Electronic Throttle Sensitivity Control via Signal Averaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic throttle control systems in vehicles are overly sensitive, leading to driver-induced oscillations, especially in vehicles with high horsepower-to-weight ratios and those driving over uneven terrain, causing unanticipated acceleration and deceleration.
Innovation Solution
An electronic throttle control system that uses a sensor to provide signals corresponding to the accelerator pedal position, stores these signals in a memory device, and calculates an average signal to modulate the motor speed, discarding older signals on a first-in, first-out basis, allowing the driver to adjust sensitivity by modifying the number of signals averaged.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If multiple sensing devices and filters with feedback algorithms are used to address throttle sensitivity, then throttle control stability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates unnecessary sensing devices and complex feedback algorithms from the throttle control system. By using only a single sensor and simple signal averaging, the system achieves stability without the complexity of multiple sensors and sophisticated filtering algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the control parameter from direct pedal position to averaged signal over time. By computing the average of multiple sampled signals before actuating the throttle, the system transforms rapid, sensitive pedal inputs into smoother, more stable throttle commands, reducing oscillations without adding complex hardware.
2Device complexity
If a single sensor with signal averaging is used to reduce throttle sensitivity, then device complexity is reduced, but throttle response speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by using a limited number of signal samples (e.g., 5-10 recent signals) rather than averaging all historical data. This partial averaging approach reduces complexity while maintaining adequate response speed, as only a manageable number of signals need to be stored and processed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the balance between response speed and smoothing by controlling the number of signals averaged and the sampling rate. The controller can adapt the averaging window size based on driving conditions, using fewer samples for rapid responses and more samples for stable conditions.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the number of signals averaged is increased to reduce sensitivity, then throttle stability is improved, but computational load and memory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a circular buffer or queue mechanism that automatically discards old signals when the predetermined number is reached. Only the most recent N signals are retained in memory, and older signals are discarded and replaced by new samples, maintaining stable averaging while limiting memory usage to a fixed, manageable size.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic throttle control system for a motorized vehicle includes a sensor providing a signal corresponding to a relative position of an accelerator pedal between an undepressed position and a fully depressed position at a first predetermined time interval. A memory device is provided for storing a plurality of provided signals. A controller is provided for averaging a predetermined number of provided signals and sending the averaged signal to the motor at a second predetermined time interval for modulating operating speed of the motor. Upon the memory device storing the predetermined number of provided signals, provided signals are discarded from the memory device on a first in, first out basis.