System for controlling the traction slip of a vehicle

• US 6,533,367 B1
• Filed: 04/24/2001
• Issued: 03/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Latarnik, Michael, Hartmann, Bernd-Uwe, Kahl, Harald, Halat, Siegfried, Stöckmann, Ulrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Lavinder, Jack
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sy, Mariano
• Application Number:
  US09/701,909
• Time in Patent Office: 693 Days
• Field of Search: 303/139, 303/148, 303/149, 303/150, 303/163, 303/164, 303/113.2, 701/83, 701/73, 180/197
• US Class Current: 303/139
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/175 Brake regulation specially adapted to prevent excessive wheel spin during vehicle acceleration, e.g. for traction control safety devices for propulsion unit control responsive to, or preventing, skidding of wheels B60K28/16
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/1764 Regulation during travel on surface with different coefficients of friction, e.g. between left and right sides, mu-split or between front and rear
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/48 connecting the brake actuator to an alternative or additional source of fluid pressure , e.g. traction control systems

Abstract

A method for controlling the traction slip of a vehicle on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction includes the following steps: identifying a driving situation on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction and, when the driving situation is identified and traction slip is encountered on both wheels, decreasing the brake pressure of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side. A device for controlling the traction slip of a vehicle on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction includes a determining device for determining a driving situation on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction, and a brake actuation control which decreases the brake pressure of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side when the driving situation is identified and traction slip is encountered on both wheels.

Claims

1. Method of controlling a traction slip of a vehicle on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction, comprising the steps of:

identifying a driving situation on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction and, when the driving situation is identified and traction slip is encountered on both wheels,

decreasing the brake pressure on the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side, further including the steps of;

determining which vehicle side is the high coefficient-of-friction side and which is the low coefficient-of-friction side,

checking whether the slip of the driven wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side is above a first threshold value,

checking whether the slip of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side is above a second threshold value,

checking whether an acceleration of the traction slip or a wheel acceleration of the driven wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side is above a positive threshold value and whether the acceleration of the traction slip or the wheel acceleration of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side is below a negative threshold value, and checking the brake pressures on the two wheels or comparing the brake pressures one to the other,

wherein when checking the brake pressures, the brake pressure on the low coefficient-of-friction side is checked as to whether it is above a third threshold value, and the brake pressure on the high coefficient-of-friction side is checked as to whether it is below a fourth threshold value.

2. Method as claimed in claim 1, further including the step of comparing the amounts of slip or speeds of the driven wheels when fixing the high or low coefficient-of-friction side, and wherein the side on which the higher amount of slip prevail, is defined as the low coefficient-of-friction side.

3. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first threshold value is set to be lower than a threshold value where traction slip control individually related to a wheel intervenes.

4. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein when comparing the brake pressures a check is made whether the brake pressure on the high coefficient-of-friction side is below the brake pressure on the low coefficient-of-friction side at least by a defined amount.

5. Method as claimed in claim 1, further including using filtered values as wheel slip values.

6. Method as claimed in claim 1, further including the step of decreasing the brake pressure according to a definable gradient.

7. Method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the gradient is determined according to the slip or the acceleration of the traction slip of the wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side or the wheel on the low coefficient-of-function side.

8. Method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method is performed in addition to a traction slip control method which acts on the individual wheel, wherein the traction slip on the individual wheel is compared to a threshold which is responsive to the vehicle speed, and is changed by engine torque reduction or a wheel-individual brake pressure increase.

9. Device for controlling a traction slip of a vehicle on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction, comprising:

an identification device for identifying a driving situation on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction,

a brake actuation control which decreases the brake pressure of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side when the driving situation is identified and traction slip is encountered on both wheels,

wherein the identification device includes the following components;

a determining device for determining which vehicle side is the high coefficient-of-friction side and which is the low coefficient-of-friction side, and

a checking device for checking whether the slip of the driven wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side is above a first threshold value, whether the slip of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side is above a second threshold value, whether an acceleration of the traction slip or a wheel acceleration of the driven wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side is above a positive threshold value, and whether the acceleration of the traction slip or the wheel acceleration of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side is below a negative threshold value, and for checking the brake pressures on the two wheels or comparing the brake pressures one to the other,

wherein the checking device checks the brake pressure on the low coefficient-of-friction side as to whether it is above a third threshold value, and checks the brake pressure on the high coefficient-of-friction side as to whether it is below a fourth threshold value.

10. Device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the determining device includes a comparison device for comparing the amounts of slip or speeds of the driven wheels, and that side on which the higher amount of slip or the higher speed prevails is defined as the low coefficient-of-friction side.

11. Device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the first threshold value is set to be lower than a threshold value where traction slip control individually related to a wheel intervenes.

12. Device as claimed in claim 9, wherein that when comparing the brake pressures a check is made as to whether the brake pressure on the high coefficient-of-friction side is below the brake pressure on the low coefficient-of-friction side at least by a defined amount.

13. Device as claimed in claim 9, wherein filtered values are used as wheel slip values.

14. Device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the brake actuation control includes a preset values output for predefining a nominal gradient for brake pressure decrease.

15. Device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the preset values output determines the gradient according to the slip or the acceleration of the traction slip of the wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side or the wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side.

16. Device as claimed in claim 9, further including means for comparing the traction slip on the individual wheel to a threshold which is responsive to the vehicle speed, and is changed by engine torque reduction or wheel-individual brake pressure increase.

17. Method of controlling a traction slip of a vehicle on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction, comprising the steps of:

identifying a driving situation on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction and, when the driving situation is identified and traction slip is encountered on both wheels,

decreasing the brake pressure on the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side, further including the steps of;

determining which vehicle side is the high coefficient-of-friction side and which is the low coefficient-of-friction side,

checking whether the slip of the driven wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side is above a first threshold value,

checking whether the slip of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side is above a second threshold value,

checking whether an acceleration of the traction slip or a wheel acceleration of the driven wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side is above a positive threshold value and whether the acceleration of the traction slip or the wheel acceleration of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-fiction side is below a negative threshold value, and checking the brake pressures on the two wheels or comparing the brake pressures one to the other,

wherein when comparing the brake pressures a check is made whether the brake pressure on the high coefficient-of-friction side is below the brake pressure on the low coefficient-of-friction side at least by a defined amount.

18. Method of controlling a traction slip of a vehicle on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction, comprising the steps of:

identifying a driving situation on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction and, when the driving situation is identified and traction slip is encountered on both wheels,

decreasing the brake pressure on the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side, further including the steps of;

determining which vehicle side is the high coefficient-of-friction side and which is the low coefficient-of-friction side,

checking whether the slip of the driven wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side is above a first threshold value,

checking whether the slip of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side is above a second threshold value,

checking whether an acceleration of the traction slip or a wheel acceleration of the driven wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side is above a positive threshold value and whether the acceleration of the traction slip or the wheel acceleration of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side is below a negative threshold value, and checking the brake pressures on the two wheels or comparing the brake pressures one to the other,

further including the step of decreasing the brake pressure according to a definable gradient.

19. Method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the gradient is determined according to the acceleration of the traction slop of the wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side or the wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side.

20. Device for controlling a traction slip of a vehicle on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction, comprising:

an identification device for identifying a driving situation on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction,

a brake actuation control which decreases the brake pressure of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side when the driving situation is identified and traction slip is encountered on both wheels,

wherein the identification device includes the following components;

a determining device for determining which vehicle side is the high coefficient-of-friction side and which is the low coefficient-of-friction side, and

a checking device for checking whether the slip of the driven wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side is above a first threshold value, whether the slip of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side is above a second threshold value, whether an acceleration of the traction slip or the wheel acceleration of the driven wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side is above a positive threshold value, and whether the acceleration of the traction slip or the wheel acceleration of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side is below a negative threshold value, and for checking the brake pressures on the two wheels or comparing the brake pressures one to the other,

wherein that when comparing the brake pressures a check is made as to whether the brake pressure on the high coefficient-of-friction side is below the brake pressure on the low coefficient-of-friction side at least by a defined amount.

21. Device for controlling a traction slip of a vehicle on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction, comprising:

an identification device for identifying a driving situation on a roadway with sidewise different coefficients of friction,

a brake actuation control which decreases the brake pressure of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side when the driving situation is identified and traction slip is encountered on both wheels,

wherein the identification device includes the following components;

a determining device for determining which vehicle side is the high coefficient-of-friction side and which is the low coefficient-of-friction side, and

a checking device for checking whether the slip of the driven wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side is above a first threshold value, whether the slip of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side is above a second threshold value, whether an acceleration of the traction slip or the wheel acceleration of the driven wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side is above a positive threshold value, and whether the acceleration of the traction slip or the wheel acceleration of the driven wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side is below a negative threshold value, and for checking the brake pressures on the two wheels or comparing the brake pressures one to the other,

wherein the brake actuation control includes a preset values output for predefining a nominal gradient for brake pressure decrease.

22. Device as claimed in claim 21, wherein the preset values output determines the gradient according to the slip or the acceleration of the traction slip of the wheel on the high coefficient-of-friction side or the wheel on the low coefficient-of-friction side.