Brake regulating system for stabilizing the motion of a commercial vehicle

• US 7,562,946 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2001
• Issued: 07/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Knorr-Bremse Systeme Fur Nutzfahrzeuge GMBH (Estate of Heinz Hermann Thiele)
• Original Assignee: Knorr-Bremse Systeme Fur Nutzfahrzeuge GMBH (Estate of Heinz Hermann Thiele)
• Inventors: Jundt, Oliver, Leimbach, Klaus-Dieter, Hecker, Falk, Schramm, Herbert
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams; Thomas J
• Application Number:
  US10/465,962
• Publication Number:
  US 20040080209A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,790 Days
• Field of Search: 303/123, 303/140, 303/146, 303/155, 701/70, 701/71, 701/72
• US Class Current: 303/123
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/1708 for lorries or tractor-trailer combinations
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/1755 Brake regulation specially adapted to control the stability of the vehicle, e.g. taking into account yaw rate or transverse acceleration in a curve road vehicle drive control systems for control of driving stability otherwise than by controlling a particular sub-unit B60W30/02

Abstract

A brake regulating system particularly suitable for stabilizing the motion of a commercial vehicle is described, in which a control unit outputs, as a function of a number of input variables, a predefined manipulated variable for the brake pressure of each wheel of a commercial vehicle and/or a predefined manipulated variable for an output variable of the drive engine. For detecting the input variables, the input of the control unit is connected to a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle predetermined by the driver, to a sensor system for determining the yaw rate of the commercial vehicle, and to a first acceleration sensor for detecting the transverse acceleration of the commercial vehicle.

Claims

1. A brake regulating system for stabilizing the motion of a commercial vehicle, comprising:

a control unit configured to output, as a function of a number of input variables, at least one of;

i) a predefined manipulated variable for a brake pressure of each wheel of the commercial vehicle, and ii) a predefined manipulated variable for an output variable of a drive engine;

a steering angle sensor configured to detect a steering angle predetermined by a driver, the steering angle sensor coupled to an input of the control unit and configured to provide the steering angle to the control unit for use as one of the input variables;

a first acceleration sensor configured to detect a transverse acceleration of the commercial vehicle, the first acceleration sensor coupled to the input of the control unit and configured to provide the transverse acceleration to the control unit for use as one of the input variables;

a sensor system configured to determine a yaw rate of the commercial vehicle, the sensor system coupled to the input of the control unit and configured to provide the yaw rate to the control unit for use as one of the input variables, wherein the sensor system includes a second acceleration sensor configured to detect the transverse acceleration of the commercial vehicle, the second acceleration sensor being situated at an offset to the first acceleration sensor viewed in a longitudinal direction of the commercial vehicle;

a second sensor system configured to determine a yaw rate of at least one trailer connected to the commercial vehicle, the second sensor system coupled to the input of the control unit and configured to provide the yaw rate of the trailer to the control unit for use as one of the input variables; and

a buckling articulation angle sensor configured to determine a buckling articulation angle between the longitudinal direction of the commercial vehicle and a longitudinal axis of one of the at least one trailer connected to the commercial vehicle from the yaw rate values provided by the sensor systems, the buckling articulation angle sensor being coupled to an input of the control unit and configured to provide the buckling articulation angle to the control unit for use as one of the input variables.

2. The brake regulating system as recited in claim 1, wherein the sensor system includes a yaw rate sensor.

3. The brake regulating system as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

a roll angle sensor configured to detect a roll angle of the commercial vehicle, the roll angle sensor coupled to the input of the control unit and configured to provide the roll angle to the control unit for use as one of the input variables.

4. The brake regulating system as recited in claim 3, further comprising:

a roll velocity sensor configured to detect an angular velocity between a vehicle body of the commercial vehicle and a vehicle axis of the commercial vehicle, the roll velocity coupled to the input of the control unit and configured to provide the angular velocity to the control unit for use as one of the input variables.

5. The brake regulating system as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

a roll velocity sensor configured to detect an angular velocity between a vehicle body of the commercial vehicle and a vehicle axis of the commercial vehicle, the roll velocity coupled to the input of the control unit and configured to provide the angular velocity to the control unit for use as one of the input variables.

6. The brake regulating system as recited in claim 2, wherein the buckling articulation angle sensor determines the buckling articulation angle Ψ

from the yaw rate values ω

_z and ω

_za provided by the sensor systems according to the relation;

Ψ

=∫

(ω

_z−

ω

_za)dt.

7. The brake regulating system as recited in claim 6, wherein:

more than one trailer is connected to the commercial vehicle,

each trailer is equipped with a sensor system for determining its yaw rate, and the articulation angle between each two consecutive vehicles or trailers is determined from

the yaw rate values provided by the sensor systems.

8. The brake regulating system as recited in claim 2, wherein:

more than one trailer is connected to the commercial vehicle,

each trailer is equipped with a sensor system for determining its yaw rate, and

the articulation angle between each two consecutive vehicles or trailers is determined from the yaw rate values provided by the sensor systems.

9. The brake regulating system as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a roll angle sensor configured to detect a roll angle of the commercial vehicle, the roll angle sensor coupled to the input of the control unit and configured to provide the roll angle to the control unit for use as one of the input variables.

10. The brake regulating system as recited in claim 9, further comprising:

a roll velocity sensor configured to detect an angular velocity between a vehicle body of the commercial vehicle and a vehicle axis of the commercial vehicle, the roll velocity coupled to the input of the control unit and configured to provide the angular velocity to the control unit for use as one of the input variables.

11. The brake regulating system as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a roll velocity sensor configured to detect an angular velocity between a vehicle body of the commercial vehicle and a vehicle axis of the commercial vehicle, the roll velocity coupled to the input of the control unit and configured to provide the angular velocity to the control unit for use as one of the input variables.

12. The brake regulating system as recited in claim 1, wherein the sensor system determines the yaw rate without a yaw rate sensor by using the first and second acceleration sensors to determine the yaw rate.

13. The brake regulating system as recited in claim 1, wherein the buckling articulation angle sensor determines the buckling articulation angle Ψ

from the yaw rate values ω

_z and ω

_za provided by the sensor systems according to the relation;

Ψ

=∫

(ω

_z−

ω

_za)dt.

14. The brake regulating system as recited in claim 13, wherein:

more than one trailer is connected to the commercial vehicle,

each trailer is equipped with a sensor system for determining its yaw rate, and

the articulation angle between each two consecutive vehicles or trailers is determined from the yaw rate values provided by the sensor systems.

15. The brake regulating system as recited in claim 1, wherein:

more than one trailer is connected to the commercial vehicle,

each trailer is equipped with a sensor system for determining its yaw rate, and

the articulation angle between each two consecutive vehicles or trailers is determined from the yaw rate values provided by the sensor systems.