JPH11157461A - Steering unit for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the quick change of steering torque caused by the inertia of a drive source by controlling the drive of a transmission ratio changing means so that the transmission ratio is decreased as the steering quantity is increased in a steering angle terminal region. SOLUTION: An electronic control unit(ECU) 200 sets the transmission ratio of a transmission ratio changing mechanism 100 so that the target transmission ratio is gradually decreased as the stroke quantity is increased in a steering angle terminal region. When a rack shaft 4 is stroked to the terminal position, the target transmission ratio is set to a reference transmission ratio for the stopped state of a drive motor 114. Even if the rack shaft 4 reaches the terminal position, such a phenomenon can be suppressed that steering torque is quickly changed due to the inertia of the drive motor 114, and the steering sense of incompatibility given to a driver can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle steering system in which a transmission ratio of a wheel turning angle to a steering angle of a steering wheel is variable.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional steering apparatus, generally, rotation of a steering shaft connected to a steering handle is converted into a lateral displacement of a tie rod via a gear device such as a rack and pinion. A transmission ratio variable mechanism that changes the rotation transmission ratio of an output shaft to an input shaft (hereinafter, referred to as a transmission ratio) by rotating a gear included in the gear device is widely used.

At the maximum turning angle of the wheel, the load suddenly increases,
A motor as a drive source for driving the variable transmission ratio mechanism is likely to lose synchronism. For this reason, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-227472 discloses a technique for stopping the motor when the vicinity of the maximum turning angle of the wheel is detected to prevent the motor from stepping out.

[0004]

However, when the motor of the variable transmission ratio mechanism is stopped at the time when the vicinity of the maximum turning angle is detected, the driver operates the steering wheel in the direction of the maximum turning angle. Nevertheless, the motor suddenly stops, and the inertial force of the motor at this time is transmitted to the steering wheel side, giving the driver holding the steering wheel a feeling of strangeness due to sudden change in steering torque. Had become.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to reduce a driver's uncomfortable feeling even when the operation of a steering wheel reaches a maximum turning angle. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicular steering device capable of performing the following.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a steering apparatus for a vehicle, comprising: a steering amount detecting means for detecting a steering amount of a steering wheel; A transmission ratio variable means for changing a transmission ratio transmitted as a control signal, and a drive control of the transmission ratio variable means such that the transmission ratio decreases with an increase in the steering amount in a predetermined steering angle end region near the maximum steering angle. And termination control means for performing the above.

When the driver further steers the steering wheel to the maximum steering angle side in the steering angle end range, the transmission ratio of the transmission ratio variable means is controlled so as to gradually decrease under the control of the end control means. You.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle steering system, wherein the terminal control means according to the first aspect drives the variable transmission means so as to have a reference transmission ratio at which the drive source stops at the maximum steering angle. Perform control.

By controlling the drive source to stop at the maximum steering angle, torque fluctuation at the maximum steering angle due to inertia of the drive source can be minimized.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
This will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a steering wheel 1 is connected to one end of the steering shaft 3, and the steering shaft 3 rotates in conjunction with a rotation operation of the steering wheel 1. Further, wheels 2 are connected to both sides of the rack shaft 4, and the steering shaft 3 and the rack shaft 4 are connected via a steering gear device SG. The steering gear device SG includes a transmission ratio variable mechanism 100 that changes a transmission ratio G (G = steering amount / steering amount) as a ratio of a wheel turning amount to a steering amount of the steering wheel 1.

The control of the variable transmission ratio mechanism 100 is performed by an electronic control unit (hereinafter, referred to as an ECU) 200. The ECU 200 detects a signal from a vehicle speed sensor 42 for detecting the vehicle speed of the vehicle, and controls the steering of the steering wheel 1. The drive control of the variable transmission ratio mechanism 100 is performed based on the detection signal of the steering angle sensor 41 that detects the amount.

An input shaft 10 is connected to one end of the steering shaft 3, and the input shaft 10 is connected to an output shaft 20 via a variable transmission ratio mechanism 100. The rack shaft 4 that forms a steered shaft meshes with a pinion 21 formed on the output shaft 20.

The variable transmission ratio mechanism 100 includes an input shaft 10
Is transmitted to the output shaft 20 at a predetermined transmission ratio G, and includes a sleeve body 110, a planetary gear 120, a ring gear 130, and the like.

The sleeve body 110 has a cylindrical shape having an annular sun gear 111 on one end side and an annular worm wheel 112 on the other end side, and the input shaft 10 penetrates the inside thereof. , Are arranged concentrically with respect to the input shaft 10. A bearing (not shown) is interposed between the outer peripheral portion of the input shaft 10 and the inner peripheral portion of the sleeve body 110, so that the input shaft 10 and the sleeve body 110 are not restricted from rotating with each other. , Which are separately rotated.

A disc-shaped carrier 11 having an outer diameter larger than that of the sun gear 111 is fixed to a penetrating end of the input shaft 10 penetrating the sleeve body 110. Support pins 12 are fixed at three positions on the peripheral edge of the carrier 11 at equal intervals, and each support pin 12 rotatably supports a planetary gear 120. These three planetary gears 120 mesh with the sun gear 111 located at the center, respectively. When the carrier 11 rotates integrally with the input shaft 10, each planetary gear 120 meshes with the sun gear 111 while meshing with the sun gear 111. It is a mechanism that rotates and moves around.

An annular ring gear 130 integrated with the output shaft 20 is provided so as to surround each planetary gear 120, and gear teeth formed on the inner peripheral portion of the ring gear 130 mesh with each planetary gear 120. I have. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the sun gear 111, the planetary gear 120, and the ring gear 130 are arranged concentrically, the sun gear 111 meshes with each planetary gear 120, and the planetary gear 120 meshes with the ring gear 130. And constitute a planetary gear mechanism.

On the other hand, a worm gear 113 is meshed with a worm wheel 112 constituting the sleeve body 110, and the worm gear 113 is configured to be driven to rotate by a drive motor 114.

The operation of each gear will now be described.

When the driver turns the steering wheel 1,
This rotation is transmitted to the input shaft 10 via the steering shaft 3, and the input shaft 10 rotates in the same direction as the steering wheel 1. At this time, since the carrier 11 also rotates integrally with the input shaft 10, each support pin 12 supported by the carrier 11 also rotates around the sun gear 111.

For example, assuming that the support pins 12 move in a direction indicated by an arrow a in FIG. 3, each planetary gear 120 supported by the support pins 12 is moved by the movement of the support pins 12. While rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow b around the center 12, it moves around the sun gear 111 along the direction of the arrow a. In addition, the planetary gear 12
When 0 rotates in the direction of arrow b, the ring gear 130 meshing with the planetary gear 120 rotates in the direction of arrow c, and the output shaft 20 rotates in this direction. Therefore, the rotation of the input shaft 10 is transmitted to the output shaft 20 in the same direction, and the output shaft 20 rotates in the same direction as the input shaft 10.

When the driver turns the steering wheel 1 in the reverse direction, each gear rotates or moves in the direction opposite to the arrow shown in FIG.
The rotation direction of 0 and the rotation direction of the output shaft 20 match.

On the other hand, when the worm gear 113 is rotationally driven by the drive motor 114, this rotation is transmitted to the sleeve body 110 via the worm wheel 112, and the entire sleeve body 110 rotates. That is, the sleeve 110 is moved in a direction corresponding to the rotation direction of the worm gear 113.
Is driven to rotate. Therefore, the sun gear 111 constituting the sleeve body 110 also rotates, and the planetary gears 1 meshing with the sun gear 111 are rotated by the rotation of the sun gear 111.
The amount of rotation of 20 changes.

For example, when the planetary gear 120 moves in the direction of the arrow a along with the steering, the amount of rotation of the planetary gear 120 rotating in the direction of the arrow b increases as the sun gear 111 rotates in the direction of the arrow d in FIG. As a result, the rotation amount of the ring gear 130 meshing with the planetary gear 120 also increases. Further, when the sun gear 111 rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow d in FIG. 3, the rotation amount of the planetary gear 120 decreases, and the rotation amount of the ring gear 130 also decreases.

As described above, when the steering wheel 1 is steered, the planetary gear 120 is integrated with the steering wheel 1.
At the same time as the sun gear 11 is rotated according to the amount of steering of the steering wheel 1 by a drive signal from the ECU 200.
1 is rotationally driven, whereby the steering amount (transmission ratio G) of the wheel 2 with respect to the steering amount of the steering wheel 1 is variably controlled.

Next, the process of setting the transmission ratio G performed by the ECU 200 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The flowchart shown in FIG. 4 is started by turning on an ignition switch. At step (hereinafter, step is referred to as “S”) 102, the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 42 and the vehicle speed V detected by the steering angle sensor 41 are detected. The read steering angle θ and the value of the target transmission ratio Gmem set in the previous routine are read.

At S104, a target transmission ratio Gv is calculated based on the value of the vehicle speed V read at S102. In this case, the target transmission ratio Gv corresponding to the vehicle speed V is mapped in advance, and the target transmission ratio Gv is determined based on the value of the vehicle speed V in S104.
Map search for v. In S104, the target transmission ratio Gv is set based on only the vehicle speed V without considering the steering angle θ.

In S106, the steering angle θ read in S102 is converted into the stroke position RS of the rack shaft 4 using the target transmission ratio Gmem set in the previous routine.

As shown in FIG. 5, the end position RSe shown as the stroke position indicates the position of the so-called rack end. When the rack shaft 4 strokes to this position, the steering wheel 1 also reaches the maximum steering angle. The above rotation operation becomes impossible. As shown in FIG. 5, RSe and -RSe are set corresponding to right steering and left steering, respectively. In addition, near the end positions RSe and -RSe, a reference position RSt serving as a reference when shifting to end control described later.
h, -RSth is set, and the stroke position is R
The range between Sth and RSe and the range between -RSth and -RSe are respectively the steering angle end regions.

In step S108, the rack shaft stroke position | RS |
RSth | or more, that is, whether or not the current stroke position RS is within the steering angle end area.

If it is determined in S108 that the current stroke position RS is within the steering angle end area ("Yes" in S108), the process proceeds to S110, where the end control is performed. In this terminal control, the target transmission ratio G ′ (RS) is calculated based on the following equation according to the stroke position RS in the steering angle terminal area. Note that Gb in the equation is a reference transmission ratio (base gear ratio) that is a transmission ratio in a state where the rotation of the drive motor 114 is stopped (see FIG. 5).

G ′ (RS) = Gv− (Gv−Gb) / (RSe−RSth) × (RS−RSth) The target transmission ratio G ′ (RS) calculated by the above equation increases as the stroke amount increases. Therefore, the target transmission ratio G ′ (RS) is set so as to gradually decrease as the stroke amount increases in the steering angle end region, as shown by the arrow s1 in FIG. .

In S112, the target transmission ratio G '(RS) calculated in S110 is set as the target transmission ratio G set in this routine. Then, in S114, the target transmission ratio G set in S112 is stored as Gmem, and this routine ends.

On the other hand, at S108, the current stroke position R
If it is determined that S is outside the steering angle end area (S1
(No in 08), the process proceeds to S116, and the target transmission ratio Gv based on the vehicle speed V read in S104 is set as the target transmission ratio G set in the current routine. And
Proceeding to S114, the target transmission ratio G set in S116 is changed to G
Store as mem and end this routine.

In the ECU 200, the transmission ratio of the transmission ratio variable mechanism 100 is set by such arithmetic processing.
By performing the setting process in this manner, the target transmission ratio G is set so as to gradually decrease as the stroke amount increases in the steering angle end region. When the rack shaft 4 has moved to the end position RSe or −RSe, the target transmission ratio G is set to the reference transmission ratio Gb at which the drive motor 114 stops. For this reason, even when the rack shaft 4 reaches the end positions RSe and -RSe, a phenomenon in which the steering torque suddenly changes due to the inertia of the drive motor 114 can be suppressed, and the uncomfortable steering feeling given to the driver is reduced. be able to.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the transmission ratio linearly decreases as the stroke amount increases in the steering angle end region has been exemplified.
As shown by an arrow s2 in FIG. 6A and an arrow s3 in FIG. 6B, the target transmission ratio can be set with an increase in the stroke amount. Can be set appropriately.

The processing for setting the transmission ratio of the variable transmission ratio mechanism 100 is substantially the same as the processing for setting the rotational speed of the drive motor 114. Therefore, instead of the transmission ratio in the flowchart of FIG. The rotation speed of the drive motor 114 can also be set.

Further, a map for directly searching the target transmission ratio G based on the vehicle speed V and the steering angle θ, including the target transmission ratio G in the steering angle end region, is provided, and the relationship between the vehicle speed V and the steering angle θ is provided. The target transmission ratio G can also be set by searching a map from the value.

[0040]

As described above, according to the vehicle steering system of the first aspect, the transmission ratio varying means is arranged to reduce the transmission ratio with an increase in the steering amount in the steering angle end region. Is provided so that the transmission ratio of the transmission ratio variable means is gradually reduced when the steering is turned to the maximum steering angle side. For this reason, even when the operation of the steering wheel reaches the maximum turning angle, it is possible to suppress a sudden change in the steering torque due to the inertia of the drive source, and it is possible to reduce a feeling of steering discomfort given to the driver.

According to the vehicle steering system of the second aspect, the drive control of the transmission ratio variable means is performed so that the reference transmission ratio at which the drive source stops at the maximum steering angle is obtained. In addition, it is possible to minimize the fluctuation of the steering torque at the time of the maximum steering angle due to the inertia of the drive source.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an entire steering device.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of the vehicle steering system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing only a planetary gear mechanism in the vehicle steering system.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart sequentially showing each processing executed by an ECU.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a relationship between a stroke position of a rack shaft and a target transmission ratio.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relationship between a stroke position and a target transmission ratio according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Steering wheel, 3 ... Steering axis, 4 ... Rack axis, 10 ...
Input shaft, 20: output shaft, 41: steering angle sensor (steering amount detecting means), 42: vehicle speed sensor, 100: variable transmission ratio mechanism, 110: sleeve body, 111: sun gear, 112 ...
Worm wheel, 113 worm gear, 114 drive motor (drive source), 120 planetary gear, 130
... Ring gear, 200 ... ECU (terminal control means).

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A steering amount detecting means for detecting a steering amount of a steering wheel; a transmission ratio variable means for changing a transmission ratio in which a steering amount is transmitted as a wheel turning amount by a driving force of a driving source; A steering device for a vehicle, comprising: a terminal control unit that controls driving of the transmission ratio varying unit so that the transmission ratio decreases with an increase in the steering amount in a predetermined steering angle terminal region near the steering angle. 2. The terminal control means according to claim 1, wherein at a maximum steering angle,
The vehicle steering system according to claim 1, wherein the drive control of the transmission variable unit is performed so as to have a reference transmission ratio at which the drive source stops.