Damping control device for vehicle, damping control system, damping control method, and data providing device

A damping control system comprising:

• a vehicle configured to control a control force generating device to change a vertical control force for damping a sprung portion, the control force generating device being configured to generate the control force between at least one wheel and a portion of a vehicle body that corresponds to a position of the wheel;
• and
• a management server having a storage device configured to connect to the vehicle via a wireless network, and prestores preview reference data being sets of data in which unsprung condition amounts and pieces of positional information are linked to each other, the unsprung condition amounts indicating a displacement condition of an unsprung portion actually displaced in a vertical direction due to a displacement of a road surface that is acquired when at least one of the vehicle and another vehicle has actually traveled on the road surface, the pieces of positional information being available to determine a position of the wheel when the unsprung condition amount is acquired, wherein
• the storage device is configured to provide the preview reference data wirelessly to the vehicle, and
• the vehicle is configured to:
• acquire, as a preview condition amount, an unsprung condition amount at a predicted passing position where the wheel is predicted to pass at a timing when a predetermined period has elapsed from a current time, based on the preview reference data provided by the storage device;
• and
• execute, at a timing when the wheel passes through the predicted passing position, preview damping control for controlling the control force generating device to cause the control force generated by the control force generating device to agree with a target control force for damping the sprung portion, the target control force being calculated based on the preview condition amount.

A damping control method for controlling a control force generating device to change a vertical control force for damping a sprung portion of a vehicle, the control force generating device being configured to generate the control force between at least one wheel and a portion of a vehicle body that corresponds to a position of the wheel, the method comprising:

• acquiring, by the vehicle, as a preview condition amount, an unsprung condition amount at a predicted passing position where the wheel is predicted to pass at a timing when a predetermined period has elapsed from a current time, based on preview reference data being sets of data in which unsprung condition amounts and pieces of positional information are linked to each other, the unsprung condition amounts indicating a displacement condition of an unsprung portion actually displaced in a vertical direction due to a displacement of a road surface that is acquired when at least one of the vehicle and another vehicle has actually traveled on the road surface, the pieces of positional information being available to determine a position of the wheel when the unsprung condition amount is acquired;
• and
• controlling, by the vehicle, at a timing when the wheel passes through the predicted passing position, the control force generating device to cause the control force generated by the control force generating device to agree with a target control force for damping the sprung portion, the target control force being calculated based on the acquired preview condition amount,
• wherein the preview reference data is wirelessly acquired by the vehicle from a storage device of a management server.

A data providing device comprising a controller configured to provide preview reference data necessary for a vehicle to execute preview damping control to the vehicle configured to execute the preview damping control, the preview damping control involving controlling a control force generating device to change a vertical control force for damping a sprung portion, the control force generating device being configured to generate the control force between at least one wheel and a portion of a vehicle body that corresponds to a position of the wheel, wherein

• the preview reference data are sets of data in which unsprung condition amounts and pieces of positional information are linked to each other, the unsprung condition amounts indicating a displacement condition of an unsprung portion actually displaced in a vertical direction due to a displacement of a road surface that is acquired when at least one of the vehicle and another vehicle has actually traveled on the road surface, the pieces of positional information being available to determine a position of the wheel when the unsprung condition amount is acquired, and
• the vehicle is configured to:
• acquire, as a preview condition amount, an unsprung condition amount at a predicted passing position where the wheel is predicted to pass at a timing when a predetermined period has elapsed from a current time, based on the preview reference data provided from the data providing device;
• and
• execute, at a timing when the wheel passes through the predicted passing position, the preview damping control for controlling the control force generating device to cause the control force generated by the control force generating device to agree with a target control force being a target value of the control force that is calculated based on the preview condition amount,
• wherein the preview reference data is wirelessly acquired by the vehicle from the controller.