US 12,084,136 B2
Vehicle steering guide torque control apparatus
Shusaku Sugamoto, Toyota (JP); Satoshi Inoue, Anjo (JP); Takeshi Hamaguchi, Seto (JP); and Shintaro Saigo, Nisshin (JP)
Assigned to TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Toyota Aichi-ken (JP)
Filed by TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Toyota (JP)
Filed on Jun. 15, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/840,793.
Claims priority of application No. 2021-112380 (JP), filed on Jul. 6, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0008425 A1, Jan. 12, 2023
Int. Cl. B62D 6/00 (2006.01); B60W 30/095 (2012.01); B60W 30/12 (2020.01); B60W 30/18 (2012.01)
CPC B62D 6/002 (2013.01) [B60W 30/095 (2013.01); B60W 30/0956 (2013.01); B60W 30/12 (2013.01); B60W 30/18145 (2013.01)] 5 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle steering guide torque control apparatus comprising:
a steering input member on which steering operation is performed by a driver;
a turning device that turns turning tire wheels according to a steering operation amount applied to the steering input member;
a torque application device that applies steering guide torque to the steering input member;
a control unit that controls the torque application device; and
an image capturing device that acquires an image in front of a vehicle, wherein
the control unit is configured to estimate a curvature of a lane in front of the vehicle for causing the vehicle to travel along the lane, based on the image acquired by the image capturing device, calculate a target steering operation amount, based on the curvature of the lane, calculate a target steering guide torque guiding steering by the driver, based on a deviation between the target steering operation amount and an actual steering operation amount, such that the actual steering operation amount comes within a predetermined steering operation amount range including the target steering operation amount, and control the torque application device such that the steering guide torque becomes the target steering guide torque, and
the control unit is further configured to estimate a probability that the driver performs steering operation to deviate from the lane, and adjust the target steering guide torque, according to the probability, such that the target steering guide torque becomes smaller as the probability becomes higher.