# US 10,246,125 B2 · Steering control device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,246,125 B2 - Document ID: US10246125B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/611,269 - Filed: 2017-06-01 - Published: 2017-12-14 - Granted: 2019-04-02 - Earliest claimed: 2016-06-09 - Assignees: Jtekt Corporation - Applicants: Jtekt Corporation - Inventors: Hidenori Itamoto; Naoki Yamano - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10246125B2 ## CPC - B62D 5/0463: {calculating assisting torque from the motor based on driver input} - B62D 5/0421: {Electric motor acting on or near steering gear} - B62D 5/0442: {Conversion of rotational into longitudinal movement} - B62D 5/0481: {monitoring the steering system, e.g. failures} - B62D 5/0484: {for reaction to failures, e.g. limp home} - B62D 5/0493: {detecting processor errors, e.g. plausibility of steering direction} - B62D: MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS (steering, or guiding on a desired track, of agricultural machines or implements A01B69/00; wheels, castors, axles, increasing wheel adhesion B60B; vehicle tyres, tyre inflation or tyre changing B60C; connections between vehicles of a train or the like B60D; vehicles for use on rail and road, amphibious or convertible vehicles B60F; suspension arrangements B60G; heating, cooling, ventilating or other air treating devices B60H; windows, windscreens, non-fixed roofs, doors or similar devices, protective coverings for vehicles not in use B60J; propulsion plant arrangements, auxiliary drives, transmissions, controls, instrumentation or dashboards B60K; electric equipment or propulsion of electrically-propelled vehicles B60L; power supply for electrically-propelled vehicles B60M; passenger accommodation not otherwise provided for B60N; adaptations for load transportation or to carry special loads or objects B60P; arrangement of signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor, for vehicles in general B60Q; vehicles, vehicle fittings or vehicle parts not otherwise provided for B60R; servicing, cleaning, repairing, supporting, lifting, or manoeuvring, not otherwise provided for, B60S; brake arrangements, brake control systems or parts thereof B60T; air-cushion vehicles B60V; motor-cycles, accessories therefor B62J, B62K; testing of vehicles G01M) ## Abstract There is provided a steering control device that can control even when a systematic error has occurred. An update amount calculation processing circuit manipulates a control angle in accordance with an update amount in order to control steering torque, which is obtained by subjecting the magnitude of steering torque to a decrease correction by a threshold, to target torque through feedback control. The control angle is used to convert a current command value to a value in a fixed coordinate system or the like. The update amount is subjected to a guarding process in accordance with the steering torque by a torque-based guarding processing circuit, and determined as a final update amount for the control angle. The torque-based guarding processing circuit performs the guarding process on the update amount such that the update amount is in an allowable range that matches the steering torque. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A steering control device that controls a steering device that assists steering of a vehicle and that includes a synchronous motor that generates assist torque and a power conversion circuit that applies a voltage to the synchronous motor, the steering control device comprising: a current control processing circuit that manipulates the voltage, which is applied to the synchronous motor by the power conversion circuit, in order to control a current that flows through the synchronous motor to a command value; a control angle manipulation processing circuit that manipulates a control angle that determines a phase of the command value in order to control a detected value of steering torque, which is torque input to a steering member, to target torque through feedback control; and a torque-based guarding processing circuit that performs a guarding process such that an update amount for the control angle determined by the control angle manipulation processing circuit is equal to or less than a torque-based upper-limit guard value, which is an upper-limit guard value for a magnitude of the update amount in a rotational direction of the synchronous motor that matches the detected value, and equal to or more than a torque-based lower-limit guard value, which is a lower-limit guard value for the magnitude of the update amount in the rotational direction of the synchronous motor that matches the detected value, wherein the torque-based guarding processing circuit includes a contraction processing circuit that gradually contracts an allowable range of the update amount determined by the torque-based upper-limit guard value and the torque-based lower-limit guard value using, as a condition, at least one of a state in which the magnitude of the update amount is more than the torque-based upper-limit guard value and a state in which the magnitude of the update amount is less than the torque-based lower-limit guard value. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The steering control device according to claim 1, wherein: the torque-based upper-limit guard value before execution of the process in which the contraction processing circuit gradually contracts the allowable range is set to a reference upper-limit guard value; the torque-based lower-limit guard value before such execution is set to a reference lower-limit guard value; the contraction processing circuit executes at least one of a process in which the torque-based upper-limit guard value is decreased with respect to the reference upper-limit guard value on condition that the torque-based upper-limit guard value is equal to or more than a reference update amount and a process in which the torque-based lower-limit guard value is increased with respect to the reference lower-limit guard value on condition that the torque-based lower-limit guard value is equal to or less than the reference update amount; and the reference update amount is set to a value that is between the reference upper-limit guard value and the reference lower-limit guard value and that has a positive or negative correlation with the steering torque. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The steering control device according to claim 2, wherein the contraction processing circuit sets an absolute value of a speed at which the torque-based upper-limit guard value is decreased with respect to the reference upper-limit guard value and an absolute value of a speed at which the torque-based lower-limit guard value is increased with respect to the reference lower-limit guard value to different values. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The steering control device according to claim 2, wherein: the contraction processing circuit decreases the torque-based upper-limit guard value with respect to the reference upper-limit guard value in the case where a duration of a state in which the magnitude of the update amount determined by the control angle manipulation processing circuit is more than the reference upper-limit guard value is equal to or more than an upper-limit abnormality determination time, and increases the torque-based lower-limit guard value with respect to the reference lower-limit guard value in the case where a duration of a state in which the magnitude of the update amount determined by the control angle manipulation processing circuit is less than the reference lower-limit guard value is equal to or more than a lower-limit abnormality determination time; and the lower-limit abnormality determination time and the upper-limit abnormality determination time are set to different values. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The steering control device according to claim 2, wherein the torque-based guarding processing circuit includes an expansion processing circuit that expands a width between the torque-based upper-limit guard value and the torque-based lower-limit guard value on condition that the update amount for the control angle determined by the control angle manipulation processing circuit is between the reference upper-limit guard value and the reference lower-limit guard value and an allowable range determined by the torque-based upper-limit guard value and the torque-based lower-limit guard value is narrower than an allowable range determined by the reference upper-limit guard value and the reference lower-limit guard value. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The steering control device according to claim 5, wherein the expansion processing circuit increases the torque-based upper-limit guard value in a range in which the torque-based upper-limit guard value is equal to or less than the reference upper-limit guard value on condition that the magnitude of the update amount determined by the control angle manipulation processing circuit is equal to or less than the reference upper-limit guard value, and decreases the torque-based lower-limit guard value in a range in which the torque-based lower-limit guard value is equal to or more than the reference lower-limit guard value on condition that the magnitude of the update amount determined by the control angle manipulation processing circuit is equal to or more than the reference lower-limit guard value; and an absolute value of a speed at which the torque-based upper-limit guard value is increased and an absolute value of a speed at which the torque-based lower-limit guard value is decreased are set to different values. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The steering control device according to claim 6, wherein the expansion processing circuit increases the torque-based upper-limit guard value in a range in which the torque-based upper-limit guard value is equal to or less than the reference upper-limit guard value in the case where a duration of a state in which the magnitude of the update amount determined by the control angle manipulation processing circuit is equal to or less than the reference upper-limit guard value is equal to or more than an upper-limit recovery determination time, and decreases the torque-based lower-limit guard value in a range in which the torque-based lower-limit guard value is equal to or more than the reference lower-limit guard value in the case where a duration of a state in which the magnitude of the update amount determined by the control angle manipulation processing circuit is equal to or more than the reference lower-limit guard value is equal to or more than a lower-limit recovery determination time; and the upper-limit recovery determination time and the lower-limit recovery determination time are set to different values. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The steering control device according to claim 1, further comprising: an estimation processing circuit that estimates an induced voltage on the basis of the current which flows through the synchronous motor and the voltage which is applied to terminals of the synchronous motor, and that calculates an estimated variation amount which is an amount of rotation of the synchronous motor per predetermined time on the basis of the estimated induced voltage; and a variation amount-based guarding processing circuit that performs a guarding process on the update amount for the control angle determined by the control angle manipulation processing circuit using a variation amount-based upper-limit guard value, which is an upper-limit guard value that matches the estimated variation amount, and a variation amount-based lower-limit guard value, which is a lower-limit guard value that matches the estimated variation amount, wherein the torque-based guarding processing circuit performs the guarding process on the update amount which has been subjected to the guarding process which is performed by the variation amount-based guarding processing circuit.