Electrical steering for vehicle
AssigneeConception et Developpement Michelin S.A.
InventorDaniel Laurent
Life of this patent
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Abstract
For a vehicle, all of whose road wheels are steerable wheels, the steering instructions are transmitted by electrical means. The vehicle path is altered by a device comprising a component which is similar to a steering wheel, and has two handles 32G, 32D arranged at a certain distance from the rotary shaft and preferably substantially symmetrically with respect to it. The rotary shaft is provided with at least one angle-of-rotation sensor 34 and has a sensor for the tilting force of the handles. The driver turns the handles 32G and 32D clockwise to turn right and anticlockwise to turn left. The driver applies selected tilting forces to the handles 32G and 32D to displace the vehicle transversely to the left or the right, while keeping its longitudinal orientation unchanged.
Claims15
An operating device for acting on the trajectory of a vehicle, all of whose road wheels are steerable wheels, with displacement instructions for said steerable wheels being transmitted by electrical means, the device comprising:
- a first operating component for applying a yaw movement to the vehicle, the first operating component having a rotary shaft to which are secured two handles arranged at a certain distance from the rotary shaft, said rotary shaft being provided with at least one angle-of-rotation sensor and with a means for returning to a straight-line position;
- and
- a second component for applying a yaw-free transverse displacement to the vehicle.
An electrical system for controlling the trajectory of a vehicle, each of whose steerable wheels is controlled by its own electrical actuator, the steering angle being applied individually and selectively to each of the steerable wheels by its electrical actuator, the system comprising:
- an operating means for acting on the trajectory of the vehicle, said operating means being available to the driver;
- a trajectory controller which determines the spatial location of the instantaneous center of rotation of the vehicle as a function of at least one signal delivered by said operating means and as a function of at least one signal representing the actual trajectory of the vehicle and which calculates the steering angle of each of the steerable wheels so that the plane of each road wheel is oriented substantially perpendicularly to the line joining the center of each of said steerable wheel to the instantaneous center of rotation of the vehicle.
An electrical system for controlling the trajectory of a vehicle, all of whose road wheels are steerable wheels, the steering angle being applied individually and selectively to each of the steerable wheels by a dedicated electrical actuator, the electrical system comprising:
- an operating means for acting on the trajectory of the vehicle, said operating means being available to the driver, and
- a trajectory controller which determines a road-wheel steering angle for each of the steerable wheels, as a function of at least one signal delivered by said operating means and as a function of at least one signal representing the actual trajectory of the vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.