Method and system for improving the driving behavior of a vehicle

• US 7,681,960 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2006
• Issued: 03/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Teves AG & Co. OHG (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Pank, Matthias, Wanke, Peter, Konanz, Jochen, Wickenhofer, Thorsten, Herrmann, Torsten, Roszyk, Mario
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams; Thomas J
• Application Number:
  US11/417,278
• Publication Number:
  US 20060273657A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,425 Days
• Field of Search: 303/146, 303/147, 303/148, 701/72
• US Class Current: 303/146
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/09 Engine drag compensation
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2250/06 Sensor zero-point adjustment; Offset compensation
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/17555 specially adapted for enhancing driver or passenger comfort, e.g. soft intervention or pre-actuation strategies

Abstract

A method for a Sensitive Electronic Stability Program (SESP) presents a general approach for the correction of maneuvers of turning into a bend at low speed. It integrates existing methods as well as subsequent extensions. SESP supplements the standard active yaw control (AYC) function. This allows the SESP to use variables and mechanisms of AYC, on the one hand. On the other hand, AYC continues operating unimpeded in the background and will intervene as usual when SESP cannot stabilize the vehicle appropriately. When the standard AYC intervenes, SESP control operations are forbidden, or running SESP control operations are stopped. This stop can take place either abruptly or (which is more comfortable) by way of a moderate decrease of the correcting variables.

Claims

1. A driving situation detection system for observing and analyzing driving situations of a vehicle, at least including the situations of straight travel and cornering,

wherein the system is capable of observing and analyzing driving situations with almost steady-state courses of the vehicle at a steering angle velocity of lower than, or equal to, 120°

/s, wherein the system is designed as a state machine capable of detecting at least one of the states which are members of the group consisting of straight travel with partial braking, cornering with partial braking, and cornering with a change of load; and

wherein the system is capable of activating a controller depending on the states which reflect a course deviation,

the detection system being connected to a reference signal model in which a YTC reference variable with an offset is corrected by means of an offset value, wherein the driving situation detection system determines the time at which the offset correction is started and terminated, and the offset value is superposed on the reference variable at the starting point.