Electronic braking system for road vehicles operating with a trailer
First Claim
1. A trailer braking control system incorporated into braking equipment of a towing vehicle for providing a trailer braking command signal when a trailer is towed by the towing vehicle, the trailer braking control system comprising:
- a force calculator which assesses a horizontal force Fh and a vertical force Fv indirectly from forces measured in suspension components of at least two axles of the towing vehicle and from changes occurring in the forces during braking,wherein the horizontal force Fh is calculated according to;
space="preserve" listing-type="equation">Fh=dFf·
kf-dFr·
Kr-I·
Khwhere;
dFf=Front axle load increase during braking,Kf=Front geometric factor of the towing vehicle,dFr=Rear axle load increase during braking,Kr=Rear geometric factor of the towing vehicle,I=Inertia of the towing vehicle, andKh=Center of Gravity geometric factor of the towing vehicle, and Kf, Kr, I, and Kh being predetermined and substantially constant for operation of a given towing vehicle, andwherein the vertical force Fv is calculated according to;
space="preserve" listing-type="equation">Fv=Fsv+dFf+dFrwhere;
Fsv--Static long term average vertical force in the coupling,
space="preserve" listing-type="equation">Fsv=Ff+Fr-Mt·
gwhere;
Mt·
g equals the towing vehicle mass factor as a post-build programmed parameter, updated from loads measured whenever the towing vehicle is run with no trailer,Ff=Front axle steady state load, andFr=Rear axle steady state load; and
a regulator, coupled to the force calculator, which regulates the trailer braking command signal based on the assessed horizontal force Fh and the assessed vertical force Fv in a coupling between the towing vehicle and the trailer in order to balance braking between the towing vehicle and the trailer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic braking system for trailers. A control system is incorporated into the braking equipment of a towing vehicle to provide a trailer braking command signal. This signal is regulated so as to balance the braking between the towing vehicle and the trailer through the assessment of forces in the coupling between the two vehicles. The assessment is made indirectly and is calculated from forces measured in the suspension components of at least two axles of the towing vehicle and the changes occurring therein during braking.
41 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A trailer braking control system incorporated into braking equipment of a towing vehicle for providing a trailer braking command signal when a trailer is towed by the towing vehicle, the trailer braking control system comprising:
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a force calculator which assesses a horizontal force Fh and a vertical force Fv indirectly from forces measured in suspension components of at least two axles of the towing vehicle and from changes occurring in the forces during braking, wherein the horizontal force Fh is calculated according to;
space="preserve" listing-type="equation">Fh=dFf·
kf-dFr·
Kr-I·
Khwhere; dFf=Front axle load increase during braking, Kf=Front geometric factor of the towing vehicle, dFr=Rear axle load increase during braking, Kr=Rear geometric factor of the towing vehicle, I=Inertia of the towing vehicle, and Kh=Center of Gravity geometric factor of the towing vehicle, and Kf, Kr, I, and Kh being predetermined and substantially constant for operation of a given towing vehicle, and wherein the vertical force Fv is calculated according to;
space="preserve" listing-type="equation">Fv=Fsv+dFf+dFrwhere; Fsv--Static long term average vertical force in the coupling,
space="preserve" listing-type="equation">Fsv=Ff+Fr-Mt·
gwhere; Mt·
g equals the towing vehicle mass factor as a post-build programmed parameter, updated from loads measured whenever the towing vehicle is run with no trailer,Ff=Front axle steady state load, and Fr=Rear axle steady state load; and a regulator, coupled to the force calculator, which regulates the trailer braking command signal based on the assessed horizontal force Fh and the assessed vertical force Fv in a coupling between the towing vehicle and the trailer in order to balance braking between the towing vehicle and the trailer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification