Surface vehicle wheel anti-skid system

Abstract

An anti-skid braking system using a mass acceleration sensor to control the amount of hydraulic pressure applied to the wheel cylinders. In this application the accelerometer is used to sense a decrease in velocity only. The system can be used on any vehicle traversing any surface. For any vehicle tire/wheel combination there is a given foot print, (area of contact between the tire and road surface}. The foot print will dictate a maximum coefficient of friction for a given tire/pressure combination. The deceleration sensed by the accelerometer is used to limit the hydraulic pressure applied to the brake cylinders at a pressure less than would be required to reach the maximum coefficient of friction limit. Under cold/wet/ice conditions, snow, ice, or water of a depth to cause hydroplaning, this system will allow the wheels to be locked. Most Auto braking systems would cycle the wheel between locked and free wheeling.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.