Trailered Vehicle Road Grade Estimation via Spatial Shifting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Monitoring and accounting for the road grade beneath a trailered vehicle during towing is challenging due to the difficulty in equipping trailered vehicles with sensors, leading to insufficient braking force in towing vehicles when facing extreme road grades.
Innovation Solution
A method and system where a towing vehicle with a sensor assembly and controller estimates the trailered vehicle's road grade by shifting the towing vehicle's road grade measurements in a spatial domain, allowing for vehicle control adjustments such as increased braking force, cruise control adjustments, and transmission shifts based on the estimated trailered vehicle road grade.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If sensors are mounted on the trailered vehicle to monitor road grade, then measurement precision of trailered vehicle road grade is improved, but device complexity and ease of manufacture worsen due to requiring additional sensors on the trailered vehicle
Solution Approach 1:
The towing vehicle acts as an intermediary carrier for the road grade sensors. Instead of mounting sensors directly on the trailered vehicle, the system uses sensors on the towing vehicle to indirectly measure the road grade conditions that the trailered vehicle experiences, eliminating the need for additional sensor installation on the trailered vehicle while still providing the necessary measurement data
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a spatial-temporal copy of the towing vehicle's road grade measurements to represent the trailered vehicle's road grade conditions. By recording and shifting the towing vehicle's sensor data in space and time, the system generates an estimated road grade profile for the trailered vehicle position without requiring physical sensors there
2Reliability
If braking force is increased to account for extreme road grades, then reliability of towing vehicle control is improved, but use of energy worsens due to increased braking force requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary measurement and estimation of road grade conditions using sensors on the towing vehicle before the trailered vehicle encounters extreme grades. By advance detection and spatial shifting of the road grade profile, the system prepares braking control strategies in advance, allowing for more efficient energy management rather than reactive braking that wastes energy
3Adaptability or versatility
If road grade monitoring is implemented for trailered vehicles, then vehicle control adjustment capability is improved, but difficulty of detecting and measuring worsens due to trailered vehicle proximity and lack of sensors
Solution Approach 1:
The towing vehicle serves as an intermediary measurement platform. Sensors mounted on the towing vehicle detect road grade conditions, and this data is then processed and shifted in space and time to represent the trailered vehicle's position. This intermediary approach overcomes the difficulty of direct measurement on the trailered vehicle while maintaining adaptability for control adjustments
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces direct mechanical sensing on the trailered vehicle with a computational approach. Instead of physically measuring road grade at the trailered vehicle location, the system uses mathematical transformations (spatial and temporal shifting) of the towing vehicle's sensor data to derive the trailered vehicle's road grade conditions
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle control method includes, among other things, recording a towing vehicle road grade for a fixed road position when a towing vehicle tows a trailered vehicle. The method further includes shifting, using a controller, the recording to provide a trailered vehicle road grade for the fixed road position based upon the towing vehicle road grade and initiating a vehicle control adjustment to control the towing vehicle based upon the trailered vehicle road grade.