Power steering regulator for electrically operated vehicles - has servo actuated by impulses from inductive sensor excited by steering wheel movements

摘要

A toothed wheel (4) is fitted between the steering wheel hub (1) and the steering column (3). The toothed wheel is a relatively thin disc with permanent magnetic teeth and able to turn with the steering shaft (2). An inductive sensor (7), consisting of a permanent bar magnet inside a coil, is clamped (8) to the steering column with its face (9) about 1mm from the toothed disc. Two electrical signals are induced into the sensor coil each time a tooth passes the sensor face. One impulse is positive and the second impulse is negative. The impulses are passed to a differentiation circuit which produces signals of different polarity. The signals are passed to a signal translator to produce two regulator signals of the same polarity. The signals are used to activate the power assistance steering servo. The servo can be a hydraulic unit fed by an electric pump.