Elektrische Hilfskraftlenkung mit Sicherheitsrelais

An electric power steering device is disclosed which comprises a fail-safe relay (26). The circuitry for operating the relay (26) comprises the following: the neutral region detector circuit (23) which generates an output when the steering torque applied by the operator is in the neutral region; a motor current detector circuit (11) for detecting the motor current; an AND gate (28) having inputs coupled to the above two circuits; a self-hold circuit (29) for holding the output of the AND gate; and a relay interrupting circuit (25) for interrupting the relay in response to the output of the self-hold circuit. Thus, the fail-safe relay is interrupted to disconnect the battery (36) from the motor (14) and clutch (21) when the motor is energized in spite of the fact that the steering torque by the operator of the vehicle is in the neutral region.