JP2020158042A - Meter for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a meter for vehicle which can discriminate a state of an operation switch with a simple structure.SOLUTION: A meter for vehicle comprises: a power source connection circuit 11 which is connected to a power source F mounted on a vehicle; an operation switch connection circuit 12 which is connected to a variable resistance type operation switch E mounted on the vehicle; a switch part 2 which switches whether to supply electric power to the operation switch E via the operation switch connection circuit 12 on the basis of electric power from the power source F obtained from the power source connection circuit 11; and a control part 3 which drives and controls switching by the switch part 2. The control part 3 executes: switch drive processing for generating a driving signal, which promotes intermittent power supply to the switch part 2 and outputting the same to the switch part 2; and read processing for detecting a potential of the operation switch connection circuit 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle instrument, and is suitable for, for example, a vehicle instrument equipped with a circuit for detecting a state while supplying power to a switch.

Conventional automobiles and motorcycles are equipped with vehicle instruments that display and output vehicle information such as vehicle running speed, instantaneous fuel consumption, and cruising range, as well as time, outside air temperature, and driving mode setting screens. Yes, for example, disclosed in Patent Document 1.

While checking the display of the display device (for example, liquid crystal display) of the vehicle instrument, the vehicle user presses or slides the operation switch provided around the steering wheel to perform the desired display or setting. It can be carried out.

JP-A-2018-100032

However, there is a problem that the types and number of operation switches increase with the diversification of functions, and the wiring for connecting each operation switch and the vehicle instrument also increases.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to focus on the above-mentioned problems and to provide a vehicle instrument capable of discriminating the state of an operation switch with a simple structure.

The vehicle instrument of the present invention
A power connection circuit that connects to the power supply installed in the vehicle,
An operation switch connection circuit that connects to a variable resistance type operation switch mounted on the vehicle,
A switch unit that switches whether or not to supply power to the operation switch via the operation switch connection circuit based on the power from the power supply obtained from the power supply connection circuit.
It is equipped with a control unit that drives and controls switching by this switch unit.
The control unit
A switch drive process that generates a drive signal that prompts the switch unit to be supplied with power intermittently and outputs the drive signal to the switch unit.
The reading process that detects the potential of the operation switch connection circuit and
It is characterized by performing.

In addition, it is equipped with a communication circuit for inputting vehicle information.
The control unit determines the driving state based on the vehicle information, and changes the execution cycle of the switch drive process and the read process according to the determination result.

Further, the control unit is characterized in that the operation position of the operation switch is measured by detecting the first potential in the power supply connection circuit and the second potential in the operation switch connection circuit.

According to the present invention, it is a vehicle instrument capable of discriminating the state of an operation switch with a simple structure.

The figure which shows the vehicle-mounted state of the vehicle instrument in embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the electric circuit configuration in the said embodiment. Same as above A time chart showing a state example in the embodiment. Time chart showing a state example by another control method

Hereinafter, as an embodiment of the present invention, an embodiment applied to a vehicle instrument mounted on a motorcycle will be described as an example based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a vehicle instrument A mounted on a motorcycle (vehicle) B. The vehicle instrument A is provided so that the vehicle user can check the display in the driving state, and in this case, it is mounted between the cowl (windshield) C and the steering wheel D. Further, the display screen of the vehicle instrument A can be switched by operating the operation switch E provided on the steering wheel D.

Further, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main part of the electrical configuration of the vehicle instrument A regarding the state detection circuit. The vehicle instrument A includes a power supply connection circuit 11, an operation switch connection circuit 12, a communication circuit 13, a switch unit 2, a control unit 3, and a display unit 4. These members have a wiring pattern formed of copper foil, are mounted on a printed circuit board (circuit board) made of a hard glass epoxy resin, and are housed in a housing having a waterproof structure.

One end of the power supply connection circuit 11 is connected to the power supply (vehicle-mounted battery or generator) F of the motorcycle B by using a connector mounted on the circuit board, and the other end is branched and connected to the switch unit 2 and the control unit 3. It is a circuit to be done. In this case, the power supply connection circuit 11 is a circuit that inputs electric power having a voltage of about 12 V supplied from the power supply F as drive energy of each electronic component.

The output potential (voltage) of the power source F fluctuates depending on the change in the amount of power generated by the generator (alternator) of the motorcycle B, the fluctuation in the load due to the light operation, the remaining capacity of the in-vehicle battery, and the deteriorated state. The control unit 3 connected to the power supply connection circuit 11 can read this potential as the first potential.

The operation switch connection circuit 12 is a wiring circuit connected to the operation switch E mounted around the handle D, and one end side is connected by using a connector mounted on the circuit board, and the other end side is the switch unit 2 and the control unit. It is a circuit branched to 3 and connected.

The operation switch E is provided outside the housing of the vehicle instrument A in the vicinity of the grip portion of the steering wheel D so that the vehicle user can perform the pressing operation while holding the steering wheel D. In this case, the operation switch E applies a push switch arranged vertically on the right-hand side of the vehicle user and a slide switch having a slider that can be moved by pressing left and right on the left-hand side.

For example, to the operation switch E consisting of the slide switch on the left hand side, the movable terminal E1 moves in conjunction with the slider selected by the vehicle user, and is connected to the ground with a different resistance value corresponding to the operation position of the slider. This is a variable resistance type circuit in which a plurality of E2s are prepared. In this case, the contact E2 of the operation switch E corresponds to the operation position, and the operation positions of "right", "middle", and "left" are assigned to each contact E2. Further, the movable terminal E1 is a connection means in which one end is always connected to the operation switch connection circuit 12 of the vehicle instrument A, and the other end is connected to any contact E2 and moves by operation by the vehicle user. The contact E2 is grounded via a resistance element, and becomes a sliding variable resistor by corresponding to the movable terminal E1.

Therefore, the operation switch E is connected so that the electric power from the operation switch connection circuit 12 flows through the movable terminal E1 and the variable resistance element. With these configurations, the magnitude of the load on the operation switch E changes according to the operation position, and the potential of the operation switch connection circuit 12 changes. The control unit 3 connected to the operation switch connection circuit 12 can read this potential as the second potential.

The communication circuit 13 is a circuit in which one end is connected to the electronic control unit (ECU) H involved in the driving and driving operation of the motorcycle B by using a connector mounted on the circuit board, and the other end is connected to the control unit 3. .. In this case, the control unit 3 can input vehicle information such as vehicle speed, engine speed, and remaining fuel amount via the communication circuit 13.

A transistor connected to the power supply connection circuit 11, the operation switch connection circuit 12, and the control unit 3 can be applied to the switch unit 2. Based on the drive signal from the control unit 3, the switch unit 2 switches whether or not the electric power from the power supply F supplied via the power supply connection circuit 11 is energized to the operation switch connection circuit 12 side. In this case, the switch unit 2 inputs a drive signal of a pulse waveform from the control unit 3, and the presence / absence of energization is intermittently switched.

The control unit 3 is driven based on the power from a regulator circuit (not shown) that generates drive power, stores a predetermined program and various data, and stores data such as a ROM or RAM (not shown) used for a storage area at the time of calculation. Means, a CPU for performing arithmetic processing according to the predetermined program, and a microcomputer provided with an input / output interface and the like can be applied.

Further, the control unit 3 inputs vehicle information based on various sensors of the vehicle via a dedicated communication cable (multiplex communication line) and a communication circuit 13, and also via a power supply connection circuit 11 and an operation switch connection circuit 12. The reading process for detecting the first and second potentials is performed. Further, the control unit 3 generates and outputs a drive signal to the switch unit 2 and a control signal for controlling the display unit 4 in response to these inputs.

The display unit 4 is a display device capable of displaying an image, and for example, a display unit provided with a TFT type liquid crystal display element (display element) or a backlight can be applied. The display unit 4 displays vehicle information from various sensors and various electronic control devices mounted on the vehicle as images such as numerical values, characters, and marks, and supplies drive power from the circuit board and the control unit 3. Outputs an image based on the control signal from. The display unit 4 can display, for example, the engine speed, the vehicle speed (traveling speed of the vehicle), the remaining fuel amount, the gear position, the integrated mileage, the vehicle information such as various indicators, and the time as an image. Further, the display unit 4 performs display control such as switching images and changing the cursor position in cooperation with the operation by the operation switch E based on the calculation by the control unit 3.

Next, the operation state detection of the operation switch E by the control unit 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

The control unit 3 performs a switch drive process that generates a rectangular pulse signal at a predetermined cycle and outputs the drive signal to the switch unit 2. Based on this signal, the switch unit 2 energizes the power supply connection circuit 11 and the operation switch connection circuit 12 when it is in the ON state, and intermittently supplies power to the operation switch E. As a result, power consumption and heat generation of electronic components can be reduced as compared with the case of continuously energizing.

Further, the control unit 3 performs a reading process for detecting the first potential and the second potential, and calculates a change in the signal due to the behavior of the operation switch E in consideration of the fluctuation amount of the first potential described above. Measure that the operation position has changed (operation state). For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 3 detects a change in the operation position by detecting a change amount Vd of the calculated value generated at t0 when the operation switch E changes from the right position to the center position. Alternatively, the operation position can be specified by comparing the calculated value with a predetermined threshold value and determining the magnitude relationship. The reading process may be performed at regular intervals that are finer than the drive signal to the switch unit 2, or may be performed in synchronization with the on-time of the drive signal.

Further, the control unit 3 performs a running state determination process for determining whether the vehicle is in a running state (or a running ready state) or a stopped state (non-running state) based on the vehicle information input via the communication circuit 13. In this case, the control unit 3 determines the traveling state based on information such as whether or not the steering wheel or pedal is operated, the vehicle speed, the engine speed, and the gear position.

By this running state determination process, the control unit 3 changes the gear position from the stopped state where the gear is neutral (N) and the running speed is zero to the first speed (1st) and shifts to the running ready state as in t1, for example. At this time, the drive signal to the switch unit 2 is output as a drive signal by generating a pulse waveform having a period larger than the pulse period in the stopped state. That is, since the control unit 3 can change the sampling period of the first and second potentials and is unlikely to perform an operation using the operation switch E in the running preparation state, the operation switch E of the operation switch E is in an environment. The electric power and heat generation amount for detecting the operation position can be reduced. On the contrary, when the gear position is in the neutral (N) state, the control is performed so that the intermittent cycle is small and the responsive state can be detected.

Further, when the control unit 3 shifts from the above-mentioned travel preparation state to a traveling state of a predetermined speed or more (for example, 10 km / h or more) by this traveling state determination process, for example, t2, the control unit 3 shifts to the switch unit 2. Is output as a drive signal by generating a pulse waveform having a period larger than the pulse period in the stopped state or the running preparation state. Since it is less likely that the vehicle user will perform the operation using the operation switch E in the traveling state, the responsiveness of the operation switch E may be small. In view of this, the control unit 3 can increase the period for intermittently driving the switch unit 2 to further reduce the electric power and the amount of heat generated for detecting the operation state of the operation switch E.

Such a vehicle instrument A includes a power supply connection circuit 11 connected to a power source F mounted on the vehicle, an operation switch connection circuit 12 connected to a variable resistance type operation switch E mounted on the vehicle, and a power supply connection circuit. A switch unit 2 that switches whether or not power is supplied to the operation switch E via the operation switch connection circuit 12 based on the power from the power supply F obtained from the 11 and a control unit 3 that drives and controls the switching by the switch unit 2. The control unit 3 detects the potential of the operation switch connection circuit 12 and the switch drive process that generates a drive signal for intermittently supplying power to the switch unit 2 and outputs the drive signal to the switch unit 2. Read processing and perform.

Therefore, the vehicle instrument A is a state detection device capable of reducing the amount of power supplied for detecting the state of the operation switch E.

Further, a communication circuit 13 for inputting vehicle information is provided, and the control unit 3 determines the driving state based on the vehicle information, and changes the execution cycle of the switch drive process and the read process according to the determination result. By doing so, the power can be optimally supplied to the operation switch E according to the driving state such as the running / stopped state.

Further, the control unit 3 measures the operation position of the operation switch E by detecting the first potential in the power supply connection circuit 11 and the second potential in the operation switch connection circuit 12, and thereby the power supply F. Even if there is a potential fluctuation of, it can be detected accurately.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not construed as being limited to the above embodiments, and can be applied to various embodiments without departing from the gist thereof. For example, as in the timing shown in t3 of FIG. 4, when the vehicle is in a running state, the operation by the operation switch E can be prohibited (no reaction). At this time, when the traveling speed of a predetermined value (for example, 10 km / h) or more is input as vehicle information, the control unit 3 drives and controls the switch unit 2 in a disconnected state and passes through the operation switch connection circuit 12. By stopping the power supply to the operation switch E, the calculation of the calculated value can be interrupted while reducing the power consumption, heat generation, and the like.

Further, when the control unit 3 processes the intermittent drive control of the switch unit 2 and the calculation of the calculated value based on the first and second potentials in synchronization, by applying the above-described embodiment. When the vehicle is in a traveling state, the cycle of the calculation becomes large or the calculation is interrupted, so that the processing load can be reduced. The control unit 3 can perform other arithmetic processing as much as the reduction of the processing load, and can display and output, for example, responsively to vehicle information that suddenly changes due to the traveling of the vehicle.

Further, the present invention is suitable as an in-vehicle instrument mounted on a moving body including, for example, an automobile, a motorcycle, or an agricultural machine or a construction machine.

11 Power supply connection circuit 12 Operation switch connection circuit 13 Communication circuit 2 Switch unit 3 Control unit 4 Display unit A Vehicle instrument B Vehicle C Cowl D Handle E Operation switch E1 Movable terminal E2 Contact F Power supply H Electronic control unit (ECU)

Claims (3)

A power connection circuit that connects to the power supply installed in the vehicle,
An operation switch connection circuit that connects to a variable resistance type operation switch mounted on the vehicle,
A switch unit that switches whether or not to supply power to the operation switch via the operation switch connection circuit based on the power from the power supply obtained from the power supply connection circuit.
It is equipped with a control unit that drives and controls switching by this switch unit.
The control unit
A switch drive process that generates a drive signal that prompts the switch unit to be supplied with power intermittently and outputs the drive signal to the switch unit.
The reading process that detects the potential of the operation switch connection circuit and
Vehicle instruments characterized by doing. Equipped with a communication circuit for inputting vehicle information
The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines a driving state based on the vehicle information, and changes the execution cycle of the switch drive process and the read process according to the determination result. Instrument. 1. The control unit measures the operation position of the operation switch by detecting the first potential in the power supply connection circuit and the second potential in the operation switch connection circuit. Vehicle instruments described in.

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