VEHICLE CONTROL APPARATUS

• US 20160229394A1
• Filed: 09/02/2014
• Published: 08/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: FUJII, Yusuke, SHIBAYAMA, Junichi
• Application Number:
  US15/021,497
• Publication Number:
  US 20160229394A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/10 responsive to conditions relating to the vehicle
• 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 8/17554 specially adapted for enhancing stability around the vehicles longitudinal axle, i.e. roll-over prevention road vehicle drive control systems for roll-over prevention otherwise than by controlling a particular sub-unit B60W30/04
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2300/14 Tractor-trailers, i.e. combinations of a towing vehicle and one or more towed vehicles, e.g. caravans; Road trains
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/00 Input parameters relating to overall vehicle dynamics
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/125 Lateral acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/14 Yaw
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/20 Sideslip angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/02 Control of vehicle driving stability
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/114 Yaw movement

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle control apparatus capable of determining an oscillating motion with no or less delay. The vehicle control apparatus includes a vehicle behavior detection sensor configured to detect a behavior acting on a vehicle, a vehicle behavior reference value calculation unit configured to calculate a reference value of the behavior of the vehicle, based on an output value of another sensor than the vehicle behavior detection sensor, and an oscillating detection unit configured to compare the output value of the sensor and the reference value and detect that a trailer towed by a towing vehicle has an oscillating motion, based on a magnitude of an amplitude of the output value relative to an amplitude of the reference value.

Claims

1. A vehicle control apparatus comprising:

a vehicle behavior detection sensor configured to detect a behavior acting on a vehicle;

a vehicle behavior reference value calculation unit configured to calculate a reference value of the behavior of the vehicle, based on an output value of another sensor than the vehicle behavior detection sensor; and

an oscillating detection unit configured to compare the output value of the sensor and the reference value and detect that a trailer towed by a towing vehicle has an oscillating motion, based on a magnitude of an amplitude of the output value relative to an amplitude of the reference value.

2. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the behavior of the vehicle is at least one of a yaw rate, a lateral acceleration, and a slip angle of the vehicle.

3. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the output value of the sensor and the reference value are at least one of a yaw rate, a lateral acceleration, and a slip angle.

4. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein angular velocities of the output value and the reference value are estimated from the output value and the reference value, and second-order temporal differential values of the output value and the reference value.

5. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the amplitudes are estimated from the output value and the reference value, first-order temporal differential values of the output value and the reference value, and the angular velocities of the output value and the reference value.

6. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the oscillating detection unit increases or reduces an oscillating tendency index for determining the oscillating motion according to a difference between the amplitude of the reference value and the amplitude of the output value.

7. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the oscillating detection unit determines that the trailer has the oscillating motion if the oscillating tendency index is equal to or higher than a first determination threshold value, and determines that the trailer does not have the oscillating motion if the oscillating tendency index is lower than a second determination threshold value.

8. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the oscillating tendency index is an integral value of a value according to the difference between the amplitude of the reference value and the amplitude of the output value of the sensor.

9. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the amplitudes are estimated from the output value, the reference value, first-order differential values of the output value and the reference value, and the second-order differential values of the output value and the reference value.

10. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, when an angular velocity of the yaw rate is higher than a third angular velocity and lower than a fourth angular velocity, the oscillating detection unit determines that the trailer has the oscillating motion if an oscillating tendency index is equal to or higher than an oscillating motion presence determination threshold value, and determines that the oscillating motion is maintained until the oscillating tendency index falls below an oscillating motion absence determination threshold value after that.

11. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the oscillating detection unit does not determine that the trailer has the oscillating motion if an angular velocity or the output value is equal to or lower than a first angular velocity that does not cause the oscillating motion, or equal to or higher than a second angular velocity that does not cause the oscillating motion.

12. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, when an angular velocity of the yaw rate is equal to or lower than a third angular velocity or equal to or higher than a fourth angular velocity, the oscillating detection unit does not determine that the trailer has the oscillating motion until an oscillating motion index reaches or exceeds an oscillating motion presence determination threshold value larger than an oscillating motion presence determination threshold value, and determines that the trailer does not have the oscillating motion if the oscillating motion index falls below an oscillating motion absence determination threshold value larger than an oscillating motion absence determination threshold value.

13. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reference value is a yaw rate estimated form a wheel speed.

14. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the oscillating detection unit compares the output value and the reference value, and detects that the trailer towed by the towing vehicle has the oscillating motion if a gradual increase occurs in a difference of the amplitude of the output value from the amplitude of the reference value.

15. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle control apparatus damps the oscillating motion by slowing down the vehicle if the trailer is determined to have the oscillating motion.

16. A vehicle control apparatus comprising:

a yaw rate sensor configured to detect a yaw rate acting on a vehicle;

a lateral acceleration sensor configured to detect a lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle;

a vehicle behavior reference value calculation unit configured to estimate a yaw rate or a lateral acceleration supposed to act on the vehicle as a reference value from a state of the vehicle;

an oscillating detection unit configured to compare an output value of at least one of the sensors and the reference value corresponding to the at least one of the sensors, and detect that a trailer towed by a towing vehicle has an oscillating motion if an amplitude of the output value increases relative to an amplitude of the reference value; and

a speed reduction unit configured to slow down a speed of the towing vehicle if the oscillating motion is detected by the oscillating detection unit.

17. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the oscillating detection unit compares the output value and the reference value, and detects that the trailer towed by the towing vehicle has the oscillating motion if a gradual increase occurs in a difference of the amplitude of the output value from the amplitude of the reference value.

18. A vehicle control apparatus comprising:

a yaw rate sensor configured to detect a yaw rate acting on a vehicle;

a yaw rate reference value calculation unit configured to calculate a reference value of the yaw rate, based on a steering angle and a speed of a vehicle body;

a first amplitude calculation unit configured to calculate an amplitude from an output value of the yaw rate sensor;

a second amplitude calculation unit configured to calculate an amplitude of the reference value of the yaw rate;

an amplitude comparison unit configured to compare the amplitudes respectively calculated by the first and second amplitude calculation units; and

an oscillating detection unit configured to detect that a trailer towed by a towing vehicle has an oscillating motion if the comparison reveals a gradual increase in a difference of the amplitude of the output value from the amplitude of the reference value.