The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 26, 2021
Filed:
Apr. 10, 2019
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota, JP;
Takahiro Kojo, Gotemba, JP;
Yoji Kunihiro, Susono, JP;
Ryo Irie, Okazaki, JP;
Hisaya Akatsuka, Susono, JP;
TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Toyota, JP;
Abstract
A turning mechanism of a vehicle turns a wheel and is coupled to a steering wheel through a steering shaft. A torque sensor detects a torque applied to a first position of the steering shaft, as a sensor-detected torque. An upper friction torque is an absolute value of the sensor-detected torque that is caused by a friction force acting on the steering shaft between the first position and the steering wheel when the steering shaft is rotated. A vehicle control system repeatedly estimates the upper friction torque and variably sets a determination threshold to the estimated upper friction torque or more. The vehicle control system determines whether a driver state is a hands-on state or a hands-off state based on a comparison between the absolute value of the sensor-detected torque and the determination threshold.