Vehicle steering arrangement, autonomous vehicle steering arrangement, a vehicle, and a method of steering a vehicle
First Claim
1. A vehicle steering arrangement for a vehicle, the steering arrangement comprising:
- a rack;
a position sensor to sense a current position of the rack;
a steering column;
a steering wheel configured to be in mechanical connection with steerable wheels of the vehicle via the rack and the steering column;
a torque sensor to sense a torque applied onto the steering wheel and to provide a torque signal representative thereof;
an electronic control unit provided with a virtual steering model;
a rack-mounted electromechanical actuator to selectively apply a force onto the rack; and
a force obtaining arrangement configured to obtain forces of the wheels acting on the rack;
wherein the electronic control unit is configured to provide a virtual rack position based on the virtual steering model and at least a combination of the obtained forces and the torque signal, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to control the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator such that the current position of the rack is controlled towards the virtual rack position, wherein the force obtaining arrangement comprises the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator, the position sensor and the electronic control unit, and wherein the force obtaining arrangement is configured to obtain the forces by comparing a current speed of the rack with at least one of an electric current supplied to the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator or an electric voltage supplied to the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle steering arrangement for a vehicle comprises a rack a position sensor, a steering column, a steering wheel, a torque sensor arranged to sense a torque applied onto the steering wheel and arranged to provide a torque signal representative thereof, an electronic control unit provided with a virtual steering model, a rack-mounted electromechanical actuator, and a force obtaining arrangement configured to obtain forces of steered wheels acting on the rack. The electronic control unit is configured to provide a virtual rack position based on the virtual steering model and at least a combination of the obtained forces and the torque signal, and is arranged to control the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator such that the current position of the rack is controlled towards the virtual rack position. The present disclosure also relates to an autonomous vehicle steering arrangement, a vehicle and a method of steering a vehicle.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A vehicle steering arrangement for a vehicle, the steering arrangement comprising:
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a rack; a position sensor to sense a current position of the rack; a steering column; a steering wheel configured to be in mechanical connection with steerable wheels of the vehicle via the rack and the steering column; a torque sensor to sense a torque applied onto the steering wheel and to provide a torque signal representative thereof; an electronic control unit provided with a virtual steering model; a rack-mounted electromechanical actuator to selectively apply a force onto the rack; and a force obtaining arrangement configured to obtain forces of the wheels acting on the rack; wherein the electronic control unit is configured to provide a virtual rack position based on the virtual steering model and at least a combination of the obtained forces and the torque signal, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to control the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator such that the current position of the rack is controlled towards the virtual rack position, wherein the force obtaining arrangement comprises the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator, the position sensor and the electronic control unit, and wherein the force obtaining arrangement is configured to obtain the forces by comparing a current speed of the rack with at least one of an electric current supplied to the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator or an electric voltage supplied to the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of steering a vehicle using a vehicle steering arrangement comprising a rack, a steering column, and a steering wheel in mechanical connection with steerable wheels of the vehicle via the rack and the steering column, the method comprising:
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sensing a current position of the rack using a position sensor of the steering arrangement; sensing a torque applied onto the steering wheel and providing a torque signal representative thereof using a torque sensor of the steering arrangement; obtaining forces of the wheels acting on the rack using a force obtaining arrangement of the steering arrangement; providing a virtual rack position based on a virtual steering model and at least a combination of the obtained forces and the torque signal using an electronic control unit of the steering arrangement; controlling a rack-mounted electromechanical actuator of the steering arrangement such that the current position of the rack is controlled toward the virtual rack position using the electronic control unit; and obtaining the forces by comparing a current speed of the rack with at least one of an electric current supplied to the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator or an electric voltage supplied to the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator, using the force obtaining arrangement; wherein the force obtaining arrangement comprises the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator, the position sensor and the electronic control unit. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A vehicle steering arrangement for a vehicle, the steering arrangement comprising:
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a rack; a position sensor to sense a current position of the rack; a steering column; steerable wheels; a steering wheel configured to be in mechanical connection with the wheels via the rack and the steering column; a vehicle suspension suspending the wheels, wherein a mechanical trail of the vehicle suspension is configured to be lower than a peak value of a pneumatic trail of the wheels; a torque sensor to sense a torque applied onto the steering wheel and to provide a torque signal representative thereof; an electronic control unit provided with a virtual steering model; a rack-mounted electromechanical actuator to selectively apply a force onto the rack; and a force obtaining arrangement configured to obtain forces of the wheels acting on the rack; wherein the electronic control unit is configured to provide a virtual rack position based on the virtual steering model and at least a combination of the obtained forces and the torque signal, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to control the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator such that the current position of the rack is controlled towards the virtual rack position, and wherein the electronic control unit is arranged to control the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator to provide an active aligning torque. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of steering a vehicle using a vehicle steering arrangement comprising a rack, a steering column, steerable wheels, a steering wheel in mechanical connection with the wheels via the rack and the steering column, and a vehicle suspension suspending the wheels, wherein a mechanical trail of the vehicle suspension is configured to be lower than a peak value of a pneumatic trail of the wheels, the method comprising:
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sensing a current position of the rack using a position sensor of the steering arrangement; sensing a torque applied onto the steering wheel and providing a torque signal representative thereof using a torque sensor of the steering arrangement; obtaining forces of the wheels acting on the rack using a force obtaining arrangement of the steering arrangement; providing a virtual rack position based on a virtual steering model and at least a combination of the obtained forces and the torque signal using an electronic control unit of the steering arrangement; controlling a rack-mounted electromechanical actuator of the steering arrangement such that the current position of the rack is controlled toward the virtual rack position using the electronic control unit; and controlling the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator to provide an active aligning torque using the electronic control unit. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification