Brake controller system comprising a trailer mounted brake controller and a towing vehicle mounted brake controller

A brake controller system includes a trailer mounted brake controller and a towing vehicle mounted brake controller, where the controllers exchange signals and data via a communication network so that braking actions of each of the trailer and the towing vehicle can be coordinated based on current driving statuses of the other, and where the trailer mounted brake controller includes a first interface receiving trailer status signals from sensors of the trailer; a second interface for receiving towing vehicle status signals, relating to a status of the towing vehicle and/or its mounted controller, from sensors and/or controllers in the towing vehicle; a third interface for transmitting brake control signals to brakes of the trailer; and a signal processor for generating the brake control signals based on the trailer and towing vehicle status signals.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to DE 10 2018 213 854.0, filed in the Federal Republic of Germany on Aug. 17, 2018, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a distributed brake controller system in a vehicle train comprising a towing vehicle and a connected trailer. Particularly, the present invention relates to a trailer mounted brake controller and to a towing vehicle mounted brake controller and the communication between them.

BACKGROUND

A trailer is towed by a towing vehicle such as a car. Generally, a driver drives the car and the driver's intention to accelerate or decelerate the car directly or indirectly affects the trailer. For example, the trailer can comprise brakes that are actuated when the driver actuates the towing vehicle's brakes such that the towing vehicle is decelerated.

In some regions such as Europe, the brakes of the trailer are typically mechanically actuated by and coupled to the towing vehicle. In regions such as North America and Australia, an electric trailer brake controller is typically utilized in the towing vehicle and controls actuation of the brakes of the trailer. In such an approach, the brakes of the trailer are typically electrically actuated brakes including for example a magnetic solenoid and the brakes of the trailer are activated upon receiving an electric activation signal from the trailer brake controller. In North America and Australia, there are also so called electric over hydraulic brake actuators on the trailer. The electric brake signal goes to the electric over hydraulic brake actuator. The brake actuator creates a hydraulic pressure proportional to the electric signal and applies the hydraulic trailer brakes. The present invention can also be applied to such system.

Conventionally, the trailer brake controller is located within the towing vehicle and generates the electric activation signal only based on information about an actuation of a brake pedal and measured deceleration in the towing vehicle. Optionally, manual adjustments can be implemented by the driver via a manual control device allowing for example adapting a brake intensity to be realized by the brakes of the trailer.

U.S. pat. App. Pub. No. 2017/0217411 discloses a brake control unit and a method for controlling braking of a towed vehicle including receiving a first signal via a communication bus of a towing vehicle, the first signal relating to at least one operating condition of at least one of the towing vehicle and a towed vehicle, and sending a second signal to brakes of the towed vehicle, the second signal being based on said first signal.

SUMMARY

In view of this background, an approach described herein presents a trailer mounted brake controller, a towing vehicle mounted brake controller, and a brake controller system including both brake controllers, as well as a trailer, a towing vehicle, and a vehicle train including such brake controllers and brake controller system.

Embodiments of the invention can enable braking of a vehicle train including a towing vehicle and trailer in a more secure and/or more effective manner.

According to an example embodiment of the present invention, a trailer mounted brake controller controls operation of brakes in a trailer. The trailer mounted brake controller includes: a first signal interface for receiving trailer status signals from sensors in the trailer, the trailer status signals relating to a current driving status of the trailer; a second signal interface for receiving towing vehicle status signals from at least one of sensors and controllers in a towing vehicle towing the trailer, the towing vehicle status signals relating to at least one of a current driving status of the towing vehicle and an operation status of a towing vehicle brake controller; a third signal interface for transmitting brake control signals to brakes of the trailer; and a signal processor configured for generating the brake control signals taking into account both the trailer status signals and the towing vehicle status signals.

According to an example embodiment of the present invention, a towing vehicle mounted brake controller for controlling operation of brakes in a towing vehicle includes: a first signal interface for receiving trailer status signals from sensors in a trailer towed by the towing vehicle, the trailer status signals relating to at least one of a current driving status of the trailer and an operation status of a trailer mounted brake controller; a second signal interface for receiving towing vehicle status signals from at least one of sensors and controllers in the towing vehicle, the towing vehicle status signals relating to a current driving status of the towing vehicle; a third signal interface for transmitting brake control signals to brakes of the towing vehicle; and a signal processor being configured for generating the brake control signals taking into account both the towing vehicle status signals and the trailer status signals.

According to an example embodiment of the present invention, a brake controller system includes a trailer mounted brake controller as described above and a towing vehicle mounted brake controller as described above.

According to an example embodiment of the present invention, a trailer includes a trailer mounted brake controller as described above and a towing vehicle including a towing vehicle mounted brake controller as described above.

According to an example embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle train includes a towing vehicle as described above and a trailer as described above, where the towing vehicle status signals are supplied to the second interface of the trailer mounted brake controller via a vehicle communication network interconnecting the towing vehicle mounted brake controller and the trailer mounted brake controller and/or where the trailer status signals are supplied to the first interface of the towing vehicle mounted brake controller via the vehicle communication network interconnecting the towing vehicle mounted brake controller and the trailer mounted brake controller.

Ideas underlying embodiments of the present invention can be interpreted as being based, inter alia, on the following observations and recognitions.

Recently, a trailer mounted brake controller has been developed which does not simply send brake activation signals to the brakes of the trailer, the brake activation signals taking into account a brake pedal actuation and, optionally, further data relating to the towing vehicle. Instead, various sensors are provided in the trailer itself and the developed trailer mounted brake controller generates brake activation signals taking into account the trailer-related signals from these sensors. Particularly, such trailer mounted brake controller can provide operation of features similar to an ABS (anti-lock braking system) or an ESC (electronic stabilization control—sometimes also referred to electronic stabilization program (ESP)) as known from modern cars. Therein, the trailer mounted brake controller can receive for example wheel speed data from rotation rate sensors provided at wheels of the trailer and/or acceleration data provided from acceleration sensors within the trailer. The trailer mounted brake controller can then generate the brake activation signals taking into account the current driving status of the trailer as indicated, inter-alia, by the wheel speed data, acceleration data, and possibly further data influenced by current conditions in the trailer or acting on the trailer. Thereby, the trailer brake control can generate the brake activation signal such that a stabilization of the trailer during a braking process can be achieved and/or a braking efficiency can be improved.

It has now been found that further improvements during braking a vehicle train including a towing vehicle and a trailer can be achieved by specifically configuring the brake controller of the trailer and/or of the towing vehicle and interconnecting the trailer and the towing vehicle via a vehicle communication network in such a manner that the trailer mounted brake controller and/or the towing vehicle mounted brake controller do not only take into account status signals relating to its associated part of the vehicle train but also status signals relating to the other part of the vehicle train. In other words, the trailer mounted brake controller and the towing vehicle mounted brake controller should take into account both, the trailer status signals and the towing vehicle status signals, when generating the brake control signals for braking the trailer or the towing vehicle, respectively.

Taking into account status signals from the other part of the vehicle train can enable that the respective brake controller generates brake control signals for its associated part of the vehicle train not only taking into account the current driving status of this associated part of the vehicle but also the driving status of the other part of the vehicle train.

For example, the trailer mounted brake controller can take into account, not only the trailer status signals relating to the current driving status of the trailer, but can also the towing vehicle status signals relating to the current driving status of the towing vehicle and/or to an operation status of the towing vehicle brake controller.

For example, upon communicating with the towing vehicle and, e.g., with a ESC system in the towing vehicle, the trailer mounted brake controller can learn that this ESC system is currently detecting an imminent locking of wheels of the towing vehicle during a braking procedure. Upon such information, the trailer mounted brake controller can decide to temporarily reduce brake actuation intensity such as to anticipate a lacking grip to the street and avoid any blockage of wheels of the trailer.

Generally, the towing vehicle status signals can include at least three types of data including longitudinal acceleration data, lateral acceleration data, yaw rate data, accelerator pedal data, brake pedal data, wheel speed data, driver steering input data, and vehicle braking status data, all data relating to the towing vehicle.

In other words, while, conventionally, brake control signals are generated taking into account brake pedal data indicating a brake pedal actuation in the towing vehicle and, optionally, vehicle braking status data indicating a status during a braking procedure of the towing vehicle, it is now proposed to take into account at least one further type of data. This further type of data is typically supplied by sensors in the towing vehicle and is generally processed in brake controllers or drive assistance systems in the towing vehicle.

For example, such further type of data can be longitudinal acceleration data indicating a current longitudinal acceleration of the towing vehicle along a drive direction, lateral acceleration data indicating a current lateral acceleration of the towing vehicle transverse to the drive direction, yaw rate data indicating a current yaw rate of the towing vehicle upon yawing around a vertical axis, and/or wheel speed data indicating a current rotation speed or rotation rate of one or more wheels of the towing vehicle. Based on such towing vehicle status data, the trailer mounted brake controller can derive information indicating for example whether the towing vehicle is currently heavily decelerating, is in a side motion, is yawing, etc. This information can then be used by the trailer mounted brake controller for more suitably generating the brake control signals for braking the trailer.

Additionally, the towing vehicle status signals can further include at least one of ON/OFF status data and operation mode data of the towing vehicle brake controller. In other words, the towing vehicle status signals can additionally include ON/OFF status data providing an information indicating whether or not the brake controller of the towing vehicle is currently operating or not. Additionally or alternatively, operation mode data can provide an information about a current operation mode in which the towing vehicle mounted brake controller is currently operating.

Similarly, the trailer status signals can comprise at least one of longitudinal acceleration data, lateral acceleration data, yaw rate data, wheel speed data, brake operation data, ON/OFF status data and operation mode data of the trailer brake controller, trailer status information data, fault/shutdown data, and driver information data, all data relating to the trailer. Status information can include fault/operation/shutdown status of the brake controller when a fault condition occurs. Status could also be odometer data, service interval alerts, and maintenance warnings for an attached trailer. Hardware monitoring on the trailer can also be provided, e.g., as trailer stand/jockey wheel up/down, trailer park brake on/off, trailer hitch latch secured/not secured, etc. Numerous status of various sensors can be added in the future, brake hardware status (temperatures, bearing vibration, etc.), etc.

According to an embodiment, the towing vehicle mounted brake controller can further include a signal output device for outputting an indicator signal in the towing vehicle depending on the trailer status signals. The signal output device can output the indicator signal visually, acoustically, haptically, or in any other way perceptible by the driver. For example, the signal output device can be a set of light sources such as LEDs, a display, a screen, a loudspeaker, etc. By including such signal output device into the towing vehicle brake controller, additional information can be supplied to the driver, such additional information relating for example to an operation status of the trailer mounted brake controller and/or to a current driving status of the trailer.

According to an embodiment of the vehicle train including the towing vehicle and the trailer, the vehicle communication network can be a CAN-bus network, a Flex-ray network, a LIN network or an Ethernet network. Optionally, also wireless networks such as e.g., Bluetooth, WiFi, etc. can be applied. All such types of networks can be applied in vehicles for exchanging signals and data for example between sensors and/or controllers. In the approach described herein, such networks can be used for exchanging trailer status signals and/or towing vehicle status signals from the trailer towards the towing vehicle, or more specifically from the trailer mounted brake controller towards the towing vehicle brake controller, and/or vice versa from the towing vehicle towards the trailer.

Particularly, the vehicle communication network can be configured for transmitting signals bi-directionally between the towing vehicle and the trailer. In other words, signals or data can be transmitted via the vehicle communication network in a first direction for example from the towing vehicle mounted brake controller towards the trailer mounted brake controller and/or in an opposite direction from the trailer mounted brake controller towards the towing vehicle mounted brake controller.

Example features and advantages of the invention are described herein with reference to embodiments relating to the trailer mounted brake controller, the towing vehicle mounted brake controller, and the brake controller system including both brake controllers, and to a trailer, a towing vehicle, and a vehicle train including such brake controllers. One skilled in the art understands that features can be suitably combined, adapted, and/or exchanged in order to arrive at further embodiments of the invention.

Embodiments of the invention will be described in the following in relation to the enclosed drawing, which is only represented in a schematic manner and is not to scale. Neither the drawing nor the description shall limit the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The FIGURE shows a vehicle train1including a towing vehicle3and a trailer5. The towing vehicle3includes a towing vehicle mounted brake controller7. The trailer5includes a trailer mounted brake controller9.

In the trailer5, various sensors15are provided. For example, wheel sensors11can sense wheel speed data or rotation rate data of wheels17of the trailer5. Furthermore, an inertial sensor13can provide data about longitudinal accelerations, lateral accelerations, and/or a yaw rate in the trailer5. All these sensors15can provide trailer status signals to the trailer mounted brake controller9, these trailer status signals relating to a current driving status of the trailer5.

Similarly, various sensors (not explicitly shown) are provided in the towing vehicle3and provide towing vehicle status signals to the towing vehicle mounted brake controller7for providing information relating to a current driving status of the towing vehicle3.

The towing vehicle3and its towing vehicle mounted brake controller7are connected via a vehicle communication network25to the trailer5and its trailer mounted brake controller9. The vehicle communication network25can transmit signals and data bi-directionally, i.e., from the towing vehicle3to the trailer5and vice versa.

Accordingly, the trailer mounted brake controller9can receive towing vehicles status signals from at least one of the sensors or controllers provided in the towing vehicle3via a second signal interface21.

Taking into account both, the trailer status signals as well as the towing vehicle status signals, a signal processor27in the trailer mounted brake controller9can generate brake control signals to be submitted to brakes provided at the wheels17of the trailer5via a third signal interface23.

Similarly, the towing vehicle mounted brake controller7can include first, second and third signal interfaces (not explicitly shown) for receiving the trailer status signals, for receiving the towing vehicle status signals and for transmitting the brake control signals to brakes of the towing vehicle, the brake control signals having been generated by a signal processor taking into account both, the towing vehicle status signals and the trailer status signals.

As part of the towing vehicle mounted brake controller7, a signal output device29can be provided within the towing vehicle3for outputting an indicator signal depending on the trailer status signals. The signal output device29can receive the trailer status signals via the data communication network25. The trailer status signals can be processed or can be directly output as indicators signals. For example, such trailer status signals can indicate whether or not the trailer mounted brake controller9is currently operating correctly. Optionally, the signal output device29can also include input means allowing for example a driver to manually input data, thereby for example modifying characteristics of the trailer mounted brake controller9. The signal output device29can be for example a screen or a set of LEDs.

In the following, possible features and advantages of embodiments of the brake controllers, brake controller system, trailer, towing vehicle, and vehicle train proposed herein will be described in more detail with respect to exemplary implementations.

Electric trailer braking control from the tow-vehicle to the trailer is currently generally performed by a single service brake signal. This service brake signal generally adjusts a braking power level to the trailer based on very simplified settings of driver braking gain selection, in-vehicle brake controller inertia and a number of uncontrollable settings (signal voltages, wire and connector resistances). Electric Trailer Brake Controllers are supplied as either an OEM vehicle integrated controller or as an aftermarket installation.

Existing electric braking systems from the tow-vehicle to the trailer can have a multitude of control issues from locking trailer wheels, to under braking the trailer, not detecting failures on the trailer braking systems. Non-synchronized control between the tow vehicle and the trailer can lead to sub optimal brake control.

Recently, a new trailer braking product has been developed, sometimes referred to as Trailer Safety Control (TSC). Embodiments of the invention described herein expand the developed system to more advanced control with the integration into existing tow vehicle trains. Particularly, an ESP ECU (electronic control unit) can have the ability for additional software-based Value Added Functions (VAF) offered to OEM manufacturers when quoting for the development of a new vehicle.

This proposal is for a new ESP ECU VAF sometimes referred to as “Advanced Trailer Control.” This VAF will provide a communications channel from the braking System (ESP) on the tow vehicle to the TSC product, generally mounted on the towed trailer, via a vehicle communication network (i.e., CAN-bus, Flex-ray, LIN or Ethernet), and thereby provide an integrated braking control method between tow vehicle and trailer.

A system solution is to connect the trailer based TSC controller to the towing vehicle braking system, via vehicle communication network, for improved vehicle and trailer braking response, dynamics and driver feedback.

Embodiments of the proposed brake controller can be offered to OEM manufacturers as an advanced trailer control system. Particularly, this VAF can be of value to vehicles manufacturers and customers in the Australian and America market where the TSC product is to be applied, particularly to manufacturers that develop large towing vehicles that currently contain integrated electric trailer brake controllers. This VAF will allow manufacturers to add advanced trailer braking control to their vehicles for use by customers who own a trailer with a TSC product fitted.

Embodiments of the proposed brake controller can provide detailed driver intention information to the Trailer Safety Control System. Driver braking and vehicle control intentions can be sent to the TSC brake controller to improve overall vehicle-train braking control. Data sent could include but not be limited to driver pedal signals (accelerator, and brake pedal), steering input, and vehicle lights control data.

Furthermore, detailed vehicle dynamics information can be provided to the trailer brake controller. Tow Vehicle Dynamic information can be sent to the TSC braking controller to improve and increase the functionality in the TSC product. This could include tow vehicle inertia signals (Ax, Ay, Yaw), ESP System Status (ABS, TSC, ESP, HHC (hill hold control), HDC (hill descent control) active), Wheel Speed Information, and/or Vehicle Ignition Information. Numerous other signals from ESP can be utilized in further TSC function development.

A driver visual interface serving as signal output device can be provided for trailer control. Advanced driver feedback could be offered on the tow-vehicle instrument cluster for the trailer. Information provided could include braking operation, trailer warnings, trailer braking system status, trailer control enable disable, braking override operation, and many more.

Furthermore, detailed trailer dynamic information can be provided to the towing vehicle for brake control. The towing vehicle could improve its braked towing dynamics of functions such as ABS, ESP, HHC, and HDC with detailed trailer information including, inertia signals (Ax, AY, Yaw) of the trailer mounted TSC, and trailer braking functions (ABS, TSM) activation can be sent to the tow vehicle for improved control.

The term “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps and the terms “a” or “an” do not exclude a plurality. Also, elements described in association with different embodiments can be combined.