Method to control a road vehicle with an electronically controlled self-locking differential when driving along a curve
AssigneeFerrari S.P.A.
InventorsStefano Varisco, Fabrizio Vasta
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method to control a road vehicle with an electronically controlled self-locking differential when driving along a curve; the control method includes the steps of: determining an actual attitude angle of the road vehicle; determining a desired attitude angle; and changing the locking of the self-locking differential based on the difference between the actual attitude angle and the desired attitude angle.
Claims12
1) A method to control a road vehicle (1) with an electronically controlled self-locking differential (10) when driving along a curve;
- the control method comprises the step of determining an actual attitude angle (β) of the road vehicle (1), in other words the angle (β) comprised between the longitudinal axis (x) of the road vehicle (1) and the direction of the running speed (V) of the road vehicle (1) in the centre of gravity (B);
- the control method is characterised in that it comprises the further steps of:
- determining a desired attitude angle (βTGT);
- and
- changing the locking of the self-locking differential (10) based on the difference between the actual attitude angle (β) and the desired attitude angle (βTGT)
6) A control method according to claim 5, wherein the damping of the shock absorbers (14) is changed only when the actual attitude angle (β) is in a neighbourhood of the desired attitude angle (βTGT).
8) A control method according to claim 5, wherein:
- when the actual attitude angle (β) is in a neighbourhood of the desired attitude angle (βTGT) the damping of the shock absorbers (14) is changed and the locking of the self-locking differential (10) is not changed;
- and
- when the actual attitude angle (β) is outside a neighbourhood of the desired attitude angle (βTGT) the damping of the shock absorbers (14) is not changed and the locking of the self-locking differential (10) is changed.
9) A control method according to claim 5, wherein, if the rate (β′) of change of the actual attitude angle (β) is negative, in other words it tends to decrease the actual attitude angle (β), the shock absorbers (14) of the rear suspensions (13) are stiffened.
11) A control method according to claim 5, wherein, if the rate (β′) of change of the actual attitude angle (β) is positive, in other words it tends to increase the actual attitude angle (β), the shock absorbers (14) of the rear suspensions (13) are softened.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.