Brake control apparatus for a vehicle train and methods therefor
AssigneeBendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC
InventorsKonstantinos Vilaetis, Nicholas A. Broyles, Andrew J. Pilkington
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A brake control apparatus is provided for a vehicle train having a tractor and one or more towed vehicles coupled to the tractor. The brake control apparatus comprises a tractor controller arranged to detect a pressure change in at least one brake line of the vehicle train in response to a brake trigger signal. The tractor controller is also arranged to process the detected pressure change to estimate a combination of the number of the towed vehicles and a total length of the number of towed vehicles coupled to the tractor.
Claims21
A brake control apparatus for a vehicle train having a tractor one or more towed vehicles coupled to the tractor, the brake control apparatus comprising:
- a tractor controller arranged to (i) detect a pressure change in at least one brake line of the vehicle train in response to a brake trigger signal, and (ii) process the detected pressure change to estimate a combination of the number of the towed vehicles and a total length of the number of towed vehicles coupled to the tractor.
A brake control apparatus for a vehicle train having a tractor and one or more towed vehicles coupled to the tractor, the brake control apparatus comprising:
- a brake line extending between the tractor and the one or more towed vehicles;
- and
- a tractor controller arranged to (i) apply a pressure pulse in the brake line, (ii) detect a reflected pressure pulse in the brake line in response to the applied pressure pulse, and (iii) determine the number of towed vehicles coupled to the tractor based upon the reflected pressure pulse detected in the brake line.
A method of operating a vehicle train having a tractor and one or more towed vehicles coupled to the tractor, the method comprising:
- providing a pressure change in a brake line that extends between the tractor and the one or more towed vehicles coupled to the tractor;
- detecting the pressure change provided in the brake line;
- and
- determining a combination of towed vehicle length and the number of towed vehicles coupled to the tractor based upon the detected pressure change.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.