Vehicle steering control system with driver alertness determination

Abstract

The alertness of the vehicle operator is determined from an operating condition of the vehicle such as the steering torque, the rack thrust, and/or the yaw rate, and the determined level of alertness of the vehicle operator is advantageously reflected in the control property of the steering control system. If the alertness of the vehicle operator is significantly low, and the vehicle operator may even have dozed off, the steering control system then maximizes its intervention in the steering control so that the vehicle is automatically forced to travel along the proper path of travel. If desired, the vehicle operator may be warned by applying a vibratory torque to the steering wheel. Conversely, when the alertness of the vehicle operator is high, the intervention of the control system in the steering control is minimized so that the intentional steering effort by the vehicle operator would not be resisted or opposed by the steering control system even when an extreme steering operation is carried out.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.