초록 ▼

An electronic control system for a vehicle includes a plurality of input devices, a plurality of output devices, a communication network, and a plurality of interface modules. The plurality of input devices may include a first input device that provides information pertaining to an angular position

An electronic control system for a vehicle includes a plurality of input devices, a plurality of output devices, a communication network, and a plurality of interface modules. The plurality of input devices may include a first input device that provides information pertaining to an angular position of a first vehicle wheel. The plurality of output devices may include an actuator capable of adjusting one or both of the angular position of the first vehicle wheel or an angular position of a second vehicle wheel. The plurality of interface modules can be microprocessor based and can be interconnected to each other by way of the communication network. The plurality of interface modules may also be coupled to the plurality of input devices and to the plurality of output devices. The plurality of interface modules may include one or more interface modules that is coupled to the first input device and to the actuator. The electronic control system can be configured to control the angular position of one or both of the first and second vehicle wheels as a function of the information from the first input device.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An electronic control system for a vehicle comprising:a plurality of input devices, the plurality of input devices including a first input device that provides information pertaining to a steering angle of first vehicle wheel; a plurality of output devices, the plurality of output devices includi

1. An electronic control system for a vehicle comprising:a plurality of input devices, the plurality of input devices including a first input device that provides information pertaining to a steering angle of first vehicle wheel; a plurality of output devices, the plurality of output devices including actuator capable of adjusting one or both of the steering angle of the first vehicle wheel and a steering angle of a second vehicle wheel; a communication network; and a plurality of microprocessor based interface modules, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, and the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the plurality of input devices to the plurality of output devices, the plurality of interface modules including one or more interface modules that is coupled to the first input device and to the actuator; wherein the electronic control system is configured to control the steering angle of one or both of the first and second vehicle wheels as a function of the information from the first input device. 2. The electronic control system of claim 1, wherein the information pertaining to the steering angle of the first vehicle wheel includes a steering signal.3. The electronic control system of claim 1, wherein the information pertaining to the steering angle of the first vehicle wheel is a digital signal.4. The electronic control system of claim 1, wherein the electronic control system is configured to detect errors associated with the electronic control system.5. The electronic control system of claim 4, further comprising:a graphical user interface configured to display the detected errors; wherein the electronic control system is configured to store and display a history of error codes. 6. The electronic control system of claim 1, wherein:the actuator adjusts the steering angle of the second vehicle wheel; and the electronic control system is configured to control the steering angle of the second vehicle wheel as a function of the information pertaining to the steering angle of the first vehicle wheel. 7. The electronic control system of claim 6, wherein the electronic control system includes a plurality of modes for controlling the steering angle of the second vehicle wheel as a function of the information pertaining to the steering angle of the first vehicle wheel.8. The electronic control system of claim 7, wherein the plurality of modes comprises:a first mode in which the steering angle of the second vehicle wheel is fixed; a second mode in which movement of the steering angle of the second vehicle wheel is generally opposite to movement of the steering angle of the first vehicle wheel; and a third mode in which movement of the steering angle of the second vehicle wheel is generally similar to movement of the steering angle of the first vehicle wheel. 9. The electronic control system of claim 7, further comprising a graphical user interface configured to display the past, present, and future modes of the electronic control system.10. The electronic control system of claim 7, wherein:the plurality of modes includes a first mode and a second mode; and the electronic control system is configured to receive input to change from a first mode to a second mode, and, in response to the input, the electronic control is configured to operate in the first mode until one or both the first and second vehicle wheel travels through a straight ahead position, at which time the electronic control unit changes to the second mode. 11. The electronic control system of claim 6, wherein the electronic control system includes a deadband of at least about 5 degrees.12. The electronic control system of claim 6, wherein the electronic control system includes a deadband that varies as a function of the vehicle's speed.13. The electronic control system of claim 6, wherein the first input device is a sensor that measures the steering angle of the first vehicle wheel.14. The electronic control system of claim 13, wherein the sensor is an encoder.15. The electronic control system of claim 14, wherein the information output by the encoder is converted to SAE J1939 protocol and communicated over the communication network to the plurality of interface modules.16. The electronic control system of claim 6, wherein the electronic control system is configured to lock the second vehicle wheel in a straight-ahead position once the vehicle reaches a certain speed.17. The electronic control system of claim 6, wherein:the first input device provides information pertaining to a steering angle of a first set of vehicle wheels; and the actuator is capable of adjusting a steering angle of a second set of vehicle wheels. 18. The electronic control system of claim 6, further comprising:a lock configured to lock the steering angle of the second vehicle wheel; and a graphical user interface configured to display the status of the lock. 19. The electronic control system of claim 1, wherein the electronic control system uses a locked position of the second vehicle wheel as a calibration pain for a straight ahead position of one or both the first and second vehicle wheels.20. The electronic control system of claim 1, further comprising:a graphical user interface which includes a representation of the vehicle including an image of the vehicle's wheels; wherein the steering angle of the vehicle's wheels in the image changes as the steering angle of the vehicle's wheels changes. 21. The electronic control system of claim 1, further comprising a graphical user interface configured to display instructions related to calibrating the electronic control system.22. The electronic control system of claim 1, wherein the actuator is a hydraulic actuator.23. The electronic control system of claim 22, wherein the plurality of input devices includes a sensor that provides information pertaining to the status of a hydraulic filter.24. The electronic control system of claim 22, wherein the plurality of input devices includes a sensor that provides information pertaining to the temperature of the hydraulic fluid.25. The electronic control system of claim 1, wherein the electronic control system is configured to log data pertaining to the steering angle of one or both of the first and second vehicle wheels.26. The electronic control system of claim 1, wherein the electronic control system is configured to determine the minimum electrical signal required to control the steering angle of the first or second vehicle wheels.27. The electronic control system of claim 1, wherein a straight-ahead position of the first vehicle wheel can be any position on the first input device.28. The electronic control system of claim 1, wherein the electronic control system uses a feedback control loop to control the steering angle of one or both of the first and second vehicle wheels.29. The electronic control system of claim 28, wherein the feedback control loop is a proportional-integral-derivative control loop.30. The electronic control system of claim 1, further comprising a vehicle wheel alignment system.31. The electronic control system of claim 30, wherein the electronic control system receives input from the vehicle wheel alignment system and uses the input to determine the straight ahead position of one or both of the first and second vehicle wheels.32. The electronic control system of claim 30, wherein the electronic control system receives input from the vehicle wheel alignment system and uses the input to align one or both of the first and second vehicle wheels.33. The electronic control system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of interface modules includes an I/O status table, the I/O status table including I/O status information for the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output devices.34. The electronic control system of claim 33, wherein each of the plurality of interface modules broadcasts I/O status information to each of the other interface modules, the I/O status information pertaining to 110 states of the respective input and output devices coupled to the interface modules.35. The electronic control system of claim 34, further comprising a graphical user interface configured to display the I/O states of the respective input and output devices.36. The electronic control system of claim 35; wherein the plurality of interface modules, the plurality of input devices, and the plurality of output devices are distributed throughout the vehicle.37. The electronic control system of claim 36, further comprising:a power source; and a power transmission link; wherein the plurality of interface modules are coupled to the power source by way of the power transmission link; and wherein each respective interface module is locally disposed with respect to the respective input and output devices to which the respective interface module is coupled so as to permit distributed data collection from the plurality of input devices and distributed power distribution to the plurality of output devices. 38. An electronic control system for a vehicle comprising:a plurality of input devices, the plurality of input devices including a sensor that provides information pertaining to a steering angle of a first vehicle wheel; a plurality of output devices, the plurality of output devices including an actuator capable of adjusting a steering angle of a second vehicle wheel; a communication network; and a plurality of microprocessor based interface modules, the plurality of interface modules being interconnected to each other by way of the communication network, and the plurality of interface modules being coupled to the plurality of input devices an to the plurality of output devices, the plurality of interface modules including one or more interface modules that is coupled to the sensor and to the actuator; wherein the electronic control system controls the steering angle of the second vehicle wheel as a function of the steering angle of the first vehicle wheel. 39. An electronic control system for a vehicle comprising:a sensor that provides digital signals pertaining to a steering angle of a first vehicle wheel; and an actuator capable of adjusting one or both of the steering angle of the first vehicle wheel or a steering angle of a second vehicle wheel; wherein the electronic control system receives the digital signals from the sensor and controls the steering angle of one or both of the first and second vehicle wheels. 40. A vehicle having an electronic control system comprising:a first set of vehicle wheels having a first steering angle; and a second set of vehicle wheels having a second steering angle; wherein the electronic control system includes a plurality of modes for controlling the second steering angle as a function of the first steering angle, the plurality of modes including a first mode and a second mode; wherein the electronic control system is configured to receive input to change from a first mode to a second mode, and, in response to the input, the electronic control unit is configured to operate in the first mode until at least one of the sets of vehicle wheels travels through a straight-ahead position at which time the electronic control unit changes to the second mode. 41. A vehicle having an electronic control system comprising:a first set of vehicle wheels having a first steering angle; a second set of vehicle wheels having a second steering angle; and a lock configured to maintain the second set of vehicle wheels in a lock position; wherein the electronic control system controls the second steering angle as a function of the first steering angle; and wherein the locked position of the second set of vehicle wheels is input to the electronic control system as a calibration point for a straight-ahead position oft second set of vehicle wheels. 42. A vehicle having an electronic control system comprising:a first set of vehicle wheels having a first steering angle; and a second set of vehicle wheels having a second steering angle; wherein the electronic control system controls one or both of the first and second steering angles; and wherein the electronic control system is configured to log the steering angle of one or both of the first and second set of vehicle wheels. 43. An electronic control system for a vehicle comprising:a sensor that provides information relating to a steering angle of a first set of vehicle wheels; an actuator capable of adjusting a steering angle of second set of vehicle wheels; and a graphical user interface; wherein the electronic control system controls the steering angle of the second set of vehicle wheels as a function of the steering angle of the first set of vehicle wheels; and wherein the graphical user interface displays calibration instructions for calibrating the straight-ahead position of the first and second sets of vehicle wheels. 44. A system comprising:a vehicle which includes a first set of vehicle wheels having a first steering angle; a second set of vehicle wheels having a second steering angle; and an electronic control system; wherein the electronic control system controls the second steering angle as a function of the first steering angle; a vehicle wheel alignment system; wherein the electronic control system receives input from the vehicle wheel alignment system and uses the input to determine the straight-ahead position of the second set of vehicle wheels. 45. A vehicle having an electronic control system comprising:a first set of vehicle wheels having a first steering angle; a second set of vehicle wheels having a second steering angle; a graphical user interface which includes a representation of the vehicle including an image of the first and second sets of vehicle wheels; wherein the first and second steering angles in the image change as the first and second steering angles of the first and second sets of vehicle wheels change. 46. The electronic control system of claim 38, wherein the sensor is a digital sensor.47. The electronic control system of claim 38, comprising:a graphical user interface configured to display errors associated with th electronic control system; wherein the electronic control system is configured to store and display history of the errors. 48. The electronic control system of claim 38, wherein the electronic control system includes a plurality of modes for controlling the steering angle of the second vehicle wheel as a function of the steering angle of the first vehicle wheel.49. The electronic control system of claim 48, wherein the plurality of modes comprises:a first mode in which the steering angle of the second vehicle wheel is fixed; a second mode where the steering angle of the second vehicle wheel moves in the opposite direction as the steering angle of the first vehicle wheel; and a third mode where the steering angle of the second vehicle wheel moves in the same direction as the steering angle of the first vehicle wheel. 50. The electronic control system of claim 38, comprising a graphical user interface which includes a representation of the vehicle including an image of th vehicle's wheels, and wherein the steering angle of the vehicle's wheels in the image changes as the steering angle of the vehicle's wheels changes.51. The electronic control system of claim 38, wherein each of th plurality of interface modules includes an I/O status table, the I/O status table including I/O status information for the plurality of input devices and the plurality of output device , and wherein each of the plurality of interface modules broadcasts I/O status information to each of the other interface modules, the I/O status information pertaining to the states oft respective input and output devices coupled to the interface modules.52. The electronic control system of claim 39, wherein the actuator adjusts the steering angle of the second vehicle wheel, and the electronic control system uses the digital signals to control the steering angle of the second vehicle wheel as a function of the first vehicle wheel.