Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Sadachika Tsuzuki

Kenji Kamimura

Toshikazu Nakamura

Kazunori Noda

Koichi Shinmura

Toru Takeda

Akio Noji

Masaki Tanaka

Shuzo Fujimoto

Embodiments of the invention provide a computer program product embodied on a computer readable storage medium. The computer program product is encoded with instructions configured to control a controller to perform a process. The process includes setting a target steering angle for the vehicle based on a steering amount of the vehicle, setting a target torque difference between right and left steered wheels based on the target steering angle, and setting a target driving/braking force for the vehicle based on an acceleration amount and a braking amount of the vehicle. The process also includes setting each target torque for the right and left steered wheels based on the target torque difference and the target driving/braking force and controlling driving of the steered-wheel motors based on the target torque. The kingpin point is positioned closer to the vehicle on an inside portion of an inside sidewall of a steered wheel.

Steering control apparatus, steering control system, and steering control program

The present invention provides a steering control apparatus that controls steering of a vehicle of a steer-by-wire type, and includes steered-wheel motors that apply separate torques to right and left steered wheels respectively, a rod member that couples the right and left steered wheels so that the steered wheels can be steered, and a steering controller that controls driving of the steered-wheel motors. In each steered wheel, a center of the contact face thereof and a kingpin point thereof are offset in a lateral direction of the vehicle, and the steering controller controls driving of the steered-wheel motors so as to generate a torque difference between the right and left steered wheels, and provides a steering effort in accordance with this torque difference for each of the right and left steered wheels via the rod member, thereby to steer the vehicle.

An inverter having M&#xd7;N arms is connected to a first motor having N groups of M phase coils and a second motor having M groups of N phase coils. At least one of the first motor and the second motor has as many teeth as the number of phases of the motor multiplied by an integer, and the M&#xd7;N coils of the motor are wound around the teeth by equal to or more than two coils for each of the teeth. Drive points of the M&#xd7;N coils of the first motor are connected to output points of the corresponding arms of the inverter. Drive points of the N&#xd7;M coils of the second motor are connected to output points of the arms of the inverter, so that each of the N phase windings in each of the M groups of the second motor is connected to each of the N drive points of the first motor, the N drive points having the same phase. A controller feeds M&#xd7;N pulse width modulation control signals to the inverter for the first motor and the second motor in a time-division manner, so that the first and the second motors are driven individually with the single inverter.

Dual motor drive system, control device for the same, and motor to be used in the same

In a control system for a gas turbine engine, a degradation level of the gas turbine engine is estimated according to a deviation of an output of an internal temperature sensor when the engine is producing a target output at a target rotational speed from a prescribed reference temperature, and a correction value for correcting the engine operation map is computed according to the degradation level of the gas turbine engine. Thereby, even when the degradation of the engine has progressed to a certain extent typically owing to the aging of various component parts, the engine operation map can be corrected in such a manner that the level of fuel supply is optimally selected and the acceleration, efficiency and other items of performance of the engine can be improved.

Control system for a gas turbine engine

In a gas turbine power generator system, when there is an increase in the demand of a user system, a battery system supplies a supplemental electric power which is given by adding an added electric power to a difference between a current output of the power generator and the increased demand. Because the supplemental electric power is greater than the difference between the current output of the generator and the increased demand by the added electric power, the load acting upon the gas turbine engine is correspondingly reduced even from the preceding steady state so that the gas turbine engine can quickly accelerate to the level that matches the increased demand of the user system. Therefore, the battery system is required to supply electric power only for a relatively short time as compared to the case where the supplemental electric power is equal to the difference between the output of the power generator and the demand, and the capacity of the battery system may be smaller than the case where the battery meets the entire demand while the gas turbine engine is being accelerated.

Gas turbine engine generator system

In a control system for a gas turbine aero engine, the control system (ECU) is configured as a dual control system comprising two channels, Ch-A and Ch-B. Ch-A has two CPUs which conduct calculations separately based on the sensor outputs and one of the CPUs compares the results and if they coincide, the CPU sends the result of the other CPU to the FCU. If not, one of the CPUs determines that an abnormality arises in Ch-A and sends a result to Ch-B. Ch-B is constituted as a standby channel having only one CPU whose operation is monitored by a simple watchdog timer circuit. This enhances CPU failure detection with a relatively simple configuration, and eliminates the need for provision of an overspeed protector.

Gas turbine aeroengine control system

In a steering control system for a moving body in which azimuths of reference points are detected by rotatively scanning a light beam around the moving body, a current position of the moving body is calculated based on the azimuths of reference points, and the moving body is steered so that the current position thereof follows a predetermined travelling course that is calculated in accordance with an algorithm previously stored in a memory. The system assigns each detected reference point to each reference point in said algorithm for calculating the relative traveling course, based on one of a reference point that is detected first under the condition that the azimuth exceeds a first predetermined angle, and a reference point that is detected last with the azimuth being less than a second predetermined angle when the azimuth is measured with respect to the advance direction of the moving vehicle initially placed in the traveling area before the start of a work. A traveling course is set according to said algorithm using the positional information on the assigned reference points.

Steering control system for moving vehicle

A steering control system for calculating straight lines connecting reference points which are set at at least three positions around a work area, detecting the advance direction of a moving vehicle placed at a travel start position and the relative angles thereof with respect to the respective straight lines, and selecting as a reference line a particular one of the respective straight lines for which the relative angle is close to a preset particular angle. The moving vehicle is caused to travel a plurality of straight courses extending in a predetermined direction relative to the reference line and placed at predetermined intervals, and to travel transfer courses for moving from one to another of the straight courses.

In a system for detecting a relative position of an observation spot and reference points fixed around the observation spot, a central axis of mirror rotation is precessed to draw a substantially conical locus so that a light beam is vertically vibrated, the azimuth of the rotative scanning direction and the precessional angle are stored when the light beam reflected by a light reflector at the reference point is detected, then the projection direction of the light beam is fixed at the detected rotative scanning and precession angles, the distance between the observation spot and the light reflector is measured on the basis of the detected signals, and the positions of the light reflectors with respect to the observation spot are calculated on the basis of the measured distances and azimuths.

System for detecting the position of observation spot

A position detection system for a moving body comprising means for rotatively scanning the light beam projected from a light beam generator mounted on the moving body in a substantially horizontal plane, and vibrating to vertically vibrate the rotatively scanned light beam in a cycle two times or more longer than the cycle of the rotative scan. The light beam projected from the moving body and reflected by the retroreflector means provided at at least three positions spaced apart from the moving body is received by a light beam receiver on the moving body, and the position of the moving body is detected on the basis of the directions of the light reception and the known positional information on the retroreflector means.

System for detecting the position of a moving body

A reference point recognizing system for a steering control system comprising a light beam scanner and a beam receiver on a moving vehicle, the light beam scanner scanning a light beam generated in a light beam generator in the circumferential direction while vertically swinging it. The system determines azimuths of light from light reflector reference points detected in the beam receiver in response to the light beam scan prior to the traveling of the moving vehicle. A memory stores the azimuths of the lights and the number of times each of lights are detected. The system determines when the detection of lights in particular azimuths has reached a predetermined number, recognizes when an incident light is detected from substantially the same direction a predetermined number of times or more, and treats that substantially same direction as the azimuth of a predetermined light reflecting means.

Reference point recognition apparatus for the steering control system of

A position detecting system of a moving vehicle wherein a light beam scanned around the vehicle to be reflected by reference retroreflective means is received on the vehicle, the azimuth of each retroreflective means to be detected in the next scan is predicted, the azimuth of a particular incident light which forms the smallest angle with the predicted azimuth and is detected between two reference point discrimination azimuths preset at both sides of the predicted azimuth is judges to be that of an expected reflecting means and utilized for the position detection of the moving vehicle. When the expected retroreflective means is missed in a turning course, a previously known included angle which is formed by two straight lines connecting a turn center to said missing retroreflective means and another retroreflective means disposed just before, respectively, is added to the azimuth of the another retroreflective means in the next scan, and the resultant sum angle is used as the azimuth for the missing retroreflective means.

The present invention is characterized by the provision of a traveling course setting system for a moving vehicle comprising a light reflector that is moved along the peripheral outline of the work area for reflecting light in the direction of incidence, and a light beam generator mounted on the moving vehicle for circumferentially scanning a light beam around the moving vehicle. The system detects the distance between the moving light reflector and the moving vehicle and the azimuth of the moving light reflector relative to the moving vehicle on the basis of the light reflected from the moving light reflector, calculates the position of the moving light reflector based on the distance and azimuth with respect to the moving vehicle which are detected while the moving vehicle is stopped, stores the calculated position as a locus thereof, and sets a traveling course in the work area recognized on the basis of the stored locus of the moving light reflector. The travel locus of the light reflector, or the outline of the work area, can be recognized and a traveling course for the moving vehicle can be set in the work area while the vehicle is stopped.

System using a moving light reflector for defining the peripheral

A steering control system wherein a light receiving means rotating integrally with a light scanning means is mounted on a moving vehicle, and a light beam is scanned around the moving vehicle in the circumferential direction and the light beams reflected by at least three light reflecting means are sequentially detected by the light receiving means to detect the position of the moving vehicle on the basis of the reflected light beams so as to travel the vehicle along a predetermined traveling course. The reference direction of a photosensor used for the light beam scanning is maintained between predetermined adjoining two light reflecting means and the steering control is performed in dependance upon the positional information of the moving vehicle calculated on the basis of the detected azimuths of the reflected light beams if the number of reflected light beams detected during one revolution of the light beam is equal to the number of the disposed light reflecting means.

A steering control system for a moving vehicle causes the vehicle to travel along a predetermined traveling course in a region in which a predetermined working operation, such as grass cutting or the like, is to be performed by the vehicle as it moves along the traveling course. An obstacle sensor is mounted on the vehicle, and when the sensor detects presence of an obstacle on the predetermined traveling course, the steering control system operates to cause the vehicle to leave the predetermined traveling course and to detour around the obstacle while maintaining a substantially constant distance between the obstacle and the moving vehicle. The control system is also operative to determine whether the obstacle is stationary or movable and, upon completion of the vehicle travel along the predetermined course, is operative to determine whether a movable obstacle has been removed from the predetermined course and, if so, causes the vehicle to perform its working operation in that portion of the region in which the working operation was not previously performed due to its detour around the obstacle.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Sadachika Tsuzuki