Stability control device of vehicle improved against hunting

• US 5,727,853 A
• Filed: 10/09/1996
• Issued: 03/17/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Monzaki, Shirou
• Primary Examiner(s): Butler, Douglas C.
• Application Number:
  US08/727,901
• Time in Patent Office: 524 Days
• Field of Search: 303/140, 303/121, 303/146, 303/147, 303/148, 303/160, 303/169, 303/173, 303/174, 303/176, 303/189, 303/195, 303/196, 303/199, 303/159, 303/143, 303/190, 364/426.042, 364/426.016, 188/181 C, 188/181 A, 180/197
• US Class Current: 303/140
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/1755 Brake regulation specially adapted to control the stability of the vehicle, e.g. taking into account yaw rate or transverse acceleration in a curve road vehicle drive control systems for control of driving stability otherwise than by controlling a particular sub-unit B60W30/02

Abstract

A stability control device for a vehicle is shown including a device that estimates a liability of the vehicle body to a turn running instability and produces an instability quantity that generally increases along with increase of the liability. A braking device selectively applies a variable braking force to each wheel. A controller controls the braking device so as to variably apply the braking force to a selected wheel or wheels based upon the instability quantity for suppressing the vehicle body against the turn running instability. The controller withholds applying the braking force to the selected wheel or wheels when the instability quantity is discretely produced more than a threshold number of times in succession at a magnitude greater than a threshold value with an interval shorter than a threshold time duration.

Claims

1. A stability control device of a vehicle having a vehicle body, and front left, front right, rear left and rear right wheels, comprising:

a means for estimating a liability of the vehicle body to a turn running instability for producing an instability quantity which generally increases along with increase of said liability;

a brake means for selectively applying a variable braking force to each of said wheels; and

a control means for controlling said brake means so as variably to apply a braking force to a selected one or ones of said wheels based upon said instability quantity for suppressing the vehicle body against said turn running instability;

wherein said control means withholds applying the braking force to the selected wheel or wheels when said instability quantity was discretely produced more than a threshold number of times in succession at a magnitude greater than a threshold value with an interval shorter than a threshold time duration.

2. A stability control device according to claim 1, wherein said turn running instability is spin value which represents a liability of the vehicle body to spin, and said selected wheel to which the braking force is applied is one of the front wheels serving at the outside of a turn running of the vehicle.