Patent Description:
In particular, the invention finds advantageous, though not exclusive application in high-performance cars, to which explicit reference will be made in the description below without because of this losing in generality.

As it is known, cars are generally controlled by means of a steering wheel. In the past and because of merely stylistic issues, manufacturers used to offer steering wheels with the shape of a yoke (of the kind used, for example, in an aircraft), though without allowing the steering wheel to move backward and forward, since it evidently is not possible to control the pitch of a car.

The steering wheel historically owes its conformation to the need to reduce the stressed suffered by the driver's arms in controlling the front wheels. Over the decades, servo-mechanisms were introduced to control the steering, said servo mechanisms being, at first, hydraulic and, more recently, electric. Therefore, a reduction of the size, namely of the diameter, of the steering wheel was possible.

In the industrial field, a joystick is known, which is used to control forklifts. However, these vehicles feature dynamics that are very different from the ones of a car, especially of a sports car, and, therefore, the relative control system is designed to move the forklifts in very small spaces and at very low speeds.

<CIT> describes a method to control a car using a joystick, which allows both the movement/stopping of the car and the trajectory followed by the car to be controlled; in particular, the forward or backward tilt angle of the joystick lever causes a corresponding forward or backward acceleration of the car (forward to increase the speed of the car or backward to reduce the speed of the car), whereas the lateral tilt angle (to the right or to the left) of the joystick lever causes a corresponding steering of the car.

In case of high-performance vehicles, the control of the car starting from the sole joystick can turn out to be particularly complicated, especially in case the car has to be used on a racing track.

<CIT> discloses a control method for a car, which uses a joystick to control the trajectory of the vehicle and pedals to control the attitude thereof.

However, even though the adjustment of the attitude by means of pedals (similarly to what happens with helicopters) is functionally and structurally valid, the Applicant thinks that it can be further improved, in particular in terms of simplicity of learning for a driver who has to shift from a common vehicle provided with a steering wheel to a high-performance vehicle controlled by means of a joystick. <CIT> discloses a control system for a road vehicle, the system comprising: - a first joystick, in turn comprising a first lever configured to be grasped by the right hand of a driver of the road vehicle; the first joystick comprising first sensor elements for detecting a kinematic value or a force imparted by the driver to the first lever along at least a first direction and a second direction; - a control unit configured to adjust a motion of the road vehicle according to the kinematic value or the force imparted by the driver to the first lever; the control system being configured to control the steering of the road vehicle as a function of the kinematic value or the force detected by the first sensor elements in the first direction.

The object of the invention is to provide a control system for a road vehicle and a relative control method, which are at least partially free from the drawbacks described above and, at the same time, are simple and economic to be manufactured and carried out.

According to the invention, there are provided a control system for a road vehicle and a relative control method as claimed in the independent claims attached hereto and, preferably, in any one of the dependent claims directly or indirectly depending on the independent claims. The appended claims describe preferred embodiments of the invention and form an integral part of the description.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show some non-limiting embodiments thereof, wherein:.

In <FIG>, number <NUM> generically indicates, as a whole, a road vehicle provided with two front wheels <NUM> and two rear wheels <NUM>, at least a pair (or all) of them receiving the torque from a powertrain system <NUM>. The powertrain system <NUM> can be an exclusively heat-based system (namely, solely comprising an internal combustion heat engine), a hybrid system (namely, comprising an internal combustion heat engine and at least one electric motor) or an electric system (namely, solely comprising one or more electric motors).

In the figures, the same numbers and the same reference letters indicate the same elements or components with the same function.

For the purposes of the invention, the term "second" component does not imply the presence of a "first" component. As a matter of fact, these terms are only used as labels to improve clarity and should not be interpreted in a limiting manner.

The elements and features contained in the different preferred embodiments, drawings included, can be combined with one another, without for this reason going beyond the scope of protection of this patent application, as described hereinafter.

The road vehicle <NUM> comprises a passenger compartment <NUM>, where a cockpit <NUM> (better shown in <FIG>) is obtained, which is suited to accommodate a driver of the road vehicle <NUM>. In particular, the cockpit <NUM> comprises a seat <NUM> (shown in <FIG>).

According to the preferred, though non-limiting embodiment of <FIG>, the road vehicle <NUM> longitudinally extends along a longitudinal axis X, which goes through the vehicle from a rear part <NUM> to a front part <NUM>. In particular, furthermore, the road vehicle <NUM> laterally extends along a transverse axis Y, which goes through the vehicle from a right part <NUM> to a left part <NUM>. Finally, the road vehicle <NUM> vertically extends along a vertical axis Z, which goes through the vehicle from the floorboard to the roof of the passenger compartment <NUM>.

Furthermore, the vehicle <NUM> comprises a control system <NUM>, which is schematically shown, in a non-limiting manner, in <FIG>.

The control system <NUM> comprises a first joystick <NUM> provided with a first lever <NUM> configured to be grasped by the right hand of a driver of the road vehicle <NUM>.

In the non-limiting embodiment of <FIG>, the first joystick <NUM> is arranged on the right of the seat <NUM> so that it can easily and comfortably be held by the right hand of the driver sitting on the seat <NUM>.

In particular, the first joystick <NUM> comprises first sensor elements <NUM> to detect a kinematic value or a force imparted by the driver to the first lever <NUM> along at least a first direction TD and a second direction LD.

Preferably, though not in a limiting manner, the first direction TD extends along the transverse axis Y of the road vehicle <NUM>, whereas the second direction LD extends along the longitudinal axis X of the road vehicle <NUM>. Therefore, in particular, the first direction TD and the second direction LD are perpendicular to one another.

Advantageously, though not necessarily, the control system <NUM> further comprises a second joystick <NUM>, which is also provided with a second lever <NUM>, which is configured to be grasped by the left hand of the driver of the road vehicle <NUM>.

In the non-limiting embodiment of <FIG>, the second joystick <NUM> is arranged on the left of the seat <NUM> so that it can easily and comfortably be held by the left hand of the driver sitting on the seat <NUM>.

In particular, the second joystick <NUM> comprises second sensor elements <NUM> to detect the kinematic value or the force imparted by the driver to the second lever along at least the first direction TD and the second direction LD.

According to some preferred non-limiting cases, the kinematic value is the angular position of the first or of the second lever <NUM>, <NUM> about a spherical node K. In other words, the sensor elements <NUM> and <NUM> are configured to detect the kinematics of the levers <NUM> and <NUM>, in particular at least the angular position of the levers. Preferably, though not in a limiting manner, the sensor elements <NUM>, <NUM> are configured to also detect the speed and the acceleration imparted by the driver to the first lever <NUM> and/or to the second lever <NUM>.

In other words, as shown in the non-limiting embodiments of <FIG>, the joysticks <NUM> and <NUM> are respectively provided with a lever <NUM>, <NUM> that can be grasped and can be tilted longitudinally along the direction LD (namely, forward or backward) or transversely along the direction TD (namely, to he right or to the left). Therefore, the lever <NUM>, <NUM> can be tilted forward (according to the direction indicated by arrow F in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>), the lever <NUM>, <NUM> can be tilted backward (according to the direction indicated by arrow B in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>), the lever <NUM>, <NUM> can be tilted to the right (according to the direction indicated by arrow R in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>) and the lever <NUM>, <NUM> can be tilted to the left (according to the direction indicated by arrow L in <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>).

Obviously, each lever <NUM>, <NUM> can also be tilted combining a longitudinal movement with a transverse movement, namely each lever <NUM>, <NUM> can freely be tilted in all the directions contained in a horizontal plane.

The system <NUM> further comprises a control unit <NUM> (schematically shown in the accompanying figures), which is configured to adjust a motion of the road vehicle <NUM> depending on the kinematic value (for example, on the angular position) or on the force imparted by the driver to the first lever <NUM> and/or to the second lever <NUM>.

In particular, the control unit <NUM> is connected to the joysticks <NUM>, <NUM> (namely, to the sensor elements <NUM>, <NUM> of the joysticks <NUM>, <NUM> detecting the position or the force imparted to each lever <NUM>, <NUM>) and controls the powertrain system <NUM>, the braking system, possible active suspension systems and the steering system of the front wheels <NUM> depending on the commands imparted by the driver through at least one of the joysticks <NUM>, <NUM>.

Preferably, though not in a limiting manner, the control uni <NUM> is an electronic control unit ("ECU"), which, among other things, processes a plurality of data items and adjusts the behaviour of the road vehicle <NUM> both while it drives along a straight road and while it drives along a bend by acting, as described more in detail below, for example, upon the torque delivered by powertrain system <NUM> to the drive wheels <NUM> or <NUM> and, if necessary, in collaboration with the active shock absorbers and the braking system. The control unit <NUM> can physically consist of one single device or of different devices separate from one another and communicating with one another through the CAN network of the road vehicle <NUM>.

Advantageously, the control unit <NUM> is configured to control the steering (namely, the right or left rotation of the front wheels <NUM>) of the road vehicle <NUM> depending on the kinematic value (for example, on the angular position) or on the force detected by the first lever <NUM> and/or by the second lever <NUM> along the first direction TD, namely along the transverse axis Y of the road vehicle <NUM>.

Therefore, the lever <NUM>, <NUM> of the joysticks <NUM>, <NUM> can be moved to the right and to the left (arrows R and L in <FIG>) controlling the trajectory of the road vehicle <NUM> (<FIG>), namely controlling the degree of steering of the road vehicle <NUM>.

According to a non-limiting embodiment, the control unit <NUM> controls the motion of the road vehicle <NUM> so as to cause a steering angle δ to correspond to an angular position or a value of force imparted by the driver to the first lever <NUM> and/or the second lever <NUM> along the first direction TD. In other words, the lateral tilt angle α (<FIG>) of the lever <NUM>, <NUM> of the joystick <NUM>, <NUM> directly corresponds to the steering angle δ (<FIG>).

In particular, the proportionality factor, namely the function linking the angle α of the lever <NUM>, <NUM> of the joystick <NUM>, <NUM> to the steering angle δ, can become a function of multiple known vehicle parameters, which are not described in detail.

According to a different embodiment, a lateral tilt angle α of the lever <NUM>, <NUM> of the joystick <NUM>, <NUM> identifies a rapidity with which the actuator of the steering system intervenes. Therefore, the release of the lever <NUM>, <NUM> of the joystick <NUM>, <NUM> leaves the steering angle δ unchanged.

Preferably, though not in a limiting manner, the proportionality factor between the lateral tilt angle α of the lever <NUM>, <NUM> of the joystick <NUM>, <NUM> and the rapidity with which the steering angle δ changes is also reduced proportionally to the speed V of the road vehicle <NUM>, so as to make the operation of the steering control "parametric".

According to a further variant of the invention, the two steering angle control modes can alternatively be enabled based on a bistable or monostable button or based on a threshold of the driving speed V (in particular, when the driving speed threshold is exceeded, the system switches from an angle control to a control of the rapidity of change of the steering angle δ). For example, the aforesaid button can be included in the joystick <NUM>, <NUM>, namely on board the lever <NUM>, <NUM>, as shown in the accompanying figures.

Furthermore, the control unit <NUM> is advantageously configured to control the attitude (in particular, an attitude angle β) or the yaw of the road vehicle <NUM> depending on the kinematic value (for example, on the angular position) or on the force detected by the first sensor elements <NUM> and/or by the second sensor elements <NUM> along the second direction LD.

In some non-limiting cases, the control unit <NUM> is configured to control the motion of the road vehicle <NUM> so as to cause an attitude angle β or a yaw angle to correspond to an angular position (for example, to the angle γ) or to a value of force imparted by the driver to the first lever <NUM> and/or the second lever <NUM> along the second direction LD.

According to <FIG>, when driving along a bend, the control unit <NUM> is configured to control (adjust, change, set) the attitude angle β of the road vehicle <NUM> (namely, the angle comprised between the longitudinal axis X of the road vehicle <NUM> and the direction of the driving speed V of the road vehicle <NUM> in the centre of gravity C) depending on the kinematic value (namely, on the angular position) or on the force detected by the first sensor elements <NUM> and/or by the second sensor elements <NUM> along the second direction LD.

In other words, the control unit <NUM> controls, depending on the kinematic value (for example, on the angle γ shown in <FIG>) or on the force imparted by the driver to at least one lever <NUM>, <NUM>, the attitude angle β of the road vehicle <NUM> while driving along a bend, so that the attitude angle β is a function, for example, of the angular position of the levers <NUM> and <NUM> (in their rotation around the transverse axis Y, along the longitudinal axis X).

It should be pointed out that, when driving along a bend, the longitudinal sliding (slip) of the drive wheels <NUM>, <NUM> and the attitude angle β of the road vehicle <NUM> are linked; indeed, when driving along a bend, the occurrence of a longitudinal sliding (slip), for example of the rear drive wheels <NUM>, implies that the road vehicle <NUM> has an attitude angle β other than zero.

By way of example, in case the road vehicle <NUM> has a rear-wheel drive, while driving along a bend it has a substantially oversteering behaviour: by causing the slip of the rear drive wheels <NUM> when moving along a bend, the road vehicle <NUM> is allowed to drive along the bend itself with a given attitude angle β (i.e. with the road vehicle <NUM> rotated towards the inside of the bend) and with the tyres of the wheels <NUM> and <NUM> sliding towards the outside of the curve. Driving along a bend when the drive wheels <NUM>, <NUM> are slipping is a particularly complicated operation, since, in this condition, the dynamic balance of the road vehicle <NUM> is particularly unstable and can easily lead to a <NUM>° spin; as a consequence, this driving operation (which is very spectacular and highly appreciated by drivers) is normally performed only by professional or semi-professional drivers. On the other hand, by using the levers <NUM> and <NUM>, even a relatively inexperienced driver can simply and safely ask the road vehicle <NUM> to set an attitude angle β other than zero.

It should be pointed out that the attitude angle β is different from the yaw angle (namely, the angle comprised between the longitudinal axis X of the road vehicle <NUM> and a fixed ground reference), since the road vehicle <NUM> can assume the same yaw angle in the plane, though assuming very different attitude angles β and vice versa.

According to some non-limiting embodiments, which are not shown herein, the control unit <NUM>, instead of controlling the attitude angle β, controls the yaw angle depending on the kinematic value or on the force detected by the joysticks <NUM>, <NUM> along the second direction LD. All considerations made in this description relating to the attitude angle β obviously also apply in case the control unit <NUM> controls the yaw angle.

According to a preferred embodiment, when the levers <NUM> and <NUM> are operated by the driver to obtain an attitude angle β other than zero, the control unit <NUM> determines a desired attitude angle β as a function, for example, of the longitudinal tilt angle position γ of the levers <NUM> and <NUM> and controls the generation of the torque so as to impart the desired attitude angle β to the road vehicle <NUM> when driving along the bend; for example, the control unit <NUM> could determine a desired longitudinal sliding of the drive wheels <NUM> and/or <NUM> as a function of the desired attitude angle β and, therefore, it could control the generation of the torque so as to impart the desired longitudinal sliding to the drive wheels <NUM>, <NUM> while driving along the bend.

According to a preferred embodiment, the control unit <NUM> determines a maximum attitude angle βMAX while driving along each bend so as to prevent the road vehicle <NUM> from losing control (obviously, with a proper margin of safety, which allows the road vehicle <NUM> to maintain stable conditions) and, hence, causes a zero attitude angle β to correspond to the absence of action of the driver upon the levers <NUM>, <NUM> in the second direction LD and causes the maximum attitude angle βMAX to correspond to the maximum action of the driver upon the levers <NUM>, <NUM> in the second direction LD.

Therefore, not in a limiting manner, in a first bend, the maximum action of the driver upon the levers <NUM>, <NUM> in the second direction LD can indicate an attitude angle β of <NUM>° (since the maximum attitude angle βMAX is <NUM>° for that bend and in those dynamic conditions), whereas, in a second bend, the maximum action of the driver upon the levers <NUM>, <NUM> in the second direction LD can indicate an attitude angle β of <NUM>° (since the maximum attitude angle βMAX is <NUM>° for that bend and in those dynamic conditions).

It should be pointed out that the law linking the position of the action upon the levers <NUM>, <NUM> in the second direction LD (for example, the angle γ) to the attitude angle β can be linear and directly proportional or it can be of a different type (for example, parabolic); namely, by acting upon the levers <NUM>, <NUM> in the second direction LD, at first, the attitude angle β increases in a relatively quick manner from the zero value in order to then increase much more slowly as the maximum attitude angle βMAX gets closer.

In some preferred non-limiting cases, the first joystick <NUM> and the second joystick <NUM> comprise actuator systems <NUM> configured to impart to one of the first lever <NUM> and the second lever <NUM> a command corresponding to the one detected by the sensor elements <NUM>, <NUM> of the other lever <NUM>, <NUM> (namely, corresponding to action exerted by the driver upon the other one of the second and first lever).

Advantageously, though not necessarily and as indicated by the colouring of the arrows R and L of <FIG>, the first lever <NUM> and the second lever <NUM> are configured to be operated to the same side along the first direction TD. In other words, the movement of the first lever <NUM> to the right, in the direction indicated by arrow R, corresponds to a same movement to the right, in the direction indicated by arrow R, of the second lever <NUM> and vice versa. In this way, the driver can intuitively control the steering of the road vehicle <NUM> both with one single hand and with both hands, increasing the precision of the gesture, as each one is differently sensitive in the pulling movement relative to the pushing movement (thus allowing the driver a greater precision in the movement).

Advantageously, though not necessarily and as indicated by the colouring of the arrows F and B of <FIG>, the first lever <NUM> and the second lever <NUM> are configured to be operated to opposite sides along the second direction LD. In other words, the forward movement of the first lever <NUM>, in the direction indicated by arrow F, corresponds to a same backward movement, in the direction indicated by arrow B, of the second lever <NUM> and vice versa. In this way, the driver can intuitively control the attitude or the yaw of the road vehicle <NUM> both with one single hand and with both hands, increasing the precision of the gesture, as each one is differently sensitive in the pulling movement relative to the pushing movement (thus allowing the driver a greater precision in the movement).

In particular, the control unit <NUM> is configured to change the attitude angle β depending on the commands given by the driver to the levers <NUM> and <NUM> along the second direction LD. Preferably, though not in a limiting manner, in case the driver operates the right lever <NUM> forward (arrow F) (and/or the left lever <NUM> backward, arrow B), the control unit <NUM> is configured to control the attitude angle β so as to have the road vehicle <NUM> rotate in a counterclockwise direction, namely by having the right part <NUM> of the road vehicle <NUM> move forward and the left part <NUM> move backward (relative to the centre of gravity C of the road vehicle <NUM>).

Similarly, in case the driver operates the left lever <NUM> forward (arrow F) (and/or the right lever <NUM> backward, arrow B), the control unit <NUM> is configured to control the attitude angle β so as to have the road vehicle <NUM> rotate in a clockwise direction, namely by having the left part <NUM> of the road vehicle <NUM> move forward and the right part <NUM> move backward (relative to the centre of gravity C of the road vehicle <NUM>).

According to some preferred non-limiting embodiments, the control system <NUM> also comprises a longitudinal control assembly <NUM> provided with at least an accelerator control and a brake control.

In some preferred non-limiting cases, like the one shown in <FIG>, the accelerator control is a pedal <NUM> and the brake control is a pedal <NUM>. The pedals <NUM> and <NUM> are manufactured according to known techniques and, therefore, will not be described in detail below.

In other non-limiting cases, the accelerator control and/or the brake control are different, for example they are buttons or triggers installed on the joysticks <NUM> and/or <NUM>.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a control method for a road vehicle <NUM> according to the description above.

The control method comprises the step of detecting, by means of first sensor elements <NUM> and/or second sensor elements <NUM>, the kinematic value or the force imparted by the driver along the first direction TD or the second direction LD to the first lever <NUM> and/or to the second lever <NUM>; in particular, the driver grasps the first lever <NUM> with the right hand and/or the second lever with the left hand.

Furthermore, the method comprises the step of adjusting the motion of the road vehicle <NUM> (by means of the control unit <NUM>) based on the kinematic value or the force imparted by the driver to the first and/or second lever according to the disclosure of other parts of this description.

In addition, the method comprises the further steps of controlling the steering of the road vehicle <NUM> based on the kinematic value (for example, the angle ex) or the force detected by the first sensor elements <NUM> and/or by the second sensor elements <NUM> along the first direction TD; and controlling the attitude (in particular, the angle β) or the yaw of the road vehicle <NUM> based on the kinematic value (for example, the angle γ) or the force detected by the first sensor elements <NUM> and/or by the second sensor elements <NUM> along the second direction LD.

In particular, as mentioned above, depending on the kinematic value or on the force imparted by the driver along the first direction TD, namely along the transverse axis Y of the road vehicle <NUM>, the control unit <NUM> controls the steering angle δ of the road vehicle <NUM>.

Preferably, depending on the kinematic value or on the force imparted by the driver along the second direction TD, namely along the longitudinal axis X of the road vehicle <NUM>, the control unit <NUM> controls the attitude angle β of the road vehicle <NUM> while driving along a bend, so that the attitude angle β is a function of the kinematic value (for example, of the angle γ) or of the force imparted to the first lever <NUM> and/or to the second lever <NUM> along the second direction LD.

Advantageously, though not necessarily, the method comprises the further steps of determining the desired attitude angle β based on the kinematic value (α) or on the force imparted to the first lever <NUM> and/or to the second lever <NUM> along the second direction LD; and controlling the generation of the driving or braking torque (or by operating active suspensions) to at least one of the drive wheels <NUM> and/or <NUM> (potentially to all drive wheels independently), so as to impart the desired attitude angle β to the road vehicle <NUM> while driving along a bend. In particular, the considerations made above relating to the maximum angle βMAX also apply to the method.

Preferably, though not in a limiting manner, the method comprises the further step of imparting, to one of the first lever <NUM> and the second lever <NUM>, a command corresponding to the one detected by the second sensor elements <NUM> or by the first sensor elements <NUM> and imparted by the driver to the other one of the second lever <NUM> and the first lever <NUM>. In particular, as mentioned above, the first lever <NUM> and the second lever <NUM> are operated by the respective actuator system <NUM> to the same side along the first direction TD and to opposite sides along the second direction LD.

According to some non-limiting embodiments, which are not shown herein, the levers <NUM> and <NUM> are not linked to one another along the direction LD and, in order to control the attitude angle β, they can both be used, namely the attitude angle β of the car <NUM> while driving along the bend is controlled depending on the position of both levers <NUM> and <NUM>. In this case, it is possible that, while driving along the bend, the attitude angle β is changed as a function of a misalignment of the two levers <NUM> and <NUM> in the longitudinal direction LD, so that the greater the misalignment of the two levers <NUM> and <NUM>, the greater the attitude angle β; in other words, the attitude angle β is zero when both levers <NUM> and <NUM> have the same position and becomes greater and greater as the difference between the positions of the two levers <NUM> and <NUM> increases.

The use of both levers <NUM> and <NUM> to control the attitude angle β as indicated above (especially in case the actuator systems <NUM> act by keeping the tilt angles γ opposite and equal to one another) while driving along a bend is particularly ergonomic, since it is easier and more intuitive for the driver to push the right lever <NUM> forward during a left turn and to pull the left lever backward, in accordance with the sides of the road vehicle <NUM>, and vice versa in case of a left turn.

According to a possible embodiment, a change in the distribution of the braking is assumed to be zero in a position completely at rest (regardless of whether it is vertical or horizontal) of the levers <NUM> and <NUM> along the direction LD and the change in the distribution of the braking is assumed to be maximum in a completely forward or retracted position of the levers <NUM> and <NUM> along the direction LD.

The same reasoning obviously also applies in case of a force control.

In use, the steering (namely, the steering angle δ) of the road vehicle <NUM> takes place by tilting one or both joysticks <NUM>, <NUM> to the left or to the right (the levers <NUM> and <NUM> are "virtually integral", namely by operating only one of the two levers <NUM> and <NUM>, the other moves accordingly along the direction TD to the same side).

In particular, the control unit <NUM> can control the motion of the road vehicle <NUM> in different ways, for example thanks to the adoption of a steer by wire driving system (of a known kind and not described in detail below), which is completely mechanically disconnected from a traditional steering wheel (ideally not present) and can be controlled, for example, by means of a common electrically operated system or by means of split steering angle control systems on each front wheel <NUM> and, if necessary, also on each rear wheel <NUM> (for instance, in case of rear steering wheels in 4WS vehicles). In general, the control unit <NUM> acts upon the systems designed to carry out the steering function of the road vehicle <NUM>.

Furthermore, in use, the control of the attitude of the road vehicle <NUM> while driving along a bend preferably takes place by tilting one or both joysticks <NUM>, <NUM> forward or backward (in this case, again, the levers <NUM> and <NUM> are "virtually integral", but, unlike what happens with the commands imparted in the direction TD, by operating only one of the two levers <NUM> and <NUM>, the other one moves accordingly along the direction LD to the opposite side).

In particular, the control unit <NUM> can control the motion of the road vehicle <NUM> in different ways, for example by assigning to the logics of the vehicle the task of operating the dynamic systems so as to set the desired attitude angle β and/or the desired yaw angle, for example by controlling the torque of one or more electric motors connected to the wheels <NUM>, <NUM> or by acting upon one or more brakes, upon one or more suspensions, etcetera.

Even though the invention described above relates to a specific embodiment, it should not be considered as limited to said embodiment, for its scope of protection also includes all those variants, changes or simplifications covered by the appended claims, such as for example a different type of joystick, a different actuation to change the attitude angle or the yaw angle, a different rest configuration of the levers, a different type of vehicle, etcetera.

The apparatuses, the machine and the method described above have many advantages.

First of all, the control method described above allows for an increase in the ability to control the motion of the road vehicle (especially in a sports driving mode on a track) in a simple and intuitive manner (namely, in an ergonomic manner).

Furthermore, the control system disclosed above allows the driver to adjust the attitude angle, even without necessarily being an expert driver and in safety conditions.

Claim 1:
Control system (<NUM>) for a road vehicle (<NUM>); the system comprises:
- a first joystick (<NUM>), which in turn comprises a first lever (<NUM>) configured to be grasped by the right hand of a driver of the road vehicle (<NUM>); wherein the first joystick (<NUM>) comprises first sensor elements (<NUM>) for detecting a kinematic value or a force imparted by the driver to the first lever (<NUM>) along at least a first direction (TD) and a second direction (LD); and/or
- a second joystick (<NUM>), which in turn comprises a second lever (<NUM>) configured to be grasped by the left hand of the driver of the road vehicle (<NUM>); wherein the second joystick (<NUM>) comprises second sensor elements (<NUM>) for detecting the kinematic value or the force imparted by the driver to the second lever (<NUM>) along at least the first direction (TD) and the second direction (LD);
- a control unit (<NUM>) configured to adjust a motion of the road vehicle (<NUM>) according to the kinematic value or the force imparted by the driver to the first lever (<NUM>) and/or the second lever (<NUM>);
the control system (<NUM>) being characterised in that the control unit (<NUM>) is configured to control:
- the steering of the road vehicle (<NUM>) as a function of the kinematic value or the force detected by the first sensor elements (<NUM>) and/or the second sensor elements (<NUM>) in the first direction (TD); and
- the attitude or the yaw of the road vehicle (<NUM>) as a function of the kinematic value or the force detected by the first sensor elements (<NUM>) and/or the second sensor elements (<NUM>) along the second direction (LD).