SE1950621A1

SE1950621A1 - Method and control unit for performing at least one action based on a classification of lateral movability of a cargo

Info

Publication number: SE1950621A1
Application number: SE1950621A
Authority: SE
Inventors: Daniel Sandberg; Markus Byström
Original assignee: Scania Cv Ab
Priority date: 2019-05-27
Filing date: 2019-05-27
Publication date: 2020-11-28
Also published as: SE543407C2; WO2020242361A1; DE112020002044T5

Abstract

Method and a control circuit for a vehicle including a cargo having a center of gravity which may be movable in a lateral direction of the vehicle is presented. The method includes:- determining that a lateral force Flat of the cargo acting on the vehicle is greater than a lateral force threshold value Flat_th; Flat > Flat_th;- determining that at least one condition for determination of a lateral movability of the cargo is fulfilled;- determining an oscillation of the lateral force Flat of the cargo, the oscillation having a frequency FF_lat and an amplitude AF_lat;- determining, based on the determined frequency FF_lat and on a declination of the determined amplitude AF_lat during a time period T, the lateral movability of the cargo; - determining, based on the determined lateral movability of the cargo, a classification C of a lateral movability of the cargo; and- performing at least one action based on the determined classification C of the lateral movability of the cargo.

Description

lO METHOD AND CONTROL UNIT FOR PERFORMING AT LEAST ONE ACTIONBASED ON A CLASSIFICATION OF LATERAL MOVABILITY OF A CÅRGO Technical field The present invention relates to a vehicle, and in particular to a method and a controlunit for performing at least one action based on a classification of a lateral movabilityof a cargo of the vehicle. The present invention also relates to a computer programand a computer-readable medium that implement the method according to the invenﬁon.

Background The following background description constitutes a description of the background tothe present invention, which does not, however, necessarily have to constitute prior art. l\/lany vehicles of today, such as e.g. heavy goods vehicles, comprise/carry cargo forwhich the center of gravity may change laterally. For example, some vehicles, suchas cargo tank carrying vehicles or fire trucks, may transport large amounts of liquidsthat may move during the transport. Also, for vehicles performing for example animaltransports, or performing transport of other movable types of cargo, the center ofgravity for the cargo may also move. ln this document, the embodiments of theinvention are often explained for example cargos of liquid/viscous types. However,these examples may easily be extended to essentially any type of cargo having acenter of gravity being movable in a lateral direction. Thus, the herein describedinvention provides a solution to problems generally related to essentially any kind ofcargo having a movable center of gravity, for example in a lateral and/or vertical direction. lO l\/lovements of a cargo, and thus movements of the center of gravity of the cargo, inthe lateral direction, i.e. in a direction being essentially perpendicular to a longitudinaldirection of the vehicle, often occurs in connection with one or more turns/curvesbeing driven/taken by the vehicle. Thus, a vehicle moves in its longitudinal directionwhen it is driven straight ahead, i.e. when a steering/wheel angle is essentially zerosuch that the vehicle is not turning. When the vehicle moves in only its longitudinaldirection, essentially no lateral forces are acting on the cargo, and the cargo and itscenter of gravity are normally essentially static in the lateral direction. However, inconnection with one or more turns/curves, when a steering/wheel angle is or hasbeen considerable, e.g. exceeding an angle threshold value, lateral forces startacting on the cargo, which may result in a lateral movement of the cargo and thus also in a lateral movement of the center of gravity for the cargo.

Brief description of the invention Lateral movements of the cargo and its center of gravity may thus occur under someconditions, which may affect the driving of the vehicle in ways that may cause traffichazard and/or may be experienced as unpleasant by a driver and/or passengers ofthe vehicle. The probability for buildup of lateral forces, and thus for a potential traffichazard and/or an unpleasant experience to occur, may change over time, and maytherefore be difficult for a driver and/or a control system of the vehicle to predict/estimate.

For example, for a cargo tank vehicle carrying a liquid cargo or a viscous type cargo,e.g. a fuel or oil tank vehicle, the degree of movement of the cargo and its center ofgravity may depend on how fully loaded the cargo tank is. ln a fully loaded cargotank, which may be the case when the cargo tank vehicle starts its delivery round,there is not much space available in the tank for the liquid or viscous cargo to movearound in, wherefore the center of gravity for the cargo does not move very muchlaterally even if the vehicle drives through one or more sharp turns/curves. lO As the tank vehicle delivers its liquid or viscous cargo at stops along its deliveryround, the level of liquid or viscous cargo in the cargo tank is reduced, and the cargoin the tank has more space to move around in the tank, wherefore more center ofgravity movements in the lateral direction may occur. Typically, if the cargo tank isessentially half full, large movements of the center of gravity for the cargo may occurin the lateral direction in connection with the vehicle making turns/curves, due to theample volume available for cargo movements. Also, when the cargo tank is half full,the weight of the remaining cargo is still considerable, wherefore considerable lateralforces may be created by the moving cargo when the vehicle makes one of more turns/curves.

When the cargo tank is essentially empty, there is plenty of space for the cargo tomove around within the cargo tank, but the weight of the cargo is rather low, whichlimits the lateral forces created by the cargo in connection with the turns/curves.

The over time varying potential risk for traffic hazards and/or unpleasant experiencesmakes it difficult for a driver and/or a control system to estimate how sensitive thevehicle is for such lateral cargo movements at every instant, which also makes itdifficult for the driver and/or the control system to correctly adapt the vehicle speed in curves/turns in order to safely and comfortably control the vehicle.

As a non-limiting example, a fuel delivery vehicle may in the morning leave a fuelstorage with its cargo tank fully loaded with fuel which should be delivered along adelivery route. The fuel delivery vehicle may, when it is still fully loaded, pass one ormore turns/curves, e.g. in one or more roundabouts, in the beginning of its routewithout any noticeable problem related to lateral forces. Then, after the fuel deliveryvehicle has unloaded fuel at one or more stops on its route, the fuel delivery vehiclemay again pass one or more turns/curves, e.g. the same one or more turns/curves asit passed in the beginning of the route. Since some of the fuel in its cargo tank hasalready been unloaded, there is more room for the fuel remaining in the cargo tank tomove around. lf, for example, about half of the fuel in the cargo tank has been lO unloaded, the remaining fuel in the tank still has a considerable weight and also hasa lot of empty space in the tank to move within. Therefore, considerable lateral forcesoriginating from the lateral moving fuel in the cargo tank may cooperate with thelateral forces acting on the vehicle itself in the one or more turns/curves, such thatthe vehicle may start to wobble, and might even overturn. This may be verysurprising for a driver and/or a control system since the vehicle may have had noproblems in the same or corresponding turns/curves before, e.g. in the beginning of arout when the tank was essentially full.

Thus, the lateral movements of the cargo, and thus also the lateral movement of thecenter of gravity of the cargo, may cause vehicle accidents causing possible personalinjuries and/or considerable costs. For many vehicles carrying a liquid or viscouscargo, the cargo itself may be flammable and/or toxic, which adds to the potentialinjury risks and costs arising from the laterally movable cargo. lt is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a method and a controlunit for performing at least one action based on a classification of a lateral movabilityof the cargo, such that these problems are at least partly solved.

According to an aspect of the present invention, this objective is achieved throughthe above-mentioned method for a vehicle; the vehicle including: - a cargo having a center of gravity which may be movable in a lateral direction of thevehicle; the method including: - determining that a lateral force Fiat of the cargo acting on the vehicle is greater thana lateral force threshold value Fiat_tit; Fiat > Fiat_tit; - determining that at least one condition for determination of a lateral movability of thecargo is fulfilled; - determining an oscillation of the lateral force Fiat of the cargo, the oscillation havinga frequency FF_iat and an amplitude AF_iat; lO - determining, based on the determined frequency Fgiai and on a declination of thedetermined amplitude Agiai during a time period T, the |atera| movability of the cargo;- determining, based on the determined |atera| movability of the cargo, a classificationC of a |atera| movability of the cargo; and - performing at least one action based on the determined classification C of the |atera| movability of the cargo.

Hereby, the safety of the driver and/or passengers of the vehicle, as well as of driversand/or passengers of other vehicles is enhanced, since the risk for wobbling andeven overturning of the vehicle may be considerably reduced by the at least one action being performed based on the determined classification C.

The at least one action may include that one or more proactive warnings/indicationsare provided to the driver, whereby the driver may be informed that the vehicle speedshould be reduced before an upcoming curve/turn. The at least one action mayinclude that one or more reactive warnings/indications are provided to the driver,whereby the driver is informed of that e.g. the vehicle experienced wobbling and/oralmost turned over in connection with the last turn. Based on this information, thedriver may reduce the vehicle speed in order to reduce the risk for wobbling at anupcoming curve/turn. The at least one action may also include one or moreevaluations of the driver behavior, including e.g. marking/grading the driving skills of the driver from a safety point of view.

The at least one action may also include usage of the determined |atera| movabilityclassification for autonomous control of the vehicle and/or as an input to a cruisecontrol of the vehicle, which may considerably increase the safety of the vehicle,driver and/or passengers, due to a more precise control of the vehicle speed.

The determination of the |atera| movability of the cargo, and thus also thedetermination of the classification C, according to the method is very reliable andcomputationally efficient. The determinations are performed if the |atera| force Fiat of lO the cargo is greater than a lateral force threshold value FiaUh; Fiat > Fram; and if atleast one lateral movability determination condition is fulfilled, whereby thedeterminations are only performed when they may result in exact and reliable values,and minimizes that determinations/calculations are performed when the reliability of the values is not high enough to be used as basis for decisions.

The determination of the lateral movability based on the oscillation features of thelateral force Fiat of the cargo according to the method results in an efficientdetermination of reliable values for the lateral movability.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the at least onecondition for determination of a lateral movability of the cargo includes one or more inthe group: - a wheel angle dwheei of the steered wheels has been kept less than a straightthreshold dwheeijhåiraaghi; oi < i dwheeghåiraaghi; during a condition time period Tcondaiaonexceeding a condition time threshold Tcondiiaofgh, Tcondaiaon > TCOndaiaOnJh; - an average acceleration a for the vehicle is less than a first acceleration thresholdvalue am_1; a < am_1; during an acceleration taking place under a condition timeperiod Tcondiiion exceeding a first acceleration condition time threshold Tajondaiaonjhg,Ta_condiﬁon > Ta_condirion_rn_1; - an average acceleration a for the vehicle is less than a second accelerationthreshold value am_2; a < am_2; during an acceleration taking place under a conditiontime period Tcondiiion exceeding a second acceleration condition time thresholdTa_condiﬁon_1h_2, Ta_condition > Ta_condiﬂon_1n_2; - an inclination ßiong in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle of a road section travelledby the vehicle is less than a longitudinal inclination threshold ßiongjh; ßiong < ßiongLih;and - an inclination ßiai in the lateral direction of a road section travelled by the vehicle isless than a lateral inclination threshold ßiagh; ßiai < ßiagh. lO Thus, according to the method, the determination of the lateral movability and theClassification C is performed if at least one of these conditions is fulfilled. Hereby,these determinations are not performed for all other cases/situations when theywould result in less reliable determined values. The fulfillment of one or moreconditions thus eliminates cases/situations where additional forces would influencethe determinations, such as additional forces resulting fromaccelerations/retardations, longitudinal and/or lateral road inclinations, and/or furtherturns/swings, whereby the quality of the determination of the lateral movability andthe classification C is increased and the computational complexity is reduced.According to an embodiment, all of the conditions in the group should be fulfilled inorder for the determination of the lateral movability and the classification C to beperformed, which even further enhances the quality of the determinations and alsofurther reduces the computational complexity.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the determining of theoscillation of the lateral force Fiat of the cargo is based on an indication provided byone or more in the group: - an accelerometer arranged in the vehicle; and - a gyroscope arranged in the vehicle.

Hereby, the determining of the oscillation of the lateral force Fiat may be performedusing one or more sensors often being included in the vehicle anyway, whereby noadditional hardware complexity is added for the vehicle by the herein describedembodiments.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, one or more of the determiningof the lateral movability of the cargo and the determining of the classification C isbased on at least one in the group: - a weight of the cargo; - a portion V/Vmax of a cargo space Vmax of the vehicle being occupied by the cargo; - information related to a viscosity of the cargo; lO - information related to a driving schedule for the vehicle; - information related to a loading schedule for the vehicle; - information related to a delivery schedule for the vehicle; - information related to one or more features of a road being travelled by the vehicle;- information related to a vehicle configuration; - information related to a trailer configuration; and - information indicating a trend for a lateral movability of the cargo over time.

Vehicles of today include a large number of sensors that provide signals/indicationsrelated to a large number of parameters/features/states of the vehicle and/or itscargo. Such signals/indications are often generally available in the vehicle, e.g. via acommunication bus, such as a controller area network (CAN) bus, arranged in thevehicle, and may thus be easily accessible for usage by the various determinationembodiments described herein. Also, essentially any further information beingassociated with the cargo in any way may be used as a basis for the determinations.Such further information may be provided by essentially any entity, within the vehicleand/or external to the vehicle. Hereby, the reliability of the determinations may beincreased. The possibilities for performing the determinations at all may then also beincreased, since they may, according to various herein described embodiments, be based on various information, that may be available in various driving situations.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the determining of theclassification C of the lateral movability of the cargo includes correlating thedetermined lateral movability of the cargo with at least one in the group: - a weight W of the cargo; - a portion W/Wmax of a maximum cargo weight Wmax for a weight W of the cargo; - a cargo space V being occupied by the cargo; and - a portion V/Vmax of an available cargo space Vmax of the vehicle being occupied bythe space S of the cargo. lO As mentioned in this document, the potential risk for wobbling and/or turning overmay be associated with how full e.g. a cargo tank is, since the risk may be associatedwith the space available for movements of the cargo. Also, the potential risk forwobbling and/or turning may depend on how heavy the cargo is, i.e. on the weightand/or density of the cargo, since the resulting forces depends on the weight of themoving cargo. By correlating the determined lateral movability of the cargo with oneor more parameters related to the fullness of the cargo tank and/or to the weight ofthe cargo, the classification C of the lateral movability is related to the potential riskfor hazardous wobbling.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the classification C of thelateral movability of the cargo is altered by the determination of the classification C,the at least one action being performed includes performing one or more in thegroup: - indicating that the vehicle speed v should be reduced before an upcoming turn if thedetermined classification C indicates a laterally moving cargo; - determining a maximally allowed vehicle speed vmax to be used in an upcoming turn,and indicating the determined maximally allowed speed vmax before the upcomingturn if the determined classification C indicates a laterally moving cargo; - determining a maximally allowed vehicle speed vmax to be used in an upcoming turn,and indicating that a reduction of the vehicle speed v should be performed before theupcoming turn if the vehicle speed v exceeds the maximally allowed vehicle speed Vmax.

Hereby, the driver, a cruise control and/or an autonomous vehicle control may bedynamically informed by an indication/information being provided when theclassification C is changed by the herein described embodiments. The driver, thecruise control and/or the autonomous vehicle control may, based on thisindication/information, adjust the vehicle speed, e.g. by reducing it, in time before anupcoming turn/curve in order to avoid wobbling of the vehicle. The at least one actionmay thus include providing actual control commands/signals used for actively lO lO controlling the vehicle in this situation, and/or may include providing information to bedisplayed in a suitable way for the driver.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one action beingperformed includes: - gathering information related to a vehicle speed v of the vehicle; and - performing an analysis of a driver performance in relation to the determinedclassification C of the lateral movability of the cargo based on the gathered information.

Hereby, the tendency/willingness for driver to control the vehicle speed in a mannercausing potential risks associated with laterally moving cargo may be determined.Such determined potentially risky behavior of the driver may be used as feedback tothe driver and/or when training/educating the driver in safety driving of the vehicle.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one action beingperformed includes using the determined classification C as a basis for controlling autonomous driving of the vehicle.

Hereby, the safety of the autonomous driving of the vehicle may be considerablyincreased, by a more reliably determined vehicle speed to be used for autonomously controlling the vehicle.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one action beingperformed includes one or more in the group: - providing the determined classification C to a cruise control system included in thevehicle; and - using the determined classification C as a basis for a determination of a referencespeed vref used by a cruise control system for regulating the vehicle speed v of thevehicle. lO ll Hereby, the safety of the cruise control speed control may be considerably increased,since the reference speed vref provided to the speed regulator by the cruise controlsystem is determined taking the risk for vehicle wobbling into consideration.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the method further includes: - determining, based on at least two frequencies FF_iai_1, FF_iai_2, FF_iai_n, and atleast two amplitudes AF_iai_1, AF_iai_1, AF_iai_n, of the lateral force Fiat of the cargodetermined in at least two differing points in time tF_iai_1, tF_iai_2, tF_iai_n,respectively, a trend for a lateral movability of the cargo over time.

The trend for a lateral movability of the cargo over time may be used for predictingthe potential wobbling risk for the vehicle. For example, the features of the cargo maychange over time, e.g. due to temperature changes over time, whereby the lateralmovability over time may also change. By identifying the trend for the lateralmovability, such changes may be taken into consideration when controlling the vehicle speed.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the lateral force Fiat of the cargo is aresult of the vehicle having made at least one turn, the at least one turn including onein the group: - one turn; - a sequence of at least two turns; and - at least one turn in connection with a roundabout.

The herein described embodiments may thus increase the safety of the vehicle, ofthe driver, of possible passengers, and of other vehicles in essentially any situationswhere the cargo might move in the lateral direction. lO 12 According to an aspect of the present invention, the objective is achieved through acontrol unit of a vehicle; the vehicle including: - a cargo having a center of gravity which may be movable in a lateral direction of thevehicle; the control unit being configured for: - determining that a lateral force Fiat of the cargo acting on the vehicle is greater thana lateral force threshold value Fiat_tit; Fiat > Fiat_tit; - determining that at least one condition for determination of a lateral movability of thecargo is fulfilled; - determining an oscillation of the lateral force Fiat of the cargo, the oscillation havinga frequency FF_iat and an amplitude AF_iat; - determining, based on the determined frequency FF_iat and on a declination of thedetermined amplitude AF_iat during a time period T, the lateral movability of the cargo;- determining, based on the determined lateral movability of the cargo, a classificationC of a lateral movability of the cargo; and - performing at least one action based on the determined classification C of the lateral movability of the cargo.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the objective is achieved through avehicle including the control unit. lt will be appreciated that all the embodiments described for the method aspects ofthe invention are applicable also to the control unit aspect of the invention. Thus, allthe embodiments described for the method aspects of the invention may beperformed by the control unit, which may also be a control device, i.e. a device. Thecontrol unit and its embodiments have advantages corresponding to the advantages mentioned above for the method and its embodiments. lO 13 According to an aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned computerprogram and computer-readable medium are configured to implement the methodand its embodiments described herein.

Brief list of figures Embodiments of the invention will be i||ustrated in more detail below, along with the enclosed drawings, where similar references are used for similar parts, and where: Figure 1 shows an example vehicle, in which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented, Figures 2a-b show schematic lateral force curve examples, Figures Sa-d show schematic lateral force curve examples, Figure 4 illustrates a flow chart diagram for an embodiment, Figure 5 shows a schematic lateral force curve used for illustrating a calculation example embodiment, and Figure 6 shows a control unit, in which a method according to any one of the hereindescribed embodiments may be implemented.

Description of preferred embodiments Figure 1 schematically shows an exemplary heavy vehicle 100, such a vehiclecarrying a cargo having an at least laterally movable cargo 120, i.e. having a laterallymovable center of gravity 121, which will be used to explain the herein presented lO 14 embodiments. The embodiments are, however, not limited to use in vehicles as theones shown in figure 1, but may also be used in other vehicles, such as smallervehicles carrying smaller cargos.

A vehicle 100, as shown schematically in figure 1, comprises a pair of drive wheels111, 112 and at least one other pair of wheels 113, 114 being possible to steer tomake turns/curves with the vehicle 100. The wheel angle of the steered wheels 113,114 may be controlled by a steering arrangement 140 being controlled by a steeringwheel 141 handled by the driver and/or by a steering control unit 142. The steeringcontrol unit 142 may be used in autonomous vehicles for steering the vehicle and/ormay assist a driver in steering the vehicle 100. The wheel angle dwheei of the steeredwheels 113, 114 is associated to the steering angle dsieering of the steering wheel 141with a gearing ratio, which may for example be in the interval of 15:1 s dsieeringxxwneei S 26:1. As a non-limiting example, the gearing ratio dsieeringbiwheei may be 20:1.

The vehicle furthermore comprises a drivetrain 130 configured to transfer a torquebetween at least one power source 101 and the drive wheels 111, 112. The at leastone power source 101 may include a combustion engine, at least one electricalmachine, or a combination of these, implementing a so-called hybrid drive. The atleast one power source 101 may, when being a combustion engine, be provided withfuel from a fuel tank coupled to the at least one power source. The power source 101may also be provided with electrical energy by at least one battery coupled to the at leaSt One DOWGI' SOUFCG.

The at least one power source 101 is for example in a customary fashion, via anoutput shaft 102 of the engine 101, connected to a clutch 106, and via the clutch alsoto a transmission/gearbox 103. The torque provided by the engine 101 is provided toan input shaft 109 of the gearbox 103. A propeller shaft 107, connected to an outputshaft of the gearbox 103, drives the drive wheels 111, 112 via a central gear 108,such as e.g. a customary differential, and drive shafts 104, 105 connected with the central gear 108. Also, one or more electrical machines may be arranged essentially lO anywhere in the vehicle 100, as long as torque is provided to one or more of thewheels 111, 112, 113, 114, e.g. adjacent to one or more of the wheels 111, 112, 113,114, as is understood by a skilled person.

The vehicle 100 may further include one or more sensors 145, including e.g. at leastone accelerometer and/or at least one gyroscope, located at suitable positions withinthe vehicle 100, such as e.g. on at least one frame member of the vehicle.

The vehicle 100 also may include an air suspension system (not shown in figure 1),including at least one suspension arrangement, for example one air suspensionarrangement arranged at each one of the wheels of the vehicle. The air suspensionsystem may, in addition to providing suspension for the vehicle 100, be arranged toalso provide an estimation of the weight of the vehicle 100 and/or the cargo 120.Also, the gearbox/transmission system 103 may be arranged for providing anestimation of the weight of the vehicle and/or of the cargo 120. The weight estimationof may be provided by a CAN (Controller Area Network) bus of the vehicle, where theCAN bus is arranged e.g. for connecting various control circuits of the vehicle.

The control unit/device 150 may include a first determination unit 151, a seconddetermination unit 152, a third determination unit 153, and a fourth determination unit154, a fifth determination unit 155 and a sixth performance unit 156, as is mentionedbelow. The control unit/device 150 and/or another control unit/device may further beconfigured for controlling one or more of the at least one power source 101, theclutch 106, the gearbox 103, and/or any other units/devices/entities of the vehicle.However, in figure 1, only the units/devices/entities of the vehicle useful forunderstanding the present invention are illustrated.

The vehicle 100 may also include at least one input/output device 144 arranged forreceiving an input from the driver and/or providing information to the driver, as isdescribed more in detail below. The at least one input/output device 144 may includeat least one button, at least one knob, at least one lever, at least one touch screen, or lO 16 any other suitable input arrangement. The at least one input/output device 144 mayalso include at least lamp, indicator, instrument, display, touch screen, or any other suitable output arrangement.

The vehicle 100 may further include at least one communication device 170 arrangedfor communication with at least one entity external to the vehicle 100, such as e.g. aninfrastructure entity 181, a communication entity 185 of another vehicle 186 and/or a positioning information entity 190, as is mentioned below.

Figure 2a schematically shows an example of a lateral force as a function of timeduring and after a right turn/curve for a cargo which is laterally static/non-movable. Asis illustrated in figure 2a, a lateral force acts on the laterally static/non-moving cargoessentially only during the turn/curve. Before and after the turn/curve, the lateral force is essentially equal to zero.

Figure 2b schematically shows an example of a lateral force as a function of timeduring and after a corresponding right turn/curve for a cargo which is laterallymovable. As is illustrated in figure 2b, a lateral force acts on the laterally movingcargo during the turn/curve and also after the turn/curve. When the actual turn/curveis completed, the laterally movable cargo, e.g. being liquid/viscous and having beenset in motion during the turn/curve, continues to move laterally back and forth e.g. ina cargo tank of the vehicle, which causes a force ripple after the turn/curve has beencompleted. Such a force ripple may be experienced as very annoying for a driverand/or passengers. The force ripple may even cause the vehicle to start wobbling, which may be very unpleasant and uncomfortable for the driver and/or passengers.

Figures Sa-d schematically illustrate a non-limiting example of a situation where thelateral force may reach such high levels that there is a risk for the vehicle to start wobbling, and even roll over. lO 17 Figure 3a illustrates an example vehicle 100 having a laterally movable cargo, asexplained above, which drives through a roundabout 300. lnitially, the vehicle isdriving straight ahead 310, i.e. with a steering wheel angle dsieering and a wheel angledwheei of the steered wheels 113, 114 being essentially equal to zero degrees. Thesteering wheel angle dsieerang and a wheel angle dwheei are associated with each otherby a gearing ratio for vehicles being manually steered. As illustrated in figure 3a, thedriver turns the steering wheel 141, i.e. alters the steering wheel angle dsieermg andthus also alters the wheel angle dwheei, by first 320 turning it to the right when thevehicle enters the roundabout. Then, when the vehicle 100 is in the roundabout, thedriver turns the steering wheel 141 to the left 330 when the vehicle follows the curvedhalf-circle of the roundabout. Finally, the driver turns the steering wheel 141 to theright 340 when it is time to leave the roundabout. Then, when the vehicle leaves theroundabout, the driver returns to a steering wheel angle being essentially zerodegrees and keeps driving straight ahead 350. ln an autonomous vehicle, a controlunit would perform the steering of the wheel angle dwheei of the steered wheels 113, 1 14. lt should be noted that the time axis/scale of figures 3a-d are essentially aligned,such that the forces resulting from the steering actions illustrated in figure 3a areillustrated essentially vertically beneath in figures 3b-d. ln figure 3b, the lateral force of the laterally movable cargo corresponding to thesteering actions illustrated in figure 3a is illustrated. At 301, the cargo, and thus alsothe center of gravity 121 of the cargo, starts to move to the left in vehicle, i.e. withinthe cargo tank 120, after the steering wheel 141 is turned to the right 320 and thevehicle 100 enters the roundabout 300. Then, at 302, the cargo, and thus also thecenter of gravity 121 of the cargo 120, moves to the opposite side, i.e. to the rightside, of the vehicle 100, since the steering wheel 141 is turned to the left 330 from itsright position 320. This turn from the right 320 to the left 330 position of the steeringwheel 141 results in a corresponding large movement from the left to the right of thelaterally movable cargo, whereby the movable cargo gains momentum by its movements and the amplitude of the lateral force is increased. For example, for a lO 18 liquid or viscose cargo, a wave is hereby created which may then move back andforth within the cargo tank, and which may also increase in strength.

Then, the steering wheel is again turned to the right 340 when the vehicle exits theroundabout. At 303 and 304, the cargo moves back 303 towards and reaches 304the left side of the vehicle 100, since the steering wheel 141 is turned to the right 340from its left position 330. This turn from the left 330 to the right 340 position of thesteering wheel 141 results in a corresponding large movement from the right 302 tothe left 303 of the laterally movable cargo, whereby the amplitude of the lateral forceis further increased at 304. Typically, a large wave of a liquid or viscose cargo hashere moved back and forth 301, 302, 303 a couple of times within the cargo tank,and has gained in amplitude whereby the lateral forces acting on the vehicle also hasincreased when it reaches 304 the left side of the vehicle 100.

The vehicle then leaves the roundabout 350, and the driver returns to the steeringwheel 141 to an essentially straight position, i.e. to an steering/wheel angle beingessentially zero degrees, and proceeds driving straight ahead. As mentioned above,when the turns/curves of the roundabout are completed, the laterally movable cargohaving been set in motion during the turns/curves continues to move laterally back and forth e.g. in a cargo tank of the vehicle, causing a force ripple. ln the non-limiting example illustrated in figure 3b, the lateral force due to themovable cargo has a high amplitude when the vehicle leaves the roundabout 304,but is lower than a level where there is a risk for the vehicle to roll over.

Figure 3c schematically illustrates the lateral force due to the vehicle 100 itself, i.e.for the vehicle 100 without the laterally movable cargo. The lateral force for thevehicle itself is directed to the left 306 after the steering wheel 141 is turned to theright 320 and the vehicle 100 enters the roundabout 300. Then, the lateral force dueto the vehicle itself moves to the right side 307 of the vehicle 100, since the steeringwheel 141 is turned to the left 330 from its right position 320. Then, the steering lO 19 wheel is again turned to the right 340 when the vehicle exits the roundabout,whereby the lateral force moves back towards the left side 308 of the vehicle 100,since the steering wheel 141 is turned to the right 340 from its left position 330. Whenthe vehicle leaves the roundabout 350 and the driver returns to the steering wheel141 to an essentially straight position, whereby the lateral force of the vehicle itself isessentially reduced to zero.

Figure 3d is a schematic illustration of the total resulting lateral force due to thevehicle and the movable cargo. Basically, the curve of the total resulting lateral forceillustrated in figure 3d is a result of an addition of the lateral forces illustrated by thecurves in figure 3b and figure 3c. As is illustrated in figure 3d, according to the non-limiting example illustrated in figure 3d, the resulting total lateral force reaches 309such high amplitudes that there is a risk that the vehicle rolls over in connection withwhen the vehicle leaves 309 the roundabout.

Thus, as illustrated in figures 3a-d, there is a risk that the vehicle wobbles and/or rollsover due to movements of laterally movable cargo when a vehicle performs one or more turns, e.g. in connection with a roundabout.

Figure 4 shows a flow chart for a method 400 of a vehicle 100, according to anembodiment of the present invention. The method 400, and its embodiments, may beperformed by a control unit 150 of a vehicle 100 including/comprising/carrying acargo 120 having a center of gravity 121 which may be movable in a lateral directionof the vehicle 100, as is explained in detail in this document. ln this document, thelateral direction is a direction essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction ofthe vehicle, i.e. perpendicular to the direction in which the vehicle moves if thesteering/wheel angle is zero. lt should be noted that the method steps illustrated in figure 4 and described hereindo not necessarily have to be executed in the order illustrated in figure 4. The steps may essentially be executed in any suitable order, as long as the physical lO requirements and the information needed to execute each step is available when the step is executed. ln a first step 410 of the method, it is determined that a lateral force Fiat of the cargo120 acting on the vehicle 100 is greater than a lateral force threshold value Fiat_tit; Fiat> Fiat_tit. The lateral force Fiat of the cargo 120 may here be caused by one or more ofa large number of possible movements of the vehicle. For example, the lateral forceFiat may be a result of the vehicle 100 having made at least one turn 320, 330, 340(illustrated in figure 3a), a sequence of two or more turns and/or at least one turn inconnection with a roundabout 300. According to a non-limiting example, the lateralforce threshold value Fiat_tit is related to one or more features of the vehicle individualin question, such as e.g. the wheelbase or the center of gravity for the vehicle itself,and/or may have a value corresponding to lateral g-forces for example in the range of0.05g-0.1 g measured e.g. by an accelerometer in the vehicle.

The lateral force Fiat of the cargo 120 acting on the vehicle 100 may, according tosome embodiments, be determined based of indications/signals provided by theabove mentioned one or more sensors 145. For example, at least one accelerometerand/or at least one gyroscope positioned on and/or at a frame member and/or thechassis of the vehicle may provide indications/signals that are associated with themovements of the cargo, and therefore may be used for determining the lateral forceFiat of the cargo 120 acting on the vehicle 100. ln a second step 420 of the method, it is determined that at least one condition fordetermination of a lateral movability of the cargo 120 is fulfilled. Some examples of such conditions are mentioned below. ln a third step 430 of the method, an oscillation of the lateral force Fiat of the cargo120 is determined, wherein the determined oscillation has a frequency FF_iat and an amplitude AF_iat. lO 21 ln a fourth step 440 of the method, the lateral movability of the cargo 120 isdetermined, based on the oscillation, more specifically based on the determinedfrequency FF_iai and on a declination of the determined amplitude AF_iai during a timeperiod T. According to a non-limiting example, the time period T is related to one ormore features of the vehicle, such as e.g. features associated with a cargo tank or aswash/wave protection of a tank, and may have a value in the range of 2-10 seconds. ln a fifth step 450 of the method, a classification C of a lateral movability of the cargo 120 is determined based on the determined lateral movability of the cargo 120. ln a sixth step 460 of the method, at least one action is performed based on thedetermined classification C of the lateral movability of the cargo 120. Some examples of such actions are mentioned below.

When the method is implemented, the risk for annoying and/or dangerous effects oflaterally moving cargo is reliably reduced. According to the method, a classification Cwhich indicates degree of movability for the cargo is determined. The classification Cmay be determined at suitable points in time, according to an embodiment whenthere has been a change in a load/weight status of the vehicle, such as for examplewhen a cargo tank has been at least partly filled or emptied. This classification C maythen be used for substantially counteracting dangerous vehicle behavior. Forexample, if the determined classification indicates that the cargo has a potentiallydangerous lateral movability, the driver may be asked to decrease the vehicle speedbefore the next turn to be made by the vehicle. Alternatively, the vehicle speed mayalso be actively reduced by a vehicle speed regulating device in the vehicle. l\/loreexamples of actions to be performed based on the determined classification C are described below.

As mentioned above, in order for the determination 430 of the oscillation of the lateralforce Fiai to be performed, a general condition is that a lateral force Fiai of the cargo lO 22 120 acting on the vehicle 100 is great enough, i.e. greater than the lateral forcethreshold value Fiagh; Fiat > FiaUh; for a reliable determination to be performed. Also,at least one further condition should be fulfilled before the determination of the lateralmovability of the cargo 120 is determined.

According to an embodiment, the at least one condition for determination of a lateralmovability of the cargo 120, which should be fulfilled before the above mentioneddetermination 430 of the oscillation of the lateral force Fiat of the cargo 120 isperformed, includes that a wheel angle dwheei of the steered wheels 113, 114arranged for causing the vehicle 100 to follow a desired direction/course, has beenkept less than a straight threshold dwheeijitsiraighi; oi < i dwheeijhåiraaghi; during acondition time period Tcondiiion exceeding a condition time threshold Tcondiiaofgh, Tcondaiaon> Tcondaiaonjh. The wheel angle dwheei is with a gearing ratio associated with a steeringangle dsieering of the steering wheel 141, which is understood by a skilled person. Byfulfilling this condition, the determination of the lateral movability of the cargo may beperformed essentially without the influence of further additional lateral forces. Thelateral movability of the cargo may then be determined based on well-defined lateralforces, which reduces the computational complexity of the determination and alsoincreases the precision of the determination. According to an embodiment, thestraight threshold dwheeijhßiraighi has a value in the interval of 0 s dwheeijhåiraighi S 1°,which may for example correspond to a straight threshold dsieeringjhåiraaghi for steeringangle dsieering of the steering wheel 141 having a value in the interval of 0 sdsieeringjiåiraighi S 20° (if the gearing ratio is 20:1 as exemplified above). As a non-limiting example, the wheel angle straight threshold dwheeijhåiraighi may have a valueof 0.5°, which may correspond to the steering wheel straight threshold dsieeringjhßiraaghihaving a value of 10°. According to an embodiment, the condition time thresholdTcondiiionjh is related to one or more features of the vehicle, such as e.g. featuresassociated with a cargo tank of the vehicle or a swash/wave protection of the tank,and may have a value in the range of 2-10 seconds.

According to an embodiment, the at least one condition for determination of a lateral movability of the cargo 120, which should be fulfilled before the above mentioned lO 23 determination 430 of the oscillation of the lateral force Fiat of the cargo 120 isperformed, includes that an average acceleration a for the vehicle 100 is less than afirst acceleration threshold value am_1; a < am_1; during an acceleration taking placeunder a condition time period Tcondiiion exceeding a first acceleration condition timethreshold Ta_condition_th_1; Tcondirion > Ta_condiﬁon_1n_1. Hereby, the influence Of longitudinalforces due to acceleration of the vehicle is limited such that the reliability of thedetermination of the lateral movability for the cargo is improved. According to a non-limiting example, the first acceleration threshold value am_1 may have a value of10.25 m/s2. According to a non-limiting example, the first acceleration condition timethreshold Tajondiiaonjh; may have a suitable value for capturing gentle accelerationsand/or retardations of the vehicle and may be shorter than or equal to 10 seconds.

According to an embodiment, the at least one condition for determination of a lateralmovability of the cargo 120, which should be fulfilled before the above mentioneddetermination 430 of the oscillation of the lateral force Fiat of the cargo 120 isperformed, includes that an average acceleration a for the vehicle 100 is less than asecond acceleration threshold value am_2; a < am_2; during a retardation taking placeunder a condition time period Tcondiiion exceeding a second acceleration condition timethreshold Ta_condiﬂon_1h_2, Tcondirion > Ta_condiﬁon_1n_2. Hereby, the influence Of longitudinalforces due to deceleration of the vehicle is limited such that the reliability of thedetermination of the lateral movability for the cargo is improved. According to a non-limiting example, the second acceleration threshold value am_2 may have a value of12.5 m/s2. According to a non-limiting example, the second acceleration conditiontime threshold Taßondaiionjhg may have a value suitable for capturing more aggressiveaccelerations and/or retardations/decelerations of the vehicle, and may be longerthan or equal to 0.5 seconds.

Thus, the second acceleration threshold value am_2 may be higher than the firstacceleration threshold value am_1, whereas the first the first acceleration conditiontime threshold Tajondiiionjh; may be longer than the second acceleration conditiontime threshold Ta_c0ndiii0n_ih_2. The acceleration may in these embodiments be either positive (increase in speed) or negative (reduction in speed). lO 24 According to an embodiment, the at least one condition for determination of a |atera|movability of the cargo 120, which should be fulfilled before the above mentioneddetermination 430 of the oscillation of the |atera| force Fiat of the cargo 120 isperformed, includes that an inc|ination ßiong in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle100 of a road section travelled by the vehicle 100 is less than a longitudinalinc|ination threshold ßiongjh; ßiong < ßiongjh. Hereby, the influence of longitudinal forcesdue to road inclinations, due to e.g. a downhill and/or an uphill, is limited, wherebythe reliability of the determination of the |atera| movability for the cargo is improved.According to a non-limiting example, the Iongitudinal inc|ination threshold ßiongjh may have a value of 3°.

According to various embodiments, the determination 440 of the |atera| movability ofthe cargo 120 and/or the determination 450 of the classification C are, are based on,in addition to the above mentioned |atera| force oscillation frequency Fgiai andamplitude declination, at least one further information and/or parameter.

According to an embodiment, the |atera| movability determination 440 and/or theclassification C determination are based also on a weight of the cargo 120. The cargoweight may here be determined based on information on the CAN bus provided e.g.by an air suspension system and/or by a transmission system of the vehicle 100. The lO weight of the cargo may influence the risks associated with the moving cargo. Forexample, a heavier moving cargo may, due to greater created forces, more easilycause vehicle wobbling and/or rollover than a lighter cargo would, which has aninfluence e.g. on the classification C.

According to an embodiment, the lateral movability determination 440 and/or theclassification C determination are based also on a portion V/Vmax of an availablecargo space Vmax of the vehicle being occupied by the cargo 120. As mentionedabove, a half full cargo tank carrying e.g. liquids may cause greater forces than a fullor an empty cargo tank, which has an influence e.g. on the classification C.

According to an embodiment, the lateral movability determination 440 and/or theclassification C determination 450 are based also on information related to a viscosityof the cargo 120. The viscosity of the cargo may influence how fast and how muchthe cargo moves within the vehicle, e.g. within the tank.

According to an embodiment, the lateral movability determination 440 and/or theclassification C determination 450 are based also on information related to a drivingschedule for the vehicle 100. The driving schedule may be used for estimating e.g.the weight of the vehicle, the cargo being carried by the vehicle and/or the degree offulness of a cargo tank. Since the weight and/or the used cargo space portion V/Vmaxmay have an influence on the movability and/or the classification C, the drivingschedule may be used as a basis for determining the movability and/or theclassification C.

According to an embodiment, the lateral movability determination 440 and/or theclassification C determination 450 are based also on information related to a loadingschedule for the vehicle 100. A loading schedule may e.g. comprise informationabout which type of cargo, and how much of that type of cargo, that is brought intothe vehicle at what point in time. From the loading schedule, information may bededuced regarding e.g. the current cargo weight, the contents of the cargo and/or lO 26 one or more features of the cargo. This information may be used when determiningthe movability and/or the classification of the cargo.

According to an embodiment, the |atera| movability determination 440 and/or theclassification C determination 450 are based also on information related to a deliveryschedule for the vehicle 100. A delivery schedule may e.g. comprise informationabout which type of cargo, and how much of that type of cargo, that leaves thevehicle at what point in time. From the delivery schedule, information may bededuced regarding e.g. the current cargo weight, the contents of the cargo and/orone or more features of the cargo. This information may be used when determining the movability and/or the classification of the cargo.

According to an embodiment, the |atera| movability determination 440 and/or theclassification C determination 450 are based also on information related to one ormore features of a road being travelled by the vehicle 100. Such road featureinformation may include e.g. information related to upcoming curves, turns, roadcrossings, roundabouts, e.g. how sharp the curves are and/or a diameter of aroundabout.

According to an embodiment, the |atera| movability determination 440 and/or theclassification C determination 450 are based also on information related to a vehicleconfiguration, e.g. what kind of suspension the vehicle has, how many axles thevehicle has and/or what kind of braking systems the vehicle has.

According to an embodiment, the |atera| movability determination 440 and/or theclassification C determination 450 are based also on information related to a trailerconfiguration, e.g. what kind of suspension the trailer has, how many axles the trailerhas and/or what kind of braking systems the trailer has.

According to an embodiment, the |atera| movability determination 440 and/or the classification C determination 450 are based also on information showing/indicating a lO 27 trend for a lateral movability of the cargo 120 over time. The movability of the cargomay change over time, for example due to varying temperatures. Therefore, themovability trend may be taken into consideration when determining the |atera|movability and/or the classification C.

Figure 5 schematically illustrates a non-liming example of a |atera| movabilitydetermination 440 by usage of a schematic lateral force curve 500 having afrequency Fgiai and an a|ternating amplitude Agiai. At a first point in time 501, it isdetermined 420 that at least one condition for determination of |atera| movability isfulfilled or has been fulfilled. For example, it may be determined 410 that at least oneturn has been made by the vehicle 100, and that the vehicle thereafter has beendriven essentially straight ahead for a while, i.e. that oi < i dmåiraighi has been fulfilledduring a condition time period Tcondiiion exceeding a condition time threshold Tcondition_th, Tcondition > Tcondition_th.

At a second point in time 502, a first amplitude value is detected, in this examplebeing a minimum value Ar_iai_min = - 0.5 at a minimum point for the curve. The secondpoint in time 502 may of course be located at essentially any extreme point for thecurve after the first point in time 501.

At a third point in time 503, a second amplitude value is detected, in this examplebeing a maximum value Agiatmax = 0.4 at a maximum point of the curve. Also,calculations are made based on the so far detected amplitude values, i.e. based onthe first and second amplitudes values in this example. For example, an absolutedifference DiffA between the first and second amplitude values may be calculated;DiffA = 0.9; and/or an absolute relation value RelA between the first and secondamplitude values may be calculated; FšelA = 0.4/0.5 = 0.8. The third point in time 503may be essentially any extreme point for the curve after the second point in time 502, typically the next extreme point after the second point in time 502. lO 28 At a fourth point in time 504, a third amplitude value is detected, in this examplebeing a minimum value Ar_iai_min = -0.32 at the next minimum point of the curve. Also,calculations are made based on the last two detected amplitude values, i.e. based onthe second and third amplitudes values. For example, an absolute difference DiffAbetween the second and third amplitude values may be calculated; DiffA = 0.72;and/or an absolute relation value RelA between the second and third amplitudevalues may be calculated; RelA = 0.32/0.4 = 0.8. The fourth point in time 504 may beessentially any extreme point for the curve after the third point in time 503, typicallythe next extreme point after the third point in time 503.

At a fifth point in time 505, a fourth amplitude value is detected, in this example beinga maximum value Agiatmax = 0.256 at the next maximum point of the curve. Also,calculations are made based on the last two detected amplitude values, i.e. based onthe third and fourth amplitudes values. For example, an absolute difference DiffAbetween the third and fourth amplitude values may be calculated; DiffA = 0.576;and/or an absolute relation value RelA between the second and third amplitudevalues may be calculated; RelA = 0.256/0.32 = 0.8. The fifth point in time 505 may beessentially any extreme point for the curve after the fourth point in time 504, typically the next extreme point after the fourth point in time 504.

Based on one or more of these detected and calculated values associated with thelateral force curve, which may be a curve determined based on measurements of anaccelerometer and/or a gyroscope, it may be determined/calculated how fast theripple/amplitude of the lateral force fades out/declines, e.g. during a time periodTdeciine = t2-t1 associated with the frequency Fgiai of the lateral force curve, forexample between the third 503 and fifth 505 points in time.

The absolute relation value FšelA gives an indication on how much force that is losteach time the cargo changes its direction, e.g. each time a fluid flow turns at a wallof a cargo tank and flows away from that wall. A cargo having zero movability wouldhave an absolute relation value RelA of 0; RelA = 0; since it does not move at all. lO 29 Correspondingly, an absolute relation value FšelA of 1; RelA = 1;would result in acargo flowing back and forth in the cargo tank forever without any losses/reductionsin amplitude. As a non-limiting example, it may be mentioned that diesel transportedin a cargo tank may have a relation value RelA of approximately 0.8; RelA = 0.8.

According to some embodiments described below, when the lateral movability of thecargo has been determined 440 as described above, the lateral movability may becorrelated with at least one parameter in order to determine 450 the classification Cof the lateral movability of the cargo. ln order to reduce the computational complexity,the correlation may according to an embodiment be performed by comparing thelateral movability with one or more predetermined parameter values, e.g. by usage ofa look up table (LUT) having values specific for the determined lateral movability.Basically, when the lateral movability has been determined, a look up table includingvalues corresponding to that lateral movability may be searched for one or moreother parameter values, whereby a classification C may be easily found in the table,as is exemplified below.

According to an embodiment, the classification C of the lateral movability of the cargo120 is determined by usage of a correlation of the determined lateral movability witha weight W of the cargo 120. The fact that a greater weight might cause greaterpotential danger than a smaller weight is hereby taken into consideration when theclassification C is determined 450, since the classification C is then based also on theweight W of the cargo 120. For example, a look up table corresponding to thedetermined 440 lateral movability may then include cargo weight W valuesassociated with classification C values, whereby a classification C may be easilydetermined 450 from the contents of the look up table.

According to an embodiment, the classification C of the lateral movability of the cargo120 is determined by usage of a correlation of the determined lateral movability witha portion W/Wmax of a maximum cargo weight Wmax for a weight W of the cargo 120.The fact that a greater weight might cause greater potential danger than a smaller lO weight is hereby taken into consideration when the Classification C is determined450, since the Classification C is then related/associated also to the weight W of thecargo 120. Also, the value of the weight portion W/Wmax may indicate how fullyloaded the vehicle is with cargo, e.g. how full a cargo tank is. As mentioned above,the fullness level of a tank may have a great impact on the potential problems relatedto the cargo, which is hereby also taken into consideration in the classification C. Forexample, a look up table corresponding to the determined 440 lateral movability maythen include values for the portion W/Wmax of the maximum cargo weight Wmax thatare associated with classification C values, whereby a classification C may be easilydetermined 450 from the contents of the look up table. Table 1 illustrates a non-limiting example of such a look upon table.

For example, the lateral movability of the cargo may have been determined based onanalysis of the ripple of the lateral force curve, as described above. As a non-limitingexample, the lateral movability may have been determined to a value of 0.8, whichcorresponds to diesel. w/wma, c (mo)o *se 1'Jßfš "få fåL so 9/0 :to ï ae 7 too as Table 1. Example of a look up table for classification As illustrated in the example of Table 1, for small values of the weight portionW/Wmax, the classification C is determined 450 to a small value for the determined 440 movability, indicating a small potential risk for cargo related problems due to the lO 31 lateral movability. Also, for high values of the weight portion W/Wmax, theClassification C is determined 450 to relatively small values for the determined 440movability, indicating a small potential risk for cargo related problems due to thelateral movability. However, for an essentially half full vehicle, having e.g.approximately 50% weight portion W/Wmax, the classification C is determined 450 to agreat value for the determined 440 movability, indicating a substantial risk for cargorelated problems due to the lateral movability. For this reason, the highestclassification value (C = 10) is present in the look up table for the half full (W/Wmax =50%) diesel cargo tank in this example.

As is understood by a skilled person, a corresponding look up table for the otherherein mentioned parameters, e.g. for the weight W, the space V and/or the spaceportion V/Vmax of the cargo, may also be determined and used for the determination450 of the classification C.

According to an embodiment, the classification C of the lateral movability of the cargo120 is determined 450 by usage of a correlation of the determined lateral movabilitywith a cargo space V being occupied by the cargo 120. The fact that some cargospaces/volumes V might cause greater potential danger than other spaces/volumesis hereby taken into consideration when the classification C is determined 450, sincethe classification C is then based also on the cargo space V of the cargo 120. Forexample, a look up table corresponding to the determined 440 lateral movability maythen include cargo space V values associated with classification C values, whereby a classification C may be easily determined 450 from the contents of the look up table.

According to an embodiment, the classification C of the lateral movability of the cargo120 is determined by usage of a correlation of the determined lateral movability witha portion V/Vmax of an available cargo space Vmax of the vehicle being occupied bythe space S of the cargo 120. The fact that some used cargo spaces/volumes Vmight cause greater potential danger than other used spaces/volumes is herebytaken into consideration when the classification C is determined 450. The value for lO 32 the used portion V/Vmax of an available cargo space Vmax indicates how fully loadedthe vehicle is with cargo, e.g. how full a cargo tank is. As mentioned above, thefullness level of a tank may have a great impact on the potential problems related tothe cargo, which is hereby also taken into consideration in the classification C. Forexample, a look up table corresponding to the determined 440 lateral movability maythen include values for the portion V/Vmax of an available cargo space Vmax that areassociated with classification C values, whereby a classification C may be easilydetermined 450 from the contents of the look up table.

The above described determination of the oscillation of the lateral force Fiat of thecargo 120, i.e. the determination of the frequency Fgiai and an amplitude Agiai, maybe repeated at two or more points in time tF_iai_1, tF_iai_2, tF_iai_n. Then, a trend for alateral movability of the cargo 120 over time may be determined based on at leasttwo frequencies FF_iai_1, FF_iai_2, FF_iai_n and at least two amplitudes AF_iai_1,AF_iai_1, AF_iai_n determined in at least two differing points in time tF_iai_1, tF_iai_2, tF_iai_n, respectively. Also, a trend for the classification C of the lateral movability ofthe cargo may be determined over time for the cargo. The one or more determinedtrends for the lateral movability and/or classification of the cargo may be utilized forpredictions of at least one feature associated with the movable cargo, e.g. how themovability for the cargo will probably change during an upcoming road section,delivery route, work day or the like.

As mentioned above, at least one action is performed based on the determinedclassification C. The at least one action may e.g. be in the form of information to adriver of the vehicle, and/or in the form of control commands/signals used for activelycontrolling the vehicle. The position of the vehicle 100 in relation to the upcoming turnmay here be determined based on positioning information, e.g. global positioning system (GPS) information, in combination with digital map information.

According to an embodiment, the at least one action 460 includes, when theclassification C of the lateral movability of the cargo 120 is altered by the lO 33 Classification determination 450, providing an indicating 461, e.g. by usage of theinput/output device 144, to the driver to lower/decrease the speed before anupcoming turn. Such a reduced speed indication may typically be provided to thedriver if the determined classification C indicates a laterally moving cargo 120. The atleast one action may also include providing actual control commands/signals used foractively controlling the vehicle in this situation, e.g. for an autonomous vehicle or for acruise control system.

According to an embodiment, the at least one action 460 includes, when theclassification C of the lateral movability of the cargo 120 is altered by theclassification determination 450, a determination 462 of a maximally allowed vehiclespeed vmax to be used in an upcoming turn. The determined maximally allowedvehicle speed vmax is then indicated to the driver, e.g. by usage of the input/outputdevice 144 before the vehicle reaches the upcoming turn. Such an indication maytypically be provided to the driver if the determined classification C indicates alaterally moving cargo 120. The at least one action may also include providing actualcontrol commands/signals used for actively controlling the vehicle in this situation, e.g. for an autonomous vehicle or for a cruise control system.

According to an embodiment, the at least one action 460 includes, when theclassification C of the lateral movability of the cargo 120 is altered by theclassification determination 450, a determination 463 of a maximally allowed vehiclespeed vmax to be used in an upcoming turn. lt is then indicated to the driver that thevehicle speed v should lower/reduce before the upcoming turn if the vehicle speed vexceeds the maximally allowed vehicle speed vmax; v > vmax. The indication to thedriver may be provided by usage of the input/output device 144. Such an indicationmay typically be provided to the driver if the determined classification C indicates alaterally moving cargo 120. The at least one action may also include providing actualcontrol commands/signals used for actively controlling the vehicle in this situation, e.g. for an autonomous vehicle or for a cruise control system. lO 34 According to some embodiments, the at least one action may also be performed 460in order to evaluate the driver and/or the vehicle 100. The at least one action maythen include at least gathering/collecting 464 information related to a vehicle speed vof the vehicle 100, which may be conducted during an analysis time period Tanaiysashaving a length being related to one or more features of the driving situation, thevehicle and/or the cargo. The analysis time period Tanaiysis may for example have alength making it possible to capture a driving situation, such as e.g. a sharp turn, ofthe vehicle. As a non-limiting example, analysis time period Tanaiysis may be 5seconds long. The at least one action may then also include performing 465 ananalysis of a driver performance in relation to the determined classification C of thelateral movability of the cargo 120 based on the gathered/collected information. Thus,the information related to the vehicle speed v may then be correlated with thedetermined classification C. From this correlation, it may be determined how thedriver drives the vehicle, for example how risky the driving style of the driver is inrelation to the risk for laterally movable cargo problems. lf a high classification valuehas been determined, e.g. C = 10, and the driver still drives the vehicle at highspeeds in curves, there might be a high risk for accidents. ln such a situation, thedriver may be urged to reduce the vehicle speed by a suitable indication provided tothe driver. Also, the driver may also be urged to attend complementary drivingcourses and/or may automatically be registered to such courses.

As mentioned above, the determined classification C may also be used for otherpurposes, such for a direct control of the vehicle 100. According to an embodiment,the determined classification C may be utilized as a basis for controlling autonomousdriving of the vehicle 100, i.e. for controlling a vehicle being autonomously controlledat least partly without the influence of a driver. For example, the vehicle speed beingrequested by the autonomous control system may be determined based at least onthe classification C. As is understood by a skilled person, the autonomous control ofthe vehicle may also be based on a number of other parameters, such as e.g. basedon an actual vehicle speed, a position of the vehicle and/or information related to anupcoming road section ahead of the vehicle, including e.g. curve, junction, crossing or roundabout information and/or road inclination information. lO The determined Classification C may also be provided 467 to a cruise control systemincluded in the vehicle 100 for regulating the vehicle speed. According to anembodiment, the determined classification C may be utilized 468 as a basis for adetermination of a reference speed vfef used by a cruise control system for regulatingthe vehicle speed v of the vehicle 100. ln many cruise control systems of today, thedriver indicates a set speed vsei, which the driver wants the vehicle to generally hold,e.g. when the vehicle is driving on a flat road without any disturbing traffic in from ofit. The cruise control system may, however, under certain conditions regulate thevehicle speed towards a reference speed vref instead of towards the set speed vsei.For example, for hilly road sections, it may reduce the fuel consumption to slightlydivert from the set speed vsei during periods where the force of gravity may be utilizedfor driving the vehicle fon/vard. Also, the vehicle speed may have to be reduced belowthe set speed vsei by the cruise control system if there are other vehicles in front ofthe vehicle. Correspondingly, the cruise control system may have to reduce therequested speed below the set speed vsei to a lower reference speed vref if theclassification C has a value indicating that there is a substantial risk/dangerassociated with the laterally movable cargo. As is understood by a skilled person, thecruise control of the vehicle may also be based on a number of other parameters,such as e.g. based on an actual vehicle speed, a position of the vehicle and/orinformation, including e.g. curve, junction, crossing or roundabout information and/orroad inclination information, related to an upcoming road section ahead of thevehicle.

According to some embodiments, the determined lateral movability and/orclassification C of the cargo is provided to the vehicle 100 by another vehicle 186, i.e.by so-called vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, and/or by an infrastructureentity 181, i.e. by so-called vehicle-to-infrastructure (V21) communication, i.e. byvehicle-to everything (V2X) communication. Also, essentially any information thatmay be relevant for determining the lateral movability, the classification C of thecargo and/or the actions to be performed may be provided to the vehicle 100 byanother vehicle 186 (V2V) and/or by an infrastructure entity 181 (V21). The information may then include e.g. information associated with the curvature of the lO 36 present and/or upcoming road section, information associated with theslope/inclination of the present and/or upcoming road section and/or information associated with the cargo being or to be transported by the vehicle 100.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a control unit 150 of a vehicle 100including/carrying a cargo 120 having a center of gravity 121 which may be movablein a lateral direction of the vehicle 100 is presented.

The control unit 150 is configured for, e.g. includes means for: - determining 410 that a lateral force Fiat of the cargo 120 acting on the vehicle 100 isgreater than a lateral force threshold value Fiat_tit; Fiat > Fiat_tit; - determining 420 that at least one condition for determination of a lateral movabilityof the cargo 120 is fulfilled; - determining 430, an oscillation of the lateral force Fiat of the cargo 120, theoscillation having a frequency FF_iat and an amplitude AF_iat; - determining 440, based on the determined frequency FF_iat and on a declination ofthe determined amplitude AF_iat during a time period T, the lateral movability of thecargo 120; - determining 450, based on the determined lateral movability of the cargo 120, aclassification C of a lateral movability of the cargo 120; and - performing 460 at least one action based on the determined classification C of the lateral movability of the cargo.

The control unit 150, e.g. a device or a control device, according to the presentinvention may be arranged for performing all of the above, in the claims, and theherein described embodiments method steps. The control unit 150 is hereby providedwith the above described advantages for each respective embodiment. The presentinvention is also related to a vehicle 100 including the control unit 150.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, the at least onecommunication device 170 may be essentially any device transferring information to lO 37 and/or from the vehicle 100, and the at least one entity 181, 185, 186, 190 external tothe vehicle 100 may be essentially any external entity communicating with the vehicle100, i.e. with the at least one communication device 170, for the transfer of theinformation to and/or from the vehicle 100. Thus, the at least one external entity 181,185, 186, 190 may e.g. be associated with, such as being included in, aninfrastructure entity 181 and/or another vehicle 186. Correspondingly, as mentionedabove, the at least one communication device 170 may be a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)communication device, a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2l) communication device, and/ora vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication device, such that communicationbetween the vehicle 100 and the at least one external entity 181, 185, 186, 190 isachieved/provided, e.g. in accordance with a suitable communication protocol.

The person skilled in the art will appreciate that a the herein described embodimentsfor determining a lateral movability and a classification C thereof for a cargo may alsobe implemented in a computer program, which, when it is executed in a computer,instructs the computer to execute the method. The computer program is usuallyconstituted by a computer program product 603 stored on a non-transitory/non-volatile digital storage medium, in which the computer program is incorporated in thecomputer-readable medium of the computer program product. The computer-readable medium comprises a suitable memory, such as, for example: ROIVI (Read-Only l\/lemory), PROIVI (Programmable Read-Only l\/lemory), EPROIVI (ErasablePRONI), Flash memory, EEPROIVI (Electrically Erasable PRONI), a hard disk unit, etC.

Figure 6 shows in schematic representation a control unit 600/150, which maycorrespond to or may include one or more of the above-mentioned control units 151,152, 153, 154, 155, 156, i.e. a first determination unit 151 performing the first methodstep 410, a second determination unit 152 performing the second method step 420, athird determination unit 153 performing the third method step 430, a fourthdetermination unit 154 performing the fourth method step 440, a fifth determinationunit 155 performing the fifth method step 450, and a sixth performance unit 156performing the sixth method step 460. The control unit 600/150 comprises a lO 38 computing unit 601, which can be constituted by essentially any suitable type ofprocessor or microcomputer, for example a circuit for digital signal processing (DigitalSignal Processor, DSP), or a circuit having a predetermined specific function(Application Specific lntegrated Circuit, ASlC). The computing unit 601 is connectedto a memory unit 602 arranged in the control unit 600/150, which memory unitprovides the computing unit 601 with, for example, the stored program code and/orthe stored data which the computing unit 601 requires to be able to performcomputations. The computing unit 601 is also arranged to store partial or final results of computations in the memory unit 602. ln addition, the control unit 600/150 is provided with devices 611, 612, 613, 614 forreceiving and transmitting input and output signals. These input and output signalscan contain waveforms, impulses, or other attributes which, by the devices 611, 613for the reception of input signals, can be detected as information and can beconverted into signals which can be processed by the computing unit 601. Thesesignals are then made available to the computing unit 601. The devices 612, 614 forthe transmission of output signals are arranged to convert signals received from thecomputing unit 601 in order to create output signals by, for example, modulating the signals, which can be transmitted to other parts of and/or systems in the vehicle.

Each of the connections to the devices for receiving and transmitting input and outputsignals can be constituted by one or more of a cable; a data bus, such as a CAN bus(Controller Area Network bus), a l\/IOST bus (l\/ledia Orientated Systems Transportbus), or some other bus configuration; or by a wireless connection. A person skilledin the art will appreciate that the above-stated computer can be constituted by thecomputing unit 601 and that the above- stated memory can be constituted by the memory unit 602.

Control systems in modern vehicles commonly comprise communication bus systemsconsisting of one or more communication buses for linking a number of electronic control units (ECU's), or controllers, and various components located on the vehicle. lO 39 Such a control system can comprise a large number of control units and theresponsibility for a specific function can be divided amongst more than one controlunit. Vehicles of the shown type thus often comprise significantly more control unitsthan are shown in figures 1 and 6, which is well known to the person skilled in the art within this technical field. ln a shown embodiment, the embodiments of the present invention may beimplemented by the above mentioned control unit 600, 150. The embodiments of theinvention may also, however, be implemented wholly or partially in one or more othercontrol units already present in the vehicle, or in some control unit dedicated to the embodiments of the present invention.

Here and in this document, units are often described as being arranged forperforming steps of the method according to the invention. This also includes that theunits are designed to and/or configured to perform these method steps.

The one or more control units 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156 are in figure 1 illustratedas separate units. These units 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156 may, however, belogically separated but physically implemented in the same unit, or can be bothlogically and physically arranged together. These units 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156may for example correspond to groups of instructions, which can be in the form ofprogramming code, that are input into, and are utilized by a processor/computing unit601 when the units are active and/or are utilized for performing its method step, respectively.

The present invention is not limited to the above described embodiments. lnstead,the present invention relates to, and encompasses all different embodiments beingincluded within the scope of the independent claims.

Claims

lO Claims

1. Method (400) for a vehicle (100); the vehicle (100) including: - a cargo (120) having a center of gravity (121) which may be movable in a lateraldirection of the vehicle (100); the method including: - determining (410) that a lateral force Fiai of the cargo (120) acting on the vehicle(100) is greater than a lateral force threshold value FiaUh; Fiai > Fiauh; - determining (420) that at least one condition for determination of a lateral movabilityof the cargo (120) is fulfilled; - determining (430) an oscillation of the lateral force Fiat of the cargo (120), theoscillation having a frequency FF_iai and an amplitude AF_iai; - determining (440), based on the determined frequency FF_iai and on a declination ofthe determined amplitude AF_iai during a time period T, the lateral movability of thecargo (120); - determining (450), based on the determined lateral movability of the cargo (120), aclassification C of a lateral movability of the cargo (120); and - performing (460) at least one action based on the determined classification C of the lateral movability of the cargo (120).

2. l\/lethod (400) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one condition fordetermination of a lateral movability of the cargo (120) includes one or more in thegroup: - a wheel angle dwhaai of steering wheels (113, 114) of the vehicle has been kept lessthan a straight threshold dwhaaghåiraaghi; oi < i dwhaaijhåiraaghi; during a condition timeperiod Tcondiiion exceeding a Condition time threshold Tcondiﬁongh, Tcondirion > Tcondiﬂongn; - an average acceleration a for the vehicle (100) is less than a first accelerationthreshold value am_1; a < am_1; during an acceleration taking place under a conditiontime period Taandiiian exceeding a first acceleration condition time thresholdTa_condiﬁon_1h_1, Ta_condition > Ta_condition_tn_1; - an average acceleration a for the vehicle (100) is less than a second acceleration lO 41 threshold value am_2; a < am_2; during an acceleration taking place under a conditiontime period Tcondiiion exceeding a second acceleration condition time thresholdTa_condiﬁon_1h_2, Ta_condition > Ta_condiﬂon_1n_2; - an inclination ßiong in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle (100) of a road sectiontravelled by the vehicle (100) is less than a longitudinal inclination threshold ßiongjh;ßiong < ßiongjh; and - an inclination ßiai in the lateral direction of a road section travelled by the vehicle(100) is less than a lateral inclination threshold ßiagn; ßiai < ßiagh.

3. l\/lethod (400) according to any one of claims 1-2, wherein thedetermining (430) of the oscillation of the lateral force Fiat of the cargo (120) is basedon an indication provided by one or more in the group: - an accelerometer (145) arranged in the vehicle (100); and - a gyroscope (145) arranged in the vehicle (100).

4. l\/lethod (400) according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein one or more ofthe determining (440) of the lateral movability of the cargo (120) and the determining(450) of the classification C is based on at least one in the group: - a weight of the cargo (120); - a portion V/Vmax of a cargo space Vmax of the vehicle being occupied by the cargo(120); - information related to a viscosity of the cargo (120); - information related to a driving schedule for the vehicle (100); - information related to a loading schedule for the vehicle (100); - information related to a delivery schedule for the vehicle (100); - information related to one or more features of a road being travelled by the vehicle(100); - information related to a vehicle configuration; - information related to a trailer configuration; and - information indicating a trend for a lateral movability of the cargo (120) over time. lO 42

5. Method (400) as claimed in any one of claims 1-4, wherein thedetermining (450) of the classification C of the lateral movability of the cargo (120)includes correlating the determined (440) lateral movability of the cargo (120) with atleast one in the group: - a weight W of the cargo (120); - a portion W/Wmax of a maximum cargo weight Wmax for a weight W of the cargo(120); - a cargo space V being occupied by the cargo (120); and - a portion V/Vmax of an available cargo space Vmax of the vehicle being occupied by the space S of the cargo (120).

6. l\/lethod (400) as claimed in any one of claims 1-5, wherein, when theclassification C of the lateral movability of the cargo (120) is altered by thedetermination (450) of the classification C, the at least one action being performed(460) includes performing one or more in the group: - indicating (461) that the vehicle speed v should be reduced before an upcomingturn if the determined classification C indicates a laterally moving cargo (120); - determining (462) a maximally allowed vehicle speed vmax to be used in anupcoming turn, and indicating the determined maximally allowed speed vmax beforethe upcoming turn if the determined classification C indicates a laterally moving cargo(120); - determining (463) a maximally allowed vehicle speed vmax to be used in anupcoming turn, and indicating that the vehicle speed v should be reduced before theupcoming turn if the vehicle speed v exceeds the maximally allowed vehicle speed Vmax.

7. l\/lethod (400) as claimed in any one of claims 1-6, wherein the at leastone action being performed (460) includes: - gathering (464) information related to a vehicle speed v of the vehicle (100); and- performing (465) an analysis of a driver performance in relation to the determinedclassification C of the lateral movability of the cargo (120) based on the gathered information. lO 43

8. Method (400) as claimed in any one of claims 1-7, wherein the at leastone action being performed (460) includes using (466) the determined ClassificationC as a basis for controlling autonomous driving of the vehicle (100).

9. l\/lethod (400) as claimed in any one of claims 1-8, wherein the at leastone action being performed (460) includes one or more in the group: - providing (467) the determined classification C to a cruise control system () includedin the vehicle (100); and - using (468) the determined classification C as a basis for a determination of areference speed vref used by a cruise control system for regulating the vehicle speedv of the vehicle (100).

10. l\/lethod (400) as claimed in any one of claims 1-9, further including: - determining, based on at least two frequencies FF_iai_1, FF_iai_2, FF_iai_n, and atleast two amplitudes AF_iai_1, AF_iai_1, AF_iai_n, of the lateral force Fiat of the cargo(120) determined in at least two differing points in time tF_iai_1, tF_iai_2, tF_iai_n,respectively, a trend for a lateral movability of the cargo (120) over time.

11. l\/lethod (400) as claimed in any one of claims 1-10, wherein the lateralforce Fiat of the cargo (120) is a result of the vehicle (100) having made at least oneturn (320, 330, 340), the at least one turn (320, 330, 340) including one in the group:- one turn; - a sequence of at least two turns; and - at least one turn in connection with a roundabout (300).

12. Computer program comprising instructions which, when the program isexecuted by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method (400) accordingto any one of the claims 1-11. lO 44

13. Computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executedby a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method (400) according to anyone of the claims 1-11.

14. A control unit (150) of a vehicle (100); the vehicle (100) including: - a cargo (120) having a center of gravity (121) which may be movable in a lateraldirection of the vehicle (100); the control unit (150) being configured for: - determining (410) that a lateral force Fiai of the cargo (120) acting on the vehicle(100) is greater than a lateral force threshold value FiaUh; Fiai > Fiauh; - determining (420) that at least one condition for determination of a lateral movabilityof the cargo (120) is fulfilled; - determining (430) an oscillation of the lateral force Fiai of the cargo (120), theoscillation having a frequency FF_iai and an amplitude AF_iai; - determining (440), based on the determined frequency FF_iai and on a declination ofthe determined amplitude AF_iai during a time period T, the lateral movability of thecargo (120); - determining (450), based on the determined lateral movability of the cargo (120), aclassification C of a lateral movability of the cargo (120); and - performing (460) at least one action based on the determined classification C of thelateral movability of the cargo (120).

15. Vehicle including a control unit (150) according to claim 14.