METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING THE PITCHING OF A MOTOR VEHICLE

Abstract

A system and method for controlling a balance of a moving motor vehicle whose pitching motion when overcoming an unevenness of the road is corrected by means of an acceleration and/or a deceleration of the vehicle by a value correlated to a level of unevenness of the road. The level of unevenness is detected by monitoring the road ahead of the moving vehicle and the pitching motion is predictively corrected based on such monitoring.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a balance of a moving motor vehicle, the method comprising: correcting a pitching motion of the moving vehicle when overcoming an unevenness of a road by means of accelerations and/or decelerations of the moving vehicle by a value correlated to the unevenness of the road, wherein an unevenness profile is determined based on monitoring the road ahead of the moving vehicle and the pitching motion is predictively corrected based on such monitoring.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: equipping the vehicle with a video camera configured to monitor the road ahead of the vehicle and for detecting the a level of unevenness of the road, processing video shots made by said video camera to determine the unevenness profile and estimating a level of pitching motion of the vehicle provided based on an advancement speed of the vehicle, and controlling, even before overcoming the unevenness of the road, a sequence of decelerations and accelerations of the vehicle as a function of the determined unevenness profile and the advancement speed of the vehicle, so as to reduce the pitching motion of the vehicle.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is decelerated or accelerated based on the unevenness profile.

4. A system for controlling a balance of a moving motor vehicle when overcoming an unevenness of a road by means of an acceleration and/or a deceleration of the vehicle by a value correlated to a level of unevenness of the road, the system comprising: a control system operatively configured to detect the level of unevenness of the road by monitoring the road ahead of the moving vehicle and predictively correcting a pitching motion of the vehicle based on said monitoring.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle comprises an engine, a braking system, an engine control unit a braking system control unit, and a video camera all operatively associated with the control system, wherein the video camera is configured to monitor the road ahead of the vehicle and detect the level of unevenness of the road, and wherein the control system includes a processing unit operatively connected to said video camera, to the engine control unit and to the braking system control unit and configured to determine an unevenness profile based of the detected level of unevenness of the road by the video camera and control, even before overcoming the unevenness of the road, a sequence of decelerations and accelerations of the vehicle as a function of the unevenness profile and an advancement speed of the vehicle, so as to reduce the pitching motion of the vehicle.

6. (canceled)

7. The system according to claim 5, wherein the control system is configured to reduce the pitching motion of the vehicle by the sequence of decelerations and accelerations of the vehicle as a function of the unevenness profile and an advancement speed of the vehicle without controlling or acting on dampening features of shock absorbers of the vehicle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings, provided purely by way of non-limiting example, wherein:

[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a motor vehicle configured for implementing the method according to the invention, and

[0017] FIG. 2 is a block diagram exemplifying the components of the system for implementing the control method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] The distinctive feature of the control method and system according to the invention lies, as previously mentioned, in the fact that the correction of the pitching motion of a motor vehicle A when overcoming an unevenness B of the road R, typically a speed reducer, is predictively corrected by monitoring the level of unevenness, by estimating the expected pitching of the vehicle and thus correcting it by means of a sequence of accelerations and decelerations, i.e. by acting solely on the engine and possibly on the braking system of the vehicle without requiring the use of auxiliary devices for example applied to the shock absorbers of the vehicle wheels.

[0019] In order to monitor the unevenness B, the vehicle A is equipped, according to the invention, with a video camera C positioned frontally or at an area such to be able to view and film the road R ahead of the moving vehicle.

[0020] With reference to FIG. 2, in the control system according to the invention the signals coming from the video camera C are processed by means of an image processor P to determine the unevenness characteristics, in particular in terms of the profile of the surface of the road R. The processor P is operatively connected to a control unit U with which the vehicle A is normally provided, in turn connected to a speed sensor S which detects the advancement speed of the motor vehicle and to an engine control unit E as well as to a braking system control unit F for the wheels of the vehicle A.

[0021] In use, through the images taken by the video camera C, the processor P estimates the profile or geometry of the unevenness B and the level of pitching of the vehicle A predicted depending on the advancement speed thereof. Thus, the control unit U acts on the engine control unit E and possibly on the braking system control unit F to impart to the motor vehicle A, even before overcoming the unevenness (B), a short sequence of accelerations and/or decelerations or brakings as a function of the detected unevenness profile B and the advancement speed thereof. Once the motor vehicle A overcomes the unevenness B it will thus be subjected to a short and almost instantaneous sequence of decelerations and accelerations depending on the unevenness profile B. In this manner, the pitching motion of the motor vehicle A when overcoming the unevenness B is corrected and reduced by an amount such to ensure to the occupants of the motor vehicle A a better driving comfort when overcoming obstacles such as, as mentioned, speed bumps and as well as ditches, portholes naturally uneven and bumpy paths along untarmacked roads. The lines respectively represented as dashed and solid in FIG. 1 schematically and qualitatively represent the pitching oscillations of the motor vehicle A upon overcoming the unevenness B respectively without control and with the control operated according to the invention.

[0022] Obviously, the construction details and the embodiments of the control system according to the invention may widely vary with respect to what has been described and illustrated, without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention as defined in the claims that follow.