Vehicle stability control method
First Claim
1. A method of controlling travel of a vehicle equipped with an antilock braking system, the method comprising the steps of:
- determining a potential for one or more wheels of the vehicle to lift off the ground;
deactivating the anti-lock braking system in respect of the wheels with the potential to lift off the ground so that the speed of these wheels is not taken into consideration when determining to apply anti-lock braking control;
applying a low-level test braking force to the wheels with the potential to lift off the ground;
monitoring the speed of the wheels with the potential to lift off the ground;
triggering a stability alarm signal and/or initiating a control intervention to reduce the vehicle speed when the test braking force causes the speed of the wheels with the potential to lift off the ground falls below a predetermined percentage of the vehicle speed; and
increasing the braking force applied to the wheels without potential to lift off the ground by a greater amount than the braking force applied to the wheels with potential to lift off the ground when it is determined that there is potential for one or more of the wheels to lift off the ground during braking following braking demand from a driver of the vehicle, or when the driver issues a demand for braking during a braking test pulse, where the braking demand requires a braking force which is below a predetermined level.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of controlling travel of a vehicle equipped with an antilock braking system, including the steps of determining potential for one or more wheels to lift off the ground, deactivating the system in respect of the wheels with the lift off potential so the speed of these wheels is not taken into consideration when determining if anti-lock braking is required, applying a low-level test braking force to one or more of the wheels that has the lift off potential, monitoring the speed of the one or more wheels, and if the test braking force causes the wheel speed to fall below a predetermined percentage of the vehicle speed, triggering a stability alarm signal and/or applying a controlled braking force to reduce the vehicle speed.
40 Citations
6 Claims
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1. A method of controlling travel of a vehicle equipped with an antilock braking system, the method comprising the steps of:
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determining a potential for one or more wheels of the vehicle to lift off the ground; deactivating the anti-lock braking system in respect of the wheels with the potential to lift off the ground so that the speed of these wheels is not taken into consideration when determining to apply anti-lock braking control; applying a low-level test braking force to the wheels with the potential to lift off the ground; monitoring the speed of the wheels with the potential to lift off the ground; triggering a stability alarm signal and/or initiating a control intervention to reduce the vehicle speed when the test braking force causes the speed of the wheels with the potential to lift off the ground falls below a predetermined percentage of the vehicle speed; and increasing the braking force applied to the wheels without potential to lift off the ground by a greater amount than the braking force applied to the wheels with potential to lift off the ground when it is determined that there is potential for one or more of the wheels to lift off the ground during braking following braking demand from a driver of the vehicle, or when the driver issues a demand for braking during a braking test pulse, where the braking demand requires a braking force which is below a predetermined level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A vehicle braking system comprising:
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an electronic control unit of an electronic braking system including antilock braking control, the control unit being operable to provide a braking signal to a plurality of brake actuators associated with wheels on first and second sides of the vehicle, the control unit having the capability of determining a potential for one or more wheels of the vehicle to lift off the ground, wherein the control unit performs a method according to the following steps; deactivating the anti-lock braking system in respect of the wheels with the potential to lift off the ground so that the speed of these wheels is not taken into consideration when determining to apply anti-lock braking control, generating a braking signal to apply a low-level test braking force to the wheel or one of the wheels that has the potential to lift off the ground, monitoring the speed of the said wheel or wheels, and triggering a stability alarm signal and/or initiating a control intervention to reduce the vehicle speed when the test braking force causes the speed of the or one or more of the monitored wheels to fall below a predetermined percentage of the vehicle speed, and increasing the braking force applied to the wheels without potential to lift off the ground by a greater amount than the braking force applied to the wheels with potential to lift off the ground when it is determined that there is potential for one or more of the wheels to lift of the ground during braking following braking demand from a driver of the vehicle, or when the driver issues a demand for braking during a braking test pulse, where the braking demand requires a braking force which is below a predetermined level.
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Specification