Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Satoshi Handa

Satoshi Inoue

Shusaku Sugamoto

Takeshi Hamaguchi

Shintaro Saigo

A vehicle steering assist device includes a steering assist ECU. The steering assist ECU calculates a target steering angle for driving the vehicle along the road, and a target steering guide torque that guides the driver's steering so that the actual steering angle becomes the target steering angle. The steering assist ECU controls the torque applying device so that the steering guide torque becomes the target steering guide torque. The steering assist ECU acquires at least one of information on the driving environment of the vehicle and information on the state of the driver, and calculates an index value indicating the necessity of the steering guide torque based on at least one of the pieces of information. The steering assist ECU corrects the target steering guide torque based on the index value so that the higher the need for the steering guide torque, the larger the target steering guide torque.

Vehicle steering assist device

When it is determined that there is no possibility of a driver performing a predetermined steering operation for moving a host vehicle in a lateral direction without involving a change in a final travel direction, a vehicle control device sets a steering reaction force to be greater than a standard reaction force. When it is determined that there is a possibility thereof, the vehicle control device sets the steering reaction force to be smaller than the standard reaction force, and sets an increase rate of the steering reaction force relative to an increase in the amount of steering operation from a predetermined point in time after it is determined that there is a possibility of the driver performing the predetermined steering operation and before the amount of steering operation in the predetermined steering operation becomes largest to be higher than an increase rate before the predetermined point in time.

Vehicle control device

In a vehicle steering assist device that includes an electric power steering device that generates a control torque that modifies a return torque for urging a steering wheel to a neutral position, a steering assist ECU that controls the control torque, and a surrounding information detecting device (camera sensor, radar sensor) that detects at least information in front of a vehicle, the control torque is controlled such that a ratio of a change amount of the modified return torque to a change amount of a steering operation amount at the start of avoidance steering decreases when an obstacle is detected in front of the vehicle by the surrounding information detecting device and the avoidance steering for the vehicle to avoid collision with the obstacle is determined to be required.

Growing community of inventors

Kariya, Japan

Satoshi Handa