Intelligent Four-Wheel-Drive System

The authors have developed an intelligent four-wheel drive system (I-4WD) designed to distribute the driving force to the front and rear wheels at the optimum ratio according to the running condition of the vehicle.

The I-4WD consists of a center differential which distributes 30 percent of the driving force to front wheels and 70 percent to rear wheels (30:70), a hydraulic multi-disk clutch, an electronic control unit and a hydraulic control circuit. The driving force distribution can be steplessly varied from 30:70 up to the rigid state by controlling the hydraulic pressure on the clutch. The main control algorithm is based on the“yaw velocity model following control.”

This composition has allowed us to accurately balance the cornering performance and stability without spoiling the critical limit predictability which is that the driver knows in advance the critical limit of vehicle dynamics.