Patent ID: 6371239
Filing Date: 2002-04-16
Classification: B62D

Abstract:
A rear wheel steering apparatus including an electric motor, a pair of threaded members having threaded portions which are formed in a direction opposite to one another, a pair of slide members engaging with said threaded members, respectively, to move closer to or to move away from one another due to reverse threaded action, and a steering shaft for steering a pair of rear wheels, wherein said threaded members are rotated by said electric motor and the steering shaft coupled to one of said slide members is moved toward one of the rear wheels to thereby enable steering of the rear wheels, the rear wheel steering apparatus comprising:control means for controlling said electric motor; motor drive means including a bridge circuit composed of four switching elements to drive said electric motor in its forward or reverse direction on the basis of an output signal delivered from said control means; and a trouble compensation circuit constituted independently of said control means for turning on said switching elements for a given time interval to drive said electric motor in a direction to actuate said pair of slide members to move toward each other during a trouble taking place in said control means.