Braking torque control apparatus and method

A braking torque control method that controls a braking torque applied to a wheel, by using an electric actuator that generates an actuating force in accordance with a current supplied and an electric brake that is driven by the electric actuator to apply the braking torque to the wheel, the method comprising:

• detecting an amount of brake operation performed by a driving person;
• detecting an actual braking torque applied to the wheel;
• a first step of determining a target braking torque based on the amount of brake operation detected, and feeding back the actual brake torque detected, and controlling a current flowing through the electric actuator so that the actual braking torque detected becomes equal to the target braking torque determined;
• a second step of determining a target value of current based on the amount of brake operation detected, and performing a control such that a current equal to the target value of current determined is caused to flow to the electric actuator;
• selecting first step when the vehicle is in one state and the second step when the vehicle is in another state, and controlling the brake by the step selected.

A braking torque control apparatus that controls a braking torque applied to a wheel, comprising:

• an electric actuator that generates an actuating force in accordance with a current supplied;
• an electric brake that is driven by the electric actuator to apply the braking torque to the wheel;
• an amount-of-brake-operation detector that detects an amount of brake operation performed by a driving person;
• an actual braking torque detector that detects an actual braking torque applied to the wheel;
• a braking torque-corresponding brake control portion that determines a target braking torque based on the amount of brake operation detected, and feeds back the actual braking torque detected, and controls a current flowing to the electric actuator so that the actual braking torque detected becomes equal to the target braking torque determined;
• an actuating force-corresponding brake control portion that determines a target value of current based on the amount of brake operation detected, and performs a control such that a current equal to the target value of current determined is caused to flow to the electric actuator;
• and
• a selecting portion that selects the actuating force-corresponding brake control portion when the vehicle is in one state and the braking torque-corresponding brake control portion when the vehicle is in another state.

A braking torque control method that controls a braking torque by controlling a brake for applying the braking torque to a wheel, the method comprising:

• determining a target braking torque based on an amount of brake operation performed by a driving person;
• detecting an actual braking torque applied to the wheel;
• a first step of controlling the brake so that the actual braking torque detected approaches the target braking torque determined;
• determining a target actuating force of the brake based on the amount of brake operation;
• detecting an actual actuating force of the brake;
• a second step of controlling the brake so that the actual actuating force detected approaches the target actuating force determined;
• and
• selecting the first step when the vehicle is in one state and the second step when the vehicle is in another state, and controlling the brake by the step selected.