Apparatus and method for detecting an over-use condition of an electric assist steering motor

Abstract: A vehicle electric assist steering system (10) includes a stall detector (70) for detecting a stall condition of a variable reluctance electric motor (26). The stall detector (70) monitors a torque command signal (48) which is responsive to steering torque applied by the vehicle operator to the vehicle steering wheel (12). The stall detector (70) also monitors a commutation sensor (74) which indicates motor commutation. The stall detector (70) determines the existence of a stall condition in response to the torque command signal (48) greater than a predetermined value and no motor commutation. The stall detector (70) controls the gain of an adjustable gain amplifier (52). The adjustable gain amplifier (52) controls current applied to the motor (26). The current applied to the motor (26) is limited when the stall detector (70) detects a stall condition. An over-use detector (70) determines the existence of an over-use condition by integrating the torque command signal (48).

Description: Background of the Invention Field of the Invention The present invention is directed to an apparatus and a method for detecting an over-use condition of an electric assist motor in a vehicle electric assist steering system. Description of Related Art Electric assist steering systems are well known in the art. In such electric assist steering systems, an electric assist motor, when energized, provides torque assist to aid the driver in turning steerable wheels of the vehicle. The electric assist motor is typically controlled in response to both steering torque applied to the vehicle steering wheel and measured vehicle speed. A controller monitors steering torque and controls a drive circuit to, in turn, control current applied to the electric assist motor. Such drive circuits typically include FET's (field effect transistors) or other forms of solid state switches operatively coupled between the vehicle battery and the electric assist motor. Current is controlled by pulse width modulation of the FET's or switches. If steering torque is applied and the steerable wheels are held immovable, e.g., the wheels are against a curb, the temperature of both the electric assist motor and the FET's rise. Such a condition is referred to as a stall condition of the electric assist motor. If the stall condition lasts for an extend period, the motor and/or FET's can overheat and fail. Closest prior art document U.S. Patent No. 4,532,567 to Kade discloses an electric assist steering system which measures actual current through the motor. If the measured current exceeds a limit, the motor drive current is reduced. U.S. Patent No. 5,097,918 to Daido et al. discloses an electric assist steering system that includes an electric assist motor connected to a steering mechanism through an electromagnetic clutch. The system further includes a sensor for sensing rotational motion of the electric assist motor. When torque is sensed and the rotary sensor indicates that the motor is not rotating, the system disengages the electromagnetic clutch. U.S. Patent No. 4,878,004 to Shimizu discloses an electric assist steering system that includes an electric assist motor and a controller for controlling operation of the motor. The system further includes a current sensor which senses the magnitude of the actual current through the electric assist motor. An average value motor current is determined. The motor is controlled in response to the determined average current value. Summary of the Invention The present invention provides an apparatus and a method as defined in claims 1 and 6 respectively. Brief Description of the Drawings Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates from a reading of the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electric assist steering system made in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the electric assist motor shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a circuit schematic diagram of a portion of the switch shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing an over-use detection process for use with the system of Fig. 1. Detailed Description Referring to Fig 1, a vehicle electric assist steering system 10, in accordance with the present invention, includes a vehicle steering wheel 12 connected to an input shaft 16 and a pinion gear 14 connected to a pinion shaft 17. The input shaft 16 is coupled to the pinion shaft 17 through a torsion bar 18. The torsion bar 18 twists in response to torque applied to the vehicle steering wheel 12 to permit relative rotation between the input shaft 16 and the pinion shaft 17. Stops, not shown, limit the amount of relative rotation between the input shaft 16 and the output pinion 17 in a manner known in the art. The pinion gear 14 has a set of helical gear teeth (not shown) which are meshingly engaged with a set of straight cut gear teeth (not shown) on a linear steering member or rack 20. The rack 20 is coupled to vehicle steerable wheels 22, 24 with steering linkage in a known manner. The pinion gear 14 together with the rack 20 forms a rack and pinion gear set. When the steering wheel 12 is turned, the rack and pinion gear set converts the rotary motion of the steering wheel into linear motion of the rack 20. When the rack 20 moves linearly, the steerable wheels 22, 24 pivot about their associated steering axis and the vehicle is steered. An electric assist motor 26 is drivingly connected with the rack 20 through, preferably, a ball-nut drive arrangement (not shown). The motor 26, when energized, provides assist to aid in steering movement of the rack 20. A variable reluctance motor is preferred because of its small size, low friction, and high torque-to-inertia ratio. The motor 26 includes a stator 28 (Fig. 2) having a . plurality of stator poles 30. Associated with each stator pole 30 is a stator coil (not shown) wrapped around the stator pole. The motor 26 also includes a rotor 32 having a plurality of rotor poles 34. In the preferred embodiment, the motor 26 includes eight stator poles 30 and six rotor poles 34. The stator poles 30 are arranged so as to be energized in pairs designated Aa, Bb, Cc, and Dd. When a pair of stator poles 30 is energized, the rotor 32 moves so as to minimize the reluctance between the energized stator poles and the rotor poles 34. Minimum reluctance occurs when a pair of rotor poles 34 is aligned with the energized stator poles 30. For example, in the position of the motor 26 illustrated in Fig. 2, there is minimum reluctance between the pair of stator poles Aa and the rotor poles 34 which are aligned with the stator poles Aa. Once minimum reluctance is achieved, as determined by the relative position of the rotor and stator, the energized stator poles 30 are de-energized and an adjacent pair of stator poles is energized to continue to cause rotation of the rotor 32. The direction of rotation of the rotor 32 is controlled by the sequence in which the stator poles 30 are energized. For example, to rotate the rotor 32 clockwise from its position in Fig. 2, the stator pole pair Dd is next energized. To rotate the rotor 32 counterclockwise from the position illustrated in Fig. 2, the stator pole pair Bb is next energized. The torque produced by the motor 26 is controlled by the amount of current through the stator coils. A preferred manner for controlling a variable reluctance motor so as to control motor torque and direction is fully disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,257,828 to Miller et al., and assigned to TRW Inc. A rotor position sensor 36 (Fig. 1) senses the position of the rotor 32 relative to the stator 28 and provides a rotor position signal 38 indicative of that relative position. In the preferred embodiment, the rotor position sensor 36 is a discrete sensor. It is contemplated that, alternatively, operating parameters of the motor 26 can be used to sense rotor position. For example, rotor position can be determined by monitoring the current through the stator coils associated with unenergized stator poles 30. One specific arrangement for sensing rotor position without a discrete sensor is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,072,166. Referring back to Fig. 1, a shaft position sensor 40 is connected with the input shaft 16 and the output shaft 17. The shaft position sensor 40 in combination with the torsion bar 18 forms a torque sensor indicated schematically at 42. The shaft position sensor 40 provides a signal 44 indicative of the relative rotational position between the input shaft 16 and the output shaft 17. The relative rotational position between the input shaft 16 and the output shaft 17 is indicative of the steering torque applied by the vehicle operator to the vehicle steering wheel 12. Therefore, the output signal 44 of the shaft position sensor 40 is indicative of the steering torque applied to the vehicle steering wheel 12 and is referred to as the applied steering torque signal. The applied steering torque signal 44 is connected to a torque command circuit 46. The torque command circuit 46 determines the assist torque desired from the motor 26. The assist torque determined by the torque command circuit 46 is a function of two parameters: (i) the value of the applied steering torque signal 44, and (ii) vehicle speed. A vehicle speed sensor 50 provides a vehicle speed signal to the torque command circuit 46 indicative of the vehicle speed. Typically, the amount of torque assist desired from the motor 26 decreases as vehicle speed increases. This is referred to in the art as "speed foldback." The torque command circuit 46 provides a torque command signal 48 indicative of the torque assist value which is desired from the assist motor 26. The torque command signal 48 is output to an adjustable gain amplifier 52. The adjustable gain amplifier 52 amplifies the torque command signal 48 and outputs an amplified torque command signal 53. The amplified torque command signal 53 is connected to a drive control circuit 54. Preferably, the drive control circuit 54 is a microprocessor or microcomputer. The rotor position signal 38 is also connected to the drive control circuit 54. The drive control circuit 54 utilizes the amplified torque command signal 53 and the rotor position signal 38 to determine the required motor energization current and motor energization sequence to achieve the requested steering direction. The drive control circuit 54 outputs a motor control signal 55. The motor control signal 55 controls which stator pole pair (i.e., Aa, Bb, Cc, or Dd) or pairs are energized and also controls the energization current. Although a single control line 55 is shown, each pole pair has its own associated control line 55, i.e., there are four control lines 55 between the drive control circuit 54 and the power switches 56. The power switches 56 are pulse width modulated to control the motor current. To ensure smooth operation of the motor 26, the position of the rotor 30 can be estimated at predetermined times between actual rotor position measurements. This estimation is made on the basis of certain known conditions and certain assumptions. Suitable methods of rotor position estimation are described in an IEEE paper entitled "A Simple Motion Estimator For VR Motors" by W.D. Harris and J.H. Lang, IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, October 1988 and in a paper entitled "A State Observer for Variable Reluctance Motors: Analysis and Experiments" by A. Lumsdaine, J.H. Lang, and M.J. Balas, 19th ASILOMAR Conference on Circuits, Systems & Computers, November 6-8, 1985. Referring to Fig. 3, the power switch 56 associated with one stator coil pair Aa is shown. One side of the stator coil Aa is connected to electrical ground through a main drive switch 58. The other side of the stator coil Aa is connected to the vehicle battery through a switch 62 and an LC filter network 60. The drive control circuit 54 (Fig. 1) outputs the motor control signals 55, 63 to the control terminal of the switch 58 and switch 62, respectively. The motor control signals 55 and 63 are pulse width modulated by the drive control circuit 54 to control the current through the stator coil pair Aa. Diodes 64, 65 provide fly-back current control. Zener diodes 66, 67 provide over voltage protection. The motor 26 is energized through the switches 56 to cause the rotor 32 to rotate in the desired direction with the desired torque. Rotation of the rotor 32 results in linear movement of the rack 20. Linear movement of the rack 20 results in turning of the vehicle steerable wheels 22, 24 to steer the vehicle. Over-use detection means (70) integrates the torque command signal (48) over time and provides an over-use signal in response to the integrated torque command signal to the adjustable gain amplifier 52 to adjust the gain of the adjustable gain amplifier so as to protect the motor 26. An over-use process for the over-use detector 70 is shown in the flowchart of Fig. 5. The control process begins in step 110 where initial parameters are set including setting the initial gain value for the torque command signal equal to 1. The process then proceeds to step 112 where the torque command signal 48 is monitored by the stall detector 70. From step 112, the process proceeds to step 114 where the monitored torque command signal 48 is integrated by a leaky stall detect integrator. To achieve leaky integration, a constant value is subtracted from the integration value each time the process goes through a loop, i.e., each time step 114 is performed. The process then proceeds to step 116. In step 116, a determination is made whether the integrated torque command signal is greater than a threshold value To. If the determination in step 116 is negative, the process proceeds to step 118 where the gain of the adjustable gain amplifier 52 is increased. The process then proceeds to step 122 where the torque command gain is limited to a value of 1. The process then loops back to step 112. When the determination in step 116 is affirmative, the process determines that the motor 26 is stalled. The process then proceeds to step 120. In step 120, the over-use detector 70 reduces the gain of the adjustable gain amplifier 52. The process then proceeds to step 121 where the gain reduction is limited to a predetermined minimum value. From step 121, the process loops back to step 112. The control process increases the amplifier gain over time to a normal level only when the integrated torque command remains less than the threshold T  as a result of the integrator leakage over a sufficient time period. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the rate of increase of the torque command gain in step 118 and the rate of decrease of torque command gain in step 120 are independent of each other. Also, the rates may be linear or non-linear. Those skilled in the art should also appreciate that the embodiment of Fig. 5 detects over-use of the electric assist steering system. Such over-use occurs, for example, when high motor torques are commanded for an extended period of time even though the motor is moving. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a stall condition may be an over-use condition. The control processes shown in Fig. 4 could be implemented in an over-use detector 70. In such an implementation, the over-use detector 70 would determine that an over-use condition exists when the process indicates the existence of an over-use condition. In effect, an over-use condition is the result of the integrated torque command exceeding a threshold value. It is desirable to include self-diagnostic features in the drive control circuit to insure proper operation of the assist arrangement. Such a diagnostic arrangement for an electric assist steering system is fully described in U.S. Patent No. 4,660,671, to Behr et al., and assigned to TRW Inc.

Claims: An apparatus for detecting an over-use condition of an electric assist motor (26) in a vehicle electric assist steering system (10), comprising: steering means (12, 16) for steering the steerable wheels of a vehicle; and torque command circuit means (46) for sensing the steering torque applied to the vehicle steering wheel and for providing a torque command signal (48) indicative thereof; FURTHER CHARACTERIZED IN THAT said apparatus further includes over-use detection means (70) for integrating said torque command signal (48) over time and for providing an over-use signal in response to said integrated torque command signal. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said over-use detection means (70) includes means for providing said over-use signal when said integrated torque command signal exceeds a predetermined threshold. The apparatus of claim 2 further including a variable gain amplifier means (52) operative between said torque command circuit means (46) and said over-use detection means (70) for controlling the gain of said torque command signal and further including means for decreasing the gain of the variable gain amplifier (52) in response to said over-use.signal. The apparatus of claim 3 further including means (118) for increasing the gain of said variable gain amplifier when the integrated torque command signal is less than the predetermined threshold. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said means for decreasing and said means for increasing the gain of said variable gain amplifier have independent rates. A method for detecting an over-use condition of an electric assist steering motor (26), comprising the steps of : (a) providing a steering means (12, 16) for steering the steerable wheels (22, 24) of the vehicle; (b) sensing the steering torque (18) applied to a steering wheel (12) of said vehicle; (c) providing a torque command signal (48) in response to said sensed applied steering torque; CHARACTERIZED IN THAT said method of further includes the steps of: (d) integrating said torque command signal (114); and (e) providing an over-use signal in response to said integrated torque command signal (116). The method of claim 6 further including the step of periodically decreasing the value of the integrated torque command signal (120). The method of claim 7 wherein the step of providing the over-use signal occurs when the value of the integrated torque command signal exceeds a predetermined value (116) and further including the step of decreasing the gain of torque command signal in response to said over-use signal (120). The method of claim 8 further including increasing the gain of the torque command signal (118) where the integrated torque command signal is less than the predetermined value (116).

Inventors: FENNESSY WILLIAM C, MILLER JOSEPH D, WILLIAMS IVAN J, FENNESSY, WILLIAM C., MILLER, JOSEPH D., WILLIAMS, IVAN J.
Applicants: TRW INC, TRW INC.
Application year: 1995
Main classification: B62D6
IPC codes: H02P3, B62D5