Fully Variable Steering Ratio
Function
This is the first visible intervention to the steering wheel. It is the control unit that determines whether the steering wheel movement is directly transmitted to the steering wheels, or whether it is softened are enforced. This intervention enables a larger ratio on the highway with high speed, and a smaller one in the city. The structure allows of course the combination with an electronic stability program. Or it might be possible to keep a car on the road in spite that the driver is absent-minded. It might mark the beginning of the end of the steering wheel in its present form, because three quarters of a turn to each side might be sufficient.
How it works
The system above has been combined with a hydraulic auxiliary steering. For the future it is likely that it will be exchanged for an electrical solution. Before the pinion, which intervenes in the gear rack, a planetary gear is integrated into the steering column. It features relatively diagonal external teeth at the internal gear, in which like a worm gear from the back right an electrical motor intervenes. If its movement is combined accurately with that of the steering wheel, it can strengthen or weaken the guidance angle artificially for a more direct or a more indirect steering. The internal gear is moved into the appropriate direction. In case of malfunctioning and with a medium ratio it stands still. The planetary gear is integrated into the steering ratio.
