Patent ID: 8296011

Claim:
A method for controlling a power steering system, the method including: receiving a first signal representative of a torque applied to a steering wheel; applying a first backlash function to the first signal, wherein the first backlash function includes a first adjustable deadband center and imparts a defined first hysteresis in the system, the first adjustable deadband center adjusts based on a value of the first signal and whether the value is increasing or decreasing; receiving a second signal representative of a motor velocity of a motor operatively linked to the steering wheel; applying a second backlash function to the second signal, wherein the second backlash function includes a second adjustable deadband center and imparts a defined second hysteresis in the system, the second adjustable deadband center adjusts on a value of the second signal and whether the value is increasing or decreasing; multiplying the first signal with the second signal resulting in a product signal; multiplying a defined first-third quadrant scaling factor with an active damping signal, and sending a resultant motor command signal to the motor responsive to determining that the product signal is a positive signal; and multiplying a defined second-fourth quadrant scaling factor with the active damping signal, and sending the resultant motor command signal to the motor responsive to determining that the product signal is a negative signal.