Steering Assist System for vehicles
First Claim
1. A steering assist system for vehicles, comprising:
- a steering system for steering a vehicle;
an actuator for applying a steering torque to said steering system;
actual direction detecting means for detecting an actual traveling direction of said vehicle;
target direction detecting means for detecting a tangential direction of a road on which said vehicle is traveling; and
control means for controlling said actuator so as to produce a controlled steering torque which tends to reduce a deviation of said actual traveling direction of said vehicle from said road tangential direction.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In a power assisted vehicle steering system, an actual traveling direction of the vehicle, and a tangential direction of a road on which the vehicle is traveling are detected, and the actuator for the steering system is controlled so as to reduce or minimize a deviation of the actual traveling direction of the vehicle from the road tangential direction. Thus, a supplemental steering torque is produced so as to force the direction of the vehicle into agreement with the direction of the road so that the effort required for the vehicle operator to maintain the vehicle on the road can be reduced or even eliminated, and the lateral stability of the vehicle is improved both on straight roads and curved roads.
19 Citations
9 Claims
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1. A steering assist system for vehicles, comprising:
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a steering system for steering a vehicle; an actuator for applying a steering torque to said steering system; actual direction detecting means for detecting an actual traveling direction of said vehicle; target direction detecting means for detecting a tangential direction of a road on which said vehicle is traveling; and control means for controlling said actuator so as to produce a controlled steering torque which tends to reduce a deviation of said actual traveling direction of said vehicle from said road tangential direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A steering assist system for vehicles, comprising:
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a steering system for steering a vehicle; an actuator for applying a steering torque to said steering system; actual direction detecting means for detecting an actual traveling direction of said vehicle; target direction detecting means for detecting a tangential direction of a road on which said vehicle is traveling; and control means for controlling said actuator so as to produce a controlled steering torque which tends to minimize a deviation of said actual traveling direction of said vehicle from said road tangential direction.
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Specification