A method to control a road vehicle for the execution of a standing start; the control method comprises the steps of: engaging a gear in a transmission while a corresponding clutch is open; progressively closing the clutch causing the clutch to transmit a torque that causes the rotation of at least a pair of drive wheels; determining a target slip of the drive wheels; cyclically determining a real slip of the of the drive wheels; and continuously modulating the torque transmitted by the clutch during the closing of the clutch based of a difference between the target slip of the drive wheels and the real slip of the of the drive wheels.

Embodiments of the invention are directed toward a geared traction drive system configured to drive a wheel of a vehicle, comprising: a driveshaft for transmitting power to the wheel; an electric drive motor for driving the driveshaft, the electric drive motor configured to receive signals from a vehicle dynamic control system to command a required speed; a gear reduction component for reducing the speed of the motor by a predetermined factor to a lower speed suitable for driving the wheel; and a drive electronics component that works with the electric drive motor to drive the wheel to the speed commanded by the vehicle dynamic control system.

A vehicle controlling apparatus includes first and second slip determining units, first and second slip controllers, and a target torque corrector. The first slip controller is configured to maintain a slip rate of a first drive wheel at a predetermined slip rate, in a case where an execution condition of a first slip control is determined by the first slip determining unit as being satisfied. The second slip controller is configured to maintain a slip rate of a second drive wheel at a predetermined slip rate, in a case where an execution condition of a second slip control is determined by the second slip determining unit as being satisfied. The target torque corrector is configured to decrease a target torque of a second motor, in a case where the execution condition of the first slip control is satisfied and where the execution condition of the second slip control is unsatisfied.

A method for controlling a wheel slip of a vehicle is provided. The method includes estimating equivalent inertia information of a driving system based on operation information of the driving system during operation of a vehicle and subsequently, calculating the amount of calibration for calibrating a torque command of a driving device for driving the vehicle from the estimated equivalent inertia information of the driving system. The torque command of the driving device is calibrated using the calculated amount of calibration and subsequently the torque applied to a driving wheel is adjusted according to the calibrated torque command.

The invention relates to a control unit for controlling torque applied to a vehicle wheel provided with a tyre, wherein the control unit comprises or is operatively connected to a data storage, which data storage has a stored tyre model for the tyre, wherein, in the tyre model, longitudinal tyre force is represented as at least a function of longitudinal wheel slip, longitudinal wheel slip being dependent on rotational speed of the wheel and velocity of the vehicle. The control unit is configured to correct said function based on a tyre parameter input and to convert a wheel torque request to a wheel rotational speed request based on the corrected function, and to send the wheel rotational speed request to an actuator for providing a rotational speed of the wheel corresponding to said wheel rotational speed request. The invention also relates to a method and to a kit.

Techniques are described for estimating surface friction coefficients using lateral force excitations of one or more rear wheels of a rear wheel steering vehicle. In one example, a computing system is configured to cause excitation of a rear wheel using a lateral force that causes the rear wheel to initiate turning. The computing system may determine one or more slip angles that result from the excitation and determine a relationship between the lateral force and the slip angles. From the lateral force and slip angle relationship, the computing system may estimate the friction coefficient of a surface and may cause maneuvering of the rear wheel steering vehicle, or of another networked vehicle, to be based at least in part on the friction coefficient estimated for a particular driving surface.

In some embodiments, a rapid-response active suspension system controls suspension force and position for improving vehicle safety and drivability. The system may interface with various sensors that detect safety critical vehicle states and adjust the suspension of each wheel to improve safety. Pre-crash and collision sensors may notify the active suspension controller of a collision and the stance may be adjusted to improve occupant safety during an impact while maintaining active control of the wheels. Wheel forces may also be controlled to improve the effectiveness of vehicle safety systems such as ABS and ESP in order to improve traction. Also, bi-directional information may be communicated between the active suspension system and other vehicle safety systems such that each system may respond to information provided to the other.

A method for estimating a friction coefficient of a roadway by a transportation vehicle, wherein a control device of the transportation vehicle receives a first estimated value of a maximum horizontal force from a traction control system that is transmitted to the roadway by a wheel of the transportation vehicle. A control device receives a second estimated value of a wheel contact-patch force of the wheel from a damper controller and calculates the friction coefficient as a vehicle-independent friction coefficient based on the estimated values from the wheel contact-patch force and the horizontal force.

The present invention relates to a method and device for estimating the road surface friction coefficient of a tire, which estimate the road surface friction coefficient of a tire mounted on a wheel of a vehicle in a state in which the vehicle is normally running at high speed. The method includes: acquiring the state information of a vehicle including at least one of engine state information, transmission state information, and chassis state information from sensors mounted on the vehicle and specifications set for the vehicle; estimating a longitudinal slip ratio, normal force, and longitudinal force for a tire mounted on each wheel of the vehicle by using the acquired state information of the vehicle; and estimating a road surface friction coefficient for the tire by using the estimated longitudinal slip ratio, normal force, and longitudinal force.

Embodiments of the invention are directed toward a geared traction drive system configured to drive a wheel of a vehicle, comprising: a driveshaft for transmitting power to the wheel; an electric drive motor for driving the driveshaft, the electric drive motor configured to receive signals from a vehicle dynamic control system to command a required speed; a gear reduction component for reducing the speed of the motor by a predetermined factor to a lower speed suitable for driving the wheel; and a drive electronics component that works with the electric drive motor to drive the wheel to the speed commanded by the vehicle dynamic control system.