When a driving support electronic control unit (DSECU) determines that a driver of a vehicle is in an abnormal state where the driver loses an ability to drive the vehicle, the DSECU starts driving control under the abnormal state to decelerate the vehicle until the vehicle stops and to sound a horn. In this case, the DSECU measures an elapsed time since the horn starts sounding with a horn timer th, and sets a sounding pattern corresponding to the elapsed time measured. This sounding pattern is set in such a manner that a ratio of a sounding time of the horn per unit time decreases as the elapsed time since the horn starts sounding become longer. Thereby, it becomes possible to properly notify that the driver is in the abnormal state using the horn.

When a driving support electronic control unit (DSECU) determines that a driver of a vehicle is in an abnormal state where the driver loses an ability to drive the vehicle, the DSECU starts driving control under the abnormal state to decelerate the vehicle until the vehicle stops and to sound a horn. In this case, the DSECU measures an elapsed time since the horn starts sounding with a horn timer th, and sets a sounding pattern corresponding to the elapsed time measured. This sounding pattern is set in such a manner that a ratio of a sounding time of the horn per unit time decreases as the elapsed time since the horn starts sounding become longer. Thereby, it becomes possible to properly notify that the driver is in the abnormal state using the horn.

A method for determining the conditions of an underlying surface during unbraked or braked travel of a vehicle by a wheel-specific characteristic variable which is derived from a change over time in the wheel speed detected at at least one vehicle wheel. According to invention there is provision that a) a jolt signal is formed by double differentiation of the wheel speed, b) in order to form the characteristic variable the difference between the absolute value of the jolt signal and a tolerance value is summed or integrated over time, and c) the condition of the underlying surface is determined by comparing the characteristic variable with an oscillation signal threshold value.

A method for determining the conditions of an underlying surface during unbraked or braked travel of a vehicle by a wheel-specific characteristic variable which is derived from a change over time in the wheel speed detected at at least one vehicle wheel. According to invention there is provision that a) a jolt signal is formed by double differentiation of the wheel speed, b) in order to form the characteristic variable the difference between the absolute value of the jolt signal and a tolerance value is summed or integrated over time, and c) the condition of the underlying surface is determined by comparing the characteristic variable with an oscillation signal threshold value.

The disclosure relates to a method for adapting a control strategy of a slip-control system of a brake system of a vehicle in a -split situation, in which different wheel-specific brake pressures, are set at opposite wheels of a vehicle axle. The resulting brake pressure difference is limited. In some examples, to generate a brake pressure request, a maximum pressure difference value deviating from a reference pressure difference with a predefined tolerance value is determined on a wheel-specific basis for the wheels lying opposite one another. The reference pressure difference corresponds to the value of the current low-pass-filtered brake pressure difference, and the brake pressure request for each wheel is determined as a minimum of the wheel-specific brake pressure determined from the control strategy of the slip-control system, and from the sum of the average brake pressure of the wheel lying opposite and the wheel-specific maximum pressure difference value.

The embodiment provides a vehicle control unit including a torque increment setting module related to a drive source brake torque control and an anti-lock braking control module related to an anti-lock braking control. The torque increment setting modules includes a first setting module and a second setting module. The first setting module sets the torque increment based on at least a slip amount of a wheel when the drive source brake torque control is in execution but the anti-lock braking control is not executed. The second setting module sets the torque increment based on a parameter other than the slip amount when both the drive source brake torque control and the anti-lock braking control are in execution.

The embodiment provides a vehicle control unit including a torque increment setting module related to a drive source brake torque control and an anti-lock braking control module related to an anti-lock braking control. The torque increment setting modules includes a first setting module and a second setting module. The first setting module sets the torque increment based on at least a slip amount of a wheel when the drive source brake torque control is in execution but the anti-lock braking control is not executed. The second setting module sets the torque increment based on a parameter other than the slip amount when both the drive source brake torque control and the anti-lock braking control are in execution.

Some embodiments are directed to a brake system for use with a vehicle. The brake system can include a sensor that is configured to sense at least one condition relating to interaction between at least one wheel of the vehicle and a surface upon which the vehicle travels. A controller can receive data from the sensor and be configured to instruct a brake modulator to cause a front brake assembly to modulate the speed of rotation of a front wheel via one of a normal mode and a pulsing mode based on the sensed data. The controller can also be configured to instruct the brake modulator to cause a rear brake assembly to modulate the speed of rotation of a rear wheel via the pulsing mode if the front brake assembly is engaged in reducing the speed of rotation of the front wheel via the pulsing mode.

A brake hydraulic pressure control device for a vehicle in which operation of a hydraulic pressure adjustment unit that can carry out adjustment involving individually increasing/decreasing brake hydraulic pressures applied to wheel brakes for front and rear wheels is controlled for allowing differential pressure between brake hydraulic pressures of the left and right wheel brakes, wherein allowable differential pressure setting means is arranged for setting the allowable differential pressure corresponding to the coefficient of friction of a road surface, hydraulic pressure acquisition means acquires a lock hydraulic pressure, which is a hydraulic pressure when starting anti-lock brake control for the respective wheel brake, and when the lock hydraulic pressure of the wheel brakes for the front wheels acquired by the hydraulic pressure acquisition means is no greater than a predetermined value, application of the allowable differential pressure corresponding to the coefficient of friction of the road surface is prohibited.

One embodiment provides a vehicle brake hydraulic controller including: an antilock braking controlling module configured to perform an antilock braking control in which a brake hydraulic pressure applied to wheel brakes is reduced under the condition that a slip-related amount has reached a pressure reduction threshold value; and a turning judging module configured to judge whether a vehicle is turning based on a steering angle, wherein, when the antilock braking control is performed and in the case that the turning judging module judges that the vehicle is turning, the antilock braking controlling module performs a turning pressure reduction control so as to: change the pressure reduction threshold values to be more easily reached by the slip-related amount than at the time of straight running; and change the pressure reduction amounts to be larger than that at the time of straight running.