Method of controlling vehicle handling

Abstract

The present invention provides a process for controlling the driving behavior of an automotive vehicle which determines from tire sensing signals at least the vehicle mass and the momentary location of the mass center of gravity of the automotive vehicle. According to another embodiment of the invention the use of a mass distribution model is suggested containing, as the basic data, the basic mass distribution of the vehicle, namely such masses that are always identical even if the loading is different. Moreover, variable masses, such as location and mass of passengers, luggage etc., are determined from the tire sensing signals and are incorporated into the mass distribution model to provide a variable mass distribution. With such such data being known, also details typical of the driving dynamics of the vehicle can be determined so that yawing angle speed and side slip angle of the vehicle can be computed accordingly with no need of relying on the signals of a yaw rate sensor or a transverse acceleration sensor.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.