Patent ID: 10974705

Abstract:
The present invention relates to a wheel controller (108) for a vehicle (100), comprising a wheel slip calculation module (212) arranged to calculate a longitudinal wheel slip value for a wheel slip between a surface of the wheel (102) and a road surface thereof; a wheel force estimation module (214) arranged to estimate a longitudinal wheel force value for a wheel force between the surface of the wheel (102) and the road surface; a tire model generator (216) arranged to receive longitudinal wheel slip values from the wheel slip calculation module (212) and longitudinal wheel force values from the wheel force estimation module (214); said tire model generator (216) being configured to generate a model (300, 400) representing a relationship between the calculated longitudinal wheel slip and the estimated longitudinal wheel force by using at least three longitudinal wheel force values and three corresponding longitudinal wheel slip values; and a vehicle wheel capability module (218) arranged in communication with the tire model generator (216), said vehicle wheel capability module (218) being configured to determine an absolute maximum wheel friction level between the surface of the wheel (102) and the road surface thereof by means of acquiring, for a calculated wheel slip value, a longitudinal wheel force value from the model (300, 400) of the tire model generator.