Safely overriding unintended acceleration protection in vehicles towing trailers
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorsMarco J. Gatti, Paul A. Bauerle
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system includes a trailer sensing module, a position sensing module, a torque reducing module, and an override control module. The trailer sensing module senses when a trailer is attached to a vehicle. The position sensing module senses positions of an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal of the vehicle. The torque reducing module reduces torque output to wheels of the vehicle when both the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are pressed. The override control module selectively deactivates the torque reducing module when the trailer is attached to the vehicle and when a speed of the vehicle is less than or equal to a threshold.
Claims14
A system comprising:
- a trailer sensing module that senses when a trailer is attached to a vehicle;
- a position sensing module that senses positions of an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal of the vehicle;
- a torque reducing module that reduces torque output to wheels of the vehicle when both the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are pressed;
- and
- an override control module that selectively deactivates the torque reducing module (i) when the trailer is attached to the vehicle, (ii) when the vehicle is starting from rest, and (iii) until the vehicle is reaches a speed that is greater than or equal to a threshold.
A method comprising:
- sensing when a trailer is attached to a vehicle;
- sensing positions of an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal of the vehicle;
- using a torque reducing system to reduce torque output to wheels of the vehicle when both the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are pressed;
- and
- selectively deactivating the torque reducing system (i) when the trailer is attached to the vehicle, (iii) when the vehicle is starting from rest, and (iii) until the vehicle is reaches a speed that is greater than or equal to a threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.