Vehicle Braking Controller Detecting Pull via Yaw Rate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated braking systems in commercial trucks and tractors can cause vehicle instability due to uneven brake pressures when a wheel end modulator fails to exhaust air, leading to potential deviation from the desired travel path.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle braking system controller that receives yaw rate and stability signals to detect vehicle pull during automated braking, suspending the brake control signal if a vehicle pull is determined, thereby maintaining stability by adjusting brake pressures across all wheels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If automated braking systems apply brake pressure to stabilize the vehicle, then vehicle directional instability is mitigated, but wheel end modulator failure to exhaust air causes uneven brake pressures that pull the vehicle off course
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors yaw rate and stability signals during automated braking, comparing actual vehicle behavior against expected parameters. When deviations indicate modulator failure (such as unexpected yaw rate changes or stability signal anomalies), the control logic automatically adjusts or suspends brake control signals to correct the imbalance, creating a closed-loop feedback system that maintains stability despite component failure
Solution Approach 2:
The controller acts as an intermediary between the automated braking system and the wheel end modulators, inserting an additional layer of control that monitors modulator performance through yaw rate and stability sensors. When failure is detected, the controller mediates by adjusting individual wheel brake pressures or suspending automated braking to prevent vehicle pull, thereby protecting the overall system reliability
2Measurement precision
If pressure sensors are installed at each wheel end to monitor brake pressure, then modulator performance can be detected, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of installing physical pressure sensors at each wheel end, the system creates a functional copy of pressure monitoring capability by using existing yaw rate and stability sensors. The control logic infers brake pressure conditions at each wheel end by analyzing vehicle response patterns, thereby achieving measurement precision without the hardware complexity and cost of additional sensors
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the mechanical/electrical pressure sensing approach with a computational approach. Rather than physically measuring brake pressure at each wheel end, the system uses mathematical models and sensor fusion of yaw rate and stability data to calculate and infer pressure conditions, substituting mechanical measurement with electronic computation
3Speed
If automated braking applies all wheel end brakes simultaneously, then deceleration is achieved, but modulator failure to hold air causes pressure imbalances that pull the vehicle off course
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts brake control during automated braking based on real-time monitoring of yaw rate and stability signals. When modulator failure is detected through abnormal vehicle response, the control logic transitions from static simultaneous brake application to dynamic individual wheel control, adjusting or suspending brake signals to specific wheels to maintain path stability while preserving deceleration capability
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments of a controller for a vehicle braking system capable of determining vehicle pull during automated braking, are disclosed. The controller comprises a yaw rate input for receiving a yaw rate signal indicative of a yaw rate of the vehicle; a stability input for receiving a stability signal from a stability sensor of the vehicle; a deceleration input for receiving a deceleration signal indicative of an automated deceleration request and a brake output for transmitting a brake control signal. The controller includes control logic to determine vehicle pull based on the yaw rate signal and the stability signal.