Patent classifications
B62D3/126
Systems and Methods for Compensating for Steering System Failure
An electric vehicle controls turning of the electric vehicle in accordance with the orientation of the wheels and skid steering to match the path and turning radius as indicated by the steering wheel. A processing circuit detects the position of the steering wheel and determines the direction of the turn and the resulting path and turning radius of the electric vehicle. The processing circuit either measures the orientation of the wheels or captures data regarding the turning radius of the electric vehicle. The processing circuit controls the traction motors of the electric vehicle so that the actual path and turning radius of the electric vehicle matches the path and turning radius indicated by the steering wheel. Further, the processing circuit may further control controls the traction motors to attempted to maintain the speed of the electric vehicle as indicated by the throttle.
Detecting damage to components of an electric power steering system
An electric power steering system. The system includes a steering rack having a first end and a second end and at least one damper coupled to one of the first end and the second end. The system also includes an electronic controller configured to determine if the damper has been destroyed based upon a sensed steering angle being above a maximum steering angle threshold or based upon a received signal from an electrical circuit enclosed within the at least one damper.
Steering device
A steering device includes: a housing including a first planar surface, the housing being configured to accommodate a part of a rack shaft; an electric motor including a second planar surface facing the first planar surface, the electric motor including a bracket configured to support a rotary shaft; a tightening member configured to tighten the housing and the bracket in a state where the first planar surface and the second planar surface are mated; and a sealing member configured to provide sealing between the housing and the bracket at a position that is closer to the rotary shaft than the tightening member is. At least one of the first planar surface and the second planar surface is formed with a recess located between the tightening member and the sealing member and depressed from the at least one of the first planar surface and the second planar surface.
Turning system
A turning system is configured to move a turning shaft to turn a left wheel and a right wheel of a vehicle. The turning shaft is configured to couple the left wheel and the right wheel to each other. A torsion bar is engaged with the turning shaft via a steering gear box. The turning system includes: a turning mechanism including (i) an electric turning mechanism including an electric motor configured to rotate a portion of the torsion bar which is located upstream of the steering gear box and (ii) a hydraulic turning mechanism configured to apply a moving force to the turning shaft in an axial direction, the moving force being produced by a hydraulic pressure; and an electric-motor controller configured to control the electric motor based on a frictional force in the turning mechanism and a road-surface reaction force that acts between (a) a tire on the left wheel and a tire on the right wheel and (b) a road surface.
Bearing and steering mechanism
To reduce the effect of a steering operation on feeling. A rack bush comprises: a bush body that is accommodated in a cylindrical housing, supports a load exerted on a rack bar while allowing the rack bar to move in the direction of an axial center O, and can be extended and retracted in a radial direction; and an elastic ring mounted on the bush body. The bush body has a mounting groove for mounting the elastic ring, the mounting groove being formed peripherally in an outer peripheral surface, and the mounting groove having a large-diameter part where the circumferential radius of a groove bottom is a first radius r1, and a small-diameter part where said radius is a second radius r2 that is less than the first radius r1. This configuration allows the formation of an elastic ring protruding part, in which the elastic ring protrudes greatly from the outer peripheral surface of the bush body, and an elastic ring embedded part, in which the elastic ring is embedded in the outer peripheral surface of the bush body.
ANTI-ROTATION BUSHING FOR STEERING ASSEMBLY RACK EPS SYSTEM
A steer-by-wire steering system for a vehicle includes a rack moveable in an axial direction, the rack having a bushing engagement portion comprising an outer surface including a plurality of rack flat surfaces. The steering system also includes an anti-rotation bushing disposed proximate an outer surface of the rack at the bushing engagement portion of the rack, the anti-rotation bushing having a plurality of bushing flat surfaces, wherein the number of the plurality of rack flat surfaces and the number of the plurality of bushing flat surfaces is identical.
METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A RACK COMPRISING VARIABLE-PITCH TOOTHING IMPLEMENTING A ROUGHING STEP FOLLOWED BY A FINISHING STEP AND A HELICAL BROACHING TOOL
A method for manufacturing a rack including a toothing with variable pitch includes a roughing step, in which a blank of the rack is produced, the blank including at least one extra thickness on at least one zone of the toothing compared to a desired dimensional feature of the rack. The method also includes a finishing step, in which the at least one extra thickness of the blank is removed.
ELECTRIC POWER STEERING APPARATUS
The present disclosure relates to an electric power steering apparatus including a rack housing extending in length along a lateral direction of a vehicle and opened by a hollow formed along its longitudinal direction to wrap a rack bar with both ends connected to tires, respectively, bellows connected to both ends of the rack housing, respectively, and formed to be flexibly stretched or contracted in an axial direction, a steel band provided to surround an end of the bellows connected to the rack housing to fix a connection of the rack housing and the bellows, and a coupler provided at the both ends of the rack housing and the end of the bellows and configured to couple the rack housing and the bellows so that, when the rack housing and the bellows are connected, the bellows is not separated from the rack housing and maintained connected thereto.
STEERING DEVICE FOR STEERING A VEHICLE, AND METHOD FOR DETECTING AN INGRESS OF WATER USING SUCH A STEERING DEVICE
The disclosure relates to a steering device for steering a vehicle, having a housing and having a rack. The rack is movable in the longitudinal direction of the rack and in relation to the housing. The rack has a detection installation for detecting an ingress of water. In order to be able to detect an ingress of water at an early stage, in a reliable manner and/or by an ideally cost-effective detection installation. The steering device includes that the detection installation has at least one friction installation which reacts to an ingress of water. The friction installation, upon reacting to the ingress of water and in the event of a movement of the rack, causing an increase in friction.
Steering gearbox
A steering gearbox is equipped with a casing, a rack shaft, and a plurality of bushes. The rack shaft is accommodated in a casing to be movable in an axial direction. The plurality of bushes support the rack shaft to be movable in the axial direction and are attached to the casing.