Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Indication or control of braking – acceleration – or deceleration
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-26
2001-09-18
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
C701S082000, C701S041000, C477S034000, C477S115000, C477S107000, C475S198000, C475S207000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06292734
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle-behavior control apparatus and method for stabilizing turning behavior of a vehicle.
2. Related Background Art
There are conventionally known vehicle-behavior control systems for controlling the turning behavior of the vehicle. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-310366 discloses such technology that, under conditions in which the vehicle is transferring into a spin tendency or into a drift-out tendency, braking force at each wheel is adjusted according to each of behavioral states so as to restrain this transfer. In carrying out the vehicle behavior control so as to restrain the spin tendency or the drift-out tendency of the vehicle in this way, it is common practice to decrease the opening angle of the throttle valve and/or decrease the engine power.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
However, for example, while the vehicle is in off-road running or the like to travel on a hard uphill road, there are such circumstances that the driver implements vehicle turning behavior with intention, such as sudden steering for the purpose of selecting a road surface assumed to present a higher coefficient of friction, provision of driving slips at the wheels, and so on. If the vehicle behavior control is started under progress of such driving operation, the engine power will be lowered, so as to degrade driving performance.
The present invention has been accomplished in order to solve such a problem and an object of the invention is to provide a vehicle-behavior control apparatus and method capable of achieving driving performance reflecting driver's intention under the circumstances in which the driver implements the intentional turning behavior.
A vehicle-behavior control apparatus according to the present invention is a vehicle-behavior control apparatus for controlling behavior of the vehicle, comprising of (1) a turning behavior estimating means for estimating turning behavior of the vehicle, (2) a traction suppressing means for suppressing traction based on an estimating result of the turning behavior estimating means, (3) a sub-transmission means for converting output from a main transmission selectively into a lower speed range, and (4) a limiting means for limiting the suppressing operation of the traction suppressing means when the lower speed range is selected at the sub-transmission means.
The vehicle-behavior control apparatus according to the present invention may comprises of a control unit, adapted to be connected to an engine system and vehicle status sensors, to direct the engine system to suppress a traction in response to spin or driftout moment determined from any outputs of the vehicle status sensors and to limit the suppression of the traction when a position sensor of the sub-transmission indicates that the sub-transmission is at a lower speed range.
A vehicle-behavior control method according to the present invention is method for the vehicle with a sub-transmission comprising of (1) suppressing a traction in response to a spin or driftout moment of the vehicle, (2) limiting a suppressing operation of the traction when a lower speed range is selected at said sub-transmission.
There are some vehicles provided with the sub-transmission means in order to gain greater driving force by converting the output through the main transmission into the lower speed range. Since circumstances to run on hard uphill roads or the like are assumed in the lower speed range at the sub-transmission, the suppressing traction is limited so as to suppress decrease in the traction by suppressing output power of the driving source such as the engine or the like when the lower speed range is selected at the sub-transmission.
When the lower speed range of the sub-transmission is selected, for example, during off-road running on the hard uphill roads or the like, it is preferable to disable the suppressing traction, because it can prevent the decrease in the traction even under the circumstances in which the driver implements the intentional turning behavior.
The low vehicle speed range is normally used in many cases of off-road running. Therefore, the suppressing operation is enabled when a vehicle speed is higher than a given threshold of vehicle speed, and this threshold is shifted to a higher vehicle speed value when the lower speed range is selected at said sub-transmission. Therefore, the decrease in the traction can be prevented during running in the low vehicle speed range even under the circumstances in which the driver implements the intentional turning behavior during the off-road running.
When the lower speed range of the sub-transmission is selected, a suppressing amount of the traction is shifted to a smaller value than when not selected, whereby the decrease of the traction is suppressed even under the circumstances in which the driver implements the intentional turning behavior during the off-road running or the like, thereby permitting the driving performance reflecting the driver's intention.
The present invention will be more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings, which are given by way of illustration only and are not to be considered as limiting the present invention.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
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Murakami Zensaku
Nagae Akira
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Hernandez Olga
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Toyota Jidosha & Kabushiki Kaisha
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