# US 10,308,282 B2 · Vehicle steering arrangement, autonomous vehicle steering arrangement, a vehicle, and a method of steering a vehicle

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- Number: US 10,308,282 B2
- Document ID: US10308282B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/367,266
- Filed: 2016-12-02
- Published: 2017-06-08
- Granted: 2019-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2015-12-08
- Assignees: Volvo Car Corporation
- Applicants: Volvo Car Corporation
- Inventors: Diomidis Katzourakis; Caspar Hanselaar; Mathias Lidberg
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10308282B2

## CPC

- B62D 6/008: {Control of feed-back to the steering input member, e.g. simulating road feel in steer-by-wire applications}
- B62D 6/002: {computing target steering angles for front or rear wheels (B62D7/159 takes precedence)}
- B62D 6/006: {using a measured or estimated road friction coefficient}
- B62D 6/007: {adjustable by the driver, e.g. sport mode}
- B62D 15/025: {Active steering aids, e.g. helping the driver by actively influencing the steering system after environment evaluation (B62D1/28 takes precedence)}
- B60T 2201/087: using active steering actuation
- 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)
- B60T: VEHICLE BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEMS OR PARTS THEREOF; BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEMS OR PARTS THEREOF, IN GENERAL (electrodynamic brake systems for vehicle, in general B60L; brakes per se, i.e. devices where braking effect occurs, including ultimate brake actuators, F16D); ARRANGEMENT OF BRAKING ELEMENTS ON VEHICLES IN GENERAL; PORTABLE DEVICES FOR PREVENTING UNWANTED MOVEMENT OF VEHICLES; VEHICLE MODIFICATIONS TO FACILITATE COOLING OF BRAKES

## Abstract

A vehicle steering arrangement for a vehicle comprises a rack a position sensor, a steering column, a steering wheel, a torque sensor arranged to sense a torque applied onto the steering wheel and arranged to provide a torque signal representative thereof, an electronic control unit provided with a virtual steering model, a rack-mounted electromechanical actuator, and a force obtaining arrangement configured to obtain forces of steered wheels acting on the rack. The electronic control unit is configured to provide a virtual rack position based on the virtual steering model and at least a combination of the obtained forces and the torque signal, and is arranged to control the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator such that the current position of the rack is controlled towards the virtual rack position. The present disclosure also relates to an autonomous vehicle steering arrangement, a vehicle and a method of steering a vehicle.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A vehicle steering arrangement for a vehicle, the steering arrangement comprising:
a rack;
a position sensor to sense a current position of the rack;
a steering column;
a steering wheel configured to be in mechanical connection with steerable wheels of the vehicle via the rack and the steering column;
a torque sensor to sense a torque applied onto the steering wheel and to provide a torque signal representative thereof;
an electronic control unit provided with a virtual steering model;
a rack-mounted electromechanical actuator to selectively apply a force onto the rack; and
a force obtaining arrangement configured to obtain forces of the wheels acting on the rack;
wherein the electronic control unit is configured to provide a virtual rack position based on the virtual steering model and at least a combination of the obtained forces and the torque signal, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to control the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator such that the current position of the rack is controlled towards the virtual rack position, wherein the force obtaining arrangement comprises the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator, the position sensor and the electronic control unit, and wherein the force obtaining arrangement is configured to obtain the forces by comparing a current speed of the rack with at least one of an electric current supplied to the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator or an electric voltage supplied to the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The steering arrangement according to claim 1, further comprising a movement sensor to monitor movement of the vehicle, wherein the electronic control unit is further configured to provide the virtual rack position based on the monitored movement.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The steering arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the steering arrangement comprises the wheels and a vehicle suspension suspending the wheels, wherein a mechanical trail of the vehicle suspension is configured to be lower than a peak value of a pneumatic trail of the wheels, and wherein the electronic control unit is arranged to control the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator to provide an active aligning torque.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The steering arrangement according to claim 3, wherein the mechanical trail of the vehicle suspension is within the range of 1-3 cm.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The steering arrangement according to claim 1, further comprising at least one driving environment monitoring unit to monitor a driving environment surrounding the vehicle, and wherein the virtual steering model is configured to adapt a steering characteristic of the steering arrangement in dependence of the monitored driving environment.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The steering arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the virtual steering model is configured to adapt a steering characteristic of the steering arrangement in dependence of a driver preference.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The steering arrangement according to claim 1, further comprising a movement sensor to monitor lateral acceleration and yaw rate of the vehicle, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to provide a current road friction estimate by comparing the lateral acceleration, the yaw rate, a current position of the rack and the virtual rack position.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

An autonomous vehicle steering arrangement comprising the vehicle steering arrangement according to claim 1.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The autonomous vehicle steering arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the autonomous vehicle steering arrangement is configured to autonomously steer the vehicle hosting the arrangement by moving the virtual rack position.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

A vehicle comprising the autonomous vehicle steering arrangement according to claim 8.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

A vehicle comprising the vehicle steering arrangement according to claim 1.

### Claim 12

A method of steering a vehicle using a vehicle steering arrangement comprising a rack, a steering column, and a steering wheel in mechanical connection with steerable wheels of the vehicle via the rack and the steering column, the method comprising:
sensing a current position of the rack using a position sensor of the steering arrangement;
sensing a torque applied onto the steering wheel and providing a torque signal representative thereof using a torque sensor of the steering arrangement;
obtaining forces of the wheels acting on the rack using a force obtaining arrangement of the steering arrangement;
providing a virtual rack position based on a virtual steering model and at least a combination of the obtained forces and the torque signal using an electronic control unit of the steering arrangement;
controlling a rack-mounted electromechanical actuator of the steering arrangement such that the current position of the rack is controlled toward the virtual rack position using the electronic control unit; and
obtaining the forces by comparing a current speed of the rack with at least one of an electric current supplied to the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator or an electric voltage supplied to the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator, using the force obtaining arrangement;
wherein the force obtaining arrangement comprises the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator, the position sensor and the electronic control unit.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The method according to claim 12, wherein the steering arrangement comprises the wheels and a vehicle suspension suspending the wheels, wherein a mechanical trail of the vehicle suspension is configured to be lower than a peak value of a pneumatic trail of the wheels, and wherein the method further comprises:
controlling the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator to provide an active aligning torque using the electronic control unit.

### Claim 14 (depends on 12)

The method according to claim 12, wherein the steering arrangement further comprises a movement sensor, and wherein the method further comprises:
monitoring lateral acceleration and yaw rate of the vehicle using the movement sensor; and
providing a current road friction estimate by comparing the monitored lateral acceleration, the monitored yaw rate, a current position of the rack and the virtual rack position, using the electronic control unit.

### Claim 15

A vehicle steering arrangement for a vehicle, the steering arrangement comprising:
a rack;
a position sensor to sense a current position of the rack;
a steering column;
steerable wheels;
a steering wheel configured to be in mechanical connection with the wheels via the rack and the steering column;
a vehicle suspension suspending the wheels, wherein a mechanical trail of the vehicle suspension is configured to be lower than a peak value of a pneumatic trail of the wheels;
a torque sensor to sense a torque applied onto the steering wheel and to provide a torque signal representative thereof;
an electronic control unit provided with a virtual steering model;
a rack-mounted electromechanical actuator to selectively apply a force onto the rack; and
a force obtaining arrangement configured to obtain forces of the wheels acting on the rack;
wherein the electronic control unit is configured to provide a virtual rack position based on the virtual steering model and at least a combination of the obtained forces and the torque signal, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to control the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator such that the current position of the rack is controlled towards the virtual rack position, and wherein the electronic control unit is arranged to control the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator to provide an active aligning torque.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The steering arrangement according to claim 15, further comprising a movement sensor to monitor movement of the vehicle, wherein the electronic control unit is further configured to provide the virtual rack position based on the monitored movement.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The steering arrangement according to claim 15, wherein the mechanical trail of the vehicle suspension is in the range of 1-3 cm.

### Claim 18 (depends on 15)

The steering arrangement according to claim 15, further comprising at least one driving environment monitoring unit to monitor a driving environment surrounding the vehicle, and wherein the virtual steering model is configured to adapt a steering characteristic of the steering arrangement in dependence of the monitored driving environment.

### Claim 19

A method of steering a vehicle using a vehicle steering arrangement comprising a rack, a steering column, steerable wheels, a steering wheel in mechanical connection with the wheels via the rack and the steering column, and a vehicle suspension suspending the wheels, wherein a mechanical trail of the vehicle suspension is configured to be lower than a peak value of a pneumatic trail of the wheels, the method comprising:
sensing a current position of the rack using a position sensor of the steering arrangement;
sensing a torque applied onto the steering wheel and providing a torque signal representative thereof using a torque sensor of the steering arrangement;
obtaining forces of the wheels acting on the rack using a force obtaining arrangement of the steering arrangement;
providing a virtual rack position based on a virtual steering model and at least a combination of the obtained forces and the torque signal using an electronic control unit of the steering arrangement;
controlling a rack-mounted electromechanical actuator of the steering arrangement such that the current position of the rack is controlled toward the virtual rack position using the electronic control unit; and
controlling the rack-mounted electromechanical actuator to provide an active aligning torque using the electronic control unit.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The method according to claim 19, wherein the steering arrangement further comprises a movement sensor, and wherein the method further comprises:
monitoring lateral acceleration and yaw rate of the vehicle using the movement sensor; and
providing a current road friction estimate by comparing the monitored lateral acceleration, the monitored yaw rate, a current position of the rack and the virtual rack position, using the electronic control unit.