Four wheel steer vehicle control system responsive to suspension characteristic change
AssigneeNissan Motor Co., Ltd.
InventorsKatsumi Ishii, Yoshio Matsuoka
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A four wheel steer vehicle is provided with a suspension control system for controlling at least one suspension characteristic, one or more sensors for sensing a change in suspension characteristics by sensing a condition of the suspension control system, and a controlling element for varying a ratio of a rear wheel steer angle to a steering wheel angle in accordance with the suspension characteristic. Examples of the suspension characteristics are spring constants of front and rear suspensions, heights of the front and rear suspensions, damping forces of the front and rear suspensions, roll stiffnesses of the front and rear suspensions, and front wheel alignment angles such as camber and toe-in.
Claims10
A four wheel steer vehicle comprising:
- suspension control means for varying a suspension characteristic of said vehicle,
- means for sensing said suspension characteristic by sensing a condition of said suspension control means and sending a sensor signal,
- a four wheel steer system for steering right and left rear wheels in response to a control signal, and
- controlling means for receiving said sensor signal and determining a ratio of a rear wheel steer angle to a steering wheel angle in accordance with said suspension characteristic sensed by said suspension characteristic sensing means and causing the rear wheels to be steered to an angle according to said ratio by sending said control signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.