Suspension control apparatus

1. A suspension control apparatus for use in a vehicle including a variable damping force damper with a damping force adjustable in accordance with an input signal, the suspension control apparatus comprising:

a wheel speed sensor detecting a wheel speed of each wheel of the vehicle;

a wheel speed variation calculating unit calculating a variation in the wheel speed detected by the wheel speed sensor;

a basic input amount calculating unit calculating an unsprung weight of a suspension of the vehicle using the calculated variation in the wheel speed;

a state quantity calculating unit calculating a quantity of state of the vehicle by inputting the calculated unsprung weight into a vehicle model that represents a behavior of the vehicle;

a damper control unit performing a damper control based on the variation in the wheel speed detected by the wheel speed sensor, by controlling the damping force of the variable damping force damper, the damper control unit performing a skyhook control using the calculated quantity of the state of the vehicle;

a vehicle body speed estimating unit estimating a vehicle body speed using a vehicle body acceleration of the vehicle; and

a slip determining unit determining that the wheel is in a slipping state when a value detected by the wheel speed sensor deviates from an estimated wheel speed estimated using the vehicle body speed by a predetermined value or more,

wherein, when the slip determining unit determines that the wheel is in the slipping state, the damper control unit suppresses the skyhook control using the calculated quantity of the state of the vehicle.

2. The suspension control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, when the slip determining unit determines that the wheel is in the slipping state, the damper control unit suppresses the damper control based on the variation in the wheel speed detected by the wheel speed sensor, by fixing an amount of controlling on the variable damping force damper at a predetermined amount.

3. The suspension control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, when the slip determining unit determines that the wheel is in the slipping state, the damper control unit suppresses the damper control based on the variation in the wheel speed detected by the wheel speed sensor, by gradually decreasing an amount of controlling on the variable damping force damper from a predetermined amount.

4. The suspension control apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a turning state quantity detecting unit detecting a quantity of turning state of the vehicle,

wherein the damper control unit includes a roll control unit setting an amount of controlling on the variable damping force damper on the basis of the quantity of the turning state detected by the turning state quantity detecting unit, and

when the slip determining unit determines that the wheel is in the slipping state, the damper control unit maintains the amount of controlling set by the roll control unit.

5. The suspension control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the damper control unit performs the damper control based on the variation in the wheel speed, by updating a target current and outputting a driving current corresponding to the target current, and

wherein, when the slip determining unit determines that the wheel is in the slipping state, the damper control unit outputs a driving current corresponding to a previous target current instead of the updated target current.

6. The suspension control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the damper control unit performs an unsprung vibration damping control using the variation in the wheel speed, and

wherein when the slip determining unit determines that the wheel is in the slipping state, the damper control unit suppresses the unsprung vibration damping control using the variation in the wheel speed.

7. A suspension control apparatus for use in a vehicle including a variable damping force damper with a damping force adjustable in accordance with an input signal, the suspension control apparatus comprising:

a wheel speed sensor detecting a wheel speed of each wheel of the vehicle;

a wheel speed variation calculating circuit calculating a variation in the wheel speed detected by the wheel speed sensor;

a basic input amount calculating circuit calculating an unsprung weight of a suspension of the vehicle using the calculated variation in the wheel speed;

a state quantity calculating circuit calculating a quantity of state of the vehicle by inputting the calculated unsprung weight into a vehicle model that represents a behavior of the vehicle;

a damper controller performing a damper control based on the variation in the wheel speed detected by the wheel speed sensor, by controlling the damping force of the variable damping force damper, the damper controller performing a skyhook control using the calculated quantity of the state of the vehicle;

a vehicle body speed estimating circuit estimating a vehicle body speed using a vehicle body acceleration of the vehicle; and

a slip determining computer determining that the wheel is in a slipping state when a value detected by the wheel speed sensor deviates from an estimated wheel speed estimated using the vehicle body speed by a predetermined value or more,

wherein, when the slip determining computer determines that the wheel is in the slipping state, the damper controller suppresses the skyhook control using the calculated quantity of the state of the vehicle.

8. The suspension control apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein, when the slip determining computer determines that the wheel is in the slipping state, the damper controller suppresses the damper control based on the variation in the wheel speed detected by the wheel speed sensor, by fixing an amount of controlling on the variable damping force damper at a predetermined amount.

9. The suspension control apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein, when the slip determining computer determines that the wheel is in the slipping state, the damper controller suppresses the damper control based on the variation in the wheel speed detected by the wheel speed sensor, by gradually decreasing an amount of controlling on the variable damping force damper from a predetermined amount.

10. The suspension control apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising:

a turning state quantity detector detecting a quantity of turning state of the vehicle,

wherein the damper controller includes a roll controller setting an amount of controlling on the variable damping force damper on the basis of the quantity of the turning state detected by the turning state quantity detector, and

when the slip determining computer determines that the wheel is in the slipping state, the damper controller maintains the amount of controlling set by the roll controller.

11. The suspension control apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the damper controller performs the damper control based on the variation in the wheel speed, by updating a target current and outputting a driving current corresponding to the target current, and

wherein, when the slip determining computer determines that the wheel is in the slipping state, the damper controller outputs a driving current corresponding to a previous target current instead of the updated target current.

12. The suspension control apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the damper controller performs an unsprung vibration damping control using the variation in the wheel speed, and

wherein when the slip determining computer determines that the wheel is in the slipping state, the damper controller suppresses the unsprung vibration damping control using the variation in the wheel speed.