VEHICULAR STEERING CONTROL DEVICE

• US 20100161178A1
• Filed: 05/10/2007
• Published: 06/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kodaira, Takahiro, Sakai, Hideki, Kunihiro, Yoji, Oki, Motoshi, Horiuchi, Kentaro, Katsuyama, Etsuo
• Granted Patent: US 8,200,392 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/41
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 5/0472 for damping vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 6/003 in order to control vehicle yaw movement, i.e. around a vertical axis B62D6/007 takes precedence

Abstract

A vehicle steering control apparatus (10) is provided with: a steering force applying device (15, 30) for applying a steering force front wheels (5, 6); and a lateral force detecting device (42) for detecting a lateral force of each of the front wheels and rear wheels (7, 8), the steering force applying device applying, to the front wheels, a convergent steering force which steers the front wheels in a direction in which yaw oscillation converges, if a ratio of the lateral force (Fr) of the rear wheels to the lateral force (Ff) of the front wheels becomes a ratio of possibly causing the yaw oscillation in a vehicle (1).

Claims

1. A vehicle steering control apparatus comprising:

a steering force applying device for applying a steering force at least to front wheels; and

a lateral force detecting device for detecting a lateral force of each of the front wheels and rear wheels,

said steering force applying device applying, to the front wheels, a convergent steering force which steers the front wheels in a direction in which yaw oscillation converges, if a ratio of the lateral force of the rear wheels to the lateral force of the front wheels becomes a ratio of possibly causing the yaw oscillation in a vehicle.

2. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device (i) applies, as the convergent steering force, a steering force which steers the front wheels in a neutral direction, compared to a case that the ratio of the lateral force of the rear wheels to the lateral force of the front wheels does not become the ratio of possibly causing the yaw oscillation in the vehicle, if the steering by a driver of the vehicle is in a turning or cutting state, and (ii) applies as the convergent steering force, a steering force which steers the front wheels in an end direction, compared to the case that the ratio of the lateral force of the rear wheels to the lateral force of the front wheels does not become the ratio of possibly causing the yaw oscillation in the vehicle, if the steering by the driver of the vehicle is in a returning or reversing state.

3. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device applies the steering force so as to control a rudder angle of the front wheels.

4. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device controls the steering force applied to the front wheels on the basis of steering torque according to the steering operation of a driver of the vehicle.

5. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device applies the convergent steering force, if the ratio of the lateral force of the rear wheels to the lateral force of the front wheels is larger than a first predetermined threshold value.

6. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said steering force applying device applies the convergent steering force, if a ratio of the lateral force of the rear wheels to a rudder angle of the front wheels is larger than a second predetermined threshold value.

7. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device applies the convergent steering force, if a ratio of a roll angle of the vehicle to a rudder angle of the front wheels is larger than a third predetermined threshold value.

8. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device calculates the convergent steering force on the basis of each of a proportional value of the lateral force of the rear wheels and a differential value of the lateral force of the rear wheels.

9. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device corrects the convergent steering force in accordance with a speed of the vehicle.

10. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said steering force applying device reduces the convergent steering force, if the vehicle is driving on a rough road.

11. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said steering force applying device calculates the convergent steering force on the basis of each of a proportional value of the lateral force of the rear wheels and a differential value of the lateral force of the rear wheels, while reducing a contribution ratio of the differential value of the lateral force of the rear wheels, compared to a case that the vehicle is driving on a normal road, if the vehicle is driving on the rough road.

12. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device calculates the convergent steering force on the basis of a motion model of the vehicle in a planar direction.

13. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said steering force applying device calculates the convergent steering force on the basis of the motion model of the vehicle in the planar direction to which an input by steering torque is reflected.

14. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device reduces the convergent steering force, if at least one of an absolute value of a steering angle and an absolute value of a steering speed is equal to or smaller than a predetermined fourth threshold value.

15. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device reduces the convergent steering force, if at least one of an absolute value of a steering angle and an absolute value of a steering speed is equal to or larger than a predetermined fifth threshold value.

16. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device reduces the convergent steering force, if a steering direction by a driver of the vehicle is opposite to a direction in which the steering force is applied.

17. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device applies the steering force to the rear wheels, if a steering direction by a driver of the vehicle is opposite to a direction in which the steering force is applied.

18. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 16, wherein said steering force applying device applies the convergent steering force, even if the steering direction by the driver of the vehicle is opposite to the direction in which the steering force is applied, in a case that steering vibration occurs.

19. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device reduces the convergent steering force, if back-and-forth force control, which changes a back-and-forth force of the vehicle, is performed on the vehicle.

20. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said steering force applying device calculates the convergent steering force on the basis of each of a proportional value of the lateral force of the rear wheels and a differential value of the lateral force of the rear wheels, if the back-and-forth force control is not performed on the vehicle, and

said steering force applying device calculates the convergent steering force on the basis of the proportional value of the lateral force of the rear wheels and the differential value of the lateral force of the rear wheels while reducing a contribution ratio of the proportional value of the lateral force of the rear wheels, compared to the case that the back-and-forth force control is not performed, if the back-and-forth force control is performed on the vehicle.

21. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said steering force applying device does not apply the convergent steering force, if the back-and-forth force control, which changes the back-and-forth force of the vehicle, is performed, and

said steering force applying device firstly applies the convergent steering force calculated on the basis of the differential value of the lateral force of the rear wheels during a predetermined period after the back-and-forth force control is ended and then applies the convergent steering force calculated by gradually increasing the contribution ratio of the proportional value of the lateral force of the rear wheels in the course of time.

22. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device calculates the convergent steering force on the basis of each of a proportional value of the lateral force of the rear wheels and a differential value of the lateral force of the rear wheels, while reducing a contribution ratio of the proportional value of the lateral force of the rear wheels more as acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle increases.

23. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device calculates the convergent steering force on the basis of each of a proportional value of the lateral force of the rear wheels and a differential value of the lateral force of the rear wheels, while reducing a contribution ratio of the proportional value of the lateral force of the rear wheels, compared to a case that acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle is stable, in a predetermined period after the acceleration or deceleration starts to change.

24. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device reduces the convergent steering force, if a load control which changes a vertical load of the front wheels is performed.

25. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device reduces the convergent steering force, if there is a possibility that tuck-in occurs in the vehicle or if the tuck-in occurs.

26. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said steering force applying device comprises a vibration eigenvalue changing device for changing a vibration eigenvalue of the front wheels in a case that there is a possibility that the lateral force of the rear wheels vibrates the front wheels.

27. The vehicle steering control apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the vibration eigenvalue changing device can steer each of the front wheel which is located on right side and the front wheel which is located on left side at different rudder angle, respectively, and

the vibration eigenvalue changing device applies a steering force for steering the front wheels to toe-in direction, if there is the possibility that the lateral force of the rear wheels vibrates the front wheels.