Patent ID: 8762006

Claim:
An electrically assisted steering system for a vehicle comprising: a torque sensor adapted to be connected to a vehicle steering wheel; a torque control device connected to said torque sensor and responsive to torque signals received from said torque sensor to generate a motor assist requirement signal; a motor control device connected to said torque control device and responsive to said motor assist requirement signal to generate a motor control signal; a steering assist motor connected to said motor control device, said steering assist motor adapted to be connected to a vehicle steering system, said steering assist motor responsive to said motor control signal to provide a steering assistance torque to said vehicle steering system; and a safety domain device connected to at least one vehicle operational parameter sensor, said safety domain device also connected to said torque sensor and in communication with said torque control device and said motor control device, said safety domain device responsive to signals received from said operational parameter sensor to generate a second torque signal and send same to said torque control device, wherein the system checks upon the operation of the torque control device and, upon determining that the torque control device is not operational, control of said motor control device is transferred to said safety domain device.