Vehicle deceleration device and method

A vehicle deceleration system for stopping a vehicle that includes of a set of sensors, a controller, force applicators, and a friction applicator. The first sensor reads the ambient air temperature, the second sensor reads the vehicle speed, and a third sensor indicates if antilock brake system is operational. The controller calculates the distance between the front bumper and any surrounding objects to adjust the stopping force accordingly. The controller monitors the three sensors and a processor checks for predetermined given conditions. If all checks are met, the controller activates the force applicators. When the force applicators extend, they rotate a friction applicator into the road surface until the vehicle comes to a complete stop.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to an emergency braking system, and more particularly to the ability to stop a vehicle sliding on slick roads.

BACKGROUND

Current antilock brake systems (ABS) are capable of decelerating vehicles in certain situations but there are occurrences where the system can still leave a driver sliding on slick or icy road conditions. When sliding on, e.g., an icy road, the driver is in a helpless situation, as the ABS is unable to stop the vehicle while it is pulsating the braking system, however, the vehicle continues to move even at ultra-low speeds until the vehicle comes to a stop in an undesirable fashion, e.g., by colliding with another vehicle or an object, resulting in damage to the vehicle. When ABS is on, the driver loses their ability to regulate their brake pressure as the brakes are controlled by the ABS (typically by pulsating the brakes). While sliding the driver has no ability to prevent their vehicle from colliding with other vehicles or stationary objects in front of them.

In certain situations, use of studded tires can provide the needed deceleration, however, such tires are outlawed in several states as they cause significant damage to roads when they are not needed.

In certain other situations, tires can be outfitted with chains, however, chains are difficult to install, they require pre-planning, and they damage roads as well as the tires.

There is, therefore an unmet need for a novel arrangement and method of use for decelerating a motor vehicle on slick driving surfaces when an unexpected loss of traction occurs that will not damage roads comparatively to prior art arrangements that may or may not be illegal for use on various roads or the motor vehicle.

SUMMARY

A vehicle deceleration system for stopping a vehicle that includes of a set of sensors, a controller, force applicators, and a friction applicator. The first sensor reads the ambient air temperature, the second sensor reads the vehicle speed, and a third sensor indicates if antilock brake system is operational. The controller calculates the distance between the front bumper and any surrounding objects to adjust the stopping force accordingly. The controller monitors the three sensors and a processor checks for predetermined given conditions. If all checks are met, the controller activates the force applicators. When the force applicators extend, they rotate a friction applicator into the road surface until the vehicle comes to a complete stop.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides a novel arrangement and method of use of the arrangement for decelerating a motor vehicle on slick driving surfaces when an unexpected loss of traction occurs that will not damage roads comparatively to prior art arrangements that may or may not be illegal for use on various roads or the motor vehicle. The novel arrangement includes an automated or a manual deployment of a traction enhancement system that when deployed makes frictional interface with the road surface in order to slow or stop the vehicle.

FIG. 1Ais a schematic of a motor vehicle10operating on a slick road. The slick road includes a road surface12, and a layer of material14that causes the road12to become slick. The material14can be ice, oil, sand, snow, or any other material that can reduce the coefficient of frictions between tires11and the road12. InFIG. 1A, a deceleration system100, according to the present disclosure is also shown being deployed form a resting position100A to a deployed position100B. As will be described further below, the deceleration system100can be deployed in an automated fashion based on various inputs to the deceleration system100, or manually by a driver of the vehicle.

FIG. 1Bis an exploded view of one embodiment of the deceleration system100, according to the present disclosure. The deceleration system100, includes a friction applicator120having a mounting edge120A and a deployment edge120B, force applicators104having a rotating joint104A and a fixed joint104B, a vehicle coupler108, a mounting interface112, and a plurality of gripping protrusions116. The vehicle coupler108is attached to the underside of a motor vehicle in a way that the deployment edge120B is free to rotate away from the vehicle as shown inFIG. 1A, from the resting position100A to the deployed position100B. During normal operation of the vehicle, the friction applicator120provides an additional function of an underbody panel protecting the vehicle from debris and water. When the force applicators104are activated they extend and swing the friction applicator120from the resting position100A to the deployed position100B about the vehicle coupler108along an arc dictated by the length of the friction applicator120such that the mounting edge120A is held up against the vehicle's undercarriage (not shown) by the vehicle coupler108and the deployment edge120B is angled downward and can rotate from between about 10° to about 80° or until it is in contact with the ground. The force applicators104are mounted to the undercarriage of the vehicle (not shown) using the rotating joint104A, e.g., a hinge or other rotatable joints known to a person having ordinary skill in the art, that allows the force applicators104to rotate with the friction applicator120as the friction applicator120rotates about the vehicle coupler108. The vehicle coupler108includes a hinge-type arrangement or similar mechanism that constrains the friction applicator120to move about a single degree of freedom which allows rotation about the mounting edge120A. When in contact with the ground, the gripping protrusions116dig into the driving surface providing a braking force by breaking up layers of ice as well as by creating friction between the friction applicator120and the driving surface.

The gripping protrusions116can be coated with a synthetic material to increase coarseness of their surfaces to thereby increase coefficient of friction. The gripping protrusions116can also be tapered between about 1° about 45° to improve the protrusions' ability to dig into the road surface. The friction applicator120is curved towards the mounting edge120A so that in the situation where the vehicle starts sliding backwards, the friction applicator120does not get caught on the rough surface and break off. The mounting interface112couples the friction applicator120to the force applicators104. The coupling between the mounting interface112and the friction applicator120is by one of welding, fasteners, integration as one unitary component, or other arrangements known to a person having ordinary skill in the art. The mounting interface112substantially extends the width of the friction applicator120to distribute the force supplied by the force applicators104substantially across the width of the friction applicator120. Multiple force applicators104can be used to further increase the force applied to the ground as well as more evenly distribute the load across the width of the friction surface120.

FIG. 2is a block diagram of a controller200. A series of inputs including vehicle acceleration202, vehicle speed measured at the wheel hub204, and brake pedal activation206, are received by a plurality of sensors212,214, and216. For example, the sensor214can be a Hall Effect sensor or a variable reluctance sensor that are optically or magnetically coupled to the vehicle's wheel hub (not shown). Similarly, the brake pedal sensor206can be a mechanical switch. Similarly, the sensor212can be an accelerometer housed within the controller200. The sensors212,214, and216, which detect the input and relays the information to a processor220. The processor220determines if necessary conditions are met. The necessary conditions are: brake is being applied, velocity of wheel hub rotation is under 15 mph by the vehicle speed sensor214, and the acceleration sensor212is reading the vehicle as continuing to move forward at a greater rate than the vehicle speed sensor214indicates. The combination of these signals indicates that the driver is attempting to stop the vehicle but road conditions are preventing the vehicle from stopping with standard brake methods. If the necessary conditions are met, then the processor220relays a signal to the force applicators224, coupled to the friction applicator226, which rotates to make contact with the road to decelerate the vehicle through frictional forces.

FIG. 3is a block diagram of a controller300for the system. A series of inputs, temperature302, speed304, ABS signal306, and distance sensor308are provided to the controller by the engine control unit (not shown) or directly from the sensors themselves (not shown). The processor310determines if necessary conditions are met. The necessary conditions are: temperature is below about 0 degrees Celsius, vehicle speed is below about 15 mph, and the ABS system is being applied. These conditions ensure that the vehicle deceleration system100is not activated under dangerous situations that could harm the vehicle, passengers, or the road surface. If the necessary conditions are met, then the processor310triggers an initial amount of force of about 75 lbf to about 125 lbf for each force applicator104to be applied by the gripping protrusions116. This force provides a compression force over 5 Megapascals at the tip of each gripping protrusion116, which is the compression strength of ice at freezing. This amount of force ensures that the road will not be damaged if the system is applied without ice due to the compression strength of the average road surface being about 20 Megapascals. The initial force is low such that the deceleration system100does not damage the road surface. The controller300, monitors the speed304to determine the rate of deceleration that the initial amount of force is creating. If the rate of deceleration is not at an acceptable level to prevent the vehicle from colliding with any surrounding objects, the processor310increases the amount of force being applied to the gripping protrusions116. The necessary rate of deceleration is continually monitored by measuring the distance between the vehicle and surrounding objects. This is essentially using the relative velocity between the vehicle and surrounding objects such that if the surrounding object is in motion, the deceleration system100can stop the vehicle at a less aggressive rate. The process of continually monitoring the input signals to evaluate the rate of deceleration constitutes a closed loop feedback system. This type of control is needed due to the number of variables in calculating the necessary force to stop the vehicle. Many factors, such as thickness of ice, temperature, and weight of vehicle will affect the amount of force required at any given time. The temperature will significantly affect the hardness of the ice, increasing the amount of force required to penetrate it for maximum stopping force.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a hydraulic system known to a person having ordinary skill in the art similar to the braking system in a motor vehicle can be employed to provide forces necessary by the force applicators as described above. These forces using the aforementioned hydraulic system can be selectively and incrementally applied based on the processor's continuing monitoring of the vehicle's deceleration. Therefor, the forces applied can begin based on a predetermined set of conditions (e.g., temperature) and increase as needed until the distance between an object in proximity to the vehicle and the vehicle stops changing or increase in magnitude. In one embodiment, the starting force provided by each force applicator can be between about 5% to about 10% of the gross vehicle weight and configured to increase to a range of about 10% to about 25% of the gross vehicle weight.