Vehicle and control method for changing control mode of driving and braking force based on change rate of wheel vertical load

• US 20070080583A1
• Filed: 10/06/2006
• Published: 04/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Noumura, Shin, Mizuta, Yuichi, Koibuchi, Ken, Kajita, Hisashi
• Application Number:
  US11/543,906
• Publication Number:
  US 20070080583A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 303/175
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2240/06 Wheel load; Wheel lift
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/175 Brake regulation specially adapted to prevent excessive wheel spin during vehicle acceleration, e.g. for traction control safety devices for propulsion unit control responsive to, or preventing, skidding of wheels B60K28/16
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/17616 Microprocessor-based systems

Abstract

A vehicle is provided in which, when a slip between a wheel and a road surface is increased, a driving and braking control is performed to reduce the slip. A change rate in a wheel vertical load is determined. A mode of the driving and braking control is changed based on the determined change rate. The change of mode may be performed by changing at least one of the start of the driving and braking control, the reduction rate or the lower bound during the temporary reduction of the braking force or driving force, and the increasing rate during increasing the braking or driving force after the temporary reduction, or the like, according to the change rate in the wheel vertical load.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

a controller that performs, when a slip between a wheel and a road surface is increased, a driving and braking force control to reduce the slip;

a change rate calculator that determines a change rate in a wheel vertical load; and

a mode calculator that changes a mode of the driving and braking force control based on the change rate determined by the change rate calculator.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the change rate calculator determines whether the wheel vertical load increases,

the mode calculator changes the mode by setting a threshold value to greater when the wheel vertical load increases, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not increase, and

the controller starts performing the driving and braking force control when a slip rate between the wheel and the road surface exceeds the threshold value.

3. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the change rate calculator determines whether the wheel vertical load decreases,

the mode calculator changes the mode by setting a threshold value to smaller when the wheel vertical load decreases, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not decrease, and

the controller starts performing the driving and braking force control when a slip rate between the wheel and the road surface exceeds the threshold value.

4. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the controller reduces a force applied to the wheel along the road surface to a predetermined value and then gradually increases the force,

the change rate calculator determines whether the wheel vertical load increases, and

the mode calculator changes the mode by setting the predetermined value to greater when the wheel vertical load increases, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not increase.

5. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the controller reduces a force applied to the wheel along the road surface to a predetermined value and then gradually increases the force,

the change rate calculator determines whether the wheel vertical load decreases, and

the mode calculator changes the mode by setting the predetermined value to smaller when the wheel vertical load decreases, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not decrease.

6. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the controller reduces a force applied to the wheel along the road surface to a predetermined value and then gradually increases the force,

the change rate calculator determines whether the wheel vertical load increases, and

the mode calculator changes the mode by setting a greater increasing rate at which the controller increases the force when the wheel vertical load increases, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not increase.

7. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the controller reduces a force applied to the wheel along the road surface to a predetermined value and then gradually increases the force,

the change rate calculator determines whether the wheel vertical load decreases, and

the mode calculator changes the mode by setting a smaller increasing rate at which the controller increases the force when the wheel vertical load decreases, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not decrease.

8. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the controller reduces a force applied to the wheel along the road surface to a predetermined value and then gradually increases the force,

the change rate calculator determines whether the wheel vertical load increases, and

the mode calculator changes the mode by setting a smaller reduction rate at which the controller reduces the force when the wheel vertical load increases, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not increase.

9. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the controller reduces a force applied to the wheel along the road surface to a predetermined value and then gradually increases the force,

the change rate calculator determines whether the wheel vertical load decreases, and

the mode calculator changes the mode by setting a greater reduction rate at which the controller reduces the force when the wheel vertical load decreases, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not decrease.

10. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a chain/non-standard tire detector that detects whether the wheel wears at least one of a chain and a non-standard tire, wherein

the mode calculator changes the mode so that the change rate in the wheel vertical load is augmentatively rated when the wheel wears at least one of the chain and the non-standard tire, as compared with when the wheel wears neither the tire chain nor the non-standard tire.

11. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a road condition detector that detects an impulse-like protrusion on the road surface, wherein

the mode calculator determines the mode so that the controller ignores a temporary change in the wheel vertical load caused by the detected impulse-like protrusion.

12. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a road condition detector that detects a bump on the road surface, wherein

the mode calculator determines the mode so that the controller ignores a temporary change in the wheel vertical load caused by the detected bump.

13. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the driving and braking force control is performed in an anti-lock braking system control.

14. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the driving and braking force control is performed in a traction control.

15. A method for controlling a vehicle, comprising:

determining a change rate in a wheel vertical load;

changing a mode of a driving and braking force control based on the determined change rate in the wheel vertical load; and

performing the driving and braking force control based on the changed mode to reduce a slip between a wheel and a road surface, when the slip is increased.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein

the determining determines that the wheel vertical load increases, the mode is changed by setting a threshold value to greater when the wheel vertical load increases, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not increase, and

the driving and braking force control starts when a slip rate between the wheel and the road surface exceeds the threshold value.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein

determining determines that the wheel vertical load decreases,

the mode is changed by setting a threshold value to smaller when the wheel vertical load decreases, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not decrease, and

the driving and braking force control starts when a slip rate between the wheel and the road surface exceeds the threshold value.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein

determining determines that the wheel vertical load increases,

the mode is changed by setting a predetermined value to greater when the wheel vertical load increases, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not increase, and

the driving and braking force control is performed so that a force applied to the wheel along the road surface is reduced to the predetermined value and then gradually increases.

19. The method according to claim 15, wherein

determining determines that the wheel vertical load decreases,

the mode is changed by setting a predetermined value to smaller when the wheel vertical load decreases, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not decrease, and

the driving and braking force control is performed so that a force applied to the wheel along the road surface is reduced to the predetermined value and then gradually increases.

20. The method according to claim 15, wherein

determining determines that the wheel vertical load increases,

the mode is changed by setting an increasing rate to greater when the wheel vertical load increases, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not increase, and

the driving and braking force control is performed so that a force applied to the wheel along the road surface is reduced to a predetermined value and then increases at the set increasing rate.

21. The method according to claim 15, wherein

determining determines that the wheel vertical load decreases,

the mode is changed by setting an increasing rate to smaller when the wheel vertical load decrease, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not decrease, and

the driving and braking force control is performed so that a force applied to the wheel along the road surface is reduced to a predetermined value and then increases at the set increasing rate.

22. The method according to claim 15, wherein

determining determines that the wheel vertical load increase,

the mode is changed by setting a reduction rate to smaller when the wheel vertical load increase, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not increase, and

the driving and braking force control is performed so that a force applied to the wheel along the road surface is reduced at the set reduction rate to a predetermined value and then gradually increases.

23. The method according to claim 15, wherein

determining determines that the wheel vertical load decrease the mode is changed by setting a reduction rate to greater when the wheel vertical load decrease, as compared with when the wheel vertical load does not decrease, and

the driving and braking force control is performed so that a force applied to the wheel along the road surface is reduced at the set reduction rate to a predetermined value and then gradually increases.

24. The method according to claim 15, further comprising detecting whether the wheel wears at least one of a chain and a non-standard tire, wherein

the mode is changed so that the change rate in the wheel vertical load is rated augmentatively when the wheel wears at least one of the chain and the non-standard tire, as compared with when the wheel wears neither the tire chain nor the non-standard tire.