively determine the enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with the functional ABS operability value of all of the one or more towed vehicles comprising the combination vehicle being the same or greater than the predetermined functional ABS operability threshold value.

12. The braking controller according to claim 1, wherein:

the non-transient memory device stores first equipment capabilities data as the first combination vehicle configuration data, the first equipment capabilities data being representative of a predetermined equipment capability threshold value needed for participation by the one or more towed vehicles in the enhanced braking mode;

the controller automatic configuration input receives from the one or more towed vehicles the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal comprising the second combination vehicle configuration data as automatic equipment capabilities data representative of one or more equipment capability values of the one or more towed vehicles comprising the combination vehicle; and

the control logic is executable by the processor to;

compare the first equipment capabilities data with the automatic equipment capabilities data;

selectively determine the non-enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with an equipment capability value of any of the one or more towed vehicles comprising the combination vehicle being less than the predetermined equipment capability threshold value; and

selectively determine the enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with the equipment capability value of all of the one or more towed vehicles comprising the combination vehicle being the same or greater than the predetermined equipment capability threshold value.

13. The braking controller according to claim 12, wherein:

the control logic is executable by the processor to compare the first and second equipment capabilities parameters comprising one or more of;

a number of axles among the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle;

a towed vehicle load among the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle;

an axle load among the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle;

a number of wheel ends among the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle;

a number of wheel speed sensors among the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle; and

/or

a number of brake modulators among the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle.

14. The braking controller according to claim 1, wherein:

the controller automatic configuration input comprises a wireless communication circuit configured to receive the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal as one or more wireless signals corresponding to the one or more towed vehicles.

15. The braking controller according to claim 14, wherein:

the wireless communication circuit comprises one or more of;

a wireless networking WiFi communication circuit;

a wireless Bluetooth communication circuit;

a wireless dedicated short range communications (DSRC) communication circuit;

an LDP433 communication circuit;

a radio frequency (RF) communication circuit;

a wireless cellular communication circuit; and

/or

a wireless satellite communication circuit.

16. The braking controller according to claim 1, wherein:

the controller automatic configuration input comprises a wired communication circuit configured to receive the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal as one or more wired signals corresponding to the one or more towed vehicles.

17. The braking controller according to claim 16, wherein:

the wired communication circuit comprises one or more of;

a wired power line communication (PLC) communication circuit;

an Ethernet network communication circuit, and/or

a wired controller area network (CAN) communication circuit.

18. The braking controller according to claim 1, further comprising:

an intermediate controller in operative communication with the controller automatic configuration input and with an associated anti-lock braking system (ABS) controller, the intermediate controller being operative to receive a braking capability signal from the associated ABS controller and to deliver the braking capability signal to the controller automatic configuration input as the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal, the braking capability signal comprising towed vehicle configuration data representative of configuration information of the one or more towed vehicles.

19. The braking controller according to claim 18, wherein:

the intermediate controller comprises a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) controller in operative communication with the controller automatic configuration input and with the associated ABS controller, the TPMS controller receiving the braking capability signal from the associated ABS controller and delivering the braking capability signal to the controller automatic configuration input as the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal.

20. The braking controller according to claim 1, wherein:

the controller manual configuration input comprises a human interface circuit operatively coupled with the processor, the human interface circuit receiving, from the associated operator of the associated towing vehicle, the manual combination vehicle configuration signal comprising the first combination vehicle configuration data representative of the first combination vehicle configuration information.

21. The braking controller according to claim 20, wherein:

the human interface circuit comprises one or more of;

a touch screen disposed in the towing vehicle of the combination vehicle;

a dashboard console disposed in the towing vehicle of the combination vehicle;

a headliner console disposed in the towing vehicle of the combination vehicle; and

/or

a cellular phone interface disposed in the towing vehicle of the combination vehicle.

22. The braking controller according to claim 1, wherein:

the controller automatic configuration input comprises a communication circuit configured to transmit a request signal to the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle, and to receive the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal from the one or more towed vehicles responsive to the request signal as one or more automatic combination vehicle configuration signals comprising the second combination vehicle configuration data representative of the second combination vehicle configuration information provided by the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle.

23. The braking controller according to claim 1, wherein:

the controller manual configuration input receives the manual combination vehicle configuration signal comprising the first combination vehicle configuration data representative of the first combination vehicle configuration information;

the controller automatic configuration input receives the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal as a null automatic combination vehicle configuration signal without the second combination vehicle configuration data representative of the second configuration information; and

the control logic is executable by the processor to determine the non-enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with the controller automatic configuration input receiving the null automatic combination vehicle configuration signal.

24. The braking controller according to claim 1, wherein the control logic stored in the non-transient memory device is executable by the processor to determine one or more platooning operational parameters of the combination vehicle in accordance with the determined braking mode of the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle,

wherein the control logic determines a platooning following distance to be maintained by the towing vehicle relative to an associated vehicle forward of the towing vehicle as a one or more of the platooning operational parameters in accordance with the determined braking mode by increasing the platooning following distance responsive to the non-enhanced braking mode being determined and by decreasing the platooning following distance responsive to the enhanced braking mode being determined,

wherein the control logic determines a platooning travel speed limit to be maintained by the towing vehicle as a one or more of the platooning operational parameters in accordance with the determined braking mode by decreasing the platooning travel speed responsive to the non-enhanced braking mode being determined and by increasing the platooning travel speed responsive to the enhanced braking mode being determined,

wherein the control logic determines a platooning participation gate of the towing vehicle as a one or more of the platooning operational parameters in accordance with the determined braking mode by not permitting the platooning participation responsive to the non-enhanced braking mode being determined and by permitting the platooning participation responsive to the enhanced braking mode being determined.

25. The braking controller according to claim 1, further comprising:

a brake control output operatively coupled with the processor and with an associated brake control actuator of the towing vehicle configured to deliver brake pressure to the one or more towed vehicles in response to an actuator control signal delivered to the associated brake control actuator via the brake control output; and

wherein the control logic is operable to implement the enhanced braking mode of operation by controlling the actuator control signal to one or more of;

increase a high pulse time of a modulated brake pressure applied by the towing vehicle to the one or more towed vehicles via the associated brake control actuator;

decrease a low pulse time of the modulated brake pressure applied by the towing vehicle to the one or more towed vehicles via the associated brake control actuator; and

/or

increase values of one or more pulses of the modulated brake pressure applied by the towing vehicle to the one or more towed vehicles via the associated brake control actuator.

26. A braking controller for use in an associated towing vehicle towing one or more towed vehicles as a combination vehicle, the braking controller comprising:

processor means;

controller manual configuration input means operatively coupled with the processor means, the controller manual configuration input means receiving a manual combination vehicle configuration signal comprising first combination vehicle configuration data representative of first combination vehicle configuration information provided by an associated operator of the associated towing vehicle;

controller automatic configuration input means operatively coupled with the processor means, the controller automatic configuration input means receiving an automatic combination vehicle configuration signal comprising second combination vehicle configuration data representative of second combination vehicle configuration information provided by the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle;

memory means operatively coupled with the processor means, the memory means storing the first and second combination vehicle configuration data; and

control logic means operatively coupled with the memory means and executable by the processor means to;

perform a comparison between the first combination vehicle configuration data and the second combination vehicle configuration data to determine a comparison result between the first combination vehicle configuration data and the second combination vehicle configuration data; and

determine a braking mode of the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle as a one of an enhanced braking mode in accordance with a first result of the comparison or a non-enhanced braking mode in accordance with a second result of the comparison different than the first result of the comparison,

wherein the non-enhanced braking mode applies a first level of braking force to the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle in a predetermined reduced proportion relative to a commanded level of braking force applied to the towing vehicle of the combination vehicle,

wherein the enhanced braking mode applies a second level of braking force to the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle greater than the first level of braking force.

27. The braking controller according to claim 26, wherein:

the controller manual configuration input means receives from the associated operator the manual combination vehicle configuration signal comprising the first combination vehicle configuration data representative of a first quantity of towed vehicles comprising the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle;

the controller automatic configuration input means receives from the one or more towed vehicles the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal comprising the second combination vehicle configuration data representative of a second quantity of towed vehicles comprising the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle; and

the control logic means is executable by the processor means to;

compare the first quantity of towed vehicles of the first combination vehicle configuration data with the second quantity of towed vehicles of the second combination vehicle configuration data;

selectively determine the non-enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with a mismatching result of the comparison between the first and second quantities of towed vehicles; and

selectively determine the enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with a matching result of the comparison between the first and second quantities of towed vehicles.

28. The braking controller according to claim 26, wherein:

the controller manual configuration input means comprises a human interface circuit means operatively coupled with the processor means, the human interface circuit means receiving, from the associated operator of the associated towing vehicle, the manual combination vehicle configuration signal comprising the first combination vehicle configuration data representative of the first combination vehicle configuration information.

29. The braking controller according to claim 28, wherein:

the controller automatic configuration input means comprises a wireless communication circuit means configured to receive the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal as one or more wireless signals corresponding to the one or more towed vehicles.

30. The braking controller according to claim 28, wherein:

the controller automatic configuration input comprises a wired communication circuit configured to receive the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal as one or more wired signals corresponding to the one or more towed vehicles.

31. A braking control method for use with an associated towing vehicle towing one or more towed vehicles as a combination vehicle, the braking control method comprising:

receiving at a controller manual configuration input operatively coupled with a processor, a manual combination vehicle configuration signal provided by an associated operator of the associated towing vehicle, the manual combination vehicle configuration signal comprising first combination vehicle configuration data representative of first combination vehicle configuration information;

receiving at a controller automatic configuration input operatively coupled with the processor, an automatic combination vehicle configuration signal provided by the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle, the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal comprising second combination vehicle configuration data representative of second combination vehicle configuration information;

storing the first and second combination vehicle configuration data in a memory operatively coupled with the processor; and

performing, by control logic operatively coupled with the memory and executable by the processor, a comparison between the first combination vehicle configuration data and the second combination vehicle configuration data to determine a comparison result between the first combination vehicle configuration data and the second combination vehicle configuration data; and

determining by the control logic a braking mode of the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle as a one of an enhanced braking mode in accordance with a first result of the comparison or a non-enhanced braking mode in accordance with a second result of the comparison different than the first result of the comparison,

wherein the non-enhanced braking mode applies a first level of braking force to the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle in a predetermined reduced proportion relative to a commanded level of braking force applied to the towing vehicle of the combination vehicle,

wherein the enhanced braking mode applies a second level of braking force to the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle greater than the first level of braking force.

32. The method according to claim 31, further comprising:

receiving by the controller manual configuration input the manual combination vehicle configuration signal comprising the first combination vehicle configuration data representative of a first quantity of towed vehicles comprising the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle;

receiving by the controller automatic configuration input the automatic combination vehicle configuration signal comprising the second combination vehicle configuration data representative of a second quantity of towed vehicles comprising the one or more towed vehicles of the combination vehicle;

comparing, by the control logic, the first quantity of towed vehicles of the first combination vehicle configuration data with the second quantity of towed vehicles of the second combination vehicle configuration data;

selectively determining by the control logic the non-enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with a mismatching result of the comparison between the first and second quantities of towed vehicles; and

selectively determining by the control logic the enhanced braking mode of operation in accordance with a matching result of the comparison between the first and second quantities of towed vehicles.