Vehicle dynamic characteristic control apparatus

Claim 1

A vehicle dynamic characteristic control apparatus for use with a motor vehicle having controllable dynamic characteristics, comprising: first sensor means sensitive to a steering handle position for producing an electric signal indicative of a sensed steering handle position; second sensor means sensitive to the steering handle position for producing a steering handle neutral position signal having a first level when the sensed steering handle position is in a predetermined range and a second level when the sensed steering handle position is out of the predetermined range; and a control unit coupled to the first and second sensor means, the control unit including means for detecting a minimum steering handle position value sensed when the steering handle neutral position signal changes from the second level to the first level and a maximum steering handle position value sensed when the steering handle neutral position signal changes from the first level to the second level, means for calculating a difference between the minimum and maximum steering handle position values, means for producing an estimation start command when the calculated difference is within a predetermined range, means responsive to the estimation start command for estimating a steering handle neutral position based on the minimum and maximum steering handle position values, and means for controlling the dynamic characteristics of the motor vehicle based on the estimated steering handle neutral position.