Vehicle speed estimator and traction control device

• US 8,538,635 B2
• Filed: 12/25/2009
• Issued: 09/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Uematsu, Koji, Hatake, Kazuhiro, Nomura, Azumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James
• Assistant Examiner(s): Do, Truc M
• Application Number:
  US13/142,053
• Publication Number:
  US 20110257847A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,362 Days
• Field of Search: 701/48, 701/70, 701/71, 701/78, 701/83
• US Class Current: 701/48
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2250/04 Vehicle reference speed; Vehicle body speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2250/042 Reference speed calculation in ASR or under wheel spinning condition
• 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
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0056 Low-pass filters
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/28 Wheel speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/105 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00

Abstract

A vehicle speed estimator includes a unit that selects a minimum rotation speed among rotation speeds of wheels detected by a rotation speed detector and calculates a reference wheel speed of a construction vehicle at every predetermined time. The unit includes: a variable filter processor that performs a low-pass filter processing to the minimum rotation speed, the variable filter processor having a variable time constant; and a time constant changer that changes the time constant of the variable filter processor in accordance with travel conditions of the construction vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle speed estimator that estimates a vehicle speed of an all-wheel-drive construction vehicle, comprising:

a rotation speed detector that detects a rotation speed of each of wheels at every predetermined time; and

a reference wheel-speed calculator that selects a minimum rotation speed among the rotation speeds of the wheels detected by the rotation speed detector, calculates a reference wheel speed of the construction vehicle at every predetermined time, and output the reference wheel speed, wherein

the reference wheel-speed calculator comprises;

a minimum wheel-speed calculator that calculates a minimum wheel speed at every predetermined time based on the rotation speeds detected by the rotation speed detector;

a variable filter processor that performs a low-pass filter processing to the minimum wheel speed calculated by the minimum wheel-speed calculator, the variable filter processor having a variable time constant; and

a time constant changer that changes the time constant of the variable filter processor in accordance with travel conditions of the construction vehicle, and

the time constant changer comprises an acceleration and deceleration time constant changer that sets the time constant of the variable filter processor for the low-pass filter processing to be smaller than a predetermined value when the minimum wheel speed calculated from the rotation speed of the one of the wheels having the minimum rotation speed detected by the rotation speed detector is decelerating, and sets the time constant of the variable filter processor for the low-pass filter processing to be larger than the predetermined value when the minimum wheel speed is accelerating.

2. The vehicle speed estimator according to claim 1, further comprising:

a vehicle speed estimation unit that estimates the vehicle speed of the construction vehicle based on the reference wheel speed calculated by the reference wheel-speed calculator and outputs the estimated vehicle speed.

3. The vehicle speed estimator according to claim 1, further comprising:

a wheel-speed distribution calculator that acquires a maximum wheel speed and the minimum wheel speed from the rotation speeds of the wheels detected by the rotation speed detector and calculates a distribution of wheel speeds of the wheels at every predetermined time based on a difference between the maximum wheel speed and the minimum wheel speed, wherein

the time constant changer comprises a wheel-speed distribution time constant changer that changes the time constant of the variable filter processor when determining the distribution of the wheel speeds calculated by the wheel-speed distribution calculator is a predetermined threshold or more.

4. A traction control apparatus that controls a braking mechanism and a differential adjusting mechanism in an all-wheel-drive construction vehicle, the braking mechanism provided to each of wheels, the differential adjusting mechanism adjusting a differential between front ones of the wheels and rear ones of the wheels, the traction control apparatus comprising:

the vehicle speed estimator according to claim 1;

a braking mechanism controller that controls the braking mechanism based on the vehicle speed of the construction vehicle which is estimated by the vehicle speed estimator; and

a differential adjusting mechanism controller that controls the differential adjusting mechanism based on the vehicle speed of the construction vehicle which is estimated by the vehicle speed estimator.

5. The vehicle speed estimator according to claim 2, further comprising:

a wheel-speed distribution calculator that acquires a maximum wheel speed and the minimum wheel speed from the rotation speeds of the wheels detected by the rotation speed detector and calculates a distribution of wheel speeds of the wheels at every predetermined time based on a difference between the maximum wheel speed and the minimum wheel speed, wherein

the time constant changer comprises a wheel-speed distribution time constant changer that changes the time constant of the variable filter processor when determining the distribution of the wheel speeds calculated by the wheel-speed distribution calculator is a predetermined threshold or more.

6. A traction control apparatus that controls a braking mechanism and a differential adjusting mechanism in an all-wheel-drive construction vehicle, the braking mechanism provided to each of wheels, the differential adjusting mechanism adjusting a differential between front ones of the wheels and rear ones of the wheels, the traction control apparatus comprising:

the vehicle speed estimator according to claim 2;

a braking mechanism controller that controls the braking mechanism based on the vehicle speed of the construction vehicle which is estimated by the vehicle speed estimator; and

a differential adjusting mechanism controller that controls the differential adjusting mechanism based on the vehicle speed of the construction vehicle which is estimated by the vehicle speed estimator.

7. A traction control apparatus that controls a braking mechanism and a differential adjusting mechanism in an all-wheel-drive construction vehicle, the braking mechanism provided to each of wheels, the differential adjusting mechanism adjusting a differential between front ones of the wheels and rear ones of the wheels, the traction control apparatus comprising:

the vehicle speed estimator according to claim 3;

a braking mechanism controller that controls the braking mechanism based on the vehicle speed of the construction vehicle which is estimated by the vehicle speed estimator; and

a differential adjusting mechanism controller that controls the differential adjusting mechanism based on the vehicle speed of the construction vehicle which is estimated by the vehicle speed estimator.