Abstract:
A method and device for the detection and compensation of periodic disturbances in the steering device of a motor vehicle in which a speed-dependent target frequency is determined, and that a Fourier analysis of a time profile of the steering force and/or of the steering torque is carried out for the determined target frequency or a multiple of the target frequency. The method and device also include obtaining amplitudes that are plotted as a function of the vehicle speed, and a model function may be adapted to the curve, the adapted parameter of which model function then constitutes a robust measure for the disturbances. As a function of the parameter, the disturbances can then be suppressed by means of targeted action on a power assistance arrangement of the steering.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The inventive subject matter is also described in EP 017105294.8, filed Mar. 30, 2007, whose subject matter is incorporated herein by reference and provides the basis for a claim of priority of invention under 35 U.S.C. §119. 
       TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The inventive subject matter relates to a method and device for the detection of periodic disturbances in the steering device of a motor vehicle having a determination of a speed of the motor vehicle and having a determination of a time profile of a steering force and/or of a steering torque. The inventive subject matter also relates to a method and device for the compensation of the detected periodic disturbances in a motor vehicle having a power-assisted steering device. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    In motor vehicles, various periodic disturbances can occur in the steering device, in particular as a result of poorly-balanced front wheels or as a result of thickness variation of the brake disks. Such periodic disturbances are made noticeable at the steering wheel by means of a steering restlessness which is perceived as being uncomfortable to a driver. 
         [0004]    Although continuous damping of the disturbances by means of corresponding setting of the power assistance of the steering device can be carried out, this has an adverse effect on the steering feel. Since the disturbances occur cyclically, it is sought to activate an additional damping of the steering system only when a disturbance actually occurs. 
         [0005]    JP 2004161073 discloses a method for operating an electromechanically assisted steering device. The method is intended to give the driver feedback regarding unusual oscillations in the steering device. For this purpose, a vehicle speed and a steering torque of the steering device are determined. A frequency spectrum is subsequently generated by means of a high-speed Fourier transformation from the steering torque profile, which frequency spectrum is examined for maximum amplitudes. The maximum amplitudes are utilized for determining a disturbance frequency which is examined by means of an evaluation device for the presence of a disturbance. A disadvantage of the known method is that high-speed Fourier transformations which are to be carried out over a relatively large frequency range are associated with a high level of computing expenditure, so that the microprocessor systems of the vehicle are heavily loaded. 
         [0006]    An object of the inventive subject matter is to provide a method for the detection and optionally also for the compensation of periodic disturbances in the steering device of a motor vehicle and to a corresponding device for carrying out the method, which method and device permit robust determination of disturbances in the steering device by means of a low computing capacity. 
         [0007]    Other objects and features of the inventive subject matter will become apparent when viewed in light of the detailed descriptions of the embodiments when taken in conjunction with the attached drawings and appended claims. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    According to the inventive subject matter, periodic disturbances in the steering device are detected to determine a speed-dependent target frequency and to carry out a Fourier analysis of the time profile of the steering force and/or of the steering torque on the basis of the determined target frequency. Here, one or more frequency ranges are not taken into consideration in the Fourier analysis, with the upper and/or lower limit of the frequency range or ranges being dependent on the speed-dependent target frequency. The required computing time or computing capacity is reduced in this way. 
         [0009]    The Fourier analysis may be carried out exclusively at the speed-dependent target frequency (1 st  order) and/or at one or more multiples (higher orders) of the target frequency. This means, for the regions omitted in the Fourier analysis, an example being for the case in which the first and second orders of the target frequency are taken into consideration, the Fourier analysis is not carried out in the range [0, target frequency] and [target frequency, 2* target frequency] and also [2* target frequency, “ ∞ ”]. The calculation can be considerably simplified in this way. 
         [0010]    The method according to the inventive subject matter permits disturbance detection with comparatively little computing expenditure, so that the method can be implemented in the usual control units for power-assisted steering devices, in particular for electrically assisted steering devices. 
         [0011]    The undesired disturbances which are to be detected are caused by periodic force fluctuations in the steering device and are dependent on the rotational speed of the front wheels of the motor vehicle and therefore on the vehicle speed. In order to detect a periodically occurring disturbance, the steering torque is initially determined, in particular by a torque sensor integrated in the steering column of the motor vehicle, or the steering force is initially determined, in particular by means of a steering link force sensor. In addition, the speed of the motor vehicle is determined by means of a corresponding sensor. The target frequency for the Fourier analysis can be calculated on the basis of the determined speed, that is to say from the rotational speed of the front wheels. 
         [0012]    In one embodiment, the amplitudes of a time profile of the steering force and/or of a steering torque are determined at the target frequency (or a multiple of the target frequency), and are plotted against the speed of the motor vehicle. A model curve with at least one adaptable parameter may be adapted to the measured values. It is then possible, on the basis of the at least one adapted parameter of the model curve, to draw conclusions regarding the cause of the disturbances and possibly to initiate suitable measures for suppressing the disturbance. 
         [0013]    It is thus possible, for example in the event of an unbalance of the front wheels, for an assistance force regulator of the steering device to switch to a parameter set with higher damping preferably only at the times of the cyclically occurring disturbances. 
         [0014]    The above-described adaptation process can of course fundamentally also be carried out when a continuous Fourier spectrum has been calculated; in this case, only the amplitudes at the target frequency or at a higher order of the target frequency are then used. 
         [0015]    In a further embodiment, it is provided that the Fourier analysis is carried out with the simplification ωτ=2πC v(t)τ≈2πC s(τ) for the two integrands of the equations 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
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         [0000]    which are considerably simplified and can therefore be calculated more quickly. The simplification is based on the assumption that the change in the speed of the motor vehicle is significantly less than the change in the steering forces or steering torques caused by the disturbance. Here, ω denotes the angular frequency [1/s], τ denotes the infinitesimal variable, C is the reciprocal wheel circumference of a motor vehicle wheel [1/m], v(t) is the instantaneous speed [m/s] of the motor vehicle, k is the order of the disturbance to be considered, and T c (τ) is the measured instantaneous steering torque [Nm]. 
         [0016]    In a further embodiment, it is provided that an integration of Fourier coefficients is carried out by means of an approximation according to the trapezoid method, in which a number of nodes N is selected according to the equation N=┌T max /T s ┐=┌1/(C·v min T s ┐ as a function of the integration time T [s], the sampling interval T s  [s] and the maximum integration time T max  [s]. The trapezoid method is an approximation method in which the area below a curve is approximated by means of a plurality of trapezoids arranged below the curve. A fast and only slightly less precise area determination is obtained in this way. By using the trapezoid method, it is therefore possible to obtain a further simplification of the calculations to be carried out for determining the periodic disturbances. 
         [0017]    In a further embodiment, it is provided that an approximation of the amplitudes, which are plotted against the speed, from the Fourier analysis is carried out on the basis of a model equation according to 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
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         [0000]      where Ω=v(t i )/v k    (4) . 
         [0018]    It has been proven that the parameters v k  and d k  can be predefined to be substantially constant for a certain vehicle type regardless of the disturbance. Here, v k  describes the speed at which the maximum disturbance occurs; d k  describes how fast the disturbance decays when departing from the maximum value. The variables are significantly dependent on the dynamic properties of the steering system and are therefore predefinable, vehicle-specific parameters which need not be calculated or determined in some other way but rather can be stored in a value table of the control unit for the steering device. 
         [0019]    The remaining parameter a k  is, according to one advantageous embodiment, determined by means of comparison with the calculated disturbance amplitudes A k  (t i ) with an LSQ (Least Squares with a Single Quadratic Constraint)estimation algorithm. The LSQ estimation algorithm permits fast determination of the parameter a k ; in particular because the parameter a k  is contained only linearly in the above equation (3). It is however alternatively also conceivable to carry out the regression multi-dimensionally and to also determine the non-linear parameters v k  and/or d k  from the physical measured values. For the previously-examined disturbances, although the parameters are approximately constant, cases are however entirely conceivable in which one of the other parameters could correlate directly with a disturbance influence. 
         [0020]    It is of course also possible for other types of model function to be used. 
         [0021]    According to a further aspect of the inventive subject matter, a steering device with power assistance is provided which contains a control unit which is set up to carry out a method. A steering device of the inventive subject matter is capable of identifying periodically/cyclically occurring disturbances with little computing expenditure, and can be set up to periodically vary a damping characteristic for the steering assistance in the same way in order to offer an advantageous compromise of damping of the disturbances and steering system which has otherwise good steering feel. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0022]    The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of the drawings, in which: 
           [0023]      FIG. 1  shows a spectrogram for periodically occurring disturbances in a steering device; 
           [0024]      FIG. 2  shows a plurality of curve profile of calculated and approximated amplitudes of periodically occurring disturbances; 
           [0025]      FIG. 3  shows a diagram for explaining calculating operations which are carried out within the context of the method according to the invention; and 
           [0026]      FIG. 4  shows a block diagram of a device of the inventive subject matter. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0027]    The method  100  for the detection of periodic disturbances in the steering device of a motor vehicle can be divided into two sub-methods with regard to a determination of periodically occurring disturbances, and are shown in block diagram form in  FIG. 3 . The first sub-method is concerned with the detection of the periodically occurring disturbances. The second sub-method is in contrast concerned with the classification of the occurring disturbances. 
         [0028]    For the first sub-method, the speed  102  of the motor vehicle, that is to say the rotational speed of the front wheels (if appropriate by averaging the values of two front wheel individual wheel rotational speed sensors), is initially determined. In a conventional motor vehicle, the front wheels are activated by the steering device and are therefore also closely coupled to the steering wheel of the motor vehicle with regard to the transmission of vibrations. Mechanical deficiencies which are present at the front wheels, such as unbalances or warped brake disks, therefore lead, in driving operation of the motor vehicle, not only to vibrations at the front wheels but also to the coupling of the vibrations into the steering device, in particular into the steering wheel of the motor vehicle. 
         [0029]    It is therefore possible, on the basis of the rotational speed of the front wheels, to determine the relevant disturbance frequency which can, in the spectrogram illustrated in  FIG. 1 , be depicted as the straight line  10 , or the section plane which proceeds from the latter and is aligned in the vertical direction, for the first order disturbance frequency, or  20  for the second order disturbance frequency, according to the equation: 
         [0000]        f=k*C*v [ 1/ s]    (5). 
         [0030]    Here, f denotes the frequency [1/s], k the order of the disturbance being considered (k=1 . . . n), and C denotes the reciprocal wheel circumference [1/m]. Since the speed v(t) of the motor vehicle varies, the frequency to be determined is time-dependent, which is expressed in the equation 
         [0000]        f ( t )= C·v ( t )   (6). 
         [0031]    For the frequency f(t), the amplitude of the disturbance is determined from the measured torque  104  T c (t) [Nm]. For the amplitude determination, the Fourier coefficients are firstly determined on the basis of the equations 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
                       
                         
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         [0032]    In order to ensure faster determination of the Fourier coefficients, it is assumed that the change in the speed of the motor vehicle is significantly smaller than the change in the steering forces or steering torques caused by the disturbance. The assumptions are represented in  FIG. 3  as  106 . Under this assumption, the integrand in the above integrals (7/8) can be modified as follows: 
         [0000]      ωτ=2π C v ( t )τ≈2π C s (τ)   (9) 
         [0000]    where ω is the angular frequency [1/s], τ is the infinitesimal variable, C is the reciprocal wheel circumference of a motor vehicle wheel [1/m] and v(t) is the instantaneous speed [m/s] of the motor vehicle. 
         [0033]    The mean distance s(τ) [m] per measurement time section T s  [s] can then be expressed with the equation 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
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         [0000]    from which, with the equation 
         [0000]        y   c ( t   i )= T   c ( t   i )cos( k 2π C s ( t   i ))   (11), 
         [0000]    the first coefficient  108  of the Fourier analysis can be approximated as follows: 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
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         [0034]    For the second Fourier coefficients  110 , the corresponding equations: 
         [0000]        y   s ( t   i )= T   c ( t   i )·sin( k 2π C s ( t   i ))   (13) 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
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         [0000]    are utilized. 
         [0035]    The integration is carried out by means of the trapezoid rule with a fixed number of N nodes. The number of nodes N is determined as follows: 
         [0000]        N=┌T   max   /T   s ┐=┌1/( C·v   min   T   s )┐   (15) 
         [0000]    where:
       Integration time T=1/ƒ=1/(C·v(t)) [s]   Sampling interval T s  [s]   Maximum integration time T max =1/(C·v min ) [s]   v min =minimum speed for which disturbances are still to be detected [m/s]       
 
         [0040]    From the above equations, it is now possible to calculate the k-th order amplitude of the disturbance for the corresponding frequency: 
         [0000]        A   k ( t   i )=√{square root over (| a   k ( t   i )| 2   |b   k ( t   i )| 2 )}{square root over (| a   k ( t   i )| 2   |b   k ( t   i )| 2 )} 
         [0041]    The approximations have the effect that the multiplication can be carried out, with sine and cosine, virtually in advance, with the present frequency; one therefore need calculate only one cosine and one sine function for one time step. Without this approximation, it would be necessary at each time step to calculate the cosine and sine function for all the preceding frequency values. By means of the above-stated approximations, it is typically possible to reduce the computing expenditure by a factor of one hundred with respect to a complete Fourier analysis. 
         [0042]    The first-order and second-order amplitudes are plotted in  FIG. 2  as lines  30  and  40 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 3  shows a possible implementation of the calculation guidelines as per equations 10 to 14, 15 and 16 in a Simulink illustration (Simulink is a registered trademark of The MathWorks, Inc., Natick, Mass., USA). 
         [0044]    Subsequent to the calculation of the amplitudes, within the context of a second sub-method  200 , an approximation of the speed-dependent amplitude profile of the disturbance takes place on the basis of a suitable approximation or model equation, for example with: 
         [0000]      Ω=v(t i )/v k    (17) 
         [0000]    
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
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                   ( 
                   18 
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         [0000]    where v k  describes the speed at which the maximum disturbance occurs (vehicle-specific, but constant); d k  describes how fast the disturbance decays when departing from the maximum value (vehicle-specific, but constant) and a k  is determined from the disturbance amplitude A k (t i ) as per equation 16. Model curves for the approximation of the first-order and second-order amplitudes are plotted as lines  50  and  60  in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0045]    If for example only the first order of the disturbance is considered, then the parameter a 1  of the above model equation correlates linearly with the unbalance at a front wheel, so that the disturbance can be seen directly in a 1 . 
         [0046]    The above-described method differs from other order analyses in which a plurality of values of the time domain are transformed into a plurality of values of the frequency domain in that, for each new measured input value, a new value is delivered at the output. This is based substantially on the following simplified assumptions: p 0  a) The assumption of a vehicle speed which changes slowly compared with the disturbance delivers sufficiently precise results;
   b) The dependency on the vehicle speed can be converted into a position dependency;   c) The integration over a fixed time is sufficiently precise.   
 
         [0049]    The approximations reduce the computing expenditure considerably and therefore permit the calculation on current control computers in real-time, with the computing expenditure of a Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) being avoided. 
         [0050]    One advantage of the above-described method is that the algorithm can, at each time step, deliver a new (improved) estimation for the amplitude and model parameters. 
         [0051]    It is additionally advantageous that, as a result of the amplitudes of the disturbance being taken into consideration only in relation to the vehicle speed (along a straight line), a more robust calculation is given than in other solutions in which a fixed frequency band is considered. 
         [0052]    It is additionally advantageous that, by means of the additional classification of the disturbance on the basis of a model equation which is characteristic for the vehicle and disturbance, the detection is very robust with respect to parameter or environmental influences. 
         [0053]    The device is shown  70  in  FIG. 4 . Control unit  72  is coupled to the steering wheel and shaft that is subject to a driver (vehicle operator) input  74 . The control unit  72  receives a vehicle speed signal  76  from a vehicle speed sensor  78  and a steering torque signal  80  from a steering torque sensor  82 . The control unit  72  implements the first sub-method as described above with reference to  FIG. 3  to detect the periodic disturbances which is expedited by applying the assumption that the change in the speed of the motor vehicle is significantly smaller than the change in the steering forces or steering torques caused by the disturbance. The control unit  72  implements the classification, or compensation, of the periodic disturbances by applying the second sub-method, described above with reference to  FIG. 3 . The second sub-method application being expedited within the control unit  72  by applying the assumptions that:
   a) a vehicle speed which changes slowly compared with the disturbance delivers sufficiently precise results;   b) the dependency on the vehicle speed can be converted into a position dependency; and   c) the integration over a fixed time is sufficiently precise.
 
The assumptions for sub-method  1  and sub-method  2  simplify the computing capacity required and therefore, control unit  72  is capable of determining any disturbance of the steering device and compensating for the disturbance in a power assisted steering device  84 .
   
 
         [0057]    While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, numerous variations and alternative embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention be limited only in terms of the appended claims.