Suspension control system for controlling suspension of automotive vehicle based on wheel speed data

• US 5,444,621 A
• Filed: 06/10/1992
• Issued: 08/22/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd. (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nippondenso Co., Ltd. (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanabe, Mikio, Murai, Toshiyuki, Kinoshita, Hisashi, Matsunaga, Eiju, Nakashima, Noriyuki, Fukushima, Akira, Takemoto, Shinya
• Primary Examiner(s): Teska, Kevin J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Walker, Tyrone V.
• Application Number:
  US07/896,930
• Time in Patent Office: 1,168 Days
• Field of Search: 364/424.05, 364/426.02, 364/426.01, 280/707, 280/688, 280/703, 280/840, 361/240, 324/160, 324/166, 180/902
• US Class Current: 701/37
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/0165 to an external condition, e.g. rough road surface, side wind
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2202/42 Electric actuator
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2204/80 Interactive suspensions; arrangement affecting more than one suspension unit
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/204 Vehicle speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2401/10 Piezoelectric elements
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2500/104 continuous
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/60 Signal noise suppression; Electronic filtering means

Abstract

A suspension control system capable of controlling a suspension of an automotive vehicle in such a manner as to improve the riding comfort and maneuverability of the vehicle without the need for many sensors is disclosed, in which a speed difference signal obtained by subtracting an estimated vehicle speed from a wheel speed is filtered with band-pass filters which pass sprung resonance frequency components and unsprung resonance frequency components, respectively. After amplification, the filtered speed difference are compared with a reference value so that a damping force of a shock absorber is set in accordance with a road surface condition. Since the damping force of the shock absorber is shifter by using only information based on the wheel speed detected by a wheel speed sensor, a total number of sensor to be mounted on the vehicle for controlling the suspension can be considerably reduced. The suspension control system is simple in construction and can be manufactured at a relatively low cost.

Claims

1. A suspension control system for controlling a suspension of an automotive vehicle, said suspension control system comprising:

wheel speed detection means for detecting a wheel speed of the vehicle;

extraction means for extracting at least one of a sprung resonance frequency component of the suspension and an unsprung resonance frequency component of the suspension that are contained in a wheel speed signal detected by said wheel speed detection means; and

altering means for altering the stiffness of the suspension on the basis of said at least one resonance frequency component.

2. A suspension control system according to claim 1, wherein said extraction means is a band-pass filter.

3. A suspension control system according to claim 1, wherein said extraction means comprises a band-pass filter which passes said first resonance frequency component which has frequencies between 0.5 Hz and 3.0 Hz.

4. A suspension control system according to claim 1, wherein said extraction means comprises a band-pass filter which passes said second resonance frequency component which has frequencies between 10 Hz and 15 Hz.

5. A suspension control system according to claim 1, wherein said altering means compares said at least one resonance frequency component extracted by said extraction means, with a reference value and alters the stiffness of the suspension according to a comparison result.

6. A suspension control system according to claim 5, wherein said altering means alters the stiffness of the suspension to an increased level when a frequency of said at least one resonance frequency component exceeds said reference value.

7. A suspension control system according to claim 6, further including a timer means which sets a predetermined period of time when said altering means alters the stiffness of the suspension to said increased level.

8. A suspension control system according to claim 5, further including running condition computing means for computing a running condition of the vehicle including a vehicle speed, a steering angle and a longitudinal acceleration/deceleration, on the basis of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means, wherein said altering means includes reference-value change means for changing said reference value in accordance with said running condition computed by said running condition computing means.

9. A suspension control system according to claim 8, wherein said reference-value change means comprises a map.

10. A suspension control system according to claim 1, further including vehicle speed computing means for computing an estimated vehicle speed of the vehicle on the basis of the wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means, and different speed computing means for computing a speed difference between the wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means and the vehicle speed computed by said vehicle speed computing means, wherein said extraction means extracts said at least one resonance frequency component from a speed difference signal generated from said speed difference computing means, for estimating a sprung or an unsprung resonance of the suspension.

11. A suspension control system according to claim 10, wherein said extraction means comprises a band-pass filter which passes said first resonance frequency component which has frequencies between 1.0 Hz and 2.0 Hz.

12. A suspension control system according to claim 10, wherein said extraction means comprises a band-pass filter which passes said second resonance frequency component which has frequencies between 10 Hz and 15 Hz.

13. A suspension control system according to claim 10, wherein said at least one resonance frequency component is said first resonance frequency component, and wherein said altering means alters the stiffness of the suspension to a decreased level when said first resonance frequency component is less than said reference value.

14. A suspension control system according to claim 1, further including wheel acceleration computing means for computing a wheel acceleration of the vehicle on the bases of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means, wherein said extraction means extracts said at least one resonance frequency component from a wheel acceleration signal generated from said wheel acceleration computing means for estimating a sprung or an unsprung resonance of the suspension.

15. A suspension control system according to claim 14, wherein said extraction means comprises a band-pass filter which passes said first resonance frequency component which has frequencies between 1.0 Hz and 2.0 Hz.

16. A suspension control system according to claim 14, wherein said extraction means comprises a band-pass filter which passes said second resonance frequency component which has frequencies between 10 Hz and 15 Hz.

17. A suspension control system according to claim 14, wherein said extraction means comprises a band-pass filter which passes said second resonance frequency component which has frequencies between 1.0 Hz and 20 Hz.

18. A suspension control system according to claim 14, wherein said extraction means comprises a band-pass filter which passes said second resonance frequency component which has frequencies between 3.0 Hz and 20 Hz.

19. A suspension control system according to claim 14, wherein said extraction means comprises a low-pass filter which passes frequency components of said wheel acceleration signal which have frequencies less than 20 Hz, wherein said altering means compares said at least one resonance frequency component with a reference value and alters the stiffness of the suspension to an increased level when the frequency of said at least one resonance component exceeds said reference value, and further including correction means, coupled with said altering means, for correcting the stiffness of the suspension so that when said altering means alters the stiffness of the suspension to said increased level, if a predetermined condition provided for detecting the occurrence of a small acceleration/deceleration is satisfied, the stiffness of the suspension is altered to a decreased level.

20. A suspension control system according to claim 1, further including processing means for estimating a long-term vibration of the vehicle and a road surface condition on which the vehicle is running, on the basis of the wheel speed, said sprung resonance frequency component, and said unsprung resonance frequency component, and combining the estimated long term vibration and the estimated road surface condition for setting a proper stiffness of the suspension.

21. A suspension control system according to claim 20, wherein said processing means including:

first means for computing an estimated vehicle speed on the basis of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means;

second means for computing an sprung vibration estimation signal on the basis of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means, said second means including a first filter which passes said sprung resonance frequency component contained said wheel speed signal detected by said wheel speed detection means;

third means for computing a wheel acceleration on the basis of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means;

fourth means for computing a filtered wheel acceleration on the basis of said wheel acceleration computed by said third means, said fourth means including a second filter which passes frequency components having frequencies at least the same as a frequency of said unsprung resonance frequency component;

fifth means for computing a filtered wheel acceleration absolute value on the basis of said filtered wheel acceleration, and a road surface condition signal on the basis of said filtered wheel acceleration absolute value;

sixth means for determining whether or not said sprung vibration estimation signal exceeds a first level range provided for detecting the degree of a long-term vibration of the vehicle and for outputting a first determination result;

seventh means for determining whether or not said road surface condition signal exceeds a second level range provided for detecting the degree of roughness of the road surface on which the vehicle is running and for outputting a second determination result; and

eighth means for setting a proper damping force for the suspension on the basis of said first and second determination results.

22. A suspension control system according to claim 21, wherein said first filter is a band-pass filter which passes frequency components having frequencies between 1.0 Hz and 2.0 Hz, and said filter is a low-pass filter which passes frequency components having frequencies less than 20 Hz.

23. A suspension control system according to claim 21, wherein said first filter is a band-pass filter which passes frequency components having frequencies between 1.0 Hz and 2.0 Hz, and said second filter is a band-pass filter which passes frequency components having frequencies between 1 Hz and 20 Hz.

24. A suspension control system according to claim 21 wherein said eight means including a map.

25. A suspension control system according to claim 21, further including ninth means for detemining whether or not the vehicle is in accelerated/decelerated condition and for outputting a determination result, and tenth means for changing the characteristic of said first filter when said ninth means determines that the vehicle is in accelerated/decelarated condition.

26. A suspension control system according to claim 25, wherein said ninth means outputs said determination result on the basis of said wheel speed, said wheel acceleration, or a longitudinal vehicle acceleration computed from said wheel acceleration.

27. A suspension control system according to claim 25, wherein said tenth means increases a cut-off frequency of said first filter.

28. A suspension control system according to claim 20, wherein said processing means including:

first means for computing an estimated vehicle speed on the basis of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means;

second means for computing an sprung vibration estimation signal on the basis of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means, said second means including a first filter which passes said sprung resonance frequency component contained said wheel speed signal detected by said wheel speed detection means;

third means for computing a wheel acceleration on the basis of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means;

fourth means for computing a filtered wheel acceleration on the basis of said wheel acceleration computed by said third means, said fourth means including a second filter which passes frequency components having frequencies at least the same as a frequency of said unsprung resonance frequency component;

fifth means for computing a filtered wheel acceleration absolute value on the basis of said filtered wheel acceleration, and a road surface condition signal on the basis of said filtered wheel acceleration absolute value;

sixth means for determining whether or not the vehicle is in accelerated/decelerated condition;

seventh means for computing a correction coefficient when said sixth means determines that the vehicle is in accelerated/decelerated condition;

eighth means for correcting said sprung vibration estimation signal with said correction coefficient and thereby computing a corrected sprung vibration estimation signal;

ninth means for determining whether or not said corrected sprung vibration estimation signal exceeds a first level range provided for detecting the degree of a long-term vibration of the vehicle and for outputting a first determination result;

tenth means for determining whether or not said road surface condition signal exceeds a second level range provided for detecting the degree of roughness of the road surface on which the vehicle is running and for outputting a second determination result; and

eleventh means for setting a proper damping force for the suspension on the basis of said first and second determination results.

29. A suspension control system according to claim 28, wherein said six means outputs a determination result on the basis of said wheel speed, said wheel acceleration, or a longitudinal vehicle acceleration computed from said wheel acceleration.

30. A suspension control system according to claim 28, wherein said seventh means computes said correction coefficient from said wheel acceleration, a longitudinal vehicle acceleration computed on the basis of said wheel acceleration, or a variation of said longitudinal vehicle acceleration.

31. A suspension control system according to claim 28, wherein said seventh means computes said correction coefficient from a map.

32. A suspension control system according to claim 21, wherein said second level range used in determination by said seventh means is composed of a plurality of judgment levels corresponding to different degrees of roughness of the road surface, a plurality of judgment return levels each corresponding to one of said judgment levels, and further including means for setting a plurality of delay times each corresponding to one of said levels, said delay times increasing with an increase in the roughness on the road surface.

33. A suspension control system according to claim 32, wherein said judgment levels, judgment return levels are provided in the form of maps in which said judgment levels and said judgment return level are function to a vehicle speed.

34. A suspension control system according to claim 21, wherein said delay times are provided in the form of maps in which said delay times are function to a vehicle speed.

35. A suspension control system according to claim 21, further including means for correcting the characteristic of said first filter on the basis of said road surface condition signal computed by said fifth means before said second means computes said sprung vibration estimation signal.

36. A suspension control system according to claim 21, further including means for computing a correction coefficient on the basis of said road surface condition signal computed by said fifth means, and means for correcting said sprung vibration estimation signal computed by said second means before said sixth means determines the degree of the long-term vibration.

37. A suspension control system according to claim 36, wherein said means for computing said correction coefficient is a map in which said correction coefficient is functional to a vehicle speed.

38. A suspension control system according to claim 37, wherein said map is provided for each of different degrees of roughness of the roads.

39. A suspension control system according to claim 32, wherein said delay times are provided in the form of maps in which said delay times are correlated to said road surface condition signal computed by said fifth means, said delay times increasing with an increase in the intensity of said road surface condition signal.

40. A suspension control system according to claim 21, wherein said first level range comprises a plurality of threshold levels, said threshold levels being corrected on the basis of said road surface condition signal before said sixth means determines the degree of the long-term vibration.

41. A suspension control system according to claim 21, further including means for generating a running attitude signal representing an attitude or position of the vehicle including at least one of diving, squat, roll, means for determining whether or not said running attitude signal exceeds a predetermined level range and for outputting a third determination result, means for determining an attitude of the vehicle on the basis of said second determination result and said third determination result and for outputting a fourth determination result to said eight means for setting a proper damping force for the suspension.

42. A suspension control system according to claim 41, wherein said means for determining an attitude of the vehicle determine the attitude on the basis of a larger one of said second determination result and said third determination result.

43. A suspension control system according to claim 42, wherein said predetermined level range being defined by a pair of threshold levels, further including attitude judgment basic level computing means for computing a pair of attitude judgment basic levels used for correcting said threshold levels, correction coefficient computing means for computing a pair of correction coefficients used for correcting said threshold levels, and correction mans for correcting said threshold levels with said attitude judgment basic levels and said correction coefficients before said means for determining an attitude of the vehicle determines the attitude of the vehicle, wherein said attitude judgment basic levels are variable with said estimated vehicle speed, and said correction coefficients are variable with said road surface condition signal.

44. A suspension control system according to claim 42, wherein said attitude judgment basic levels are determined from a map, and said correction coefficients are determined by a map.

45. A suspension control system according to claim 1, wherein said suspension includes a shock absorber provided each of two front wheels and two rear wheels of the vehicle, said shock absorber has plural modes defining switchable levels of damping force including at least a hard level and a soft level, and said wheel speed detection means is provided for each of the four wheels, and wherein said suspension control system further comprises switch means for temporarily switching the damping force of the shock absorber provided for one of the rear wheel to the soft level when a bump or a step on a road surface on which the vehicle is running is detected by a change in said wheel speed of the front wheel corresponding to said one rear wheel.

46. A suspension control system according to claim 45, wherein said switch means includes:

first computing means for computing a road surface condition signal on the basis of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means, said road surface condition signal being computed by first computing a wheel acceleration on the basis of said wheel speed, then computing a filtered wheel acceleration by filtering said wheel acceleration with a filter means which passes frequency components having frequencies around said unsprung resonance frequency of the suspension, subsequently computing a filtered wheel acceleration absolute value on the basis of said filtered wheel acceleration, and finally smoothing said filtered wheel acceleration absolute value; and

first determining means, coupled to said first computing means and said altering means, for determining whether or not said road surface condition signal regarding at least one of two front wheels exceeds a threshold level provided for detecting the presence of a bump or a step on the road surface, wherein said altering means alters said the damping force level of a rear wheel on the same side as said one front wheel to the soft level when said determining manes that said road surface condition signal exceeds said predetermined threshold level.

47. A suspension control system according to claim 46, wherein said switch means further includes:

second determining means, coupled to said altering means, for determining whether or not a predetermined first time period TD has passed after said road surface condition signal exceeds said predetermined threshold level, said predetermined first time TD being provided for detecting the arrival of said rear wheel at the bump or step on the road surface;

third determining means, coupled to said second determining means and said altering means, for determining whether or not a predetermined second time period TB has passed after said first time period expires, wherein said altering means delays its operation needed for altering the damping force of the shock absorber for said rear wheel to the soft level until an elapse of said first time period, and wherein said altering means continuously keeps the damping force of the shock absorber to the soft level until an elaspse of said second time period.

48. A suspension control system according to claim 47, wherein said switch means further includes second computing means for computing an estimated vehicle speed V_B on the basis of said wheel speed, and wherein said first time period TD is determined by TD=W/V_B where W=wheel base of the vehicle.

49. A suspension control system according to claim 1, wherein said suspension includes a shock absorber provided for each of two front wheels and two rear wheels of the vehicle, said shock absorber has plural modes defining switchable levels of damping force including at least a hard level and a soft level, and said wheel speed detection means is provided for each of the four wheels, and wherein said suspension control system further comprises:

signal generation means for generating a signal indicative of a longitudinal behavior of the vehicle which will occur when the vehicle is in accelerated/decelerated condition;

processing means for estimating a vehicle speed and a long-term vibration of the vehicle on the basis of the wheel speed and said sprung resonance frequency component; and

longitudinal vehicle behavior judgment means, coupled to said signal generation means and said processing means, for judging whether or not said estimated long-term vibration exceeds a predetermined level range in the absence of said signal from said signal generation means, and wherein said altering means alters the damping force of the shock absorber to the high level when said longitudinal vehicle behavior judgement means judges that said estimated long-term vibration exceeds said predetermined level range in the absence of said signal from said signal generating means.

50. A suspension control system according to claim 1, wherein said suspension includes a shock absorber provided for each of two front wheels and two rear wheels of the vehicle, said shock absorber has plural modes defining switchable levels of damping force including at least a hard level and a soft level, and said wheel speed detection means is provided for each of the four wheels, and wherein said suspension control system further comprises:

signal generation means for generating a signal indicative of a sign of the occurrence a longitudinal behavior the vehicle;

processing means for estimating a vehicle speed and a long-term vibration of the vehicle on the basis of the wheel speed and said sprung resonance frequency component;

longitudinal vehicle behavior judgment means, coupled to said signal generation means and said processing means, for judging whether or not said estimated long-term vibration exceeds a predetermined level range in the absence of said signal from said signal generation means;

long-term vibration judgment inhibiting means, coupled to said signal generation means and said judgment means for inhibiting said judgment means form judging so long as said signal from said signal generation means continues, and

wherein said altering means alters the damping force of the shock absorber to the high level when said longitudinal vehicle behavior judgment means judges that said estimated long-term vibration exceeds said predetermined level range in the absence of said signal from said signal generating means.

51. A suspension control system according to claim 1, wherein said vehicle has four wheels including left and right front wheels and left and right rear wheels, said suspension includes four shock absorbers provided one for each of said four wheels, each of the shock absorbers has plural modes defining switchable levels of damping force including at least a hard level and a soft level, and said wheel speed detection means is provided for each of the four wheels and generates a wheel speed signal for each respective wheel, and wherein said suspension control system further comprises:

speed difference computing means for computing a speed difference between a left wheel speed signal and a right wheel speed signal detected by said wheel speed detection means;

filtered speed difference computing means, coupled to said speed difference computing means, for computing a filtered speed difference by filtering said speed difference with a band-pass filter which passes said sprung resonance frequency component, said band-pass filter forming said extraction means;

determining means, coupled to said filtered speed difference computing means and said altering means, for determining whether or not said filtered speed difference exceeds a predetermined level range and for outputting a determination result to said altering means,

wherein said altering means alters the damping forces of two shock absorbers associated with two damping wheels or two rear wheels to the hard level when said determining means determines that said filtered speed difference exceeds said predetermined level range.

52. A suspension control system according to claim 51, wherein said predetermined level range is defined by two threshold levels which increase with a vehicle speed.

53. A suspension control system according to claim 52, wherein said predetermined level range is determined by a map.

54. A suspension control system according to claim 1, wherein said vehicle has four wheels including left and right front wheels and left and right rear wheels, said suspension includes four shock absorbers provided one for each of said four wheels, each of the shock absorbers has plural modes defining switchable levels of damping force including at least a hard level and a soft level, and said wheel speed detection means is provided for each of the four wheels and generates a wheel speed signal for each respective wheel, and wherein said suspension control system further comprises:

reading a left wheel speed and a right wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detecting means;

first computing means for computing a steering angle on the basis of said left wheel speed and right wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means;

second computing means for computing a vehicle speed on the basis of said left wheel speed and left wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detecting means;

third computing means for computing a yaw acceleration on the basis of a speed difference between said left wheel speed and said right wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means;

first determining means for determining whether or not a first value is greater than a predetermined threshold level and for outputting a first determination result, said first value being determined by said vehicle speed and said steering angle; and

second determining means for determining whether or not said yaw acceleration exceeds a predetermined levle and for outputting a second determination result,

wherein said altering means alters the damping force of two shock absorbers associated with two front wheels to the hard level when said first determining means determines that said first value exceeds said threshold level, and when said second determining means determines that said yaw acceleration exceeds said predetermined level.

55. A suspension control system according to claim 1, wherein said wheel speed detection means comprises an electromagnetic sensor producing an output voltage signal proportional to the wheel speed, wherein said suspension control system further comprises means, operatively connected with said magnetic sensor, for discerning different grades of road surface conditions on the basis of periodical changes in the output voltage of said magnetic sensor.

56. A suspension control system according to claim 55, wherein said discerning means comprises a periodically fluctuating component extracting means for extracting periodically fluctuating amplitude components from the output voltage signal of said electromagnetic sensor, a resonance frequency band-pass filter for extracting said sprung resonance frequency components and said unsprung resonance frequency components from the periodically fluctuating components of said output voltage signal, an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter for digitizing the sprung resonance frequency components and unsprung resonance frequency components, and a microcomputer for inputting the output signal from said A/D converter and for detecting a condition of a road surface on which the vehicle is running, said microcomputer having a judgement level stored therein and compares said sprung resonance frequency components and said unsprung resonance frequency components with said judgment level to determine the condition of the road surface.

57. A suspension control system according to claim 56, wherein said periodically fluctuating component extracting means includes an amplifier for amplifying the output voltage signal of said electromagnetic sensor, a full-wave rectifier for extracting absolute value components of the signal amplified by said amplifier, and a smoothing filter for smoothing the absolute value components extracted by said full-wave rectifier and thus extracting said periodically fluctuating components.

58. A suspension control system according to claim 55, wherein said discerning means comprises a periodically fluctuating component extracting means for extracting periodically fluctuating amplitude components from the output voltage signal of said electromagnetic sensor, an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter for digitizing said periodically fluctuating amplitude components received from said periodically fluctuating component extracting means, and a microcomputer for inputting the output signal from said A/D converter and for detecting a condition of a road surface on which the vehicle is running, said microcomputer performing a band-pass filtering process for extracting said sprung resonance frequency components and said unsprung resonance frequency components, and subsequently comparing said sprung resonance frequency components and said unsprung resonance frequency components with a judgment level stored therein to determine the condition of the road surface.

59. A suspension control system according to claim 58, wherein said periodically fluctuating component extracting means includes an amplifier for amplifying the output voltage signal of said electromagnetic sensor, a full-wave rectifier for extracting absolute value components of the signal amplified by said amplifier, and a smoothing filter for smoothing the absolute value components extracted by said full-wave rectifier and thus extracting said periodically fluctuating components.

60. A suspension control system for controlling a suspension of an automotive vehicle, said suspension control system comprising:

wheel speed detection means for detecting a wheel speed of the vehicle;

extraction means for extracting at least one of a sprung resonance frequency component of the suspension and an unsprung resonance frequency component of the suspension that are contained in a wheel speed signal detected by said wheel speed detection means;

altering means for altering the stiffness of the suspension on the basis of said at least one resonance frequency component; and

processing means for estimating a long-term vibration of the vehicle and a road surface condition on which the vehicle is running on the basis of the wheel speed, said sprung resonance frequency component, and said unsprung resonance frequency component, and combining the estimated long term vibration and the estimated road surface condition for setting a proper stiffness of the suspension, wherein said processing means includes;

first means for computing an estimated vehicle speed on the basis of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means;

second means for computing a sprung vibration estimation signal on the basis of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means, said second means including a first filter which passes said sprung resonance frequency component contained said wheel speed signal detected by said wheel speed detection means;

third means for computing a wheel acceleration on the basis of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means;

fourth means for computing a filtered wheel acceleration on the basis of said wheel acceleration computed by said third means, said fourth means including a second filter which passes frequency components having frequencies at least the same as a frequency of said unsprung resonance frequency component;

fifth means for computing a fitered wheel acceleration absolute value on the basis of said filtered wheel acceleration, and a road surface condition signal on the basis of said filtered wheel acceleration absolute value;

sixth means for determining whether or not said sprung vibration estimation signal exceeds a first level range provided for detecting the degree of a long-term vibration of the vehicle and for outputting a first determination result;

seventh means for determining whether or not said road surface condition signal exceeds a second level range provided for detecting the degree of roughness of the road surface on which the vehicle is running and for outputting a second determination result;

eighth means for setting a proper damping force for the suspension on the basis of said first and second determination results;

ninth means for determining whether or not the vehicle is an accelerated/decelerated condition and for outputting a determination result; and

tenth means for changing the characteristic of said first filter when said ninth means determines that the vehicle is in accelerated/decelerated condition, wherein said tenth means increases a cut-off frequency of said first filter.

61. A suspension control system for controlling a suspension of an automotive vehicle, said suspension control system comprising:

wheel speed detection means for detecting a wheel speed of the vehicle;

extraction means for extracting at least one of a sprung resonance frequency component of the suspension and an unsprung resonance frequency component of the suspension that are contained in a wheel speed signal detected by said wheel speed detection means;

altering means for altering the stiffness of the suspension on the basis of said at least one resonance frequency component; and

processing means for estimating a long-term vibration of the vehicle and a road surface condition on which the vehicle is running on the basis of the wheel speed, said sprung resonance frequency component, and said unsprung resonsance frequency component, and combining the estimated long term vibration and the estimated road surface condition for setting a proper stiffness of the suspension, wherein said processing means includes;

first means for computing an estimated vehicle speed on the basis of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means;

second means for computing a sprung vibration estimation signal on the basis of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means, said second means including a first filter which passes said sprung resonance frequency component contained said wheel speed signal detected by said wheel speed detection means;

third means for computing a wheel acceleration on the basis of said wheel speed detected by said wheel speed detection means;

fourth means for computing a filtered wheel acceleration on the basis of said wheel acceleration computed by said third means, said fourth means including a second filter which passes frequency components having frequencies at least the same as a frequency of said unsprung resonance frequency component;

fifth means for computing a filtered wheel acceleration absolute value on the basis of said filtered wheel acceleration, and a road surface condition signal on the basis of said filtered wheel acceleration absolute value;

sixth means for determining whether or not said sprung vibration estimation signal exceeds a first level range provided for detecting the degree of a long-term vibration of the vehicle and for outputting a first determination result;

seventh means for determining whether or not said road surface condition signal exceeds a second level range provided for detecting the degree of roughness of the road surface on which the vehicle is running and for outputting a second determination result; and

eighth means for setting a proper damping force for the suspension on the basis of said first and second determination results; and

means for correcting the characteristic of said first filter on the basis of said road surface condition signal computed by said fifth means before said second means computes said sprung vibration estimation signal.