Patent ID: 7431309

Claim:
A ground contact load control apparatus for a vehicle comprising: front and rear, left and right load bearing means for supporting the ground contact load of front and rear, left and right wheels, respectively; a load changing means which operates to change the load supported by each of the load bearing means; a vehicle state sensing means which senses the state of the vehicle; and a control means which controls the operation of the load changing means in accordance with a signal from the vehicle state sensing means, wherein the load changing means increases or decreases the ground contact load of any pair of diagonally opposed wheels and the ground contact load of the other pair of diagonally opposed wheels in opposite directions from each other and increases or decreases the ground contact load of diagonally opposed wheels in the same direction as the load changing means, wherein the front and rear, left and right load bearing means which support the ground contact loads of the front and rear, left and right wheels comprise front and rear, left and right suspension hydraulic cylinders each having a port and mounted on a corresponding one of the front and rear, left and right wheels, and the load changing means which operates to change the ground contact load which is supported by each of the suspension hydraulic cylinders comprises ground contact load control hydraulic cylinders which receive the hydraulic pressure from each of the suspension hydraulic cylinders and operate based on the pressure difference, an actuator which imparts an operating force to the ground contact load control hydraulic cylinders, and damping means and elastic means provided between the ground contact load control hydraulic cylinders and the actuator.