Active Shimmy Mitigation via Brake Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle steering systems fail to effectively mitigate shimmy oscillations in steerable wheels, which can reduce ride comfort and quality, especially as mechanical, viscous, or passive-element dampers wear out or are damaged over time.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a shimmy detection device and a controller to selectively apply a braking load to the wheels, using existing brake components and sensors to detect and mitigate oscillations in the steering angle, thereby reducing shimmy through controlled braking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical, viscous or passive-element dampers are used to reduce vehicle shimmy, then shimmy reduction is achieved, but the dampers wear over time or can be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical/viscous dampers with an electronic control system that uses existing brake components. The controller selectively applies braking force to the steerable wheel based on detected shimmy oscillations, substituting passive mechanical damping with active electronic control. This eliminates wear-prone mechanical dampers while maintaining shimmy reduction effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes existing vehicle components (brakes, sensors, controller) that are already part of the vehicle's standard equipment. The brake system, which is already present for deceleration purposes, is repurposed to also handle shimmy mitigation, making the vehicle's existing systems serve dual functions and eliminating the need for separate damper components.
2Reliability
If conventional dampers are used for shimmy mitigation, then shimmy is reduced, but the system complexity increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes existing brake components serve multiple functions: their original function of decelerating the wheel and their additional function of mitigating shimmy oscillations. The same brake assembly that slows the vehicle also provides damping force when shimmy is detected, eliminating the need for separate damper components and reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the vehicle's existing brake system and sensor suite to perform shimmy mitigation, rather than adding dedicated dampers. The controller leverages data from existing steering angle sensors and applies force through the already-present brake mechanism, making the existing systems serve the additional purpose of shimmy control.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively reduces shimmy oscillations, improving ride comfort and quality by using existing vehicle components and software, acting as a cost-effective and redundant solution to conventional dampers, and providing diagnostic capabilities for existing damper issues.
Implementation Method 1
a brake that applies a braking load to decelerate rotation of the wheel about the axis
Data Source
AI summary
A system mitigates shimmy of a wheel of a vehicle. The wheel is rotatable about an axis and is steerable by varying a steering angle of the wheel about a steering axis. The system includes a shimmy detection device that detects whether an oscillation/shimmy of the steering angle of the wheel occurs. The system also includes a brake that applies a braking load to decelerate rotation of the wheel about the axis. Furthermore, the system includes a controller that controls the brake to selectively apply the braking load to reduce the oscillation/shimmy of the steering angle of the wheel.