Apparatus for estimating a turning characteristic of a vehicle

摘要

When a vehicle starts to turn (S20), an estimated value (Khj) of a stability factor (Kh) and an estimated value (Tpj) of a steering response time constant coefficient (Tp) are calculated (S40) by estimating parameters a and b for estimating a transfer function in each control cycle based on turning data such as a steering angle &thetas;. When the vehicle finishes turning (S60), it is determined whether that turn is suitable to use for the estimation (S70). When it is determined that that turn is suitable for estimating the stability factor (Kh) and the steering response time constant coefficient (Tp), the estimated value (Khj) of the stability factor (Kh) and the estimated value (Tpj) of the steering response time constant coefficient (Tp) are stored in a buffer memory (S80). When it is determined that that turn is not suitable for estimating the stability factor (Kh) and the steering response time constant coefficient (Tp), the calculated values are discarded (S90). As a result, a turning characteristic of the vehicle is able to be appropriately estimated. <IMAGE>