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US4951207A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Method for controlling the front wheel steer angle

Assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
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Filing: 1988-09-23
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Granted: 1990-08-21
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Expires: 2008-09-23
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Abstract

Abstract The method of the present invention improves the damping property of the yaw motion of the vehicle by feeding back a detected yaw rate value in a dynamic sense for compensating the front wheel steer angle so as to increase the damping coefficient of the yaw motion of the vehicle. By controlling the front wheel steer angle by accounting for not only the proportional term of the steering wheel input angle but also the derivative term which is proportional to the steering wheel input angular speed, in the feed-forward control of the front wheel steer angle in relation with the steering operation by the driver, and by appropriately varying the control parameters of the yaw rate feed-back and the steering wheel input feed-forward, the yaw response of the vehicle can be made proportional to the steering wheel input, and the response delay in the yaw rate against the steering wheel input can be reduced to substantially zero.

Inventors

  • 👤 Yoshimi Furukawa
  • 👤 Akihiko Takei
  • 👤 Shinnosuke Ishida
  • 👤 Nobuyuki Oono

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-31 19:53
CPC Classifications
B; B62; B62D; B62D5/00; B62D5/008; B62D6/00; B62D6/002; B62D6/003

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim 186 words
A method for controlling a front wheel steer angle δ f of a vehicle having a front wheel steering system, comprising the steps of: detecting the speed of the vehicle; detecting a value of a yaw rate r of the vehicle; computing parameters T 1 and T d for respectively time delay and damping properties of the yaw response of the system as a function of the detected speed; and steering the front wheels of the vehicle at the front wheel steer angle δ f which is computed as a sum of a steering wheel input angle feed-forward term f 1 (δ sw ) which is a function of the steering wheel input angle δ sw , and a yaw rate feed-back term f 2 (r) which is a function of the detected value of the yaw rate r, according to the formula δ.sub.f =f.sub.1 (δ.sub.sw)+f.sub.2 (r); (7) and based on a transfer function of the yaw rate feed-back term f 2 (r) with respect to the yaw rate r given by ##EQU10## where s is the Laplace variable and { } denotes the Laplace transformation.
Claim 2
Independent Claim 186 words
A method for controlling a front wheel steer angle δ f of a vehicle having a front wheel steering system, comprising the steps of: detecting the speed of the vehicle; detecting a value of a yaw rate r of the vehicle; computing parameters T 1 and T d for respectively time delay and damping properties of the yaw response of the system as a function of the detected speed; and steering the front wheels of the vehicle at the front wheel steer angle δ f which is computed as a sum of a steering wheel input angle feed-forward term f 1 (δ sw ) which is a function of the steering wheel input angle δ sw , and a yaw rate feed-back term f 2 (r) which is a function of the detected value of the yaw rate r, according to the formula δ.sub.f =f.sub.1 (δ.sub.sw)+f.sub.2 (r); (7) and based on a transfer function of the yaw rate feed-back term f 2 (r) with respect to the yaw rate r given by ##EQU10## where s is the Laplace variable and { } denotes the Laplace transformation.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 88 words
A method for controlling the front wheel steer angle as defined in claim 1, wherein a transfer function of the yaw rate r with respect to the front wheel steer angle δ f , or G 1 (s), is given by ##EQU11## where T r is an advance time constant of the yaw rate, ζ is a damping coefficient, ω n is the natural frequency of the yawing motion and G 1 (0) is the yaw rate when the vehicle is undergoing a steady turn where T.sub.1 =T.sub.r.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 39 words
A method for controlling the front wheel steer angle as defined in claim 2, wherein T 1 and T d are both functions of the vehicle speed, and T 1 and T d increase as the vehicle speed increases.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 52 words
A method for controlling the front wheel steer angle as in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the steering wheel input angle feed-forward term f 1 (δ sw ) is {f.sub.1 (δ.sub.sw)/δ.sub.sw }=(1/n) (1+T.sub.2 s) (11) where T 2 is a second time delay coefficient, and n is a steering gear ratio.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 26 words
A method for controlling the front wheel steer angle as defined in claim 4, wherein the T.sub.2 =(1/ω.sub.n.sup.2) (1/Tr) (12) and T.sub.d ={T.sub.r +T.sub.2 -(2ζ/ω.sub.n)}×{1/G.sub.1 (0)}(13)
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 61 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: performing the step of computing in a computer; providing a resulting drive signal representing a correction to the steering wheel angle based on the step of computing to a motor; and driving a steering gear box of the vehicle by the motor so as to control the front wheel steer angle.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 21 words
The method of claim 6, wherein the step of driving the steering gear box is performed by a geared addition mechanism.
Claim 9
Independent Claim 132 words
A method for controlling front wheel steer angle in a vehicle having a front wheel steering system, comprising the steps of: detecting the speed of the vehicle; detecting a yaw rate of the vehicle; computing parameters for damping and time delay of a yaw response of the system as a function of the detected speed; and steering the front wheels of the vehicle at the front wheel steer angle which is computed as the sum of a steering wheel input angle feed-forward term which is a function of a steering wheel input angle, and a yaw rate feed-back term which is a function of the detected yaw rate; and based on a transfer function of the yaw rate feed-back term which is a function of the computed damping and time delay parameters.
Claim 10
Independent Claim 132 words
A method for controlling front wheel steer angle in a vehicle having a front wheel steering system, comprising the steps of: detecting the speed of the vehicle; detecting a yaw rate of the vehicle; computing parameters for damping and time delay of a yaw response of the system as a function of the detected speed; and steering the front wheels of the vehicle at the front wheel steer angle which is computed as the sum of a steering wheel input angle feed-forward term which is a function of a steering wheel input angle, and a yaw rate feed-back term which is a function of the detected yaw rate; and based on a transfer function of the yaw rate feed-back term which is a function of the computed damping and time delay parameters.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 71 words
A method as in claim 8, wherein a transfer function of the yaw rate is a function of an advance time constant of the yaw rate, a damping coefficient, a natural frequency of the yawing motion and the yaw rate when the vehicle is undergoing a steady turn, then said advance time constant of the yaw rate is equal to the time delay parameter of the yaw response of the system.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 41 words
A method as in claim 8, wherein both the parameters for the damping and time delay of the yaw response of the system are functions of the speed of the vehicle, and said both parameters increase as the vehicle speed increases.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 27 words
A method as in claim 8, wherein the steering wheel input angle feed-forward term is a function of a time delay coefficient and a steering gear ratio.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 59 words
A method as in claim 8, wherein the time delay parameter is a function of a natural frequency of a yawing motion and an advance time constant of the yaw rate; and the damping parameter is a function of a natural frequency of the yaw rate, the advance time constant of the yaw rate, and the time delay parameter.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US4705130A Cited
US4720791A Cited
US4720790A Cited
US4773012A Cited
US4706771A Cited
US4706979A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1993-08-20 1994-02-19 1994-08-21 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1997-08-20 1998-02-19 1998-08-21 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2001-08-20 2002-02-19 2002-08-21 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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