Motor vehicle steering system with automatic disturbance suppression

Claim 2

A motor vehicle steering system for use on a motor vehicle, comprising: a steering wheel; means for determining a steering rate of said steering wheel; at least one road wheel steerable by said steering wheel; a steering actuator connected to said steering wheel for turning the steering wheel; sensor means for detecting a motor vehicle behavior induced by a disturbance applied to the motor vehicle; and control means for determing a control signal at least based on the motor vehicle behavior detected by said sensor means and for applying said control signal to said steering actuator to turn said steering wheel in a direction to suppress the motor vehicle behavior, said control signal including a control component serving to damp said steering rate, determined by said steering rate determinating means, in a predetermined manner.

Claim 3

A motor vehicle steering system according to claim 1, wherein said sensor means comprises a yaw rate sensor for detecting a yaw rate as said behavior.

Claim 4

A motor vehicle steering system according to claim 1, wherein said sensor means comprises a lateral acceleration sensor for detecting a lateral acceleration as said behavior.

Claim 5

A steering system according to claim 1, wherein said sensor means detects a yaw rate and a lateral acceleration of the motor vehicle; and said control means determines two components of said control signal based on the sensed yaw rate and lateral acceleration respectively.

Claim 6

A motor vehicle steering system according to claim 1, wherein said control means applies said control signal to said steering actuator to turn said steering wheel during all traveling operations of the vehicle.

Claim 7

A steering system according to claim 1, wherein said control means determines said control component using a linear transfer function.

Claim 8

A motor vehicle steering system according to claim 1, wherein said sensor means comprises a yaw rate sensor for detecting a yaw rate as said behavior, and a lateral acceleration sensor for detecting a lateral acceleration as said behavior.

Claim 9

A motor vehicle steering system according to claim 7, wherein said control means comprises means for converting said yaw rate and said lateral acceleration into respective components according to predetermined functions, and means for adding said components into said control signal.

Claim 10

A motor vehicle steering system according to claim 1, further including a steering mechanism for steering said at least one road wheel in response to steering action of said steering wheel.

Claim 11

A motor vehicle steering system according to claim 9, wherein said steering mechanism is electrically operatively connected to said steering wheel.

Claim 12

A motor vehicle steering system according to claim 9, wherein said steering mechanism is mechanically operatively connected to said steering wheel, said steering mechanism including said steering actuator.

Claim 13

In a motor vehicle steering system having a steering handle movable by an operator of the vehicle for controlling steering actions of the vehicle, an improvement comprising: means for determining a steering rate of said steering handle; means for detecting a motor vehicle behavior induced by a disturbance applied to the motor vehicle; and means for applying a force to said steering handle which urges the steering handle to move in a direction that will suppress the motor vehicle behavior, said force including a component serving to damp said steering rate, determined by said steering rate determining means, in a predetermined manner.

Claim 14

In a motor vehicle steering system having a steering handle movable by an operator of the vehicle for controlling steering actions of the vehicle, an improvement comprising: means for determining a steering rate of said steering handle; means for detecting a motor vehicle behavior induced by a disturbance applied to the motor vehicle; and means for applying a force to said steering handle which urges the steering handle to move in a direction that will suppress the motor vehicle behavior, said force including a component serving to damp said steering rate, determined by said steering rate determining means, in a predetermined manner.

Claim 15

A motor vehicle steering system according to claim 12, wherein said detecting means comprises at least one of a yaw rate sensor and a lateral acceleration sensor.

Claim 16

A motor vehicle steering system according to claim 12, further including a steering mechanism for steering at least one road wheel in response to steering action of the steering handle.

Claim 17

A motor vehicle steering system according to claim 14, wherein said steering mechanism is electrically operatively connected to said steering handle.

Claim 18

A motor vehicle steering system according to claim 14, wherein said steering mechanism is mechanically operatively connected to said steering handle, and said steering mechanism includes said force applying means.

Claim 19

A motor vehicle steering system according to claim 12, wherein said force applying means is adapted to apply a force to the steering handle which may be easily opposed by the vehicle operator.

Claim 20

A motor vehicle steering system according to claim 12, wherein said force applying means applies said force to said steering handle during all traveling operations of the vehicle.

Claim 21

A steering system according to claim 12, including means for determining said force using linear transfer functions.

Claim 22

A motor vehicle steering system for use on a motor vehicle, comprising: a steering wheel; at least one road wheel steerable by said steering wheel; means for determining a steering rate of said steering wheel; a steering actuator connected to said steering wheel for turning the steering wheel; a steering mechanism for steering at least one road wheel in response to steering action of said steering wheel, said steering mechanism being electrically operatively connected to said steering wheel; sensor means for detecting a motor vehicle behavior induced by a disturbance applied to the motor vehicle; and control means for determining a control signal based on the motor vehicle behavior detected by said sensor means and for applying said control signal to said steering actuator to turn said steering wheel in a direction to suppress the motor vehicle behavior during all traveling operations of the vehicle, said control signal including a control component serving to damp said steering rate, determined by said steering rate determining means, in a predetermined manner.

Claim 23

A motor vehicle steering system for use on a motor vehicle, comprising: a steering wheel; at least one road wheel steerable by said steering wheel; means for determining a steering rate of said steering wheel; a steering actuator connected to said steering wheel for turning the steering wheel; a steering mechanism for steering at least one road wheel in response to steering action of said steering wheel, said steering mechanism being electrically operatively connected to said steering wheel; sensor means for detecting a motor vehicle behavior induced by a disturbance applied to the motor vehicle; and control means for determining a control signal based on the motor vehicle behavior detected by said sensor means and for applying said control signal to said steering actuator to turn said steering wheel in a direction to suppress the motor vehicle behavior during all traveling operations of the vehicle, said control signal including a control component serving to damp said steering rate, determined by said steering rate determining means, in a predetermined manner.