Steering Feedback Torque Using Wheel and Roadway Sensor Prediction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Steer-by-wire and electromechanical steering systems often provide less exact and rapid feedback of the driving state or interaction between wheels and the roadway to the driver, particularly during sporty or limit-driving conditions, due to mechanical inertia and damping of high-frequency force or torque applications.
Innovation Solution
The use of wheel sensors and roadway sensors to detect force or torque applications directly and predict future applications, allowing for more accurate and timely feedback of high-frequency torque changes to the driver, while low-frequency components can be handled through traditional steering angle data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If steer-by-wire or electromechanical steering systems are used, then installation space is saved and auxiliary functions are enabled, but feedback of driving state and wheel-roadway interaction to the driver becomes less exact and rapid
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of roadway features using sensors (cameras, LIDAR, radar) before the vehicle actually encounters them. This allows the feedback system to prepare and transmit information to the driver in advance, compensating for the lack of natural mechanical feedback in steer-by-wire systems. The feedback is generated based on predicted wheel-roadway interactions rather than waiting for actual contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary feedback system that uses multiple sensors (wheel sensors, roadway sensors, microphones) to detect and transmit information about wheel-roadway interactions. This intermediary system bridges the gap between the actual physical interaction and the driver's perception, providing haptic and visual feedback that simulates natural steering feedback without requiring direct mechanical coupling.
2Reliability
If mechanical coupling between steering means and wheels is used, then direct feedback is possible, but mechanical inertia and damping reduce the exactness and rapidity of high-frequency torque feedback
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical feedback path with electronic and haptic feedback systems. Instead of relying on mechanical coupling to transmit torque feedback, the system uses sensors to detect wheel-roadway interactions and electronically generates feedback signals that are transmitted to the driver through haptic actuators or visual displays, eliminating the inertia and damping inherent in mechanical systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system detects roadway features and predicts wheel-roadway interactions before they occur, allowing feedback to be generated and transmitted with minimal delay. This preliminary detection and prediction capability compensates for processing time, ensuring that feedback reaches the driver almost simultaneously with the actual interaction.
3Device complexity
If traditional steering angle sensors are used for feedback, then system complexity is low, but high-frequency force and torque applications are damped and delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple sensor types (wheel sensors, roadway sensors, microphones) to create a comprehensive feedback system. By combining data from these different sensor sources, the system captures both low-frequency steering angle information and high-frequency wheel-roadway interaction data, providing complete feedback across the full frequency spectrum without relying on a single complex sensor system.
Solution Approach 2:
Roadway sensors detect features and irregularities before the vehicle encounters them, allowing the system to prepare high-frequency feedback signals in advance. This preliminary detection enables the system to respond rapidly to wheel-roadway interactions without being limited by the response time of traditional steering angle sensors.
Data Source
AI summary
A motor vehicle having a steering mechanism rotatably mounted around a steering axis, the steering angle of at least one of the wheels of the motor vehicle is changeable. A feedback actuator, and a control unit, and a feedback torque with respect to the steering axis can be applied to the steering mechanism by the feedback actuator. The control unit is configured to specify the feedback torque as a function of feedback data provided to the control unit. The feedback data are wheel sensor data of at least one wheel sensor of the motor vehicle respectively arranged in or on at least one of the wheels and/or roadway sensor data of at least one roadway sensor of the motor vehicle.