Patent Application
20160114772
The present disclosure generally relates to brake systems of a trailer, and more particularly relates to methods and systems for controlling a brake output of a brake system of a trailer.
A trailer can include a brake system that provides a braking force to wheels of the trailer to bring the vehicle and the trailer to a stop. Some brake systems are electronically controlled systems that require an electrical connection to the tow vehicle in order to receive a control signal. The control signal can include a voltage- and/or current-controlled signal that is proportional to a driver braking intent (DBI). The brake systems receive the control signal and cause a braking force to be applied via a disc or drum (either hydraulic or electric/magnetic).
A control module of the vehicle evaluates vehicle conditions and generates the control signals. In some cases, the control signals do not control an available maximum brake output of the brake system. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide methods and systems for generating control signals to boost the trailer brake output. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.
Methods and systems are provided for controlling a brake system of a trailer associated with a vehicle. In one embodiment, a method includes: determining a brake output based on at least one of a brake pressure of a vehicle brake system, a deceleration of the vehicle, and a braking torque of the vehicle; applying a boost factor to the brake output resulting in an adjusted brake output; and generating a control signal based on the adjusted brake output.
In one embodiment, a system includes a first module that determines a brake output based on at least one of a brake pressure of a vehicle brake system, a deceleration of the vehicle, and a braking torque of the vehicle. The system further includes a second module that applies a boost factor to the brake output resulting in an adjusted brake output. The system further includes a third module that generates a control signal based on the adjusted brake output.
In one embodiment, a system includes a vehicle having a brake system and a control module. The control module determines a brake output based on at least one of a brake pressure of the brake system of the vehicle, a deceleration of the vehicle, and a braking torque of the vehicle, applies a boost factor to the brake output resulting in an adjusted brake output, and generates a control signal to the brake system of the trailer based on the adjusted brake output.
The present disclosure will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and:
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the application and uses. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. As used herein, the term module refers to any hardware, software, firmware, electronic control component, processing logic, and/or processor device, individually or in any combination, including without limitation: application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality.
With reference to
The brake system 14 of the trailer 12 is electronically controlled. That is, the brake system 14 receives control signals 16 from a control module 18 and controls a braking force based on the control signals 16. In various embodiments, as shown in
In any of the embodiments, the control module 18 generates the control signals 16 based on vehicle data. The vehicle data may be received from sensors 24a-24n of the vehicle 10, and/or determined by the control module 18 or other control modules (not shown) of the vehicle 10. In general, the control module 18 determines a brake output and, in some instances, adjusts the brake output by a boost factor. The boost factor is determined based on vehicle data. The control module 18 generates the control signals 16 based on the adjusted brake output.
Referring now to
The brake output determination module 30 receives as input vehicle data 38, such as brake pressure data 40, deceleration data 42, and/or brake torque data 43. The brake pressure data 40 indicates a pressure of the vehicle brake system 15. The deceleration data 42 indicates a deceleration rate of the vehicle 10 and/or trailer 12. The brake torque data 43 indicates an estimated torque that is being applied by the vehicle brake system 15.
Based on the vehicle data 38, the brake output determination module 30 determines a brake output 44. For example, the brake output determination module 30 determines a brake output value that is proportional to the brake pressure data 40. In another example, the brake output determination module 30 determines a brake output value that is proportional to the deceleration data 42 when, for example when an anti-lock brake function of the vehicle brake system 15 is being performed. In still other examples, the brake output determination module 30 determines a brake output value that is proportional to the brake torque data 43. As can be appreciated, any known method of determining brake output 44 may be used including that described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,165,768 which is incorporated herein by reference. The brake output determination module 30 provides the brake output 44 to the brake output adjustment module 34.
The boost factor determination module 32 receives as input vehicle data 46 such as, but not limited to, load data 48, speed data 50, deceleration data 52, a trailer brake type data 54, surface coefficient data 55 (e.g., an actual value between 0 and 1), surface classification data 56 (e.g., gravel, ice, asphalt, etc.), and/or grade data 57 (e.g., a percent grade of the road currently traveled). In various embodiments, the load data 48 indicates a load of the vehicle 10, a load of the vehicle 10 and the trailer 12, and/or a load of the trailer 12. The speed data 50 indicates the speed of the vehicle 10. The deceleration data 52 indicates a deceleration of the trailer 12 and/or the vehicle 10. The trailer brake type data 56 indicates a brake type of the trailer 12.
The boost factor determination module 32 determines a boost factor 58 based on the vehicle data 46. For example, the boost factor determination module 32 determines a boost factor value 60 from a boost factor curve. The boost factor curve is defined by the vehicle data 46 and may include values ranging from 1 to 2 or any other value.
In various embodiments, the boost factor curve may be predefined and stored as a lookup table in a boost factor curve datastore 64. As can be appreciated, any number of lookup tables can be stored in the boost factor curve datastore 64. For example, the boost factor curve datastore 64 may store lookup tables with boost factor curves defined for brake pressure and load, load and speed, deceleration and load, trailer brake type, grade, and/or any combination of the vehicle data 46. The boost factor determination module 32 selects the lookup table for use based on the vehicle data 46 received. For example, when load data 48 is received the boost factor determination module 34 selects the lookup table that is indexed by load and determines the boost factor value 60 based on the value of the load data 48. The boost factor determination module 32 provides the boost factor 58 to the brake output adjustment module 34.
The brake output adjustment module 34 receives as input the brake output 44 and the boost factor 58. The brake output adjustment module 34 adjusts the brake output 44 based on the boost factor 58. For example, the brake output adjustment module 34 adjusts the brake output 44 by applying (e.g., multiplying) the boost factor 58 to the brake output 44 to boost the brake output 44. The brake output adjustment module provides the adjusted brake output 66 to the control signal generation module 36.
The control signal generation module 36 receives as input the adjusted brake output 66. The control signal generation module 36 generates a control signal 68 to control the brake system 14 of the trailer 12 based on the adjusted brake output 66. In various embodiments, the control signal generation module 36 generates the control signal 68 simply based on the adjusted brake output 66 or based on the adjusted brake output 66 and other factors such as, but not limited to, a voltage of the vehicle 10.
With reference now to
As can be appreciated, the method 100 may be scheduled to run based on predetermined events and/or may be run automatically at predetermined time intervals. As depicted in
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalents thereof.
