Patent ID: 8271177

Claim:
A control device for a vehicular differential limiting apparatus for applying differential limiting torques to a left drive wheel and a right drive wheel to limit a differential action, permitted by a differential gear device of a vehicle, between the left and right drive wheels, the control device for the vehicular differential limiting apparatus comprising: differential limiting torque calculating portion that calculates the differential limiting torques based on a state quantity of the vehicle; differential limiting torque upper-limit guard value calculating portion that calculates differential limiting torque upper-limit guard values based on a preset deflection permit yaw rate and a real yaw rate of the vehicle; and upper limit guard value processing portion that limits the differential limiting torques calculated by the differential limiting torque calculating portion, using the differential limiting torque upper-limit guard values calculated by the differential limiting torque upper-limit guard value calculating portion, for obtaining differential limiting torques to be applied to the left and right drive wheels, wherein the deflection permit yaw rate is a preset maximum yaw rate at a degree not to cause a vehicle occupant to feel a deflection of the vehicle; and slip-tendency determining portion that determines whether the left and right drive wheels are brought into slip tendencies upon application of the differential limiting torques to the left and right drive wheels; and slip suppressing portion that is operative to set the differential limiting torques applied to the left and right drive wheels in preset minimal differential limiting torques for suppressing the slip-tendencies, when the slip-tendencies of the drive wheels caused by application of the differential limiting torques is determined by the slip-tendency determining portion.