The invention relates generally to detection and control of vehicle trailer oscillation.
As a tow vehicle tows a trailer, the trailer can exhibit lateral oscillatory motion about a hitch pivot point, i.e., “fish-tailing”, due to factors such as, but not limited, how the trailer is loaded, road conditions, speed of the tow vehicle, and/or wind gusts. The oscillatory motion can become severe to the point where trailer oscillations threaten loss of control of the trailer and, in extreme cases, the tow vehicle.
Oscillatory trailer motion can be controlled by applying trailer braking, but conditions such as rough road surfaces or railroad crossings can cause non-oscillatory lateral trailer motion about a hitch pivot point, which can be mis-identified as an “oscillation event” (oscillatory motion). Such a mis-identification can result in unnecessary trailer brake application, which results in reduced fuel economy for the tow vehicle and accelerated trailer brake wear.
There are a number of systems that are known in the art for use in detecting oscillatory trailer motion. Some such systems use a single sensor, such as an accelerometer, to detect lateral acceleration. If such a system receives sensor inputs indicating that a trailer has experienced a series of lateral accelerations exceeding a predetermined threshold value, or if the system receives a single sensor input indicating that a trailer has experienced a single lateral acceleration that exceeds a higher predetermined threshold value, the system will interpret the inputs as being indicative of oscillatory trailer motion. One issue with systems, such as these, that rely on inputs from a single sensor is that a single acceleration or a short-term series of accelerations may simply result from shocks imparted to a trailer by road conditions such as a rough road surface or a railroad crossing. Single sensor systems can improperly interpret such shocks as oscillation events.
To be able to determine and apply a brake control signal that will command an amount of braking force that is optimum for mitigating a trailer oscillation, it is preferable that the system know the weight of the trailer. Without knowing the weight of the trailer, a system may determine and apply a brake control signal that commands the application of either too little or too much braking force for optimum oscillation mitigation. To prevent this, a system can either be pre-set or calibrated for operation with only a certain class or classes of trailers of a known weight, or that fall within an acceptably narrow weight range.
Another well-known option for detecting trailer oscillation is to measure the angle a trailer makes relative to an imaginary tow vehicle centerline axis passing through a hitch carried by the tow vehicle, and to also measure the angular speed or rate at which the trailer is deflecting laterally about the hitch, and the angular acceleration. If the trailer length is known to the system, the system can use the trailer angle measurement to calculate a lateral displacement distance or angle, and can then determine thresholds at which to command engagement of the trailer brakes. One issue with this, however, is that it requires that the correct trailer length be calibrated or input into the system in advance. The other trailer oscillation detection and control systems mentioned above have similar limitations in that they each require some form of preliminary setting or calibration that takes into account trailer dynamics.
A trailer oscillation and stability control device is provided comprising an accelerometer configured to measure lateral acceleration of a trailer and to generate corresponding trailer lateral acceleration signals, and an angular rate sensor configured to measure rate of angular trailer deflection about a hitch pivot point and to generate corresponding angular trailer deflection rate signals. An oscillation detection discriminator is coupled with the accelerometer and the angular rate sensor and is configured to detect oscillatory lateral trailer motion based on acceleration signals received from the accelerometer and angular trailer deflection rate signals received from the angular rate sensor, and to generate corresponding oscillatory event data. A brake controller is configured to generate a trailer braking control signal in response to oscillatory event data received from the oscillation detection discriminator.
A trailer oscillation detection method is provided comprising the steps of obtaining a trailer acceleration value from an acceleration signal received from an accelerometer carried by the trailer, deriving an angular trailer deflection value from an angular trailer deflection rate signal received from an angular rate sensor carried by the trailer; and determining whether the acceleration value and the angular deflection value exceed respective pre-determined threshold values.
These and other features and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art in connection with the following detailed description and drawings of one or more embodiments of the invention, in which:
The invention recited in the claims is not limited or constrained by what is presented in the following exemplary disclosure of one or more embodiments of adaptive trailer oscillation detection and stability control systems and methods. Other embodiments of the claimed device and method may be constructed and implemented within the scope of the claims. For purposes of this application, the term “oscillation event” will include trailer motion that occurs leading up to and during oscillatory trailer motion.
An adaptive trailer oscillation and stability control device 10 is shown at 10 in
As is also shown in
We can assume that the location of the device 10 relative to an imaginary centerline axis 28 of a tow vehicle 24 forms the radius r of a unit circle as shown in
The use of accelerometer data can be used to reveal such an event to be non-oscillatory because lateral acceleration will not exceed its predetermined threshold value. The accelerometer data may be collected by configuring and positioning the accelerometer 12 in a position where it can measure lateral angular accelerations of a trailer 14 that is deflecting laterally about a hitch pivot point 18 as shown in
During travel over rough terrain or other rough road conditions, the accelerometer 12 will perceive relatively small lateral accelerations and the angular rate sensor 16 will perceive angular or lateral trailer deflections. But the oscillation detection discriminator 22 can, upon receipt of that data, compare the small accelerations and deflections to the preset threshold values and, based on that comparison, recognize them as being indicative of non-oscillatory trailer motion.
Also shown in
The brake controller 30 may command the trailer brakes 32 to engage for durations and magnitudes of braking force application determined in accordance with a predetermined maximum brake application duration value, a predetermined minimum brake application duration value, a maximum braking force value, a minimum braking force value, a data value obtained at least in part from the angular rate sensor 16, a data value obtained at least in part from the accelerometer 12, and/or a data value obtained at least in part from trailer wheel speed sensors shown schematically at 34 in
As shown in
As is again shown in
The device 10 may include a brake output modulator, shown at 42 in
The device 10 may also include a wheel spin detector, shown at 44 in
The device 10 may be configured to determine whether one or more trailer wheels 46 are locked by analyzing data received from the trailer wheel speed sensors 34. The device 10 may also be configured to prevent trailer wheels 46 from locking by adjusting braking control signals generated by the brake controller 30.
The device 10 may include a human-machine interface (HMI), which may, as shown in
The device 10 may be configured to perform automatic orientation calibration to allow the device 10 to be installed in various locations.
The device 10 may include a hill-assist feature, shown at 54 in
The device 10 may comprise a brake wear estimator, shown at 58 in
The device 10 may comprise a tire pressure radio, shown at 60 in
The device 10 may include a controller area network bus used as a field bus interface 64 in a field bus network 66 to communicate with one or more field bus instruments and/or devices 68 such as smart chassis sensors and/or remote IMU sensors, which are configured to provide a tow vehicle operator with useful information.
The brake controller 30 may be configured to command trailer brakes 32 to engage for durations and magnitudes of braking force application determined according to a predetermined value such as maximum brake application duration, minimum brake application duration, maximum braking force, minimum braking force, a data value obtained at least in part from the angular rate sensor 16, a data value obtained at least in part from the accelerometer 12, and/or a data value obtained at least in part from the trailer wheel speed sensors 34.
In practice, and as is shown in greater detail in
An adaptive trailer oscillation and stability control constructed according to the invention provides improved oscillation event detection and control, applying optimum trailer brake pressure only when needed and thus avoiding unnecessary trailer brake applications and resultant reductions in tow vehicle fuel economy and accelerated trailer brake wear.
This application is a 371 national phase U.S. Non-provisional patent application, which claims the benefit of priority from Patent Cooperation Treaty International Patent Application No. PCT/US2015/039567 filed on Jul. 8, 2015, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/043,236 filed on Aug. 28, 2014, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/021,746 filed on Jul. 8, 2014, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2015/039567 | 7/8/2015 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2016/007636 | 1/14/2016 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
9026311 | Pieronek | May 2015 | B1 |
20020095251 | Oh | Jul 2002 | A1 |
20080236269 | Howell | Oct 2008 | A1 |
20100168974 | Bradley, IV | Jul 2010 | A1 |
20100332049 | Sy et al. | Dec 2010 | A1 |
20110281564 | Armitage | Nov 2011 | A1 |
20120041659 | Greene | Feb 2012 | A1 |
20130124059 | Funder | May 2013 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
10225120 | Nov 2003 | DE |
102006030001 | Jan 2008 | DE |
102009008342 | Sep 2010 | DE |
1167141 | Jan 2002 | EP |
1593552 | Nov 2005 | EP |
2445649 | Jul 2008 | GB |
2007008150 | Jan 2007 | WO |
Entry |
---|
International Search Report and Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority for Patent Cooperation Treaty International Application No. PCT/US2015/039567 filed on Jul. 8, 2015, dated Sep. 28, 2015. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20170151935 A1 | Jun 2017 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62043236 | Aug 2014 | US | |
62021746 | Jul 2014 | US |