US-12623716-B2 - Intermittency detector for resistance to powerpack

US12623716B2US 12623716 B2US12623716 B2US 12623716B2US-12623716-B2

Abstract

A method for detecting degradation intermittencies in an electrical connection in a steering system of a vehicle includes, using a processor configured to execute instructions, receiving an input indicative of a plurality of measurements of resistance associated with the electrical connection, calculating, based on the received input, at least one adaptive control threshold, comparing a first measurement of the plurality of measurements to the at least one adaptive control threshold, determining whether the electrical connection has a degradation intermittency in response to the comparison between the first measurement and the at least one adaptive control threshold, and performing at least one action in response to determining that the electrical connection has the degradation intermittency.

Inventors

David M. Williams
Ashish Verma
Julie A. Kleinau
Peter D. Schmitt
Christopher J. Sommer
Kevin L. Derry
Mary K. Williams

Assignees

STEERING SOLUTIONS IP HOLDING CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240125

Claims (19)

1 . A method for detecting degradation intermittencies in an electrical connection in a steering system of a vehicle, the method comprising, using a processor configured to execute instructions: receiving an input indicative of a resistance associated with the electrical connection, wherein the input is indicative of a plurality of measurements of the resistance; calculating, based on the received input, at least one adaptive control threshold; comparing a first measurement of the plurality of measurements to the at least one adaptive control threshold; determining whether the electrical connection has a degradation intermittency in response to the comparison between the first measurement and the at least one adaptive control threshold; and performing at least one action associated with operation of the vehicle in response to determining that the electrical connection has the degradation intermittency, wherein performing the at least one action includes at least one of: generating and displaying an indicator associated with the operation of the vehicle in response to determining that the electrical connection has the degradation intermittency; and controlling at least one operating parameter of the vehicle in response to determining that the electrical connection has the degradation intermittency.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating the at least one adaptive control threshold includes calculating a first adaptive control threshold and a second adaptive control threshold that define a threshold window.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein comparing the first measurement includes comparing the first measurement to the first adaptive control threshold and the second adaptive control threshold.
4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising determining that the electrical connection has the degradation intermittency in response to the first measurement being greater than the first adaptive control threshold or lower than the second adaptive control threshold.
5 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising counting a number of times that one of the plurality of measurements is either greater than the first adaptive control threshold or lower than the second adaptive control threshold and determining that the electrical connection has the degradation intermittency based on the counted number of times.
6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising determining that the electrical connection has the degradation intermittency in response to a comparison between the counted number of times and at least one count threshold.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising calculating the at least one adaptive control threshold based on (i) an average of a predetermined number of the plurality of measurements and (ii) an offset.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising obtaining the resistance by supplying a sinusoidal current to a motor of the steering system, measuring a response of the motor, and calculating the resistance based on the sinusoidal current and the measured response.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the sinusoidal current is a non-torque producing current.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the steering system is an electronic power steering (EPS) system and the electrical connection is an electrical connection between a power supply and a motor of the EPS system.
11 . A system for detecting degradation intermittencies in an electrical connection in a steering system of a vehicle, the system comprising; at least one sensor configured to generate an output indicative of a resistance associated with the electrical connection, wherein the output is indicative of a plurality of measurements of the resistance; and a controller configured to calculate, based on the output, at least one adaptive control threshold, compare a first measurement of the plurality of measurements to the at least one adaptive control threshold, determine whether the electrical connection has a degradation intermittency in response to the comparison between the first measurement and the at least one adaptive control threshold, and perform at least one action associated with operation of the vehicle in response to determining that the electrical connection has the degradation intermittency, wherein performing the at least one action includes at least one of: generating and displaying an indicator associated with the operation of the vehicle in response to determining that the electrical connection has the degradation intermittency; and controlling at least one operating parameter of the vehicle in response to determining that the electrical connection has the degradation intermittency.
12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein calculating the at least one adaptive control threshold includes calculating a first adaptive control threshold and a second adaptive control threshold that define a threshold window.
13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein comparing the first measurement includes comparing the first measurement to the first adaptive control threshold and the second adaptive control threshold.
14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine that the electrical connection has the degradation intermittency in response to the first measurement being greater than the first adaptive control threshold or lower than the second adaptive control threshold.
15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the controller is further configured to count a number of times that one of the plurality of measurements is either greater than the first adaptive control threshold or lower than the second adaptive control threshold and determine that the electrical connection has the degradation intermittency based on the counted number of times.
16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine that the electrical connection has the degradation intermittency in response to a comparison between the counted number of times and at least one count threshold.
17 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to calculate the at least one adaptive control threshold based on (i) an average of a predetermined number of the plurality of measurements and (ii) an offset.
18 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to obtain the resistance by supplying a sinusoidal current to a motor of the steering system, measuring a response of the motor, and calculating the resistance based on the sinusoidal current and the measured response.
19 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the steering system is an electronic power steering (EPS) system and the electrical connection is an electrical connection between a power supply and a motor of the EPS system.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/542,437, filed on Oct. 4, 2023. The entire disclosure of the application referenced above is incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to systems and methods for monitoring state of health of connections between a power source and an electric power steering (EPS) system. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A vehicle, such as a car, truck, sport utility vehicle, crossover, mini-van, marine craft, aircraft, all-terrain vehicle, recreational vehicle, or other suitable forms of transportation, typically includes a steering system, such as an electronic power steering (EPS) system, a steer-by-wire (SbW) steering system, a hydraulic steering system, or other suitable steering system. The steering system of such a vehicle typically controls various aspects of vehicle steering including providing steering assist to an operator of the vehicle, controlling steerable wheels of the vehicle, and the like. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This disclosure relates generally to determining state of health of an electrical connection in a steering system of a vehicle. In an example, a method for detecting degradation intermittencies in an electrical connection in a steering system of a vehicle includes, using a processor configured to execute instructions, receiving an input indicative of a plurality of measurements of resistance associated with the electrical connection, calculating, based on the received input, at least one adaptive control threshold, comparing a first measurement of the plurality of measurements to the at least one adaptive control threshold, determining whether the electrical connection has a degradation intermittency in response to the comparison between the first measurement and the at least one adaptive control threshold, and performing at least one action in response to determining that the electrical connection has the degradation intermittency. Other aspects of the disclosed embodiments include systems configured to perform steps and functions of the described methods. These and other aspects of the present disclosure are disclosed in the following detailed description of the embodiments, the appended claims, and the accompanying figures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The disclosure is best understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is emphasized that, according to common practice, the various features of the drawings are not to-scale. On the contrary, the dimensions of the various features are arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity. FIG. 1A generally illustrates a vehicle according to the principles of the present disclosure. FIG. 1B generally illustrates a controller according to the principles of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 generally illustrates, schematically, an example electronic power steering (EPS) system according to the principles of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 generally illustrates example degradation of over a lifetime of an electrical connection. FIG. 4 generally illustrates example sample measurements or calculations indicative of intermittent degradation and non-intermittent degradation. FIGS. 5A-5F generally illustrate example sample measurements relative to various control thresholds according to the principles of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram generally illustrating steps of an example method for detecting degradation intermittencies according to the principles of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following discussion is directed to various embodiments of the disclosure. Although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including the claims. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment, and not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment. As described, a vehicle, such as a car, truck, sport utility vehicle, crossover, mini-van, marine craft, aircraft, all-terrain vehicle, recreational vehicle, or other suitable forms of transportation, typically includes a steering system, such as an electronic power steering (EPS) system, a steer-by-wire (SbW) steering system, a hydraulic steering system, or other suitable steering system. The steering system of such a vehicle typically controls various aspects of vehicle steering including providing steering assist to an operator of the vehicle, controlling steerable wheels of the vehicle, and the like. Although described herein with respect to vehicles, the principles of the present disclosure may also be implemented in other types of transportation or non-transportation appa