AUTOMATIC TILTING VEHICLE

• US 20180147908A1
• Filed: 11/22/2017
• Published: 05/31/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: KAMEDA, Yoshikazu, ISHINO, Takahito, KAMANO, Hirotaka, YASUIKE, Osamu
• Granted Patent: US 10,654,332 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/0162 mainly during a motion involving steering operation, e.g. cornering, overtaking B60G17/0164 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/0182 involving parameter estimation, e.g. observer, Kalman filter
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/0195 characterised by the regulation being combined with other vehicle control systems conjoint control of vehicle sub-units including control of suspension systems B60W10/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2202/42 Electric actuator
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2204/419 Gears
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2300/122 Trikes
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2300/45 Rolling frame vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/0511 Roll angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/204 Vehicle speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/302 Selected gear ratio; Transmission function
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/34 Accelerator pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/41 Steering angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/63 Location of the center of gravity
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2401/28 Gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/012 Rolling condition
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/24 Steering, cornering
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/70 Estimating or calculating vehicle parameters or state variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/916 Body Vibration Control
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 61/065 with single rear wheel

Abstract

An automatic tilting vehicle comprises left and right front wheels and a rear wheel. A control unit controls a vehicle tilting device so that the tilt angle of the vehicle becomes the target tilt angle. The control device is configured to swingingly vibrates the vehicle in the lateral direction by tilting the vehicle by the vehicle tilting device, to estimate a height of the center of gravity of the vehicle based on a resonance period of swinging vibration of the vehicle, and to correct the target tilt angle such that a perpendicular passing through the estimated center of gravity passes within a range of a triangle formed by connecting grounding points of the left and right front wheels and a grounding point of the rear wheel.

Claims

1. An automatic tilting vehicle that comprises left and right front wheels, a rear wheel, a vehicle body, a vehicle tilting device that is configured to tilt the vehicle in a lateral direction, a detection device that detects a tilt angle of the vehicle and a control device configured to control the vehicle tilting device;

wherein the left and right front wheels and the vehicle tilting device are suspended from the vehicle body by one front wheel suspension and the rear wheel is suspended from the vehicle body by a rear wheel suspension;

the control device is configured to calculate a target tilt angle of the vehicle to a turning inner side so that a resultant force of the gravity and a centrifugal force acting on a center of gravity when turning is directed to a predetermined position between grounding points of the left and right front wheels as seen in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and to control the vehicle tilting device so that the tilt angle of the vehicle conforms to the target tilt angle, wherein

the control device is configured to tilt the vehicle in a lateral direction by the vehicle tilting device, to swingingly vibrate the vehicle in the lateral direction by tilting the vehicle by the vehicle tilting device and releasing the tilting of the vehicle when the vehicle is not traveling, to obtain a resonance period of swinging vibration of the vehicle based on a change in the tilt angle of the vehicle detected by the detection device, and to estimate a height of the center of gravity of the vehicle based on the resonance period,

the control device is configured to correct the target tilt angle such that a perpendicular passing through the estimated center of gravity passes within a range of a triangle formed by connecting grounding points of the left and right front wheels and a grounding point of the rear wheel when the perpendicular passes outside the range of the triangle.

2. The automatic tilting vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control device is configured to calculate, based on a resonance period, a spring constant of a swing vibration model of the vehicle in which a weight is fixed to an upper end of a cantilever fixed at a lower end, and to calculate a height of the center of gravity of the swing vibration model based on the spring constant to calculate a height of the center of gravity of the vehicle.