Patents by Inventor Kristof Polmans

Kristof Polmans has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 12280838
    Abstract: A motor vehicle power steering system may include a steering handle having at least one handle sensor for detecting a handle position of the steering handle, an electronically controlled steering actuator having an electric motor for providing an actuating torque based on the detected handle position, a mechanical power transmission for transmitting the actuating torque to steered wheels, a position sensor for detecting a wheel position of the steered wheels, and a monitoring device that is configured to relate the wheel position detected by the position sensor to at least one input parameter of the mechanical power transmission given by the electric motor to monitor the functioning of the mechanical power transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignees: thyssenkrupp Presta AG, thyssenkrupp AG
    Inventors: Kristof Polmans, Imre Szepessy
  • Patent number: 12240462
    Abstract: A method can be used to control a steer-by-wire steering system in an emergency steering mode. The method comprises checking a steering system for the presence of a fault state and upon detection of a fault implementing the emergency steering mode, which involves determining a setpoint position of a steering tie rod using a setpoint wheel steering angle, determining a front wheel to be braked and a brake pressure to attain the setpoint position with a control unit, transmitting the front wheel to be braked and the brake pressure to a brake system, braking the front wheel to be braked, and increasing a torque provided by a wheel drive to compensate for a loss of speed of the motor vehicle caused by the braking of the front wheel to be braked.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignees: thyssenkrupp Presta AG, thyssenkrupp AG
    Inventors: Leonard Lapis, Carlo Mario Miano, Kristof Polmans
  • Patent number: 12097910
    Abstract: A steer-by-wire steering system including a feedback actuator to simulate a steering feel to a steering device and including an electric motor connected to a steering shaft to transmit a torque, and a steering lock including a latch connected to the steering shaft in a torsion-resistant manner and a lock to engage with the latch at locking positions to block a rotation of the steering shaft. If an ignition is switched-off and a movement of the steering device is detected, a position of the steering shaft and a distance between the lock and a next locking position of the latch is determined. If the distance is greater than a predefined value, a counter-torque is transmitted to the steering shaft by the feedback-actuator opposite to the movement of the steering device until the locking position reaches the lock and the lock can engage with the latch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2024
    Assignees: THYSSENKRUPP PRESTA AG, HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kristof Polmans, Imre Szepessy, Yoshinobu Watanabe, Hayato Miyakawa, Yosuke Ojima, Munetsugu Hanji
  • Patent number: 11760411
    Abstract: Methods for controlling a steer-by-wire steering system including a steering actuator controlled via a steering request and brings about movement of a steering rack to steer vehicle wheels. A feedback actuator transmits reactions of the road to a steering wheel via an aligning torque. A setpoint position of the steering rack is determined in a signal processing unit based on a steering wheel steering angle. The setpoint position is transmitted with an actual position of the steering rack or with a measured wheel steering angle as an actual value to a control unit which calculates a setpoint torque of an electric motor of the steering actuator. The method includes monitoring the power of the motor required to reach the determined setpoint position. When the required power exceeds the maximum power of the motor the motor is operated at maximum power torque present at the steering wheel is increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignees: THYSSENKRUPP PRESTA AG, THYSSENKRUPP AG
    Inventors: Kristof Polmans, Manuel Rohrmoser
  • Patent number: 11697456
    Abstract: A method can be used to control a steer-by-wire steering system for a motor vehicle that has two axles each with two wheels. Two front wheels can be steered by front-wheel steering and two rear wheels can be steered by rear-wheel steering. The motor vehicle includes a single wheel drive that is assigned to one of the two axles and drives the two wheels of the corresponding axle via a differential. The motor vehicle comprises an inboard braking system. The method involves checking the motor vehicle speed and activating rear-axle steering when a motor vehicle speed should be slower than 40 km/hr. With rear-axle steering active, the following steps are performed: deactivating front-wheel steering and rear-wheel steering, determining a reference position of a first steering rod via a reference wheel steering angle, determining a differential drive torque between the rear wheels to reach the reference position via a control unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2023
    Assignees: THYSSENKRUPP PRESTA AG, THYSSENKRUPP AG
    Inventors: Leonard Lapis, Kristof Polmans, Carlo Mario Miano
  • Patent number: 11352054
    Abstract: A method of controlling a steer-by-wire steering system for motor vehicles is disclosed for the calculation of a resulting self-aligning torque of a feedback actuator in a manner which is dependent on an operating state (hands-on/hands-off). The method includes determining of a base self-aligning torque for a first operating state, in which there is hand contact by a driver on a steering wheel, determining a hands-off self-aligning torque for a second operating state, in which there is no hand contact by the driver on the steering wheel, determining a self-aligning speed of the steering wheel for the first operating state and for the second operating state, and determining the resulting self-aligning torque on the basis of the base self-aligning torque or the hands-off self-aligning torque, as a result of which the steering wheel rotates at the defined self-aligning speed into the defined position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignees: thyssenkrupp Presta AG, thyssenkrupp AG
    Inventors: Kristof Polmans, Manuel Rohrmoser
  • Patent number: 11247715
    Abstract: A steer-by-wire system for a motor vehicle includes at least two wheels which are steerable independently of one another in a normal operating mode of the steer-by-wire system, at least two steering actuators, each one being assigned to one of the steerable wheels and being configured for adjusting a steering angle of the particular steerable wheel, and at least one steering electronics system which is signally connected to the steering actuators and which is configured for controlling the steering actuators individually on the basis of steering commands.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignees: Ford Global Technologies, LLC, ThyssenKrupp Presta Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Muhammad Adeel Awan, Jens Dornhege, Goetz-Philipp Wegner, Otto Hofmann, Frank Peter Engels, Kristof Polmans
  • Patent number: 11192581
    Abstract: A vehicle steering system includes a steering actuator which acts on steered wheels, an actuation unit, a feedback actuator to which a user request for a steering angle can be applied using a steering input means, which outputs a feedback signal to the steering input means in response to the request and a driving state of the vehicle. A signal transmission transfers the request to the actuation unit. The actuation unit actuates the steering actuator to deflect the wheels. When a monitor detects a malfunction of the feedback actuator as a fault situation, the feedback signal and the signal transmission is modified or generated according to multiple options.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignees: THYSSENKRUPP PRESTA AG, THYSSENKRUPP AG
    Inventor: Kristof Polmans
  • Patent number: 10953916
    Abstract: A steer-by-wire steering system for motor vehicles having a steering actuator that acts on the steered wheels. The steering actuator is electronically closed-loop controlled as a function of a driver's steering request and acts on the steered wheels by means of a toothed-rack steering gear. A feedback actuator transmits feedback effects from the road to a steering wheel. The steer-by-wire steering system has an evaluation unit which analyzes whether a cornering driving state is present, and has a damping device, wherein the damping device is configured so as to receive the signal of the evaluation unit and to generate, as a function of whether a bend is being entered or exited, a damping signal which damps a torque which is present at the steering wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignees: thyssenkrupp Presta AG, thyssenkrupp AG
    Inventor: Kristof Polmans
  • Patent number: 10822022
    Abstract: A steer-by-wire steering system for motor vehicles may include a primary steering level with a steering transmission device, which is arranged to subject wheels of the motor vehicle to a desired setpoint steering effect, and a secondary steering level with a safety device that provides predefined functions, so that in the case of a malfunction of the primary steering level, steering the wheels remains possible during an emergency mode. The steer-by-wire steering system may also include an authentication system with a communications interface for communications with the safety device. The authentication system may be arranged so that in the case of a successful authorization, the secondary steering level of the steer-by-wire steering system is also available after the emergency mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignees: THYSSENKRUPP PRESTA AG, THYSSENKRUPP AG
    Inventors: Kristof Polmans, Philippe Steck
  • Patent number: 10589775
    Abstract: A feedback actuator for a steering mechanism for motor vehicles may include a steering adjuster that acts on the steered wheels and is controlled electronically based on steering commands of a drive of the motor vehicle. The feedback actuator may transmit feedback from a road to a steering wheel via a steering shaft. Further, the feedback actuator may have a preloaded belt drive and an electric motor configured as torque-generating means. The feedback actuator may generate a torque to simulate the feedback of the road. The torque may be formed by a sum of a torque from the preloaded belt drive applied to the steering shaft and a torque from the electric motor applied to the steering shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Assignees: THYSSENKRUPP PRESTA AG, THYSSENKRUPP AG
    Inventors: Kristof Polmans, Thomas Kettenberger
  • Patent number: 10501111
    Abstract: A steering system for a steerable vehicle includes at least two steerable wheels, to each of which an electrically operable steering actuator to enable the steering actuator to adjust the steering angle of the particular steerable wheel by application of a steering torque. The at least two steering actuators can be mechanically coupled to each other so that, in the event of a failure or a malfunction of the one steering actuator, the steering torque provided by the other steering actuator can be transferred to the one steering actuator, to enable the steering angle of the steerable wheel assigned to the failed steering actuator to still be changed via the other steering actuator. The at least two steering actuators can be mechanically coupled to each other via a bendable shaft or via a universal joint shaft which includes at least two rigid shafts hingedly connected via a universal joint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignees: Ford Global Technologies, LLC, ThyssenKrupp Presta Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Frank Peter Engels, Kristof Polmans
  • Publication number: 20190152513
    Abstract: A steer-by-wire system for a motor vehicle includes at least two wheels which are steerable independently of one another in a normal operating mode of the steer-by-wire system, at least two steering actuators, each one being assigned to one of the steerable wheels and being configured for adjusting a steering angle of the particular steerable wheel, and at least one steering electronics system which is signally connected to the steering actuators and which is configured for controlling the steering actuators individually on the basis of steering commands.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2017
    Publication date: May 23, 2019
    Inventors: Muhammad Adeel Awan, Jens Dornhege, Goetz-Philipp Wegner, Otto Hofmann, Frank Peter Engels, Kristof Polmans
  • Publication number: 20170267275
    Abstract: A steering system for a steerable vehicle includes at least two steerable wheels, to each of which an electrically operable steering actuator to enable the steering actuator to adjust the steering angle of the particular steerable wheel by application of a steering torque. The at least two steering actuators can be mechanically coupled to each other so that, in the event of a failure or a malfunction of the one steering actuator, the steering torque provided by the other steering actuator can be transferred to the one steering actuator, to enable the steering angle of the steerable wheel assigned to the failed steering actuator to still be changed via the other steering actuator. The at least two steering actuators can be mechanically coupled to each other via a bendable shaft or via a universal joint shaft which includes at least two rigid shafts hingedly connected via a universal joint.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2017
    Publication date: September 21, 2017
    Applicants: Ford Global Technologies, LLC, ThyssenKrupp Presta Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Frank Peter Engels, Kristof Polmans