METHOD AND CONTROL UNIT FOR DETERMINING AN ANGLE BETWEEN LONGITUDINAL AXES OF A VEHICLE COMBINATION

• US 20160018220A1
• Filed: 07/07/2015
• Published: 01/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ZF Friedrichshafen AG (Zeppelin - Stiftung der Stadt Friedrichshafen)
• Original Assignee: ZF Friedrichshafen AG (Zeppelin - Stiftung der Stadt Friedrichshafen)
• Inventors: BANERJEE, Alexander
• Granted Patent: US 10,077,980 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 21/22 for measuring angles or tapers; for testing the alignment of axes
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 21/24 for testing alignment of axes

Abstract

A method for determining an angle between a longitudinal axis of a first, leading component vehicle and a longitudinal axis of a second, trailing component vehicle. For at least one wheel axle or wheel axle group of the first, leading component vehicle a travel speed and/or an angular speed of the wheel axle or wheel axle group concerned is determined, and for at least one wheel axle or wheel axle group of the second, trailing component vehicle a travel speed and/or an angular speed of the wheel axle or wheel axle group concerned is determined. From the travel speeds and/or angular speeds determined for the wheel axles or wheel axle groups of the first, leading component vehicle and of the second, trailing component vehicle, the angle between the longitudinal axes of the first, leading component vehicle and the second, trailing component vehicle is then calculated.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A method for determining an angle between longitudinal axes of a tractor-trailer combination having a number of component vehicles, the method comprising the steps of:

determining, for at least one wheel axle or wheel axle group of a first, leading component vehicle, at least one of travel speed and angular speed of the wheel axle or wheel axle group concerned;

determining, for at least one wheel axle or wheel axle group of a second, trailing component vehicle, at least one of travel speed and angular speed of the wheel axle or wheel axle group concerned;

calculating, from the at least one of the travel speeds and angular speeds of the wheel axles or wheel axle groups determined for the first, leading component vehicle and the second, trailing component vehicle, the angle between the longitudinal axes of the first, leading component vehicle and the second, trailing component vehicle.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of calculating the angle α

between the longitudinal axes of the first, leading component vehicle and the second, trailing component vehicle from the determined travel speeds and the angular speeds, using an equation of;

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein in a case of a tractor-trailer combination of two component vehicles having a leading component vehicle having a front, non-rotating and steered wheel axle and a rear, non-rotating and non-steered wheel axle or wheel axle group, and a trailing component vehicle having exclusively a non-rotating and non-steered wheel axle or wheel axle group, i=1 and the angle α

between the longitudinal axes of the first, leading component vehicle and the second, trailing component vehicle is calculated from the following equations;

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein in a case of a tractor-trailer combination of two component vehicles having a leading component vehicle with a front, non-rotating and steered wheel axle and a rear, non-rotating and non-steered wheel axle or wheel axle group, and a trailing component vehicle with a rear, non-rotating and non-steered wheel axle or wheel axle group and a pivotable drawbar axle, i=2 and the angle α

between the longitudinal axes of the first, leading component vehicle and the second, trailing component vehicle is calculated from the following equations;

15. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of calculating the angle α

between the longitudinal axes of the first, leading component vehicle and the second, trailing component vehicle from the determined angular speeds, using an equation;

α

=∫

(ω

_i+1−

ω

_i)dt+α

₀

in which ω

_i+1 is the angular speed of the wheel axle or the wheel axle group of the first, leading component vehicle, ω

_i is the angular speed of the wheel axle or the wheel axle group of the second, trailing component vehicle, and α

₀ is an initialization value.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein the travel speed and/or the angular speed of at least one wheel axle or wheel axle group of the component vehicles and/or of the drawbar axle are determined from the wheel speeds of the wheels on the wheel axle or wheel axle group or the drawbar axle concerned, the wheel speeds of the wheels concerned being determined from wheel rotation speeds of the wheels.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the travel speed of a wheel axle or group of wheel axles or a drawbar axle is determined from the wheel speeds of the wheels on the wheel axle or group of wheel axles or drawbar axle concerned, in accordance with the following equation:

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the angular speed of a wheel axle or group of wheel axles or drawbar axle of a component vehicle is determined from the wheel speeds of the wheels on the wheel axle or group of wheel axles or drawbar axle concerned, in accordance with the following equation:

19. The method according to claim 11, wherein the travel speed and the angular speed of the rear wheel axle or wheel axle group of the leading component vehicle are determined on a basis of a steering angle and on a basis of a travel speed of the front wheel axle of the leading component vehicle.

20. A control unit, characterized by means for implementing a method for determining an angle between longitudinal axes of a tractor-trailer combination having a number of component vehicles, the method comprising the steps of:

determining, with a control unit, at least one of travel speed and angular speed of a wheel axle or wheel axle group of a first, leading component vehicle;

determining, with the control unit, at least one of travel speed and angular speed of a wheel axle or wheel axle group of a second, trailing component vehicle; and

calculating, with the control unit, the angle between the longitudinal axes of the first, leading component vehicle and the second, trailing component vehicle from the determined at least one of travel speeds and angular speeds of the wheel axles or wheel axle groups of the first, leading component vehicle and the second, trailing component vehicle.