An apparatus and a method for estimating the friction coefficient of a road surface.

摘要

An apparatus for effecting a method for estimating the friction coefficient of a road surface according to the present invention comprises front- and rear-wheel rotation sensors(118, 120, 122, 124) for detecting the running speed of a vehicle, a linear G sensor(130) for detecting an actual transverse acceleration(GY) of the vehicle, a steering angle sensor(126) for detecting the steering angle( delta ) of front wheels, and a torque calculating unit(112) supplied with the vehicle speed, actual transverse acceleration, and steering angle detected by means of these sensors. In the torque calculating unit(112), which takes account of an assumed value of the stability factor of the vehicle in addition to the vehicle speed, actual transverse acceleration, and steering angle, a target transverse acceleration required by a driver is calculated, for example, and whether or not the friction coefficient of the road surface is low is then estimated according to the relationship between the calculated target transverse acceleration and the actual transverse acceleration. <IMAGE>