Toyota patents its Steer-by-wire system

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A series of recent patent filings indicate that Toyota may be considering bringing its steering-by-wire system to the US.

the car manufacturer is cable steering release in combination with a steering yoke on the 2023 Lexus RZ 450e electric crossover in select markets. But Lexus confirmed in February that these features it will not be available in the US. for now, but will be offered here at an unspecified future date. Four patent applications published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on April 27 hint that this date could come sooner rather than later.

2023 Lexus RZ450e

While there is no established correlation between patent applications and production time, patenting a new feature is part of the process of bringing it to market. While automakers sometimes leave proprietary ideas on the shelf, in this case, Lexus has discussed plans to bring e-steering to the US.

One patent application was titled “electronic steering steering system” covering the general system, two applications were filed for “steering control device” describing a controller that measures power to an electric motor that provides steering torque and a fourth application was for “steering control device, vehicle power source system, and vehicle” which describes the use of an auxiliary power source for the steering motor.

2023 Lexus RZ450e

Steer-by-wire removes the physical connection of the steering wheel to the wheels and instead uses electrically controlled motors to steer the wheels and provide feedback to the driver. An auxiliary power supply is used as a redundancy in case the main power supply of the electric wheels is interrupted.

Steer-by-wire won’t replace conventional steering, Lexus said, and the US version won’t be called One Motion Grip or OMG, as it is in Europe, either. The system is scheduled to launch there as an option in 2025.

Meanwhile, the 2023 Lexus RZ450e is coming to US showrooms with conventional power-assist rack-and-pinion steering, the same hardware used in the 2023 Toyota bZ4X.