Tire initiated vehicle control system

Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C701S036000, C702S140000, C340S442000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06498967

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to vehicle control systems, more specifically to control systems for automobiles or other vehicles employing pneumatic tires.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Advances in technology have enabled vehicles to incorporate computer-controlled features into the operation of the vehicle. Most notably, these features were implemented early on in aircraft and in that technical field the use of “fly by wire systems” or computer-augmented manual control systems has advanced to a fully integrated vertical flight path and speed control system as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,536,843. The Total Energy Control System (hereinafter referred to as TECS or TEC system) develops fundamental solutions to the problem of coordinated elevator and throttle control to produce performance levels exceeding those generally known in the flight control systems art and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,513.
Embedded within the TECS are sub systems controlled by TECS including a variety of computer controlled flight systems. Many of these systems automatically react to flight parameters and in various situations these systems sense equipment breakdowns and prevent the pilot from directing the controls in a way that could inadvertently cause a loss of control of the aircraft.
In several aircraft, the reaction of a pilot to equipment failure may overcorrect causing the situation to worsen. The use of computers that have pre-programmed responses to equipment failures insures that the response to a situation is quick and accurate and has been carefully analyzed in test lab conditions to insure a reliable and quick response. The best-experienced pilot may take precious seconds to isolate a problem manually and then he must select from a variety of options and choose the best course of action under a stressful situation.
Historically, airplanes had large amounts of time and usually sufficient airspace and altitude to allow pilots to make optimal choices. Nevertheless, in today's crowded airspace the use of computers to assist the pilots has been widely adapted.
In automobiles, we are just beginning to see applications of computer-controlled systems and equipment-controlled components. Anti-lock brakes, load-leveling suspensions, cruise control and traction control devices are commonly available.
Some car manufacturers are evaluating and testing computer controlled driverless systems. Advertisements show a string of driverless vehicles traveling at highway speeds on a California expressway. While this advanced technology is currently being tested, it is going to be years before fully automatic driverless vehicles are commercially or socially accepted.
Most importantly, the driver in the near term must be able to act and make good choices. Unlike pilots, driver training in simulated adverse conditions is almost non-existent. Driver error due to fatigue, inexperience or bad judgment is the leading cause of accidents.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,282, issued July 2001, a System and Method for Warning of Dangerous Driving Conditions is disclosed. That patent warns a driver when he is closing too fast on a vehicle such that a reduction in speed or a veering or turn is required. This patent basically gives the driver a “heads up” or signal that he should be careful. The driver initiates all action.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,282,498, a Traveling Direction Correction Apparatus is disclosed. This patent is particularly useful if the driver dozes into a sleep mode and starts to drift out of it's driving lane. This device enable or activates a brake steering sequence to try to keep the car on the pavement while also sounding an alarm to regain the drivers attention. Falling asleep or driver fatigue behind the wheel of an automobile is one of the leading causes of accidents.
In each of the above referenced patents the attempt is to avoid a driver error before the onset of an accident.
Another opportunity for driver error occurs at the initiation of a flat tire. At one time or another most drivers will experience a flat tire while driving. This problem is basically an inconvenience for most drivers in most situations. Other times, particularly at high speed, a sudden loss of pressure in a tire can be very problematic. If the driver reacts quickly by slamming on the brakes, he can lose control or be run into by following or trailing vehicles. If the driver quickly swerves or turns the steering wheel to maneuver to the side of the road he can easily oversteer the vehicle causing a loss of control. Generally the best advice is to hold steady and allow the vehicle to slow by simply removing the foot from the accelerator or by disengaging the cruise control.
After the vehicle has slowed the application of brakes or steering has a less dramatic affect.
While this seems obvious that every driver should understand this simple concept, it is more apparent that the driver often times reacts quicker than he thinks and therefore simply makes a bad situation worse.
Drivers from areas having icy or snowy conditions learn that loss of traction is not corrected by slamming on brakes. Vehicle control is your first objective in such conditions and slowing down is achieved by a deceleration based on removing the foot from the gas pedal. These common sense rules are easy for those who have practiced driving in these conditions. Drivers in warm climates simply do not have as much opportunity to learn these aspects of driving and therefore snowy or slick driving conditions, usually results in higher accident rates when they occur in the warmer climates.
When a tire experiences a flat or a more rapid rate of pressure loss due to a gash, the vehicle suddenly changes in several ways. The load balance on the vehicle shifts as the flattened tire deflates causing the center of mass to actually shift toward the flattened tire. If the brakes are applied the three inflated tires provide the contact patches that try to stop the vehicle. The deflated tire simply cannot apply an equal braking force to the ground compared to the remaining inflated tire. If the rear tire is flat, braking causes the front of the vehicle to nose down as the rear part of the vehicle starts to lift this causes the center of mass to move dynamically forward and off-center. It is as though the four-wheeled vehicle has become a three-wheeled vehicle with a center of mass outside the triangular footprint of the three remaining tires. Needless to say the vehicle suspension is operating in a far from optimal condition. Steering inputs become exaggerated causing an oversteer condition to exist. Braking in combination with steering can exacerbate the problem.
The driver in his best attempts to react may simply make matters worse. In the aircraft industry, trained pilots were found to, in attempts to correct for equipment malfunctions, simply make the wrong choices, this is called “pilot error”. Often times what appears to be an appropriate corrective response simply is not in today's sophisticated aircraft. Similarly “driver errors” in flat tire situations occur not so much because the driver failed to do something but precisely because he did react and the actions taken made the situation worse. These problems all seem to be greatly exaggerated at higher speeds.
At very high speeds such as NASCAR racing vehicles where speeds reach 200 mph. Each wheel position has an inner tire called a safety shield. A cut outer tire can occur while the driver decelerates to control the vehicle. These trained drivers have vehicles that created downward forces on the tires and racing suspensions designed very stiff and low to better handle these occurrences.
Advances in run flat tires for passenger tires have minimized the occurrence of rapid loss of tire inflation. Nevertheless the wrong reactions of the driver to low pressure in any pneumatic tire or a sudden loss of air pressure is still an issue. Therefore, recent legislation has mandated tire inflation warning systems been installed in vehicles in some countries, the United States being most notable.
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