Quick mini-spare detection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9718474-B2
Application number	US-201514835907-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 26, 2015
Priority date	Aug 26, 2014
Publication date	Aug 1, 2017
Grant date	Aug 1, 2017

Abstract

A vehicle stability control system operates by detecting a wheel speed potentially indicative of the presence of a mini-spare wheel at a wheel location of a vehicle with a wheel speed sensor and determines that a mini-spare tire is present responsive to the wheel speed remaining within a predefined band for predefined time. A threshold value that triggers action by a vehicle stability control system is adjusted to provide the mini-spare wheel with a value different than a wheel speed threshold value indicative of wheel slipping for a standard wheel.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of operating a vehicle control system comprising:
detecting a wheel velocity indicative of a presence of a mini-spare wheel at a wheel location of a vehicle with a wheel speed sensor;
determining a corrected wheel velocity for all wheels of the vehicle based on a velocity at a center of the vehicle;
defining a range of corrected wheel velocities recognized for a mini-spare wheel;
determining that a mini-spare tire is present responsive to the corrected wheel velocity remaining within the defined range of corrected wheel velocities recognized for a mini-spare wheel for a predefined time, wherein the range of corrected wheel velocities recognized for a mini-spare is greater than a corrected wheel velocity for a standard wheel installed within the vehicle;
adjusting a wheel velocity threshold value utilized to identify a wheel slipping for the wheel location determined to include the mini-spare wheel to a value different than an original wheel velocity threshold value indicative of wheel slipping for a standard wheel,
receiving signals indicative of wheel velocity from the wheel speed sensors with a controller, the controller configured to initiate actuation of components of a braking system responsive to a determination that wheel slip has occurred; and
actuating a brake associated with a wheel location associated with the wheel slipping determined by the controller.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein adjusting the wheel velocity threshold value includes increasing the wheel velocity threshold value in response to the detection of the wheel velocity indicative of the presence of a mini-spare wheel.

3. The method as recited in claim 2 , including compensating for the wheel velocity of the mini-spare wheel and returning the wheel velocity threshold value to the original threshold value after compensating for the increased wheel velocity of the mini-spare.

4. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein determining that a mini-spare wheel is present comprises monitoring a curve corrected wheel velocity for each wheel of the vehicle.

5. The method as recited in claim 4 , wherein detecting a wheel velocity indicative of a mini-spare wheel comprises detecting that one of the vehicle wheels is rotating at a velocity greater than at any other wheel on the vehicle.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 , including confirming that the mini-spare wheel is present based on the wheel velocity of the mini-spare wheel remaining within the range of wheel velocities greater than the wheel velocity for a standard wheel installed in the vehicle for a predefined time.

7. The method as recited in claim 6 , wherein the predefined velocity range is within a range that is nominally +/−3% of a wheel velocity detected by the wheel speed sensor.

8. The method as recited in claim 6 , including determining that a mini-spare wheel is not present at a specific wheel location responsive to wheel velocity falling below a nominal expected wheel speed for the mini-spare wheel prior to expiration of the predefined time.

9. A traction control system comprising:
a controller configured to receive signals for detecting a wheel velocity indicative of the presence of a mini-spare wheel and increase a wheel velocity threshold value that triggers an intervention response to wheel slipping, wherein the controller is further configured to determine a corrected wheel velocity based on a speed determined at a center of the vehicle; and
a wheel speed sensor for detecting a wheel velocity and communicating information to the controller indicative of a wheel velocity at each wheel location on the vehicle, wherein the controller is configured to determine the corrected wheel velocity for each wheel and initiate actuation of a braking system responsive to a determination that wheel slip has occurred, and wherein the controller is configured to determine that a mini-spare wheel is present responsive to the corrected wheel velocity remaining within a range of corrected wheel velocities for a predefined time, wherein the range of wheel velocities is greater than a wheel speed velocity of a standard wheel installed on the vehicle, and to temporally adjust the wheel velocity threshold value for the wheel determined to include the mini-spare.

10. The traction control system as recited in claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to determine that a mini-spare wheel is present by monitoring a curve corrected wheel velocity for each wheel of the vehicle and determine that a mini-spare wheel is present responsive to the wheel velocity at a wheel location being greater than wheel velocities at other wheel locations on the vehicle.

11. The traction control system as recited in claim 9 , wherein the predefined band of wheel speed indicative of a mini-spare wheel is nominally +/−3% of the sensed wheel velocity.

Assignees

• Continental automotive systems inc

Inventors

• Ye Bo
• Schneider Michael Gerhard
• Eswara Sai-Pavan
• Tuhro Matthew Conrad
• Luomaranta Vesa

Classifications

• B60T2240/07

  Tyre tolerance compensation · CPC title

• B60T8/175

  Brake regulation specially adapted to prevent excessive wheel spin during vehicle acceleration, e.g. for traction control (safety devices for propulsion unit control responsive to, or preventing, skidding of wheels B60K28/16) · CPC title

• B60T8/17551

  determining control parameters related to vehicle stability used in the regulation, e.g. by calculations involving measured or detected parameters · CPC title

• B60W30/18172 Primary

  Preventing, or responsive to skidding of wheels · CPC title

• B60W2520/28

  Wheel speed · CPC title