JP5284154B2 - Direction indicator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a direction indicating device.

  Conventionally, in a vehicle, a turn indicator provided in the vicinity of a steering wheel is operated to turn on direction indicator lamps provided at the front and rear of the vehicle, for example, when turning left or right or changing to a lane to an adjacent lane, etc. A direction indicating device that indicates the traveling direction of the vehicle intended by the driver is provided.

  The direction indicating device includes a turn switch that activates a direction indicating lamp in a traveling direction by operating the turn lever in a direction corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle, and a steering wheel in a direction opposite to the operating direction of the turn lever. In many cases, it is provided with a release mechanism that returns the turn lever to its original position when it returns to its original position after being rotated by an angle or more, and automatically releases the direction indication. In such a direction indicating device, when the operation switch is operated in a direction corresponding to the traveling direction of the vehicle, the direction indicating lamp in the traveling direction is turned on. When the turn of the vehicle is completed and the steering wheel is returned to the straight traveling position, the turn lever is returned to the original position by the release mechanism, and the direction indicator lamp is turned off.

  On the other hand, the vehicle includes a direction indication lamp that informs the steering direction of the vehicle, direction indication means that turns on the direction indication lamp by an input operation, and a turn-off means that turns off the lighted direction indication lamp. A first turn-off means for detecting a steering direction and outputting a turn-off signal to turn off the direction indication lamp when the steering direction is opposite to the direction input by the direction instruction means; There has been proposed a vehicular direction indicating device that includes a second extinguishing unit that outputs an extinguishing signal after a predetermined time has elapsed to extinguish a direction indicating lamp (see Patent Document 1). Then, the turn instruction control means in the auto mode has a structure (momentary switch) that automatically returns to the neutral state after tilting to the left or right by the input operation of the turn lever.

  According to the direction indicating device of Patent Document 1 shown above, since the direction indicating means is configured to automatically return, an operation for manually returning the direction indicating means is unnecessary, and the driver's operation is saved. It is said that driving operation can be performed safely.

JP 2000-355246 A

  However, when the turn signal control in the auto mode of the direction indicating device as shown in Patent Document 1 is controlled by a control ECU (Electric Control Unit), the turn signal is reliably turned on or off when the microcomputer fails. It is necessary to have a control circuit that enables this.

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to make it possible to reliably control the turning on / off of the turn signal even when the control ECU (microcomputer) that performs the turn signal control fails when the turn lever is operated by a momentary switch. It is to provide a direction indicating device provided with a control circuit.

[1] The present invention is a turn switch that operates as a momentary switch by a turn lamp that is connected to a power source of a vehicle and emits a turn signal that notifies the traveling direction of the vehicle, and a momentary type lever that returns to an operation neutral position. make settings for auto turn cancel mode oN signal with as a trigger for lighting drive the turn lamp, and the turn signal on the basis of the auto turn cancellation judgment automatically canceled, controls the lit or off of the turn signal lamp a turn signal control unit which, when said turning path control signal from the signal control unit is not being output normally, oN of the turn switch operated by the route control signal and a manual output from the turn signal controller / based on the OFF operation, and the turn lamp Providing direction indicator, characterized by having a straight cutting path control circuit for controlling manually the on or off of the turn lamp electrically connected to the serial turn switch.

[2] The direction indicating device according to [1], wherein the direct cut path control circuit includes a charge / discharge circuit .

  According to the present invention, when the operation of the turn lever is performed by a momentary switch, even when the control ECU (microcomputer) that performs the turn signal control fails, the turn signal can be reliably turned on or off. A direction indication device including a control circuit can be provided.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a turn lever mounted on the back side of a steering wheel as viewed from the driver side. FIG. 2 is a circuit configuration diagram of the direction indicating device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a path control signal output from the microcomputer of the turn signal control unit, and FIG. 3B is a waveform diagram illustrating the base voltages of Tr4 and Tr7.

(Embodiment of the present invention)
A direction indication device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to a power supply unit of a vehicle and emits a turn signal (right turn lamp 50a, left turn lamp 50b) for informing the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the turn A turn signal control unit 30 for controlling turning on / off of the lamp turn signal, a path control signal 300 output from the turn signal control unit 30, and a manually operated turn switch (right turn switch 10a, left turn switch 10b) And a direct path control circuit 60 for manually controlling turning on / off of the turn lamp based on the ON / OFF operation.

  The direction indicating device 1 performs a direction indicating operation for informing a driver or the like of the other vehicle of the traveling direction of the vehicle to be driven by turning on a pair of left and right right turn lamps 50a and 50b respectively provided on the front and rear of the vehicle. Is what you do.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the direction indicating device 1 is operated through a turn lever 20 provided on a steering column 101 of a vehicle. The turn lever 20 is disposed on the back side of the steering wheel 102 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 when viewed from the driver. The base end portion of the turn lever 20 is rotatably supported inside the steering column 101, and the turn lever 20 protrudes outside the steering column 101. The base end portion of the turn lever 20 is swingable by a predetermined angle in the direction along the rotation direction of the steering wheel 102 around the rotation shaft 103 of the turn lever 20 disposed therein with respect to the steering column 101. It is supported.

  The center axis of the turn lever 20 is held at the operation neutral position C shown in FIG. When the turn lever 20 is swung counterclockwise from the state where it is held at the operation neutral position C, the turn lever 20 swings to the left turn operation position A about the rotation shaft 103 of the turn lever 20. As a result, the left turn lamps 50b provided on the front and rear sides of the vehicle are turned on. When the operating force by the swing operation is released, the turn lever 20 automatically returns to the operation neutral position C by the action of a return mechanism (not shown). That is, the turn lever 20 is configured as a momentary switch that is a momentary type lever that always returns to the operation neutral position C. Even after the turn lever 20 returns to the operation neutral position C, the lighting display of the left turn lamp 50b is continued. The same applies to the right turn operation by the turn lever 20.

  The return mechanism of the turn lever 20 can be a momentary type momentary switch that automatically returns to the operation neutral position C by a spring. However, the return mechanism is not limited to a spring, but is a rubber, polymer It may be an elastic body such as resin, or may be other means.

  FIG. 2 is a circuit configuration diagram of the direction indicating device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. A right turn lamp 50a is connected via a right flasher relay 51a to the turn signal controller 30 that controls turning on / off of the turn signal of the turn lamp, and similarly, the left turn lamp 50b is connected via a left flasher relay 51b. It is connected. The right flasher relay 51a and the left flasher relay 51b are connected to a battery B of the vehicle, and power is supplied to the right turn lamp 50a and the left turn lamp 50b.

  One end of the right flasher relay 51a is connected to the terminal 30a of the turn signal control unit 30, and is connected to the switching circuit 201 inside the turn signal control unit 30, and the base side of the switching circuit 201 is connected to the terminal 31b of the microcomputer 31. ing. Similarly, one end of the left flasher relay 51b is connected to the terminal 30c of the turn signal control unit 30, and is connected to the switching circuit 206 inside the turn signal control unit 30, and the base side of the switching circuit 206 is the output terminal of the microcomputer 31. 31e.

  The right turn switch 10a that is turned ON / OFF by the swing operation of the turn lever 20 is connected to the terminal 30b of the turn signal control unit 30, and is connected to the terminal 31a of the microcomputer 31 via a resistor inside the turn signal control unit 30. It is connected. The terminal 30b is connected to the ignition power supply IG through a resistor. Similarly, the left turn switch 10b is connected to a terminal 30d of the turn signal control unit 30, and is connected to a terminal 31d of the microcomputer 31 through a resistor inside the turn signal control unit 30. The terminal 30d is connected to the ignition power supply IG through a resistor.

  The direct cutting path control circuit 60 controls the right turn lamp 50a and the left turn lamp 50b to be turned on or off manually, and is provided corresponding to the right turn switch 10a and the left turn switch 10b, respectively. However, as shown in FIG. 2, the former part on the microcomputer 31 side has a common configuration. Hereinafter, the configuration on the right turn switch 10a side will be described.

  A resistor 31 and a capacitor C0 are connected in series to the terminal 31c of the microcomputer 31 and connected to the base side of the switching circuit 202 by AC coupling. The output side of the switching circuit 202 is connected to the base side of the switching circuit 203 connected to the ignition power supply IG, and the output side of the switching circuit 203 is connected to the ground GND via resistors R1 and R2 in series. A connection point 401 between the resistors R1 and R2 is connected to the ground GND via the capacitor C1 to constitute a charge / discharge circuit. The connection point 401 is connected to the base side of the switching circuit 204, and the output side of the switching circuit 204 is connected to the base side of the switching circuit 205 connected to the ignition power source IG. The collector side of the switching circuit 205 is connected to the terminal 30a via a diode and to the right flasher relay 51a. The emitter side is connected to the terminal 30b and connected to the right turn switch 10a.

  The configuration on the left turn switch 10b side is configured by connecting the switching circuit 207 and the switching circuit 208 in the same manner from the connection point 401. Since the configuration is the same as described above, the description thereof is omitted.

  In the above description, each of the switching circuits 201 to 208 is configured by the transistors Tr1 to Tr8, but is not limited thereto, and may be any element that can perform a switching operation such as an FET. The resistors R1 and R2 are set so that the resistance value is R1 <R2.

(Operation of direction indicator)
The operation of the direction indicating device 1 will be described below in the case where the right turn switch 10a in FIG. 2 is operated, but the operation by the left turn switch 10b is the same.

  When the turn lever 20 is swung for a right turn, the right turn switch 10a shown in FIG. 2 provided at the position swung to the right turn operation position B is turned ON. At this time, the terminal 30b of the turn signal control unit 30 becomes the GND level, and the terminal 31a of the microcomputer 31 changes from the Hi level to the Lo level. The microcomputer 31 outputs a Hi level signal to the terminal 31b using the Lo level change of the terminal 31a as a trigger.

  The switching circuit 201 is operated by a Hi level signal from the terminal 31b, and current is supplied from the battery B to the right flasher relay 51a via the diode D1. By driving the right flasher relay 51a, the right turn lamp 50a is driven to light, and a flasher (flashing) operation is performed.

  Further, as described above, the microcomputer 31 outputs a Hi level signal to the terminal 31b to drive the right turn lamp 50a to light and sets the auto turn cancel mode. This is because the turn lever 20 is configured as a momentary switch that automatically returns to the operation neutral position C, and therefore it is necessary to automatically cancel the turn signal. The auto turn canceling operation will be described later.

(Operation of Direct Cutting Path Control Circuit 60)
The right turn lamp 50a is driven to light based on the ON signal (terminal 31a, Lo input) from the right turn switch 10a and the Hi level output of the terminal 31b as described above, and the auto turn canceling operation is controlled by the microcomputer 31. If it is, there is no problem. However, if the microcomputer 31 breaks down, the direction indicating device will not operate, so a fail-safe function is required. The direct cutting path control circuit 60 blocks the direct cutting path when the microcomputer 31 is operating normally. When the microcomputer 31 fails, the direct cutting path is connected and the right turn lamp is not connected via the microcomputer 31. 50a or left turn lamp 50b can be turned on and off.

(Direct cutting path control circuit operation when the microcomputer 31 is normal)
The microcomputer 31 shown in FIG. 2 is set to output a microcomputer output pulse (for example, a rectangular wave of 0 to 5 V) as shown in FIG. Since the microcomputer output pulse is always output when the microcomputer 31 is normal, the Tr2 is turned ON / OFF by AC coupling via the capacitor C0. When Tr2 is ON, Tr3 is ON, and the capacitor C1 is charged through the resistor R1. On the other hand, when Tr2 is OFF, Tr3 is OFF, and the capacitor C1 is discharged through the resistor R2. When the microcomputer 31 is operating normally due to the above charge / discharge, the charge amount is larger due to the resistance value setting R1 <R2, so that the base voltage of Tr4 is as shown in FIG. It becomes more than the threshold value Vth.

  When the base voltage of Tr4 is equal to or higher than the threshold value Vth, Tr4 is turned on and Tr5 is turned off. That is, since the switching circuit 205 does not operate, the point 402 and the terminal 30b are blocked, and the direct cut path is in an invalid state. When this direct cutting path is in an invalid state, manual operation by the right turn switch 10a is not possible.

  The same applies to the left turn switch 10b side. Since it is connected from the point 401 to the base side of Tr7, Tr7 and Tr8 operate in the same way as Tr4 and Tr5, and the direct cutting path is cut off. When this direct cutting path is in an invalid state, the left turn switch 10b cannot be manually operated.

(Direct cutting path control circuit operation when the microcomputer 31 fails)
When the microcomputer 31 fails, the route control signal 300 is not output. At this time. A Hi or Lo level signal is output to the terminal 31c of the microcomputer 31 indefinitely, but since the terminal 31c of the microcomputer 31 and the base side of the Tr2 are AC coupled, no voltage is applied to the Tr2. Tr2 is turned off. In this state, Tr3 is also turned off, and the capacitor C1 is discharged through the resistor R2. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3B, the base voltage of Tr4 gradually decreases after the path control signal 300 is stopped.

  When the base voltage of Tr4 is less than or equal to the threshold value Vth, Tr4 is turned off and Tr5 is turned on. That is, since the switching circuit 205 operates, the state between the point 402 and the terminal 30b is connected, and the direct cutting path is enabled. In this state, manual operation by the right turn switch 10a can be performed without using the microcomputer 31.

  When the right turn switch 10a is turned on, current flows from the battery B to the right flasher relay 51a through the direct cutting path of the diodes D3 and Tr5 and the terminal 30b, so that the right turn lamp 50a can be turned on manually. Further, the right turn lamp 50a can be turned off by turning off the right turn switch 10a.

  The same applies to the left turn switch 10b side. Since it is connected from the point 401 to the base side of Tr7, Tr7 and Tr8 operate in the same manner as Tr4 and Tr5, and the direct cutting path becomes valid. In this state, the left turn switch 50b can be manually operated without using the microcomputer 31, and the left turn lamp 50b can be turned on / off manually.

(Auto turn cancel operation)
The auto turn canceling operation is as follows. When the microcomputer 31 provided in the turn signal control unit 30 starts the direction indicating operation, the microcomputer 31 detects the traveling state of the vehicle from the elapsed time from the starting time, the traveling speed of the vehicle, the steering angle, the yaw rate, and the like. Based on the above, it is determined whether to cancel the auto turn to end the direction indicating operation of the direction indicating device 1. Then, based on the auto turn cancel determination, the direction indicating operation by turning on the right turn lamp 50a and the left turn lamp 50b is automatically ended.

  The right turn switch 10a and the left turn switch 10b which are provided corresponding to the left turn operation position A and the right turn operation position B shown in FIG. Thus, it is connected to the turn signal control unit 30. The turn signal control unit 30 controls lighting of the right turn lamp 50a and the left turn lamp 50b as turn signals based on the switch operation of the turn switches 10a and 10b by the right turn operation or the left turn operation of the turn lever 20.

  Here, the turn signal control unit 30 performs turn signal release control based on the operating state of the right turn switch 10a or the left turn switch 10b. The turn signal control unit 30 performs an auto turn cancel determination for automatically releasing the turn signal by determining a predetermined condition after the turn signal is generated by the swinging operation of the turn lever 20. This auto turn cancel determination is performed based on the sensor outputs of the vehicle speed sensor 70, the rudder angle sensor 71, and the yaw rate sensor 72, and an auto turn cancel mode in which the turn signal is automatically canceled by determining a predetermined condition is set. Is done.

  The vehicle speed sensor 70 detects the traveling speed of the vehicle to be driven and outputs a vehicle speed detection signal corresponding to the detected speed to the turn signal control unit 30.

  When the steering wheel 102 is rotated by the driver, the steering angle sensor 71 detects a steering angle (steering angle) that is the rotation angle, and turns a steering angle detection signal according to the detected steering angle. Output to the signal control unit 30. That is, the rudder angle sensor 71 detects whether the steering wheel 102 has been rotated in the left or right direction with respect to the rudder angle midpoint (the rudder angle when the vehicle is traveling straight), and the rudder is steered in any case. The steering angle information of a positive value with reference to the midpoint of the angle is output as a steering angle detection signal. The steering angle information includes steering direction information indicating whether the steering wheel 102 is steered in the left or right direction.

  The yaw rate sensor 72 detects, for example, the yaw rate (behavior in the rotational direction of the vehicle) when the driving vehicle turns right or left or changes lanes, and outputs a yaw rate detection signal corresponding to the detected yaw rate to the turn signal control unit 30. Output to.

  The auto turn canceling operation is as follows. When the microcomputer 31 provided in the turn signal control unit 30 starts the direction indicating operation, the microcomputer 31 detects the traveling state of the vehicle from the elapsed time from the starting time, the traveling speed of the vehicle, the steering angle, the yaw rate, and the like. Based on the above, it is determined whether to cancel the auto turn to end the direction indicating operation of the direction indicating device 1. Then, based on the auto turn cancel determination, the direction indicating operation by turning on the right turn lamp 50a and the left turn lamp 50b is automatically ended.

  The ROM connected to the microcomputer 31 stores a cancel preparation angle θ1 and a cancel angle θ2 smaller than the cancel preparation angle θ1. The microcomputer 31 detects a change in the steering angle θ of the steering wheel 102 through the steering angle sensor 71 after the start of the direction indicating operation. When the steering angle θ reaches the cancel preparation angle θ1 (θ> θ1) and falls within the range of the cancel angle θ2 (θ <θ2), the microcomputer 31 determines that the auto-turn cancel condition is satisfied, It is determined that the direction indicating operation of the right turn lamp 50a and the left turn lamp 50b is finished. Accordingly, the steering wheel 102 is moved after the steering wheel 102 reaches the cancel preparation angle θ1 in the direction indicated by the right turn ramp 50a and the left turn ramp 50b, for example, when the vehicle turns straight after turning right or left at an intersection. Is returned to within the range of the cancel angle θ2, the auto turn cancel determination is made based on the steering angle θ, and the direction indicating operation is automatically terminated.

  The microcomputer 31 detects the change in the yaw rate (the amount of change per unit time of the rotation angle in the turning direction of the vehicle) based on the yaw rate detection signal from the yaw rate sensor 72 after the right turn lamp 50a and the left turn lamp 50b are turned on. To do. The ROM stores a determination reference value that is a reference for auto turn cancellation determination. Usually, the yaw rate changes so that the vehicle takes a maximum value and a minimum value from the start to the end of the course change such as a left / right turn or a lane change. The microcomputer 31 converts the amount of change in the yaw rate into the amount of vehicle movement, and determines that the auto turn cancellation condition is satisfied when the converted value exceeds the determination reference value.

  The microcomputer 31 detects (calculates) the amount of change in the steering angle θ based on the steering angle detection signal of the steering angle sensor 71. The microcomputer 31 calculates a determination reference value serving as a determination reference for performing the auto turn cancel determination based on the change amount of the steering angle θ. Normally, the steering angle θ changes so as to take the maximum value and the minimum value during the period from when the vehicle starts changing the course to when it ends, like the yaw rate. The microcomputer 31 determines that the auto turn cancel condition is satisfied when the steering angle θ is below the determination reference value after taking the maximum value or exceeds the determination reference value after taking the minimum value. When either one of the automatic turn cancellation condition based on the yaw rate and the automatic turn cancellation condition based on the steering angle θ is satisfied, the microcomputer 31 indicates that the direction indicating operation of the right turn lamp 50a and the left turn lamp 50b is terminated. Make turn cancel decision.

  The microcomputer 31 detects the change in the yaw rate (the amount of change per unit time of the rotation angle in the turning direction of the vehicle) based on the yaw rate detection signal from the yaw rate sensor 72 after the right turn lamp 50a and the left turn lamp 50b are turned on. To do. The ROM stores a determination reference value that is a reference for auto turn cancellation determination. Usually, the yaw rate changes so that the vehicle takes a maximum value and a minimum value from the start to the end of the course change such as a left / right turn or a lane change. The yaw rate is used to calculate the lateral movement distance of the vehicle along with the vehicle speed and time, and when the movement distance exceeds the determination criterion, it is determined that the auto turn cancellation condition is satisfied.

  Thus, even when the change in the yaw rate in the direction indicated by the right turn lamp 50a and the left turn lamp 50b is small, such as when changing lanes to adjacent lanes, the amount of change in the steering angle .theta. Even when the angle θ is small and does not reach the cancel preparation angle θ1, the auto-turn cancel determination is made based on the change in the yaw rate. That is, even if the auto turn cancel condition based on the yaw rate change steering angle θ described above is not satisfied, if the auto turn cancel condition based on the yaw rate change amount of the steering angle θ is satisfied, the auto turn cancel determination of the direction indicating operation is performed. The direction indicating operation is automatically terminated not only when turning right or left such as at an intersection, but also when changing lanes to adjacent lanes, for example.

(Effect of the embodiment of the present invention)
The embodiment of the present invention has the following effects.
(1) By including the direct cut path control circuit 60, the right turn lamp 50a and the left turn lamp 50b can be manually turned on / off even when the microcomputer 31 breaks down.
(2) When the microcomputer 31 is operating normally, the direct cutting path control circuit 60 does not operate and the direct cutting path becomes invalid, so that the manual operation by the right turn switch 10a or the left turn switch 10b is also performed. There is no inconvenience that the right turn lamp 50a or the left turn lamp 50b is turned on or off unnecessarily.
(3) Since the path control signal 300 is always output from the microcomputer 31 and the direct path control circuit 60 blocks or connects the direct path based on this, the direct path that operates reliably with a simple configuration. Can be controlled.
(4) Since the direct cut path control circuit 60 has a charge / discharge circuit, it is possible to control a direct cut path that operates reliably according to normal operation or failure of the microcomputer 31 with a simple configuration.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, It is possible to implement in a various aspect in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Direction indication apparatus, 10a ... Right turn switch, 10b ... Left turn switch, 20 ... Turn lever, 30 ... Turn signal control part, 31 ... Microcomputer, 50a ... Right turn lamp, 50b ... Left turn lamp, 51a ... Right flasher Relay 51b: Left flasher relay 60 ... Straight cut path control circuit 70 ... Vehicle speed sensor 71 ... Steering angle sensor 72 ... Yaw rate sensor 101 ... Steering column 102 ... Steering wheel 103 ... Rotating shaft 201-208 ... Switching circuit, 300 ... Route control signal

Claims (2)

A turn lamp that is connected to a power source of the vehicle and emits a turn signal that informs the traveling direction of the vehicle;
Based on the auto turn cancel determination, the turn lamp is turned on and triggered by the ON signal of the turn switch that operates as a momentary switch by a momentary type lever that returns to the operation neutral position, and the auto turn cancel mode is set. a turn signal control unit for automatically canceling the turn signal, to control the lit or off of the turn signal lamp,
When said path control signal from the turn signal control unit is not being output normally, based on the ON / OFF operation of the turn switch operated by the route control signal and a manual output from the turn signal control unit, A direct path control circuit that electrically connects the turn lamp and the turn switch to manually control lighting or extinction of the turn lamp;
A direction indicating device characterized by comprising: The direction indicating device according to claim 1, wherein the direct cut path control circuit includes a charge / discharge circuit.

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