Appeal No. 95-0744
Application 07/758,460
Yabe discloses a method and apparatus for confirming an
operating condition of a power steering device, the power
steering device including a steering mechanism driven by an
electric actuator constituted, for example, by an oil pump and
an electric motor or an electric motor alone. The motor is
temporarily operated with a quasi (test) current and an alarm
light is turned on. The motor current is measured to
determine the state of the power steering system. If the
current is above a certain value, such as 5 A, the test
current is interrupted and the alarm light is turned off and
presumably the system is operating normally, whereas if the
current is below the value the test signal and alarm light
remain on (figure 3). Alternatively, it can be determined
whether the steering system is operating properly by measuring
the variation in the oil pressure with a load sensor or by
measuring the load on the steering mechanism with a strain
gauge (col. 4, line 46, to col. 5, line 18).
O'Neil discloses a fail-safe mechanism for an electrical
power assisted steering system. A clutch is interposed
between the electric motor and the gear reduction assembly. A
control system monitors the operation of the system. When the
- 3 -
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007