GB2420103A

GB2420103A - Electric power assist steering controller for left or right hand drive vehicles

Info

Publication number: GB2420103A
Application number: GB0509291A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kazushi Kimura; Isamu Nagai; Chiaki Fujimoto
Original assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Current assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Priority date: 2004-11-10
Filing date: 2005-05-06
Publication date: 2006-05-17
Anticipated expiration: 2025-05-06
Also published as: JP2006137243A; DE102005020632B4; GB2420103B; JP3945653B2; GB0509291D0; DE102005020632A1

Abstract

A vehicular electric power steering control apparatus can be commonly used for the left and right mounting positions of steering wheels without changing software. The apparatus includes a motor 7 for applying an assist force to a steering mechanism, and a controller 3 for supplying a current corresponding to a steering state of the steering mechanism to the motor. Upon installation, a part of the controller 3 acquires vehicle information related to the left or fight steering wheel 1 mounting position and a parameter related to the information is stored. After storage, the steering mechanism is controlled based on the parameter. However, in a production line mode, the parameter may not be referred to.

Description

ELECTRIC POWER STEERING CONTROL APPARATUS FORAVEHICLE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle with an electric motor that serves to provide an electric steering assist force with respect to the rotational operation of a steering wheel, and more particularly, it relates to an electric power steering control apparatus for a motor vehicle capable of performing steering control by obtaining vehicle information on a determination of the right or left mounting position of the steering wheel with respect to the motor vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, with motor vehicles, there are two kinds of steering wheel mounting modes for right-hand drive and left-hand drive. In known electric power steering control apparatuses for vehicles, two kinds of steering products for right-hand drive and left-hand drive are required.

As described above, it is necessary to produce two kinds of motor vehicles with steering wheels of different mounting positions, respectively, and the manufacture of vehicular electric power steering control apparatuses is influenced by the numbers of right-hand drive cars and right-hand drive cars, as a consequence of which a lot of useless or unnecessary costs are incurred in terms of production costs, management costs and the like.

Accordingly, in order to reduce these unnecessary costs, sharing of mechanical portions of vehicular electric power steering control apparatuses with respect to steering wheel mounting positions (for righthand and left-hand drives) is being advanced ( see, for instance, a first patent document: Japanese patent No. 3527469).

In a known apparatus described in the first patent document, in order to urge a steering assist force in the same direction as the steering direction of the steering wheel, it is necessary to rotate a motor in opposite directions for right- hand drive and for left-hand drive, respectively. To this end, for example, a brushed DC motor of a single phase is used so as to enable the sharing for right-hand and left-hand drives by a simple physical conversion such as switching between a positive electrode and a negative electrode of a motor current supply at its connector portion.

However, in the above-mentioned known apparatus, the motor mounting position is physically limited, so it cannot help design the motor mounting position in right and left ( bilateral) symmetry, as a consequence of which the rotational direction of the motor is reversed between the steering wheel mounting positions for right-hand drive and left-hand drive.

In addition, in recent years, increasing attention is being focused on environmental issues, and besides, an increased output of control electric power is demanded so as to accommodate vehicles of a relatively large displacement. Accordingly, since brushed DC motors can not respond to such a demand, brushless motors are being adopted.

However, since brushless motors are driven by polyphase as is well known, they can not be commonly used for left-hand and light-hand drives by simply exchanging the polarities of the motor current supply at its connector portion without changing software for its controller.

In conventional vehicular electric power steering control apparatuses, for instance, in case of the above-mentioned first patent document, the motor position is designed to have a left and right ( bilateral) symmetry due to physical limitations on the motor mounting position. Accordingly, there is a problem that the motor rotational direction is inverted by a difference in the mounting positions (right and left) of a steering wheel (for right-hand drive and left-hand drive).

Moreover, in the case of using a brushless motor of polyphase control, there is another problem that the brushless motor can not be commonly used for left-hand and light-hand drives through a simple physical exchange such as simply exchanging the polarities of the motor current supply at its connector portion without changing the software of the controller.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to obtain an electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle which is able to be commonly used with respect to the right and left mounting positions of a steering wheel without changing software for a controller regardless of the control of a single- phase or polyphase motor by acquiring vehicle information that contributes to a determination on the right or left mounting position of the steering wheel upon installation of the controller on the vehicle, storing parameters related to the vehicle information, and controlling a steering mechanism based on the parameters after storage thereof.

An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle according to the present invention includes a motor that applies a steering assist force to a steering mechanism of the vehicle, and a controller that supplies a current corresponding to a steering state of the steering mechanism to the motor. The controller includes: a vehicle information acquisition part that, upon installation of the controller on the vehicle, acquires, from the vehicle, vehicle information contributing to a determination on the right or left mounting position of a steering wheel of the vehicle: and a parameter storage part that stores a parameter related to the vehicle information. After the parameter has been stored in the parameter storage part, the steering mechanism is controlled based on the parameter stored in the parameter storage part.

According to the present invention, the electric power steering control apparatus can be used commonly for the right and left mounting positions of the steering wheel regardless of the control of a single-phase or polyphase motor without changing software.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a controller according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the controller according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a controller according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is an explanatory view illustrating a parameter storage area in a parameter storage part according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a controller according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a controller according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a controller according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a controller according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of a controller according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail while referring to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram that shows an electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates the functional construction of a controller 3 in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a flow chart that illustrates the operation of the electric power steering control apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In Fig. 1, the electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle includes a steering wheel 1 of the vehicle, a steering shaft 2 connected with the steering wheel 1, a controller 3 in the form of a microcomputer, an on-board battery 4, a torque sensor 5 and a speed reducer 6 both mounted on the steering shaft 2, and a motor 7 coupled with the speed reducer 6.

The steering wheel 1 to be steered by the driver of the vehicle, together with the steering shaft 2, the torque sensor 5 and the speed reducer 6, constitutes a steering mechanism, to which a steering assist force is applied through the speed reducer 6 by the motor 7 that is driven to operate under the control of the controller 3.

The controller 3 is powered to operate by the battery 4 so that a current corresponding to the steering state of the steering wheel 1 ( the steering mechanism) is supplied to the motor 7. That is, the controller 3 serves to drive the motor 7 in accordance with a steering torque signal from the torque sensor 5, so that the steering assist force is given to the steering wheel 1 through the speed reducer 6. The motor 7 constitutes the main body of the electric power steering apparatus that serves to drive the steering mechanism including the steering wheel 1 and the steering shaft 2. In Fig. 2, the controller 3 connected with an on-board LAN 101 is provided with a parameter generation part 102, a parameter storage part 103, and a control part 105. The parameter generation part 102 is connected to the on-board LAN 101 and the control part 105, and the control part 105 is connected to the on-board LAN 101, the parameter generation part 102 and the parameter storage part 103. In addition, the parameter storage part 103 has a parameter storage area 104 in the form of an EEPROM. The parameter generation part 102 and the control part 105 in the controller 3 constitute a vehicle information acquisition part that serves to acquire vehicle information through the on-board LAN 101. The vehicle information acquisition part acquires the vehicle information that contributes to a determination on the right or left mounting position of the steering wheel 1 (driver's seat position in the vehicle) when the controller 3 is installed on the vehicle. The parameter generation part 102 generates a parameter P related to the vehicle information, and the parameter storage part 103 stores the parameter P in the parameter storage area 104 of the parameter storage part 103.

After the parameter P is stored in the parameter storage area 104, the control part 105 in the controller 3 calculates a control signal for the motor 7 based on the parameter P stored in the parameter storage area 104 accordingly to drive the motor 7 so that the steering wheel 1 (the steering mechanism) is thereby controlled. That is, the control part 105 acquires the vehicle information input thereto through the on-board LAN 101 as data, determines the mounting position of the steering wheel 1 (i.e., whether right-hand drive or left- hand drive) from the vehicle information, and makes the parameter generation part 102 generate the parameter P that is used to control the motor 7. The parameter P thus generated is stored in the parameter storage area 104 by means of the parameter storage part 103. Hereinafter, the control part 105 performs control as the vehicular electric power steering control apparatus by controlling and driving the motor 7 while referring to the parameter P in the parameter storage area 104.

Here, note that the on-board LAN 101 is a means for inputting the vehicle information to the controller 3 by using communications, and is particularly effective in case where there is no room for the number of unused pins to assign right-hand or left-hand drive information in a connector connecting between the controller 3 and on-board devices.

Now, the operation of the vehicular electric steering control apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 will be described while referring to the flow chart of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 illustrates the procedure of the controller 3, wherein a processing routine in Fig. 3 is activated when power is turned on with the controller 3 being connected with the vehicle.

In Fig. 3, first of all, it is determined whether vehicle information has been received ( acquired) through the on-board LAN 101 ( step SlOl), and when it is determined that vehicle information has not been received (that is, NO), the control flow proceeds to step S104, whereas it is determined in step SlOl that the vehicle information has been received (that is, YES), the parameter P is generated from the thus received vehicle information by means of the parameter generation part 102 (step S102). At this time, the parameter generation part 102 functions in association with the control part 105 to determine the mounting position of the steering wheel 1 ( whether right-hand drive or left-hand drive) from the vehicle information, and generate the parameter P that is used to control the motor 7.

Subsequently, the parameter P generated in step S102 is written and stored into the storage area 104 of the parameter storage part 103 ( step S103).

Finally, the control part 105 performs driving control on the electric power steering system including the motor 7 (step Si 04), and then terminates the processing routine of Fig. 3. At this time, if the parameter P is stored in the parameter storage part 103, the control part 105 performs a control operation based on the parameter P thus stored, whereas if the parameter P is not stored, the control part 105 performs a control operation based on an initial parameter value that has been set beforehand.

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, when the controller 3 is connected with the vehicle, the vehicle information on the determination of the left-hand or right-hand mounting position of the steering wheel 1 is acquired, and the parameter P related to the vehicle information is stored so that the steering mechanism is controlled based on the parameter P after storage thereof. As a result, the left-hand or right- hand drive, i.e., the left-hand or right-hand position of the steering wheel 1, can be determined without changing software for the controller 3 regardless of the single phase or polyphase of the motor 7, whereby the electric power steering apparatus according to this embodiment can be shared or used commonly for left-hand drive and right-hand drive.

In addition, the vehicle information on the determination of the lefthand or right-hand mounting of the steering wheel 1 is acquired by vehicle communications through the on-board LAN 101, SO the parameter P can be automatically acquired based on the vehicle information thus obtained.

Embodiment 2.

Although in the above-mentioned first embodiment, the vehicle information is acquired as communication data through the on-board LAN 101, it may be acquired based on the state of pins in a connector ( not shown) that connects between the vehicle and the controller 3. In this case, when the controller 3 is connected with the connector, information indicative of the left- hand or right-hand position of the steering wheel 1 is assigned by the state of the connector pins. That is, the state of the connector pins corresponds to the connection state of the connector related to the steering mechanism or the connection state of hardware of the steering mechanism. As a result, the vehicle information acquisition part in the controller 3 can acquire the vehicle information based on the state of the connector pins. S For instance, assuming that with the use of one pin, the case of a voltage level indicating 5 V or higher is defined as " right-hand drive information, and the case of a voltage level indicating a GND potential is defined as "left-hand drive "information, it is possible to identify right-hand drive or left-hand drive according to the state of the connector pin Of course, it is also possible to perform assignment of information according to combinations of a plurality of connector pins instead of using one pin. In this case, too, the vehicle information can be automatically acquired according to the connection state of the connector or the connection state of related hardware.

Embodiment 3.

Although in the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, no reference has been made to any concrete example of the parameter P stored in the parameter storage area 104, it is desirable to use as the parameter P at least either of the direction of the current supplied to the motor 7, the direction of the torque generated by the motor 7, and the direction of the steering angle of the steering wheel 1.

The above-mentioned parameter P is important information directly related to the reliability of the vehicular electric power steering control apparatus, and is influenced particularly by the left-hand or right-hand position of the steering wheel 1, so it is necessary information indispensable to the control of the motor 7.

For instance, it is important to acquire information on the left-hand or right-hand position of the steering wheel 1 for controlling the direction of energization or supply of the motor current, the direction of the torque generated, the direction of the steering angle and soon, and hence it becomes impossible to perform control on the steering system if the left-hand or right- hand position of the steering wheel 1 is identified or recognized incorrectly. On the other hand, the coefficient of the vehicle speed, the coefficient of the number of revolutions per minute of the engine and so on are not affected by thedirection of the left-hand or right-hand position of the steering wheel 1, so it can be said that these parameters are low in reliability for the right or left mounting position of the steering wheel 1.

Accordingly, it is possible to control the motor 7 in an effective manner by using, as the parameter P, a parameter determining the direction of the current supplied to the motor 7, another parameter determining the direction of the torque generated by the motor 7, or a further parameter determining the direction of the steering angle of the steering wheel 1 ( the steering mechanism).

Embodiment 4.

Although in the above-mentioned first through third embodiments, no consideration has been given to the first installation of the controller 3 onto the vehicle, the processing of storing the parameter P may be carried out only when the controller 3 is first connected with the vehicle so as to prevent an operation of inadvertently rewriting the parameter P. In this case, the parameter storage part 103 (see Fig. 2) stores the parameter P only when the controller 3 is first connected with the vehicle.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart that illustrates the operation of a fourth embodiment of the present invention including, as a condition, the first installation of the controller 3. In Fig. 4, steps SiOl through S104 are the same processes as those referred to above ( see Fig. 3), but different therefrom only in that steps S201 and S202 are inserted before and after step Si 01, respectively.

In Fig. 4, first of all, according to whether F = 1 or not by referring to a vehicle installation or on-board flag F, it is determined whether the controller 3 has already been installed on the vehicle or not (i.e., the controller 3 is to be installed on the vehicle for the first time) (step S201).

In step S201, when the controller 3 has already been installed on the vehicle, and hence it is determined as F = 1 (that is, YES), the control flow advances to the control processing of the electric power steering (step S104).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S201 that the controller 3 is installed on the vehicle for the first time, and hence F = 0 (that is, NO), vehicle information acquisition processing is carried out, and it is determined whether vehicle information has been received (step Si 01).

When it is determined in step SlOl that vehicle information has not been received (that is, NO), the control flow proceeds to step S 104, whereas when it is determined in step SlOl that vehicle information has been received (that is, YES), the on-board flag F indicating that the controller 3 has already been installed on the vehicle is set to" ON (U I ")"(step S202). Thereafter, the processing of generating the parameter P (step S102) and the processing of writing and storing the parameter P ( step Si03) are carried out, and the control flow then proceeds to step S104.

When the on-board flag F for the controller 3 is once set to" 1 "in step S202, it is determined as F = 1 in step S201 (that is, YES), so the parameter writing processing (steps SlOl through S103) is never selected. Accordingly, since the parameter P is stored only when the controller 3 is first installed on the vehicle, the processing of inadvertently writing the parameter P can be prevented.

Embodiment 5.

Although in the above-mentioned first through fourth embodiments, no reference has been made to the number of storage locations of the parameter P, one parameter may be stored in a plurality of locations inside the parameter storage area 104. In this case, the parameter storage part 103 (see Fig. 2) comes to store one parameter P in a plurality of addresses n, n + 1, and n + 2 inside the parameter storage area 104, for example, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

Fig. 5 is an explanatory view that illustrates the parameter storage area 104 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, wherein the existence of the plurality of storage locations inside the parameter storage area 104 is shown. Fig. 6 is a flow chart that illustrates the operation of the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

In Fig. 6, steps SlOl, 5102 and S104 are the same processes as those referred to above (see Figs. 3 and 4), but different therefrom only in that step S301 is added in place of step S 103. In Fig. 6, subsequent to the processing of generating the parameter P ( step S102), the processing of storing the one parameter P ( step S301) is carried out, and the control flow then proceeds to step S104. That is, in step S301, the same parameter P is written into a plurality of storage locations (for instance, addresses n, n + 1, and n + 2) arranged in the parameter storage area 104.

Thus, one parameter is written in the plurality of locations, so that the same parameter is called from each of the corresponding addresses to provide redundancy. As a result, reliability at the time of writing and calling data can be improved as compared with the case where the parameter is written into a single location. For example, a logic can be constructed such that when the parameter P is called from each of the addresses n, n + 1, and n + 2 of the parameter storage area 104, the respective pieces of data thus called are compared with one another to verify coincidence therebetween, and if there is no error, it is determined that no error exists in writing the parameter P. As a result, the reliability of the parameter P can be improved.

Here, note that in case where there are a plurality of parameters, each parameter is written into a plurality of locations. For instance, when two parameters P i and P i + 1 are written, parameter P i is written into each of the addresses k, k + 1, and k + 2 in the parameter storage area 104, and parameter P I + I is written into each of addresses m, m 1, and m + 2 therein.

Embodiment 6.

Although in the above-mentioned first through fifth embodiments, no redundancy ha been given to the number of receptions ( acquisitions) of vehicle information, the parameter P may be stored after the same vehicle information has been acquired a predetermined number of times. In this case, the parameter storage part 103 (see Fig. 2) acquires the vehicle information a predetermined number of times a, for example, as shown in Fig. 7, and the parameter P is stored after it is detected that the respective pieces of vehicle information thus acquired the predetermined number of times a are identical with one another.

Fig. 7 is a flow chart that illustrates the operation of the sixth embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 7, steps SlOl through S104 are the same processes as those referred to above ( see Fig. 3), but different therefrom only in that steps S401 and S404 are inserted between steps SlOl and S102.

In Fig. 7, when it is determined in step SlOl that vehicle information has been received (that is, YES), it is further determined whether the number of receptions N reaches the predetermined number of times a or more (step S401).

When it is determined as N < a in step S401 (that is, NO), a counter value for counting the number of receptions N is incremented by 1 " ( step S402), and the processing routine of Fig. 7 is terminated, whereas when it is determined as N a in step S401 (that is, YES), it is subsequently determined whether the respective pieces of vehicle information thus received by the number of receptions N are identical with one another ( step S403).

When it is determined in step S403 that the respective pieces of vehicle information are identical with one another (that is, YES), the control flow advances to the processing of storing the parameter P (steps S102 and S103), whereas when it is determined in step S403 that the respective pieces of vehicle information are not identical with one another (that is, NO), the counter value for counting the number of receptions N is cleared to zero (step S404), and the processing routine of Fig. 7 is terminated.

Thus, the vehicle information is acquired by the predetermined number of times a, and after it is detected that the respective pieces of vehicle information thus acquired are the same with one another, the parameter P used to control the motor 7 is generated and stored, so that redundancy is added to the vehicle information to be used. As a consequence, the reliability of the parameter P can be improved.

Embodiment 7.

Although in the above-mentioned first through sixth embodiments, no consideration has been given to any combination of a plurality of different pieces of vehicle information data, a combination between a plurality of pieces of vehicle information may be considered. In this case, the parameter storage part 103 ( see Fig. 2) stores parameters that are generated based on combinations of the plurality of pieces of vehicle information.

Fig. 8 is a flow chart that illustrates the operation of the seventh embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 8, steps SlOl through S104 are the same processes as those referred to above ( see Fig. 3), but different therefrom only in that steps S501 and 5504 are inserted between steps SlOl and S102.

In Fig. 8, when it is determined in step SlOl that vehicle information has not been received (that is, NO), it is subsequently determined whether ship-to or destination information "to which a vehicle is shipped has been received as combined data of a plurality of pieces of vehicle information ( step S501).

In addition, when it is determined in step 5501 that the " ship-to or destination information "of the vehicle shipment has not been received (that is, NO), a determination is subsequently made as to whether any" part number" has been received as combined data of the plurality of pieces of vehicle information (step 5502).

When it is determined in step S502 that no " part number" has been received (that is, NO), the control flow proceeds to step S 104.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step SlOl that vehicle information has been received (that is, YES), or when determined in step S501 that "destination information " has been received ( that is, YES), or when determined in step S502 that a " part number " has been received (that is, YES), it is verified through comparison whether the plurality of pieces of vehicle information data thus received are identical with one another ( step S503). Subsequently, it is determined whether the pieces of data as a result of

the comparison are identical with one another ( step S504), and when determined that they are not identical with one another (that is, NO), the control flow proceeds to step S 104, whereas when determined that the pieces of data are identical with one another (that is, YES), the processing of generating the parameter P ( step S102) and the processing of storing the parameter P (step S103) are carried out, and the control flow then proceeds to step S104.

Thus, by generating the parameter P based on a combination of a plurality of pieces of vehicle information, and storing it in the controller 3, it is possible to improve the reliability of the parameter P. In particular, when the vehicle information data received from the on-board LAN 101 is acquired, as shown in Fig. 2, it is possible to determine the mounting position of the steering wheel 1 by combining a plurality of different pieces of vehicle information data.

Embodiment 8.

Although in the above-mentioned first through seventh embodiments, no consideration has been given to any production line mode of the steering mechanism as a control condition, at the time of a production line mode, as shown in Fig. 9, control on electric power steering for the purpose of inspection may be executed with the parameter P being fixedly set to the right" or" left by making direct reference to the vehicle information acquired from the vehicle without referring to the parameter storage part. In this case, the controller 3 includes a mode determination part that serves to determine whether it is a production line mode for the steering mechanism including the steering wheel 1, and when it is determined that it is the production line mode, the controller 3 controls the steering mechanism by making direct reference to the parameter P based on the vehicle information acquired from the vehicle without referring to the parameter P stored in the parameter storage part 103 ( the parameter storage area 104).

Hereinafter, a procedure according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention will be described while referring to Fig. 9 together with Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Fig. 9 is a flow chart that illustrates the operation of the eighth embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 9, step S104 is the same process as the above-mentioned one (see Fig. 3, Fig. 4 and Figs. 6 through 8).

First of all, the mode determination part in the controller 3 determines whether the present situation or status is a production line mode (step S601), and when determined that it is not the production line mode (that is, NO), the control flow proceeds to step S104, whereas when determined as the production line mode in step S601 (that is, YES), it is subsequently determined whether the vehicle information indicates the" right" or" left" (step S602).

When it is determined in step S602 that the vehicle information indicates the " left " (that is, NO), control on the electric power steering is carried out with the parameter P being fixed to the " left"(step S603), and the processing routine of Fig. 9 is then terminated, whereas when it is determined in step S602 that the vehicle information indicates the" right "(that is, YES), control on the electric power steering is carried out with the parameter P being fixed to the " right " ( step S604), and the processing routine of Fig. 9 is then terminated.

In general, at the production line mode, it is necessary to make parts of the apparatus temporarily assembled and operated, but the controller 3 is not installed on the vehicle, so the processing of storing the parameter P cannot be executed.

In addition, if the parameter P is stored in the parameter storage area 104 ( EEPROM) in a production line, it will take additional time and effort to perform data writing processing upon checking or inspection in the production line mode and to delete or erase the data at the time of shipment.

In contrast to this, in the production line mode, by generating the parameter P from the vehicle information acquired by communication data for example, as shown in Fig. 9, without referring to the stored data of the parameter P in the parameter storage part 103, and by using the parameter P thus generated by making direct reference thereto, it is possible to perform product inspections while omitting the data writing processing and the data erasure processing as referred to above.

Moreover, in the production line mode, position information indicating the" right or left" has no particular significance, so convenience in checking or inspection can be improved by performing control based on a parameter or parameters corresponding to the vehicle information.

Embodiment 9.

Although in the above-mentioned eighth embodiment, the parameter P is fixed to the " right " or " left "after making reference to the vehicle information acquired from the vehicle at the production line mode, the position information of the steering wheel 1 may be fixedly preset to the right " or left" as a temporary check or inspection parameter at the production line mode, as shown in Fig. 10.

In this case, when it is determined that the present situation or status is the production line mode, the parameter storage part 103 (see Fig. 2) fixedly presets the parameter information to the " right " ( or " left " ) , and upon completion of the production line mode, returns the stored contents of the parameter storage part to its initial state. Thereafter, the controller 3 controls the steering wheel 1 (the steering mechanism) based on the parameter P stored in the parameter storage area 104, as described above. That is, the controller 3 includes a mode determination part for determining whether the present status is a production line mode for the steering mechanism, controls the steering mechanism by referring to the fixedly preset parameter (the" right "for instance) when it is determined that the present status is the production line mode, but controls the steering mechanism based on the parameter P stored in the parameter storage area 104 upon completion of the production line mode.

Hereinafter, a procedure according to an ninth embodiment of the present invention will be described while referring to Fig. 10 together with Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Fig. 10 is a flow chart that illustrates the operation of the ninth embodiment of the present invention, wherein the case in which the check parameter at the production line mode is fixedly preset to the " right" is shown.

In Fig. 10, steps S601 and S104 are the same processes as those ( see Fig. 9) described above, and new processing steps S701 through S703 are added.

First of all, when it is determined in step S601 that the present status is not the production line mode (that is, NO), the control flow proceeds to step S702, wherein when it is determined in step S601 that the present status is the production line mode (that is, YES), the fixedly preset " right" is stored as the parameter P ( step S701), and it is determined whether the production line mode has been completed (step S702).

When it is determined in step S702 that the production line mode has not been completed (that is, NO), the electric power steering is controlled ( step S104), and the processing routine of Fig. 10 is terminated. In other words, if during the production line mode, control is carried out with the fixedly preset "right "being used as the parameter information.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S702 that the production line mode has been completed ( that is, YES), the stored information of the parameter P is initialized ( step S703), and the control process proceeds to step S104.

Thus, by fixedly setting the parameter P temporarily to the" right-hand drive "(or" left-hand drive ") as a check parameter at the production line mode, it is possible to carry out product inspections. In addition, convenience in checking or inspection can be improved by performing control based on the parameter information that has been fixedly preset to the " right" (or " left") at the product line mode, instead of acquiring the vehicle information as in the eighth embodiment, and by returning the parameter P to its initial state upon completion of the production line mode.

Embodiment 10.

Although in the above-mentioned first through ninth embodiments, no reference has been made to the deletion or erasure of the parameter P, provision may be made for a parameter deletion or erasure part in the controller 3 for deleting or erasing the parameter P stored in the parameter storage area 104. In this case, upon receipt of a deletion or erasure signal for instance, the parameter erasure part ( not shown) in the controller 3 deletes or erases the parameter stored in the parameter storage area 104. Such a parameter deletion part may be included in a parameter initialization part ( see step S703 in Fig. 10).

In addition, for example, when at least one command signal provided from external equipment is received, or when a specific operation is performed by the user, the parameter erasure part deletes or erases the parameter stored in the parameter storage part 103 (the parameter storage area 104). The parameter erasure part is useful when the parameter P was stored by mistake or when the contents temporarily stored at the production line mode is to be deleted or erased.

Here, note that as a method of triggering the parameter erasure part, it is considered that when the connector of the controller 3 can be directly seen, i.e., before the controller 3 is installed on the vehicle, a deletion or erasure signal is electrically provided to the connector as a trigger.

Further, when the controller 3 was installed on the vehicle, a trigger can be given to the parameter erasure part by doing a special operation such as an operation on the steering wheel of the vehicle, etc., which would be unlikely under normal operation. However, a complicated operation is needed in the method of performing such a special operation, and hence to avoid this, it is effective to use a method of providing an erasure trigger by means of a communication command signal. In this case, such a command signal can be provided from external equipment that can be connected to the communication line, so maintenance work can be further simplified.

Furthermore, by generating a plurality of signals as command signals to trigger the parameter erasure part, and using, as an actual trigger, an arbitrary combination of the plurality of the command signals, it is possible to prevent such errors or mistakes as inadvertently deleting or erasing the parameter P in the parameter storage part 103, etc. Embodiment 11.

Although no particular mention has been made in the above-mentioned first through tenth embodiments, the control of the steering mechanism may be inhibited until a parameter is stored. In this case, the controller 3 executes the control of the steering mechanism at the instant when the processing of storing the parameter P into the parameter storage part 103 has been completed, but does not execute the control of the steering mechanism when the processing of storing the parameter P has not been completed. In this manner, by inhibiting the control of the electric power steering when the parameter P is not stored, it is possible to achieve control in further consideration of safety.

While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is: 1. An electric power steering control apparatus for a

vehicle including: a motor that applies a steering assist force to a steering mechanism of said vehicle; and a controller that supplies a current corresponding to a steering state of said steering mechanism to said motor; said controller comprising: a vehicle information acquisition part that, upon installation of said controller on said vehicle, acquires, from said vehicle, vehicle information contributing to a determination on the right or left mounting position of a steering wheel of said vehicle: and a parameter storage part that stores a parameter related to said vehicle info rrnation; wherein after said parameter has been stored in said parameter storage part, said steering mechanism is controlled based on the parameter stored in said parameter storage part.
2. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein said vehicle information acquisition part acquires said vehicle information based on a connection state of a connector related to said steering mechanism or a connection state of hardware of said steering mechanism.
3. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein said vehicle information acquisition part acquires said vehicle information by data communicated between said vehicle information acquisition part and said vehicle.
4. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein said parameter comprises a parameter that determines the direction of current supplied to said motor.
5. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein said parameter comprises a parameter that determines the direction of torque generated by said motor.
6. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein said parameter comprises a parameter that determines the direction of a steering angle of said steering mechanism.
7. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein said parameter storage part stores said parameter only when said controller is first connected with said vehicle.
8. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein said parameter storage part stores said parameter in a plurality of locations.
9. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein said parameter storage part acquires said vehicle information a predetermined number of times, and stores said parameter after it is detected that said pieces of vehicle information which have been acquired said predetermined number of times are identical with one another.
10. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein said vehicle information comprises a plurality of pieces of vehicle information, and said parameter storage part stores said parameter that has been generated based on a combination of said plurality of pieces of vehicle information.
11. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein said controller includes a mode determination part that determines whether the present state is a production line mode for said steering mechanism, and when it is determined that the present status is said production fine mode, said controller controls said steering mechanism by making direct reference to a parameter based on said vehicle information acquired from said vehicle without referring to that parameter which has been stored in said parameter storage part.
12. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein said controller includes a mode determination part that determines whether the present status is a production line mode for said steering mechanism, and said controller controls, upon determination that the present status is said production line mode, said steering mechanism by referring to a preset parameter.
13. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein said controller includes a mode determination part that determines whether the present status is a production line mode for said steering mechanism, and said controller stores, upon determination that the present status is said production line mode, a parameter which has been preset to either the left or the right into said parameter storage part, controls said steering mechanism based on said parameter thus stored, and returns, upon completion of said production line mode, stored contents of said parameter storage part to its initial state.
14. Aj-i electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein said controller includes a parameter erasure part that erases said parameter stored in said parameter storage part.
15. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 14, wherein said parameter erasure part erases, upon receipt of an erasure signal, said parameter stored in said parameter storage part.
16. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 14, wherein said parameter erasure part erases, upon receipt of at least one command signal, said parameter stored in said parameter storage part.
17. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 16, wherein said at least one command signal is provided from external equipment.
18. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 14, wherein when a specific operation is performed by a user, said parameter erasure part erases said parameter stored in said parameter storage part.
19. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in claim 1, wherein said controller executes to control said steering mechanism at the instant when processing of storing said parameter into said parameter storage part has been completed, but does not execute to control said steering mechanism when the processing of storing said parameter has not been corn pleted.
20. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle, the said apparatus being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figures 1 to 3; or figure 4; or figures 5 and 6; or figure 7; or figure 8; or figure 9; or figure 10 of the accompanying drawings.

20. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle, the said apparatus being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figures 1 to 3; or figure 4; or figures 5 and 6; or figure 7; or figure 8; or figure 9; or figure 10 of the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows CLAIMS: 1. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle including: a motor operable to apply a steering assist force to a steering mechanism of said vehicle; and a controller operable to supply a current corresponding to a steering state of said steering mechanism to said motor so as to provide steering assistance to said steering mechanism; said controller comprising: a vehicle information acquisition part that, upon installation of said controller on said vehicle, is operable to acquire, from said vehicle, vehicle information relating to the right or left mounting position of a steering wheel of said vehicle: and a parameter storage part operable to store a parameter related to said vehicle information; wherein after said parameter has been stored in said parameter storage part, said steering assistance is controlled based on the parameter stored in said parameter storage part.

2. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 1, wherein said vehicle information acquisition part is operable to acquire said vehicle information based on a connection state of a connector related to said steering mechanism or a connection state of hardware of said steering mechanism.

3. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 1, wherein said vehicle information acquisition part is operable to acquire said vehicle information by data communicated between said vehicle information acquisition part and said vehicle.

4. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 1, wherein said parameter compnses a parameter used to determine the direction of current supplied to said motor.

5. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 1, wherein said parameter comprises a parameter used to determine the direction of torque generated by said motor.

6. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as et forth in Claim 1, wherein said parameter comprises a parameter used to determine the direction of a steering angle of said steering mechanism.

7. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 1, wherein said parameter storage part is operable to store said parameter oniy when said controller is first connected with said vehicle.

8. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 1, wherein said parameter storage part is operable to store said parameter in a plurality of locations.

9. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 1, wherein said parameter storage part is operable to acquire said vehicle information a predetermined number of times, and to store said parameter after it is detected that said vehicle information acquired in each of said predetermined number of times is identical with one another.

10. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 1, wherein said vehicle information comprises a plurality of pieces of vehicle information, and said parameter storage part is operable to store said parameter that has been generated based on a combination of said plurality of pieces of vehicle information.

11. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 1, wherein said controller includes a mode determination part operable to determine whether the present state is a production line mode for said steering mechanism, and when it is determined that the present status is said production line mode, said controller is arranged to control said steering mechanism by making direct reference to a parameter based on said vehicle information acquired from said vehicle without referring to that parameter which has been stored in said parameter storage part.

12. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 1, wherein said controller includes a mode determination part operable to determine whether the present status is a production line mode for said steering mechanism, and said controller is arranged to control, upon determination that the present status is said production line mode, said steering mechanism by referring to a preset parameter.

13. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 1, wherein said controller includes a mode determination part operable to determine whether the present status is a production line mode for said steering mechanism, and said controller is operable to store, upon determination that the present status is said production line mode, a parameter which has been preset to either the left or the right into said parameter storage part, to control said steering assistance based on said parameter thus stored, and to return, upon completion of said production line mode, stored content of said parameter storage part to its initial state.

14. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 1, wherein said controller includes a parameter erasure part operable to erase said parameter stored in said parameter storage part.

15. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 14, wherein said parameter erasure part is operable to erase, upon receipt of an erasure signal, said parameter stored in said parameter storage part.

16. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 14, wherein said parameter erasure part is operable to erase, upon receipt of at least one command signal, said parameter stored in said parameter storage part.

17. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 16, wherein said at least one command signal is provided from external equipment.

18. An electric power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set forth in Claim 14, wherein when a specific operation is performed by a user, said parameter erasure part is operable to erase said parameter stored in said parameter storage part.

19. An electiic power steering control apparatus for a vehicle as set fortn in Claim 1, wherein said controller is operable to control said steering assistance at the instant when processing of storing said parameter into said parameter storage part has been completed, but does not control said steering assistance when the processing of storing said parameter has not been completed.