Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha

Hiromitsu Kageyama

Kenji Hayashi

Akiya Taneda

Hajime Tanaka

Kenjiro Nagata

Naoki Yamaguchi

Yoichi Fujinori

Koichi Nishimura

A vehicular rear wheel steering device includes a housing, a rod being non-turnable with respect to the housing and movably supported in an axial direction of the rod, and a conversion mechanism arranged between the rod and the housing to convert a rotation of a rotational drive device to a drive force in the axial direction. The housing includes a tubular first bush disposed at a first end and a tubular second bush at a second end. Each bush is slidably engaged to an outer periphery of the rod and supports the rod to be movable in the axial direction. A rod supporting rigidity of the first bush is lower compared to that of the second bush. The first bush is arranged with an elastic body that deforms in a radial direction of the rod. The second bush is arranged with an inner periphery protrusion at which the rod tilts.

Vehicular rear wheel steering device

An electronic control unit determines the steering direction of rear wheels on the basis of the turning operation direction of a steering wheel when a detected vehicle speed is '0', i.e. when the vehicle is stopped. If the steering direction of the rear wheels is a return-side steering direction to obtain a neutral steering position, the unit operates a rear wheel-side steering mechanism by driving and controlling an electric motor, whereby allowing return-side stationary steering for the rear wheels.

Vehicle steering apparatus

An electronic control unit determines that a vehicle is traveling in a straight line if a state in which the steering torque is less than a predetermined steering torque and an amount of change in the steering angle is less than a predetermined steering angle continues for a predetermined period of time when the vehicle speed is greater than a predetermined vehicle speed. Also, if the steering angle of the steering wheel is not 0, while the vehicle is traveling in a straight line, the electronic control unit calculates the steering amount of rear wheels that matches the steering amount of front wheels, using the steering angle of the steering wheel. Then the electronic control unit steers the rear wheels by driving an electric motor until a controlled neutral steering position of the rear wheels that corresponds to the steering amount matches an absolute neutral steering position.

Vehicular steering apparatus and control method thereof

Growing community of inventors

Toyota, Japan

Hiromitsu Kageyama