Anti-Notch Filter for Steering Wheel Nibble

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing electric power steering systems face challenges in effectively canceling undesirable vibrations such as steering wheel nibble and brake judder, which can lead to customer complaints and increased costs due to the need for costly chassis modifications and potential instability when using resonator filters for disturbance rejection.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of an anti-notch filter and a lag-lead compensation filter in the electric power steering system, which calculates an active nibble-canceling torque based on detected wheel speed, reduces amplification and maintains stability by shifting filter zeros and adding phase lag without causing pole-zero cancellation, thereby enhancing disturbance rejection without affecting steering feel.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If resonator filters are used for disturbance rejection, then steering wheel nibble and brake judder are reduced, but system stability deteriorates and costly tuning is required

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesteering wheel nibble and brake judderVSAvoidsystem stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the filter design parameters from resonator filters to anti-notch filters, modifying the frequency response characteristics to provide disturbance rejection without the stability issues. This parameter change allows the system to reject vibrations at specific frequencies while maintaining overall system stability and avoiding the need for costly tuning procedures

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Object-affected harmful factors

If resonator filters are used for disturbance rejection, then steering wheel nibble and brake judder are reduced, but device complexity and tuning costs increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesteering wheel nibble and brake judderVSAvoidfilter tuning complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent simplifies the filter design by using anti-notch filters instead of resonator filters, changing the approach from complex tuned resonators to simpler filters with fixed characteristics that are easier to implement and tune, thereby reducing device complexity and tuning costs while maintaining disturbance rejection effectiveness

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Object-affected harmful factors

If chassis modifications are made to reduce nibble and judder, then vibration reduction is achieved, but manufacturing cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesteering wheel nibble and brake judderVSAvoidmanufacturing cost
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces mechanical chassis modifications with an electronic control solution using anti-notch filters in the power steering system. This substitution allows vibration reduction to be achieved through software/filter tuning rather than expensive mechanical modifications to the chassis, thereby maintaining ease of manufacture while effectively reducing nibble and judder

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentEP2834132B1System and method for wheel disturbance order detection and correction
Publication Date: 2019.09.18 ZF ACTIVE SAFETY & ELECTRONICS US LLC
  • EP2834132B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP2834132B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP2834132B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

An active nibble control (ANC) includes an anti-notch filter that increases the gain margin of the control and, therefore, greater disturbance rejection. The closed loop frequency response of the ANC is further enhanced by the addition of a lag-lead phase compensator filter. The addition of the lag-lead compensation filter allows use of the higher ANC gains at higher wheel frequencies to increase disturbance rejection, thereby compensating for anti-notch filter gain reduction with increasing wheel frequency. Similar results are obtained by adding a lag-lead phase compensator filter to a resonator filter in an active ANC.