Vehicle steering system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A vehicle steering system comprising:
- a steering mechanism including an input section, and a steering section which is mechanically separated from the input section, and arranged to steer a vehicle in accordance with a steering input quantity of the input section;
an actuating section to impart an actual torque to the steering mechanism, the actuating section including a plurality of drive units to produce the actual torque; and
a controlling section to control the actuating section to achieve a target torque with the drive units, the controlling section including a plurality of control units one of which serves as a representative unit calculating a common torque share from the target torque, and all of which control the drive units, respectively, in accordance with the common torque share calculated by the representative unit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a vehicle steering system, a steering mechanism includes an input section, and a steering section mechanically separated from the input section, and arranged to steer a vehicle. An actuating section includes a plurality of drive units for producing an actual torque to the steering mechanism. A controlling section includes a plurality of control units to control the drive units, respectively, in accordance with a common torque share calculated by one of the control units.
18 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A vehicle steering system comprising:
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a steering mechanism including an input section, and a steering section which is mechanically separated from the input section, and arranged to steer a vehicle in accordance with a steering input quantity of the input section;
an actuating section to impart an actual torque to the steering mechanism, the actuating section including a plurality of drive units to produce the actual torque; and
a controlling section to control the actuating section to achieve a target torque with the drive units, the controlling section including a plurality of control units one of which serves as a representative unit calculating a common torque share from the target torque, and all of which control the drive units, respectively, in accordance with the common torque share calculated by the representative unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A vehicle steering system comprising:
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a steering mechanism including an input section, and a steering section which is mechanically separated from the input section, and arranged to steer a vehicle in accordance with a steering input quantity of the input section;
an actuating section to impart an actual torque to the steering mechanism, the actuating section including a plurality of drive units to produce the actual torque; and
a controlling section to control the actuating section to achieve a target torque with the drive units, the controlling section including a plurality of control units to control the drive units, respectively, in accordance with a common torque share calculated by one of the control units, wherein each of the control units is configured to select a role between a representative unit for calculating the common torque share and transmitting the common torque share, and a non-representative unit for receiving the common torque share from the representative unit, wherein each of the control units is configured to detect an operating condition in the unit, to send information on the operating condition through the communication line, and to determine the role between the representative unit and the non-representative unit, in accordance with the operating conditions of the control units, wherein each of the control units is configured to detect an abnormal state in the unit, to send information on the abnormal state through the communication line, and to determine the role between the representative unit and the non-representative unit, in accordance with a predetermined order of priority among the control units, excluding one or more control units, if any, which are in the abnormal state, and wherein each of the control units, when serving as the representative unit, calculates the common torque share in accordance with the number of control unit or control units which are not in the abnormal state. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A vehicle steering system comprising:
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a steering mechanism including an input section, and a steering section which is mechanically separated from the input section, and arranged to steer a vehicle in accordance with a steering input quantity of the input section;
an actuating section to impart an actual torque to the steering mechanism, the actuating section including a plurality of drive units to produce the actual torque; and
a controlling section to control the actuating section to achieve a target torque with the drive units, the controlling section including a plurality of control units to control the drive units, respectively, in accordance with a common torque share calculated by one of the control units, wherein each of the control units is configured to select a role between a representative unit for calculating the common torque share and transmitting the common torque share, and a non-representative unit for receiving the common torque share from the representative unit, and wherein each of the control units comprises an operating condition sensor to sense an operating quantity of the steering mechanism, and each control unit, when serving as the representative unit, calculates the common torque share in accordance with the operating quantity sensed by the operating condition sensor within the control unit. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A control process for controlling a vehicle steering system including:
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a steering mechanism including an input section, and a steering section which is mechanically separated from the input section, and arranged to steer a vehicle in accordance with a steering input quantity of the input section;
an actuating section to impart an actual torque to the steering mechanism, the actuating section including a plurality of drive units to produce the actual torque; and
a controlling section to control the actuating section to achieve a target torque with the drive units, the controlling section including a plurality of control units to control the drive units, respectively;
the control process comprises;
selecting one of the control units as a representative unit;
causing the representative unit to calculate a common torque share in accordance with a target torque; and
producing the actual torque by causing all the control units to control the drive units, respectively in accordance with the common torque share calculated by the representative unit.
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Specification