Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-10
2001-09-25
Louis-Jacques, Jacques H. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
C701S036000, C701S037000, C280S005502, C280S005506, C280S005507, C280S005510, C280S005515
Reexamination Certificate
active
06295493
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to roll rigidity control of a vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A suspension device is known in the art which varies the roll rigidity of a vehicle according to the turning state in order to improve the turning behavior of the vehicle.
Tokkai Hei 7-215035 published in 1995 by the Japanese Patent Office discloses a method to decrease the roll rigidity of the front wheels and improve the grip force of the front wheels relatively in a turn transient state, and to increase the roll rigidity of the front wheels and improve the grip force of the rear wheels relatively in a turning steady state. The turn transient state is a state wherein a steering angle is changing, and the turning steady state is a state wherein the steering angle is held almost constant when turning.
In this device, the damping force of hydraulic cylinders between the front wheels and the vehicle body is increased and decreased to adjust the roll rigidity. When the damping force of the hydraulic cylinders decreases, the roll rigidity of the front wheels decreases, and conversely when the damping force increases, the roll rigidity of the front wheels increases.
However, in the aforesaid method, when a sequential steering operation (to the left followed by a steering operation to the right or vice versa) is performed on series curves and the turn transient state continues, the damping force of the hydraulic cylinders maintains the decreased state and does not recover.
Therefore, due to a roll moment which repeatedly acts on the vehicle body, the front of the body tends to roll to the left and right.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of this invention to suppress the rolling of the front of a vehicle body when the left and right steering operations are sequentially performed.
In order to achieve the above object, this invention provides a roll rigidity control device comprising an actuator installed between a vehicle front wheel and body for generating an attenuation force according to a command signal, a sensor for detecting a sequential steering operation to the left and right, and a microprocessor. The microprocessor is programmed to output the command signal to the actuator so that, when the vehicle is in a turn transient state, the attenuation force of the actuator is smaller than the attenuation force when the vehicle is moving straight, and output the command signal to the actuator such that the attenuation force of the actuator is larger than the attenuation force when the vehicle is in the turn transient state, when the sequential steering operation is detected.
According to an aspect of this invention, the microprocessor is further programmed to output command signal to the actuator such that the attenuation force of the actuator is larger than the attenuation force when the vehicle is moving straight, when the sequential steering operation is detected.
According to another aspect of this invention, the microprocessor is further programmed to output the command signal to the actuator such that the attenuation force of the actuator is larger than the attenuation force when the vehicle is moving straight, when the vehicle is in a turning steady state, and output the command signal to the actuator such that the attenuation force of the actuator is still larger than the attenuation force when the vehicle is in the turning steady state, when the sequential steering operation is detected.
According to yet another aspect of this invention, the actuator is a hydraulic cylinder, and the microprocessor is programmed to vary the attenuation force of the hydraulic cylinder by varying the damping coefficient of the hydraulic cylinder.
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Foley & Lardner
Louis-Jacques Jacques H.
Nissan Motor Co,. Ltd.
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