Patent ID: 6550320
Filing Date: 2003-04-22
Classification: B60T

Abstract:
A vehicle control system, comprising: a force prediction unit for being placed in circuit communication with a tire deformation sensor and at least one other sensor, the tire deformation sensor being separate from a tire and arranged non-rotatingly with respect to the tire in the vicinity of the tire, said force prediction unit receiving a coupled tire deformation input from the tire deformation sensor, said coupled tire deformation input relating to a circumferential torque applied to the tire and further relating to another force acting on the tire that is skewed with respect to a longitudinal force corresponding to the circumferential torque and said force prediction unit receiving at least one other tire sensor input from the at least one other sensor, said force prediction unit characterized by implementing preprogrammed equations having constants determined from previously collected data to determine from at least the coupled tire deformation input and the at least one other sensor input an output corresponding to a predicted circumferential torque or longitudinal force acting on the tire, said determination of predicted circumferential torque or longitudinal force including said force prediction unit decoupling a first portion of said coupled tire deformation input relating to the circumferential torque applied to the tire from a second portion of said coupled tire deformation input relating to the other, skewed force acting on the tire.