Electro/pneumatic power steering system
US4624336A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 13, 1984 |
| Grant date | Nov 25, 1986 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 13, 2004 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB62D5/06
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An electro-pneumatic power steering system for an automotive vehicle having a source of pressurized air. The power steering system having a torque sensor generating a torque signal indicative of the torque applied to the vehicles mechanical steering mechanism, a controller generating a pair of mutually exclusive pulse train signals indicative of the direction and magnitude of the applied torque, a pneumatic cylinder linked to the vehicle's mechanical steering mechanism, and a pair of electrically actuated proportional valves for pressurizing one or the other end of the pneumatic cylinder in response to one or the other of the mutually exclusive pulse train signals. The proportional valves venting the opposite ends of the pneumatic cylinder to the atmosphere in the absence of either pulse train signal removing the authority of the power steering system about the zero torque level.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.