Control device for vehicle four-wheel drive device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9925871-B2
Application number	US-201615093276-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 7, 2016
Priority date	Apr 10, 2015
Publication date	Mar 27, 2018
Grant date	Mar 27, 2018

Abstract

A control device for a vehicle four-wheel drive device includes a drive source, front wheels, rear wheels, a rear-wheel differential gear, a friction clutch, and an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to correct a calculated clutch torque to decrease in a case where a four-wheel drive running is performed and it is determined that the turning direction is a direction in which the vehicle turns such that an outer wheel is a rear wheel on a side where the friction clutch is provided. The electronic control unit is configured to correct the calculated clutch torque to increase in a case where the four-wheel drive running is performed and it is determined that the turning direction is a direction in which the vehicle turns such that an inner wheel is the rear wheel on the side where the friction clutch is provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A control device for a vehicle four-wheel drive device, the vehicle four-wheel drive device including a drive source, front wheels, rear wheels, a rear-wheel differential gear, and a friction clutch,
the front wheels being configured to receive a torque output from the drive source at a time of two-wheel drive running and at a time of the four-wheel drive running, the rear wheels being configured to receive the torque output from the drive source at the time of the four-wheel drive miming, the friction clutch being configured to adjust a torque split between the front and rear wheels at the time of the four-wheel drive running, the rear-wheel differential gear being configured to appropriately give a differential rotation to the rear wheels on right and left sides during turning,
the rear-wheel differential gear including a left side gear and a right side gear, the friction clutch being placed between either one of the left side gear and the right side gear and the rear wheel placed on a same side in a right-left direction, the other one of the left side gear and the right side gear being connected, without the friction clutch, to the rear wheel placed on the same side as the other one of the left side gear and the right side gear in the right-left direction, the control device comprising:
an electronic control unit configured to:
detect a running state of a vehicle;
calculate a magnitude of a clutch torque of the friction clutch according to the detected running state in a feedforward manner;
set a target yaw rate from the detected running state of the vehicle;
calculate a feedback correction amount to correct the magnitude of the clutch torque of the friction clutch according to a feedback gain and a deviation between the target yaw rate and the detected yaw rate in a feedback manner;
control the magnitude of the clutch torque of the friction clutch based on the calculated magnitude of the clutch torque and the feedback correction amount so as to adjust the torque split between the front and rear wheels,
determine a turning direction of the vehicle,
correct the calculated clutch torque to decrease and set feedback gain to decrease based on the turning direction in a case where the four-wheel drive running is performed and it is determined that the turning direction is a direction in which the vehicle turns such that an outer wheel is a rear wheel on a side where the friction clutch is provided between the rear-wheel differential gear and the rear wheel; and
correct the calculated clutch torque to increase and set the feedback gain to increase based on the turning direction in a case where the four-wheel drive running is performed and it is determined that the turning direction is a direction in which the vehicle turns such that an inner wheel is the rear wheel on the side where the friction clutch is provided between the rear-wheel differential gear and the rear wheel.

2. The control device for the vehicle four-wheel drive device, according to claim 1 , wherein:
the vehicle four-wheel drive device includes a transfer and a propeller shaft;
the transfer is configured to distribute a torque of the drive source between the front wheels and the rear wheels;
the propeller shaft is configured to connect the transfer to the rear-wheel differential gear in a power transmittable manner;
the transfer includes a connection/disconnection mechanism;
the connection/disconnection mechanism is configured to connect/disconnect a power transmission path between the drive source and the propeller shaft; and
the connection/disconnection mechanism is configured to connect the power transmission path between the drive source and the propeller shaft during the four-wheel drive running.

3. The control device for the vehicle four-wheel drive device, according to claim 1 , wherein:
the electronic control unit is configured to detect a steering direction; and
the electronic control unit is configured to determine the turning direction of the vehicle based on the steering direction.

4. The control device for the vehicle four-wheel drive device, according to claim 1 , wherein:
the electronic control unit is configured to detect respective rotation speeds of the rear wheels on the right and left sides; and
the electronic control unit is configured to determine the turning direction of the vehicle based on a difference between the rotation speeds of the rear wheels on the right and left sides.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Tamura Hiroshi

Classifications

• B60K2023/0858

  with electric means, e.g. electro-hydraulic means · CPC title

• B60K17/3515

  with a clutch adjacent to traction wheel, e.g. automatic wheel hub · CPC title

• B60K23/0808 Primary

  for varying torque distribution between driven axles, e.g. by transfer clutch · CPC title