Vehicle anti-lock control apparatus and method

Claim 2

An anti-lock control method for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least on associated brake and an associated wheel number, said method comprising the steps of: (a) generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a single for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; (b) processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of its associated wheel; (c) comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a single VwH representing the highest wheel speed; (d) filtering the signal VwH when a threshold signal VT1 has been generated and the signal VwH is less than the threshold signal VT1 using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, wherein said filter applies restricted acceleration-side and deceleration-side follow-up limits set to predetermined ranges of acceleration and deceleration; (e) generating said threshold signal VT1 equivalent to the signal Vv less an offset value equal to a predetermined signal difference; and (f) controlling the brakes responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 3

An anti-lock method for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least one associated brake and an associated wheel number, said method comprising the steps of: (a) generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a signal for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; (b) processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of its associated wheel; (c) comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a signal VwH representing the highest wheel speed; (d) filtering the signal VwH using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, where said filter applies restricted acceleration-side and deceleration-side follow-up limits set to predetermined ranges of acceleration and deceleration; (e) preparing a map of follow-up limits where said limits vary as a function of the relation between: 1) the difference between the signal Vv and the signal VwH, and 2) the acceleration/deceleration of the signal VwH; (f) reading said map to re-set the deceleration and acceleration follow-up limits; and (g) controlling the brakes responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 4

An anti-lock method for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least one associated brake and an associated wheel number, said method comprising the steps of: (a) generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a signal for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; (b) processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of its associated wheel; (c) comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a signal VwH representing the highest wheel speed; (d) filtering the signal VwH using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, where said filter applies restricted acceleration-side and deceleration-side follow-up limits set to predetermined ranges of acceleration and deceleration; (e) preparing a map of follow-up limits where said limits vary as a function of the relation between: 1) the difference between the signal Vv and the signal VwH, and 2) the acceleration/deceleration of the signal VwH; (f) reading said map to re-set the deceleration and acceleration follow-up limits; and (g) controlling the brakes responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 5

The anti-lock control method for a vehicle according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of: generating a signal μ, representative of the degree of friction coefficient of the rod surface; and processing the signal μ to generate different scales for the map of follow-up limits.

Claim 6

An anti-lock control method for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least one associated brake and an associated wheel number, said method comprising the steps of: (a) generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a signal for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; (b) processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of tis associated wheel; (c) comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a signal VwH representing the highest wheel speed; (d) filtering the signal VwH when a skip signal is asserted, using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, where said filter applies restricted limits so that the acceleration and the deceleration of the signal VwH are restricted to predetermined ranges; (e) generating a threshold signal VT1 representing the signal Vv less an offset value equal to a speed differential ΔV; (f) comparing the signal VwH to the threshold signal VT1 and when the signals are equal storing the value of Vv; (g) comparing the signal VwH to the threshold signal VT1 and when the threshold signal VT1 is greater than the signal VwH then: 1) setting the value of the signal Vv to the value stored in step (f); and 2) asserting a skip signal; and (h) controlling the brakes responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 7

An anti-lock control method for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least one associated brake and an associated wheel number, said method comprising the steps of: (a) generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a signal for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; (b) processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of tis associated wheel; (c) comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a signal VwH representing the highest wheel speed; (d) filtering the signal VwH when a skip signal is asserted, using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, where said filter applies restricted limits so that the acceleration and the deceleration of the signal VwH are restricted to predetermined ranges; (e) generating a threshold signal VT1 representing the signal Vv less an offset value equal to a speed differential ΔV; (f) comparing the signal VwH to the threshold signal VT1 and when the signals are equal storing the value of Vv; (g) comparing the signal VwH to the threshold signal VT1 and when the threshold signal VT1 is greater than the signal VwH then: 1) setting the value of the signal Vv to the value stored in step (f); and 2) asserting a skip signal; and (h) controlling the brakes responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 8

An anti-lock control method for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least one associated brake and an associated wheel number, said method comprising the steps of: (a) generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a signal for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; (b) processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of tis associated wheel; (c) comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a signal VwH representing the highest wheel speed; (d) filtering the signal VwH using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, where said filter applies restricted limits so that the acceleration and the deceleration of the signal VwH are restricted to predetermine ranges; (e) processing the signal VwH to generate the signal dVwH/dt representing the acceleration and deceleration of the signal VwH; (f) processing the signals Vv and VwH to generate the signal E, representing the difference between Vv and VwH; (g) using the signals dVwH/dt and E generated in steps (e) and (f), respectively, to read a map to re-set the deceleration and acceleration follow-up limits; and (h) controlling the brakes responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 9

An anti-lock control method for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least one associated brake and an associated wheel number, said method comprising the steps of: (a) generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a signal for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; (b) processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of tis associated wheel; (c) comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a signal VwH representing the highest wheel speed; (d) filtering the signal VwH using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, where said filter applies restricted limits so that the acceleration and the deceleration of the signal VwH are restricted to predetermine ranges; (e) processing the signal VwH to generate the signal dVwH/dt representing the acceleration and deceleration of the signal VwH; (f) processing the signals Vv and VwH to generate the signal E, representing the difference between Vv and VwH; (g) using the signals dVwH/dt and E generated in steps (e) and (f), respectively, to read a map to re-set the deceleration and acceleration follow-up limits; and (h) controlling the brakes responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 10

The anti-lock control method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of: reading a map where the abscissa axis of said map represents the difference, E, and the ordinate thereof represents the acceleration and deceleration, dVwH/dt.

Claim 11

The anti-lock control method according to claim 6, further comprising the steps of: processing the signal Vv to generate a signal representing the deceleration and acceleration of the signal Vv; processing the signal generated int he previous step to generate a signal μ, representing the degree of friction coefficient of the road surface; and processing the signal μ to generate different scales for the abscissa and ordinate axes, respectively, of the map of follow-up limits.

Claim 12

An anti-lock control apparatus for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least one associated brake and an associated wheel number, said apparatus comprising: means for generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a signal for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; means for processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of its associated wheel; means for comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a signal VwH representing the highest wheel speed; means for filtering the signal VwH when a threshold signal VT1 has been generated and the signal VwH is less than the threshold signal VT1 using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, where said filter applies restricted acceleration-side and deceleration-side follow-up limits set to predetermined ranges of acceleration and deceleration; means for generating said threshold signal VT1 equivalent to the signal Vv less an offset value equal to a predetermined signal difference; and means for controlling the brakes, said controlling means being responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 13

An anti-lock control apparatus for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least one associated brake and an associated wheel number, said apparatus comprising: means for generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a signal for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; means for processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of its associated wheel; means for comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a signal VwH representing the highest wheel speed; means for filtering the signal VwH when a threshold signal VT1 has been generated and the signal VwH is less than the threshold signal VT1 using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, where said filter applies restricted acceleration-side and deceleration-side follow-up limits set to predetermined ranges of acceleration and deceleration; means for generating said threshold signal VT1 equivalent to the signal Vv less an offset value equal to a predetermined signal difference; and means for controlling the brakes, said controlling means being responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 14

An anti-lock apparatus for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least one associated brake and an associated wheel number, said apparatus comprising: means for generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a signal for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; means for processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of its associated wheel; means for comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a signal VwH representing the highest wheel speed; means for filtering the signal VwH using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, where said filter applies restricted acceleration-side and deceleration-side follow-up limits set to predetermined ranges of acceleration and deceleration; means for preparing a map of follow-up limits where said limits vary as a function of the relation between: 1) the difference between the signal Vv and the signals VwH, and 2) the acceleration/deceleration of the signal VwH; means for reading said map to re-set the deceleration and acceleration follow-up limits; and means for controlling the brakes, said controlling means being responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 15

An anti-lock apparatus for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least one associated brake and an associated wheel number, said apparatus comprising: means for generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a signal for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; means for processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of its associated wheel; means for comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a signal VwH representing the highest wheel speed; means for filtering the signal VwH using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, where said filter applies restricted acceleration-side and deceleration-side follow-up limits set to predetermined ranges of acceleration and deceleration; means for preparing a map of follow-up limits where said limits vary as a function of the relation between: 1) the difference between the signal Vv and the signals VwH, and 2) the acceleration/deceleration of the signal VwH; means for reading said map to re-set the deceleration and acceleration follow-up limits; and means for controlling the brakes, said controlling means being responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 16

The anti-lock control apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 9, further comprising: means for generating a signal μ, representative of the degree of friction coefficient of the road surface; and means for processing the signal μ to generate different scales for the map of follow-up limits.

Claim 17

An anti-lock control apparatus for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least one associated brake and an associated wheel number, said apparatus comprising: means for generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a signal for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; means for processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of its associated wheel; means for comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a signal VwH representing the highest wheel speed; means for filtering the signal VwH when a skip signal is asserted, using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, where said filter applies restricted limits so that the acceleration and the deceleration of the signal VwH are restricted to predetermined ranges; means for generating a threshold signal VT1 representing the signal Vv less an offset value equal to a speed differential ΔV; means for comparing the signal VwH to the threshold signal VT1 and when the signals are equal storing the value of Vv; means for comparing the signal VwH to the threshold signal VT1 and when the threshold signal VT1 is greater than the signal VwH then: 1) setting the value of the signal Vv to the value stored; and 2) asserting a skip signal; and means for controlling the brakes, said controlling means responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 18

An anti-lock control apparatus for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least one associated brake and an associated wheel number, said apparatus comprising: means for generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a signal for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; means for processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of its associated wheel; means for comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a signal VwH representing the highest wheel speed; means for filtering the signal VwH when a skip signal is asserted, using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, where said filter applies restricted limits so that the acceleration and the deceleration of the signal VwH are restricted to predetermined ranges; means for generating a threshold signal VT1 representing the signal Vv less an offset value equal to a speed differential ΔV; means for comparing the signal VwH to the threshold signal VT1 and when the signals are equal storing the value of Vv; means for comparing the signal VwH to the threshold signal VT1 and when the threshold signal VT1 is greater than the signal VwH then: 1) setting the value of the signal Vv to the value stored; and 2) asserting a skip signal; and means for controlling the brakes, said controlling means responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 19

An anti-lock control apparatus for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least one associated brake and an associated wheel number, said apparatus comprising: means for generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a signal for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; means for processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of its associated wheel; means for comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a signal VwH representing the highest wheel speed; means for filtering the signal VwH using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, where said filter apples restricted limits so that the acceleration and the deceleration of the signal VwH are restricted to predetermined ranges; means for processing the signal VwH to generate the signal dVwH/dt representing the acceleration and deceleration of the signal VwH; mean for preocessign the signals Vv and VwH to generate the signal E, representing the difference between Vv and VwH; means for using the signals dVwH/dt and E to read a map to re-set the acceleration and deceleration follow-up limits; and means for controlling the brakes, said controlling means responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 20

An anti-lock control apparatus for a vehicle having one or more wheels, each of said wheels having at least one associated brake and an associated wheel number, said apparatus comprising: means for generating, using a wheel velocity sensor, a signal for each wheel VwX, where X is the wheel number; means for processing each signal VwX so as to be representative of the speed of its associated wheel; means for comparing the processed wheel speed signals and generating a signal VwH representing the highest wheel speed; means for filtering the signal VwH using a limiting filter to generate a signal Vv representing an estimated vehicle speed, where said filter apples restricted limits so that the acceleration and the deceleration of the signal VwH are restricted to predetermined ranges; means for processing the signal VwH to generate the signal dVwH/dt representing the acceleration and deceleration of the signal VwH; mean for preocessign the signals Vv and VwH to generate the signal E, representing the difference between Vv and VwH; means for using the signals dVwH/dt and E to read a map to re-set the acceleration and deceleration follow-up limits; and means for controlling the brakes, said controlling means responsive to at least the signal Vv.

Claim 21

The anti-lock control apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising: means for reading a map where the abscissa axis of said map represents the difference, E, and the ordinate thereof represents the acceleration and deceleration, dVwH/dt.

Claim 22

The anti-lock control apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising: means for processing the signal Vv to generate a signal representing the deceleration and acceleration of the signal Vv; means for processing the signal generated by the previous apparatus to generate a signal μ, representing the degree of friction coefficient of the road surface; and means for processing the signal μ to generate different scales for the abscissa and ordinate axes, respectively, of the map of follow-up limits.