Tire force estimator, four-wheeled vehicle, and tire force estimation method
AssigneeKawasaki Motors, Ltd.
InventorTakenori Terada
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tire force estimator includes a measuring unit configured to measure an acceleration of a vehicle body of a four-wheeled vehicle in a horizontal direction and an acceleration of at least one of four wheels of the four-wheeled vehicle in a vertical direction; and a processing unit configured to estimate a tire force acting on the at least one wheel from a ground surface in the vertical direction based on the acceleration of the vehicle body in the horizontal direction and the acceleration of the at least one wheel in the vertical direction.
Claims17
A tire force estimator comprising:
- a measuring unit configured to measure accelerations for a four-wheeled vehicle including four wheels, a vehicle body, and a suspension structure that connects at least one wheel of the four wheels to the vehicle body, the suspension structure including a shock absorber that mitigates shock applied to the at least one wheel, the accelerations including an acceleration of the vehicle body in a horizontal direction and an acceleration of the at least one wheel in a vertical direction, the measuring unit being further configured to measure a stroke amount of the shock absorber;
- and
- a processing unit configured to estimate a tire force acting on the at least one wheel from a ground surface in the vertical direction based on the acceleration of the vehicle body in the horizontal direction, the acceleration of the at least one wheel in the vertical direction, and the stroke amount.
A four-wheeled vehicle comprising:
- a wheel;
- a vehicle body supported by the wheel;
- a suspension structure connecting the wheel to the vehicle body and including a shock absorber that mitigates shock applied to the wheel;
- and
- a tire force estimator configured to estimate a tire force acting on the wheel from a ground surface in a vertical direction,
- the tire force estimator including:
- a measuring unit configured to measure an acceleration of the vehicle body in a horizontal direction, an acceleration of the wheel in the vertical direction, and a stroke amount of the shock absorber;
- and
- a processing unit configured to estimate the tire force acting on the wheel from the ground surface in the vertical direction based on the acceleration of the vehicle body in the horizontal direction, the acceleration of the wheel in the vertical direction, and the stroke amount.
A tire force estimation method comprising:
- measuring accelerations for a four-wheeled vehicle including a wheel, a vehicle body, and a suspension structure that connects the wheel to the vehicle body, the suspension structure including a shock absorber that mitigates shock applied to the wheel, the accelerations including an acceleration of the vehicle body in a horizontal direction and an acceleration of the wheel in a vertical direction;
- measuring a stroke amount of the shock absorber;
- and
- estimating a tire force acting on the wheel from a ground surface in the vertical direction based on the acceleration of the vehicle body in the horizontal direction, the acceleration of the wheel in the vertical direction, and the stroke amount.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.