Patent ID: 7797094

Claim:
A turning control apparatus for a vehicle having a driving torque controlling mechanism adjusting driving torque of a left wheel and a right wheel, said apparatus comprising: means for calculating a necessary yaw-momentum value indicating yaw momentum needed for turning of the vehicle; means for calculating a maximum-yaw momentum value indicating maximum yaw momentum generated by the driving torque controlling mechanism owing to adjustment of driving torque of the left-wheel and the right wheel; means for setting a target yaw-momentum value indicating target yaw momentum in such a manner that if the necessary yaw-momentum value does not exceed the maximum-yaw momentum value then the necessary yaw-momentum value is directly set as the target yaw-momentum value, and if the necessary yaw-momentum value exceeds the maximum-yaw momentum value then the necessary yaw-momentum value is clipped at the maximum-yaw momentum value as the target yaw-momentum value; and a driving torque controller for controlling said driving torque controlling mechanism so as to generate yaw momentum corresponding to the target yaw-momentum value; said maximum-yaw momentum value calculating means including, means for estimating an outside-wheel gripping capacity, which is capacity of adhesive friction between the outside-wheel and a road surface, and an inside-wheel gripping capacity, which is capacity of adhesive friction between the inside-wheel and the road surface, and means for calculating a torque adjustment limiting value indicating an adjustment amount of driving torque of the left wheel and the right wheel by the driving torque controlling mechanism so that the adjustment amount does not exceed the outside-wheel gripping capacity and the inside-wheel gripping capacity, said maximum-yaw momentum value calculating means setting the maximum-yaw momentum value indicating possible yaw momentum, which is estimated if the driving torque of the outside-wheel and the inside-wheel is adjusted by the driving torque controller using the torque-adjustment-limit value calculated by said torque adjustment limiting value calculating means.