| US 7,581,612 B2 | ||
| Drive force distribution device and method for distributing drive force | ||
| Ryouhei Shigeta, Anjo (Japan); Tomoaki Kato, Kariya (Japan); Akihiro Ohno, Okazaki (Japan); Tsuyoshi Murakami, Handa (Japan); Yasushi Yamada, Okazaki (Japan); Tadashi Yoshioka, Chiryu (Japan); and Shunzo Tanaka, Nagoya (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to JTEKT Corporation, Osaka-shi (Japan); and Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Aug. 01, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/496,513. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 2005-224300 (JP), filed on Aug. 02, 2005. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0029126 A1, Feb. 08, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. B60K 28/08 (2006.01); F16H 59/64 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 180—233 [477/98; 477/174; 180/248] | 10 Claims |
| 1. A drive force distribution device of a vehicle including a main drive wheel, a sub drive wheel, and a drive force transmission
system that transmits a drive force generated by a drive source to the drive wheels, the device comprising:
a coupling arranged in the drive force transmission system, wherein the coupling changes a torque transmission rate of a torque
transmitted from an input of the coupling to an output of the coupling, thereby varying a drive force distribution ratio of
the main drive wheel to the sub drive wheel;
a control section that controls operation of the coupling, the control section estimating the temperature of at least one
of heat generating portions of the drive force transmission system by accumulating a heat generating energy accumulated in
the heat generating portion in correspondence with the load acting on the heat generating portion, wherein, if the estimated
temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature, the control section controls the operation of the coupling to reduce the
load acting on the heat generating portion, thereby suppressing overheating of the heat generating portion;
a memory portion that memorizes the estimated temperature as a memorized temperature before the drive source is stopped; and
a timer portion that, upon re-start of the drive source after the drive source is stopped, measures the time since the stopping
of the drive source,
wherein the control section controls the operation of the coupling in correspondence with the measured time and the memorized
temperature immediately after the drive source is re-started.
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