Parking Brake Control With Adaptive Delay for Truck Rollaway Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle parking systems for commercial trucks lack an efficient mechanism to prevent rollaways, especially when a hill start assist system is activated or not, requiring additional hardware and software modifications.
Innovation Solution
A parking brake apparatus with a controller that determines the presence and activation of a hill start assist system, applying parking brakes with adaptive time delays based on predefined conditions, eliminating the need for seat pressure or seat belt switches and minimizing software integration with other controllers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hill start assist system is integrated with the parking brake system, then the reliability of preventing vehicle rollaway is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional sensors and control logic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the hill start assist system and parking brake system into a single integrated control unit. The controller receives signals from both systems and processes them together to determine when to apply the parking brake, eliminating the need for separate control mechanisms and reducing overall system complexity despite adding functional integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller is designed to perform multiple functions: it operates the parking brake system independently and also integrates with the hill start assist system. By making the controller universal, the patent avoids adding separate dedicated controllers for each function, thereby improving reliability through integration while minimizing the increase in device complexity.
2Reliability
If adaptive time delays are implemented based on hill start assist activation, then the effectiveness of rollaway prevention is improved, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring system states increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller continuously monitors the activation state of the hill start assist system and adjusts the parking brake application timing accordingly. When the hill start assist system is activated, the controller applies a first adaptive time delay; when not activated, it applies a second adaptive time delay. This feedback mechanism allows the system to automatically adapt to different operating conditions, improving effectiveness while keeping detection logic manageable through clear state-based decision rules.
3Ease of manufacture
If the parking brake system operates independently without integration with other vehicle systems, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but the adaptability to different vehicle configurations decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller is designed with dynamic configuration capabilities, allowing it to adapt its operation based on whether the hill start assist system is present. The system can operate in a standalone mode for simpler vehicle configurations or integrate with the hill start assist system for more advanced configurations. This dynamic adaptability is achieved through software-based control logic that can be configured without hardware modifications, maintaining ease of manufacture while enhancing versatility.
Data Source
AI summary
A parking brake apparatus for a vehicle includes a parking brake controller controlling a parking brake system and arranged to obtain one or more input signals indicative of one or more actions from one or more vehicle systems other than the parking braking system. The parking brake controller is also arranged to provide one or more control signals to be applied to components of the parking brake system to apply parking brakes based upon an adaptive time delay to prevent a vehicle rollaway when the one or more input signals are indicative of the one or more actions meeting respective one or more predetermined conditions.