U.S. patent application number 10/306209 was filed with the patent office on 2004-05-27 for device for measuring the angular velocity of a pivotally mounted vehicle element.
Invention is credited to Osentoski, Larry.
Application Number | 20040099069 10/306209 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32325623 |
Filed Date | 2004-05-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040099069 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Osentoski, Larry |
May 27, 2004 |
DEVICE FOR MEASURING THE ANGULAR VELOCITY OF A PIVOTALLY MOUNTED
VEHICLE ELEMENT
Abstract
A vehicle is provided, including a vehicle body; at least one
vehicle element pivotally mounted to the vehicle, the vehicle
element configured to pivot through an angle not more than 360
degrees; and a measuring arrangement configured to measure an
angular velocity of the at least one vehicle element.
Inventors: |
Osentoski, Larry;
(Clarkston, MI) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Ralph E. Smith
DaimlerChrysler Intellectual Capital Corporation
CIMS 483-02-19
800 Chrysler Drive
Auburn Hills
MI
48326-2757
US
|
Family ID: |
32325623 |
Appl. No.: |
10/306209 |
Filed: |
November 26, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
73/865.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01P 3/486 20130101;
B60J 5/047 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
073/865.3 |
International
Class: |
G01M 019/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A vehicle, comprising: a vehicle body; at least one vehicle
element pivotally mounted to the vehicle body, the vehicle element
configured to pivot through an angle not more than 360 degrees; and
a measuring arrangement configured to measure an angular velocity
of the vehicle element.
2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the at least one
vehicle element includes at least one of a vehicle door, a
lift-gate, a trunk, a hood, a seat-back, a tilt-wheel, and a glove
compartment.
3. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the measuring
arrangement is configured to measure the angular velocity during at
least one of an opening and a closing of the at least one vehicle
element.
4. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the measuring
arrangement includes an angular velocity encoder electrically
connected to a frequency converter, the angular velocity encoder
providing a signal to the frequency converter in accordance with
the angular velocity of the at least one vehicle element, the
frequency converter generating an analog output in accordance with
a characteristic of the signal.
5. The vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the signal includes a
pulse train.
6. The vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the characteristic
includes at least one of a pulse width and a period of the pulse
train.
7. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the measuring
arrangement includes a piezoelectric gyroscope rate sensor
configured to produce an analog output in accordance with the
angular velocity of the at least one vehicle element.
8. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: at least
one vehicle system; wherein the measuring arrangement is configured
to communicate angular velocity information to the at least one
vehicle system in accordance with the angular velocity of the at
least one vehicle element.
9. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the at least one
vehicle system includes a storage unit configured to store at least
a portion of the angular velocity information.
10. The vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the storage unit
includes at least one of a RAM, a hard disk, a flash memory, an
EPROM, an EEPROM, and a mini-disk.
11. The vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the at least one
vehicle system further includes a peak detecting arrangement
configured to detect a peak angular velocity of the angular
velocity information.
12. The vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the peak detecting
arrangement is configured to communicate the peak angular velocity
to the storage unit, the storage unit being configured to store the
peak angular velocity.
13. The vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the at least one
vehicle system includes a user interface arrangement configured to
communicate the portion of the angular velocity information to at
least one external device.
14. A vehicle, comprising: a vehicle body; at least one vehicle
element pivotally mounted to the vehicle body, the vehicle element
configured to pivot through an angle not more than 360 degrees; and
means for measuring an angular velocity of the vehicle element.
15. The vehicle according to claim 14, wherein the at least one
vehicle element includes at least one of a vehicle door, a
lift-gate, a trunk, a hood, a seat-back, a tilt-wheel, and a glove
compartment.
16. The vehicle according to claim 14, further comprising: at least
one vehicle system; wherein the measuring arrangement is configured
to communicate angular velocity information to the at least one
vehicle system in accordance with the angular velocity of the at
least one vehicle element.
17. The vehicle according to claim 16, wherein the at least one
vehicle system includes a storage unit configured to store at least
a portion of the angular velocity information.
18. The vehicle according to claim 17, wherein the storage unit
includes at least one of a RAM, a hard disk, a flash memory, an
EPROM, an EEPROM, and a mini-disk.
19. The vehicle according to claim 17, wherein the at least one
vehicle system further includes a peak detecting arrangement
configured to detect a peak angular velocity of the angular
velocity information.
20. The vehicle according to claim 19, wherein the peak detecting
arrangement is configured to communicate the peak angular velocity
to the storage unit, the storage unit being configured to store the
peak angular velocity.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention is related to a vehicle including a
measuring device configured to measure the angular velocity of at
least one pivotally mounted vehicle element.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
[0002] It is believed that, in various operational situations, it
may be advantageous to measure the angular velocity of at least one
pivotally mounted vehicle element configured to be manually pivoted
by a user not more than 360 degrees. Such pivotally mounted vehicle
elements may include, for example, car doors, minivan lift gates,
trunks, hoods, seats, tilt wheels, glove compartments, center bins,
etc. The measured angular velocity information may then be, for
example, stored on a storage unit situated within the vehicle, and
later retrieved, for example, by a design engineer, who may use the
information to obtain vital "use statistics" related to the
automobile. These use statistics may include, for example, a number
of times the mounted vehicle element is opened and/or closed, a
peak angular velocity of the mounted vehicle element, an angular
acceleration of the mounted vehicle element, etc. In this manner,
the use statistics may help the design engineer better design
various pivotally mounted vehicle elements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] It is an object of the present invention to provide a
vehicle, including a vehicle body; at least one vehicle element
pivotally mounted to the vehicle body, the vehicle element
configured to pivot through an angle not more than 360 degrees; and
a measuring arrangement configured to measure an angular velocity
of the at least one vehicle element.
[0004] It is another object of the present invention to provide the
vehicle described above, in which the at least one vehicle element
includes at least one of a vehicle door, a lift-gate, a trunk, a
hood, a seat-back, a tilt-wheel, and a glove compartment.
[0005] It is still another object of the present invention to
provide the vehicle described above, in which the measuring
arrangement is configured to measure the angular velocity during at
least one of an opening and a closing of the at least one vehicle
element.
[0006] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
the vehicle described above, in which the measuring arrangement
includes an angular velocity encoder electrically connected to a
frequency converter, the angular velocity encoder providing a
signal to the frequency converter in accordance with the angular
velocity of the at least one vehicle element, the frequency
converter generating an analog output in accordance with a
characteristic of the signal.
[0007] It is still another object of the present invention to
provide the vehicle described above, in which the signal includes a
pulse train.
[0008] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
the vehicle described above, in which the characteristic includes
at least one of a pulse width and a period of the pulse train.
[0009] It is still another object of the present invention to
provide the vehicle described above, in which the measuring
arrangement includes a piezoelectric gyroscope rate sensor
configured to produce an analog output in accordance with the
angular velocity of the at least one vehicle element.
[0010] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
the vehicle described above, further including at least one vehicle
system, in which the measuring arrangement is configured to
communicate angular velocity information to the at least one
vehicle system in accordance with the angular velocity of the at
least one vehicle element.
[0011] It is still another object of the present invention to
provide the vehicle described above, in which the at least one
vehicle system includes a storage unit configured to store at least
a portion of the angular velocity information.
[0012] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
the vehicle described above, in which the storage unit includes at
least one of a RAM, a hard disk, a flash memory, an EPROM, an
EEPROM, and a mini-disk.
[0013] It is still another object of the present invention to
provide the vehicle described above, in which the at least one
vehicle system further includes a peak detecting arrangement
configured to detect a peak angular velocity of the angular
velocity information.
[0014] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
the vehicle described above, in which the peak detecting
arrangement is configured to communicate the peak angular velocity
to the storage unit, the storage unit being configured to store the
peak angular velocity.
[0015] It is still another object of the present invention to
provide the vehicle described above, in which the at least one
vehicle system includes a user interface arrangement configured to
communicate the portion of the angular velocity information to at
least one external device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary vehicle according to the
present invention, including a measuring arrangement for measuring
the angular velocity of a vehicle door.
[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary measuring arrangement
according to the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary optical shaft encoder.
[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates another exemplary measuring arrangement
according to the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 5 illustrates a vehicle system according to the present
invention configured to receive and process angular velocity
information.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] Referring now to FIG. 1, there is seen a vehicle 100
including a measuring arrangement 110 configured to measure the
angular velocity of an opening and/or closing vehicle door 105 and
to provide information in accordance with the measured angular
velocity to at least one vehicle system 120 for further processing.
As shown in FIG. 1, vehicle door 105 may be pivotally opened and/or
closed in the direction of arrow 115 by an occupant wishing to
enter/exit vehicle 100.
[0022] Referring now to FIG. 2, there is seen a first exemplary
measuring arrangement 110 according to the present invention.
Measuring arrangement 110 includes an angular velocity encoder 205
communicatively and electrically connected to a frequency converter
210. In operation, the angular velocity encoder 205 provides a
signal 215 to the frequency converter 210 in accordance with the
angular velocity of at least one vehicle element (not shown), for
example, vehicle door 105. The frequency converter 210 then
generates an analog output 220 in accordance with at least one
characteristic of the signal 215.
[0023] Angular velocity encoder 205 may include, for example, any
arrangement configured to generate a signal in accordance with the
measured angular velocity of the vehicle element. Referring now to
FIG. 3, there is seen an exploded view of an exemplary angular
velocity encoder 205 including an optical rotary angular velocity
encoder 305. Encoder 305 includes a housing 320 containing a shaft
335 connected to a glass disk 315 with equally spaced markings
330a, 330b, 330c, . . . , 330n, a light source 310 mounted on one
side of the glass disk 315, and a photo detector 325 mounted on the
other side of the glass disk 315. The shaft 335 may be rigidly
connected to a hinge point on a pivotally mounted vehicle element,
such that the shaft 335 rotates with a pivoting motion of the
vehicle element.
[0024] In operation, the rotating shaft 335 causes the glass disk
315 to rotate, which causes markings 330a, 330b, 330c, . . . ,
330n, to intermittently obscure the passage of light between the
light source 310 and the photo detector 325. The photo detector 325
converts the intermittent light into associated electrical pulses.
Since the markings 330a, 330b, 330c, . . . , 330n, are uniformly
distributed, encoder 305 generates a pulse in response to a
measurable incremental move in position. In this manner, the number
of generated pulses per unit time is directly proportional to the
angular velocity of the shaft 335 and, as such, the angular
velocity of the vehicle element.
[0025] The frequency converter 210 is configured to generate an
analog output 220 in accordance with a characteristic of the signal
215 communicated by the angular velocity encoder 205. For example,
if the angular velocity encoder 205 communicates signal 215 as a
pulse train, frequency converter 210 may, for example, generate an
analog output 220 in accordance with the period and/or pulse width
of the pulse train 215. In this manner, analog output 220 may
exhibit an electrical characteristic in accordance with the angular
velocity of the vehicle element.
[0026] Referring to FIG. 4, there is seen another exemplary
measuring arrangement 400 according to the present invention.
[0027] In this embodiment, a piezoelectric gyroscope rate sensor
405 replaces the angular velocity encoder 205 and the frequency
converter 210 of the exemplary embodiment discussed above with
respect to FIG. 2. A piezoelectric angular velocity sensor, such as
the piezoelectric rate gyroscope CRS-O3 produced by Silicon Sensing
Systems, Japan, operates to convert forces produced by rotational
motion directly into a signal representing angular velocity and/or
angular rate. Specifically, the rotational motion of, for example,
a pivotally connected vehicle element, produces Coriolis forces,
which couple vibration to a point 45 degrees relative to the
pivoting axis (e.g., a pivoting door hinge of door 105).
[0028] It is believed that piezoelectric gyroscope rate sensor 405
is advantageous in that it may be cheaper to produce, may have
enhanced accuracy compared to encoder based designs, may be more
robust, since the piezoelectric gyroscope rate sensor 405 lacks
complex moving parts, and may not require signal conditioning, such
as that required with the exemplary embodiment discussed above with
respect to the angular velocity encoder 205.
[0029] It should be appreciated that, although the exemplary
measuring arrangements 110, 400 are described above for measuring
the angular velocity of opening and/or closing vehicle door 105,
exemplary measuring arrangements 110, 400 may be used to measure
the angular velocity of other vehicle elements pivotally mounted to
the vehicle 100, such as, for example, minivan lift gates, trunks,
hoods, seats, tilt wheels, glove compartments, center bins,
etc.
[0030] Referring now to FIG. 5, there is seen an exemplary vehicle
system 120 according to the present invention configured to process
the analog output 220 associated with the angular velocity of, for
example, the opening and/or closing vehicle door 105. Vehicle
system 120 includes peak detector 505 and storage unit 510, each of
which is electrically and communicatively coupled to analog output
220. User interface 515 is provided to permit access of angular
velocity information 525 stored in the storage unit 510.
[0031] The storage unit 525 is configured to store discrete and/or
continuous angular velocity information 525 obtained from the
analog output 220. Storage unit 525 may include, for example, any
arrangement operable to store the angular velocity information 525,
such as a hard disk, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a flash memory, a random
access memory (RAM), a mini-disk, etc. In this manner, the storage
unit may record a "history" of use concerning, for example, the
pivotally mounted vehicle door 105. Once stored, the angular
velocity information 525 may be retrieved via the user interface
515, for example, by a design engineer, as described in more detail
below.
[0032] Peak detector 505 is configured to detect a peak angular
velocity from the discrete and/or continuous angular velocity
information 525 from the analog output 220. For this purpose, peak
detector 505 communicates the greatest and/or smallest angular
velocity measured to the storage unit 510 for storage and
subsequent retrieval. Once communicated, the greatest and/or
smallest angular velocity measured may, for example, overwrite a
previously stored greatest and/or smallest angular velocity
measurement. In this manner, the storage unit 510 may store, not
only the history of the angular velocity information 525, but also
the peak angular velocity (great and/or small), which may be useful
in better designing, for example, the vehicle door 105.
[0033] The user interface 515 is configured to permit a user (not
shown), for example, a design engineer, to retrieve the angular
velocity information 525 from the storage unit 510, for example,
via communications cable 520 connected to an external computer (not
shown). As described above, the design engineer may use the angular
velocity information, for example, to better design the vehicle
door 105.
* * * * *