Systems and methods of adaptive regenerative braking and collision avoidance for electrically powered vehicles
First Claim
1. A collision avoidance system for use with an electrically powered vehicle, the collision avoidance system comprising:
- a number of sensors, each of the number of sensors which, in operation, provide signals to a vehicle controller;
at least one controller, communicably coupled to the number of sensors, that, in operation, receives signals from each of the number of sensors;
a nontransitory storage medium that includes controller-executable instructions, that when executed by the at least one controller, cause the at least one controller to;
determine a value representative of a minimum regenerative stopping distance achievable using only a regenerative braking system;
determine a value representative of a minimum composite stopping distance achievable using a combination of a mechanical braking system and the regenerative braking system;
determine a value representative of an obstruction threshold distance that is equal to or greater than the determined minimum regenerative stopping distance;
responsive to receipt of a signal that includes data indicative of at least one object in a travel path of the electrically powered vehicle or the imminent entry of the at least one object into the travel path of the electrically powered vehicle from one or more of the number of sensors, determine a distance to the at least one object;
responsive to a determination that the distance to the at least one object is less than the determined obstruction threshold distance and greater than the determined minimum regenerative stopping distance, autonomously enter a first braking mode in which the electrically powered vehicle is slowed at a first rate of deceleration using only the regenerative braking system.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Electrically powered vehicles may be equipped with both mechanical braking systems and regenerative braking systems. Regenerative braking systems improve vehicle efficiency by returning a portion of the energy lost in deceleration to the battery of the electrically powered vehicle. An electrically powered vehicle controller that provides collision avoidance functionality can maximize the energy returned to the battery of the electrically powered vehicle by maximizing the use of regenerative braking for collision avoidance. A first braking mode can include only regenerative braking for objects greater than the minimum regenerative stopping distance. A second braking mode can include composite braking using both mechanical and regenerative braking. The electrically powered vehicle controller determines the maximum regenerative braking level at least based on data provided by battery charge level or battery state sensors.
7 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A collision avoidance system for use with an electrically powered vehicle, the collision avoidance system comprising:
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a number of sensors, each of the number of sensors which, in operation, provide signals to a vehicle controller; at least one controller, communicably coupled to the number of sensors, that, in operation, receives signals from each of the number of sensors; a nontransitory storage medium that includes controller-executable instructions, that when executed by the at least one controller, cause the at least one controller to; determine a value representative of a minimum regenerative stopping distance achievable using only a regenerative braking system; determine a value representative of a minimum composite stopping distance achievable using a combination of a mechanical braking system and the regenerative braking system; determine a value representative of an obstruction threshold distance that is equal to or greater than the determined minimum regenerative stopping distance; responsive to receipt of a signal that includes data indicative of at least one object in a travel path of the electrically powered vehicle or the imminent entry of the at least one object into the travel path of the electrically powered vehicle from one or more of the number of sensors, determine a distance to the at least one object; responsive to a determination that the distance to the at least one object is less than the determined obstruction threshold distance and greater than the determined minimum regenerative stopping distance, autonomously enter a first braking mode in which the electrically powered vehicle is slowed at a first rate of deceleration using only the regenerative braking system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A collision avoidance method for use with an electrically powered vehicle, the method comprising:
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determining, by at least one controller, a value representative of a minimum regenerative stopping distance achievable using only a regenerative braking system of the electrically powered vehicle; determining, by the at least one controller, a value representative of a minimum composite stopping distance achievable using a combination of a mechanical braking system and the regenerative braking system of the electrically powered vehicle; determining, by the at least one controller, a value representative of an obstruction threshold distance that is equal to or greater than the determined minimum regenerative stopping distance; receiving, by the at least one controller, at least one signal including data indicative of at least one object in a travel path of the electrically powered vehicle or the imminent entry of the at least one object into the travel path of the electrically powered vehicle using one or more of a number of sensors communicably coupled to the at least one controller; determining, by the at least one controller, a value representative of a distance between the electrically powered vehicle and the at least one object; determining, by the at least one controller, whether the distance between the electrically powered vehicle and the at least one object is less than the determined obstruction threshold distance and greater than the determined minimum regenerative stopping distance; and responsive to determining the distance between the electrically powered vehicle and the at least one object is less than the determined obstruction threshold distance and greater than the determined minimum regenerative stopping distance by the at least one controller, autonomously placing the electrically powered vehicle in a first braking mode in which a velocity of the electrically powered vehicle is reduced at a first rate of deceleration using only the regenerative braking system. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A collision avoidance system for use with an electrically powered vehicle, the collision avoidance system comprising:
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a number of sensors, each of the number of sensors which, in operation, provide signals that contain data indicative of one or more electric vehicle operational parameters; at least one controller, communicably coupled to each of the number of sensors, that, in operation, receives the signals provided by each of the number of sensors; a nontransitory storage medium that includes controller-executable instructions, that when executed by the at least one controller, cause the at least one controller to; determine, using at least some of the signals received from the number of sensors, a value representative of a minimum regenerative stopping distance achievable using only a regenerative braking system of the electrically powered vehicle; determine, using at least some of the signals received from the number of sensors, a value representative of a minimum composite stopping distance achievable using a mechanical braking system in combination with the regenerative braking system of the electrically powered vehicle; determine a value representative of an obstruction threshold distance that is greater than the determined minimum regenerative stopping distance; responsive to receipt of a signal that includes data indicative of at least one object in a travel path of the electrically powered vehicle or the imminent entry of at least one object into the travel path of the electrically powered vehicle from one or more of the number of sensors, determine a distance to the at least one object; responsive to a determination that the distance to the at least one object is less than the determined obstruction threshold distance and greater than the determined minimum regenerative stopping distance, autonomously place the electrically powered vehicle in a first braking mode in which a velocity of the electrically powered vehicle is reduced at a first rate of deceleration using only the regenerative braking system; responsive to a determination that the distance to the at least one object is less than the determined minimum regenerative stopping distance, autonomously place the electrically powered vehicle in a second braking mode in which the velocity of the electrically powered vehicle is reduced at a second rate of deceleration, which is greater than the first rate of deceleration using both the regenerative braking system and the mechanical braking system; and responsive to a determination that the distance to the at least one object is less than the determined composite braking minimum stopping distance, autonomously place the electrically powered vehicle in a third braking mode in which the velocity of the electrically powered vehicle is reduced at a third rate of deceleration that is greater than the second rate of deceleration using a combination of the mechanical braking system and the regenerative braking system.
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23. A collision avoidance method for use with an electrically powered vehicle, the collision avoidance method comprising:
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determining, by at least one controller, using signals containing data indicative of one or more electrically powered vehicle operational parameters and received from at least some of a number of sensors, a value representative of a minimum regenerative stopping distance achievable using only a regenerative braking system of the electrically powered vehicle; determining, by the at least one controller, using the signals containing data indicative of one or more electrically powered vehicle operational parameters and received from at least some of the number of sensors, a value representative of a minimum composite braking stopping distance achievable using a mechanical braking system in combination with the regenerative braking system of the electrically powered vehicle; determining, by the at least one controller, a value representative of an obstruction threshold distance that is at least equal to the determined minimum regenerative braking stopping distance; receiving, by the at least one controller, a signal that includes data indicative of at least one object in a travel path of the electrically powered vehicle or the imminent entry of the at least one object into the travel path of the electrically powered vehicle; determining, by the at least one controller, a value representative of a distance between the electrically powered vehicle and the at least one object; determining whether the value representative of the distance to the at least one object is less than the determined obstruction threshold distance and greater than the determined minimum regenerative stopping distance; responsive to determining that the value representative of the distance to the at least one object is less than the determined obstruction threshold distance and greater than the determined minimum regenerative stopping distance, autonomously placing the electrically powered vehicle in a first braking mode in which a velocity of the electrically powered vehicle is reduced at a first rate of deceleration using only the regenerative braking system; determining whether the value representative of the distance to the at least one object is less than the determined minimum regenerative stopping distance; responsive to a determination that the distance to the at least one object is less than the determined minimum regenerative stopping distance, autonomously placing the electrically powered vehicle in a second braking mode in which the velocity of the electrically powered vehicle is reduced at a second rate of deceleration that is greater than the first rate of deceleration, using both the regenerative braking system and the mechanical braking system; and responsive to a determination that the distance to the at least one object is less than the determined minimum composite stopping distance, autonomously placing the electrically powered vehicle in a third braking mode in which the velocity of the electrically powered vehicle is reduced at a third rate of deceleration that is greater than the second rate of deceleration using a combination of the mechanical braking system and the regenerative braking system.
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Specification