Intelligent Tire Road Friction Estimation via Sensor Fusion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems face challenges in accurately estimating road friction during vehicle operation due to changing road conditions, which affects vehicle control systems like braking, anti-lock braking, steering, and collision avoidance.
Innovation Solution
A road friction estimation system utilizing tire-affixed sensors and on-board vehicle sensors, incorporating a model-based tire force estimator and a vehicle observer to generate tire force estimations, with cornering stiffness adaptation based on tire temperature, pressure, wear state, and loading, to accurately estimate road friction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a model-based tire force estimator is used, then the road friction estimation accuracy is improved, but the system complexity increases due to multiple sensors and estimators
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple estimation approaches (model-based tire force estimator and vehicle observer) into a unified friction estimation system. By merging these different estimation methods and comparing their outputs, the system achieves more accurate road friction estimation while managing complexity through integration rather than separate independent systems
Solution Approach 2:
The friction estimator acts as an intermediary component that receives inputs from both the model-based tire force estimator and the vehicle observer. This intermediary element processes and compares the different estimations to generate the final road friction estimate, managing the complexity by providing a structured interface between multiple estimation sources
2Adaptability or versatility
If cornering stiffness adaptation is implemented, then the adaptability to changing road conditions is improved, but the computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-establishes the cornering stiffness adaptation framework with predefined relationships between tire parameters (temperature, pressure, wear state, loading) and cornering stiffness. By preparing these adaptation relationships in advance, the system can quickly adjust to changing road conditions without requiring complex real-time computations, thus reducing computational requirements while maintaining adaptability
3Measurement precision
If tire-affixed sensors are used for real-time monitoring, then the measurement accuracy is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tire-affixed sensors are designed to perform multiple functions: monitoring tire pressure, temperature, wear state, and loading conditions simultaneously. By making each sensor system multi-functional, the patent reduces the need for separate dedicated sensors for each parameter, thereby improving measurement accuracy across multiple tire parameters while managing device complexity through universal sensor design
Data Source
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AI summary
A road friction estimation system and method for a road on which a vehicle is traversing is disclosed. The system comprises: a vehicle (22) having at least one supportive vehicle tire (10), the vehicle tire (10) having a tire cavity (16) and a ground-engaging tread (14), and the tire (10) having a plurality of tire-specific parameters; a plurality of tire-affixed sensors (18) mounted to the tire operably measuring the tire-specific parameters to generate tire-specific information; a plurality of on-board vehicle sensors mounted to operably measure a plurality of vehicle-specific parameters to generate vehicle-specific information; a model-based tire force estimator (32) operable to generate a model-derived tire force estimation; a vehicle observer (46) operable to generate an observer-derived tire force estimation; and a friction estimator operable to generate a road friction estimation from a comparison of the model-derived tire force estimation and the observer-derived tire force estimation.