Tractor Motion Stabilizer Pendular Motion Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motion stabilizers for tractors struggle to accurately detect pendular motion caused by trailer swaying, often leading to erroneous brake activations due to similar yaw rate patterns during slaloming without a trailer.
Innovation Solution
A motion stabilizer system comprising a yaw rate acquisition unit, lateral acceleration acquisition unit, steering angle acquisition unit, vehicle speed acquisition unit, lateral acceleration based yaw rate computation unit, standard yaw rate computation unit, and a pendular motion determination unit that adjusts threshold values and parameters based on correlations between actual and standard yaw rates to differentiate between trailer-induced pendular motion and slaloming.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the system uses a simple threshold-based detection method for pendular motion, then the detection response is fast and simple, but the detection accuracy deteriorates due to erroneous detection during slaloming without a trailer
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the threshold value for pendular motion detection based on the detected motion pattern. When slaloming is detected (through characteristic yaw rate patterns), the threshold is temporarily raised to prevent false positives, while maintaining sensitivity to actual pendular motion when appropriate. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the detection system both simple in structure and accurate in operation under varying conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the detection parameters (threshold values, time constants) based on the current operating state. By monitoring multiple parameters including yaw rate, lateral acceleration, and steering angle, the system identifies whether the vehicle is in a slaloming state or a trailer-pulling state, and adjusts the pendular motion detection threshold accordingly. This parameter adaptation enables accurate detection without requiring complex additional hardware.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the system activates brake upon detecting pendular motion, then the traveling stability is improved, but the risk of erroneous brake activation increases due to false detection during slaloming
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from multiple sensors (yaw rate, lateral acceleration, steering angle) to continuously monitor the vehicle's motion state and adjust the brake activation decision. By analyzing the correlation between steering input and actual vehicle response, the system determines whether detected pendular motion is genuine (requiring brake intervention) or spurious (resulting from driver slaloming). This feedback mechanism ensures stable operation while preventing erroneous brake activation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary analysis of the motion pattern before activating the brake. By detecting characteristic patterns of slaloming (such as high-frequency steering inputs without corresponding vehicle response) in advance, the system can suppress false alarm generation and prevent erroneous brake activation. This preliminary discrimination action protects against unreliable brake intervention while maintaining stability control when genuinely needed.
3Measurement precision
If the system uses multiple sensors and computations to differentiate slaloming from pendular motion, then the detection accuracy is improved, but the computational load and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a multi-functional control unit that performs multiple tasks: monitoring yaw rate, lateral acceleration, steering angle, detecting both slaloming and pendular motion, and controlling brake activation. By consolidating these functions into a single control unit rather than separate dedicated systems, the achievement high detection accuracy while minimizing the increase in overall system complexity. The control unit leverages existing sensor data for multiple purposes, avoiding redundant hardware.
Data Source
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AI summary
A pendular motion determination unit (100) of a motion stabilizer (SA) for a tractor (TR) includes a parameter computation unit (120) configured to compute a determination parameter PA indicative of a quantity of change in an actual yaw rate Y, a threshold value setting unit (140) configured to compute a threshold value PAth for the determination parameter PA, and a determination unit (150) configured to determine that a pendular motion caused by swaying motion of a trailer (TL) is imparted, if the determination parameter PA is greater than the threshold value PAth. At least one of PAth and PA is changed based upon a correlation of a value related to a lateral acceleration based yaw rate Yg with a value related to the standard yaw rate Ys and a correlation of a value related to the actual yaw rate Y with a value related to the standard yaw rate Ys.