936results about "Trailers" patented technology

A system and method generate a trip plan for a trip of a vehicle system along a route. The usage of an engine during the trip is determined based on engine operational parameters, energy storage device operational parameters, and one or more objectives of the trip desired to be achieved. The usage of the energy storage device during the trip is also determined based on the engine operational parameters, the energy storage device operational parameters, and the one or more objective, including when to charge or discharge the energy storage device during the trip.

One variation of a system includes a modular kit. The modular kit includes: a driven axle configured to install on a bogie chassis supporting a trailer chassis of a trailer; a motor coupled to the driven axle; a battery assembly; a set of electrical cables; and a cable carrier. The battery assembly includes a set of retention features configured to transiently engage a set of engagement features on the trailer chassis to couple the battery assembly to the trailer chassis and is configured to: supply electrical energy to the motor to drive the driven axle; and receive electrical energy from the motor to regeneratively brake the driven axle. The set of electrical cables are configured to electrically couple the motor and the battery assembly. The cable carrier is configured to: locate between the bogie chassis and the battery assembly; and support the set of electrical cables over a range of longitudinal positions.

A system for controlling motion of an articulated vehicle with one or multiple trailers is described. The system is configured to infer the state of a vehicle, determine a motion path with forward motions and backward motions for the vehicle based on the state, and formulate an optimal control problem for optimizing the motion path. The optimal control problem comprises an integral tracking error function indicating integral tracking error based on motion cusps relating to the motion path. The motion cusps indicate switching between forward motion and backward motion. The motion path is optimized over a prediction horizon based on solving the optimal control problem. A control command is generated for the vehicle based on the optimized motion path and a vehicle model, and the motion of the articulated vehicle is controlled based on the control command thereby changing its state.

The invention discloses a motor-driven tractor-semitrailer driving stability control method which comprises the following steps: firstly, establishing a tractor-semitrailer three-degree-of-freedom dynamic model, and solving yaw velocity expected values and side slip angle expected values of a tractor and a semitrailer according to driver input and actual vehicle states; secondly, according to the deviation between the expected value and the actual value of the vehicle state quantity, an upper-layer controller outputs the expected additional yaw moment, and the adaptive capacity to the parameter change of the semitrailer is achieved; the lower layer controller then outputs a torque on each wheel according to the desired additional yaw moment and the vehicle state, including a driving torque on the driving wheel and a braking torque on all wheels. By the adoption of the method for controlling the running stability of the motor-driven tractor-semitrailer, unstable working conditions such as rollover and folding of the tractor-semitrailer in the running process can be avoided, the running stability is improved, and meanwhile the method has the self-adaptive capacity for load changes of the semitrailer.

A system is operable for controlling a force applied on a trailer being towed by a vehicle is described to a desired force Fd. The trailer has brakes and an optional motor for providing a propelling force to the trailer. A force sensor senses fore-aft forces between the vehicle and trailer at all times while the trailer is being towed. A controller receives signals from the force sensor and is operatively connected to the trailer brakes and the motor. The system controls the force between a towing vehicle and a trailer to the desired force Fd, by any one of: (a) operating the brakes to apply a braking force to the trailer; (b) activating the motor to apply a propelling force to the trailer; and (c) operating the brakes and activating the motor to apply both a braking and a propelling force to the trailer.

A vehicle includes a vehicle battery, a motor generator, a circuit, and a controller. The motor generator receives and outputs electric power from and to the vehicle battery and an external battery. The circuit couples the vehicle battery and the external battery to the motor generator. The controller controls the vehicle battery and the external battery, based on a first mode or a second mode. In the first mode, electric power is transferred between the motor generator and the vehicle battery and between the vehicle battery and the external battery, and not transferred between the motor generator and the external battery. In the second mode, electric power is transferred between the motor generator and the vehicle battery and between the motor generator and the external battery. The controller shifts to the first mode when a load applied to the circuit exceeds a predetermined load in the second mode.

A method for automated guidance of a vehicle along a specified setpoint trajectory at an actual speed, wherein the setpoint trajectory includes geometric trajectory variables, the method including ascertaining an actual deviation of the vehicle from the setpoint trajectory and outputting the ascertained actual deviation and generating manipulated variables such that the vehicle, in the case of automated control of a drive system and / or a braking system and / or a steering system of the vehicle, moves closer to the setpoint trajectory. The method also includes ascertaining whether an undesirable driving state is present when the vehicle moves closer to the setpoint trajectory, wherein the undesirable driving state is ascertained from the specified setpoint trajectory based on the geometric trajectory variable, and, if the presence of the undesirable driving state is identified, automatically controlling the vehicle based on generated stability variables and / or adapting the setpoint trajectory.

A computer-implemented method performed in a vehicle control unit for controlling motion of a heavy-duty vehicle. The method includes obtaining a vehicle motion request, wherein the vehicle motion request is indicative of a target curvature and a target acceleration, determining a motion support device, MSD, control allocation based on the vehicle motion request, determining a dynamic wheel slip angle limit based on the vehicle motion request, where dynamic wheel slip angle limit increases with a decreasing target acceleration, and controlling the motion of the heavy-duty vehicle based on the MSD control allocation constrained by the dynamic wheel slip angle limit.

System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to implementing predictive, risk-aware control barrier functions, the effects of which certify using predicted future trajectories the probability of vehicles (such as tractor-trailers) becoming unsafe over a time interval remains bounded by a user-specified value.

A mobile power station is disclosed. The mobile power station includes an enclosure configured to be mounted on a wheeled chassis; an electrical system positioned in the enclosure, the electrical system including an electrical storage unit and is configured to receive and supply electric energy; and at least one charging bank electrically connected to the electrical system, the at least one charging bank configured to transmit electric energy from the electrical system to an electric device.

A system for controlling a vehicle combination comprising a tractor unit and at least one trailing unit is disclosed. The system has a target generator to determine a virtual control input for the vehicle combination based on a reference input for the vehicle combination. A power manager determines a power allocation input for the vehicle combination based on the reference input and a power capability of one or more units of the vehicle combination. A combination control allocator determines a control input for the vehicle combination based on the power allocation input and the virtual control input.

A method and system controller includes determining a power requirement for a vehicle system to complete a planned trip over a route. The method includes determining whether an amount of available power from the vehicle system is sufficient to propel the vehicle system to complete the planned trip by comparing the available power with the power requirement that is determined. The method includes changing one or more operational aspects of the planned trip based on the comparison between the amount of available power and the power requirement that is determined to generate a newly planned modified trip.

Systems, methods, and articulated vehicles which use sensor rails attached to trailers to provide improved control for autonomous articulated vehicles. An example vehicle can receive, at a computer system of a tractor operating in an autonomous mode, trailer sensor data from a plurality of trailer sensors located on at least one trailer, the at least one trailer being coupled to the tractor. The computer system can also receive road condition data from at least one sensor, the at least one sensor being located on at least one of the tractor and the at least one trailer. The computer system can then identify, based on the trailer sensor data and the road condition data, a physical condition of the at least one trailer to be modified, and modify, via an electrical signal transmitted from the computer system, the physical condition.

A control device includes a movement state acquisition unit 55 that acquires a movement state of a vehicle 10 towing a trailer 60, a relative position acquisition unit 56 that acquires a relative position between the vehicle 10 and the trailer 60, and a display control unit 57 that displays a first predictive guide indicating a predicted passing area of the vehicle 10 and a second predictive guide indicating a predicted passing area of the trailer 60. The display control unit 57 changes display of each of the first predictive guide of the vehicle 10 and the second predictive guide of the trailer 60 based on the movement state of the vehicle 10 and the relative position between the vehicle 10 and the trailer 60, and perform display in color of an area to be displayed among the first predictive guide and the second predictive guide.

A method for controlling a vehicle train, having a towing vehicle and at least one trailer vehicle. The towing vehicle includes a continuous deceleration device for performing a continuous deceleration. The method includes the steps: determining a trailer mass of the trailer vehicle in the prevailing vehicle configuration of the vehicle train; determining a towing vehicle trailer mass of the towing vehicle in the prevailing vehicle configuration; determining a mass ratio of the prevailing vehicle configuration based on the trailer mass and the towing vehicle mass; and limiting a maximum permissible continuous deceleration power of the continuous deceleration device based on the mass ratio. A driver assistance system is configured to perform the method. A commercial vehicle includes the driver assistance system. A computer program product is configured to perform the method.

A path planning approach based on semi-supervised learning including a trained encoder-decoder type of deep neural network to generate and plan paths with the objective to minimize the off-track of the tractor-trailer swept area. The encoder encodes input information such as lane markings, static obstacles, and potentially other features, and pass it to the decoder to generate a planned path. A path cost function scores and penalizes each network-generated path based on its deviation from the lane center, the path smoothness and collision with any static obstacles, and backpropagates the cost of the paths through the encoder-decoder network to train it. As the path cost function acts as a critic of the path quality, no collected data from expert driving for training is required, but only randomly generated samples of many possible combinations of lane shapes and obstacles arrangements.

A method for estimating a region of space occupied by a vehicle which moves along a path includes: obtaining a nominal path {X(s):0≤s≤s0}; recording a plurality of trajectories in the vehicle's state space {x(s;q):0≤s≤s0} while the vehicle is maneuvered along the nominal path in a variety of driving conditions q; for each trajectory, computing a corresponding lateral deviation {e(s;q)=(el(s;q), er(s;q)):0≤s≤s0} off the nominal path; estimating a conditional probability distribution Fe(s)|X(s) of the lateral deviation given the nominal path; and based on the estimated probability distribution, providing an outer limit of a region of space AX occupied by the vehicle, wherein the computing of the lateral deviation and / or the providing of the outer limit is based on a footprint of the vehicle.

An auxiliary power system for an electric semi-truck is disclosed. The auxiliary power system includes a power storage device mounted to a semi-trailer. One or more main batteries provide propulsion to a semi-truck and are in electrical communication with the power storage device to receive auxiliary power therefrom. The power storage device is operable to increase the range over which the semi-truck travels between recharging. The power storage device may be configured to either provide supplemental power to increase the power output of the semi-truck in real-time or may be configured to increase the range between recharging of the main batteries of the semi-truck.

A locking mechanism configured to selectively secure a vehicle slider frame assembly to a vehicle frame assembly includes a locking member configured to move between a locked position and an unlocked position, an actuator shaft operably coupled with the locking member such that turning the actuator shaft along a longitudinal axis of the actuator shaft moves the locking member between the locked and unlocked positions, the actuator shaft including a first portion and a second portion that telescopingly engage one another and are releasably secured to one another, and a spring member positioned over the actuator shaft and configured to bias the at least one locking member toward the locked position.

A commercial vehicle having various GVWR configurations with a vehicle body with two or more axles, and a cab that does not pivot relative to the vehicle body, and a battery-electric-powered or hydrogen-electric-powered propulsion system. The vehicle has a center of gravity that is substantially lower, and a track width which is substantially narrower, than an articulating tractor-trailer combination with a trailer size comparable to the vehicle body of the present invention, providing substantially increased stability, and with all axles preferably being steerable E-axles, substantially improving the turning and trailing of the vehicle. Additional attributes are improved safety, increased payload weight and cubic capacity, higher productivity and lower maintenance costs. Many other advantages flow from this vehicle design.

A vehicle control system is for a vehicle. The control system has a first control unit configured to determine a manipulated variable of a vehicle actuator of the vehicle and to output same at an actuator interface, a second control unit, which can be connected to a vehicle network and a private network of the vehicle to receive signals that include two or more geometric characteristics and two or more load characteristics of a current vehicle configuration of the vehicle, and a control system network. The second control unit is configured to define a driving dynamics limit value of the current vehicle configuration using the characteristics and to provide the driving dynamics limit value on the control system network. The first control unit is configured to determine the manipulated variable using the driving dynamics limit value.

A multi-vehicle control system (MVCS) for control of a multi-vehicle system having independently powered and steered lead and trailer vehicles connected by a slidable length sensing tow bar system. The MVCS includes a controller configured to receive throttle, brake, and steering signals from the lead vehicle, receive signals from the tow bar system indicating an extension length of the tow bar system, a front angle deviation of the lead vehicle, and a rear angle deviation of the trailer vehicle. The controller is further configured to determine, based on the received signals, a trailer vehicle acceleration / deceleration output and a trailer vehicle steering output, determine a driving scenario of the multi-vehicle system, and operate the multi-vehicle system based on the determined driving scenario and the determined trailer vehicle acceleration / deceleration output and trailer vehicle steering output.

A motor-driven trailer and towbar system includes a towbar having a vehicle side end configured to connect with the vehicle and a trailer side end configured to connect with a trailer coupling. The towbar is pivotably coupled to the trailer and configured to pivot along a pivoting path (P) between a lowered position (L) and a raised position (R) with respect to the trailer. At least one first sensor element is configured to detect a position of the towbar along the pivoting path (P). A control unit (TCU) is in communication with the at least one first sensor element and is configured to switch the system between an operating mode and a parking mode. The system is switched into the parking mode when the towbar is in a raised position (R) and is switched into the operating mode when the towbar is in a lowered position (L).

A control device associated with an autonomous vehicle receives sensor data and detects that the autonomous vehicle is approaching a railroad crossing based on the sensor data. The control device determines a target lane to travel while crossing the railroad. The target lane is a lane that has available space with at least a length of the autonomous vehicle on the other side of the railroad as opposed to a side of the railroad where the autonomous vehicle is currently traveling. The control device instructs the autonomous vehicle to travel on the target lane. The control device determines that a train is approaching the railroad crossing and waits for the train to pass the railroad crossing. The control device determines that the train has passed the railroad crossing. The control device instructs the autonomous vehicle to cross the railroad.

A method of operating a tow vehicle and a trailer includes identifying at least one of transient state of operating characteristics or steady state operating characteristics. A transient state based estimation is performed if the transient state operating characteristics are identified to determine a transient state based effective trailer wheelbase and a towbar length and a steady state based estimation is performed if the steady state operating characteristics are identified to determine a steady state based effective trailer wheelbase. An estimated effective trailer wheelbase is determined relative to the tow vehicle based on at least one of the transient state based effective trailer wheelbase and the steady state based effective trailer wheelbase. The tow vehicle and the trailer are maneuvered based on the estimated effective trailer wheelbase.

According to an embodiment, it is a system comprising a processor; a communication module; wherein the processor is operable to determine, that an item is attached to a vehicle forming a vehicle combination; establish, a first connection of the vehicle with the item that is being attached via the communication module; initiate, a communication via a connector with the item, wherein the communication comprises a message comprising a specification, wherein the specification comprises an object that is being carried by the item; establish, a second connection with the object that is being carried by the item; determine, a first resource with the item; determine, a second resource with the object; and use the first resource and the second resource.

The invention relates to a vehicle control method (1), comprising: detecting (17) an unstable driving state (330) of a vehicle (300) in advance at least using an actual variable (9) and a target trajectory (TSoll); wherein, during the early detection (17), it is ascertained whether the unstable driving state (330) is an understeer (332) of the vehicle (300) or an oversteer (334) of the vehicle (300); and in response to the early detection (17): defining (40) a steering angle correction (41) for the target steering angle ([delta] Soll), the steering angle correction (41) comprising a steering angle limit ([delta] lim) for the available actual steering angle ([delta] Ist) if the unstable driving state (330) is an understeer (332) of the vehicle (300); and wherein, if the unstable driving state (330) of the vehicle (300) is an oversteering (334), the steering angle correction (41) comprises a reverse steering angle (cs) directed opposite the target steering angle ([delta] Soll); and steers (47) the vehicle (300) using the steering angle correction (41). The invention also relates to a vehicle control system (200), a vehicle (300) and a computer program product.

The invention relates to an adjustable suspension for a vehicle. A system for dynamically managing individual suspension settings of a vehicle based on a determined suspension pattern is provided. Based on the user input and the obtained sensor input, the system may then determine a suspension pattern for a plurality of individual controllable components by specifying a value or command for each controllable component. The first mode may correspond to lowering of the plurality of controllable components. The second mode may correspond to lowering two controllable components corresponding to rear wheels of the vehicle and raising two controllable components corresponding to front wheels of the vehicle. The third mode may correspond to lowering the plurality of controllable components to effectively lower the height of the vehicle to a threshold point. The system may also implement various verification processes that may verify the determined suspension mode and further adjust the individually controllable portions based on load or ground measurements.

A tractor that includes: a driver equipped with a left and right pair of driving wheels; a vehicle main body provided between the left and right pair of driving wheels; a periphery information detection sensor provided at the vehicle main body and detecting periphery information; a controller provided in the vehicle main body and controlling autonomous traveling by the driver in accordance with the periphery information detected by the periphery information detection sensor; and a first coupler provided at the vehicle main body and configured to be coupled to a trailer.