Method of and apparatus for controlling steering of a vehicle
First Claim
1. A steering control method performed by a steering control apparatus for automatically steering a vehicle so as to cause the vehicle to run on a predetermined track, the vehicle incorporating steering mechanisms including actuators by means of which front and rear wheels of the vehicle run on the track, said method comprising the steps of:
- preparing a pattern steering angle table on which pattern steering angles for the front and rear wheels are listed for respective change points of the track before starting, in view of a track condition, a running condition and a vehicle condition from a departure point to a destination point in order to steer the vehicle in accordance with the pattern steering angles which are read from the table at every change point while a traveled distance from the departure point is detected,detecting a track widthwise position of the vehicle on running on the track so as to calculate correcting steering angles with which the track widthwise position of the vehicle coincides with a desired position, andadding the correcting steering angles to the pattern steering angles so as to calculate desired steering angles in order to steer the front and rear wheels in accordance with the desired steering angles,wherein the pattern steering angles, the correcting steering angles and the desired steering angles for the front wheels and for the rear wheels are independently calculated from each other.
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Accused Products
Abstract
According to a steering control method, before starting, a pattern steering angle table on which pattern steering angles for the front and rear wheels at respective change points of the track are listed is prepared in view of a track condition, etc. from a departure point to a destination point, a vehicle is steered in accordance with a pattern steering angle read from the table, a track widthwise position of the vehicle on running is detected so as to calculate correcting steering angles by which the track widthwise position of the vehicle coincides with a desired position, and the correcting steering angles are added to pattern steering angles so as to obtain desired steering angles by which the front wheels are steered. The pattern steering angle, the corrected steering angle and the desired steering angle are calculated for each of the front and rear wheels, independent from each other.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. A steering control method performed by a steering control apparatus for automatically steering a vehicle so as to cause the vehicle to run on a predetermined track, the vehicle incorporating steering mechanisms including actuators by means of which front and rear wheels of the vehicle run on the track, said method comprising the steps of:
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preparing a pattern steering angle table on which pattern steering angles for the front and rear wheels are listed for respective change points of the track before starting, in view of a track condition, a running condition and a vehicle condition from a departure point to a destination point in order to steer the vehicle in accordance with the pattern steering angles which are read from the table at every change point while a traveled distance from the departure point is detected, detecting a track widthwise position of the vehicle on running on the track so as to calculate correcting steering angles with which the track widthwise position of the vehicle coincides with a desired position, and adding the correcting steering angles to the pattern steering angles so as to calculate desired steering angles in order to steer the front and rear wheels in accordance with the desired steering angles, wherein the pattern steering angles, the correcting steering angles and the desired steering angles for the front wheels and for the rear wheels are independently calculated from each other. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A steering control apparatus for a vehicle, including a steering mechanism for automatically steering front and rear wheels of the vehicle by actuators so to cause the vehicle to run on a predetermined track, said steering control apparatus comprising:
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a start preparation means including a storage means for storing therein a distance, a track condition, a running condition and a vehicle condition from a departure point to a destination point, and a first computing means for computing pattern steering angles for the front and rear wheels at respective change points of the track from data stored in the storage means so as to prepare a pattern steering angle table on which the pattern steering angles for the front and rear wheels at the respective change points are listed, an on-running steering control means including; a means for detecting a track widthwise position of the vehicle, a distance detecting means for detecting a distance from a departure point, a second computing means for receiving steering angle data on the pattern steering angle table and distance data from the distance detecting means, for calculating a pattern steering angle at an arbitrary running point, and for receiving vehicle position data from the vehicle position detecting means so as to calculate a correcting steering angle with which the track widthwise position of the vehicle coincides with a desired position, and a control means for controlling the actuators in accordance with the pattern steering angle and the correcting steering angle calculated by the second computing means, wherein the on-running steering control means is provided independently to each of the front and rear wheels. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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Specification