JP5900239B2 - Steering device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for detecting a characteristic change in a steering transmission system of a vehicle.

  In vehicle behavior control technology such as vehicle side slip prevention control (VSC: Vehicle Stability Control), various controls are executed using detection values of a steering angle sensor attached to a steering wheel. When using a steering angle sensor of a type that outputs a relative angle, a zero point of the steering angle sensor is first detected, and an absolute steering angle is calculated based on the detected zero point. For this reason, it is important to accurately detect the steering angle zero point. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for detecting a steering angle zero point based on a difference between an estimated yaw rate estimated from a detection value of a steering angle sensor and an actual yaw rate detected by a yaw rate sensor. .

JP 2004-276734 A JP 2010-120504 A

  In a vehicle in which the steering gear box is supported on the body via an elastic member such as a rubber grommet, when a large lateral acceleration is applied to the vehicle by turning, the rubber grommet is deformed and the steering gear box is displaced from the center position, and then the vehicle There is a phenomenon in which the vehicle does not return to the central position for a while even when returning to straight running. If it is determined during this period whether or not there is a change in the characteristics of the steering transmission system based on detection of the steering angle zero point, it may be erroneously determined that there is a characteristic change.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to determine whether a characteristic change of an elastic member in a steering transmission system is in an unsuitable vehicle state for executing the characteristic change determination. It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for preventing erroneous determination by prohibiting the determination.

An aspect of the present invention occurs in a steering transmission system based on a steering angle zero point detecting unit that detects a zero point of a steering angle of a steering wheel, a history recording unit that records a detection history of the zero point, and the detection history. Characteristic change determining means for determining characteristic change due to play, lateral acceleration detecting means for detecting lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle body, and zero point detection by the steering angle zero point detecting means in accordance with the detected lateral acceleration, or a steering system and a prohibition means for prohibiting a predetermined period to update the detection history by the history recording means.

  According to this aspect, in accordance with the lateral acceleration applied to the vehicle, the zero point detection by the steering angle zero point detection unit or the update of the detection history by the history recording unit is prohibited for a predetermined period. Since the determination that the characteristic change has occurred is not made, erroneous determination can be prevented.

  The prohibiting unit may prohibit the zero point detection or the update of the detection history when the lateral acceleration detected by the lateral acceleration detecting unit exceeds a predetermined value.

  The prohibiting unit may set the predetermined period longer when the lateral acceleration detected by the lateral acceleration detecting unit is large than when the lateral acceleration is small. The larger the value of the lateral acceleration applied to the vehicle, the longer the time it takes for the steering gear box to return to the center position.Therefore, by setting the predetermined period longer as the lateral acceleration is larger, regardless of the magnitude of the lateral acceleration, It is possible to prevent erroneous determination of changes in the characteristics of the steering transmission system.

Another aspect of the present invention includes a steering angle zero point detecting unit that detects a zero point of a steering angle of a steering wheel, and a characteristic change determining unit that determines a characteristic change due to play generated in a steering transmission system according to the zero point. And a lateral acceleration detecting means for detecting lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle body, and a prohibiting means for prohibiting a zero point detection by the steering angle zero point detecting means for a predetermined period according to the detected lateral acceleration. It is.

  According to the present invention, in the steering device that determines the characteristic change of the elastic member in the steering transmission system, when the vehicle state is inappropriate for executing the characteristic change determination, the determination is prohibited by prohibiting the determination. Can be prevented.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a vehicle including a steering device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the part which concerns in the characteristic change detection of the steering transmission system which concerns on this embodiment among steering ECU. It is a graph which shows an example of the history of a zero point maximum value and a zero point minimum value. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of a detection / update prohibition part. It is a flowchart explaining the characteristic change detection which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the characteristic change detection which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the characteristic change detection which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a vehicle including a steering device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a front wheel portion of a four-wheel vehicle. The traveling direction of the vehicle is changed by steering the right front wheel FR and the left front wheel FL which are steered wheels.

  The steering device 10 includes an electric power steering device (hereinafter referred to as “EPS”). The EPS is for steering assist in which a steering wheel 12 steered by a driver, a steering shaft 14 coupled to the steering wheel, a speed reduction mechanism 44 provided at the lower end of the steering shaft, and an output shaft connected to the speed reduction mechanism 44. And a motor 24. The steering assist motor 24 applies an assist force for assisting the steering operation by rotating the steering shaft 14.

  The steering shaft 14 is provided with a torsion bar (not shown), a steering torque sensor 16 that detects torque generated in the torsion bar, and a steering angle sensor 18 that detects the steering angle of the steering wheel 12. Outputs of these sensors are transmitted to a steering electronic control unit (ECU) 70 and a brake ECU 100.

  The steering shaft 14 is connected to the intermediate shaft 17 and the pinion shaft 19 via universal joints 30 and 32. The pinion shaft 19 is connected to a steering gear box 20 including a rack bar 22 that extends in the left-right direction (vehicle width direction) of the vehicle and slides in the axial direction. The intermediate shaft 17 includes a rubber coupling as a part thereof.

  The steering gear box 20 is configured by meshing pinion teeth formed at one end of the pinion shaft 19 with a rack shaft. The steering gear box 20 is supported on the vehicle body via a rubber grommet 23.

  When the driver operates the steering wheel 12, the rotation of the steering shaft 14 is transmitted to the steering gear box 20 through the shafts 17 and 19, and is converted into a linear motion of the rack bar 22 in the left-right direction by the steering gear box 20. One end of a tie rod (not shown) is connected to each end of the rack bar 22. The other end of the tie rod is connected to a knuckle arm (not shown) that supports the right front wheel FR and the left front wheel FL. When the rack bar 22 moves linearly, the right front wheel FR and the left front wheel FL are steered.

  A vehicle speed sensor 36 that detects the rotational speed of the wheel and outputs the vehicle speed is attached in the vicinity of the wheel. Instead of the vehicle speed sensor 36, the vehicle speed may be obtained from GPS (Global Positioning System) data (not shown). A lateral acceleration sensor 42 for detecting the lateral acceleration of the vehicle body is also provided on the vehicle body. Values detected by these sensors are transmitted to the brake ECU 100.

  The steering ECU 70 calculates an assist value for the steering torque based on the detection values received from the sensors, and outputs a control signal corresponding to the assist value to the steering assist motor 24. In addition, since the steering mechanism itself including EPS as described above is well known, further detailed description is omitted in this specification.

  Various parts of the steering transmission system from the steering wheel to the wheels are used to reduce steering vibration, adjust steering feeling, and ensure compliance steer. Many of them are supported via elastic members. If transmission characteristics such as looseness in the steering transmission system change due to aging of these elastic members, the linearity between the steering angle and the tire angle will not be maintained, the steering feeling will change, and the steering angle information There is a problem that the estimation accuracy of the vehicle state quantity based on the above is lowered.

  Therefore, although details will be described later, in this embodiment, when it is determined that the characteristic change of the elastic member of the steering transmission system has occurred based on the detection of the steering angle zero point while the vehicle is running, The driver is informed of the fact or instructed to stop execution of various vehicle controls using the steering angle.

  As described above, in the case of a vehicle in which the space between the steering gear box and the body is supported by rubber grommets, when a large lateral acceleration is applied to the vehicle by turning, the rubber grommets are deformed and the steering gear box is displaced from the center position. After that, even if the vehicle returns straight ahead, a phenomenon occurs in which the vehicle does not return to the center position for a while. If a change in the characteristics of the steering transmission system based on the detection of the steering angle zero point is determined during this period, there is actually a change in the characteristics even though no characteristic change has actually occurred due to deterioration of the elastic member. There is a risk of being judged.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the vehicle state is inappropriate for executing the characteristic change determination of the steering transmission system, a prohibiting unit is provided to prohibit the determination.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a portion of the steering ECU 70 that is involved in the determination of the characteristic change of the steering transmission system according to the present embodiment. Each block shown here can be realized in hardware by an element and an electric circuit including a CPU and memory of a computer, and is realized by a computer program in terms of software. It is drawn as a functional block to be realized. Therefore, those skilled in the art will understand that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by a combination of hardware and software.

  The steering angle zero point detection unit 102 detects the zero point (neutral point) of the steering angle sensor 18 by any known method. Based on the detected zero point, the steering wheel absolute steering angle is calculated and used for various vehicle controls.

  The zero point history holding unit 104 records the maximum value and the minimum value of the zero point detected by the steering angle zero point detection unit 102 since the previous update. The operation of the zero point history holding unit 104 will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  A maximum value holding timer 106 and a minimum value holding timer 108 are connected to the zero point history holding unit 104. These timers are countdown timers for counting the time since the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value are stored in the zero point history holding unit 104, respectively. When the count value in the maximum value holding timer 106 or the minimum value holding timer 108 reaches a predetermined value, the zero point history holding unit 104 discards the zero point maximum value or the zero point minimum value stored at that time. This operation will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The measurement value holding unit 110 receives detection values from the vehicle speed sensor 36, the yaw rate sensor 40, and the lateral acceleration sensor 42, and the vehicle speed when the zero point maximum value or the zero point minimum value in the zero point history holding unit 104 is updated. Record the yaw rate and lateral acceleration.

  The determination threshold value setting unit 112 uses the vehicle speed, yaw rate, and lateral acceleration recorded in the measurement value holding unit 110 to change the characteristics in the steering transmission system, specifically, the backlash caused by the deterioration of an elastic member such as a rubber bush. A determination threshold value for determining the presence or absence of occurrence is calculated.

  The determination threshold value is set in consideration of errors in the vehicle speed sensor, yaw rate sensor, lateral acceleration sensor, and steering angle sensor, component processing variation, and vehicle assembly variation. For details, refer to FIG. It will be described later. Alternatively, a history of zero point detection in a normal vehicle may be acquired, and a value (for example, twice) that greatly exceeds this result may be selected as the determination threshold value.

  The difference calculation unit 114 calculates the difference D between the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value recorded in the zero point history holding unit 104.

  The characteristic change determination unit 116 determines whether or not the difference D calculated by the difference calculation unit 114 exceeds a predetermined determination threshold value T. When the difference D exceeds the determination threshold value T, it is determined that a characteristic change has occurred in the steering transmission system.

  When the characteristic change determination unit 116 determines that a characteristic change has occurred, the notification unit 118 notifies the vehicle driver of the fact, or does not illustrate stopping the execution of various vehicle controls using the steering angle. Or instructing the vehicle control ECU.

  The detection / update prohibition unit 120 prohibits the zero point maximum value or the zero point minimum value from being updated by the zero point history holding unit 104 for a predetermined period according to the lateral acceleration detected by the lateral acceleration sensor 42. The operation of the detection / update prohibition unit 120 will be further described with reference to FIG.

  Subsequently, a method for determining a characteristic change of the steering transmission system by the steering ECU 70 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a graph showing an example of the history of the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value.

  The horizontal axis in FIG. 3 represents the elapsed time, and the vertical axis represents the detected steering angle zero point θ. In the following description, it is assumed that the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value are reset at time 0.

  In the period a shown in the figure, since the detected value of the steering angle zero point falls below the zero point minimum value, the zero point history holding unit 204 updates the zero point minimum value. Moreover, in the period b, since the detected value of the steering angle zero point exceeds the zero point maximum value, the zero point history holding unit 204 updates the zero point maximum value. Thereafter, when the detected value of the steering angle zero point exceeds the retained zero point maximum value or falls below the zero point minimum value, the respective values are updated.

  The difference calculation unit 114 calculates a difference D between the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value. The characteristic change determination unit 116 compares the threshold value T set by the determination threshold value setting unit 112 with the difference D, and when the difference D exceeds the threshold value T, the characteristic of the steering transmission system changes (that is, It is determined that deterioration of the elastic member has occurred. This is based on the fact that it is considered that the detected value of the steering angle zero point greatly fluctuates when the steering wheel is operated when the backlash occurs due to the deterioration of the elastic member of the steering transmission system.

  The maximum value holding timer 106 and the minimum value holding timer 108 count the elapsed time since the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value were last updated. When the predetermined time elapses, the zero point history holding unit 104 resets the zero point maximum value or the zero point minimum value with the steering angle zero point detection value at that time. In FIG. 3, the change of the zero point maximum value at the point c corresponds to this process.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the detection / update prohibition unit 120. FIG. 4A shows a temporal change in the lateral acceleration detected by the lateral acceleration sensor 42. The thin solid line in FIG. 4B represents the time change of the value of the steering angle zero point detected by the steering angle zero point detection unit 102, and the thick solid line H is the zero recorded in the zero point history holding unit 204. The point maximum value is represented, and the thick dotted line L represents the zero point minimum value recorded in the zero point history holding unit 204. FIG. 4C shows the timer value set by the detection / update prohibition unit 120.

When the lateral acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold value K (time t ₁ in the figure), the detection / update prohibition unit 120 sets an initial value F in the update prohibition timer. The threshold value K is a lateral acceleration that can affect the determination of the transfer characteristic change due to a large movement of the center position of the steering gear box, and is set in advance.

During a predetermined period E until the value of the update prohibition timer becomes zero (time t _{1 to} t ₃ in the figure), the detection / update prohibition unit 120 detects the zero point maximum value and the zero point in the zero point history holding unit 204. Prohibit updating the minimum value. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4B, the zero point maximum value H and the zero point minimum value L are constant during the period E regardless of the change in the detected steering angle zero point. Therefore, for example, even when the difference D when it is assumed that the update of the zero point maximum value is continued at the time t ₂ exceeds the threshold value T, the characteristic change of the steering transmission system is caused by the characteristic change determination unit 116. It is not determined to be. In other words, during the predetermined period E, no matter how the steering angle zero point detection value changes, the zero point maximum value H and the zero point minimum value L are constant, so it is determined that a characteristic change has occurred. There is no.

  The predetermined period E needs to be equal to or longer than the time required for the center position of the steering gear box to return to the original position after the lateral acceleration exceeds the threshold value K. The initial value F of the update prohibition timer is selected so as to satisfy this condition. The larger the value of the lateral acceleration applied to the vehicle, the longer the time required for the steering gear box to return to the center position. Therefore, the larger the lateral acceleration, the larger the initial value F of the update prohibition timer (that is, the predetermined period E becomes longer). ) May be set as follows. An appropriate initial value F for the lateral acceleration can be determined by experiment or simulation.

  5 to 7 are flowcharts for explaining the characteristic change detection of the steering transmission system according to this embodiment. This flow is repeatedly executed at predetermined intervals (for example, 1 second) while the vehicle is traveling.

  First, referring to FIG. 5, the steering angle zero point detection unit 102 detects the steering angle zero point θ of the steering wheel based on the detection value of the steering angle sensor 18 (S10). The determination threshold value setting unit 112 determines whether or not it is immediately after starting the vehicle (S12). When the vehicle is just started (Y in S12), it is considered that the temperature of the yaw rate sensor 40 is not stable, so the yaw rate zero point error before temperature stabilization is selected (S14). If not immediately after the start (N in S12), it is considered that the temperature of the yaw rate sensor 40 is stable, so the yaw rate zero point error after temperature stabilization is selected (S16).

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the convergence of the steering angle zero point has been completed and whether or not the detection time of the lateral acceleration sensor 42 exceeds a predetermined threshold value K (S18). When the convergence of the steering angle zero point is completed and the lateral acceleration exceeds the threshold value K (Y of S18), it is considered that the steering gear box is deviated from the center position. An initial value F is set in the prohibit timer (S20). When any of the conditions is not satisfied (N in S18), the detection / update prohibition unit 120 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling straight ahead based on the detection value of the steering angle sensor 18 (S22). If the vehicle is not traveling straight (N in S22), S24 is skipped. When the vehicle is traveling straight ahead (Y in S22), it is considered that the steering gear box is in the middle of returning to the center position, and the detection / update prohibition unit 120 decrements the update prohibition timer by 1 (S24).

  The detection / update prohibition unit 120 determines whether or not the value of the update prohibition timer is zero (S26). If the update prohibition timer is not zero (N in S26), the zero point history holding unit 104 prohibits the update of the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value (S30). When the process of S24 is repeated and the update prohibition timer becomes zero (Y in S26), the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value are allowed to be updated by the zero point history holding unit 104 (S28).

  Subsequently, referring to FIG. 6, the zero point history holding unit 104 decrements the maximum value holding timer 106 and the minimum value holding timer 108 (S32, S34). The initial values of these timers are set in steps S44 and S52, which will be described later, but since the initial values are not set immediately after the operation, the lower limit guard value is set to zero.

  The determination threshold value setting unit 112 determines whether or not the convergence of the steering angle zero point is completed, the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and updating of the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value is permitted ( S36). Note that when the vehicle is at a low speed, errors due to component variations and sensor tolerances tend to be larger than when the vehicle is at a high speed. Therefore, the characteristic change of the steering transmission system is not executed at a low speed (for example, less than 30 km / h).

  If the vehicle speed is less than the predetermined value (N in S36), it is determined whether or not the convergence of the steering angle zero point is incomplete (S54). Since the convergence of the steering angle zero point is not completed in the first determination (Y in S54), the process proceeds to S56, and the zero point history holding unit 104 calculates the stored zero point maximum value and zero point minimum value at the present time. The steering angle zero point detected value is reset (S56). In response to this, the measured value holding unit 110 stores the vehicle speed, yaw rate, and lateral acceleration at the time of reset as initial values (S58). The zero point history holding unit 104 resets the zero point maximum value holding timer 106 and the minimum value holding timer 108 (S60). In S54, when the convergence of the steering angle zero point is completed (N in S54), S56 to S60 are skipped.

  In S36, when the convergence of the steering angle zero point is completed, the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, and updating of the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value is permitted (Y in S36), the zero point history holding unit 104 determines whether or not the current steering angle zero point detection value is larger than the stored zero point maximum value, that is, whether or not the zero point maximum value needs to be updated (S38). If the detected steering angle zero point value is equal to or less than the zero point maximum value (N in S38), S40 to S44 are skipped. When the detected steering angle zero point value is larger than the zero point maximum value (Y in S38), the zero point history holding unit 104 stores the value as a new zero point maximum value (S40), and the measured value holding unit 110 is the maximum. The vehicle speed, yaw rate, and lateral acceleration at the time of value update are stored (S42). A predetermined initial value (for example, 180 seconds) is set in the maximum value holding timer 106 (S44).

  Subsequently, the zero point history holding unit 104 determines whether or not the current steering angle zero point detection value is smaller than the stored zero point minimum value, that is, whether or not the zero point minimum value needs to be updated. Is determined (S46). When the detected steering angle zero point value is equal to or greater than the zero point minimum value (N in S46), S48 to S52 are skipped. When the detected steering angle zero point value is smaller than the zero point minimum value (Y in S46), the zero point history holding unit 104 stores the value as a new zero point minimum value (S48), and the measured value holding unit 110 is the minimum. The vehicle speed, yaw rate, and lateral acceleration at the time of value update are stored (S50). A predetermined initial value is set in the minimum value holding timer 108 (S52).

  Subsequently, referring to FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not updating of the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value is permitted (S54). When the update is prohibited (N in S54), the process proceeds to S68. When the update is permitted (Y in S54), the zero point history holding unit 104 determines whether the count of the maximum value holding timer is zero (S56). When the count is zero (Y in S56), the zero point history holding unit 104 resets the held zero point maximum value with the current steering angle zero point detection value (S58), and the measured value holding unit 110 also The stored vehicle speed, yaw rate and lateral acceleration at the time of updating the maximum value are reset to initial values (S60).

  Further, the zero point history holding unit 104 determines whether or not the count of the minimum value holding timer is zero (S62). When the count is zero (Y in S62), the zero point history holding unit 104 resets the held zero point minimum value with the current steering angle zero point detection value (S64), and the measured value holding unit 110 also The held vehicle speed, yaw rate, and lateral acceleration at the time of updating the minimum value are reset to initial values (S66).

  The processing of S56 to S66 corresponds to resetting of the zero point maximum value and the minimum value performed in order to eliminate as much as possible the influence of the fluctuation of the zero point of the steering angle sensor due to the temperature change. The reason for performing this processing is as follows. The zero points of analog sensors such as the yaw rate sensor 40 and the lateral acceleration sensor 42 may fluctuate due to temperature changes. If the zero point of each sensor fluctuates due to the temperature change in the passenger compartment, the detected value of the steering angle zero point also fluctuates. It is difficult to distinguish. Therefore, in a normal environment, considering that the temperature change in the passenger compartment in a short time is very small, the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value are discarded every time a predetermined period elapses from the previous update. I did it.

Subsequently, the determination threshold value setting unit 112 calculates the determination threshold value T based on the following equation (S68).
T = {(θ · V) / (n · L) −Kh · Gy · V−YR} · n · L · (1 / V)
= Θ-Kh · Gy / n · L-YR · n · L · (1 / V) (1)
Here, θ is a detected steering angle value, V is a vehicle speed, Gy is a lateral acceleration, YR is a yaw rate, Kh is a stability factor, n is a steering overall gear ratio, and L is a wheel base.

  In the first line of equation (1), ((θ · V) / (n · L) −Kh · Gy · V corresponds to the target yaw rate. Therefore, {(θ · V) / (n · L) −Kh Gy · V−YR} · n · L · (1 / V) corresponds to obtaining a steering angle conversion value of (target yaw rate−actual yaw rate).

Equation (1) is
Steering angle sensor zero point / gain error and lateral acceleration sensor zero point error Steering angle error Lateral acceleration sensor gain error and steering angle error due to vehicle variation Steering angle error due to yaw rate sensor zero point error This corresponds to the total value of the steering angle error due to the gain error of the error / yaw rate sensor and the vehicle speed sensor.

  Note that the vehicle speed, yaw rate and lateral acceleration to be substituted into the above equation (1) are the values stored in the measured value holding unit 110 (that is, the values stored when the zero point maximum value is updated and the zero point minimum value are updated). Of the stored values), it is preferable to select the smaller one for the vehicle speed and the larger one for the yaw rate and acceleration. This is because the steering angle error tends to be larger at low speeds than at high speeds, so the steering angle error calculated greatly during low-speed driving and the judgment threshold value calculated small during high-speed driving In order to avoid this, there is a possibility that the characteristic change may be erroneously determined.

  The difference calculation unit 114 calculates a difference D between the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value held in the zero point history holding unit 104, and the characteristic change determination unit 116 determines that the difference D is greater than the determination threshold T. Is also larger (S70). If the difference D is larger than the determination threshold T (Y in S70), the characteristic change determination unit 116 determines that a characteristic change of the steering transmission system has occurred (S72), and the notification unit 118 turns on a predetermined lamp. The driver is notified of this by a buzzer or the like, or the vehicle control ECU is instructed to temporarily stop vehicle control based on detection of the steering angle zero point.

  In the process of S70, the fluctuation range of the steering angle zero point, that is, the difference D between the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value is determined by the steering angle sensor, the vehicle speed sensor, the lateral acceleration sensor, and the yaw rate sensor. It is determined whether or not a determination threshold value T, which is an accumulation of variations, is exceeded. In other words, if the fluctuation range of the steering angle zero point is larger than the estimated error accumulation of each sensor, it is determined that the deviation of the steering angle zero point due to the backlash of the steering transmission system has occurred. is there.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to detect a change in the characteristics of the steering transmission system due to deterioration over time of an elastic member that connects each part of the steering transmission system and the body.

  If the lateral acceleration applied to the vehicle is larger than a predetermined threshold value, updating of the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value in the zero point history holding unit 104 is prohibited for a predetermined period in S30. As a result, since the process proceeds to N in S36 and N in S54, the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value are not updated or reset, so the difference D between the zero point maximum value and the zero point maximum value is determined. The value T is never exceeded. Therefore, there is no possibility that it is determined that the characteristic of the steering transmission system is changing while the steering gear box is displaced from the center position due to the lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle body, and erroneous determination can be prevented.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. These embodiments are merely examples, and modifications such as any combination of the embodiments, each component of the embodiment, and any combination of each processing process are also within the scope of the present invention. It will be understood by those skilled in the art.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications such as design changes can be added based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. The configuration shown in each drawing is for explaining an example, and can be appropriately changed as long as the configuration can achieve the same function.

  Several embodiments have been described with reference to a vehicle with an electric power steering device. However, the present invention can also be applied to a vehicle including a hydraulic power steering device. In this case, since the vehicle does not include the steering ECU, the ECU of the braking control device (for example, VSC or the like) is configured to detect the characteristic change of the steering transmission system according to the present invention.

  In the embodiment, when the lateral acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the detection / update prohibition unit 120 prohibits the zero point history holding unit 104 from updating the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value for a predetermined period. I explained that. Instead, the detection / update prohibition unit 120 operates to prohibit the detection of the steering angle zero point by the steering angle zero point detection unit 102 for a predetermined period when the lateral acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold. Also good. Even in this configuration, since the zero point maximum value and the zero point minimum value are constant values during the predetermined period E, the characteristic change determination unit 116 determines that the characteristic change of the steering transmission system has occurred. There is no.

  In the embodiment, it has been described that the steering apparatus includes a characteristic change determination unit that determines a characteristic change of the elastic member in the steering transmission system. However, the present invention can also be applied to a steering device that does not include a characteristic change determination unit. In this configuration, when the lateral acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold value, detection of the steering angle zero point by the steering angle zero point detection unit 102 is prohibited for a predetermined period.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Steering device, 12 Steering wheel, 18 Steering angle sensor, 20 Steering gear box, 23 Rubber grommet, 42 Lateral acceleration sensor, 70 Steering ECU, 102 Steering angle zero point detection part, 104 Zero point history holding part, 110 Measurement value holding part 112 determination threshold value setting unit, 114 difference calculation unit, 116 characteristic change determination unit, 120 detection / update prohibition unit.

Claims (4)

Rudder angle zero point detecting means for detecting the zero point of the steering angle of the steering wheel;
History recording means for recording the zero point detection history;
A characteristic change determining means for determining a characteristic change due to looseness generated in the steering transmission system based on the detection history;
Lateral acceleration detecting means for detecting lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle body;
In accordance with the detected lateral acceleration, a prohibition unit that prohibits a zero point detection by the steering angle zero point detection unit or a detection history update by the history recording unit for a predetermined period;
Steering apparatus comprising: a.   2. The steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the prohibiting unit prohibits zero point detection or update of a detection history when the lateral acceleration detected by the lateral acceleration detecting unit exceeds a predetermined value.   The steering device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the prohibiting unit sets the predetermined period longer when the lateral acceleration detected by the lateral acceleration detecting unit is large than when the lateral acceleration is small. . Rudder angle zero point detecting means for detecting the zero point of the steering angle of the steering wheel;
A characteristic change determining means for determining a characteristic change due to looseness generated in the steering transmission system according to the zero point;
Lateral acceleration detecting means for detecting lateral acceleration acting on the vehicle body;
A prohibiting means for prohibiting a zero point detection by the steering angle zero point detecting means for a predetermined period in accordance with the detected lateral acceleration;
Steering apparatus comprising: a.

Images