Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Indication or control of braking – acceleration – or deceleration
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-24
2003-04-01
Beaulieu, Yonel (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Indication or control of braking, acceleration, or deceleration
Reexamination Certificate
active
06542806
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to a method for controlling the tractive force of a ground vehicle and, more particularly, to a method for controlling the degree of slip between a driven wheel or tread and the ground.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different types of traction control systems are known to those skilled in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,702, which issued to Fodor et al on Nov. 28, 2000, describes a method and apparatus for estimating applied wheel torque in a motor vehicle. The vehicle traction control system is controlled in part by a signal value indicative of estimated wheel torque. The estimated wheel torque value is produced within the vehicle's electronic engine control module by summing a first value which indicated the estimated torque attributable to engine combustion and a second value which is proportional to engine acceleration/deceleration which indicates the amount of torque attributable to the inertial movement of engine and drive train masses.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,611, which issued to Frank on Jul. 8, 1986, describes a low power control system and method for a power delivery system having a continuously variable ratio transmission. The control system and method for a power delivery system, such as that of an automotive vehicle, has an engine coupled to a continuously variable ratio transmission. Independent control of engine and transmission enable the engine to precisely follow a desired operating characteristic, such as the ideal operating line for low fuel consumption. Engine fuel requirements, such as throttle position, are a function of at least measured engine speed, and are adjusted in accordance with any load placed on the engine so that, during low power operation, fuel flow is increased when a decrease in operating speed occurs, and fuel flow is reduced when an increase in operating speed occurs.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,314, which issued to Graf et al on Sep. 26, 2000, describes a drive train controller for a motor vehicle. The controller is used to calculate the position of the accelerator pedal which is interpreted as the wheel torque or transmission output torque desired by the driver, in order to calculate setpoint values for the torque to be output by the drive train. It contains a control circuit in which the desired wheel torque is evaluated, together with further operating parameters of the motor vehicle, in a fuzzy system. It outputs an output signal by which the wheel torque to be exerted on the roadway by the wheels of a motor vehicle is defined.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,622, which issued to Probst on May 9, 2000, describes a circuit configuration for controlling torque transmitted between driven wheels of a motor vehicle and a roadway. The circuit configuration for controlling engine torque transmitted to a roadway through driven wheels of a motor vehicle includes a device for wheel-selective slop value detection and for determining a representative wheel slip, a device for specifying a set point slip, and an engine controller that takes a slip status into account. The engine controller is preceded by a regulator, to which a difference between the set point slip and the representative wheel slip is supplied as a control difference. A feedback signal characterizing the current engine torque is sent from the engine controller to the regulator.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,979, which issued to Ishizu on Dec. 14, 1999, describes a traction control system for automotive vehicles. The system includes a traction control unit for calculating a slip amount as the difference between a drive wheel speed and a target drive wheel speed, an engine control unit cooperating with a fuel supply system for decreasingly compensating the engine power by the fuel out control action in response to the slip amount, and a temperature sensor for detecting an internal combustion engine temperature. The traction control unit is responsive to the internal combustion engine temperature for properly setting the target drive wheel speed or for properly setting control gains of the engine control system so that the engine speed is maintained above a minimum internal combustion engine revolution speed at which engine stall is prevented.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,713, which issued to Ikeda et al on Apr. 7, 1998, describes a traction control system for a vehicle. An initial engine torque for a traction control is selected from the following engine torques: an engine torque calculated from a throttle opening degree and an engine revolution number; a required engine torque calculated from a total acceleration and a vehicle speed; and an engine torque corresponding to a road surface of an extremely low friction coefficient, depending upon a slipping state determined by comparing a driven wheel speed with slip reference values.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,551, which issued to Milunas on Oct. 31, 1995, describes an integrated traction control system. The approach provides for smooth and precise control of engine output torque to reduce slip of the driven wheels during acceleration thereof through an integrated control of engine ignition timing and engine fueling in automotive vehicles regardless of the type of transmission used in the vehicle. In the presence of a slip condition at the vehicle driven wheels, ignition timing is adjusted to attempt to alleviate the condition.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/452,797 which was filed by Suhre on Dec. 2, 1999 and is now abandoned, discloses a propeller pitch selection method for a controllable pitch propeller. A propeller blade pitch selection method receives input signals from a manually controlled input, such as a throttle handle, and from a device that measures the velocity of a marine vessel. This can be provided by a speedometer or a GPS system. The vessel velocity can be measured relative to the water in which the vessel is operated or, alternatively, relative to a fixed position on earth. Using the two inputs of thrust demand from the operator and vessel velocity from the speedometer, the engine control unit selects both a blade pitch angle and an engine torque demand magnitude from stored data and uses the two selective values to set the torque demand of the engine and the blade pitch position of the propeller. An adaptive system is also provided in which steady state conditions allow the ECU, or engine control unit, to make slight incremental changes in blade pitch when the marine vessel is operating under constant thrust conditions so that the ECU can determine if the blade pitch settings are optimal. If an improvement can be achieved by modifying the preselected blade pitch settings, an adaptive matrix is used to add corrective values to the preselected pitch magnitudes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,614 which was filed by Suhre on Feb. 9, 2001 discloses an engine control system using an air and fuel control strategy based on torque demand. A control system for a fuel injected engine provides an engine control unit that receives signals from a throttle handle that is manually manipulated by an operator of a marine vessel. The engine control unit also measures engine speed and various other parameters, such as manifold absolute pressure, temperature, barometric pressure, and throttle position. The engine control unit controls the timing of fuel injectors and the injection system and also controls the position a throttle plate. No direct connection is provided between a manually manipulated throttle handle and a throttle plate. All operating parameters are either calculated as a function of ambient conditions or determined by selecting parameters from matrices which allow the engine control unit to set the operating parameters as a function of engine speed and torque demand, as represented by the position of throttle handle.
The patents and patent applications described above are hereby explicitly incorporated by reference in the description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method of controlling tractive force of a ground vehicle
Ehlers Jeffery C.
Suhre Blake R.
Beaulieu Yonel
Brunswick Corporation
Lanyi William D.
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