Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110074323 | MULTI-PHASE ROTARY MACHINE CONTROL APPARATUS AND ELECTRIC POWER STEERING SYSTEM USING THE SAME - A failure identification part identifies a switching element pair having off-failure, in which a FET of the switching element pair in a first inverter part is disabled to turn on. A failure-time control part controls other switching element pairs and of the first inverter part based on failure-time phase current command values calculated as a function of a rotation position and a q-axis current command value. The failure-time control part controls a second inverter part normally. A motor is persistently driven with the minimum reduction in motor torque, even when the FET fails. | 03-31-2011 |
20110087456 | ROTATION ANGLE DETECTION DEVICE AND ELECTRIC POWER STEERING SYSTEM - Bridge circuits have half bridges formed of sensor elements, which vary respective impedances in accordance with a rotating magnetic field generated by a rotary object. A control unit acquires output signals produced from intermediate points of the half bridges, and calculates a rotation angle of the rotary object based on the output signals. The control unit determines that the output signal is abnormal, if a calculation value of the output signal calculated based on at least four output signals is outside a predetermined range. The control unit thus determines which one of the output signals has become abnormal due to failure or the like. | 04-14-2011 |
20110290580 | Motor drive apparatus and electric power steering system using the same - A motor drive apparatus includes a control circuit, which determines that a wire connecting a battery to a first power supply relay and a second power supply relay is broken, and not failure of the power supply relays, if power is not supplied to a motor from the power supply relays when the power supply relays are controlled to turn on. The location of failure can thus be specified accurately. It is only necessary in this case to replace the wire. The motor drive apparatus need not be disassembled or investigated in detail. Man-power for specifying the failure location can be reduced. | 12-01-2011 |
20110303479 | Steering control apparatus - A steering control apparatus acquires vibration torque, which is generated by vibration of a gear mechanism when a steering wheel is operated at a steering angle. By setting the acquired vibration torque as a torque difference, an EPS motor current command value is corrected based on the torque difference thereby to calculate a corrected EPS motor current command value. Rattling and vibration caused in the gear mechanism are suppressed from being transferred to the steering wheel through an input shaft so that a driver is released from uncomfortable feeling. | 12-15-2011 |
20110313620 | Steering control apparatus - A VGRS device checks whether assist control of an EPS device for assisting steering operation of a steering wheel is being stopped. If the assist control of the EPS device is being stopped, a speed increase ratio is determined so that the rotation angle of the output shaft is less than the rotation angle of the input shaft. A VGRS motor is controlled and driven based on a determined speed increase ratio. Thus, steering operation of the steering wheel can be controlled appropriately so that the steering operation of the steering wheel can be continued with relatively small torque. It is less likely that a driver will erroneously feel that the steering wheel is locked. | 12-22-2011 |
20120035810 | Steering control apparatus - In a steering control apparatus, a worm gear is configured to have a lead angle for a self-lock operation, by which a worm wheel is allowed to rotate by rotation of a worm but the worm is not allowed to rotate by rotation of the worm wheel. Thus, a lock mechanism need not be provided separately from a gear mechanism and the apparatus is reduced in entire size. A VGRS control part checks whether the worm gear has a self-lock failure, which disables the self-lock operation. If the worm gear has the self-lock failure, idling suppression processing is performed to suppress idling of a steering wheel. Thus, even when the self-lock failure arises, the steering wheel is suppressed from idling. | 02-09-2012 |
20120055730 | Steering control apparatus - A steering control apparatus has a variable gear ratio device and a power steering device. If abnormality arises in the VGRS device, an EPS motor is controlled based on a steering wheel angle and a speed increase ratio. Thus, vehicle wheels are controlled appropriately when abnormality arises in the VGRS device. Steered angle of the vehicle wheels relative to the steering wheel angle is not changed between before and after occurrence of abnormality in the VGRS device. As a result, movement of a vehicle does not deviate from the steering wheel angle and feeling of discomfort in steering a vehicle can be reduced. | 03-08-2012 |
20120111658 | VEHICULAR STEERING CONTROL APPARATUS - A vehicular steering control apparatus has a steering direction control device and a reaction force application device. The steering direction control device controls a steering angle of steered wheels by controlling a steering direction control motor based on a steering wheel angle. The reaction force application unit is provided more closer to a steering wheel than the steering direction control device is and has a differential reduction unit and a reaction force application motor. The differential reduction unit transfers rotation of an input shaft to an output shaft. The reaction force application motor drives the differential reduction unit. The steering wheel and the steered wheels are normally linked mechanically, so that no fail-safe device is needed. | 05-10-2012 |
20120330510 | STEERING CONTROL SYSTEM - In a steering control system, an ECU calculates a basic assist torque in accordance with a steering torque detected by a torque sensor, and a corrected assist torque by correcting the calculated basic assist torque in accordance with the position of a rack by making corrections so that the basic assist torque decreases when the rack moves from a predetermined first position, which is close to a first end of a movable range, to the first end or from a predetermined second position, which is close to a second end of the movable range, to the second end. The ECU determines either the basic assist torque or the corrected assist torque as the assist torque in accordance with the position of the rack. The ECU controls the drive of an actuator in accordance with the determined assist torque. | 12-27-2012 |
20120330511 | STEERING CONTROL SYSTEM - In a steering control system, an ECU calculates a basic transfer ratio in accordance with a steering angle detected by a steering angle sensor or a corrected transfer ratio by correcting the calculated basic transfer ratio in accordance with the position of a rack. The corrected transfer ratio decreases when the rack moves from a predetermined first position close to one end of a movable range, to the one end or from a predetermined second position close to the other end of the movable range, to the other end. The ECU determines either the basic transfer ratio or the corrected transfer ratio as the transfer ratio in accordance with the position of the rack. The ECU controls an actuator for a variable gear ratio system in accordance with the transfer ratio. | 12-27-2012 |
20130184937 | VEHICULAR POWER SUPPLY SYSTEM - In a vehicular power supply system, a main battery supplies electric power to both main machine drive circuit, which drives a main motor for driving a vehicle, and a steering assist drive circuit, which drives a steering assist motor of a power steering apparatus. A main machine switching circuit, which is capable of shutting off power supply to the main machine drive circuit, and an auxiliary machine switching circuit, which is capable of shutting off power supply to the steering assist drive circuit are provided in parallel. As long as the auxiliary machine switching circuit is turned on, power supply to the steering assist drive circuit is continued even when the main machine switching circuit is turned off. | 07-18-2013 |
20130257328 | MOTOR DRIVE APPARATUS - When a failure detection part detects a failure in an inverter circuit in a first power supply system, a drive control part stops the inverter circuit from driving a motor. An on/off control part turns off a first power supply relay of a power supply on/off part. Under a state that the inverter circuit stops a motor driving operation, a first coil set of the motor generates an induced voltage by rotation caused by an external force. The induced voltage is regenerated to a battery from the inverter circuit through a second power supply relay and a parasitic diode of the first power supply relay. Thus, circuit elements in the power supply system, which is failing, are protected from breaking down. | 10-03-2013 |
20140019505 | TRANSFER FUNCTION ESTIMATION APPARATUS, METHOD AND PROGRAM - An apparatus for estimating a transfer function of at target object having divided systems is disclosed. The apparatus acquires an estimation equation to estimate the transfer function of the target object, and determines, for each arithmetic operation in the estimation equation, whether the arithmetic operation is an addition or a multiplication. For the multiplication, the apparatus performs the multiplication of frequency response characteristics in the frequency domain. For addition, the apparatus converts the frequency response characteristics into time response characteristics, performs the addition of the time response characteristics in the time domain, and reconverts a result of the addition into the frequency domain. | 01-16-2014 |
20140035491 | CONTROL APPARATUS OF ROTATING DEVICE - In a control apparatus of a rotating device, a voltage command value setting section sets terminal command values on the basis of a command value of a control amount of the rotating device. Individual correcting sections calculate feedback operation amounts on the basis of history information of electric currents flowing in respective terminals of the rotating device and corrects the terminal voltage command values with the feedback operation amounts. A prohibiting section prohibits difference corresponding amounts, which correspond to differences of the feedback operation amounts and an average of the feedback operation amounts, from being reflected in correcting the terminal voltage command values with maintaining polarities when a determining section determines that it is a switching time from one of a power-running control and a regeneration control to the other. | 02-06-2014 |
20140046548 | CONTROL SYSTEM AND VEHICLE STEERING CONTROL SYSTEM - A control system calculates inputs to a control target that has m inputs and n outputs (m=n, each of m and n is a natural number that is more than one), while designating a plurality of combinations of the inputs and the outputs. A feedback controller calculates, with respect to each designated combination, a control input to a non-interference controller based on a difference between a target value and a current value of the control quantity to make the current value follow the target value. The non-interference controller executes, with respect to each designated combination, a non-interference control to reduce influence due to mutual interference between n control quantities. This reduces the number of combinations of the inputs and the outputs, the combinations whose mutual interference needs considering; thereby, the non-interference control may be easily achieved. | 02-13-2014 |
20140360803 | STEERING CONTROLLER - A control section of a steering controller calculates a steer angle which is a turning angle of a first column shaft based on a first detection value detected by a steer angle sensor, and calculates a second shaft turning angle which is a turning angle of a second column shaft based on a second detection value detected by a second shaft rotation angle sensor. A steering torque detection value is calculated based on a third detection value detected by a torque sensor. An abnormality determination part determines abnormalities of the steering torque detection value based on the steer angle and the second shaft turning angle. Thereby, abnormalities of the steering torque detection value are detected without multiplexing the steering torque detection value. Further, if the steering torque detection value is multiplexed, an abnormal steering torque detection value can be specifically identified. | 12-11-2014 |