APPLICATIONS FOR USING MASS ESTIMATIONS FOR VEHICLES

• US 20180188744A1
• Filed: 02/28/2018
• Published: 07/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Peloton Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Peloton Technology, Inc.
• Granted Patent: US 10,152,064 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0231 Circuits relating to the driving or the functioning of the vehicle monitoring tyres B60C23/00; indicating overspeed B60K31/00; for dash boards B60K37/00, B60Q3/10; for indicating emergencies B60Q1/52; brake control systems B60T; registering or indicating the working of vehicles G07C5/00; measuring distance G01C, e.g. combinations of speed and distance G01C23/00; engine indicators G01L; measuring speed or acceleration G01P
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/10 including control of change-speed gearings
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/184 with wheel brakes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/20 including control of steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/22 including control of suspension systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2300/12 Trucks; Load vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2300/145 Semi-trailers
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/0638 Engine speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/0657 Engine torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/1005 Transmission ratio engaged
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/28 Wheel speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2530/10 Weight
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2530/20 Tyre data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2530/203 Presence of trailer
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/10 Accelerator pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/12 Brake pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/18 : Steering angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4041 : Position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/801 : Lateral distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/802 : Longitudinal distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/804 : Relative longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/35 : Data fusion
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 : of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 : Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/0605 : Throttle position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/0627 : Fuel flow rate
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/0661 : Speed change rate
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/0666 : Engine torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/1005 : Transmission ratio engaged
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/20 : Steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/22 : Suspension systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2754/30 : Longitudinal distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2754/50 : Relative longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/14 : Adaptive cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/165 : Automatically following the path of a preceding lead vehicle, e.g. "electronic tow-bar"
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18 : Propelling the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/13 : Load or weight
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/022 : for weighing wheeled or rolling bodies in motion G01G19/045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/086 : wherein the vehicle mass is dynamically estimated
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 : Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0055 : with safety arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/02 : Control of position or course in two dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0278 : using satellite positioning signals, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0285 : using signals transmitted via a public communication network, e.g. GSM network
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0287 : involving a plurality of land vehicles, e.g. fleet or convoy travelling traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/00, particularly anticollision systems G08G1/16
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0293 : Convoy travelling
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0295 : by at least one leading vehicle of the fleet
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 : communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/127 : to a central station ; Indicators in a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/22 : Platooning, i.e. convoy of communicating vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 : specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/46 : for vehicle-to-vehicle communication [V2V]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 : Moving wireless networks

Abstract

Various applications for use of mass estimations of a vehicle, including to control operation of the vehicle, sharing the mass estimation with other vehicles and/or a Network Operations Center (NOC), organizing vehicles operating in a platoon and/or partially controlling the operation of one or more vehicles operating in a platoon based on the relative mass estimations between the platooning vehicles. When vehicles are operating in a platoon, the relative mass between a lead and a following vehicle may be used to scale torque and/or brake commands generated by the lead vehicle and sent to the following vehicle.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving at a data processing center sensor data from a first vehicle and a second vehicle;

performing, at the data processing center, a mass estimation for the first vehicle and the second vehicle using the sensor data received from the first vehicle and the second vehicle respectively;

coordinating a platoon between the first vehicle and the second vehicle; and

determining which of the first vehicle and the second vehicle should assume a lead position and a following position in the platoon based on the mass estimation of the first vehicle and the second vehicle respectively.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the lead and the following position for the first vehicle and the second vehicle further comprises:

comparing the mass estimation for the first vehicle and the second vehicle;

determining the lead position based on which of the first and the second vehicles has the larger mass estimation; and

determining the following position based on which of the first and the second vehicles has the smaller mass estimation.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein coordinating the platoon further comprises:

identifying the first vehicle and the second vehicle;

directing the first vehicle and the second vehicle to engage in the platoon; and

sharing the lead position and the following position with the first vehicle and the second vehicle so that the two vehicles know their position at a point of contact.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising sharing the mass estimation of the first vehicle with the second vehicle.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the mass estimation of the first vehicle is shared with the second vehicle so that the second vehicle can scale commands received from the first vehicle while leading the platoon, the scaling of the commands based at least partially on a relative difference between the mass estimation of the two vehicles.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the commands include braking commands and throttle commands.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor data received at the data processing center includes sensed data for one or more of the following:

an engine torque command;

actual delivered engine torque;

transmission gear ratios;

GPS or positioning information;

wheel speed;

braking events

tire pressure;

tire condition;

presence or position of aerodynamic aids

configuration of a trailers;

a number of trailers; and

/or

one or more trailer axles.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the sensor data at the data processing center further comprises receiving the sensor data from the first vehicle and the second vehicle over a wireless communication network.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein coordinating the platoon further comprises communicating with the first vehicle and the second vehicle over a wireless communication network.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving at the data processing center the sensor data from a multiplicity of vehicles; and

coordinating a plurality of platoons among the multiplicity of vehicles.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the platoon includes one or more additional vehicles in addition to the first vehicle and the second vehicle, the vehicles arranged in the platoon in a front-to-back sequence from the highest mass estimation to the lowest mass estimation respectively.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the data processing center is a Network Operations Center (NOC) arranged to remotely coordinate platooning between a multiplicity of tractor-trailers, the multiplicity of tractor-trailers each reporting their sensor data to the NOC so that the NOC can selectively coordinate platoons among the multiplicity of tractor-trailers.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and the second vehicles are both tractor-trailer trucks.

14. A method, comprising:

generating sensor data for a first vehicle;

calculating a mass estimation for the first vehicle based on the generated sensor data; and

sharing the calculated mass estimation for the first vehicle with one or more additional vehicle(s).

15. The method of claim 14, wherein calculating the mass estimation for the first vehicle is performed on the first vehicle.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein calculating the mass estimation for the first vehicle occurs at the one or more additional vehicle(s).

17. The method of claim 14, wherein calculating the mass estimation for the first vehicle occurs at a Network Operations Center (NOC).

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the sensor data for the first vehicle includes one or more of the following:

(a) engine torque;

(b) transmission gear ratios;

(c) GPS or positioning information;

(d) wheel speed;

(e) braking events;

(f) actual delivered engine torque;

(g) tire pressure;

(h) tire condition;

(i) presence or position of aerodynamic aids

(j) configuration of any trailers;

(k) a number of trailers; and

/or

(l) one or more trailer axles.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the sensor data used for calculating the mass estimation for the first vehicle includes sensed data for one or more of the following:

(a) engine torque;

(b) transmission gear ratios;

(c) GPS or positioning information; and

/or

(d) wheel speed;

(e) actual delivered engine torque;

(f) tire pressure;

(g) tire condition;

(h) presence or position of aerodynamic aids

(i) configuration of any trailers;

(j) a number of trailers; and

/or

(k) one or more trailer axles.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising

sharing the calculated mass estimation for the first vehicle with a second vehicle;

and

sharing a second mass calculation estimation for the second vehicle with the first vehicle.

21. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

detecting when a braking event occurs on the first vehicle; and

excluding the sensor data from the calculation of the mass estimation during the detected braking event.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein sharing the calculated mass estimation for the first vehicle with the one or more additional vehicle(s) further comprises wirelessly transmitting the calculated mass estimation from the first vehicle to the one or more additional vehicle(s).

23. The method of claim 14, wherein sharing the calculated mass estimation for the first vehicle with one or more additional vehicle(s) further comprises:

wirelessly transmitting the sensed data for the first vehicle to a data processing center;

performing the calculation of the mass estimation for the first vehicle at the data processing center; and

wirelessly transmitting the calculated mass estimation from the data processing center to the one or more additional vehicle(s).

24. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

organizing the first vehicle and the one or more additional vehicle(s),

wherein the calculated mass estimation of the first vehicle is use to determine a position of the first vehicle relative to the one or more additional vehicle(s) while organized.

25. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

organizing the first vehicle and the one or more additional vehicle(s),

wherein the calculated mass estimation of the first vehicle is use to determine a velocity of the first vehicle relative to the one or more additional vehicle(s) while organized.

26. The method of claim 14, further comprising arranging for the first vehicle and one or more additional vehicle(s) to operate in a platoon with the vehicle with the highest mass estimation in the lead position and the remaining vehicle(s) following in order from highest to lowest mass estimation(s) respectively.

27. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

organizing the first vehicle and one or more other vehicles;

sharing the calculated mass estimation of the first vehicle with the one or more other vehicles; and

scaling commands shared between the first vehicle and the one or more other vehicles based at least partially on the calculated mass estimation of the first vehicle.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the first vehicle and the one or more other vehicles are organized into a platoon with the first vehicle leading the platoon and the one or more other vehicles following in the platoon.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the commands are either:

(a) braking commands;

(b) torque commands;

or

(c) both braking and torque commands.

30. A method, comprising:

generating sensor data for a vehicle;

calculating a mass estimation for the vehicle based on the generated sensor data; and

sharing the calculated mass estimation for the vehicle with one or more control systems on the vehicle selected from the group including;

a fuel injection system;

a knock control system;

a suspension control system;

an engine controller system;

a steering control system;

an engine acceleration control system;

an autonomous or semi-autonomous driving control system;

a cruise control system; and

/or

an automatic transmission control system.