Vehicle steering system

• US 7,613,556 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2007
• Issued: 11/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jtekt Corporation (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Jtekt Corporation (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Maeda, Naoki, Maeda, Shingo, Yamanaka, Kosuke, Maeda, Daisuke, Arima, Masanori, Kouchi, Tatsuma, Ishihara, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Keith; Jack W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LICHTI, MATTHEW L
• Application Number:
  US11/760,206
• Publication Number:
  US 20070288143A1
• Time in Patent Office: 879 Days
• Field of Search: 701 23- 25, 701 41- 43, 701/70, 701/72, 701/301, 180/170, 180/168, 180421-423, 180443-446
• US Class Current: 701/41
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0285 Parking performed automatically
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 5/0481 monitoring the steering system, e.g. failures

Abstract

In a steering-without-driving state, a larger current limit value, drive limit time and steering angle deviation threshold value are set than when a low-speed driving state occurs. An automatic parking mode is held until a time period over which a state where a motor current value of an electric motor which drives a steering mechanism is equal to the current limit value reaches the drive limit time. Even though the state where the motor current value is equal to the current limit value has continued over the drive limit time, the automatic parking mode is held during the steering angle deviation not exceeding the steering angle deviation threshold value. When the state where the motor current value is equal to the current limit value has continued over the drive limit time Ta and that the steering angle deviation exceeds the threshold value, the automatic parking control is cancelled.

Claims

1. A vehicle steering system comprising:

a vehicle steering mechanism including a manual steering element that receives a driver steering force;

a steering actuator comprising an electric motor configured to impart a steering force to the steering mechanism independent of the manual steering element;

an automatic steering controller configured to perform an automatic steering control by controlling the steering actuator based on a target steering angle;

a steering-without-driving determination unit configured to determine the presence of a steering-without-driving condition in which the steering mechanism performs a steering operation while the vehicle is stopped during the automatic steering control by the automatic steering controller;

a threshold value setting unit configured to set a threshold value of at least an operating characteristic of the steering actuator, for canceling the automatic steering control by the automatic steering controller, the threshold value being set so that the automatic steering control is made more difficult to be cancelled at the time the steering-without-driving determination unit determines that the steering-without-driving occurs as compared with at the time the steering-without-driving determination unit determines that the steering-without-driving does not occur; and

an automatic steering cancellation unit configured to cancel the automatic steering control by the automatic steering control unit based on the threshold value set by the threshold value setting unit,

wherein the operating characteristic of the steering actuator include a drive limit value of the steering actuator, the drive limit value of the steering actuator comprising a current limit value which is a maximum allowable value of the motor current, further comprising an actuator drive value obtaining unit configured to obtain a value of an electric current corresponding to a drive value for the steering actuator,

wherein the threshold value setting unit includes a drive limit value setting unit is configured to variably set a drive limit value for the steering actuator,

wherein the drive limit setting unit is configured to set the drive limit value larger at the time the steering-without-driving determination unit determines that the steering-without-driving occurs as compared with that at the time the steering-without-driving determination unit determines that the steering-without-driving does not occur, and

wherein the automatic steering cancellation unit is configured to cancel the automatic steering control by the automatic steering controller on condition that the drive value obtained by the actuator drive value obtaining unit reaches the drive limit value set by the drive limit value setting unit.

2. The vehicle steering system according to claim 1, wherein

the threshold value setting unit includes a drive limit time setting unit configured to variably set a drive limit time which is a limit time during which the steering actuator is kept driven at the drive limit value,

the drive limit time setting unit is configured to set the drive limit time longer at the time the steering-without-driving unit determines that the steering-without-driving occurs as compared with that at the time the steering-without-driving determination unit determines that the steering-without-driving does not occur, and

the automatic steering cancellation unit is configured to cancel the automatic steering control by the automatic steering controller on condition that a time period over which the actuator is kept driven at the drive limit value reaches a drive limit time set by the drive limit time setting unit.

3. The vehicle steering system according to claim 2 further comprising a steering angle detector configured to detect an actual steering angle of the steering mechanism,

wherein the threshold value setting unit includes a deviation threshold value setting unit configured to variably set a deviation threshold value related to a steering angle deviation which is a deviation of an actual steering angle detected by the steering angle detector relative to the target steering angle,

wherein the deviation threshold value setting unit is configured to set the deviation threshold value larger at the time the steering-without-driving determination unit determines that the steering-without-driving occurs as compared with that at the time the steering-without-driving determination unit determines that steering-without-driving does not occur, and

wherein the automatic steering cancellation unit is configured to cancel the automatic steering control by the automatic steering controller on condition that the time period over which the actuator is kept driven at the drive limit value reaches the drive limit time set by the drive limit time setting unit, and the steering angle deviation exceeds a deviation threshold value set by the deviation threshold value setting unit.