Steering control device for vehicle and steering control method for vehicle

• US 10,040,474 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2014
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Oiki, Daisuke, Kikuchi, Masahiko, Morimoto, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Kan, Yuri
• Application Number:
  US15/032,072
• Publication Number:
  US 20160264172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,413 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 5/0463 calculating assisting torque from the motor based on driver input
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 6/002 computing target steering angles for front or rear wheels B62D7/159 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 6/006 using a measured or estimated road friction coefficient
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 6/02 responsive only to vehicle speed

Abstract

A steering control device (30) for a vehicle, the steering control device controlling a steering device, the steering device having a steering mechanism (10) configured to steer wheels (15) and a driving device (40) configured to provide the steering mechanism (10) with Steering force for the wheels (15), the steering control device configured to; detect turning of the wheels (15); determine whether the vehicle is in a stationary steering state; and increase, when the vehicle is determined to be in a stationary steering state as a result of determination whether the vehicle is in a stationary steering state, the steering force to be provided to the steering mechanism (10) than a value upon determination that the vehicle is not in a stationary steering state, wherein the steering control device (30) is further configured to decrease the steering force to be provided to the steering mechanism (10) than before when the turning of the wheels (15) is detected as a result of providing the steering force with the steering mechanism (10) when the vehicle has been determined to be in a stationary steering state.

Claims

1. A steering, control device for a vehicle, the steering control device controlling a steering device, the steering device having a steering mechanism configured to steer wheels and a driving device configured to provide the steering mechanism with steering force for the wheels,

the steering control device configured to:

detect steering of the wheels of the vehicle;

determine whether the vehicle is in a stationary steering state;

when the vehicle is determined to be in a stationary steering state increase the steering force to be provided to the steering mechanism to more than the steering force to be provided to the steering mechanism upon a determination that the vehicle is not in a stationary steering state; and

when the steering of the wheels of the vehicle is detected as a result of providing the steering force to the steering mechanism when the vehicle has been determined to be in a stationary steering state, decrease the steering force to be provided to the steering mechanism to less than the steering force to be provided to the steering mechanism when the vehicle has been determined to be in a stationary steering state.

2. The steering control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the steering control device is further configured to be able to execute a first steering control in which the steering force to be provided to the steering mechanism is controlled so that the steering force of the steering mechanism comes to a first target steering force and a second steering control in which the steering force to be provided to the steering mechanism is controlled so that the steering force of the steering mechanism comes to a second target steering force smaller than the first target steering force, and

the steering control device executes the first steering control when the vehicle is determined to be in a stationary steering state and executes the second steering control from the time that steering of the wheels is detected as a result of executing the first steering control.

3. The steering control device for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein

the steering control device is further configured to:

calculate a change rate of a steering angle of the wheels at the steering force of the steering mechanism in an early stage of the first steering control;

estimate a friction coefficient between the wheels and a road surface on a basis of the change rate; and

set the steering force to be provided to the steering mechanism on a basis of the estimated friction coefficient.

4. The steering control device for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein

the steering control device is further configured to set a value of the second target steering force to a value of the steering force that is provided to the steering mechanism when the vehicle is determined not to be in a stationary steering state.

5. The steering control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the steering control device is further configured to decrease the steering force to be provided to the steering mechanism than before when a steering speed of the wheels is a predetermined speed or more as a result of providing the steering force with the steering mechanism.

6. The steering control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the steering control device is further configured to execute processing by using a first transfer function for calculating the steering force and to execute processing by using a second transfer function, a steering force calculated by using the second transfer function being larger than that calculated by using the first transfer function at least until steering of the wheels is detected, and

the steering control device calculates the steering force by using the first transfer function when the vehicle is determined not to be in a stationary steering state and calculates the steering force by using the second transfer function when the vehicle is determined to be in a stationary steering state.

7. A steering control method for a vehicle, the steering control method performing control of a steering, device, the steering device having a steering mechanism configured to steer wheels and a driving device configured to provide the steering mechanism with steering force for the wheels, the steering control method comprising:

determining whether the vehicle is in a stationary steering state;

when the vehicle is determined to be in a stationary steering state, increasing the steering force to be provided to the steering mechanism to more than the steering force to be provided to the steering mechanism upon a determination that the vehicle is not in a stationary steering state; and

when steering of the wheels of the vehicle is detected as a result of the providing steering force to the steering mechanism when the vehicle has been determined to be in a stationary steering state, the steering force to be provided to the steering mechanism to less than the steering force to be provided to the steering mechanism when the vehicle has been determined to be in a stationary steering state.