An Active Return-to-Middle Control Method without Angle Sensor for EPS 2015-01-2724

Electric Power Steering System (EPS) can directly provide auxiliary steering torque via a motor. The motor and the reducer in mechanical system will make the friction torque in steering system larger, as a result, the ability of steering returning will be reduced. Therefore, during the design of EPS system control strategy, an extra active return-to-middle control strategy is needed. For the fact that most of the low-end vehicles equipped with EPS system do not have a steering wheel angle sensor, a control strategy has to work without the datum of steering wheel angle. This paper proposes an active return-to-middle control method without steering wheel angle sensor, based on the estimated aligning torque which is converted to the pinion, and expounds how to determine the steering system current motion state in detail. This control method will work just during the turning condition, so it has no effect on the EPS basic assist characteristics. And this control method is added in EPS control programs in the form of software. Test results on real vehicle show that this control method without angle sensor can effectively improve the performance of returning, and this method is one worth considering in practical application.