Behavior control device for a combination vehicle

• US 9,043,105 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2009
• Issued: 05/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mondelez UK Holdings & Services Limited (Mondelez International, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Suda, Rio
• Primary Examiner(s): Mawari, Redhwan K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Torchinsky, Edward
• Application Number:
  US13/147,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20120029782A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,304 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/70
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2230/06 Tractor-trailer swaying
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/20 specially for trailers, e.g. in case of uncoupling of or overrunning by trailer inertia-actuated overrun brakes B60T13/08
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/246 Change of direction
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/248 Trailer sway, e.g. for preventing jackknifing
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 53/0871 with stabilising means, e.g. to prevent jack-knifing, pitching, rolling, buck jumping stabilising in general B62D37/00; tractors B62D49/08

Abstract

There is provided a behavior control device for the prevention of a jackknife phenomenon of a combination vehicle including a tractor and a trailer pivotably coupled with the tractor, taking into account that the relative pivoting action of the trailer and tractor varies according to the magnitudes of a vehicle speed or a deceleration. The inventive behavior control device comprises a braking-driving force control portion which controls a braking-driving force of the tractor or the trailer to reduce a difference between a yaw rate of the tractor and a yaw rate of the trailer and a judgment portion which judges whether or not a braking-driving force control of the tractor or the trailer by the braking-driving force control portion is necessary; wherein the judgment portion changes based on a vehicle speed or a deceleration of the vehicle the judgment of whether or not the braking-driving force control is necessary.

Claims

1. A behavior control device of a combination vehicle including a tractor and a trailer pivotably connected with a coupling pin mounted on a rear part of the tractor and towed therewith, comprising:

a braking-driving force control portion which controls a braking-driving force of the tractor or the trailer to reduce a difference between a yaw rate of the tractor and a yaw rate of the trailer; and

a judgment portion which judges whether or not a braking-driving force control of the tractor or the trailer by the braking-driving force control portion is necessary;

wherein the braking-driving force control portion executes the braking-driving force control when the judgment portion judges that a magnitude of the difference between the yaw rate of the tractor and the yaw rate of the trailer exceeds a predetermined control threshold value γ

_th, and wherein the judgment portion lowers the predetermined control threshold value γ

_th based on an increase in a magnitude of a deceleration of the vehicle so as to make it easier to apply the braking-driving force to correct the behavior of the tractor or the trailer at an earlier stage,

wherein the predetermined control threshold value γ

_th is given with an initial value of the control threshold value γ

_o that is multiplied by a deceleration dependent gain α

g,

wherein the deceleration dependence gain α

g decreases with an increase in the magnitude of deceleration.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the judgment portion is easier to judge that the braking-driving force control is necessary when the magnitude of the vehicle deceleration is high as compared with when the magnitude of the vehicle deceleration is low.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the predetermined control threshold value γ

_th is lowered when the magnitude of the vehicle deceleration is high as compared with when the magnitude of the vehicle deceleration is low.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the judgment portion is easier to judge that the braking-driving force control is necessary as the magnitude of the vehicle deceleration is higher.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the judgment portion is easier to judge that the braking-driving force control is necessary when a vehicle speed of the vehicle is high than when the vehicle speed is low.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the predetermined control threshold value γ

_th is given with the initial value of the control threshold value γ

_o, a vehicle speed dependent gain α

v and the deceleration dependent gain α

g by

γ

_—

th=γ

_—

o·

α

v·

α

g,

where the vehicle speed dependence gain α

v decreases with an increase of the vehicle speed.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein, in an execution of the braking-driving force control, the braking-driving force control portion controls a braking-driving force of a wheel in at least one of the tractor and the trailer so that a yaw moment is generated in at least of the tractor or the trailer in a direction of decreasing of the magnitude of the yaw rate difference between the tractor and the trailer.