Vehicle inertia and center of gravity estimator
First Claim
1. A system for estimating vehicle conditions for a vehicle having mass and being capable of acceleration, the vehicle including a proportioning valve and brakes, the system comprising:
- means responsive to the acceleration of the vehicle for providing a displacement reading;
means responsive to the mass of the vehicle for providing a measure of the mass of the vehicle;
means responsive to rotation of the vehicle for providing a measure of pitch moment of inertia of the vehicle;
means for estimating a center of gravity of the vehicle based on said displacement reading, said mass, and said pitch moment of inertia; and
means, responsive to said center of gravity estimate, for adjusting said proportioning valve of the vehicle to optimally control brake pressure of said brakes.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle inertia and center of gravity estimator uses averaged displacement measurements to estimate changes in vehicle body mass, vehicle center of gravity location, and vehicle pitch moment of inertia, due to variations in fuel load, passenger load, and cargo load. The system is responsive to the acceleration of the vehicle for providing displacement readings, the mass of the vehicle, and the rotation of the vehicle to optimally adjust vehicle parameters. Variables used in estimating vehicle conditions include vehicle vertical displacement, vehicle ride height, vehicle mass, vehicle pitch moment of inertia, vehicle center of gravity location, and vehicle wheel base.
73 Citations
9 Claims
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1. A system for estimating vehicle conditions for a vehicle having mass and being capable of acceleration, the vehicle including a proportioning valve and brakes, the system comprising:
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means responsive to the acceleration of the vehicle for providing a displacement reading; means responsive to the mass of the vehicle for providing a measure of the mass of the vehicle; means responsive to rotation of the vehicle for providing a measure of pitch moment of inertia of the vehicle; means for estimating a center of gravity of the vehicle based on said displacement reading, said mass, and said pitch moment of inertia; and
means, responsive to said center of gravity estimate, for adjusting said proportioning valve of the vehicle to optimally control brake pressure of said brakes.
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2. A system for estimating vehicle conditions for a vehicle having mass, a center of gravity location, and a pitch moment of inertia, and further having a suspension and one or more of a brake pressure control, four-wheel steering, four-wheel drive, a traction control, active suspension optimization means and a braking system, the system comprising:
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means for providing vehicle displacement measurements; a first output responsive to said vehicle displacement measurements for providing an estimate of changes in vehicle mass; a second output responsive to said vehicle displacement measurements for providing an estimate of vehicle center of gravity location; a third output responsive to said vehicle displacement measurements for providing an estimate of vehicle pitch moment of inertia; and means responsive to said first output, said second output, and said third output for adjusting vehicle parameters selected form the group consisting of brake pressure, four-wheel steering, four-wheel drive, traction, active suspension, braking system, and combinations thereof. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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Specification