Systems and methods for vehicle steering control

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11318962-B2
Application number	US-202016816667-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 12, 2020
Priority date	Mar 12, 2019
Publication date	May 3, 2022
Grant date	May 3, 2022

Abstract

A method for providing operating mode transition for a vehicle includes receiving an input indicating a request to transition from a first operating mode of the vehicle to a second operating mode of the vehicle and determining a first planned trajectory corresponding to the first operating mode. The method also includes determining a second planned trajectory corresponding to the second operating mode. The method also includes determining a first road wheel actuator angle corresponding to the first planned trajectory and determining a second road wheel actuator angle corresponding to the second planned trajectory. The method also includes determining a difference between a current handwheel actuator angle and a handwheel actuator angle corresponding to the second road wheel actuator angle and, in response to a determination that the difference is less than a threshold, transitioning from the first operating mode to the second operating mode over a determined period.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for providing operating mode transition for a vehicle, the system comprising:
a processor; and
a memory including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
receive an input indicating a request to transition from a first operating mode of the vehicle to a second operating mode of the vehicle;
determine a first planned trajectory corresponding to the first operating mode;
determine a second planned trajectory corresponding to the second operating mode;
determine a first road wheel actuator angle corresponding to the first planned trajectory;
determine a second road wheel actuator angle corresponding to the second planned trajectory;
determine a difference between a current handwheel actuator angle and a handwheel actuator angle corresponding to the second road wheel actuator angle;
in response to a determination that the difference is less than a threshold, transition from the first operating mode to the second operating mode over a determined period;
in response to a determination that the difference is greater than the threshold, generate a haptic feedback torque based on the first road wheel actuator angle and the current handwheel actuator angle; and
apply a scaling factor to the haptic feedback torque, wherein the scaling factor is dynamically generated based on, at least, a handwheel velocity.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first operating mode includes an autonomous operating mode.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second operating mode includes a manual operating mode.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the current handwheel actuator angle includes a zero degree angle.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the input indicates an operator engagement of a handwheel of the vehicle.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the input indicates a position of a switch within the vehicle.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to provide an assist torque to a handwheel of the vehicle based on the first road wheel actuator angle and the haptic feedback torque.

8. A method for providing operating mode transition for a vehicle, the method comprising:
receiving an input indicating a request to transition from a first operating mode of the vehicle to a second operating mode of the vehicle;
determining a first planned trajectory corresponding to the first operating mode;
determining a second planned trajectory corresponding to the second operating mode;
determining a first road wheel actuator angle corresponding to the first planned trajectory;
determining a second road wheel actuator angle corresponding to the second planned trajectory;
determining a difference between a current handwheel actuator angle and a handwheel actuator angle corresponding to the second road wheel actuator angle; and
in response to a determination that the difference is less than a threshold, transitioning from the first operating mode to the second operating mode over a determined period;
in response to a determination that the difference is greater than the threshold, generating a haptic feedback torque based on the first road wheel actuator angle and the current handwheel actuator angle; and
applying a scaling factor to the haptic feedback torque, wherein the scaling factor is dynamically generated based on, at least, a handwheel velocity.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first operating mode includes an autonomous operating mode.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the second operating mode includes a manual operating mode.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the current handwheel actuator angle includes a zero degree angle.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the input indicates an operator engagement of a handwheel of the vehicle.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the input indicates a position of a switch within the vehicle.

14. The method of claim 8 , further comprising providing an assist torque to a handwheel of the vehicle based on the first road wheel actuator angle and the haptic feedback torque.

15. A method of transitioning an operating mode for a vehicle, the method comprising:
receiving a takeover request from an operator;
generating a haptic feedback based on a first road wheel actuator angle and a current handwheel actuator angle; and
applying a scaling factor to the haptic feedback, wherein the scaling factor is dynamically generated based on, at least, a handwheel velocity;
providing the haptic feedback to the operator;
performing a driver readiness assessment; and
transitioning from a first operating mode to a second operating mode using a shared control transition mode.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first operating mode corresponds to an autonomous driving mode and the second operating mode corresponds to a manual driving mode.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the shared control transition mode is defined as a road wheel position partially controlled by an autonomous driving system and partially controlled by an operator input.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein performing the driver readiness assessment includes:
imposing a torque on a handwheel of the vehicle; and
evaluating a response, by the operator, to the imposed torque to determine readiness for the manual driving mode.

Assignees

• Steering Solutions Ip Holding

Inventors

• Safour Salaheddine
• Faddoul Rani
• Longuemare Pierre C
• Klesing Joachim J

Classifications

• B60W2710/202

  Steering torque · CPC title

• B60W2050/146

  Display means · CPC title

• B60W60/0057

  Estimation of the time available or required for the handover · CPC title

• B62D15/025 Primary

  Active steering aids, e.g. helping the driver by actively influencing the steering system after environment evaluation (B62D1/28 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B62D5/0409

  Electric motor acting on the steering column · CPC title