Patent ID: 7440834

Claim:
A drive force distribution system for controlling a four wheel independent drive vehicle comprising: a brake/drive force determining section configured to determine a brake/drive force to be applied to each of the four wheels based on motion requirements of the vehicle; a tire lateral force sensitivity estimating section configured to estimate a sensitivity k 1 , k 2 , k 3 , and k 4 of a tire lateral force with respect to a change in the brake/drive force for each of a left front wheel, a right front wheel, a left rear wheel, and a right rear wheel, respectively; and a drive force revising section configured to revise the brake/drive forces to be applied to the left front wheel, the right front wheel, the left rear wheel, and the right rear wheel based on the sensitivities k 1 , k 2 , k 3 , k 4 estimated by the tire lateral force sensitivity estimating section, and the drive force revising section being further configured to correct the brake/drive forces to be applied to the left front wheel, the right front wheel, the left rear wheel, and the right rear wheel by drive force correction amounts ΔFx 1 , ΔFx 2 , ΔFx 3 , and ΔFx 4 , respectively, based on the sensitivities k 1 , k 2 , k 3 , and k 4 estimated by the tire lateral force sensitivity estimating section so as to satisfy the motion requirements of the vehicle, when the brake/drive forces determined by the brake/drive force determining section are to be changed.