Continental Automotive Gmbh

Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Andreas Mayer

Jens Fiedler

Thomas Schweiger

Martin Stratesteffen

Ning Bian

Celine Gamulescu

Andreas Jung

Rainer Marstaller

Peter Trippler

In a method for determining a roadway state (STATE) of a roadway on which a vehicle () is travelling which has at least one wheel () and an acceleration sensor () which is assigned to the wheel (), in order to determine a vertical component of an acceleration of the wheel (), a characteristic value which is representative of the roadway state (STATE) is determined as a function of a measured signal (AC_VERT) of the acceleration sensor ().

Method for determining a roadway state

In a method for operating a vehicle with wheel suspensions which each have a characteristic curve, the characteristic curve generates a relation between the weight of the vehicle, applied to each wheel suspension, and the respective height of the vehicle at the wheel suspension point. At least two height sensors detect the height at the wheel suspensions, a reference height is associated with the height sensors and represents a pre-defined loading state of the vehicle. The method provides: detecting the height, determining the forces applied to the vehicle, determining the acceleration of the vehicle on the basis of the forces applied to the vehicle, determining an estimated value for the mass of the vehicle from the forces and the acceleration of the vehicle, and determining values representing the reference heights from at least the estimated value for the mass of the vehicle, the characteristic curves of the wheel suspensions, and the detected heights.

Method for operating a vehicle

In a method for estimating the height of the center of gravity of a vehicle, a lateral acceleration is determined. Predefined first and second driving situation are detected at a first time as a function of a determined roll rate or of a determined roll angle and at a second time as a function of the roll rate or of the roll angle. In a time period delimited by the first and second times, a differential angle by which a vehicle body tilts during the time period is determined. Also determined are an angular speed: formula and an angular acceleration: formula of the vehicle tilting movement in the time period. A height of the center of gravity of the vehicle is estimated on the basis of an equation of motion as a function of the lateral acceleration, of the differential angle, of the angular speed: formula and of the angular acceleration: formula.

Method and device for estimating the height of the center of gravity of a vehicle

A friction coefficient between at least one tire of a motor vehicle and a roadway is estimated recursively. A kingpin inclination angle is detected or measured. A model determines a lateral friction value by defining a functional correlation between that value and the angle such that a non-linear course of that value relative to the angle is dependant on an initial increase of that value relative to the angle and on a recursively determined estimated value of the friction coefficient. The initial increase is defined substantially independently from the recursively determined estimated value. In addition, a measurement variable of the driving dynamics is captured. Depending on the lateral friction value, the driving dynamics model variable is determined. Furthermore, a variance between the driving dynamics measurement variable and the driving dynamics model value is determined. The recursion when acquiring the estimated value includes that the estimated value is adjusted.

Method and facility for estimating a measure of friction

In a method for determining the actual yaw rate and slip angle of a vehicle, a slip angle characteristic is first determined by a driving condition sensor system, a yaw rate sensor and a position determination system. If the slip angle characteristic remains below a threshold value, the actual yaw angle is adjusted to match the actual speed vector angle. Otherwise, the actual yaw angle is determined by a continuous value integration using yaw rate sensor values and the slip angle is calculated as the difference between the yaw angle and the speed vector angle. The slip angle is reliably determined with sufficient accuracy, without the need for additional sensors, if the values of the slip angle increase over several seconds. In addition, the yaw angle is reliably determined over long periods of time and the deviations in the values that occur in the integrating methods are adjusted at frequent intervals.

Determination of the actual yaw angle and the actual slip angle of a land vehicle

An inertial measurement unit (IMU) contains three linear acceleration sensors and three rotational speed sensors. For the sensors there are desired installation directions parallel to the co-ordinate axes of a Cartesian co-ordinate system which is fixed to the vehicle. The actual installation directions of the sensors may differ from the desired installation directions owing to incorrect orientations. By comparing accelerations which are measured by the linear acceleration sensors for different attitudes of the vehicle with acceleration values which are known for these different attitudes in the Cartesian co-ordinate system which is fixed to the vehicle, the actual installation directions of the linear acceleration sensors are determined. By using a co-ordinate transformation it is then possible to convert the measured accelerations into the actual accelerations.

Method for determining and correcting incorrect orientations and offsets of the sensors of an inertial measurement unit in a land vehicle

For determination of a relative movement of a chassis and a body of a wheeled vehicle, which is movably joined to the chassis, three linear accelerations of the wheeled vehicle, which extend perpendicular to each other, respectively, as well as at least two rotational speeds of one respective rotational movement or a component of a rotational movement about a coordinate axis of the wheeled vehicle are measured (in measuring device), the at least two coordinate axes running perpendicular to each other, respectively. A momentary position of the relative movement is determined (in evaluation unit) using the three linear accelerations and the at least two rotational rates.

Determining a relative movement of a chassis and a body of a wheeled vehicle

For monitoring of a measuring device (), located in a wheeled vehicle, the measuring device () is configured so as to measure three linear accelerations (in unit) of the wheeled vehicle, which extend perpendicular to each other, respectively, as well as three rotational speeds (in unit) and one respective rotational movement or a component of a rotational movement about an axis of the wheeled vehicle, the three axes running perpendicular to each other, respectively. At least components of an orientation of the wheeled vehicle in a vehicle-external coordinate system are determined (in unit) from the three rotational speeds, and at least one of the measured linear accelerations is monitored (in unit) using at least the components of the orientation and a comparative variable (from unit).

Method and arrangement for monitoring a measuring device located in a wheeled vehicle

For determination of dynamic axle and/or wheel loads of a wheel vehicle (), wherein for said wheel vehicle (), at least two linear transversally oriented with respect to each other accelerations and three rotation rates of a rotation movement around the coordinate axis of the vehicle () or of the component of the coordinate axis are respectively measured by a measuring device (). The three coordinate axes extend transversally with respect to each other and at least one axle load and/or wheel load of the wheel vehicle () are determined by means of at least two linear accelerations and three rotation rates with the aid of evaluation device ().

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Wuppertal, Germany

Andreas Mayer