VEHICLE BEHAVIOR CONTROL APPARATUS

• US 20110125368A1
• Filed: 08/25/2008
• Published: 05/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yokota, Takahiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,694,208 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/41
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2230/03 Overturn, rollover
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/17554 specially adapted for enhancing stability around the vehicles longitudinal axle, i.e. roll-over prevention road vehicle drive control systems for roll-over prevention otherwise than by controlling a particular sub-unit B60W30/04

Abstract

A vehicle behavior control apparatus including a deceleration control mechanism decelerating the vehicle to reduce a deviation between a target turning index value, which is determined based on a steering angle of the vehicle, and an actual turning index value. The deceleration control mechanism reduces the decrease gradient of the deceleration when a roll motion index value of the vehicle exceeds a threshold roll motion index value.

Claims

1. A vehicle behavior control apparatus comprising:

a deceleration control portion that decelerates the vehicle to reduce a deviation between a target turning index value, which is determined based on a steering angle of the vehicle, and an actual turning index value of the vehicle, wherein

a decrease gradient of the deceleration when a roll motion index value of the vehicle exceeds a threshold roll motion index value is smaller than the decrease gradient when the roll motion index value does not exceed the threshold roll motion index value.

2. The vehicle behavior control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the target turning index value is at least one value selected from the group consisting of a yaw rate of the vehicle, which is determined based on the steering angle and a vehicle speed, a wheel angle, and a lateral acceleration; and

the actual turning index value is a turning index value that is actually detected or estimated, which corresponds to the target turning index value of the vehicle.

3. The vehicle behavior control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the roll motion index value is at least one value selected from a group consisting of the lateral acceleration of the vehicle, a vertical load difference or a vertical load ratio between left and right wheels of the vehicle, a roll angle of the vehicle, a roll rate, the steering angle of the vehicle, a steering angle velocity, the target turning index value, and the actual turning index value, which are actually detected or estimated in the vehicle.

4. The vehicle behavior control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the roll motion index value is a roll motion determination value that changes with the magnitude of at least one value selected from a group consisting of the lateral acceleration of the vehicle, a vertical load difference or a vertical load ratio between left and right wheels of the vehicle, a roll angle of the vehicle, a roll rate, the steering angle of the vehicle, a steering angle velocity, the target turning index value, and the actual turning index value, which are actually detected or estimated in the vehicle; and

a rate of change in the roll motion determination value relative to the rate of change in the value selected from the group is smaller when the selected value decreases than when the selected value increases.

5. The vehicle behavior control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the threshold roll motion index value is determined based on a static rollover threshold acceleration of the vehicle.

6. The vehicle behavior control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deceleration control portion decelerates the vehicle when the target turning index value is larger than the actual turning index value.

7. The vehicle behavior control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the deceleration control portion decelerates the vehicle when it is determined that the vehicle is understeering based on the deviation between the target turning index value and the actual turning index value.

8. The vehicle behavior control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a yaw moment control portion that controls a yaw moment of the vehicle based on a target yaw moment calculated to stabilize yaw behavior of the vehicle,

wherein the deceleration control portion selects a deceleration having the larger magnitude, between the deceleration generated to reduce the deviation between the target turning index value and the actual turning index value, and a yaw moment generating deceleration for generating the target yaw moment, as the deceleration to be generated in the vehicle.

9. The vehicle behavior control apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the deceleration control portion selects a deceleration having the largest magnitude, from among the deceleration generated to reduce the deviation between the target turning index value and the actual turning index value, the yaw moment generating deceleration for generating the target yaw moment, and a driver-requested deceleration requested by a driver of the vehicle, as the deceleration to be generated in the vehicle.

10. The vehicle behavior control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the decrease gradient of the deceleration when an absolute value of the roll motion index value exceeds the threshold roll motion index value is smaller than a decrease gradient when the absolute value of the roll motion index value does not exceed the threshold roll motion index value.

11. The vehicle behavior control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the roll motion index value is a rolling state determination value; and

the roll motion determination value increases when the roll motion index value increases but is difficult to decrease when the roll motion index value decreases.

12. A vehicle behavior control apparatus comprising:

a deceleration control portion that decelerates the vehicle to reduce a deviation between a target turning index value, which is determined based on a steering angle of the vehicle, and an actual turning index value of the vehicle, wherein

a decrease gradient of the deceleration, when a deviation exists between a roll motion index value of the vehicle and a threshold reference roll index value, is smaller than a decrease gradient, when no deviation exists between the roll motion index value of the vehicle and the threshold reference roll index value.

15. The vehicle behavior control apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the deceleration is determined based on the deviation between the target turning index value and the actual turning index value.

13. A vehicle behavior control method comprising:

decelerating the vehicle to reduce a deviation between a target turning index value, which is determined based on a steering angle of the vehicle, and an actual turning index value of the vehicle, wherein

a decrease gradient of the deceleration when a roll motion index value of the vehicle exceeds a threshold roll motion index value is smaller than the decrease gradient when the roll motion index value does not exceed the threshold roll motion index value.

16. The vehicle behavior control method according to claim 13, wherein the deceleration is determined based on the deviation between the target turning index value and the actual turning index value.

14. A vehicle behavior control apparatus comprising:

a deceleration control portion that decelerates the vehicle to reduce a deviation between a target turning index value, which is determined based on a steering angle of the vehicle, and an actual turning index value of the vehicle,

wherein a decrease gradient of the deceleration when a roll motion index value of the vehicle exceeds a threshold roll motion index value is smaller than the decrease gradient when the roll motion index value does not exceed the threshold roll motion index value,

wherein the deceleration is determined based on the deviation between the target turning index value and the actual turning index value.