Method for determining steering wheel overlay torque transmitted to steering wheel of steer-by-wire system

Abstract

A method for determining a steering wheel overlay torque delivered to a steering wheel of a steer-by-wire system is disclosed. An example steering-by-wire system includes a steering wheel actuator in operative connection with a steering wheel, a road wheel actuator in operative connection with a steered wheel of a vehicle, and a programmable circuit in communication with the steering wheel actuator and the road wheel actuator, and programmable circuitry for at least instantiating or executing machine-readable instructions to identify a superimposed force applied by a road wheel actuator, the superimposed force from a driver assistance function, identify a torque experienced by the steering wheel, determine a steering wheel torque corresponding to the superimposed force and the torque experienced by the steering wheel, and transmit the determined steering wheel torque to the driver assistance function. And determine an overlay torque for a steering wheel actuator based on the steering wheel torque and the torque received by the steering wheel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to vehicle steering systems and, more particularly, to a method for determining a steering wheel overlay torque transmitted to a steering wheel of a steer-by-wire system. Background Art

[0002] Vehicles, especially motor vehicles, are often equipped with driver assistance functions. Some driver assistance functions, such as lane assist systems, have been developed using modern technology in such a way that a certain lateral reaction of the vehicle is required by requesting an overlay torque from the electric power steering system. In order to control this lateral reaction of the vehicle in a continuous, linear control method, the force transmitted by the rack to the wheel must be proportional to the requested overlay torque. In conventional electric power steering systems, this is achieved by establishing a mechanical connection between the auxiliary steering actuator and the steering wheel. The request for a driver assistance function can be performed by an overlay torque and / or an overlay force. Summary of the invention

[0003] According to the present invention, a steer-by-wire system for a vehicle is provided, the steer-by-wire system comprising: a steering wheel actuator operatively connected to the steering wheel; a road wheel actuator operatively connected to a steerable wheel of the vehicle; and A programmable circuit in communication with the steering wheel actuator and the road wheel actuator, the programmable circuit being at least for instantiating or executing machine-readable instructions to: Identify the superimposed forces applied by the road wheel actuators, which are derived from driver assistance functions; Identify the torque applied to the steering wheel; determining a steering wheel torque corresponding to the superimposed force and the torque applied to the steering wheel; and An overlay torque for the steering wheel actuator is determined based on the steering wheel torque and the torque experienced by the steering wheel.

[0004] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the programmable circuit is at least used to instantiate or execute machine-readable instructions to: determining a feedback counter torque to be provided to the steering wheel based on the force applied by the road wheel actuator; and An output torque for the steering wheel actuator is determined based on the feedback counter torque and the overlay torque.

[0005] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the programmable circuit is at least used to instantiate or execute machine-readable instructions to: Converting the torque applied to the steering wheel into an associated force for the road wheel actuator; combining the superimposed force and the coupled force to obtain a combined force for a road wheel actuator; converting the combined forces into a total torque applied to the steering wheel; and Subtract the torque applied to the steering wheel from the total torque to obtain the superimposed torque.

[0006] According to one embodiment of the invention, the programmable circuit is at least used to instantiate or execute machine-readable instructions to determine a feedback counter-torque to be combined with the overlay torque based on the force applied by the road wheel actuator, and wherein the same conversion function or table is used to (i) convert the force applied by the road wheel actuator to the feedback counter-torque, and (ii) convert the combined force to a total torque for the steering wheel.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the invention, the programmable circuit is configured to receive a request for the road wheel actuator to apply a superimposed force.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the invention, the superposition force is proportional to the steering force applied to the steering wheel to move it.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the superimposed torque drives the steering wheel to move, and the movement results in a balance between the superimposed torque, the torque applied to the steering wheel, and the feedback reverse torque.

[0010] According to the present invention, there is provided a method comprising: Identifying superimposed forces applied by the vehicle's road wheel actuators, superimposed forces resulting from driver assistance functions; Identify the torque applied to the steering wheel; determining a steering wheel torque corresponding to the superimposed force and the torque applied to the steering wheel; and An overlay torque for the steering wheel actuator is determined based on the steering wheel torque and the torque applied to the steering wheel.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises: Converting the torque applied to the steering wheel into an associated force for the road wheel actuator; combining the superimposed force and the coupled force to obtain a combined force for a road wheel actuator; converting the combined forces into a total torque applied to the steering wheel; and Subtract the torque applied to the steering wheel from the total torque to obtain the superimposed torque.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises: determining a feedback counter torque to be provided to the steering wheel based on the force applied by the road wheel actuator; and An output torque for the steering wheel actuator is determined based on the feedback counter torque and the overlay torque.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises using the same conversion function or table to (i) convert the force applied by the road wheel actuator to a feedback counter torque and (ii) convert the combined force to a total torque for the steering wheel.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises receiving a request for the road wheel actuator to apply a superimposed force.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the invention, the superposition force is proportional to the steering force applied to the steering wheel of the vehicle to move it.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the superimposed torque drives the steering wheel to move, and the movement results in a balance between the superimposed torque, the torque applied to the steering wheel and the feedback counter torque.

[0017] According to the present invention, there is provided a device comprising: Interface circuit; machine-readable instructions; and Programmable circuitry for at least instantiating or executing machine-readable instructions to: Identifying superimposed forces applied by the vehicle's road wheel actuators, superimposed forces resulting from driver assistance functions; Identify the torque applied to the steering wheel; determining a steering wheel torque corresponding to the superimposed force and the torque applied to the steering wheel; and An overlay torque for the steering wheel actuator is determined based on the steering wheel torque and the torque applied to the steering wheel.

[0018] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the programmable circuit is at least used to instantiate or execute machine-readable instructions to: determining a feedback counter torque to be provided to the steering wheel based on the force applied by the road wheel actuator; and An output torque for the steering wheel actuator is determined based on the feedback counter torque and the overlay torque.

[0019] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the programmable circuit is at least used to instantiate or execute machine-readable instructions to: Converting the torque applied to the steering wheel into an associated force for the road wheel actuator; combining the superimposed force and the coupled force to obtain a combined force for a road wheel actuator; converting the combined forces into a total torque applied to the steering wheel; and Subtract the torque applied to the steering wheel from the total torque to obtain the superimposed torque.

[0020] According to one embodiment of the invention, the programmable circuit is at least used to instantiate or execute machine-readable instructions to determine a feedback counter-torque to be provided to a steering wheel based on the force applied by the road wheel actuator, and wherein the same conversion function or table is utilized to (i) convert the force applied by the road wheel actuator to the feedback counter-torque, and (ii) convert the combined force to a total torque for the steering wheel.

[0021] According to an embodiment of the invention, the programmable circuit is configured to receive a request for the road wheel actuator to apply a superimposed force.

[0022] According to an embodiment of the invention, the superposition force is proportional to the steering force applied to the steering wheel of the vehicle to move it. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 A steer-by-wire system for a vehicle is schematically illustrated; Figure 2 A novel control method for a steer-by-wire system is schematically illustrated, with exemplary machine-readable instructions and / or instructions that may be executed by a steer-by-wire system being represented in the form of a flow chart. Figure 1 Example operations performed, instantiated and / or performed by example programmable circuitry of a steer-by-wire system; Figure 3 Schematically illustrates signal transmission and processing during a control method according to examples disclosed herein; Figure 4 A vehicle according to an embodiment disclosed herein is schematically illustrated; Figure 5 is a block diagram of an example processing platform including programmable circuitry configured to execute, instantiate and / or perform example machine-readable instructions and / or perform Figure 2 Example operations to implement Figure 1 Programmable circuits in In general, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the following written description to refer to the same or like parts.The drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] In some steer-by-wire systems, the mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the wheels no longer exists. In these systems, the wheel actuators meet a specified angle specification determined by the driver input, for example, implemented by the steering wheel in conjunction with a steering wheel actuator. At the same time, feedback related to the current driving situation is provided in the form of a feedback counter-torque applied to the steering wheel. This feedback counter-torque is usually based on a conversion function or conversion table, in which the input value represents the current steering force on the rack or the current torque proportional to the force transmitted to the wheel through the rack.

[0025] In order to continue to achieve the above-mentioned driver assistance functions, the examples disclosed herein convert the superimposed force or superimposed torque in the traditional steering system that is proportional to the steering force transmitted to the wheel into a superimposed torque on the steering wheel in the wire control system. This superimposed torque is applied to the steering wheel by the steering wheel actuator to generate a steering wheel movement that creates a balance between the superimposed torque, the torque that the driver may apply, and the feedback reverse torque. In the examples disclosed herein, the feedback reverse torque is based on the force acting on the rack, which is caused by the tire displacement generated by the wheel actuator due to the steering request input through the steering wheel actuator. Advantageously, the balance between the superimposed torque, the torque that the driver may apply, and the feedback reverse torque makes the vehicle response have the same characteristics as a traditional mechanically connected steering system.

[0026] The examples disclosed herein provide an advantageous method for determining a steering wheel overlay torque transmitted to a steering wheel of a vehicle steer-by-wire system. Other objects include providing a control method for a vehicle steer-by-wire system, a control device for controlling a steering wheel actuator of a vehicle steer-by-wire system and a vehicle, as well as a computer-implemented method, a computer program product, a computer-readable data carrier and a data carrier signal.

[0027] An exemplary method disclosed herein for determining (e.g., calculating) a steering wheel overlay torque delivered to a steering wheel of a vehicle steer-by-wire system includes receiving a request from a driver assistance system (e.g., a driver assistance function for assisting steering) for a force delivered to a wheel or an overlay torque proportional to the force delivered to the wheel through a rack. The exemplary method disclosed herein includes determining (e.g., recording) a torque currently applied to the steering wheel (e.g., a current steering wheel torque).

[0028] An exemplary method disclosed herein includes converting (e.g., arithmetically converting) a recorded current steering wheel torque into a force or torque proportional to the force transmitted to the wheels through a rack. An exemplary method disclosed herein includes determining a requested total force or a requested total torque proportional to the force transmitted to the wheels through a rack. For example, the requested total force may be determined by adding the requested force or the requested torque to a force or torque proportional to the force transmitted to the wheels through a rack that has been converted (e.g., arithmetically converted) from the determined current steering wheel torque.

[0029] An exemplary method disclosed herein includes determining (e.g., calculating) a total steering wheel torque based on a determined requested total force or a determined requested total torque. An exemplary method disclosed herein includes determining (e.g., calculating) a steering wheel overlay torque based on a determined (e.g., recorded) current steering wheel torque and a determined total steering wheel torque.

[0030] Advantageously, the exemplary methods disclosed herein may be used to determine an overlay torque of a steering wheel of a steer-by-wire system that provides a driver with a steering feel that corresponds to a conventional mechanically linked steering system.

[0031] In some examples, the current steering wheel torque can be determined by a torque sensor and / or by software that determines the current steering wheel torque based on known operating state variables of the vehicle. The steering wheel torque applied by the driver can be determined, for example, based on the current requested steering wheel actuator torque, the current change in steering wheel angular velocity, and the inertia moment that resists the change in steering wheel angular velocity. In addition, for example, it can also be considered to be determined based on the steering wheel angular velocity and the friction torque that resists the change in steering wheel angular velocity.

[0032] In another example, the recorded current steering wheel torque may be converted into a force or torque applied to a steering wheel (e.g., tire, running wheel) by an inverse conversion function (e.g., an arithmetic conversion function) or a conversion table (e.g., an arithmetic conversion table). The inverse conversion function or conversion table may be based on a conversion function or conversion table designed to determine (e.g., calculate) a feedback reverse torque to be applied to the steering wheel based on the force driving the steering wheel in the current driving situation.

[0033] The determined total requested force or total requested torque can be converted, for example, by a function (e.g., a calculation function) or a conversion table, which is designed to determine (e.g., calculate) the feedback counter torque. The same conversion function or the same conversion table can be used to convert the recorded current steering wheel torque into a force or torque, and into the determined total requested force or total requested torque. A conversion function and / or a conversion table designed to determine the feedback counter torque based on at least one variable representing the current rack steering force or a torque proportional to the steering force transmitted to the wheel can be used. This makes it possible to ensure that the application of the superimposed torque calculated by the steering wheel actuator corresponds to the rack force generated in a conventional mechanically connected steering system (if the originally requested torque superimposition is applied). Moreover, a balance corresponding to a conventional mechanically connected steering system is achieved between the superimposed torque, the torque that the driver may apply, and the counter torque (triggered by the rack force generated by the tire deflection generated by the wheel actuator according to the steering request).

[0034] Preferably, the steering wheel overlay torque is determined by subtracting the recorded current steering wheel torque from the determined total steering wheel torque. The acquired or determined input signals and / or intermediate values ​​and / or output signals may be further processed (e.g., filtered) to reduce signal noise and / or to reduce sudden undesired step changes in signal values.

[0035] In addition to determining the steering wheel overlay torque of the vehicle's steer-by-wire system as described above, a current feedback reverse torque on the steering wheel is also determined. The current feedback reverse torque on the steering wheel can be determined based on the rack torque currently applied to the vehicle's wheels, such as the torque applied by the wheel actuator. If the current feedback reverse torque depends on at least one variable or parameter that does not represent the current rack torque applied to the vehicle's wheels, the determined current feedback reverse torque and / or the steering wheel overlay torque can be adjusted. For example, the torque can be adjusted by multiplying a constant or a dynamically calculated factor. Advantageously, the dynamically calculated factor or constant represents the ratio between the reverse torque component that depends on the rack force and the reverse torque component that does not depend on the rack force in the reverse torque.

[0036] The above steps may be performed simultaneously or in any order. Subsequently, the steering wheel actuator superimposes the current feedback reverse torque on the steering wheel, and superimposes the determined steering wheel superimposed torque on the output torque applied to the steering wheel. The steering system according to the example disclosed herein includes the above features associated with the method for determining the steering wheel superimposed torque.

[0037] An exemplary control device for controlling a steering wheel actuator of a vehicle steer-by-wire system includes: a device (e.g., a programmable circuit) for receiving a request from a driver assistance system for a force or overlay torque to be delivered to a wheel; a device (e.g., a programmable circuit) for determining a steering wheel overlay torque by the above method for determining a steering wheel overlay torque; and a device (e.g., a programmable circuit) for determining a current feedback reverse torque on the steering wheel. In this way, the control device performs the operations described herein to control the steer-by-wire system.

[0038] An exemplary vehicle according to the examples disclosed herein includes a steer-by-wire system and the control device discussed above. The vehicle thus has the advantages already described. The vehicle may be a motor vehicle or a watercraft. The motor vehicle may be a passenger car, a truck, a bus, a minibus, a motorcycle or a moped. The vehicle may also be an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle (e.g., a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV)).

[0039] An exemplary machine-readable medium includes instructions that, when executed by a programmable circuit (e.g., a computer), cause the programmable circuit to perform the above operations. When executed by the programmable circuit, the instructions cause the programmable circuit to perform operations to determine a steering wheel overlay torque for transmission to a steering wheel of a steer-by-wire system. The instructions are stored on a computer-readable data carrier (e.g., a memory).

[0040] Figure 1A steer-by-wire system 1 for a vehicle is schematically illustrated. The steering system 1 comprises a steering wheel 2, a steering rod 3 and a steering wheel actuator 4, which are mechanically connected (e.g., operatively connected). The steering system 1 also comprises a steering wheel 5, a tie rod 6, a rack 8 and a wheel actuator 7 (e.g., a road wheel actuator), which are also mechanically connected (e.g., operatively connected). In particular, the tie rod 6 connects the rack 8 to the steering wheel 5. In addition, the steering system 1 comprises a control circuit 10, which is communicatively connected to the steering wheel actuator 4 and the road wheel actuator 7 for signal transmission purposes. Signal communication is indicated by arrow 9. The control circuit 10 can also be designed to receive other signals.

[0041] The steering rod 3 transmits the driver's steering input (e.g., steering request) through the steering wheel 2 to the steering wheel actuator 4. The steering wheel actuator 4 can also transmit torque to the steering rod 3. The road wheel actuator 7 provides a force or torque to the rack 8. The control circuit 10 can determine (e.g., measure, receive) the force applied by the road wheel actuator 7 to the rack 8.

[0042] The control circuit 10 receives a signal including an estimated or measured current steering wheel torque and / or steering wheel rotation angle from the steering wheel actuator 4. The control circuit 10 also receives a signal representing the current steering angle, a torque overlay request from a driver assistance function and / or a force currently applied to the rack 8 (from the road wheel actuator 7). For example, the signal transmitted from the control circuit 10 to the steering wheel actuator 4 represents a calculated total torque request based on the measured or estimated force or corresponding torque on the rack, the measured or estimated steering wheel torque and the torque overlay request.

[0043] Figure 2 1 is a flow chart representing example machine readable instructions and / or example operations 200 that may be executed, instantiated, and / or performed by programmable circuitry to determine a steering wheel overlay torque in a drive-by-wire system. In block 11, the control circuitry 10 receives a request from a driver assistance system for a force delivered to a wheel or an overlay torque proportional to the force delivered to the wheel through a rack. In block 12, the control circuitry 10 determines a torque currently applied to the steering wheel (current steering wheel torque).

[0044] In box 13, the control circuit 10 converts (e.g., arithmetically converts) the recorded current steering wheel torque into a force or a torque proportional to the force transmitted to the wheel through the road wheel actuator 7 and the rack 8. In box 14, the control circuit 10 determines a requested total force or a requested total torque proportional to the force transmitted to the wheel through the road wheel actuator 7 and the rack 8 by adding the requested force or the requested torque to the force or the torque converted from the determined current steering wheel torque.

[0045] In box 15, the control circuit 10 determines the steering wheel total torque based on the determined total force requested or the determined total torque requested. In box 16, the control circuit 10 determines the steering wheel overlay torque based on the determined current steering wheel torque and the determined steering wheel total torque. In box 17, the control circuit 10 overlays the determined current feedback reverse torque on the steering wheel 2 with the determined steering wheel overlay torque. The steering wheel actuator 4 may cause the overlay reverse torque and the overlay torque to be applied to the steering wheel 2.

[0046] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of example signal transmission and processing performed by the control circuit 10. Signal 21 represents the current rack force from the road wheel actuator 7. The control circuit 10 uses a transfer function or arithmetic conversion table 31 to convert the signal 21 into a signal 24 representing the feedback reverse torque.

[0047] Signal 22 represents a torque overlay request from the driver assistance function, in particular an overlay force to be applied to rack 8 for transmission to wheel 5. The acquisition of signal 22 corresponds to Figure 2 The signal 23 represents the torque currently applied to the steering wheel 2.

[0048] The reception of signal 23 corresponds to block 12 described above, and signal 23 is converted by an inverse conversion function or conversion table 32 into signal 25 for calculating the rack force based on the current steering wheel torque. Signal 25 represents the calculated rack force. This conversion step corresponds to Figure 2 13 in the box.

[0049] Signal 22 is added to signal 25 via adder 34. This corresponds to Figure 2 The resulting signal 26 is then converted by means of a conversion function or table 31 into a signal 27 representing the total torque demand on the steering wheel. The signal 23 is then eliminated from the signal 27 by means of an adder 35. This corresponds to Figure 2 The resulting signal 28 represents the steering wheel overlay torque. The signal 28 is then added to the signal 24 by an adder 36. This corresponds to Figure 2 The resulting signal 29 , corresponding to the total torque to be applied to the steering wheel, is applied to the steering wheel 2 via the steering wheel actuator 4 .

[0050] Figure 4 An exemplary vehicle 40 that can be used to implement the examples disclosed herein is schematically shown. The vehicle 40 includes a steer-by-wire system 1 that includes a steer-by-wire system 1 designed to perform, for example, Figure 2 and Figure 3 A method of controlling a circuit 10 is described.

[0051] Figure 1 and Figure 4 The control circuit 10 in can be instantiated (e.g., create an instance, realize, materialize, implement, etc. for any length of time) by a programmable circuit (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) executing a first instruction). Additionally or alternatively, Figure 1 and Figure 4 The control circuit 10 in the embodiment may be instantiated (e.g., created as an instance, realized in any length of time, materialized, implemented, etc.) by (i) an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and / or (ii) a field programmable gate array (FPGA) (which is constructed and / or configured to perform an operation corresponding to a first instruction in response to executing a second instruction). It should be understood that, therefore, Figure 1 and Figure 4 Some or all of the control circuits 10 in may be instantiated at the same time or at different times. For example, Figure 1 and Figure 4 Some or all of the control circuits 10 in may be instantiated in one or more threads executed in parallel on hardware and / or serially on hardware. In addition, in some examples, Figure 1 and Figure 4 Some or all of the control circuits 10 in the embodiment may be implemented by a microprocessor circuit that executes instructions and / or an FPGA circuit that performs operations to implement one or more virtual machines and / or containers. Figure 1 and Figure 4 The control circuit 10 in the embodiment is configured to execute control instructions and / or to execute the following Figure 2 The flowchart shown and Figure 3 The programmable circuit instantiation of the signal transmission and processing operations shown.

[0052] Although Figure 1 and Figure 4 The implementation is shown in Figure 1 An example of a control circuit 10 in FIG. Figure 1 and Figure 4 One or more of the elements, processes and / or devices shown in the drawings may be combined, split, rearranged, omitted, eliminated and / or implemented in any other manner. Figure 1 and Figure 4 The example control circuit 10 in the example embodiment may be implemented by hardware alone or by a combination of hardware and software and / or firmware. Thus, for example, the example control circuit 10 may be implemented by a combination of programmable circuits and machine-readable instructions (e.g., firmware or software), processor circuits, analog circuits, digital circuits, logic circuits, programmable processors, programmable microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), and / or field programmable logic devices (FPLDs) such as FPGAs, etc. Furthermore, Figure 1 and Figure 4An example control circuit 10 may include in addition to or instead of Figure 1 and Figure 4 One or more elements, processes and / or devices other than those shown, and / or may also include more than one of any or all of the shown elements, processes and devices.

[0053] Figure 2 A flowchart is shown in which a programmable circuit may be executed to implement and / or instantiate Figure 1 and Figure 4 The example machine readable instructions of the control circuit 10 in FIG. 1 and / or represent examples of machine readable instructions that can be executed by a programmable circuit to implement and / or instantiate Figure 1 and Figure 4 These machine-readable instructions may be one or more executable programs or a portion of one or more executable programs, which are executed by the following with Figure 5 The programmable circuits such as the programmable circuits 512 shown in the example processor platform 500 discussed in conjunction are executed. In some examples, these machine-readable instructions enable operations, tasks, etc. to be performed and / or performed in an automated manner in the real world. As used herein, "automated" means without human involvement.

[0054] The program may be embodied in instructions (e.g., software and / or firmware) stored on one or more non-transitory computer-readable and / or machine-readable storage media, such as cache memory, magnetic storage devices or disks (e.g., floppy disks, hard disk drives (HDDs), etc.), optical storage devices or disks (e.g., Blu-ray discs, compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc.), redundant arrays of independent disks (RAIDs), registers, ROMs, solid-state drives (SSDs), SSD memories, non-volatile memories (e.g., electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), flash memory, etc.), volatile memories (e.g., any type of random access memory (RAM), etc.), and / or any other storage devices or storage disks. The instructions of the non-transitory computer-readable and / or machine-readable media may be programmed and / or executed by programmable circuits located in one or more hardware devices, but the entire program and / or portions thereof may alternatively be executed and / or instantiated by programmable circuits other than programmable circuits and / or embedded in dedicated hardware and / or one or more hardware devices included in dedicated hardware. The machine-readable instructions may be distributed across multiple hardware devices and / or executed by two or more hardware devices (e.g., a server and a client hardware device). For example, the client hardware device may be implemented by an end-client hardware device (e.g., a hardware device associated with a human and / or machine user) or an intermediate client hardware device gateway (e.g., a radio access network (RAN)) that may facilitate communication between the server and the end-client hardware device. Similarly, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may include one or more media. Furthermore, although reference is made to Figure 2 The flowchart shown in describes an example program, but many other methods may be used to implement the example control circuit 10. For example, the execution order of the modules in the flowchart may be changed, and / or some of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined. In addition or alternatively, any or all modules of the flowchart may be implemented by one or more hardware circuits (e.g., processor circuits, discrete and / or integrated analog and / or digital circuits, FPGAs, ASICs, comparators, operational amplifiers (op-amps), logic circuits, etc.), which are constructed to perform corresponding operations without executing software or firmware. The programmable circuits may be distributed in different network locations and / or local to one or more hardware devices (e.g., single-core processors (e.g., single-core CPUs), multi-core processors (e.g., multi-core CPUs, XPUs, etc.)). For example, the programmable circuit may be a CPU and / or FPGA located in the same package (e.g., the same integrated circuit (IC) package or two or more separate housings), one or more processors in a single machine, multiple processors distributed on multiple servers in a server rack, multiple processors distributed on one or more server racks, etc., and / or any combination thereof.

[0055] The machine-readable instructions described herein may be stored in one or more of a compressed format, an encrypted format, a segmented format, a compiled format, an executable format, a packaged format, etc. As described herein, the machine-readable instructions may be stored as data (e.g., computer-readable data, machine-readable data, one or more bits (e.g., one or more computer-readable bits, one or more machine-readable bits, etc.), a bit stream (e.g., a computer-readable bit stream, a machine-readable bit stream, etc.), etc.) or a data structure (e.g., as part of a representation of an instruction, code, code, etc.), which may be used to create, manufacture, and / or generate machine-executable instructions. For example, the machine-readable instructions may be segmented and stored on one or more storage devices, disks, and / or computing devices (e.g., servers) located in the same or different locations in a network or a collection of networks (e.g., a cloud, an edge device, etc.). In order for the machine-readable instructions to be directly read, interpreted, and / or executed by a computing device and / or other machine, the machine-readable instructions may require one or more installation, modification, adaptation, updating, merging, supplementation, configuration, decryption, decompression, unpacking, distribution, redistribution, compilation, and the like. For example, machine-readable instructions may be stored in multiple components that are separately compressed, encrypted, and / or stored on separate computing devices, where when the components are decrypted, decompressed, and / or combined, they form a set of computer-executable and / or machine-executable instructions that implement one or more functions and / or operations that together form a program as described herein.

[0056] In another example, the machine-readable instructions may be stored in a state that can be read by a programmable circuit, but require the addition of a library (e.g., a dynamic link library (DLL)), a software development kit (SDK), an application programming interface (API), etc., to execute the machine-readable instructions on a specific computing device or other device. In another example, the machine-readable instructions and / or corresponding programs may require configuration (e.g., setting up storage, data input, network address recording, etc.) before the machine-readable instructions and / or corresponding programs can be executed in whole or in part. Therefore, as used herein, machine-readable, computer-readable and / or machine-readable media can include instructions and / or programs regardless of the specific format or state of the machine-readable instructions and / or programs.

[0057] The machine-readable instructions described herein may be represented by any past, present, or future instruction language, scripting language, programming language, etc. For example, the machine-readable instructions may be represented using any of the following languages: C, C++, Java, C#, Perl, Python, JavaScript, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Structured Query Language (SQL), Swift, etc.

[0058] As mentioned above, Figure 2 The example operations of may be implemented using executable instructions (e.g., computer-readable and / or machine-readable instructions) stored on one or more non-transitory computer-readable and / or machine-readable media. As used herein, the terms "non-transitory computer-readable medium," "non-transitory computer-readable storage medium," "non-transitory machine-readable medium," and / or "non-transitory machine-readable storage medium" are expressly defined to include any type of computer-readable storage device and / or storage disk, and exclude propagating signals and transmission media. Examples of such non-transitory computer-readable media, non-transitory computer-readable storage media, non-transitory machine-readable media, and / or non-transitory machine-readable storage media include optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, hard disk drives (HDDs), flash memory, read-only memory (ROMs), CDs, DVDs, caches, any type of random access memory (RAM), registers, and / or any other information storage devices or storage disks in which information is stored for a period of time (e.g., for a long period of time, permanently, for a short period of time, as a temporary buffer and / or cache of information). As used herein, the terms "non-transitory computer-readable storage device" and "non-transitory machine-readable storage device" are defined to include any physical (mechanical, magnetic, and / or electrical) hardware for retaining information over a period of time, but excluding propagating signals and transmission media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage devices and non-transitory machine-readable storage devices include any type of random access memory, any type of read-only memory, solid-state memory, flash memory, optical disks, magnetic disks, disk drives, and / or redundant arrays of independent disks (RAID) systems. As used herein, the term "device" refers to a physical structure, such as a mechanical and / or electrical device, hardware, and / or circuitry, that may or may not be configured by computer-readable instructions, machine-readable instructions, etc., and / or manufactured to perform computer-readable instructions, machine-readable instructions, etc.

[0059] Figure 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary programmable circuit platform 500 configured to execute and / or instantiate Figure 2 Example machine readable instructions and / or example operations in order to implement Figure 1-4 The control circuit 10 in the programmable circuit platform 500 can be, for example, a computing and / or electronic device.

[0060] The programmable circuit platform 500 in the illustrated example includes a programmable circuit 512. The programmable circuit 512 in the illustrated example is hardware. For example, the programmable circuit 512 can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits, logic circuits, FPGAs, microprocessors, CPUs, GPUs, DSPs, and / or microcontrollers from any desired series or manufacturer. The programmable circuit 512 can be implemented by one or more semiconductor-based (e.g., silicon-based) devices. In this example, the programmable circuit 512 implements the control circuit 10.

[0061] The programmable circuit 512 in the illustrated example includes a local memory 513 (e.g., cache, registers, etc.). The programmable circuit 512 in the illustrated example communicates with a main memory 514, 516 via a bus 518, the main memory including a volatile memory 514 and a non-volatile memory 516. The volatile memory 514 may be implemented by a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a RAMBUS® dynamic random access memory (RDRAM&®), and / or any other type of RAM device. The non-volatile memory 516 may be implemented by a flash memory and / or any other desired type of storage device. Access to the main memory 514, 516 of the illustrated embodiment is controlled by a memory controller 517. In some examples, the memory controller 517 may be implemented by one or more integrated circuits, logic circuits, microcontrollers from any desired family or manufacturer, or any other type of circuit to manage the flow of data into and out of the main memory 514, 516.

[0062] The programmable circuit platform 500 in the illustrated example also includes an interface circuit 520. The interface circuit 520 may be implemented by hardware in accordance with any type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, a Bluetooth® interface, a Near Field Communication (NFC) interface, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) interface, and / or a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) interface.

[0063] In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 522 are connected to the interface circuit 520. The input devices 522 allow a user (e.g., a human user, a machine user, etc.) to input data and / or commands into the programmable circuit 512. The input devices 522 may be implemented by, for example, a torque sensor, a position sensor, and / or an electronic signal receiver.

[0064] One or more output devices 524 are also connected to the interface circuit 520 in the illustrated example. The output device 524 can be implemented by, for example, a signal transmitter and / or an actuator. Therefore, the interface circuit 520 in the illustrated example typically includes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip, and / or a graphics processor circuit such as a GPU.

[0065] The interface circuitry 520 in the illustrated example also includes communication devices, such as transmitters, receivers, transceivers, modems, residential gateways, wireless access points, and / or network interfaces to facilitate the exchange of data with external machines (e.g., any type of computing device) via a network 526. Communications may occur via, for example, an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection, a telephone line connection, a coaxial cable system, a satellite system, a beyond-line-of-sight wireless system, a line-of-sight wireless system, a cellular telephone system, a fiber optic connection, and the like.

[0066] The programmable circuit platform 500 in the illustrated example also includes one or more mass storage disks or devices 528 for storing firmware, software and / or data. Examples of such mass storage disks or devices include magnetic storage devices (e.g., floppy disks, drives, hard drives, etc.), optical storage devices (e.g., Blu-ray disks, CDs, DVDs, etc.), RAID systems, and / or solid-state storage disks or devices, such as flash memory devices and / or SSDs.

[0067] Can be Figure 2 The machine-readable instructions 532 implemented by the machine-readable instructions may be stored in the mass storage device 528, the volatile memory 514, the non-volatile memory 516, and / or on at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a removable CD or DVD.

[0068] As used herein, the terms "include" and "comprising" (and all forms and tenses thereof) are open ended terms. Thus, whenever a claim uses any form of "include" or "comprising" (e.g., includes, including, containing, including, having, etc.) as a preamble or in any type of claim recitation, it should be understood that additional elements, terms, etc. may be present without exceeding the scope of the corresponding claim or recitation. As used herein, when the phrase "at least" is used as a transitional term, such as in a claim preamble, it is open ended in the same manner as the terms "include" and "comprising" are open ended, and the term "and / or" in a form such as A, B, and / or C refers to any combination or subset of A, B, C, such as (1) only A, (2) only B, (3) only C, (4) A and B together, (5) A and C together, (6) B and C together, or (7) A, B, and C together. As used herein in the context of describing structures, components, items, objects, and / or things, the phrase "at least one of A and B" is intended to refer to embodiments that include (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) at least one A and at least one B. Likewise, as used herein in the context of describing structures, components, items, objects, and / or things, the phrase "at least one of A or B" is intended to refer to embodiments that include (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) at least one A and at least one B. As used herein in the context of describing the execution or performance of a process, instruction, action, activity, etc., the phrase "at least one of A and B" is intended to refer to embodiments that include (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) at least one A and at least one B. Likewise, as used herein in the context of describing the execution or performance of a process, instruction, action, activity, etc., the phrase "at least one of A or B" is intended to refer to embodiments that include (1) at least one A, (2) at least one B, or (3) at least one A and at least one B.

[0069] As used herein, singular references (e.g., "one," "first," "second," etc.) do not exclude the plural. The term "a" or "an" object as used herein refers to one or more of that object. The terms "a" (or "an"), "one or more," and "at least one" are used interchangeably herein. Furthermore, although listed separately, multiple means, elements, or actions may be implemented by, for example, the same entity or object. In addition, although individual features may be included in different examples or claims, these features may be combined together, and inclusion in different examples or claims does not mean that the combination of features is not feasible and / or disadvantageous.

[0070] As used herein, unless otherwise indicated, the term "above" describes the relationship between two components relative to the earth. A first component is "above" a second component if the second component is at least partially between the earth and the first component. Likewise, as used herein, a first component is "below" a second component when the first component is closer to the earth than the second component. As described above, a component may be above or below another component, with one or more other components between them, or without other components, and they may or may not be in direct contact.

[0071] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, connection references (e.g., attachment, coupling, connection, and bonding) may include intermediate members between the elements being connected, and / or relative movement between such elements. Thus, connection references do not necessarily mean that two elements are directly connected and / or are in a fixed relationship to each other. As used herein, stating that any component is "in contact" with another component is defined to mean that there are no intermediate components between the two components.

[0072] Unless otherwise stated, the use of descriptors such as "first", "second", "third", etc. in this document does not imply or otherwise indicate any priority, physical order, arrangement in a list, and / or ordering in any manner, but is merely used as a label and / or arbitrary name to facilitate understanding of the disclosed examples. In some examples, the descriptor "first" may be used to refer to an element in the detailed description, while the same element may be referenced in the claims with a different descriptor such as "second" or "third". In this case, it should be understood that such descriptors are only used to clearly identify those elements within the context of the discussion (e.g., in the claims), for example, among which other elements may share the same name.

[0073] As used herein, the phrase "in communication," including variations thereof, encompasses direct communication and / or indirect communication through one or more intermediate components, and does not require direct physical (e.g., wired) communication and / or continuous communication, but also includes selective communication at periodic intervals, scheduled intervals, non-periodic intervals, and / or one-time events.

[0074] As used herein, "programmable circuitry" is defined as including (i) one or more special purpose electronic circuits (e.g., application specific circuits (ASICs)) that are configured to perform specific operations and include one or more semiconductor-based logic devices (e.g., electronic hardware implemented by one or more transistors), and / or (ii) one or more semiconductor-based electronic general purpose circuits that can be programmed with instructions to perform specific functions and / or operations and include one or more semiconductor-based logic devices (e.g., electronic hardware implemented by one or more transistors). Examples of programmable circuitry include programmable microprocessors, such as a central processing unit (CPU) that can execute a first instruction to perform one or more operations and / or functions, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) that can be programmed with a second instruction to perform one or more operations and / or functions corresponding to the first instruction, thereby instantiating the configuration and / or structure of the FPGA, a graphics processing unit (GPU) that can execute a first instruction to perform one or more operations and / or functions, a digital signal processor (DSP) that can execute a first instruction to perform one or more operations and / or functions, an XPU, a network processing unit (NPU), one or more microcontrollers that can execute a first instruction to perform one or more operations and / or functions, and / or integrated circuits such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). For example, an XPU may be implemented by a heterogeneous computing system including multiple types of programmable circuits (e.g., one or more FPGAs, one or more CPUs, one or more GPUs, one or more NPUs, one or more DSPs, etc., and / or any combination thereof), as well as coordination technologies (e.g., an application programming interface (API) that can assign computing tasks to any of the multiple programmable circuits that are suitable and available to perform computing tasks.

[0075] As used herein, an integrated circuit / circuit is defined as one or more semiconductor packages containing one or more circuit elements, such as transistors, capacitors, inductors, resistors, current paths, diodes, etc. For example, an integrated circuit may be implemented as one or more ASICs, FPGAs, chips, microchips, programmable circuits, semiconductor substrates connecting multiple circuit elements, systems on a chip (SoCs), etc.

[0076] Example methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture for determining a steering wheel overlay torque for transmission to a steering wheel of a steer-by-wire system are disclosed herein. Further examples and combinations thereof include the following: Example 1 includes a steer-by-wire system for a vehicle, the steer-by-wire system comprising a steering wheel actuator operatively connected to a steering wheel, a road wheel actuator operatively connected to a steering wheel of the vehicle, and a programmable circuit in communication with the steering wheel actuator and the road wheel actuator, the programmable circuit being at least used to instantiate or execute machine-readable instructions to identify an overlay force applied by the road wheel actuator, the overlay force being from a driver assistance function, identify a torque applied to the steering wheel, determine a steering wheel torque corresponding to the overlay force and the torque applied to the steering wheel, and determine an overlay torque for the steering wheel actuator based on the steering wheel torque and the torque applied to the steering wheel.

[0077] Example 2 includes the steer-by-wire system of any of the above examples, wherein the programmable circuit is at least used to instantiate or execute machine-readable instructions to determine a feedback counter torque to be provided to the steering wheel based on the force applied by the road wheel actuator, and to determine an output torque for the steering wheel actuator based on the feedback counter torque and the overlay torque.

[0078] Example 3 includes the steer-by-wire system of any of the above examples, wherein the programmable circuit is at least used to instantiate or execute machine-readable instructions to convert the torque applied to the steering wheel into an associated force for a road wheel actuator, combine the superimposed force with the associated force to obtain a combined force for the road wheel actuator, convert the combined force into a total torque for the steering wheel, and subtract the torque applied to the steering wheel from the total torque to obtain the superimposed torque.

[0079] Example 4 includes the steer-by-wire system of any of the above examples, wherein the programmable circuit is at least used to instantiate or execute machine-readable instructions to determine a feedback counter torque to be combined with the overlay torque based on the force applied by the road wheel actuator, and wherein the same conversion function or table is used to (i) convert the force applied by the road wheel actuator to the feedback counter torque, and (ii) convert the combined force to a total torque for the steering wheel.

[0080] Example 5 includes the steer-by-wire system of any of the above examples, wherein the programmable circuit is configured to receive a request to cause the road wheel actuator to apply the overlay force.

[0081] Example 6 includes the steer-by-wire system of any of the above examples, wherein the superposition force is proportional to the steering force applied to the steering wheel to move it.

[0082] Example 7 includes the steer-by-wire system of any of the above examples, wherein the overlay torque drives a steering wheel movement that results in a balance between the overlay torque, the torque applied to the steering wheel, and the feedback counter torque.

[0083] Example 8 includes a method comprising identifying an overlay force applied by a road wheel actuator of a vehicle, the overlay force resulting from a driver assistance function; identifying a torque applied to a steering wheel; determining a steering wheel torque corresponding to the overlay force and the torque applied to the steering wheel; and determining an overlay torque for a steering wheel actuator based on the steering wheel torque and the torque applied to the steering wheel.

[0084] Example 9 includes the method of any of the above examples, further comprising converting the torque applied to the steering wheel into an associated force for a road wheel actuator; combining the superimposed force with the associated force to obtain a combined force for the road wheel actuator; converting the combined force into a total torque for the steering wheel; and subtracting the torque applied to the steering wheel from the total torque to obtain the superimposed torque.

[0085] Example 10 includes the method of any of the above examples, further comprising determining a feedback counter torque to be provided to a steering wheel based on a force applied by a road wheel actuator; and determining an output torque for a steering wheel actuator based on the feedback counter torque and the overlay torque.

[0086] Example 11 includes the method of any of the above examples, further comprising using the same conversion function or table to (i) convert the force applied by the road wheel actuator to the feedback counter torque, and (ii) convert the combined force to the total torque of the steering wheel.

[0087] Example 12 includes the method of any of the above examples, further comprising receiving a request to cause a road wheel actuator to apply a superimposed force.

[0088] Example 13 includes the method of any of the above examples, wherein the superimposed force is proportional to a steering force applied to a steering wheel of the vehicle to move it.

[0089] Example 14 includes the method of any of the above examples, wherein the overlay torque drives a steering wheel movement that results in a balance between the overlay torque, the torque applied to the steering wheel, and the feedback counter torque.

[0090] Example 15 includes a device comprising an interface circuit, machine-readable instructions, and a programmable circuit that at least instantiates or executes the machine-readable instructions to identify an overlay force applied by a road wheel actuator of a vehicle, the overlay force resulting from a driver assistance function; identify a torque applied to a steering wheel; determine a steering wheel torque corresponding to the overlay force and the torque applied to the steering wheel; and determine an overlay torque for a steering wheel actuator based on the steering wheel torque and the torque applied to the steering wheel.

[0091] Example 16 includes the apparatus of any of the above examples, wherein the programmable circuit is at least used to instantiate or execute machine-readable instructions to determine a feedback reverse torque to be provided to the steering wheel based on the force applied by the road wheel actuator; and determine an output torque for the steering wheel actuator based on the feedback reverse torque and the overlay torque.

[0092] Example 17 includes an apparatus of any of the above examples, wherein the programmable circuit is at least used to instantiate or execute machine-readable instructions to convert the torque applied to the steering wheel into an associated force for a road wheel actuator, combine the superimposed force and the associated force to obtain a combined force for the road wheel actuator, convert the combined force into a total torque for the steering wheel, and subtract the torque applied to the steering wheel from the total torque to obtain the superimposed torque.

[0093] Example 18 includes the apparatus of any of the above examples, wherein the programmable circuit is at least used to instantiate or execute machine-readable instructions to determine a feedback counter torque to be provided to the steering wheel based on the force applied by the road wheel actuator, and wherein the same conversion function or table is used to (i) convert the force applied by the road wheel actuator to the feedback counter torque, and (ii) convert the combined force to a total torque for the steering wheel.

[0094] Example 19 includes the apparatus of any of the above examples, wherein the programmable circuit is used to receive a request to cause the road wheel actuator to apply a superimposed force.

[0095] Example 20 includes the apparatus of any of the above examples, wherein the superimposed force is proportional to a steering force applied to a steering wheel of the vehicle to move it.

[0096] The claims are incorporated into this detailed description by reference. Although certain example systems, devices, articles of manufacture, and methods have been disclosed herein, the scope of protection of the present invention patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, the present invention covers all systems, devices, articles of manufacture, and methods that reasonably fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A steer-by-wire system for a vehicle, the steer-by-wire system comprising: a steering wheel actuator operatively connected to the steering wheel; a road wheel actuator operatively connected to a steerable wheel of the vehicle; as well as a programmable circuit in communication with the steering wheel actuator and the road wheel actuator, the programmable circuit being at least for instantiating or executing machine-readable instructions to: identifying a superimposed force applied by the road wheel actuator, the superimposed force resulting from a driver assistance function; identifying a torque applied to the steering wheel; determining a steering wheel torque corresponding to the superimposed force and the torque applied to the steering wheel; as well as An overlay torque for the steering wheel actuator is determined based on the steering wheel torque and the torque experienced by the steering wheel.

2. The steer-by-wire system of claim 1, wherein the programmable circuit is at least configured to instantiate or execute the machine-readable instructions to: determining a feedback counter torque to be provided to the steering wheel based on the force applied by the road wheel actuator; and An output torque for the steering wheel actuator is determined based on the feedback reverse torque and the overlay torque.

3. The steer-by-wire system of claim 1 , wherein the programmable circuit is configured to at least instantiate or execute the machine-readable instructions to: converting the torque applied to the steering wheel into an associated force for the road wheel actuator; combining the superposition force and the coupled force to obtain a combined force for the road wheel actuator; converting the combined force into a total torque for the steering wheel; and The torque received by the steering wheel is subtracted from the total torque to obtain the superimposed torque.

4. The steer-by-wire system of claim 3 , wherein the programmable circuit is at least for instantiating or executing the machine-readable instructions to determine a feedback counter-torque to be combined with the overlay torque based on the force applied by the road wheel actuator, and wherein the same conversion function or table is used to (i) convert the force applied by the road wheel actuator to the feedback counter-torque, and (ii) convert the combined force to the total torque for the steering wheel.

5. The steer-by-wire system of claim 1, wherein the programmable circuit is configured to receive a request for the road wheel actuator to apply the superimposed force.

6. The steer-by-wire system of claim 1, wherein the superimposed force is proportional to the steering force applied to the steering wheel to move it. 7 . The steer-by-wire system according to claim 1 , wherein the superimposed torque drives the steering wheel to move, and the movement results in a balance between the superimposed torque, the torque applied to the steering wheel, and the feedback counter torque.

8. A method comprising: identifying a superimposed force applied by a road wheel actuator of the vehicle, the superimposed force resulting from a driver assistance function; identifying a torque applied to the steering wheel; determining a steering wheel torque corresponding to the superimposed force and the torque applied to the steering wheel; as well as An overlay torque for the steering wheel actuator is determined based on the steering wheel torque and the torque experienced by the steering wheel.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: converting the torque applied to the steering wheel into an associated force for the road wheel actuator; combining the superposition force and the coupled force to obtain a combined force for the road wheel actuator; converting the combined force into a total torque for the steering wheel; and The torque received by the steering wheel is subtracted from the total torque to obtain the superimposed torque.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: determining a feedback counter torque to be provided to the steering wheel based on the force applied by the road wheel actuator; as well as An output torque for the steering wheel actuator is determined based on the feedback reverse torque and the overlay torque.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising using the same conversion function or table to (i) convert the force applied by the road wheel actuator to the feedback counter torque and (ii) convert the combined force to the total torque for the steering wheel.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising receiving a request for the road wheel actuator to apply the superimposed force.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the superimposed force is proportional to a steering force applied to a steering wheel of the vehicle to cause it to move.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the superimposed torque drives the steering wheel to move, the movement resulting in a balance between the superimposed torque, the torque applied to the steering wheel, and the feedback counter torque.

15. An apparatus comprising: Interface circuit; machine-readable instructions; as well as programmable circuitry for at least instantiating or executing the machine-readable instructions to: identifying a superimposed force applied by a road wheel actuator of the vehicle, the superimposed force resulting from a driver assistance function; Identify the torque applied to the steering wheel; determining a steering wheel torque corresponding to the superimposed force and the torque applied to the steering wheel; as well as An overlay torque for a steering wheel actuator is determined based on the steering wheel torque and the torque experienced by the steering wheel.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the programmable circuit is at least for instantiating or executing the machine-readable instructions to: determining a feedback counter torque to be provided to the steering wheel based on the force applied by the road wheel actuator; and An output torque for the steering wheel actuator is determined based on the feedback reverse torque and the overlay torque.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the programmable circuit is at least for instantiating or executing the machine-readable instructions to: converting the torque applied to the steering wheel into an associated force for the road wheel actuator; combining the superposition force and the coupled force to obtain a combined force for the road wheel actuator; converting the combined force into a total torque for the steering wheel; and The torque received by the steering wheel is subtracted from the total torque to obtain the superimposed torque.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the programmable circuit is at least for instantiating or executing the machine-readable instructions to determine a feedback counter-torque to be provided to the steering wheel based on the force applied by the road wheel actuator, and wherein the same conversion function or table is utilized to (i) convert the force applied by the road wheel actuator to the feedback counter-torque, and (ii) convert the combined force to the total torque for the steering wheel.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the programmable circuit is configured to receive a request for the road wheel actuator to apply the superimposed force.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the superimposed force is proportional to a steering force applied to a steering wheel of the vehicle to move it.

Images