KR101496038B1 - Apparatus for Vehicle Chassis Imbalance Estimation and Method Thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for detecting a tilt of a chassis of a vehicle and a method thereof. A device for detecting a tilt of a chassis of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a signal input unit receiving steering torque, a steering-wheel angle, a steering-wheel angular velocity, and a vehicle speed from a driving vehicle; a straight-drive determining unit determining whether the vehicle drives straight or not based on the steering-wheel speed and steering-wheel angular velocity; a tilt determining unit determining whether the vehicle is tilted or not based on the inputted steering torque if it is determined that the vehicle drives straight; a steering-torque compensating unit controlling an EPS (Electronic Power steering) installed on the vehicle to compensate for the steering torque if it is determined that the vehicle is tilted; a chassis tilt determining unit determining that the chassis is tilted if time for compensating for the steering torque is longer than reference time by comparing compensation time for the steering torque with a reference value; and a chassis tilt compensating unit compensating for the steering torque consistently if it is determined that the chassis is tilted. The present invention determines and detects the tilt of the vehicle due to the tilt of the chassis to generate a compensation torque value corresponding to the tilt of the vehicle and informs a driver of information about the compensation torque value to induce a driver′s proper action, thereby preventing problems of malfunctions in the EPS, the deterioration of the EPS, and a decrease in a service time of the EPS.

Description

[0001] Apparatus for Vehicle Chassis Imbalance Estimation and Method Thereof [

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a vehicle chassis imbalance determination apparatus and method, and more particularly, to a vehicle chassis imbalance determination apparatus and method for determining and detecting a vehicle drift caused by a chassis imbalance.

In general, when the vehicle travels in a straight line, a steeping phenomenon may occur in which the vehicle is tilted to one side irrespective of the driver's will due to a lateral wind, a road surface gradient, a road environment, and tire wear.

In the event of such leaning, the driver forcibly manipulated the handle in the opposite direction of the vehicle's tilt to maintain the straightness of the vehicle. However, when the driver forcibly manipulates the handle, the driver feels fatigued and hinders the driving safety of the vehicle.

Therefore, conventionally, when the vehicle running on a straight road fails to make a straight run regardless of the intention of the driver, a method of compensating the steering effort of the electric steering apparatus by compensating the steering torque induced by the driver in the direction opposite to the vehicle is applied Respectively.

Such a vehicle leaning phenomenon may be caused by an imbalance of the chassis of the vehicle as well as a side-by-side wind, road surface gradient, road environment, tire wear and the like.

The cause of the vehicle chassis imbalance is that the original angle in which the wheels of the vehicle are fixed due to the impact of the vehicle due to the speeding brakes and the pothole of the road is slightly changed.

Driving in this state causes the vehicle to move to one side during driving, and the ride quality and fuel economy also deteriorate. In addition, the handle may become unstable and vibrate, resulting in uneven wear of the tire. In addition, when causing a steady vehicle drift such as a vehicle chassis imbalance, the motor of the electric steering system continuously generates a load, thereby causing failure of the electric steering system, deterioration in performance and shortening of life.

The technique which is the background of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2013-0040106 (published on Mar. 23, 2013).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a vehicle chassis imbalance determination apparatus and method for determining and detecting vehicle drift caused by a chassis imbalance.

A vehicle chassis imbalance determination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a signal input unit for receiving a steering torque, a steering wheel angle, a steering wheel angular velocity, and a vehicle speed from a currently running vehicle, a steering angle sensor A straight determination section for determining whether the vehicle is traveling straight ahead, a lean decision section for determining whether leaning of the vehicle has occurred using the inputted steering torque when it is determined that the vehicle is going straight, A steering torque compensating unit for compensating for a steering torque by controlling an electric power steering system EPS installed in the vehicle, and comparing a compensation time of the steering torque with a reference value, A chassis imbalance determination unit for determining whether or not an unbalance of the chassis has occurred, And a chassis imbalance compensator for compensating the steering torque.

A filtering unit for removing noise from the input signal and filtering the received signal; and an alarm unit for informing the driver of an unbalance of the chassis through voice or video signals when it is determined that the unbalance of the chassis has occurred.

Wherein when the steering wheel angle is less than a reference wheel angle value and the steering wheel angular velocity is less than or equal to a reference wheel angular velocity value for a predetermined period of time while the vehicle is traveling at a reference speed or more, As shown in FIG.

The lean decision unit determines that the leaning of the vehicle occurs when the steering torque is equal to or greater than the reference torque value.

The chassis imbalance compensating section can compensate the steering torque to a value larger than that of the steering torque compensating section.

A method for determining a vehicle chassis imbalance according to another embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of receiving a steering torque, a steering wheel angle, a steering wheel angular velocity, and a vehicle speed from a currently running vehicle, Determining whether the vehicle is leaning, determining whether the vehicle has been leaned by using the input steering torque if it is determined that the vehicle is traveling straight ahead, determining that the leaning of the vehicle has occurred, A step of comparing a compensation time of the steering torque with a reference value and judging that an unbalance of the chassis occurs when the compensation time of the steering torque is larger than a reference value; When it is determined that the chassis is unbalanced, the chassis And a balance compensation step.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to determine the continuous factors such as the vehicle chassis imbalance among the causes of the steering stall of the electric type steering apparatus and to transmit the information to the driver so as to induce proper response of the driver, Thereby avoiding problems such as generation, performance degradation, and shortening of life.

1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle chassis imbalance determination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a flowchart of a vehicle chassis imbalance determination method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The terms used are terms selected in consideration of the functions in the embodiments, and the meaning of the terms may vary depending on the user, the intention or the precedent of the operator, and the like. Therefore, the meaning of the terms used in the following embodiments is defined according to the definition when specifically defined in this specification, and unless otherwise defined, it should be interpreted in a sense generally recognized by those skilled in the art.

1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle chassis imbalance determination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, a vehicle chassis imbalance determination apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a signal input unit 110, a filtering unit 120, a straight determination unit 130, a steering determination unit 140, A chassis unbalance determining unit 160, a chassis unbalance compensating unit 170,

First, the signal input unit 110 receives the steering torque, the steering wheel angle, and the steering wheel angular velocity from the vehicle in operation. The filtering unit 120 removes noise from the input signal and filters the input signal.

The straight line determining unit 130 determines whether the current vehicle is traveling straight ahead using the input steering wheel angle and the steering wheel angular velocity.

If it is determined that the vehicle being traveling is going straight, the lean decision unit 140 determines whether the leaning of the vehicle has occurred using the input steering torque.

The steering torque compensating unit 150 compensates the steering torque by controlling the electric power steering (EPS) of the vehicle when it is determined that the vehicle is leaning. Then, the chassis imbalance determination unit 160 compares the compensation time of the steering torque with the reference value, and determines that an unbalance of the chassis occurs when the compensation time is larger than the reference value.

When the chassis imbalance compensator 170 determines that an unbalance has occurred in the chassis, the chassis imbalance compensator 170 continuously compensates the steering torque, and the alarm unit 180 informs the driver of the occurrence of the unbalance of the chassis through voice or video signals.

Hereinafter, a vehicle chassis imbalance determination method of the vehicle chassis imbalance determination apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

2 is a flowchart of a vehicle chassis imbalance determination method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, the signal input unit 110 receives the steering torque, the steering wheel angle, the vehicle speed, and the steering wheel angular velocity from the vehicle in operation S210.

That is, the signal input unit 110 receives signals such as a steering torque, a steering wheel angle, and a steering wheel angular velocity through a steering torque sensor, a steering wheel sensor, and a vehicle speed sensor installed in the vehicle.

A steering torque sensor (not shown) generates a torque signal by sensing the relative rotational displacement of the input shaft and the output shaft as the steering wheel rotates, and transmits the torque signal to the signal input unit 110. A vehicle speed sensor Generates an electrical signal proportional to the sensed vehicle speed, and transmits the electrical signal to the signal input unit 110. The steering wheel sensor (not shown) generates a signal indicating the rotational angle or the rotational angular velocity of the steering wheel rotated by the driver's manipulation, and transmits the signal to the signal input unit 110.

The filtering unit 120 removes noise from the input signal and performs a filtering process (S220). Here, the filtering unit 120 may convert an input signal from an analog form to a digital form for filtering.

The straight-line determining unit 130 determines whether the current vehicle is traveling on the straight-ahead road using the input signal (S230). That is, the straight determination unit 130 determines whether the vehicle being driven is traveling on a straight road using the data of the steering wheel angle and the steering wheel angular velocity.

For example, the straight-line determining unit 130 determines that the steering wheel angle inputted for a predetermined time (t1 time) is equal to or less than the reference wheel angle value while the vehicle is traveling at a speed higher than the reference speed, And determines that the current vehicle is traveling on the straight road if the angular velocity is less than or equal to the angular velocity.

Here, the reference wheel angle value and the reference wheel angular velocity value are values for distinguishing the straight road from the curved road, and may be changed according to the design of the user. Also, the predetermined time t1 and the vehicle speed may be changed Or curve shape, and may be changed according to the design of the user.

If it is determined in step S230 that the vehicle is traveling on a curved road rather than on a straight road, it is difficult to accurately determine the chassis imbalance of the vehicle so that the normal mode is set (S235). In the normal mode, the current steering torque is maintained without compensating the steering torque.

If it is determined in step S230 that the vehicle is traveling on the straight road, the lean decision unit 140 determines whether the leaning of the vehicle occurs (S240). That is, the leaning judging unit 140 judges a steering leaning phenomenon in which steering is biased in one direction when the vehicle is traveling on a straight road.

The lean decision unit 140 determines leaning using the input steering torque. If the steering torque is equal to or greater than the reference torque, the lean decision unit 140 determines that the leaning of the vehicle has occurred.

In the case where the vehicle does not deviate in step S240, the steering mode is set to the normal mode as in step S235 because no additional steering torque compensation is required.

If it is determined in step S240 that the vehicle is leaning, the steering torque compensating unit 150 compensates the steering torque by controlling the electric steering system EPS of the vehicle in step S250. That is, the steering torque compensating unit 150 compensates for the torque generated by the steering deflected in one direction at the time of traveling to the straight line of the vehicle, and controls the motor.

Therefore, the electric steering system (EPS) determines the state of the vehicle, such as the speed and the steering angle, and the steering torque of the driver, and generates an optimum rotation torque with the electric motor to assist the driver in steering torque.

As described above, the steering torque compensating unit 150 performs the steering lean compensation so as to assist the motor of the electric steering apparatus with the assist torque in the appropriate size and direction when the vehicle is leaning while driving, thereby minimizing the steering torque felt by the driver .

The steering torque compensating unit 150 may control the EPS to control the torque value to zero if the vehicle does not deviate. When the vehicle is leaning to the left or right, As shown in FIG.

Then, the chassis imbalance determination unit 160 compares the compensation time of the steering torque with the reference value (S260), and determines that an unbalance in the chassis occurs when the reference value is larger than the reference value. Then, the chassis imbalance compensator 170 continuously compensates the steering torque continuously (S270).

That is, since it is determined that a current imbalance in the chassis has occurred, the steering torque is continuously compensated for all the running of the vehicle thereafter. Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the chassis imbalance compensator 170 continuously compensates the compensation torque value not only on the straight road but also on the curved road.

In this way, while the steering torque compensating unit 150 temporarily compensates for vehicle deviations, the chassis imbalance compensating unit 170 continuously compensates for the imbalance of the chassis. Further, the chassis imbalance compensator 170 compensates for the steering torque having a value larger than the steering torque in step S250.

If it is determined that an unbalance occurs in the chassis, the alarm unit 180 notifies the driver of the occurrence of the unbalance of the chassis through the audio or video signal (S280). A variety of methods can be used to inform the driver, such as a warning light on the instrument panel, a warning sound, and the like. In this manner, the driver is informed of the chassis unbalance state so that the driver can correct the chassis unbalance state to the normal state.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to judge and detect the vehicle drift due to the chassis unbalance, generate the compensating torque value according to the detected drift, and transmit the information to the driver. In other words, by determining continuous factors such as vehicle chassis imbalance during steering compensation of the electric steering system, the information is transmitted to the driver, thereby inducing proper response by the driver, thereby causing failure of the electric steering system due to continuous steering- And the problem of shortening the lifetime can be prevented.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, Therefore, the present invention should be construed as a description of the claims which are intended to cover obvious variations that can be derived from the described embodiments.

100: vehicle chassis imbalance determination device, 110: signal input section,
120: a filtering unit, 130: a straight determination unit,
140: lean judgment unit, 150: steering torque compensation unit,
160: Chassis unbalance judging unit, 170: Chassis unbalance compensating unit,
180:

Claims (10)

A signal input unit for receiving a steering torque, a steering wheel angle, an angular velocity of the steering wheel and a vehicle speed from a currently running vehicle,
A straight determination section for determining whether the vehicle is traveling straight ahead using the steering wheel angle, the steering wheel angular velocity, and the vehicle speed,
A steering angle determination unit for determining whether steering of the vehicle occurs using the steering torque inputted when it is determined that the vehicle is traveling straight,
A steering torque compensator for compensating for a steering torque by controlling an electric steering system (EPS) installed in the vehicle when it is determined that the vehicle is leaning;
A chassis imbalance determination unit for comparing the compensation time of the steering torque with a reference value and determining that a chassis imbalance has occurred when the compensation time is greater than a reference value;
And a chassis imbalance compensator that continuously compensates the steering torque not only on the straight road but also on the curved road when the imbalance of the chassis is determined to have occurred,
Wherein,
If the steering torque is equal to or greater than a reference torque value,
Wherein the chassis imbalance compensator comprises:
And compensates the steering torque to a value larger than that of the steering torque compensating section. The method according to claim 1,
A filtering unit for filtering and removing noise from the input signal,
Further comprising an alarm unit for informing a driver of an unbalance of the chassis through voice or video signals when it is determined that the chassis is unbalanced. 3. The method of claim 2,
The straight-
If the steering wheel angle is less than or equal to the reference wheel angle value and the steering wheel angular velocity is less than or equal to the reference wheel angular velocity value for a predetermined period of time while the vehicle is traveling at a reference speed or more, A vehicle chassis imbalance determination device. delete delete Receiving the steering torque, the steering wheel angle, the steering wheel angular velocity and the vehicle speed from the current vehicle,
Determining whether the vehicle is traveling straight ahead using the steering wheel angle, the steering wheel angular velocity, and the vehicle speed;
Determining whether the vehicle is leaning using the input steering torque if it is determined that the vehicle is traveling straight ahead,
A steering torque compensating step of compensating a steering torque by controlling an electric steering system (EPS) installed in the vehicle when it is determined that the vehicle is leaning;
Comparing the compensation time of the steering torque with a reference value and determining that an unbalance of the chassis occurs when the compensation time is larger than the reference value,
And a chassis imbalance compensation step of continuously compensating the steering torque not only in the straight road but also in the curved road, when it is determined that the chassis imbalance has occurred,
Wherein the step of determining whether the vehicle is leaning comprises:
If the steering torque is equal to or greater than a reference torque value,
The chassis imbalance compensation step includes:
And compensates the steering torque to a value larger than the steering torque compensation step. The method according to claim 6,
Removing noise from the input signal and filtering the noise,
Further comprising the step of notifying the driver of an imbalance in the chassis through voice or video signals when it is determined that the imbalance of the chassis has occurred. 8. The method of claim 7,
The step of determining the straight-
If the steering wheel angle is less than or equal to the reference wheel angle value and the steering wheel angular velocity is less than or equal to the reference wheel angular velocity value for a predetermined period of time while the vehicle is traveling at a reference speed or more, A method for determining a vehicle chassis imbalance. delete delete

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