Vehicle Torque Controller for Congested Traffic Speed Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle speed control systems, such as cruise control, are ineffective in congested traffic conditions and off-road environments due to minimum speed requirements and susceptibility to wheel slip events, limiting their ability to maintain vehicle progress and safety.
Innovation Solution
A system with a controller that adjusts torque application to vehicle wheels based on predetermined states and torque reduction functions, allowing for smooth transitions and maintaining target speed in varying conditions, including the use of positive and negative torque to manage speed and traction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cruise control systems impose a minimum speed requirement to reduce low speed collision risk, then safety is improved, but the system becomes ineffective in congested traffic conditions where vehicle speed varies widely
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the minimum speed threshold based on detected traffic conditions. In congested traffic where vehicles are moving slowly but steadily, the system lowers or removes the minimum speed requirement, allowing cruise control to operate at speeds previously prohibited. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the safety constraint flexible rather than fixed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of cruise control based on traffic conditions. By detecting congested traffic patterns (through sensors monitoring vehicle density, speed variations, and traffic flow), the system modifies the minimum speed parameter from a fixed value to a conditional value, enabling operation in previously restricted conditions while maintaining safety through continuous monitoring.
2Reliability
If cruise control systems are disabled automatically in certain driving conditions to ensure safety, then safety is improved, but the system loses effectiveness when users may not consider it desirable to be disabled
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor both environmental conditions and user intent. When the system detects that automatic disabling may be undesirable to the user (through sensors detecting steady traffic flow, absence of hazard conditions, and user behavior patterns), it provides feedback to maintain operation. This allows the system to distinguish between conditions requiring disabling (true safety hazards) and conditions where operation should continue (congested but safe traffic).
Solution Approach 2:
The system takes preliminary action by predicting safe operating conditions before automatically disabling. By analyzing traffic patterns, vehicle dynamics, and environmental factors in advance, the system determines whether upcoming conditions warrant disabling or if operation should continue, preventing unnecessary interruptions and maintaining user-desired functionality.
3Reliability
If cruise control systems cancel operation when wheel slip events are detected to allow traction control intervention, then traction control effectiveness is improved, but the system is not well suited for off-road conditions where wheel slip events are relatively common
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts its response to wheel slip events based on the detected operating environment. In off-road conditions where wheel slip is common and expected, the system learns to distinguish between beneficial slip (providing traction in loose surfaces) and harmful slip (indicating loss of control). This dynamic adaptation allows cruise control to remain operational during normal off-road wheel slip while still intervening when genuine safety issues arise.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the threshold parameters for wheel slip detection and response based on terrain type. By detecting off-road conditions through sensors (surface type, vehicle attitude, acceleration patterns), the system modifies the wheel slip tolerance parameters, allowing greater slip before cancellation occurs. This enables effective operation in off-road environments while maintaining safety through adjusted monitoring thresholds.
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments of the present invention provide a system comprising: a first controller operable to assume one of a plurality of respective states, in each of a predetermined one or more first states the first controller being configured automatically to generate a torque control signal to request an amount of positive torque applied by at least a first torque control system to one or more wheels of a vehicle and cause a vehicle to operate in accordance with a target speed value, and in each of a predetermined one or more second states the first controller being configured not to request by means of the torque control signal the amount of positive torque applied by the first torque control system to one or more wheels, wherein when the first controller switches from a first state to a second state the first controller is configured to cause a reduction, over time, in an amount of any torque that the torque control signal is causing the first torque control system to apply to one or more wheels.