The present embodiments may provide a steer by wire type steering apparatus including a screw shaft rotating in conjunction with the steering shaft, a moving member coupled to an outer circumferential side of the screw shaft and moving in the axial direction when the screw shaft rotates, a housing in which the screw shaft and the moving member are embedded, and a guide member coupled to the housing to support the moving member and guide the axial movement of the moving member.

The present disclosure is directed to a cooling system for a system, such as an electric power assisted steering (EPAS) system and the components of such system, such as a motor. The cooling system includes a temperature sensor coupled to an electric motor of the EPAS system, one or more fluid reservoirs, and a fluid transfer device coupled to the motor and to the first fluid reservoirs. The fluid transfer device extends along a length of the motor. The cooling system further includes a pump coupled to the fluid reservoir and the fluid transfer device, a control unit coupled to the sensor and the pump. The control unit is configured to activate the pump in response to temperature detected by the sensor being greater than or equal to a first threshold motor temperature. The pump transfers the fluid in the fluid reservoirs to the fluid transfer device for absorbing the heat of the motor. The fluid transfer device is configured to contain the transferred fluid.

There is provided a novel electric power steering device capable of continuing a steering assist function as much as possible even in an environment where moisture enters inside a housing of an electric motor due to breakage of a rubber boot and an electrical short circuit phenomenon occurs. A stator 14 around which a winding is wound is vertically divided into two areas in the direction of gravity, a winding 16 of one system is wound in the upper stator area of the stator 14 while the winding 16 of the other system is wound in the lower stator area of the stator 14, and power of the winding of one system is controlled by an electronic control means 33 of one system while power of the winding of the other system is controlled by an electronic control means 34 of the other system. Even if moisture enters inside the housing of the electric motor due to breakage of the rubber boot, occurrence of the electrical short circuit phenomenon is suppressed at least in the winding wound on the upper side, whereby the steering assist can be continued.

A microcomputer stores an offset correction value for correcting an offset of a detected current along with a pulse shift for each of a detected current of a maximum phase to which power is supplied for the longest time among three phases and a detected current of a minimum phase to which power is supplied for the shortest time among the three phases, and corrects the detected current of each of the phases with use of the stored offset correction values for the detected current of the maximum phase and the detected current of the minimum phase.

A current sensor state determination device determines that an abnormality is caused in a current sensor when a sum of phase currents based on current detection values from each of the current sensors in three phases is greater than a first determination value, and determines that no abnormality is caused in the current sensor when the sum of phase currents is equal to or less than the first determination value. The state determination device determines that the current sensor is normal when it is determined that (i) no abnormality is caused in a preset electric angle range equal to or less than one electric-angle cycle of the rotating electric machine and (ii) a value of an electric current flowing in the rotating electric machine in a rotating coordinates system calculated based on the current detection value is equal to or greater than a second determination value.

An electric power steering system includes an electric motor configured to provide power to a steering mechanism of a vehicle. A controller operates the electric motor in response to an input. A flash memory device is in communication with the controller. A temperature sensor provides an output indicative of a temperature of a part of the electric power steering system. The controller is configured to power down or prevent power up of the flash memory device if the temperature of the electric power steering system is outside of a predetermined temperature range. A method of operating an electric power steering system includes measuring a temperature of the electric power assisted steering system and switching off a flash memory device of the electric power steering system if the temperature of the electric power steering system is outside of a predetermined temperature range.

Among other things, we describe techniques for electric power steering torque compensation. Techniques are provided for a method implemented by a computer, e.g., a computer onboard an autonomous vehicle. A planning circuit onboard the vehicle and connected to an EPS of the vehicle determines a compensatory torque signal to modify an actual steering angle of a steering wheel of the vehicle to match an expected steering angle of the steering wheel. The planning circuit transmits the compensatory torque signal to a control circuit that controls the steering angle of the steering wheel. The EPS modifies the actual steering angle based on the compensatory torque signal resulting in a modified steering angle. The control circuit operates the vehicle based on the modified steering angle.

Technical solutions are described for controlling operation of an electric machine such as a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive or motor control system to limit battery current and protect a battery from excessive discharging or charging current from the PMSM drive. Systems and methods employ a torque control algorithm for PMSMs that uses a battery current limit constraint when generating current commands during each of a maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) operation, and maximum torque per voltage (MTPV) operation. Torque search operations are performed in each of the MTPA and MTPV operation regions in a PMSM drive system until current commands are achieved under a given battery current limit constraint and while maintaining maximum voltage utilization throughout all PMSM operation regions.

A method and equipment for calibrating the steering angle sensor system of an electric steering system of a transportation vehicle during a software update, wherein the steering angle sensor system has a rotor position sensor for determining the rotor position of the electric motor of the electric steering system and the steering angle is derived from the rotor position. The method includes starting the software update, reading in and saving the present position data of the electric motor of the steering system, reading in and saving the memory values of the present calibration of the steering angle sensor system, cyclically monitoring the rotor position of the electric motor using the rotor position sensor, performing the software update, terminating the software update, and writing back the memory values of the calibration and releasing the software update.

An inverter control device including at least first and second inverters includes: a current detector that detects a current flowing through a main circuit of the first inverter; a current controller that generates a voltage command value of the first inverter on the basis of a detected current and a current command; and a voltage command predictor that generates a voltage command value of the second inverter on the basis of a variation of the voltage command value of the first inverter.