Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Kazutoshi Kunishima

Katsuyuki Sano

Masanori Hirose

Hidemori Tsuka

A vehicle height control apparatus adapted to a suspension system of an automotive vehicle including a plurality of fluid actuators disposed between a body structure of the vehicle and a set of road wheels for adjusting each vehicle height at the road wheels in accordance with fluid pressure applied thereto, fluid control means for controlling fluid under pressure supplied to and discharged from the fluid actuators, first detection means for detecting each vehicle height at the road wheels, and vehicle height control means for controlling said fluid control means based on each vehicle height detected by said first detection means in such a manner that each vehicle height at the road wheels is adjusted to a predetermined height. The vehicle height control apparatus comprise a second detection means for detecting each vertical load at the road wheels; and communication control means for effecting a communication between said fluid actuators for a predetermined period of time after adjustment of each vehicle height at the road wheels when a difference between the vertical loads detected by said second detection means is smaller than a predetermined value.

Vehicle height control apparatus

A vehicle height control device stops the operation of vehicle height adjustment if the vehicle height at a wheel can not be increased to a target value during a height increasing operation within a predetermined time period. Automatic restoration of vehicle height adjustment occurs after a predetermined period if the vehicle height has increased to a height greater than a threshold value. However, if such a detection is not made, vehicle height adjustment is locked up.

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Nagoya, Japan

Kazutoshi Kunishima