US 12,275,464 B2
Electric power steering
Russell Wilson-Jones, Stratford-upon-Avon (GB)
Assigned to ZF AUTOMOTIVE UK LIMITED, West Midlands (GB)
Filed by ZF AUTOMOTIVE UK LIMITED, Solihull (GB)
Filed on Oct. 21, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/076,723.
Claims priority of application No. 1915192 (GB), filed on Oct. 21, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0114651 A1, Apr. 22, 2021
Int. Cl. A01B 69/00 (2006.01); B62D 5/04 (2006.01)
CPC B62D 5/0421 (2013.01) [B62D 5/0454 (2013.01); B62D 5/0481 (2013.01)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An electric power steering system comprising:
a steering bar that is mechanically connected at each opposing end to a respective wheel carrier;
an electric motor connected to the steering bar through a gear mechanism such that rotation of the electric motor causes the steering bar to translate along its main axis thereby displacing each wheel carrier;
at least one elongate feature extending diagonally along a length of the steering bar such that it is inclined relative to the main axis of the steering bar; and
a sensor that faces the steering bar and at any given time observes only a slice of the elongate feature that extends across a full width of the elongate feature and along only a part of a length of the elongate feature, the sensor generating a signal that varies depending on a pattern that is formed on the steering bar by the elongate feature and adjacent portions of the steering bar and that is observed by the sensor, the signal encoding the axial position of the steering bar.