Anti-jackknife control for vehicle-trailer backing up using rear-wheel steer control
First Claim
1. A method for selectively providing rear-wheel steering for a vehicle backing-up a trailer, said method comprising:
- determining a steering angle of the vehicle;
determining a speed of the vehicle;
determining a measured hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer;
calculating an equilibrium hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer that is a steady-state hitch angle position;
calculating a pseudo-equilibrium hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer that is a steady-state hitch angle position at a maximum rear-wheel steering input;
determining whether a predetermined relationship exists between the measured hitch angle, the equilibrium hitch angle and the pseudo-equilibrium hitch angle; and
providing the rear-wheel steering of the vehicle if the predetermined relationship does exist.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle control system that selectively provides rear-wheel steering to prevent a vehicle-trailer from jackknifing during a back-up maneuver. The system senses a steering angle of the vehicle, a speed of the vehicle and a hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer. The system calculates an equilibrium hitch angle that is a steady-state hitch angle position based on the steering angle and the vehicle speed, and a pseudo-equilibrium hitch angle that is a steady-state hitch angle at a maximum rear-wheel steering input based on the steering angle and the vehicle speed. The system then determines whether the rear-wheel steering should be provided based on a predetermined relationship between the sensed hitch angle, the equilibrium hitch angle and the pseudo-equilibrium hitch angle.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method for selectively providing rear-wheel steering for a vehicle backing-up a trailer, said method comprising:
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determining a steering angle of the vehicle;
determining a speed of the vehicle;
determining a measured hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer;
calculating an equilibrium hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer that is a steady-state hitch angle position;
calculating a pseudo-equilibrium hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer that is a steady-state hitch angle position at a maximum rear-wheel steering input;
determining whether a predetermined relationship exists between the measured hitch angle, the equilibrium hitch angle and the pseudo-equilibrium hitch angle; and
providing the rear-wheel steering of the vehicle if the predetermined relationship does exist. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of selectively providing rear-wheel steering for a vehicle backing-up a trailer, said method comprising:
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determining a steering angle of the vehicle;
determining a speed of the vehicle;
determining a measured hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer;
calculating an equilibrium hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer that is a steady-state hitch angle position;
calculating a pseudo-equilibrium hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer that is a steady-state hitch angle position at a maximum rear-wheel steering input;
determining whether a predetermined relationship exists between the measured hitch angle, the equilibrium hitch angle and the pseudo-equilibrium hitch angle, wherein the predetermined relationship includes determining the orientation of the steering angle of the vehicle, determining whether the measured hitch angle is within a range set by the equilibrium hitch angle and the pseudo-equilibrium hitch angle, determining a rate of change of the measured hitch angle and determining whether the measured hitch angle is converging towards or away from the equilibrium hitch angle and the pseudo-equilibrium hitch angle;
providing rear-wheel steering of the vehicle if the predetermined relationship does exist; and
removing the rear-wheel steering if the predetermined relationship no longer exists when the rear-wheel steering is being provided. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A system for selectively providing rear-wheel steering for a vehicle backing-up a trailer, said system comprising:
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a steering angle sensor for determining a steering angle of the vehicle;
a speed sensor for determining a speed of the vehicle;
a hitch angle sensor for measuring a hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer; and
a controller for selectively providing the rear-wheel steering to the vehicle if a jackknife condition is probable, said controller calculating an equilibrium hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer that is a steady-state hitch angle position, calculating a pseudo-equilibrium hitch angle between the vehicle and the trailer that is a steady-state hitch angle position at a maximum rear-wheel steering input, determining whether a predetermined relationship exists between the measured hitch angle, the equilibrium hitch angle and the pseudo-equilibrium hitch angle, and providing the rear-wheel steering to the vehicle if the predetermined relationship does exist. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification