Daimler Chrysler Ag

Daimler Ag

Knorr-bremse Systeme Fuer Nutzfahrzeuge Gmbh

Goetting Kg

Schenck Final Assembly Products Gmbh

Andreas Schwarzhaupt

Gernot Spiegelberg

Harro Heilmann

Armin Sulzmann

Ottmar Gehring

Christian Michael Mayer

Wolfgang Stahl

Wolf-Dietrich Bauer

Frederic Holzmann

Oliver Rooks

Volker Wilhelmi

Walter Schumacher

Rainer Konzmann

Peter Ebel

Thomas Tentrup

Udo Weitze

Albert Kirchmann

Carsten H&auml;mmerling

Joerg Zuern

Wolf-Deitrich Bauer

Istvan Vegh

Christof M Weber

Christian-Michael Mayer

Jan Schenk

Erik Sieglin

Carsten Haemmerling

Helmut Scherf

Hans Heinrich Goetting

Ansgar Maisch

Michael Armbruster

Urs Wiesel

Armin Sulzman

Harro Heilman

Carsten Hämmerling

Sascha Englert

Jan Wirnitzer

In order to provide better monitoring for the side environment of a vehicle a lighting unit to light up a vehicle environment and a detection unit for detecting an object in the vehicle environment are provided. The lighting unit is automatically switched on if the detection unit has detected an object in the vehicle environment.

Vehicle having active blind spot lighting and method

The present invention discloses a method for energy management, by means of which significant fluctuations in the power consumption in the on-board electrical system are reduced, in particular, current consumption peaks arising due to a very high start-up current of electrical actuators and solenoid valves, are more evenly distributed over time. To achieve this, the method for energy management according to the invention operates predictively, i.e. it determines both the energy available in the subsequent time interval and the energy required on the basis of activation requests, and selects consumers to be activated according to their priority and a prevailing tolerance time within which a consumer must be activated following the submission of its activation request. The tolerance time is thereby continuously adapted.

Method for energy management

The invention relates to a method for logging messages on a data bus and temporarily storing the sent messages in a cyclically overwritable volatile storing means. The temporarily stored messages can be examined in a targeted manner for attributes of interest by using a verification program. A storage of the temporarily stored messages in a non-volatile second storing means can be initiated by means of definable trigger events that, for example, are formed from individual or a number of attributes of the messages. To this end, the occurrence of the defined trigger event is determined by a monitoring unit, and the data content of the volatile storing means are subsequently transferred into the storage locations of the non-volatile storing means. The principal advantage achieved with the above method resides in the possibility of backtracking the bus traffic. The exchanged messages may be backtracked and thus provide for the possibility to determine from which process and from which control device was the error message sent on the bus. This assists in a decisive manner in the error-seeking in complex communications networks. By means of the backtracking of the error message or with the analysis as to which message has eventually triggered an error in the communications network, it may be ascertained which process is responsible for the error and which program step triggered it. The error-seeking in the software programming of complex control device combination is thereby decisively facilitated.

Data logging in a motor vehicle

An axle arrangement of a trailer or semi-trailer comprises an axle modulator having an axle control unit in which one valve, respectively, is arranged for the service brake and for the air suspension. Such an integrated arrangement simplifies the construction and the mounting of the trailer.

Trailer and semi-trailer brake valve with an integrated control of the air suspension

An array of control devices having a plurality of control devices (--) which are interconnected via a first data bus (), in a means of transportation, control devices (--) which are of redundant configuration with respect to a control function being provided, and in each case a data bus isolating switch () being assigned to the control devices (--) which are of redundant configuration, the data bus isolating switch(s) connecting or disconnecting the data bus () as a function of an evaluation signal. In order to optimize the redundant array, each of these data bus isolating switches () is connected to a signal line of at least one further redundant control device (--), a further redundant control device () transmits an evaluation signal to the data bus isolating switch () which is assigned to a first redundant control device ().

Redundant array of control devices

The invention relates to a control system () for a vehicle provided with an electronically controlled drive train () which comprises a steering system (), a braking system () and a transmission unit (). An operating unit () generates a motion vector (BV) based on a driver's wish (FW), from which control signals (SS) are generated by a control unit () for controlling the drive train (). In order to simplify maneuvering, more particularly reversing, a trajectory calculator () is provided, said trajectory calculator calculating the trajectory of movement for the situation and position of the vehicle () on the basis of actual values that are detected by a status and position determining device () and on the basis of set values that can be inputted by means of a target input device (). The trajectory of movement consists of a sequence of motion vectors (BV), which move the vehicle from its actual status and actual position to the set status and set position when the drive train () executes the motion vectors (BV) of the trajectory of movement. For said purpose, the trajectory calculator () is coupled to the operating unit () and additionally to the control unit () by means of a common drive train interface () for transmitting the motion vectors (BV).

Vehicle control system

Many day-to-day driving situations require that an operator of a motor vehicle guide the motor vehicle along a specific course and bring the vehicle to a stop at a specific location, for example in a parking bay or at a loading platform. To assist a vehicle operator in such situations, a method and a suitable device for implementing this method, include detecting the potential target objects in the image data of an image sensor and identifying the potential target objects as potential destinations in a multi-stage exclusionary method, whereupon a trajectory describing an optimized travel path is computed at least in relation to the most proximate destination. By using the multi-stage exclusionary method according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably identify potential destinations in complex image scenarios solely on the basis of their geometric form, even when the destinations have not been encoded by specific symbols.

Docking assistant

A system for coupling a trailer () to a motor vehicle (), in particular a trailer () to a motor tractor (), is provided with an image sensor (), which is located in the coupling area. The coupling process involves connecting a trailer coupler () of the motor vehicle () and a tow bar () of the trailer (), which is detected by an image sensor () detecting a movement of a locking element () associated with the trailer coupling (). Thereupon a process of braking of the motor vehicle () is initiated.

System for hitching a trailer to a motor vehicle

In a control system for a train composed of a towing vehicle and a trailer, the towing vehicle is equipped with an electronically actuatable drive train. A trailer steering angle actual value sensor determines a trailer actual steering angle of a wheel axle which steers the trailer. The driver of the vehicle can input a trailer setpoint steering angle via a trailer steering angle setpoint value sensor. A reversing device is provided which determines, from the trailer actual steering angle and the trailer setpoint steering angle, a modified towing vehicle setpoint steering angle of a wheel axle which steers the towing vehicle. In the active state of the reversing device, the modified towing vehicle setpoint steering angle takes the place of the present towing vehicle setpoint steering angle in a modified movement vector; and when the train is moving, it changes the trailer actual steering angle into the trailer setpoint steering angle when the modified movement vector is processed.

Control system for a vehicle

In the case of a method for hitching a trailer () to a motor vehicle (), in particular a semitrailer to a semitrailer towing machine, an image sensor () is provided which is arranged in a hitching region () in such a manner that image data of the hitching region () are recorded. During the approach of the motor vehicle () to the trailer (), stored model data of the hitching region () of the trailer () are segmented in the image data recorded by the image sensor () and are in each case placed in the correct position in the image data. A target zone () for the hitching is determined therefrom. The arrangement of the target zone () in the image data is used as a measurement for a steering operation of the motor vehicle () during hitching.

Process for coupling a trailer to a motor vehicle

A transport () or an associated trailer () with a loadable swap body () having a support frame and support legs () attached to the frame and moveable between a resting position and a support position wherein that the swap body () can be set on the ground without the transport/trailer. At least one support leg () is allocated an element () for automatically moving the support leg () from the resting position into the support position and/or vice versa. A control device () disposed on the transport/trailer () transmits a control signal to an actuating element (), secured to the transport/trailer (), that cooperates with the support leg () to move the leg into the support or resting position, and the control device () is connected to at least one further locking actuator for determining whether the swap body () is secured to the transport during travel.

Transport for swap body

In a module for detecting the docking of a vehicle, changes of vehicle engine torque and rotational wheel speed of the vehicle are determined as a function of time. It is checked whether the change of the engine torque is &#x3e;&#x3e;0 and the change of the rotational wheel speed is &#x3c;&#x3c;0. If both of these conditions are met, docking is detected and the vehicle can be braked. The module may be implemented in the form of software.

Method of detecting the docking of vehicles

The invention relates to a vehicle test stand including a device for fixing a motor vehicle on the test stand. A loading machine is adapted to be coupled to the drive train of the motor vehicle, whereby the loading machine can both drive and brake the drive train. In accordance with the invention, the loading machine is directly or indirectly connectable to a rim of a motor vehicle wheel in force-locking manner.

Vehicle test stand

In a method and apparatus for early detection and prediction of damage to assemblies in machine plants, including mobile machine plants, structure-borne sound of the machine system is sensed by a sensor, output as an acceleration signal and analyzed in a digital signal processor. For this purpose, the acceleration signal is first transformed into the frequency domain by means of a fast-Fourier transformation, and the data obtained in this manner are then transformed back into the time domain by means of cepstrum analysis, so that resonance data relating to individual shock pulses (a cepstrum) is obtained in the time domain. This cepstrum is then compared with a reference cepstrum that is selected in accordance with load signals and rotational speed signals for the present operating state in a new machine plant in a storage device. When limiting values are exceeded, the diagnostic signal (in particular information relating to the assembly which is diagnosed as damaged and its predicted remaining service life) are displayed for the user and an emergency operating mode is initiated.

Device and method for the early recognition and prediction of unit damage

In a method of controlling at least one autonomously driven vehicle, such a vehicle is driven on a restricted traffic surface. For this purpose, the autonomous vehicle has a driving device for implementing driving commands on the basis of fed signals. The driving commands relate to the driving direction as well as to the driving speed. The vehicle detects its actual position by means of a position indicating device, and transmits its position to an operations management center. In the operations management center, a route profile to be driven is determined from position signals by means of definable criteria and is transmitted to the driving device of the vehicle. Driving commands required for driving the route profile are generated in the vehicle by the driving device.

Growing community of inventors

Landau, Germany

Andreas Schwarzhaupt