Vehicle steering system

• US 9,457,840 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2014
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jtekt Corporation (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Jtekt Corporation (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kouchi, Tatsuma
• Primary Examiner(s): Hilgendorf, Dale W
• Application Number:
  US14/221,594
• Publication Number:
  US 20140297122A1
• Time in Patent Office: 928 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 5/0472 for damping vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 6/04 responsive only to forces disturbing the intended course of the vehicle, e.g. forces acting transversely to the direction of vehicle travel
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 6/06 responsive only to vehicle vibration dampening arrangements steering dampers for cycles B62K21/08

Abstract

A vehicle steering system includes an axial force sensor that detects a vibration of a vehicle wheel; and a control device including an FFT analysis unit that resolves the vibration of the vehicle wheel into a power spectrum. The control device executes compensation assist control that suppresses one of a deflection of the vehicle and a vibration of a steering component that are caused by a puncture or a burst of the vehicle wheel, based on the vibration calculated based on a radius of the vehicle wheel when the vehicle wheel is normal and a vehicle speed and an abnormal-wheel frequency calculated based on a radius of the vehicle wheel when the vehicle wheel is punctured or burst and the vehicle speed.

Claims

1. A vehicle steering system comprising:

a sensor that detects a vibration of a vehicle wheel of a vehicle; and

a control device including a frequency analysis unit that resolves the vibration of the vehicle wheel detected by the sensor into a power spectrum at each predetermined frequency,

wherein the control device executes compensation assist control that suppresses at least one of a deflection of the vehicle and a vibration of a steering component of the vehicle that are caused by a puncture or a burst of the vehicle wheel, based on the vibration of the vehicle wheel that occurs in a specific frequency domain to distinguish between the vibration of the vehicle wheel caused by surface kickback and the vibration of the vehicle wheel caused by the puncture or burst of the vehicle wheel, the specific frequency domain being formed by a frequency range between a normal-wheel frequency calculated based on a radius of the vehicle wheel when the vehicle wheel is normal and a traveling speed of the vehicle, and an abnormal-wheel frequency calculated based on a radius of the vehicle wheel when the vehicle wheel is punctured or burst and the traveling speed.

2. The vehicle steering system according to claim 1, wherein the control device executes the compensation assist control based on whether an integrated value of the power spectrum within the specific frequency domain is within a preset range.

3. The vehicle steering system according to claim 1, wherein the control device executes the compensation assist control based on whether a maximum value of the power spectrum within the specific frequency domain is equal to or larger than a preset threshold.

4. The vehicle steering system according to claim 1, wherein the control device executes the compensation assist control based on whether a shape of the power spectrum within the specific frequency domain is coincident with a shape of a power spectrum stored in advance.

5. The vehicle steering system according to claim 1, wherein the control device changes the specific frequency domain based on the traveling speed of the vehicle.

6. The vehicle steering system according to claim 1, wherein when the traveling speed of the vehicle is represented by V, the radius of the vehicle wheel when the vehicle wheel is normal is represented by R1, and the radius of the vehicle wheel when the vehicle wheel is punctured or burst is represented by R2, the normal-wheel frequency FQ1 is expressed by FQ1=V/2π

R1, and the abnormal-wheel frequency FQ3 is expressed by FQ3=V/2π

R2; and

wherein the specific frequency domain is set to a domain that is equal to or higher than the normal-wheel frequency FQ1 and equal to or lower than the abnormal-wheel frequency FQ3.