Antilock control device

Abstract: An antilock control device having wheel speed sensors for the front right and front left wheels of a motor vehicle, an electronic control unit for judging the locking tendency of the front wheels based on the wheel speed signals from the wheel speed sensors and for outputting control signals to control the braking pressures on both front wheels, and a fluid pressure control unit capable of controlling the braking pressures on the front wheels independently of each other in response to the control signals. The electronic control unit includes a timer counter for measuring the time during which the braking pressures on both front wheels are being reduced continuously or being reduced and held alternately. If its count gets larger than a predetermined value, the brake pressures on both front wheels are determined based on the judgement of locking tendency of one of the front wheels rotating at a higher speed than the other. If it is smaller than the predetermined value, the brake pressures on the front wheels are controlled independently of each other.

Description: The present invention relates to an antilock control device. An antilock control device aims to control the slip rate of the wheels of a motor vehicle within such a range that the frictional force between the road surface and the tires will be maximum. It is known that when the vehicle gets into a puddle at a high speed, a film of water forms between the tires and the road surface. This makes it impossible to obtain a required frictional force between the tires and the road surface, thus significantly lowering the coefficient of friction of the road surface (what is called hydroplaning phenomenon). If the brakes are applied when the hydroplaning takes place or the vehicle is on a frozen road, the coefficient of friction of which is actually very low, the resistance of water and the inertia of the wheels will get larger than the recovering force imparted to the tires. This makes it impossible for the wheels to recover their wheel speed sufficiently even if the antilock control device is activated to reduce the braking pressure. In such a situation, the antilock control device is powerless and the braking pressure must have been reduced to the minimum based on the judgement that the wheel speeds fail to recover. But if this is a wrong judgement resulting from e.g. failure of the wheel speed sensors, the driver might face a grave danger because the brakes are actually not working. From DE-OS-28 51 107 a circuitry is known for improvement of the driving stability of motor vehicles having an antilock control device. This circuitry shows a modified independent control in which select-low control elements are added to an independent control system to avoid instable slipping of the low-wheel. Another possibility to prevent the above mentioned disadvantage is proposed by US-PS-45 30 059. This measure provides to stop reducing the braking pressure and increase it instead if the pressure reduction phase continues for more than a predetermined period of time. One problem with this failsafe measure is that because this disables the antilock control of the wheels, this judgement calls for a great care and thus a long time. Further, when the hydroplaning takes place or the vehicle is running on a frozen road, it is conceivable that the antilock control for not all but only one wheel stops, thus increasing only the braking pressure on this wheel. If the hydroplaning disappears or the vehicle gets out of the frozen area of the road and runs on a road surface having a high coefficient of friction while the braking pressure on this wheel is kept higher, the vehicle might spin owing to a large difference in the braking forces between this wheel and the other ones. It is an object of the present invention to provide an antilock control device which is capable of maintaining a sufficiently high braking force and keeping the stability of the vehicle even when the hydroplaning takes place or while the vehicle is running temporarily on a frozen surface. In accordance with the present invention, the electronic control unit in the antilock control device includes a control mode changeover means for selecting one of a first control mode in which the brake pressure control signals for the front right wheels and those for the front left wheels are determined independently from each other, and a second control mode in which the pressure control signals for both front wheels are determined based on the locking tendency of one of the front wheels judged to be rotating at a higher speed than the other, and a timer means for measuring the duration of fluid pressure control signals for continuously reducing or alternately reducing and holding the braking pressure on both front wheels. The control mode changeover means is adapted to select the second control mode if the duration exceeds a predetermined value and to select the first control mode if the duration is smaller than the predetermined value. The antilock control device according to the present invention is adapted to control the braking pressures on the front right and front left wheels independently of each other in normal conditions. On the other hand, if the timer finds that the braking pressures on both front wheels are kept on either the reduction phase or the reduction-hold combination phase for more than a predetermined period of time, the result of evaluation for the wheel rotating at a lower speed is replaced with that for the wheel rotating at a higher speed. In other words, the control mode for the front wheels is switched to "select-high". Suppose that both front wheels are in a puddle or on a frozen surface. The frictional force available to brake the wheels is so small in such a situation that the recovery of the wheel speeds tends to delay. This will cause the antilock control device to keep on giving a command to either continuously reduce or alternately reduce and hold the braking pressure. If this happens, the braking pressure control mode is adapted to switch to "select-high" so that the braking pressure on the wheel which is slow in the recovery of wheel speed will be controlled on the basis of the information from the wheel which is fast in the recovery of wheel speed. With this arrangement, if one of the front wheels gets out of the influence of hydroplaning or a frozen road while the other not, the braking pressure determined based on the frictional force between the former wheel and the road surface is applied to both wheels. This means that the former wheel can be braked with a gradually increasing braking force and the latter wheel can be braked with a suitable braking force as soon as it gets out of the influence of hydroplaning or frozen road. This will prevent the vehicle from spinning. Other features and objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a block diagram of the antilock control device according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the fluid pressure control circuit for the front wheels; Fig. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the pressure control phase and the wheel speeds and the vehicle speed; and Fig. 4 is a flow chart of the mode changeover means. As shown in Fig. 1, the antilock control device according to the present invention comprises wheel speed sensors S1 to S4, an electronic control unit ECU and a fluid pressure control unit. The electronic control unit comprises an interface circuit, a pulse processing circuit, a central processing unit, a solenoid actuating circuit and a motor relay actuating circuit. The output signals (AC voltage signals) from the wheel speed sensors S1 to S4 are converted into pulses in the interface circuit. The pulses are counted and calculated in the pulse processing circuit. Based on the results thus obtained, calculation, analysis and judgement are performed in the central processing unit according to a program stored therein so as to command the solenoid actuating circuit and the motor relay actuating circuit to actuate solenoids SL1-SL8 in pressure control valves and a motor relay ML, respectively. The control signals from the central processing unit are fed to the solenoid actuating circuit through signal lines FL1 and FR1, FL2 and FR2, RL1 and RR1 and RL2 and RR2 and then to the solenoids SL1 and SL3 in the first control valves for both front wheels, SL2 and SL4 in the second control valves for both front wheels, SL5 and SL7 in the first control valves for both rear wheels and SL6 and SL8 in the second control valves for both rear wheels, respectively. The lines RL1 and RR1 for SL5 and SL7 in the first control valves and the lines RL2 and RR2 for SL6 and SL8 in the second control valves may be replaced with a single line. Now let us describe how the fluid pressure control unit for the front wheels operates with reference to Fig. 2. The first control valves 1 and 3 actuated by the solenoids SL1 and SL3 are provided in lines extending from a master cylinder MC to wheel cylinders W1 and W2 for the front wheels. The second control valves 2 and 4 actuated by the solenoids SL2 and SL4 are provided in return lines extending from the wheel cylinders W1 and W2 back to the master cylinder MC. In the state shown in Fig. 2, the solenoids SL1 to SL4 are all deenergized and thus the control signals sent through the lines FR1, FL1, FL2 and FR2 are all OFF. In this state, the first control valves 1 and 3 are kept open while the second control valves 2 and 4 are closed. This means that the master cylinder MC communicates with the wheel cylinders W1 and W2 and the hydraulic circuit therebetween is closed. Thus the braking pressure generated in the master cylinder MC will be directly applied to the wheel cylinders W1 and W2 and the braking pressures on both front wheels are in the increase phase. If it is necessary to switch the control phase from pressure increase to pressure hold only for the front left wheel, an ON signal is transmitted through the line FL1. This will energize the solenoid SL1, thus closing the first control valve 1. Since the second control valve 2 is kept closed in this state, brake fluid will be sealed in the wheel cylinder W1 so that the braking pressure will be held. Similarly, the control phase for the front right wheel can be switched from pressure increase to pressure hold by giving an ON signal through the line FR1. To hold the braking pressure on both front wheels, ON signals should be given through both lines FR1 and FL1. To reduce the braking pressure on the front left wheel, ON signals are given through the lines FL1 and FL2 while closing a motor relay ML through the motor relay actuating circuit to start a motor M. This will energize the solenoids SL1 and SL2, thus closing the first control valve 1 and opening the second control valve 2, so that the wheel cylinder W1 will communicate with a reservoir R1. The brake fluid in the reservoir R1 will be drawn by a pump P1 and fed back into the master cylinder MC. The brake pressure will thus decrease. Similarly, the brake pressure on the front right wheel can be reduced by giving ON signals through the lines FR1 and FR2 and closing the motor relay ML through the motor relay actuating circuit. As shown in Fig. 2, the master cylinder MC has two fluid pressure generating chambers. One of them is connected to the front left and rear right wheel brakes, whereas the other is connected to the front right and rear left wheel brakes by means of so-called X-piping. The brake system for the rear wheels also has first and second control valves, pumps and a motor similar to those shown in Fig. 2. According to the present invention, the braking pressures on the right and left wheels are increased, maintained and reduced either on an independent mode or on a select-high mode. The control mode is changed over by use of a changeover means, which will be described next. When the brakes are applied while the vehicle is moving, the central processing unit (Fig. 1) judges whether the wheels are showing a tendency to lock or recovering from the locked state by comparing the estimated vehicle speed VE with the wheel speeds VFL and VFR of the front left and front right wheels (Fig. 3) and gives a fluid pressure control signal to increase, hold or decrease the braking pressure on each wheel. According to the present invention, three phases are contemplated to control the braking pressure, i.e. Phase I in which the pressure reduction signal is given continuously or the pressure reduction and pressure hold signals are given alternately, Phase II in which the pressure increase signal is given continuously or the pressure increase and pressure hold signals are given alternately, and Phase III in which the pressure increase command is given continuously (antilock control inoperative). The central processing unit has a main program for initializing a subroutine shown in Fig. 4, clearing a timer counter Ct, resetting a mode changeover flag FM and setting the pressure control phase to Phase III (antilock control inoperative). After permission of interruption has been given in the main program, the subroutine shown in Fig. 4 is executed. Though Fig. 4 shows only a processing flow for the front wheels, similar calculations and judgements for antilock control are made for the rear wheels, too. The subroutine starts with Step 10 where the wheel speeds VFL and VFR of the front left and front right wheels are calculated. In Step 11, the estimated vehicle speed VE is calculated, which is given by filtering the highest wheel speed. In Step 12, it is determined whether or not the estimated vehicle speed VE is zero, in other words, whether or not the vehicle is at a stop. If the vehicle is judged to be in motion, the vehicle speeds VFL and VFR are evaluated in Step 13. The purpose of this evaluation is in principle to determine whether the wheels are showing a tendency to lock or recovering from locked state. It is carried out by comparing the deceleration of each wheel with a reference value, by comparing the slip speed (vehicle speed minus wheel speed) of each wheel with a reference value, or by use of other suitable index. In view of the result of this evaluation, one of the three phases I to III is selected for each of the front left and front right wheels and the result of evaluation is memorized as QFL and QFR, respectively. In Step 14, it is determined whether or not the mode changeover flag FM is set. In the intial cycle, the program proceeds to Step 15 because the flag FM is reset in the main program. In Step 15, it is determined whether or not both QFL and QFR are Phase I, in other words, whether or not the result of judgement is to reduce or alternatly reduce and hold the braking pressures on both front wheels. If judged No in Step 15, the program proceeds to Step 20 after clearing the timer counter Ct in Step 16. If judged Yes in Step 15, the timer counter Ct is incremented by one count in Step 17 and judgement is made in Step 18 as to whether or not the count of the timer counter Ct is larger than a predetermined value T. If judged so, the mode changeover flag FM is set in Step 19 so as to switch the control mode to "select-high" in the next cycle. In Step 20, ON and OFF signals are given to the solenoid actuating circuit through the signal lines FL1, FL2, FR1 and FR2 (Fig. 1) according to the contents of QFL and QFR. Steps 21 and 22 are provided to reset the mode changeover flag FM if the antilock control is inoperative. If the judgement in Step 14 turns out Yes in any given cycle of the subroutine, the result of evaluation for the wheel rotating at a lower speed is replaced with that for the wheel rotating at a higher speed in Steps 23 to 25, i.e. the control mode is switched to "select-high". Instead of judging by comparing the wheel speeds of both wheels with each other, the results of evaluation themselves may be compared with each other so as to replace one of them on the low pressure side with the other on the high pressure side. If the vehicle comes to a stop and thus the vehicle speed is judged to be zero in Step 12, the program will proceed to Step 20 after initialization in Steps 26 and 27.

Claims: An antilock control device having wheel speed sensors for the front right and front left wheels of a motor vehicle; an electronic control unit for judging whether the front wheels are showing a tendency to lock or recovering from locked state on the basis of the wheel speed signals from said wheel speed sensors and for giving brake pressure control signals to reduce, hold or increase the braking pressure; and a fluid pressure control unit capable of controlling the braking pressures on the front wheels independently of each other in response to said brake pressure control signals; said electronic control unit having control mode selection means for selecting one of a first control mode (13) in which the brake pressure control signals for the front right wheels and those for the front left wheels are determined independently from each other, and a second control mode (23, 24, 25) in which the pressure control signals for both front wheels are determined based on the locking tendency of one of the front wheels judged to be rotating at a higher speed than the other; characterized in that said control mode selection means comprises a timer means (17), a means (15) for activating said timer means only if it detects that the fluid pressure control signals applied to both front wheels are signals for continuously reducing or alternately reducing and holding the braking pressure, a means (18) for detecting whether or not the time indicated on said timer means has exceeded a predetermined value, and a changeover means (19, 14) for selecting the second control mode if said time has exceeded said predetermined value and selecting the first control mode if said time has not exceeded said predetermined value, and that said electronic control unit further comprises a means (12, 26) for selecting the first control mode if it is detected from the wheel speed signals supplied from said wheel speed sensors that the vehicle is at a stop, and a means (21, 22) for selecting the first control mode if it is detected that the fluid pressure control signals applied to both front wheels are signals for increasing the braking pressure. An antilock control device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said control mode selection means further comprises a means (16) for resetting said timer means (17) if it is detected that either of the brake pressure control signal for the front right wheel and that for the front left wheel is a signal for increasing the brake pressure.

Inventors: YOSHINO MASATO C O ITAMI WORKS, YOSHINO, MASATO C/O ITAMI WORKS
Applicants: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
Application year: 1989
Main classification: B60T8
IPC codes: B60T8