Patent ID: 8224527
Filing Date: 2012-07-17
Classification: B62D

Abstract:
1. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, the computer program product being encoded with instructions configured to control a controller to perform a process for controlling the steering of a steer-by-wire type vehicle, wherein the vehicle comprises steered-wheel motors that apply separate torques to the right and left steered wheels respectively, wherein a center of a contact face thereof and a kingpin point thereof are offset in a lateral direction of the vehicle, the process comprising: setting a target steering angle for the vehicle based on a steering amount of the vehicle; setting a target torque difference between the right and left steered wheels based on the target steering angle; setting a target driving/braking force for the vehicle based on an acceleration amount and a braking amount of the vehicle; setting each target torque for the right and left steered wheels based on the target torque difference and the target driving/braking force; and controlling driving of the steered-wheel motors based on the target torque, wherein the kingpin point is positioned inward from an inside portion of an inside sidewall of a steered wheel, wherein the vehicle further comprises a lock mechanism configured to lock a rod member, wherein the process further comprises determining that it is required to lock the rod member when a difference between a steering angle of the vehicle and the target steering angle is equal to a first predetermined value or smaller, wherein the vehicle further comprises a lock mechanism driving unit configured to control driving of the lock mechanism based on the determination that it is required to lock the rod member, wherein the vehicle further comprises a lock mechanism configured to lock a rod member and configured to continuously or intermittently change a locking force on the rod member, wherein the process further comprises setting a lock coefficient based on a steering angle of the vehicle and the target steering angle, with reference to a lock coefficient map in which at least the lock coefficient is correlated with a difference between a steering angle of the vehicle and the target steering angle, and wherein the vehicle further comprises a lock mechanism driving unit configured to control a driving of the lock mechanism to provide the locking force on the rod member based on the lock coefficient.