Vehicle and method for limiting vehicle roll
AssigneeVolvo Truck Corporation
InventorsRamachandran Sandrasekaran, Nachiappan Manickam
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle comprising a safety device comprising a supporting member having a first end provided with a joint part which is pivotally mounted on a side wall of the vehicle, and a second end configured to bear on the ground. The vehicle further comprises an actuator connected to the supporting member and configured to move it relative to the vehicle between an inactive position in which the supporting member is located along the vehicle side wall, with the second end at a distance from the ground, and a safety position in which the supporting member extends between the vehicle side wall and the ground, to limit vehicle roll by means of the second end bearing on the ground.
Claims13
A vehicle comprising at least one safety device, the at least one safety device comprising:
- a supporting member having a first end provided with a joint part which is pivotally mounted on a vehicle side wall of the vehicle, and a second end configured to bear on the ground;
- a mounting arm secured to the vehicle side wall, wherein the joint part of the supporting member is connected to the mounting arm to form a ball joint link which provides three pivoting degrees of freedom;
- and
- an actuator connected to the supporting member and configured to move the supporting member relative to the vehicle between:
- an inactive position in which the supporting member is located along the vehicle side wall, with the second end at a distance from the ground;
- and
- a safety position in which the supporting member extends between the vehicle side wall and the ground, to limit vehicle roll by means of the second end bearing on the ground.
A method for limiting roll of a vehicle comprising a safety device including (i) a supporting member having a first end provided with a joint part which is pivotally mounted on a vehicle side wall of the vehicle, and a second end configured to bear on the ground, (ii) a mounting arm secured to the vehicle side wall, wherein the joint part of the supporting member is connected to the mounting arm to form a ball joint link which provides three pivoting degrees of freedom, and (iii) an actuator connected to the supporting member and configured to move the supporting member relative to the vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
- monitoring a roll angle of the vehicle;
- and
- if the monitored vehicle roll angle is above a predetermined threshold, activating the actuator to move the supporting member relative to the vehicle from (a) an inactive position in which the supporting member is located along the vehicle side wall, with the second end at a distance from the ground, to (b) a safety position in which the supporting member extends between the vehicle side wall and the ground, to limit vehicle roll by means of the second end bearing on the ground.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.