Vehicle control device

A vehicle control device equipped with a drive manipulated variable detecting element configured to detect a drive manipulated variable that indicates a state of drive manipulation of a vehicle by a driver of the vehicle having a plurality of wheels, an actuator device provided in the vehicle so as to permit the manipulation of a predetermined motion of the vehicle, an actual state amount grasping element configured to detect or estimate an actual state amount vector, which is a set of the values of a plurality of types of state amounts related to a predetermined motion of an actual vehicle, a model state amount determining element configured to determine a model state amount vector, which is a set of the values of a plurality of types of state amounts of a vehicle on a vehicle model established beforehand as a model representing the dynamic characteristic of the vehicle, and a state amount error calculating element configured to calculate a state amount error, which is the difference between the value of each type of state amount of the detected or estimated actual state amount vector and the value of a state amount of each type of the determined model state amount vector, to control the operation of at least the actuator device such that the state amount error approximates zero, the vehicle control device comprising:

• a state amount error response control element configured to determine an actual vehicle actuator operation control input for operating the actuator device of the actual vehicle and a vehicle model operation control input for manipulating a motion of the vehicle on the vehicle model on the basis of at least the calculated state amount error such that the state amount error approximates zero;
• an actuator device control element configured to control the operation of the actuator device on the basis of at least the determined actual vehicle actuator operation control input;
• the model state amount determining element being configured to determine the model state amount vector on the basis of at least the detected drive manipulated variable and the determined vehicle model operation control input;
• and
• a vehicle model characteristics setting element configured to variably set the value of at least one parameter of the vehicle model on the basis of a motional state of the actual vehicle such that an attenuation property of the value of each type of state amount of the model state amount vector based on a stepped change in the drive manipulated variable in a state wherein the vehicle model operation control input is maintained at zero turns into a high attenuation characteristic which is a characteristic higher than the attenuation property of the value of each type of state amount of the actual state amount vector based on a stepped change in the drive manipulated variable in a state wherein the actual vehicle actuator operation control input is maintained at zero.