vehicle

A mechanically separated steering system in vehicles adjusts steering modes based on torque and angle thresholds to reduce driver strain in automatic steering, enhancing comfort and safety.

JP7754668B2Active Publication Date: 2025-10-15SUBARU CORP
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2021152100
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2021-09-17
Publication Date
2025-10-15
Estimated Expiration
2041-09-17

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In automatic steering modes, the rotation of the steering wheel in conjunction with the turning of the steered wheels can cause excessive strain on the driver's arms.

Method used

A vehicle with a mechanically separated steering unit that operates independently of the steering wheel, switching between manual and automatic control modes based on steering angle and torque thresholds to reduce driver burden.

Benefits of technology

Reduces driver strain by allowing the vehicle to automatically adjust steering modes, maintaining or disengaging the linkage between the steering wheel and steered wheels based on driver input, ensuring comfortable and safe operation.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

To reduce burdens on a driver.SOLUTION: A vehicle comprises a turning part that is mechanically separated from a steering wheel and turns a turning wheel, and a turning control part that switches a manual mode of enabling the turning part to operate in accordance with operation of the steering wheel and an automatic control mode of controlling the turning part in accordance with an outer situation so that the turning part operates. In the automatic control mode, the turning control part makes the steering wheel and the turning wheel operate interlockingly and determines whether the interlocking operation should be continued or stopped, on the basis of a steering angle and torque of the steering wheel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3
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Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] In a vehicle, a system has been proposed in which a determination is made as to whether or not the driver is operating the steering wheel while in automatic steering mode, and if it is determined that the driver is operating the steering wheel, the system immediately switches to manual steering mode. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-336170 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the automatic steering mode described above, the steering wheel is rotated in conjunction with the turning of the steered wheels, so as the turning angle of the steered wheels increases, the rotation angle of the steering wheel also increases.

[0005] In such a case, excessive strain may be placed on the driver's arms as they hold the steering wheel.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to reduce the burden on the driver. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a steering unit that is mechanically separated from the steering wheel and that steers steered wheels, and switches between a manual mode in which the steering unit is operated in response to operation of the steering wheel and an automatic control mode in which the steering unit is controlled and operated in response to external conditions.At the same time, it is possible to switch whether or not the steering wheel and the steered wheels are linked. a steering control unit, wherein the steering control unit is configured to: The presence or absence of the above linkage Based on the steering angle and torque of the steering wheel Judgment Determine. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, the burden on the driver can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle in a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a steering control process. [Figure 3] 3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining state determination conditions and state-responsive control operations in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle according to a second embodiment. [Figure 5] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining state determination conditions and state-responsive control operations in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] 1. First embodiment [1.1 Vehicle configuration] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle 1 according to the first embodiment. Note that Fig. 1 shows only the configuration of the main parts of the vehicle 1 that are mainly related to the first embodiment.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 includes front wheels 2, rear wheels 3, a steering unit 4, a turning unit 5, an external detection unit 6, and a control device .

[0012] The vehicle 1 travels by rotating the front wheels 2 and rear wheels 3 with torque generated by a drive source (not shown). The drive source may be an engine that consumes fuel such as gasoline to rotate an output shaft, or a motor that receives electricity to rotate an output shaft.

[0013] The steering unit 4 includes a steering wheel 11, a steering shaft 12, and a steering motor 13. The steering wheel 11 is rotated by the driver. The steering shaft 12 is fixed to the steering wheel 11 and rotates together with the steering wheel 11. The steering motor 13 is connected to the steering shaft 12 and applies a steering reaction force, which is a force that resists the steering by the driver, to the steering wheel 11 via the steering shaft 12.

[0014] The steering unit 5 includes a pinion shaft 21, a rack shaft 22, a steering motor 23, and a tie rod 24. The steering motor 23 is connected to the pinion shaft 21. The rack shaft 22 is disposed at a predetermined crossing angle with respect to the pinion shaft 21, and the front wheels 2 are connected to both ends of the rack shaft 22 via tie rods 24. In the steering unit 5, the pinion shaft 21 and the rack shaft 22 form a rack and pinion mechanism.

[0015] Vehicle 1 is steered by a so-called steer-by-wire system in which steering unit 4 and turning unit 5 are provided mechanically independent (separate). Specifically, in vehicle 1, pinion shaft 21 is rotationally driven by steering motor 23 in response to a steering operation of steering wheel 11 by the driver, and this rotation is converted into axial movement of rack shaft 22 by a rack-and-pinion mechanism. This changes the turning angle of front wheels 2, which are steered wheels. At this time, steering motor 13 applies a steering reaction force to steering wheel 11 that resists the steering by the driver, in accordance with the turning angle of front wheels 2.

[0016] The external detection unit 6 is, for example, an ultrasonic sonar, a radar, a camera, or the like, and detects the external situation of the vehicle 1 (for example, an obstacle).

[0017] The control device 7 is a processor including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). For example, the control device 7 controls the entire vehicle 1 by loading a program stored in the ROM or a storage unit (not shown) onto the RAM and executing various processes (for example, a steering control process described later).

[0018] Furthermore, the control device 7 functions as an external situation recognition unit 41 and a steering control unit 42 when executing a steering control process, which will be described in detail later.

[0019] The control device 7 is connected to a torque sensor 31, a steering angle sensor 32, a turning angle sensor 33, and a vehicle speed sensor . The torque sensor 31 detects the torque applied to the steering wheel 11 via the steering shaft 12 (hereinafter referred to as steering torque). The steering angle sensor 32 detects the rotation angle of the steering wheel 11 (hereinafter referred to as the steering angle) as a relative angle within a range of 360 degrees. Steering angle sensor 33 detects the rotation angle of front wheels 2, which are steered wheels (hereinafter referred to as steering angle), as a relative angle within a range of 360 degrees. Steering angle sensor 32 and steering angle sensor 33 may be configured to directly detect the rotation angles of steering wheel 11 and front wheels 2, or may be configured to indirectly detect the rotation angles from the rotation angles of steering motor 13 and steering motor 23. The vehicle speed sensor 34 detects the speed of the vehicle 1 in the traveling direction.

[0020] [1.2 Steering control processing] Next, the steering control process will be described. Here, vehicle 1 is provided with a manual mode in which steering unit 5 is operated in response to steering operation of steering wheel 11 by the driver, and an automatic control mode in which steering unit 5 is controlled and operated by control device 7 in response to external conditions. Then, when a predetermined operation is performed by the driver, for example, control device 7 switches between the manual mode and the automatic control mode, and operates steering unit 5 based on the switched mode.

[0021] When the automatic control mode is set, the control device 7 executes the steering control process. When the automatic control mode is set, the steering control process is repeatedly executed at predetermined intervals.

[0022] Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the steering control process. As shown in Fig. 2, in step S1, external situation recognition unit 41 performs external situation recognition processing based on the detection result detected by external detection unit 6. In the external situation recognition processing, for example, a preceding vehicle traveling in front of vehicle 1 is recognized, the lane in which vehicle 1 is traveling, and an obstacle present in front of vehicle 1 are recognized. Such external situation recognition processing can use various known techniques, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0023] In step S2, the steering control unit 42 determines whether to steer the front wheels 2 based on the recognition result of the external situation recognition processing in step S1. Here, for example, if there is an obstacle ahead of the vehicle 1 and there is a risk of the vehicle 1 colliding with that obstacle, the steering control unit 42 determines to steer the front wheels 2 to avoid the obstacle. Also, for example, if the lane on which the vehicle 1 is traveling is curved, the steering control unit 42 determines to steer the front wheels 2 so that the vehicle 1 can travel on the curved lane.

[0024] Then, if the front wheels 2 are not to be steered (No in step S2), the steering control process ends. On the other hand, if the front wheels 2 are to be steered (Yes in step S2), in step S3 the steering control unit 42 derives the steering angle of the front wheels 2 based on the recognition result of the external situation recognition process in step S1. Here, for example, the steering angle required to avoid an obstacle present in front of the vehicle 1 or the steering angle required to keep the vehicle in its lane is derived. As various known techniques can be used to derive such a steering angle, detailed explanation will be omitted here. Furthermore, the steering control unit 42 derives the steering angle of the steering wheel 11 according to the derived steering angle of the front wheels 2. Here, the steering angle of the steering wheel 11 is derived so that the steering angle of the front wheels 2 and the steering angle of the steering wheel 11 are linked while maintaining a constant ratio.

[0025] Then, in step S4, steering control unit 42 drives steering motor 23 to steer front wheels 2 to the steering angle derived in step S3. Also, steering control unit 42 drives steering motor 13 to steer (rotate) steering wheel 11 to the steering angle derived in step S3. In other words, steering control unit 42 operates steering wheel 11 and front wheels 2 in conjunction with each other.

[0026] Then, in step S5, the steering control unit 42 performs a state determination process to determine whether the linkage between the steering wheel 11 and the front wheels 2 continues or stops based on the steering torque detected by the torque sensor 31 and the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor 32.

[0027] Then, in step S6, the steering control unit 42 performs a state-responsive control process based on the state determination result of step S5, in which the steering control unit 42 executes a state-responsive control operation such as switching modes or switching between continuing or stopping the linkage between the steering wheel 11 and the front wheels 2, and then ends the steering control process. The state determination process in step S5 and the state response control process in step S6 will be described below.

[0028] [1.3 State determination process and state response control process] Figure 3 is a diagram for explaining state determination conditions and state-responsive control operations in the first embodiment. Steering control unit 42 performs state determination processing based on the state determination conditions as shown in Figure 3. Specifically, steering control unit 42 compares the steering torque detected by torque sensor 31 with a predetermined torque threshold, and also compares the steering angle detected by steering angle sensor 32 with a predetermined steering angle threshold.

[0029] Here, the torque threshold is set to a value for determining whether the driver is holding or firmly gripping the steering wheel 11. The steering angle threshold is set to a value (for example, 90 degrees) for determining whether the steering wheel 11 is being rotated to an extent that puts strain on the driver's arms.

[0030] If the steering torque is less than the torque threshold and the detected steering angle is less than the steering angle threshold, the steering control unit 42 determines that the steering torque and steering angle are small, the driver is lightly pressing the steering wheel 11, and the driver is operating normally with no strain on the hands or arms. In this case, the steering control section 42 maintains the automatic control mode as a state-responsive control operation, and also continues to link the steering wheel 11 with the front wheels 2.

[0031] Steering control unit 42 also determines that the operation is normal when the steering torque is less than the torque threshold value and the steering angle is equal to or greater than the steering angle threshold value. Specifically, steering control unit 42 determines that although the steering angle is large and there is a risk that the driver's arm will be pulled in response to the rotation of steering wheel 11, the detected torque is small and therefore the driver is only lightly touching steering wheel 11 and will not be harmed. In this case, the steering control section 42 maintains the automatic control mode as a state-responsive control operation, and also continues to link the steering wheel 11 with the front wheels 2.

[0032] Furthermore, when the steering torque is equal to or greater than the torque threshold and the steering angle is less than the steering angle threshold, the steering control unit 42 determines that the amount of rotation of the steering wheel 11 is small, no load is being placed on the driver's arms, and the driver is tightly gripping the steering wheel 11. In other words, the steering control unit 42 determines that the steering wheel 11 is being operated (overridden) by the driver's will. In this case, the steering control section 42 ends the automatic control mode and switches to the manual mode as a state-responsive control operation, and also continues to link the steering wheel 11 with the front wheels 2.

[0033] Furthermore, when the steering torque is equal to or greater than the torque threshold and the steering angle is equal to or greater than the steering angle threshold, the steering control unit 42 determines that the amount of rotation of the steering wheel 11 is large and the driver is tightly gripping the steering wheel 11, and that there is a risk of load being placed on the driver's arms. In other words, in such a case, the steering control unit 42 determines that there is a risk of injury to the driver's arms due to the rotation of the steering wheel 11. In this case, as a state-responsive control operation, the steering control section 42 stops the interlocking of the steering wheel 11 with the front wheels 2, ends the automatic control mode for the steering wheel 11, and gradually reduces the steering torque of the steering wheel 11 to 0. On the other hand, the steering control section 42 maintains the automatic control mode for the front wheels 2. Then, when predetermined conditions are met, steering control unit 42 resumes the automatic control mode for steering wheel 11. The predetermined conditions are, for example, that the steering angle of front wheels 2 is within a range that is regarded as a straight line (for example, within ±1°), that the difference between the angle obtained by converting the steering angle of front wheels 2 into the steering angle of steering wheel 11 using a steering ratio (steering angle / steering angle) and the actual steering angle of steering wheel 11 is within a predetermined range (for example, within ±10°), and that steering wheel 11 has been operated by the driver for a certain period of time.

[0034] This prevents the steering wheel 11 from rotating, reducing the strain on the driver's arms in the vehicle 1. Furthermore, by maintaining the automatic control mode for the front wheels 2, the vehicle 1 can automatically perform steering operations such as avoiding obstacles and keeping the vehicle in its lane, although this is not linked to the rotation of the steering wheel 11.

[0035] 2. Second embodiment [2.1 Vehicle configuration] 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle 100 according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the same components as those in the vehicle 1 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle 100 includes front wheels 2, rear wheels 3, a steering unit 101, a first steering unit 102, a second steering unit 103, an external detection unit 6, and a control device 104.

[0037] The steering unit 101 includes a steering wheel 11, a steering shaft 12, and an assist motor 105. The steering shaft 12 is provided with the assist motor 105 that applies an assist torque in response to steering of the steering wheel 11 by the driver.

[0038] The first steering unit 102 includes a pinion shaft 111, a rack shaft 112, and a tie rod 113. The pinion shaft 111 is connected to the steering shaft 12. The rack shaft 112 is disposed at a predetermined crossing angle with respect to the pinion shaft 111, and is connected to the front wheels 2 at both ends via tie rods 113. In the first steering unit 102, the pinion shaft 111 and the rack shaft 112 form a rack and pinion mechanism.

[0039] The second steering section 103 includes a pinion shaft 121, a rack shaft 122, a steering motor 123, and a tie rod 124. The pinion shaft 121 is connected to the steering motor 123. The rack shaft 122 is disposed at a predetermined crossing angle with respect to the pinion shaft 121, and tie rods 124 are connected to both ends of the rack shaft 122. In the second steering section 103, the pinion shaft 121 and the rack shaft 122 form a rack and pinion mechanism.

[0040] Vehicle 1 is provided with steering unit 101 and first turning unit 102 that are mechanically connected to each other. Vehicle 1 is also provided with steering unit 101 and second turning unit 103 that are mechanically independent (separate).

[0041] In vehicle 1, in response to the driver's steering operation of steering wheel 11, front wheels 2 are turned by a mechanically connected first steering unit 102, and rear wheels 3 are turned by a mechanically independent second steering unit 103.

[0042] Specifically, in vehicle 1, in response to a steering operation of steering wheel 11 by the driver, pinion shaft 111 is rotationally driven by steering shaft 12, and this rotation is converted into axial movement of rack shaft 112 by the rack and pinion mechanism, thereby changing the steering angle of front wheels 2, which are steered wheels.

[0043] In vehicle 1, pinion shaft 121 is rotationally driven by steering motor 123 in response to a steering operation of steering wheel 11 by the driver, and this rotation is converted into axial movement of rack shaft 122 by the rack and pinion mechanism, thereby changing the steering angle of rear wheels 3, which are steered wheels.

[0044] The control device 104 is a processor including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. For example, the control device 104 controls the entire vehicle 100 by loading a program stored in the ROM or a storage unit (not shown) onto the RAM and executing various processes (for example, a steering control process described later).

[0045] Furthermore, the control device 104 functions as an external situation recognition unit 41 and a steering control unit 142 when executing the steering control process.

[0046] The control device 104 is connected to a torque sensor 31 , a steering angle sensor 32 , a turning angle sensor 33 , a vehicle speed sensor 34 , and a turning angle sensor 135 . The steering angle sensor 135 detects the rotation angle of the rear wheels 3, which are the steered wheels (hereinafter referred to as the steering angle), as a relative angle within a range of 360 degrees. The steering angle sensor 135 may be configured to directly detect the rotation angle of the rear wheels 3, or may be configured to indirectly detect the rotation angle from the rotation angle of the steering motor 123.

[0047] [2.2 State determination process and state response control process] Vehicle 100 is provided with a manual mode in which first steering unit 102 is operated in response to a steering operation of steering wheel 11 by the driver, and an automatic control mode in which second steering unit 103 is controlled and operated by control device 104 in response to external conditions. Then, when a predetermined operation is performed by the driver, for example, control device 104 switches between the manual mode and the automatic control mode, and operates first steering unit 102 and second steering unit 103 based on the switched mode.

[0048] The control device 104 executes the steering control process shown in Fig. 2, similarly to the first embodiment. Then, in the state adaptive control process of step S6, the control device 104 performs a state adaptive control operation different from that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the state adaptive control operation in the second embodiment will be described below.

[0049] Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining the state determination conditions and state-responsive control operations in the second embodiment. Steering control section 142 performs state determination processing based on the state determination conditions as shown in Fig. 5. The state determination processing is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0050] When the steering torque is less than the torque threshold and the detected steering angle is less than the steering angle threshold, the steering control unit 142 determines that the operation is normal. In this case, the steering control section 142 maintains the automatic control mode as a state-responsive control operation, and continues to link the steering wheel 11 and the front and rear wheels 2 and 3 together.

[0051] Furthermore, steering control section 142 also determines that the operation is normal when the steering torque is less than the torque threshold value and the steering angle is equal to or greater than the steering angle threshold value. In this case, the steering control section 142 maintains the automatic control mode as a state-responsive control operation, and continues to link the steering wheel 11 and the front and rear wheels 2 and 3 together.

[0052] Furthermore, when the steering torque is equal to or greater than the torque threshold value and the steering angle is less than the steering angle threshold value, the turning control section 142 determines that the steering wheel 11 is being operated (overridden) by the driver's will. In this case, the steering control section 142 ends the automatic control mode and switches to the manual mode as a state-responsive control operation, thereby ending the automatic control of the rear wheels 3.

[0053] Furthermore, when the steering torque is equal to or greater than the torque threshold and the steering angle is equal to or greater than the steering angle threshold, the steering control unit 142 determines that there is a risk of injury to the driver's arms due to the rotation of the steering wheel 11. In this case, the steering control unit 142 stops the linkage between the steering wheel 11 and the rear wheels 3 as a state-responsive control operation, sets a limit on the steering angle of the steering wheel 11 (the steering angle of the front wheels 2), and prevents the steering wheel 11 from rotating beyond that limit. Furthermore, the steering control section 142 maintains the automatic control mode for the rear wheels 3 in consideration of the limit of the steering angle of the steering wheel 11 (the steering angle of the front wheels 2).

[0054] This prevents the steering wheel 11 from rotating in the vehicle 100, reducing the strain on the driver's arms. Furthermore, by maintaining the automatic control mode for the rear wheels 3, the vehicle 100 can automatically perform steering operations such as avoiding obstacles and keeping the vehicle in its lane, although this is not linked to the rotation of the steering wheel 11, by compensating for the lack of turning caused by the steering limit of the front wheels 2.

[0055] <3. Summary of the embodiment> As described above, the vehicle 1 of the embodiment is equipped with a steering unit 5 that is mechanically separated from the steering wheel 11 and steers the steered wheels (front wheels 2), and a steering control unit 42 that switches between a manual mode in which the steering unit 5 operates in response to the operation of the steering wheel 11, and an automatic control mode in which the steering unit 5 is controlled and operated in response to external conditions, and in the automatic control mode, the steering control unit 42 operates the steering wheel 11 and the steered wheels in conjunction with each other and determines whether to continue or stop the conjunction based on the steering angle and torque (steering torque) of the steering wheel 11. This allows the vehicle 1 to determine the state of the driver's hand relative to the steering wheel based on the steering angle and torque of the steering wheel 11, and switch between continuing and stopping the linkage between the steering wheel 11 and the steered wheels. Therefore, the vehicle 1 can be easily operated by the driver while reducing the burden on the driver.

[0056] Furthermore, in the automatic control mode, if the torque is less than the torque threshold value, the steering control section 42 maintains the automatic control mode. This allows the vehicle 1 to maintain the automatic control mode when it is determined that the driver is lightly pressing the steering wheel 11 and that normal operation is occurring with no strain on the driver's arms. Therefore, the vehicle 1 can maintain the automatic control mode in accordance with the driver's will.

[0057] Furthermore, in the automatic control mode, when the steering angle is less than the steering angle threshold and the torque is equal to or greater than the torque threshold, the steering control section 42 switches to the manual mode. This allows the vehicle 1 to determine that the amount of rotation of the steering wheel 11 is small, no strain is being placed on the driver's arms, and that the driver is gripping the steering wheel 11 tightly, i.e., that the steering wheel 11 is being operated by the driver's will. Therefore, in such a case, the vehicle 1 can terminate the automatic control mode and switch to the manual mode, allowing the driver to easily perform the operation.

[0058] Furthermore, in the automatic control mode, if the steering angle is equal to or greater than the steering angle threshold and the torque is equal to or greater than the torque threshold, the steering control unit 42 maintains the automatic control mode and reduces the torque to the steering wheel. This makes it possible to determine that the steering angle is large and that the driver's arms may be pulled by the steering wheel 11, causing injury. Therefore, in such a case, the vehicle 1 can steer the vehicle 1 through automatic control while reducing the burden on the driver.

[0059] Furthermore, in the automatic control mode, when the steering angle is equal to or greater than the steering angle threshold and the torque is equal to or greater than the torque threshold, the turning control section 142 sets a limit on the steering angle of the steering wheel 11. As a result, the steering wheel 11 of the vehicle 1 will not be rotated beyond the limit, thereby reducing the burden on the driver.

[0060] <4. Modifications> Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific examples described above and can adopt various configurations. For example, in the first embodiment, the rolling wheels are the front wheels 2, but the rolling wheels may be the rear wheels 3.

[0061] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case where the vehicle 1 is moving forward in the automatic control mode has been described as an example, but the case may also be when the vehicle 1 is moving backward, such as during automatic parking steering. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 1 vehicle 5. Steering section 6 External detection unit 7 Control Device 41 External Situation Awareness Unit 42 Steering control unit 100 vehicles 102 First steering section 103 Second steering section 104 Control device 142 Steering control unit

Claims

1. A steering unit that is mechanically separated from the steering wheel and steers the steered wheels; a steering control unit that can switch between a manual mode in which the steering unit is operated in response to an operation of the steering wheel and an automatic control mode in which the steering unit is controlled to operate in response to an external situation, and can switch between whether or not the steering wheel and the steered wheels are interlocked, The steering control unit is The presence or absence of the interlocking in the automatic control mode is determined based on the steering angle and torque of the steering wheel. vehicle.

2. The steering control unit is In the automatic control mode, when the torque is less than a torque threshold value, the steering wheel and the steered wheels are operated in conjunction with each other. The vehicle of claim 1 .

3. The steering control unit is In the automatic control mode, when the steering wheel and the steered wheels are operated in conjunction with each other, if the steering angle is less than a steering angle threshold and the torque is equal to or greater than a torque threshold, the cooperation is continued and the mode is switched to the manual mode.

3. A vehicle according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The steering control unit is In the automatic control mode, when the steering wheel and the steered wheels are operated in conjunction with each other, if the steering angle becomes equal to or greater than a steering angle threshold and the torque becomes equal to or greater than a torque threshold, the automatic control mode is maintained, the conjunction is stopped, and the torque to the steering wheel is reduced. A vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. A steering unit that is mechanically separated from the steering wheel and steers the steered wheels; a steering control unit that switches between a manual mode in which the steering unit is operated in response to an operation of the steering wheel and an automatic control mode in which the steering unit is controlled to operate in response to an external situation, The steering control unit is In the automatic control mode, the steering wheel and the steered wheels are operated in conjunction with each other, and a determination is made as to whether to continue or stop the interlocking based on a steering angle and a torque of the steering wheel. When the steering angle is equal to or greater than a steering angle threshold and the torque is equal to or greater than a torque threshold, the interlocking is stopped and a limit is set on the steering angle of the steering wheel. vehicle.

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