Patent ID: 7522986

Claim:
A method that applies to vehicles herein designated as articulated vehicles for continuously monitoring erratic jackknifing, continuously calculating the probability of a roll over of said articulated vehicle due to said erratic jackknifing using any computational technique, and continuously suppressing said erratic jackknifing to prevent said roll over using in part but not exclusively the driver's intention, the road conditions, the said articulated vehicle behavior, and other inputs in a ride control system capable of commanding the brake system among other functions, said articulated vehicle including at least one powered unit located at the front of the said articulated vehicle to provide the power to move the said articulated vehicle and to provide room for the driver, said powered unit is herein designated as tractor, and said articulated vehicle also including at least one trailed unit located at the back of the said articulated vehicle, herein designated as trailer, said trailer including at least one independent antilock brake system that can be operated independently of the said tractor to slow down or to stop the said trailer, said method for monitoring erratic jackknifing, calculating the probability of a roll over of said articulated vehicle and suppressing said erratic jackknifing to prevent said roll over comprising the steps of: a) providing the said ride control system with at least the driver's intention, the road conditions, the said articulated vehicle behavior and other inputs when the said articulated vehicle is in motion to determine whether or not erratic jackknifing is underway and determine the instantaneous orientation of the said trailer with respect to the said tractor, b) using any preferred method of computation to determine the probability of said trailer roll-over based in part but not exclusively on the magnitude of said erratic jackknifing, c) using any method to slow down the left or right wheels of the said trailer based on the said instantaneous orientation of the said trailer to drag the said trailer on the side and force it to line up with the said tractor.