ELECTRIC POWER STEERING APPARATUS

• US 20170232997A1
• Filed: 09/03/2015
• Published: 08/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NSK Limited
• Original Assignee: NSK Limited
• Inventors: TSUBAKI, Takahiro, OSHIMA, Atsushi
• Granted Patent: US 9,789,901 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0215 by measuring on the steering column
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 5/0409 Electric motor acting on the steering column
• 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 6/008 Control of feed-back to the steering input member, e.g. simulating road feel in steer-by-wire applications

Abstract

[Problem]

An object of the present invention is to provide an electric power steering apparatus that achieves desired steering feeling by controlling a column angle to follow a value corresponding to a steering angle and vehicle information, and that is not affected by variations in manufacturing, changes due to aging or the like of a vehicle and a steering system.

[Means for Solving the Problem]

An electric power steering apparatus that calculates a current command value based on at least a steering torque, and assists and controls a steering system by driving a motor based on the current command value, comprises a target column angle calculating section that calculates a target column angle based on a steering angle and vehicle information, and a column angle control section that calculates the current command value based on the target column angle and a detected actual column angle; and performs angle control of making a column angle a value corresponding to the steering angle and the vehicle information.

Claims

1-8. -8. (canceled)

9. An electric power steering apparatus that calculates a current command value based on at least a steering angle, and assists and controls a steering system by driving a motor based on said current command value, comprising:

a target column angle calculating section that calculates a target column angle based on said steering angle and vehicle information; and

a column angle control section that calculates said current command value based on said target column angle and a detected actual column angle;

wherein said column angle control section comprises a target column angular velocity calculating section that calculates a target column angular velocity based on a difference between said target column angle and said actual column angle, a differentiating section that calculates an actual column angular velocity based on said actual column angle, and a velocity control section that calculates said current command value based on said target column angular velocity and said actual column angular velocity;

wherein said velocity control section comprises a third subtracting section that obtains a velocity difference between said target column angular velocity and said actual column angular velocity, an integrating section that multiplies what is obtained by integrating said velocity difference by an integral gain, a proportional control section that multiplies said actual column angular velocity by a proportional gain, and a fourth subtracting section that obtains said current command value by subtracting an output of said proportional control section from an output of said integrating section; and

wherein said electric power steering apparatus performs angle control of making a column angle a value corresponding to said steering angle and said vehicle information.

11. The electric power steering apparatus according to claim 9, wherein

said vehicle information includes at least a vehicle speed, a yaw rate, and a lateral acceleration.

13. The electric power steering apparatus according to claim 9, wherein

a limiter that outputs said current command value by limiting upper and lower limit values of the output from said velocity control section is added.

15. The electric power steering apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

a limiter that outputs said current command value by limiting upper and lower limit values of the output from said velocity control section is added.

10. An electric power steering apparatus that calculates a current command value based on at least a steering angle, and assists and controls a steering system by driving a motor based on said current command value, comprising:

a target column angle calculating section that calculates a target column angle based on said steering angle and vehicle information; and

a column angle control section that calculates said current command value based on said target column angle and a detected actual column angle;

wherein said column angle control section comprises a target column angular velocity calculating section that calculates a target column angular velocity based on a difference between said target column angle and said actual column angle, a differentiating section that calculates an actual column angular velocity based on said actual column angle, and a velocity control section that calculates said current command value based on said target column angular velocity and said actual column angular velocity;

wherein said target column angular velocity calculating section comprises a second subtracting section that obtains an angle difference between said target column angle and said actual column angle, and a position control section that calculates said target column angular velocity by multiplying said angle difference by a proportional constant;

wherein said velocity control section comprises a third subtracting section that obtains a velocity difference between said target column angular velocity and said actual column angular velocity, an integrating section that multiplies what is obtained by integrating said velocity difference by an integral gain, a proportional control section that multiplies said actual column angular velocity by a proportional gain, and a fourth subtracting section that obtains said current command value by subtracting an output of said proportional control section from an output of said integrating section; and

wherein said electric power steering apparatus performs angle control of making a column angle a value corresponding to said steering angle and said vehicle information.

12. The electric power steering apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

said vehicle information includes at least a vehicle speed, a yaw rate, and a lateral acceleration.

14. The electric power steering apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

a limiter that outputs said current command value by limiting upper and lower limit values of the output from said velocity control section is added.

16. The electric power steering apparatus according to claim 12, wherein

a limiter that outputs said current command value by limiting upper and lower limit values of the output from said velocity control section is added.

17. An electric power steering apparatus that calculates a current command value based on at least a steering angle, and assists and controls a steering system by driving a motor based on said current command value, comprising:

a target column angle calculating section that calculates a target column angle based on said steering angle and vehicle information; and

a column angle control section that calculates said current command value based on said target column angle and a detected actual column angle;

wherein said column angle control section comprises a target column angular velocity calculating section that calculates a target column angular velocity based on a difference between said target column angle and said actual column angle, a differentiating section that calculates an actual column angular velocity based on said actual column angle, a velocity feed-forward control section that performs velocity feed-forward control of said target column angle, an adding section obtains a final target column angular velocity by adding a velocity feed-forward control value from said velocity feed-forward control section to said target column angular velocity, and a velocity control section that calculates said current command value based on said final target column angular velocity and said actual column angular velocity; and

wherein said electric power steering apparatus performs angle control of making a column angle a value corresponding to said steering angle and said vehicle information.

18. The electric power steering apparatus according to claim 17, wherein

said vehicle information includes at least a vehicle speed, a yaw rate, and a lateral acceleration.

19. The electric power steering apparatus according to claim 17, wherein

said target column angle calculating section comprises a steering torque setting section that sets a desired steering torque depending on said steering angle, a dividing section that calculates a target twist angle by dividing said desired steering torque by a spring constant of a torsion bar, and a first subtracting section that subtracts said target twist angle from said steering angle.

20. The electric power steering apparatus according to claim 18, wherein

said target column angle calculating section comprises a steering torque setting section that sets a desired steering torque depending on said steering angle, a dividing section that calculates a target twist angle by dividing said desired steering torque by a spring constant of a torsion bar, and a first subtracting section that subtracts said target twist angle from said steering angle.

21. The electric power steering apparatus according to claim 17, wherein

a limiter that outputs said current command value by limiting upper and lower limit values of the output from said velocity control section is added.

22. The electric power steering apparatus according to claim 18, wherein

a limiter that outputs said current command value by limiting upper and lower limit values of the output from said velocity control section is added.

23. The electric power steering apparatus according to claim 19, wherein a limiter that outputs said current command value by limiting upper and lower limit values of the output from said velocity control section is added.

24. The electric power steering apparatus according to claim 20, wherein

a limiter that outputs said current command value by limiting upper and lower limit values of the output from said velocity control section is added.