Steering system for a vehicle
First Claim
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1. A steering system for a vehicle having steerable front and rear roadwheels, comprising:
- a manually operable front steering gear for steering the front wheels of said vehicle;
an electronically controlled rear steering gear for steering the rear wheels of said vehicle; and
control means for operating said rear steering gear according to at least the steering position of said front steering gear, with said control means comprising;
first sensor means for sensing the on-center position of said front steering gear and for providing a front center signal to a control module whenever said front steering gear is centered;
second sensor means for sensing the on-center position of said rear steering gear and for providing a rear center signal to said control module whenever said rear steering gear is centered;
third sensor means for sensing the position of said front steering gear at any point along its travel path and for providing a corresponding front steering position signal to said control module andfourth sensor means for sensing the position of said rear steering gear at any point along its travel path and for providing a corresponding rear steering position signal to said control module.
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Abstract
A steering system for a vehicle having steerable roadwheels on more than one axle includes a manually operable front steering gear for steering the front wheels of the vehicle, an electronically controlled second steering gear for steering the roadwheels of the vehicle on a second axle and a control system for operating the second steering gear, with the control system including paired steering position sensors within each of the steering gears.
11 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A steering system for a vehicle having steerable front and rear roadwheels, comprising:
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a manually operable front steering gear for steering the front wheels of said vehicle; an electronically controlled rear steering gear for steering the rear wheels of said vehicle; and control means for operating said rear steering gear according to at least the steering position of said front steering gear, with said control means comprising; first sensor means for sensing the on-center position of said front steering gear and for providing a front center signal to a control module whenever said front steering gear is centered; second sensor means for sensing the on-center position of said rear steering gear and for providing a rear center signal to said control module whenever said rear steering gear is centered; third sensor means for sensing the position of said front steering gear at any point along its travel path and for providing a corresponding front steering position signal to said control module and fourth sensor means for sensing the position of said rear steering gear at any point along its travel path and for providing a corresponding rear steering position signal to said control module. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A steering system for a vehicle having steerable front and rear roadwheels, comprising:
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a manually operable rack and pinion front steering gear for steering the front wheels of said vehicle; an electronically controlled rear steering gear for steering the rear wheels of said vehicle; and control means for operating said rear steering gear according to at least the steering position of said front steering gear, with said control means comprising; sensor means for sensing the position of said rack at any point along its travel path and for providing a front steering position signal to a control module; sensor means for sensing the position of said rear steering gear at any point along its travel path and for providing a rear steering position signal to said control module; and calibration means for maintaining the values of said steering position signals in correspondence with the actual steering positions of said front and rear steering gears.
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14. A method for operating a steering system for a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
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sensing the center position of a first steering gear, associated with the front wheels of said vehicle, by a first steering position sensor means; recording the value of a signal generated by a second steering position sensor means associated with said first steering gear upon sensing of said center position by said first sensor means; sensing the center position of a second steering gear, associated with the rear wheels of said vehicle, by a third steering position sensor means; recording the value of a signal generated by a fourth steering position sensor means associated with said second steering gear upon sensing of said center position by said third sensor means; and comparing values derived from said recorded signal values from said second and fourth sensor means with the instantaneous outputs of said second and fourth sensor means to determine the instantaneous steering positions of said first and second steering gears, respectively. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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Specification