Improved comfort in stopped vehicles

Abstract

A system for mitigating side-to-side motion of a vehicle caused by passing traffic includes a controller configured to receive vehicle speed information, a traffic sensing system in communication with the controller, a damping system in communication with the controller, and at least one controllable damper in communication with the damping system. The controller determines whether the vehicle speed is less than a predetermined minimum vehicle speed threshold, determines whether the vehicle is in proximity to nearby traffic, determines whether the nearby traffic is traveling at a speed above a predetermined traffic speed threshold, and commands an increase in damping at the at least one controllable damper.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure is directed to improving the comfort experienced by occupants of a stopped vehicle. Background Art

[0002] When a motor vehicle is stopped at a location near other vehicular traffic, the movement of passing traffic may induce wind pressure on the stopped motor vehicle, which may result in undesirable side-to-side movement of the vehicle.

[0003] Therefore, while current vehicle systems achieve their intended purposes, a need remains for new and improved systems and methods for improving the comfort experienced by occupants of a stopped vehicle. Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to several aspects, a system for mitigating motion of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, wherein the motion is caused by passing traffic, is disclosed. The system includes a controller configured to receive vehicle speed information, a traffic sensing system in communication with the controller, a damping system in communication with the controller, and at least one controllable damper in communication with the damping system. The controller includes a processor and a non-transitory machine-readable storage device containing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to determine whether a vehicle speed is less than a predetermined minimum vehicle speed threshold, determine whether the traffic sensing system indicates that the vehicle is in a position adjacent to high-speed traffic, and, in response to determining that the vehicle speed is less than the predetermined minimum vehicle speed threshold and that the vehicle is in a position adjacent to high-speed traffic, command an increase in damping at the at least one controllable damper.

[0005] In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, a traffic sensing system includes at least one sensor mounted on a vehicle.

[0006] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the at least one sensor is a camera, a radar transducer, or a lidar transducer.

[0007] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a traffic sensing system includes a map database.

[0008] In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, the map database includes information regarding the location of the vehicle derived from a GPS system.

[0009] In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, the map database further includes real-time information regarding traffic flow proximate to the location of the vehicle, the real-time information being received by the telecommunications device.

[0010] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the map database further includes information about an average traffic flow adjacent to the location of the vehicle, the information about the average traffic flow being received by the telecommunication device.

[0011] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the information on the average traffic flow further includes average traffic flow information calculated according to the time of day or the day of the week.

[0012] In an aspect of the present disclosure, the at least one controllable damper includes a plurality of controllable dampers. The system may be configured to control one of the controllable dampers to a first damping value and another of the controllable dampers to a second damping value different from the first damping value.

[0013] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to determine a position of the highway traffic relative to the vehicle and select the first damping value and the second damping value based on the position of the highway traffic.

[0014] In an additional aspect of the present disclosure, the processor further commands a reduction in damping at the at least one controllable damper in response to determining that the vehicle speed is not less than a predetermined minimum vehicle speed threshold or the vehicle is not in a location adjacent to high-speed traffic.

[0015] According to several aspects, a method for controlling damping of at least one controllable damper on a vehicle is disclosed. The method includes determining whether a vehicle speed is less than a predetermined minimum vehicle speed threshold, determining whether the vehicle is in a location adjacent to high-speed traffic, and, in response to determining that the vehicle speed is less than the predetermined minimum vehicle speed threshold and determining that the vehicle is in a location adjacent to high-speed traffic, commanding an increase in damping at the at least one controllable damper.

[0016] In another aspect of the disclosed method, the step of determining whether the vehicle is in a location adjacent to high-speed traffic utilizes information from at least one sensor mounted on the vehicle.

[0017] In another aspect of the disclosed method, the step of determining whether the vehicle is in a location adjacent to high-speed traffic utilizes information from a map database.

[0018] In additional aspects of the disclosed method, the information from the map database includes real-time information regarding traffic flow near the location of the vehicle, the real-time information being received by the telecommunications device.

[0019] In another aspect of the disclosed method, the information from the map database includes information about an average traffic flow in the vicinity of the location of the vehicle, the information about the average traffic flow being received by the telecommunication device.

[0020] In another aspect of the disclosed method, the at least one controllable damper includes a plurality of controllable dampers, wherein one of the controllable dampers is controllable to a first damping value and another of the controllable dampers is controllable to a second damping value different from the first damping value.

[0021] In another aspect of the disclosed method, the method further includes determining a position of highway traffic relative to the vehicle, and selecting the first damping value and the second damping value based on the position of the highway traffic.

[0022] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein.It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] ]The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

[0024] Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating the relative positions of a stopped vehicle and passing traffic according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0025] Figure 2 is a block diagram of a system for controlling a suspension damper according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0026] Figure 3 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a suspension damper according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0027] Figure 4 is a graph showing a comparison of measured lateral acceleration of a stopped vehicle caused by a passing vehicle at two different suspension damping settings, according to an exemplary embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.

[0029] To improve ride comfort in a moving vehicle, the vehicle may use technology that adapts and adjusts the damping of the shock absorbers (also referred to herein as "damper") on the vehicle in real time in response to road conditions in order to deliver optimal vibration damping for the best possible driving experience. An example of such technology utilizes controllable dampers containing magnetorheological fluid, which is a mixture of iron particles in a synthetic hydrocarbon oil. Each controllable damper contains at least one electromagnetic coil and a piston with a small fluid channel, wherein the channel passes through the piston. The electromagnet is capable of generating a variable magnetic field across the fluid channel. When the electromagnet is not energized, the fluid travels freely through the channel. When the electromagnet is energized, the bond strength between the magnetized iron particles causes the viscosity of the fluid to increase, thereby producing a stiffer suspension. Changing the intensity of the current passing through the electromagnet will result in a change in the damping behavior. Other variable damping technologies, including but not limited to electrorheological dampers and electromagnetic dampers, may alternatively be used in ride control systems.

[0030] Moving vehicles affect the air pressure around them. The wind resistance created in front of a moving vehicle creates a high-pressure area near the front of the vehicle, which can affect neighboring vehicles. When a passenger vehicle is stopped (i.e., the vehicle's wheels are not moving relative to the ground) and there is passing traffic in an adjacent lane, the wind pressure generated by the passing traffic may exert a force on the stopped vehicle, causing the body of the stopped vehicle to move side to side. In particular, the passenger compartment of a sedan is connected to the vehicle's wheels and tires via a suspension system that typically includes springs and dampers, allowing the passenger compartment to move relative to the ground even when the tires are in a fixed position relative to the ground. This side-to-side movement can cause an unpleasant sensation for passengers in the stopped vehicle and may cause motion sickness. The applied force depends on factors such as the size of the passing vehicle, the speed of the passing vehicle, and the distance between the passing vehicle and the stopped vehicle.

[0031] refer to Figure 1 , presents a plan view 10 of a portion of an exemplary road 15. The exemplary road 15 accommodates three lanes of traffic in the directions indicated by arrows 20. An exit ramp 25 is provided from the road 15. Figure 1 In the situation illustrated in FIG, vehicle 30 is stopped in the right lane of road 15 due to congestion in the form of a stopped vehicle 35 exiting road 15 on an exit ramp 25. Other vehicles 40, 45, 50 are shown moving in the direction indicated by arrow 20 in the left and center lanes of road 15. Air pressure disturbances 55 propagating from moving vehicles 40, 45, 50 exert lateral forces on stopped vehicle 30, causing the stopped vehicle 30 to rock or sway side to side. Although Figure 1 The diagram illustrates a situation in which the stopped vehicle 30 is in the rightmost lane of traffic, but it will be appreciated that similar movement of the stopped vehicle may result from other situations. For example, the vehicle may be stopped due to congestion on an exit ramp to the left. Alternatively, the vehicle may be stopped, waiting for oncoming traffic to pass so that it can complete a left turn. It will also be appreciated that moving traffic may be approaching from behind the stopped vehicle, such as Figure 1 , or may be coming towards the stopped vehicle, such as in a left turn event. It will be appreciated that the movement of the stopped vehicle 30 may be caused by an off-highway vehicle (e.g., a railroad train moving close to the stopped vehicle 30).

[0032] In aspects of the present disclosure, Figure 2 A non-limiting depiction of a system for mitigating the side-to-side pitch or sway of a stopped vehicle is shown in FIG. Figure 2, the exemplary system 100 includes a controller 105 configured to receive digitally communicated information or measured voltage, current, position, temperature, and / or other suitable electrical values ​​as part of a set of input signals. The controller 105 can be variously implemented to collectively manage one or more control devices of the system 100 as part of the method 200 described below. The multiple controllers can communicate via a serial bus (e.g., a CAN bus, other differential voltage network) or via discrete conductors.

[0033] The controller 105 may include one or more digital computers, each having a processor (e.g., a microprocessor or central processing unit) and memory in the form of read-only memory, random access memory, electrically programmable read-only memory, etc., a high-speed clock, analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog circuits, input / output circuits and devices, and appropriate signal conditioning and buffering circuits. The controller 105 may also store algorithms and / or computer-executable instructions, including the underlying algorithms or code embodying the method 200 described below, in the memory and send commands to various vehicle systems to enable certain control actions according to the present disclosure.

[0034] Controller 105 is in communication with vehicle 30 and may receive signals indicative of vehicle speed, transmission gear state, torque converter clutch state, and brake switch state, among other possible vehicle operating conditions or parameters.

[0035] Continue to refer Figure 2 , the controller 105 is communicatively coupled to a first sensor 110 and a second sensor 115. In an embodiment of the system 100, the first sensor 110 is a left object detection sensor and the second sensor 115 is a right object detection sensor, and the first sensor 110 and the second sensor 115 provide information about approaching vehicles in adjacent lanes to the controller. Suitable technologies for the first sensor 110 and the second sensor 115 include cameras, radar, and lidar.

[0036] Controller 105 is also depicted as being communicatively coupled to a map database 120. Map database 120 contains lane-specific information for the location of vehicle 30 and lanes adjacent to the lane occupied by vehicle 30. The information in map database 120 can be provided by a GPS system combined with analysis of vehicle telemetry data to identify whether another vehicle is traveling at a high speed in a lane adjacent to the location of vehicle 30. The map database can receive lane-specific traffic speed information on a real-time basis via telecommunications equipment. For example, a telematics system can collect and analyze position and speed data from multiple vehicles on a road to calculate traffic flow (lane speed and traffic density) for traffic lanes and identify the likelihood of high-speed traffic in lanes adjacent to vehicle 30. Alternatively, map database 120 can collect average lane-specific traffic speed information over a period of time. It will be appreciated that average lane traffic speeds may vary depending on the time of day or day of the week, for example, due to commuter traffic patterns.

[0037] Although Figure 2 Object detection sensors 110 and 115 are depicted in conjunction with map database 120 , but implementations utilizing only object detection sensors 110 , 115 without map database 120 , or having only map database 120 without object detection sensors 110 , 115 , are considered within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0038] Continue to refer Figure 2 Controller 105 is communicatively coupled to a vehicle damping system 125, which is configured to provide control signals to each of a plurality of controllable vehicle dampers, including a left front damper 130, a right front damper 135, a left rear damper 140, and a right rear damper 145. The control signals for the controllable dampers 130, 135, 140, 145 set the damping behavior, i.e., softness or stiffness, for the controlled dampers 130, 135, 140, 145. It will be appreciated that the damping values ​​of the dampers 130, 135, 140, 145 can be controlled individually or in any combination to suit the specific situation. By way of non-limiting example, it may be advantageous to stiffen the damping of only the front dampers while softening the rear dampers. In another non-limiting example, it may be desirable to stiffen the dampers on the left side of vehicle 30 while softening the dampers on the right side. Rather than making all of the dampers on the vehicle 30 stiff, all of the dampers on the vehicle do not have to be stiff, resulting in lower current requirements.

[0039] refer to Figure 3, depicts a flow chart of a method 200 for controlling the damping of suspension dampers 130, 135, 140, 145. The discussion of method 200 is based on the assumption that dampers 130, 135, 140, 145 employ a technique in which damping is increased by increasing the current flowing to the dampers. After the initialization process at step 205, method 200 proceeds to step 210, where it is determined whether vehicle 30 is stopped. As used herein, the term "stopped" with respect to vehicle 30 also includes situations in which the speed of vehicle 30 is below a predefined non-zero threshold. If it is determined in step 210 that the vehicle is not stopped, the method proceeds to step 230. If it is determined in step 210 that vehicle 30 is stopped, the method proceeds to step 215.

[0040] In step 215, a determination is made as to whether the vehicle 30 is in proximity to nearby traffic. In an exemplary embodiment, this determination is based on information received from the object detection sensors 110, 115 regarding the proximity of traffic. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the determination as to whether the vehicle 30 is in proximity to nearby traffic is based on an analysis of vehicle telemetry data from the map database 120. If, in step 215, it is determined that the vehicle 30 is not in proximity to nearby traffic, the method proceeds to step 230. If, in step 215, it is determined that the vehicle 30 is in proximity to nearby traffic, the method proceeds to step 220.

[0041] Continue to refer Figure 3 In step 220, a determination is made as to whether the speed difference between vehicle 30 and nearby traffic is above a predetermined minimum threshold. In an exemplary embodiment, this determination is based on information received from object detection sensors 110, 115 regarding the proximity of traffic, wherein the rate at which the proximity changes over time provides speed information. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the determination as to whether a speed difference exists between vehicle 30 and nearby traffic is based on analyzing vehicle telemetry data from map database 120. If, in step 220, it is determined that the speed difference between vehicle 30 and nearby traffic is not above the predetermined minimum threshold, the method proceeds to step 230. If, in step 220, it is determined that the speed difference between vehicle 30 and nearby traffic is above the predetermined minimum threshold, the method proceeds to step 225.

[0042] Continue to refer Figure 3If all of the following conditions are met: the vehicle 30 is stopped, the vehicle 30 is approaching nearby traffic, and the speed difference between the vehicle 30 and the nearby traffic is above a predetermined minimum threshold, the method proceeds to step 225. When all three of these conditions are met, in step 225, the method sends a command to the vehicle damping system 125 to apply current to the suspension dampers 130, 135, 140, and / or 145 to reduce the pitch or sway of the vehicle 30. After commanding the application of current to the suspension dampers, the method returns to step 210.

[0043] As discussed above, if any of the following three conditions are true: (1) the vehicle 30 is not stopped; (2) the vehicle 30 is not positioned near traffic; or (3) the speed difference between the vehicle 30 and the nearby traffic is not above a predetermined minimum threshold, then the method 200 may reach step 230. If the method 200 reaches step 230, then this is an indication that the suspension is not currently desired to stiffen. Step 230 determines whether current is currently being applied to any of the suspension dampers 130, 135, 140, 145. If current is not currently being applied to any of the suspension dampers 130, 135, 140, 145, then the method 200 returns to step 210. If current is currently being applied to any of the suspension dampers 130, 135, 140, 145, then the method 200 proceeds to step 235 to remove current from the suspension dampers 130, 135, 140, 145. While removing the current applied to the suspension dampers is not necessary to achieve the benefits of the present disclosure, it may still be desirable to conserve battery capacity.After removing the current applied to the suspension dampers 130 , 135 , 140 , 144 in step 235 , the method returns to step 210 .

[0044] In a non-limiting exemplary embodiment, step 210 may determine whether the vehicle 30 is still traveling at a non-zero speed, but is approaching a zero speed condition, and if so, respond as if the vehicle has come to a complete stop. In compensating for the response time associated with the initial stiffening of the suspension dampers 130, 135, 140, 145, it may be advantageous to predict the impending stop of the vehicle 30 in advance and begin applying current to the suspension dampers 130, 135, 140, 145, thereby allowing the advantages of the present disclosure to occur earlier.

[0045] Figure 4is a comparative graph showing measured lateral acceleration of a stopped vehicle 30 caused by a passing vehicle 50 at two different suspension damping settings, according to an exemplary embodiment. Top graph 310 is a plot of lateral acceleration versus time for a single passing event with the suspension of vehicle 30 undamped. Bottom graph 320 is a plot of lateral acceleration versus time for a single passing event with the suspension of vehicle 30 damped according to method 200 described above. The same vertical scaling for lateral acceleration is used in both top graph 310 and bottom graph 320, and the durations captured on the horizontal axes of top graph 310 and bottom graph 320 are comparable. The data depicted on top graph 310 and bottom graph 320 were measured with the same vehicle 50 passing vehicle 30 at the same speed. As Figure 4 As demonstrated by the data presented in , providing additional damping significantly reduces the lateral acceleration caused by a passing vehicle 50 .

[0046] The disclosed system for mitigating the side-to-side pitch or sway of a stopped vehicle offers several advantages. One benefit is a more refined customer experience due to minimized vehicle motion. Another benefit is reduced occupant motion sickness caused by unpredictable vehicle motion. Yet another benefit is an improved perception of vehicle quality due to a sense of improved vehicle stability.

[0047] The description of the present disclosure is merely exemplary in nature, and variations that do not depart from the gist of the present disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure. Such variations should not be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A system for mitigating movement of a passenger compartment of a vehicle, said movement being caused by passing traffic, said system comprising: a controller configured to receive vehicle speed information; a traffic sensing system in communication with the controller; a damping system in communication with the controller; and a plurality of controllable dampers in communication with the damping system; The controller includes a processor and a non-transitory machine-readable storage device containing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: determining whether the vehicle is stopped; determining whether the traffic sensing system indicates that the vehicle is in a location adjacent to high-speed traffic; determining whether a speed difference between the vehicle and nearby traffic is above a predetermined minimum threshold; as well as In response to determining that the vehicle is stopped, determining that the vehicle is in a position adjacent to high-speed traffic, and determining that a speed difference between the vehicle and the nearby traffic is above a predetermined minimum threshold, commanding control of one of the plurality of controllable dampers to a first damping value and commanding control of another of the plurality of controllable dampers to a second damping value different from the first damping value.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein: The traffic sensing system includes at least one sensor mounted on the vehicle.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein: The at least one sensor is a camera, a radar transducer or a lidar transducer.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein: The traffic sensing system includes a map database.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein: The map database includes information about the position of the vehicle derived from a GPS system.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein: The map database also includes real-time information regarding traffic flow proximate to the location of the vehicle, the real-time information being received by a telecommunications device.

7. The system according to claim 5, wherein: The map database further comprises information about an average traffic flow adjacent to the location of the vehicle, the information about the average traffic flow being received by a telecommunication device.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein: The information on average traffic flow also includes average traffic flow information calculated according to the time of day or the day of the week.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein: The instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to determine a position of the high-speed traffic relative to the vehicle and select the first and second damping values ​​based on the position of the high-speed traffic.

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