12 by combining, for example, the detection signals indicating the rotational angle, the electric current, the rack position, and the running state amount, and the external steering instruction value as appropriate, calculates a coil electric current that should be supplied to the reaction force electric motor 18 to acquire this steering reaction force, and feeds a control signal according to a result of this calculation to the motor driver 23.

When getting out of the vehicle after driving such a steer-by-wire vehicle or getting into the vehicle again, the driver may perform a disembarkation action or an embarkation action while grabbing the steering wheel. At this time, because the steering wheel 12 is disconnected from the steering mechanism, the driver grabbing the steering wheel may be exposed to a risk such as losing his/her disembarkation posture or embarkation posture due to an unintended rotation of the steering wheel 12 to impair the stability of the disembarkation action or the embarkation action or incur injury depending on circumstances.

With the aim of avoiding such inconvenience, the present embodiment proposes a steering operation control apparatus configured in the following manner.

The present embodiment is characterized in the following manner. The steering operation control apparatus 19 is usable for the steer-by-wire steering apparatus in which the steering wheel 12 and the steering mechanism configured to drive the steering target wheel 10 are disconnected without being coupled mechanically. The steering operation control apparatus 19 includes the steering control portion configured to control the steering actuator 28 configured to operate the steering mechanism 16, and the reaction force control portion configured to control the reaction force actuator 18 coupled with the steering wheel 12 and configured to provide the reaction force to the steering wheel 12. The reaction force control portion has a function of outputting a stop position maintaining signal required for the reaction force actuator to maintain the present position of the steering wheel to the reaction force actuator when the driver is detected to get out of or get into the vehicle.

According to this configuration, the present embodiment just feeds the stop position maintaining signal for maintaining the present position of the steering wheel 12 to the reaction force actuator, thereby being able to bring about an advantageous effect of being able to suppress an unintended rotation of the steering wheel 12 with a simple configuration.

Now, the function of maintaining the present position of the steering wheel 12 by the reaction force actuator according to the present embodiment can be realized by a position control function (servo-lock control). In the following description, the servo-lock control will be described briefly. FIG. 3 illustrates functional blocks to facilitate a better understanding of the servo-lock control.

The servo-lock control includes systems of a rotational position comparison block 31, a PWM control block 32, and the reaction force electric motor 18. A stop rotational angle (θSL) of the reaction force electric motor 18 is input to the rotational position comparison block 31 as the present stop position. When the steering wheel 12 and thus the reaction force electric motor 18 are rotated from this state due to the driver's disembarkation action, this rotation is detected by the rotational sensor (the encoder) 14. A detected displacement rotational angle (θact) is input to the rotational position comparison block 31 and is compared.

A rotational angle deviation (Δθ) determined by this comparison is input to the next PWM control block 32. The PWM control block 32 generates a control signal workable to cancel out this rotational angle deviation (Δθ) by proportional-integral control that is position feedback control, and the generated control signal is input to the reaction force electric motor 8. This control signal workable to cancel out the rotational angle deviation (Δθ) corresponds to the above-described “stop position maintaining signal”.

The reaction force electric motor 18 generates a stop torque for suppressing the rotation of the steering wheel 12 based on that, and feeds it to the steering wheel 12. The reaction force electric motor 18 can maintain the present stop position by repeating such an operation. This allows an unintended rotation of the steering wheel 12 to be suppressed as a result.

Next, a specific processing flow when the driver gets out of the vehicle will be described. FIG. 4 illustrates a processing flow executed by the reaction force actuator control unit, and the illustrated processing flow is started up at a predetermined startup timing (for example, per predetermined time) and is executed when the startup timing has come.

<<Step S10>>

In step S10, the reaction force actuator control unit determines whether a starter switch is presently turned off. The starter switch is a switch used when the vehicle is driven. At this time, the reaction force actuator control unit determines whether at least the reaction force actuator control unit is in a powered-on state based on the starter switch.

If the starter switch is determined to be “OFF”, the processing proceeds to step S11. However, in this state, a power source relay of the reaction force actuator control unit is still connected to the power source, and therefore the reaction force actuator control unit can execute the following control steps.

Then, if the starter switch is determined to be “OFF” in this determination, the driver is estimated to have an intention of getting out of the vehicle. On the other hand, if the starter switch is determined not to be “OFF” (=corresponding to ON), the processing proceeds to step S19. If the starter switch is determined not to be “OFF” at this time, it is estimated that there is a possibility that the driver may continue driving the vehicle or temporarily stop or park the vehicle and get out of the vehicle.

<<Step S11>>

In step S11, the reaction force actuator control unit determines whether the vehicle door on the driver's side is unlocked assuming that the driver has an intention of getting out of the vehicle since the starter switch is turned “OFF” in step S10. If the door on the driver's side is not unlocked, the processing continuously returns to step S11 again. On the other hand, if the door on the driver's side is determined to be unlocked, the processing proceeds to step S12. At this time, unlock information of the door on the driver's side can be acquired from the vehicle door control apparatus 19A via the CAN bus 29 as illustrated in FIG. 2.

<<Step S12>>

If the door on the driver's side is unlocked, the reaction force actuator control unit starts up the “position control function” directed to the steering wheel 12. This “position control function” is the “servo-lock control” for maintaining the rotational position of the reaction force electric motor 18 as described above. In this state, the vehicle door on the driver's side is still in an unopened state. After the “position control function” is started up, the processing proceeds to step S13.

<<Step S13>>

In step S13, the reaction force actuator control unit determines whether the vehicle door on the driver's side is opened. If the door on the driver's side is not opened, the processing continuously returns to step S13 again. On the other hand, if the door on the driver's side is determined to be opened, the processing proceeds to step S14. At this time, open information of the door on the driver's side can also be acquired from the vehicle door control apparatus 19A via the CAN bus 29 as illustrated in FIG. 2.

Then, the fact that the vehicle door is opened is used as information for detecting that the driver gets out of the vehicle (the disembarkation information). Various kinds of information can be used as the disembarkation information besides that, and, for example, the disembarkation information can be acquired by mounting a seat occupancy sensor on the driver's seat and referring to the driver's seat occupancy information.

Alternatively, the disembarkation information can be acquired based on a rotation of the steering wheel 12 or the driver's behavior using an in-vehicle camera. Further alternatively, the disembarkation information can be acquired based on information indicating whether the driver holds the steering wheel 12 using an electrostatic sensor mounted on the steering wheel 12. These kinds of disembarkation information can be either used alone or used in combination.

<<Step S14>>

In step S14, the reaction force actuator control unit exerts the “position control function” (the servo-lock function), assuming that the driver gets out of the vehicle while grabbing the steering wheel because the vehicle door on the driver's side is opened. The “position control function” operates as described with reference to FIG. 3.

When exerting this “position control function”, the reaction force actuator control unit introduces and stores the position of the stop rotational angle (θSL) of the reaction force electric motor 18 at this moment. This stop rotational angle (θSL) corresponds to the stop position of the steering wheel 12 that should be maintained. Then, if the steering wheel 12 is about to be operated by the driver when the driver gets out of the vehicle, the rotational sensor 14 mounted on the reaction force electric motor 18 detects this displacement rotational angle (θact).

Then, the rotational angle deviation (Δθ) is detected between the detected displacement rotational angle (θact) and the stored stop rotational angle (θSL) of the reaction force electric motor 18, and the reaction force electric motor 18 is driven so as to cancel out this rotational angle deviation (Δθ) to generate the stop torque. This allows an unintended rotation of the steering wheel to be avoided.

The servo-lock control is performed using the rotational angle of the reaction force electric motor 18 in step S14, but instead may be performed using the rotational angle (the steering angle) of the steering wheel 12. In this case, the servo-lock control can be performed using an angle signal of the steering operation angle sensor. Now, FIG. 5 illustrates a specific processing flow of step S14, and therefore will be described additionally.

<<Step S14-1>>

In step S14-1, the reaction force actuator control unit detects and stores the stop rotational angle (θSL) of the reaction force electric motor 18. This detected rotational angle corresponds to a stop position serving as a reference position of the steering wheel 12. After the stop rotational angle (θSL) is stored, the processing proceeds to step S14-2.

<<Step S14-2>>

In step S14-2, the reaction force actuator control unit detects the present rotational angle (θact) of the reaction force electric motor 18. This detected rotational angle (θact) corresponds to the displacement rotational angle (θact) of the steering wheel 12 rotated by being grabbed by the driver. Therefore, as the steering wheel 12 is more largely rotated by being grabbed by the driver, the value of the displacement rotational angle (θact) increases. After the displacement rotational angle (θact) is detected, the processing proceeds to step S14-3.

<<Step S14-3>>

In step S14-3, the reaction force actuator control unit determines how much the steering wheel is rotated based on the stop rotational angle (θSL) determined in step S14-1 and the displacement rotational angle (θact) detected in step S14-2. In other words, the reaction force actuator control unit calculates “Δθ=θSL−θact”, thereby determining the rotational angle deviation (Δθ) of the steering wheel. This rotational angle deviation (Δθ) serves as a deviation used in the position feedback control. After the rotational angle deviation (Δθ) is determined, the processing proceeds to step S14-4.

<<Step S14-4>>

In step S14-4, based on the rotational angle deviation (Δθ) determined in step S14-3, the reaction force actuator control unit calculates a control amount (Tmt) for canceling out this rotational angle deviation (Δθ) by the proportional-integral control that is position feedback control, and drives the reaction force electric motor 18. Then, the stop torque is generated on the reaction force electric motor 18 according to the control amount (Tmt), and the rotation of the steering wheel is suppressed. This “position control function” is continuously exerted, and then the processing proceeds to step S15.

The control amount fed to the reaction force electric motor 18 can also be adjusted based on the strength of a grab force applied to the steering wheel 12 (a torque with which the steering wheel is rotated by the driver).

<<Step S15>>

Referring back to FIG. 4, in step S15, the reaction force actuator control unit determines whether the vehicle door on the driver's side is closed. If the vehicle door on the driver's side is closed, the driver is estimated to be outside the vehicle with his/her hand released from the steering wheel already. Therefore, in this case, the processing proceeds to step S16.

On the other hand, if the vehicle door on the driver's side is not closed, the driver is estimated not to release his/her hand from the steering wheel yet. Therefore, the processing continuously returns to step S15 again.

Now, the information indicating that the vehicle door on the driver's side is closed is used as information for detecting that the driver has gotten out of the vehicle (disembarkation completion information). Various kinds of information can be used as the disembarkation completion information besides that, and, for example, the disembarkation completion information can be acquired based on the driver's behavior using the in-vehicle camera. Further alternatively, the disembarkation completion information can be acquired based on the information indicating whether the driver holds the steering wheel 12 using the electrostatic sensor mounted on the steering wheel 12. These kinds of disembarkation completion information can be either used alone or used in combination.

<<Step S16>>

Since the vehicle door on the driver's side is determined to be closed in step S15, in step S16, the execution of the “position control function” is ended. In this case, the execution of the “position control function” can be ended by stopping driving the reaction force electric motor 18. After this step is completed, the processing proceeds to step S17.

<<Step S17>>

In step S17, the reaction force actuator control unit determines whether to shut down itself because performing the above-described processing flow under such a condition that the starter switch is turned “OFF” and the power source relay is connected. This determination can be made based on an AND condition between the completion of the execution of the “position control function” and “OFF” of the starter switch.

If the reaction force actuator control unit determines to shut down itself, the processing proceeds to step S18. If the reaction force actuator control unit determines not to shut down itself, the processing returns to step S10 again and the same processing step is performed. The reaction force actuator control unit determines not to shut down itself when the starter switch is in the “ON” state. This processing is configured in this manner in consideration of the fact that there is a possibility that the driver may temporarily stop or park the vehicle and get out of the vehicle in this case.

<<Step S18>>

Since determining to shut down the reaction force actuator control unit in step S17, in step S18, the reaction force actuator control unit shuts down itself by setting the power source relay provided between the steering operation control apparatus 19 and the power source battery to “OFF”. After the shutdown is completed, the processing proceeds to END, thereby being ended.

<<Step S19>>

Next, referring back to step S10, if the starter switch is determined not to be “OFF” (=corresponding to “ON”), the processing proceeds to step S19. If the starter switch is determined to be “ON” in step S10, it is estimated that there is a possibility that the driver may continue driving the vehicle or temporarily stop or park the vehicle and get out of the vehicle for some business.

Therefore, in step S19, the reaction force actuator control unit determines whether the seat belt is unfastened. Now, seat belt fastening information can be acquired from the seat belt control apparatus 19N via the CAN bus 29 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Alternatively, the above-described determination can also be made by acquiring handbrake state information aside from the seat belt fastening information.

The driver is estimated to continue driving the vehicle without getting out of the vehicle if the seat belt is not unfastened, while estimated to temporarily stop the vehicle and get out of the vehicle for some business if the seat belt is unfastened. Then, if the seat belt is not unfastened, the processing proceeds to step S20. If the seat belt is unfastened, the processing proceeds to step S11.

In the case of the handbrake, the driver is estimated to continue driving the vehicle without getting out of the vehicle if the handbrake is not operated while estimated to temporarily get out of the vehicle if the handbrake is operated. Then, if the handbrake is not operated, the processing proceeds to step S20. If the handbrake is operated, the processing proceeds to step S11.

In this manner, the seat belt fastening information and the handbrake operation information can be deemed to be information indicating that the driver temporarily stops the vehicle to get out of the vehicle.

<<Step S20>>

In step S20, the driver is determined to have an intention of continuing driving the vehicle, and reaction force control when the vehicle runs is performed. This reaction force control is common control and is not closely related to the present invention, and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted herein.

On the other hand, if the seat belt is unfastened in step S19, the processing proceeds to step S11, and the processing steps as steps S12 to S17 are performed. Therefore, the rotation of the steering wheel is also suppressed due to the “position control function” when the driver temporarily stops or parks the vehicle and gets out of the vehicle.

Now, the reaction force actuator control unit determines whether to shut down itself in step S17, but the starter switch is “ON” in step S10, which causes the processing to return to step S10 without the reaction force actuator control unit shut down and the same processing steps to be repeated.

In this manner, in the present embodiment, the steering operation control apparatus 19 includes the steering control portion 30 configured to control the steering actuator 28 configured to operate the steering mechanism 16 configured to drive the steering target wheel 10, and the reaction force control portion 30 configured to control the reaction force actuator 18 coupled with the steering wheel 12 and configured to provide the reaction force to the steering wheel 12. The reaction force control portion 30 has the function of outputting the stop position maintaining signal required for the reaction force actuator 18 to maintain the present position of the steering wheel 12 to the reaction force actuator 18 when the driver is detected to get out of the vehicle.

As a result, the present embodiment can avoid such a risk that the driver grabbing the steering wheel when getting out of the vehicle may lose his/her disembarkation posture due to an unintended rotation of the steering wheel 12 to impair the stability of the disembarkation action or incur injury depending on circumstances. Further, the present embodiment just feeds the stop position maintaining signal for maintaining the present position of the steering wheel to the reaction force actuator, thereby being able to suppress an unintended rotation of the steering wheel with a simple configuration.

Next, a first modification of the above-described position control function will be described. The first modification is an example in which a precaution is implemented in preparation for possible application of a force stronger than a maximum generated torque of the reaction force electric motor 18 to the steering wheel 12. This is an example designed in consideration of, for example, possible application of a strong torque to the steering wheel 12 when a strongly built driver or a heavy driver grabs the steering wheel 12. FIG. 6 illustrates the details of the position control performed in step S14 in FIG. 4. Step S14-1 to step S14-4 are control steps similar to the control steps illustrated in FIG. 5.

<<Step S14-1>>

In step S14-1, the reaction force actuator control unit detects and stores the stop rotational angle (θSL) of the reaction force electric motor 18. This detected rotational angle corresponds to the stop position serving as the reference position of the steering wheel 12. After the stop rotational angle (θSL) is stored, the processing proceeds to step S14-2.

<<Step S14-2>>

In step S14-2, the reaction force actuator control unit detects the present rotational angle (θact) of the reaction force electric motor 18. This detected rotational angle (θact) corresponds to the displacement rotational angle (θact) of the steering wheel 12 rotated by being grabbed by the driver. Therefore, as the steering wheel 12 is more largely rotated by being grabbed by the driver, the value of the displacement rotational angle (θact) increases. After the displacement rotational angle (θact) is detected, the processing proceeds to step S14-3.

<<Step S14-3>>

In step S14-3, the reaction force actuator control unit determines how much the steering wheel is rotated based on the stop rotational angle (θSL) determined in step S14-1 and the displacement rotational angle (θact) detected in step S14-2. In other words, the reaction force actuator control unit calculates “Δθ=θSL−θact”, thereby determining the rotational angle deviation (Δθ) of the steering wheel. This rotational angle deviation (Δθ) serves as the deviation used in the position feedback control. After the rotational angle deviation (Δθ) is determined, the processing proceeds to step S21.

<<Step S21>>

In step S21, the reaction force actuator control unit determines whether the rotational angle deviation (Δθ) determined in step S14-3 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined deviation threshold value (ΔθSL). This means that, even when the reaction force electric motor 18 provides the stop torque for stopping the steering wheel 12 due to the execution of the previous processing flow, the reaction force electric motor 18 can no longer block the rotation of the steering wheel 18 when the present rotational angle deviation (Δθ) exceeds the deviation threshold value (ΔθSL).

Therefore, if the present rotational angle deviation (Δθ) is determined to be equal to or smaller than the deviation threshold value (ΔθSL), the processing proceeds to step S14-4. If the present rotational angle deviation (Δθ) exceeds the deviation threshold value (ΔθSL), the processing proceeds to step S22.

<<Step S14-4>>

In step S14-4, based on the rotational angle deviation (Δθ) determined in step S14-3, the reaction force actuator control unit calculates the control amount (Tmt) for canceling out this rotational angle deviation (Δθ) by the proportional-integral control that is position feedback control, and drives the reaction force electric motor 18. Then, the stop torque is generated on the reaction force electric motor 18 according to the control amount (Tmt), and the rotation of the steering wheel is suppressed. This “position control function” is continuously exerted, and then the processing proceeds to step S15.

<<Step S22>>

The reaction force electric motor 18 is determined to be insufficient to block the rotation of the steering wheel 18 in the determination in step S21. Therefore, in step S22, the rotation of the steering wheel 12 is forcibly blocked by a steering lock mechanism.

After this steering lock mechanism is operated, the processing proceeds to step S15.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the configuration of the steering lock mechanism. For example, a pin engagement-type or brake-type lock mechanism can be employed as a steering lock mechanism 330.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the configuration of the steering lock mechanism 330 configured as the pin engagement-type mechanism, and illustrate the steering lock mechanism 330 in an unlocking state and in a locking state, respectively. Then, the steering lock mechanism 330 is brought into the unlocking state if step S14-4 is performed, or brought into the locking state if step S22 is performed.

The steering lock mechanism 330 illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8 includes a movable pin 332, on which a rack gear 331 is formed, a pinion gear 333, which is meshed with the rack gear 331, a motor 334, which rotates and drives the pinion gear 333, and a stopper gear 335, which is provided on the outer periphery of a steering shaft 310.

The rack gear 331 and the pinion gear 333 convert a rotational force of an output shaft of the motor 334 into a linear motion of the movable pin 332, and the movable pin 332 is supported movably in an axial direction assuming that the axial direction refers to a radial direction around the steering shaft 310. Then, in step S14-4, the movable pin 332 is placed in the unlocking state where it does not restrict a rotation of the steering shaft 310 when the movable pin 332 is located at a retracted position where it is not engaged with the stopper gear 335 as illustrated in FIG. 7.

Then, in step S22, the motor 334 is rotated and driven from the unlocking state in a direction for moving the movable pin 332 toward the steering shaft 310. When the distal end of the movable pin 332 enters an insertion groove 335a formed by a tooth of the stopper gear 335 as illustrated in FIG. 8, the side surface of the distal end portion of the movable pin 332 and the tooth of the stopper gear 335 are brought into abutment with each other against the rotation of the steering shaft 310, thereby establishing the locking state of restricting the rotation of the steering shaft 310.

In this manner, according to the present modification, even when a force stronger than the maximum generated torque of the reaction force electric motor 18 is applied to the steering wheel 12, the rotation of the steering wheel 12 can be reliably prevented.

Next, a second modification of the above-described position control function will be described. This second modification is an example in which a safety precaution is implemented in preparation for possible application of a force stronger than the maximum generated torque of the reaction force electric motor 18 to the steering wheel 12.

For example, when the driver's gripping force diminishes or disappears after the steering wheel 12 is largely rotated by being gripped by the driver, the steering wheel 12 is expected to return to the stop position rapidly. This raises the necessity of a safety precaution for protecting the driver.

FIG. 9 illustrates the details of the position control performed in step S14 in FIG. 4. Step S14-1 to step S14-4 are control steps similar to the control steps illustrated in FIG. 5.

<<Step S14-1>>

In step S14-1, the reaction force actuator control unit detects and stores the stop rotational angle (θSL) of the reaction force electric motor 18. This detected rotational angle corresponds to the stop position serving as the reference position of the steering wheel 12. After the stop rotational angle (θSL) is stored, the processing proceeds to step S14-2.

<<Step S14-2>>

In step S14-2, the reaction force actuator control unit detects the present rotational angle (θact) of the reaction force electric motor 18. This detected rotational angle (θact) corresponds to the displacement rotational angle (θact) of the steering wheel 12 rotated by being grabbed by the driver. Therefore, as the steering wheel 12 is more largely rotated by being grabbed by the driver, the value of the displacement rotational angle (θact) increases. After the displacement rotational angle (θact) is detected, the processing proceeds to step S14-3.

<<Step S14-3>>

In step S14-3, the reaction force actuator control unit determines how much the steering wheel is rotated based on the stop rotational angle (θSL) determined in step S14-1 and the displacement rotational angle (θact) detected in step S14-2. In other words, the reaction force actuator control unit calculates “Δθ=θSL−θact”, thereby determining the rotational angle deviation (Δθ) of the steering wheel. This rotational angle deviation (Δθ) serves as the deviation used in the position feedback control. After the rotational angle deviation (Δθ) is determined, the processing proceeds to step S23.

<<Step S23>>

In step S23, the reaction force actuator control unit determines whether the rotational angle deviation (Δθ) determined in step S14-3 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined deviation threshold value (ΔθSL). In other words, if the present rotational angle deviation (Δθ) exceeds the deviation threshold value (ΔθSL) although the reaction force electric motor 18 has provided the stop torque for stopping the steering wheel 12 according to the execution of the previous processing flow, this means that the steering wheel 12 is largely rotated.

Then, when the grip force of gripping the steering wheel 12 diminishes, the steering wheel 12 is expected to return to the stop position through a rapid rotation. This leads to a necessity for a precaution against that. The deviation threshold value (ΔθSL) set in FIG. 6 and the deviation threshold value (ΔθSL) set in FIG. 9 may be either equal values or different values.

Then, if the present rotational angle deviation (Δθ) is determined to be equal to or smaller than the deviation threshold value (ΔθSL), the processing proceeds to step S14-4. If the present rotational angle deviation (Δθ) exceeds the deviation threshold value (ΔθSL), the processing proceeds to step S24.

<<Step S14-4>>

In step S14-4, based on the rotational angle deviation (Δθ) determined in step S14-3, the reaction force actuator control unit calculates the control amount (Tmt) for canceling out this rotational angle deviation (Δθ) by the proportional-integral control that is position feedback control, and drives the reaction force electric motor 18. Then, the stop torque is generated on the reaction force electric motor 18 according to the control amount (Tmt), and the rotation of the steering wheel is suppressed. This “position control function” is continuously exerted, and then the processing proceeds to step S15.

<<Step S24>>

The present rotational angle deviation (Δθ) is determined to exceed the deviation threshold value (ΔθSL) in the determination in step S23. Therefore, in step S24, the reaction force actuator control unit calculates the control amount (Tmt) for suppressing the rapid return of the steering wheel 12 to the stop position based on damping control, and provides it to the reaction force electric motor 18. This causes the steering wheel 12 to return to the stop position in a braked state.

In this manner, when the driver's grip force diminishes or disappears after the steering wheel 12 is largely rotated by being gripped by the driver, the rapid return of the steering wheel 12 to the stop position is suppressed, and the safety can be improved.

This is the processing when the driver gets out of the vehicle. Next, a processing flow when the driver gets into the vehicle will be described. However, the processing is basically similar even in this case.

In the case of the following control, the reaction force actuator controller unit is characterized by being configured to output the stop position maintaining signal to the reaction force actuator when detecting embarkation information indicating that the driver gets into the vehicle with the starter switch of the vehicle in the “OFF” state.

FIG. 10 illustrates a processing flow when the driver gets into the vehicle using a wireless smart key or the like, but can also be applied to when a normal vehicle key is used. Further, because this is an example when the driver gets into the stopped vehicle, the starter switch is assumed to be in the “OFF” state.

<<Step S30>>

In step S30, it is determined whether the driver unlocks the vehicle door on the driver's side by, for example, approaching the vehicle or contacting a doorknob of the vehicle door. This determination is made by the vehicle door control apparatus 19A. Then, if the driver is determined to unlock the vehicle door on the driver's side in this control step, the processing proceeds to step S31. On the other hand, if the driver is determined not to unlock the vehicle door on the driver's side, the processing returns to step S30 again. The unlock information at this time is also transmitted to the steering operation control apparatus 19 via the CAN bus 29.

<<Step S31>>

In step S31, the power source relay is connected between the steering operation control apparatus 19 and the power source based on the unlock information of the vehicle door on the driver's side in step S30. This allows the reaction force electric motor 18 and the like to be driven. After the connection of the power source relay is completed, the processing proceeds to step S32.

<<Step S32>>