Method for establishing the angular position of a vehicle

• US 6,650,971 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2002
• Issued: 11/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Haas, Hardy
• Primary Examiner(s): Marc-Coleman, Marthe Y.
• Application Number:
  US10/113,439
• Publication Number:
  US 20020163437A1
• Time in Patent Office: 600 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/45, 701/37, 701/70, 340/671, 340/425.5, 340/436, 702/151
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/01908 Acceleration or inclination sensors characterised by the use of gyroscopes B60G21/08
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/0195 characterised by the regulation being combined with other vehicle control systems conjoint control of vehicle sub-units including control of suspension systems B60W10/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/051 Angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/019 Inclination due to load distribution or road gradient
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/702 Improving accuracy of a sensor signal
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/9124 Roll-over protection systems, e.g. for warning or control
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0018 Roll-over
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01306 monitoring vehicle inclination
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01327 Angular velocity or angular acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/013 including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0132 responsive to vehicle motion parameters , e.g. to vehicle longitudinal or transversal deceleration or speed value
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2210/22 Banked curves
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2230/03 Overturn, rollover
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2250/06 Sensor zero-point adjustment; Offset compensation
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/172 Determining control parameters used in the regulation, e.g. by calculations involving measured or detected parameters B60T8/17551 takes precedence

Abstract

A method for establishing the angular position of the vehicle with the aid of at least one roll or rotation rate sensor, and which is checked in the course of a plausibility inspection, to check whether the integrated rotation rate signal is able to reproduce the actual angular position of the vehicle at all or whether it lies outside the angular range which may be considered for the actual angular position of the vehicle on the basis of the driving situation. In particular, the method for establishing the angular position of the vehicle relative to at least one rotational axis, particularly its longitudinal axis and/or its transverse axis, in which the rotation rate of the vehicle about the rotational axis is detected using at least one rotation rate sensor and the angular position, particularly the roll angle about the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and/or the pitch angle about the transverse axis of the vehicle, is established by integration of the detected rotation rate, with the offset error of the rotation rate sensor being taken into consideration, in addition to the rotation rate, the transverse acceleration (that is, the acceleration of the vehicle transverse to the rotational axis) is detected, and is then checked, with reference to the dependence of the actual angular position of the vehicle on the transverse acceleration AQ, to determine whether the established angular position may correspond to the actual angular position of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for establishing the angular position of a vehicle relative to at least one rotation axis, the method comprising:

detecting a rotation rate of the vehicle about the at least one rotational axis using at least one rotation rate sensor;

establishing the angular position by integrating the rotation rate, an offset error of the at least one rotation rate sensor being considered;

detecting a transverse acceleration, the transverse acceleration being an acceleration of the vehicle transverse to the rotational axis; and

checking whether the angular position may correspond to an actual angular position of the vehicle, with reference to a dependence of the actual angular position on the transverse acceleration.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing an upper limit value and a lower limit value for the actual angular position, with reference to the dependence of the actual angular position on the transverse acceleration; and

checking whether the established angular position lies within an interval established by the upper limit value and the lower limit value.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the upper limit value and the lower limit value are established using a characteristic curve that reproduces a relationship between the actual angular position and the transverse acceleration, during a normal driving operation of a fully loaded vehicle.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the established angular position is corrected if it exceeds the upper limit value or falls below the lower limit value.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the upper limit value is accepted for the established angular position if the established angular position exceeds the upper limit value, and the lower limit value is accepted for the established angular position if the established angular position falls below the lower limit value.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the offset error is corrected if the angular position one of exceeds the upper limit value and falls below the lower limit value.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a basis of a possibly necessary correction of the established angular position includes the transverse acceleration.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a basis of a correction of the offset error includes the transverse acceleration.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the offset error is corrected by at least one of decrementing and incrementing the offset error by a presettable value.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein a respective currently established offset error is stored so that a current offset error may be considered during the establishing of the angular position of the vehicle, with reference to the detected rotation rate, and is available when driving is resumed.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rotational axis includes at least one of a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the angular position includes at least one of a roll angle about a longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a pitch angle about a transverse axis of the vehicle.