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US 9,168,949 B2Granted
Steering system clatter mitigation
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsAnthony Mario D'Amato, Dimitar Petrov Filev
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A steering system clatter mitigation apparatus and method. The clatter mitigation apparatus excites the steering system at a frequency within a range of an existing engine noise. The excitation of the steering system at a different frequency than the clatter sound greatly reduces the clatter sound. The sound produced by the excitation of the steering system is masked by the existing sound of the engine.
Claims16
An audible clatter mitigation apparatus for a steering system of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
- an actuator connected to the steering system;
- and
- a controller programmed to actuate the actuator at a sinusoidal frequency that is a function of a steering rack motor torque and an engine noise frequency, causing steering system components and gear sets associated therewith to excite at a frequency within that of an engine noise frequency range.
A method of mitigating a steering rack clatter comprising:
- generating a sinusoidal input frequency on a steering rack in response to an input criterion, wherein the sinusoidal input frequency is a function of a steering rack motor torque and an engine noise frequency, and the generated sinusoidal input frequency causes the steering rack to excite at a frequency that is within that of an engine noise frequency range.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.