Control apparatus with stability compensator for electric power steering system

• US 5,732,373 A
• Filed: 04/10/1996
• Issued: 03/24/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NSK Limited
• Original Assignee: NSK Limited
• Inventors: Endo, Shuji
• Primary Examiner(s): ZANELLI, MICHAEL J
• Application Number:
  US08/629,893
• Time in Patent Office: 713 Days
• Field of Search: 364/424.051, 364/424.052, 180/443, 180/446
• US Class Current: 701/42
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 5/0463 calculating assisting torque from the motor based on driver input

Abstract

A control apparatus to be employed in electric power steering system for controlling the output of a motor aiding a steering operation in accordance with the value of a current control signal computed from a detected motor current and the value of a current command signal computed in accordance with a steering torque. The control apparatus comprises an electronic control circuit including a CPU. A stabilization compensator is inserted into a later stage of a torque sensor for detecting a steering torque in order to improve the stability and responsiveness of the control system. The characteristic of the stabilization compensator is expressed by the following characteristic C(s) which has a functions to eliminate a peak at a resonance frequency of a resonance system including inertia and spring elements in the electric power steering system:

C(s)=(s.sup.2 +a.sub.1 s +a.sub.2)/(s.sup.2 +b.sub.1 s+b.sub.2)

where notation s is the Laplacean operator and symbols a₁, a₂, b₁ and b₂ denote parameters determined by the resonance frequency of the resonance system.

Claims

1. A control apparatus employed in electric power steering system for controlling the output of a motor for providing a power aiding a steering force to a steering mechanism in accordance with the value of a current control signal computed from the magnitude of a detected motor current and the value of a current command signal computed in accordance with at least a steering torque generated at a steering shaft, comprising:

a stabilization compensator for compensating the stability of said control apparatus provided at a later stage of a torque sensor for detecting said steering torque;

wherein said stabilization compensator has a function for eliminating a peak at a resonance frequency of a resonance system comprising inertia and spring elements employed in said electric power steering system and has a characteristic expressed by the following characteristic C(s) which functions to improve the stability and responsiveness of said control system;

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">C(s)=(s.sup.2 +a.sub.1 s+a.sub.2)/(s.sup.2 +b.sub.1 s+b.sub.2)

where notation s is the Laplacean operator and symbols a₁, a₂, b₁ and b₂ denote parameters determined by said resonance frequency of said resonance system.

2. A control apparatus employed in electric power steering system according to claim 1, wherein said control apparatus is constituted to include an electronic control circuit based on a microcomputer.

3. A control apparatus employed in electric power steering system according to claim 2, wherein said stabilization compensator serves as a functional means implemented by execution of processing based on said characteristic C(s) by said microcomputer employed in said electronic control circuit.

4. A control apparatus employed in electric power steering system according to claim 3, wherein said characteristic expressed by said characteristic C(s) is a characteristic implemented by execution of processing based on the following numerical arithmetic expression Tc(k) by said microcomputer employed in said electronic control circuit:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">Tc(k)=f.sub.1 T(k)+f.sub.2 T(k-1)+f.sub.3 T(k-2) -e.sub.1 Tc(k-1)-e.sub.2 Tc(k-2)

where T(k) is an A/D transformed value of said steering torque T obtained from data sampling,

T(k-1) is the value of an immediately previous sample of said steering torque T(k),

T(k-2) is a value of the immediately previous sample of said steering torque T(k-1),

Tc(k) is an output of said stabilization compensator,

Tc(k-1) is a value of an immediately previous sample of said output Tc(k),

Tc(k-2) is a value of the immediately previous sample of said output Tc(k-1), and

f_l, f₂, f₃, e₁ and e₂ are parameters determined by said resonance frequency of said resonance system.

5. A control apparatus employed in electric power steering system for controlling the output of a motor for providing a power aiding a steering force to a steering mechanism in accordance with the value of a current control signal computed from the magnitude of a detected motor current and the value of a current command signal computed in accordance with at least a steering torque generated at a steering shaft, comprising:

a torque sensor for detecting said steering torque generated at said steering shaft;

a motor-current detecting circuit for detecting a current flowing to said motor; and

an electronic control circuit based on a microcomputer for computing the value of said current control signal from the detected motor current and the value of said current command signal computed in accordance with at least said steering torque;

wherein said electronic control circuit is provided a stabilization compensator having a characteristic expressed by the following characteristic C(s) for compensating the stability of said control apparatus with respect to said steering torque detected;

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">C(s)=(s.sup.2 +a.sub.1 s+a.sub.2)/(s.sup.2 +b.sub.1 s+b.sub.2)

where notation s is the Laplacean operator and symbols a₁, a₂, b₁ and b₂ denote parameters determined by a resonance frequency of a resonance system included in said electric power steering system.

6. A control apparatus employed in electric power steering system according to claim 5, wherein said stabilization compensator is designed to carry out data processing based on the following numerical arithmetic expression Tc(k) by means of said microcomputer employed in said electronic control circuit:

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">Tc(k)=f.sub.1 T(k)+f.sub.2 T(k-1)+i f.sub.3 T(k-2)-e.sub.1 Tc(k-1)-e.sub.2 Tc(k-2)

where T(k) is an A/D transformed value of said steering torque T obtained from data sampling, T(k-1) is a value of an immediately previous sample of said steering torque T(k), T(k-2) is a value of the immediately previous sample of said steering torque T(k-1),

Tc(k) is an output of said stabilization compensator, Tc(k-1) is a value of an immediately previous sample of said output Tc(k),

Tc(k-2) is a value of the immediately previous sample of said output Tc(k-1), and f₁, f₂, f₃ e₁ and e₂ are parameters determined by said resonance frequency of said resonance system.