Vehicle stability control system

• US 20060041353A1
• Filed: 08/11/2005
• Published: 02/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Fujii, Takehito, Sawada, Mamoru, Matsumoto, Toshiki, Tashiro, Tsutomu
• Granted Patent: US 7,783,402 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/37
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/0512 Pitch angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/0532 Pitch acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/014 Pitch; Nose dive
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/08 including control of electric propulsion units, e.g. motors or generators
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2030/041 about the pitch axis
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2040/1338 about the pitch axis
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/11 Pitch movement
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/112 Roll movement
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/114 Yaw movement

Abstract

A vehicle stability control system uses a physical quantity corresponding to a driver accelerator input to control engine power produced by an engine and to controllably drive an engine load device for regulating the engine power to produce a desired drive force. The vehicle stability control system includes a vibration detector and a corrector. The vibration detector determines a vibration that occurs during running of the vehicle to disturb the stability of the vehicle. The corrector drives the engine load device to suppress the vibration in response to the vibration determined by the vibration detector.

Claims

1. A vehicle stability control system that uses a physical quantity corresponding to a driver accelerator input to control engine power produced by an engine and to controllably drive an engine load device for regulating the engine power, thereby producing a desired drive force, the vehicle stability control system comprising:

vibration detection means for determining a vibration which occurs during running of the vehicle to disturb the stability of the vehicle; and

correction means for driving the engine load device to suppress the vibration in response to the vibration determined by the vibration detection means.

2. The vehicle stability control system according to claim 1, wherein the vibration detection means determines a vehicle body input torque and estimates the vibration based on the vehicle body input torque.

3. The vehicle stability control system according to claim 2, wherein the vibration detection means detects the vibration corresponding to the vehicle body input torque in accordance with an on-spring vehicle body vibration model developed based on the vibration of the on-spring vehicle body itself that is supported by front and rear wheel suspensions of the vehicle.

4. The vehicle stability control system according to claim 1, wherein

the engine load device is a motor generator that serves as a motor and a generator, and

the system determines a drive force proportion between the engine and the motor generator based on a physical quantity corresponding to a driver accelerator input to produce the desired drive force, and in accordance with the proportion thus determined, the system then allows the motor generator to serve as a motor or a generator or stop;

and

the correction means corrects a vibration-based physical quantity for correction determined by the vibration detection means to obtain a physical quantity corresponding to the proportion of drive force for the motor generator, thereby making it possible to suppress the vibration.

5. The vehicle stability control system according to claim 4, wherein when the corrected vibration-based physical quantity provided in accordance with the drive force proportion is negative in the case of using the motor generator as a motor, the correction means subtracts the physical quantity corresponding with the vibration from a physical quantity corresponding with a drive force generated by the motor to take the resulting physical quantity as a physical quantity corresponding to the proportion of the post-correction drive force for the motor generator, and

when the corrected vibration-based physical quantity is positive in the case of using the motor generator as a generator, the correction means subtracts the physical quantity corresponding with the vibration from a physical quantity corresponding with a drive force reduced by the generator to take the resulting physical quantity as a physical quantity corresponding to the proportion of the post-correction drive force for the motor generator.

6. The vehicle stability control system according to claim 1, wherein

the engine load device includes a starter and an alternator, and

when a corrected vibration-based physical quantity is negative, the correction means outputs the vibration-based physical quantity as an instruction signal for driving the alternator, and

when the vibration-based physical quantity is positive, the correction means outputs the vibration-based physical quantity as an instruction signal for driving the starter.

7. The vehicle stability control system according to claim 1, wherein

the engine load device is a starter, and

when a corrected vibration-based physical quantity is positive, the correction means outputs the vibration-based physical quantity as an instruction signal for driving the starter.

8. The vehicle stability control system according to claim 1, wherein

the engine load device is an alternator, and

when a corrected vibration-based physical quantity is negative, the correction means outputs the vibration-based physical quantity as an instruction signal for driving the alternator.

9. The vehicle stability control system according to claim 1, wherein the vibration detection means detects, as the vibration that disturbs the stability of the vehicle, at least one of a pitching vibration, a rolling, and a vertically displaced vibration of a vehicle body, and a vertical vibration and a slant angle vibration of the engine.