Method for controlling a vehicle

• US 7,016,778 B1
• Filed: 02/28/2000
• Issued: 03/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Kienle, Lothar, Roll, Georg, Ritz, Steffen, Hartmann, Bernd-Uwe, Haller, Frank, Ehmer, Norbert
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hernandez, Olga
• Application Number:
  US09/914,807
• Time in Patent Office: 2,213 Days
• Field of Search: 701/82, 180/197
• US Class Current: 701/82
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/14 Electronic locking-differential
• 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 8/1769 specially adapted for vehicles having more than one driven axle, e.g. four-wheel drive vehicles

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for controlling a motor vehicle, in particular a traction-slip control system (TCS), wherein a diagonal axle twist is detected and evaluated as a regulating variable.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a vehicle an all wheel drive system and having a traction-slip control system (TCS) monitoring the behavior of the vehicle wheels, comprising the steps of:

detecting a diagonal axle twist condition in which two diagonally opposite wheels lose sufficient traction with the ground;

evaluating the diagonal axle twist as a regulating variable of the traction slip control system; and

providing torque to at least one vehicle wheel having sufficient traction with the ground that is not one of the two diagonally opposite wheels in the diagonal axis twist condition.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the torque providing step includes:

effecting at least a partial lock of a differential within the vehicle, upon detection of a diagonal axle twist.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein the effecting step at least partially locks at least one of a center differential, a front differential and a rear differential.

4. The method according to claim 2 wherein the effecting step Et least partially locks a differential by way of the traction control system.

5. The method according to claim 2 wherein the effecting step at least partially locks a differential by way of a differential lock.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein the torque providing step includes:

setting a medium brake pressure level at wheel brakes of controlled wheels with minimum traction slip upon detection of diagonal axle twist, the medium brake pressure corresponding to required traction; and

maintaining the medium brake pressure level for a period of time.

7. The method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of:

reducing a control threshold of the function slip control system upon detection of a diagonal axle twist.

8. The method according to claim 1 wherein said evaluating step is performed only when vehicle speed falls below a specified vehicle speed limit value.

9. The method according to claim 8 wherein said speed limit value Is within the range of 3 to 15 kilometers per hour.

10. A method for detecting a diagonal axle twist of a motor vehicle, said motor vehicle having an all-wheel drive system, a vehicle control system and a traction control system, comprising the steps of:

comparing a characteristic of each of the individual, driven wheels, to the other driven wheels, the characteristic being at least one of wheel slip, rotating behavior and changes in rotating behavior; and

identifying a diagonal axle twist condition in which two diagonally opposite wheels have lost sufficient traction with the ground based on the comparison of the characteristic.

11. The method according to claim, 10 wherein the rotating behavior includes the traction slip of the individual wheels, and further comprising the step of determining whether the traction slip is greater than a specified limit value.

12. The method according to claim 10 wherein the characteristics of at least two transversally opposite wheels are compared.

13. The method according to claim 11 further comprising the step of:

determining the diagonal axle twist when certain traction-slip conditions are satisfied for a period of time.

14. The method according to claim 13 wherein the traction-slip conditions include the traction slip being greater than a specified limit value on only one wheel of a secondary axle.

15. The method according to claim 13 wherein the traction-slip conditions Include the traction slip being greater than a specified limit value on both of two diagonally opposite wheels.

16. The method according to claim 13 wherein the traction-slip conditions Include the traction slip being less than a specified limit value on a first wheel of a primary axle, the first wheel lying opposite a second wheel on said first axle, such second wheel having greater than the traction-slip specified limit value.

17. The method according to claim 13 wherein the period of time is 0.3 to 1.5 seconds.

18. The method according to claim 13 wherein the period of time is 50 to 200 msec. when a diagonal axle twist was previously determined within 15 seconds of the step of determining the diagonal axle twist.

19. The method according to claim 14 wherein the specified limit value is within the range of 10 kilometers per hour to 40 kilometers per hour.

20. The method according to claim 14 wherein the specified limit value Is considered to have been exceeded when a control procedure of the traction control system is activated at a wheel.

23. The circuit according to claim 10, wherein the identifying step is performed upon detection of a vehicle reference speed that falls below a predetermined value.

24. The circuit according to claim 10 further comprising the step of reducing a control threshold of the traction slip control system upon identification of a diagonal axle twist.

21. A circuit arrangement for detecting a diagonal axle twist of a motor vehicle, said motor vehicle having an all-wheel drive system and a traction-slip control system, the arrangement comprising:

a first detection circuit for detecting measured changes in the rotating behavior of a set of driven wheels, the flit detection circuit including a first evaluation circuit evaluating the slip of the wheels on a secondary axle;

a second and a third evaluation circuit evaluating the slip of two diagonally opposite wheels for detecting a diagonal axle twist on two diagonally opposite wheels;

a fourth evaluation circuit evaluating the slip of the wheels on a primary axle;

an integrator, and

a signal generator.

22. The circuit according to claim 21 further comprising a second detection circuit capable of detecting the vehicle reference speed on the basis of measured values;

a comparator on said first detection circuit where the comparator is capable of comparing the vehicle reference speed with a specified limit value; and

a signal generated by the first detection circuit when the vehicle reference speed falls below the specified value.