Patent ID: 7761205

Claim:
A height controlling apparatus for controlling at least one actual height as a relative position of (a) a body of a vehicle and (b) at least one wheel of the vehicle relative to each other, the apparatus comprising: at least one height controlling actuator which changes said at least one actual height; and an actuator control device which controls said at least one height controlling actuator so that said at least one actual height approaches at least one target height, wherein the actuator control device includes: a high-speed actuator control portion, which controls said at least one height controlling actuator to change said at least one actual height at a speed higher than a predetermined height-change speed, a low-speed actuator control portion, which controls said at least one height controlling actuator to change said at least one actual height at a speed not higher than the predetermined height-change speed, a possibility detecting device which detects whether there is a possibility that an object may be present in a direction in which the body is moved to change said at least one actual height, wherein the possibility detecting device includes a height-change-dependent possibility detecting portion which, when the vehicle is in a stopped state and said at least one height controlling actuator is controlled so that said at least one actual height approaches said at least one target height, detects whether there is said possibility, based on a manner of the controlling of said at least one height controlling actuator and a change of said at least one actual height, and a movement restraining portion which controls, when the high-speed actuator control portion controls said at least one height controlling actuator and the height-change-dependent possibility detecting portion detects that there is said possibility, said at least one height controlling actuator to restrain a movement of the body in said direction and which does not control, when the low-speed actuator control portion controls said at least one height controlling actuator and the height-change-dependent possibility detecting portion detects that there is said possibility, said at least one height controlling actuator to restrain the movement of the body in said direction.