Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Indication or control of braking – acceleration – or deceleration
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-10
2002-08-27
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Indication or control of braking, acceleration, or deceleration
C701S072000, C701S075000, C073S121000, C303S140000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06442469
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle behavior control apparatus and a method thereof for applying a braking force to a predetermined brake wheel on the basis of a set target yaw rate or for establishing a yaw moment in a vehicle by making a driving force distribution variable between left and right wheels.
In recent years, there have been developed/practiced a variety of vehicle behavior control apparatus for improving a vehicle behavior and the running performance of a vehicle. In Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 2-70561, for example, there is disclosed a braking force control apparatus which keeps a stability of the vehicle by comparing an actual yaw rate and a target yaw rate to control the braking force on the vehicle in accordance with the comparison result. In Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 5-58180, there is disclosed a left/right driving force distribution control apparatus in which the target yaw rate is computed on the basis of the vehicle motion (running) state, and a control signal for distributing the left and right torques is outputted to a driving force transmission line while making a feedback to bring the actual yaw rate close to the target yaw rate, thereby the driving force distribution of an engine to the right and left side driving force transmission lines is adjusted so that the vehicle may be turned while moving according to the target yaw rate.
As the road surface friction coefficient &mgr; drops or as a vehicle speed rises, however, response of the vehicle drops, thereby a driver frequently fails to respond sufficiently although required earlier control. In the prior art, this failure (retard) in the response may not be sufficed only if the vehicle faithfully (promptly) corresponds to a steering operation by the driver. Specifically, the yaw rate feedback to the target yaw rate in the prior art, which is determined by the vehicle moving state, such as the steering operation of the driver or the vehicle speed, may frequently fail to respond sufficiently to actual road conditions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object to provide a vehicle behavior control apparatus and a vehicle behavior control method capable of preventing deviations from lanes or roads due to an improper operation of a driver without any unnatural feeling, while reflecting intentions of a driver to the maximum.
The above-mentioned object can be achieved by the vehicle behavior control apparatus, according to a first aspect of the invention, comprising:
a road shape recognizing unit for recognizing the road shape ahead of a vehicle;
a first target yaw rate setting unit for setting a first target yaw rate on the basis of the road shape;
a second target yaw rate setting unit for setting a second target yaw rate on the basis of driving conditions of the vehicle;
a target yaw rate correcting unit for correcting the second target yaw rate on the basis of the first target yaw rate; and
a braking force setting unit for applying a braking force to a selected wheel so that an actual yaw rate converges into the second target yaw rate corrected by the target yaw rate correcting unit.
The above-mentioned object can be also achieved by a vehicle behavior control apparatus, according to a second aspect of the invention, comprising:
a road shape recognizing unit for recognizing the road shape ahead of a vehicle;
a first target yaw rate setting unit for setting a first target yaw rate on the basis of the road shape;
a second target yaw rate setting unit for setting a second target yaw rate on the basis of driving conditions of the vehicle;
a turning decision unit for deciding a turning intention if a steering angle exceeds a presetted value;
a target yaw rate correcting unit for correcting the second target yaw rate gradually toward the first target yaw rate if the turning decision unit decides the turning intention; and
a braking force setting unit for applying a braking force to a selected wheel so that an actual yaw rate converges into the second target yaw rate corrected by the target yaw rate correcting unit.
Further, the above-mentioned object can be achieved by a vehicle behavior control apparatus, according to a third aspect of the invention, comprising:
a road shape recognizing unit for recognizing the road shape ahead of a vehicle;
a first target yaw rate setting unit for setting a first target yaw rate on the basis of the road shape;
a second target yaw rate setting unit for setting a second target yaw rate on the basis of driving conditions of the vehicle;
a target yaw rate correcting unit for correcting the second target yaw rate on the basis of the first target yaw rate; and
a driving force distribution unit for setting the driving force distribution to left and right wheels so that an actual yaw rate converges into the second target yaw rate corrected by the target yaw rate correcting unit.
Furthermore, the above-mentioned object can be achieved by a vehicle behavior control apparatus, according to a fourth aspect of the invention, comprising:
a road shape recognizing unit for recognizing the road shape ahead of a vehicle;
a first target yaw rate setting unit for setting a first target yaw rate on the basis of the road shape;
a second target yaw rate setting unit for setting a second target yaw rate on the basis of driving conditions of the vehicle;
a turning decision unit for deciding a turning intention if a steering angle exceeds a presetted value;
a target yaw rate correcting unit for correcting the second target yaw rate gradually toward the first target yaw rate if the turning decision unit decides the turning intention; and
a driving force distribution unit for setting the driving force distribution to left and right wheels so that an actual yaw rate converges into the second target yaw rate corrected by the target yaw rate correcting unit.
The above-mentioned vehicle behavior control apparatus according to any of from the first aspect to fourth aspect, preferably further comprises:
a target lateral acceleration setting unit for setting a target lateral acceleration on the basis of either the second target yaw rate corrected by the target yaw rate correcting unit or the actual yaw rate; and
a deceleration control unit for making a deceleration control if the actual lateral acceleration is below the target lateral acceleration.
According to the vehicle behavior control apparatus of the first aspect of the invention, the road shape recognizing unit recognizes the road shape ahead of the vehicle, and the first target yaw rate setting unit sets the first target yaw rate on the basis of the road shape whereas the second target yaw rate setting unit sets the second target yaw rate on the basis of the driving conditions of the vehicle. Moreover, the target yaw rate correcting unit corrects the second target yaw rate on the basis of the first target yaw rate, and braking force setting unit applies the braking force to the selected wheel so that the actual yaw rate converges into the second target yaw rate corrected by the target yaw rate correcting unit. Thus, the second target yaw rate reflecting the intention of the driver is corrected with the first target yaw rate reflecting the actual road shape, and the braking force is controlled at the corrected target yaw rate. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the deviation from the lane or the road due to an improper operation of the driver without any unnatural feeling, while reflecting the intention of the driver to the maximum.
According to the vehicle behavior control apparatus of the second aspect of the invention, the road shape recognizing unit recognizes the road shape ahead of the vehicle, and the first target yaw rate setting unit sets the first target yaw rate on the basis of the road shape whereas the second target yaw rate setting unit sets the second target yaw rate on the basis of the driving conditions of the vehicle. Further, the turning decision unit decides the turning intention if the steering angle exceeds the presetted value.
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Marc-Coleman Marthe Y.
McGinn & Gibb PLLC
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