JP5508228B2 - Turn signal lighting control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a turn signal lighting control device for controlling a lighting operation of a turn signal based on an operation of a momentary type turn lever.

  In recent years, a turn signal lighting control device (see, for example, Patent Document 1) that detects operation of a turn lever with a momentary switch and lights (flashes) a turn signal in the operation direction has been developed. This turn signal lighting control device detects the rotation angle of the steering wheel using, for example, a rotation angle sensor, and when turning on the turn signal, confirms that the rotation angle of the steering wheel (steering angle) has reached the cancel return angle. Turns off the turn signal that is lit automatically.

JP-A-11-70833

  By the way, when this type of turn signal lighting control device detects that the turn signal lever is operated on the opposite side to lighting while the turn signal is on, the turn signal lighting on is turned off. This is because the turn signal being turned on can be manually turned off at an arbitrary timing by the driver.

  However, as shown in FIG. 6, when the steering wheel rotated to the left is returned to, for example, the neutral position, the driver recognizes that the lighting of the left turn signal has ended, but the driver has not switched off. There may be a situation where the turn lever is operated to the right to manually turn off the left turn signal. This is because the turn signal is a blinking operation and it is difficult for the driver to accurately recognize the actual turn-off timing.

  Therefore, in this case, since the turn lever will be operated to the right after the left turn signal is completed, only the left turn signal will be turned off, but this time the opposite right turn signal will turn on. Will end up. Therefore, there is a problem that the turn signal lights up differently from the driver's will.

  The objective of this invention is providing the turn signal lighting control apparatus which can ensure the exact lighting operation according to a user's will.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, a turn signal is turned on based on the operation of a momentary type operation means, and when the turn-off condition of the turn-on is satisfied while the turn signal is turned on, In the turn signal lighting control device for turning off the signal, when the turn signal being turned on is turned off or when it is predicted that the turn signal is turned on, the lighting operation for invalidating the lighting operation by the operation means is disabled. The gist of the invention is that it is provided with a means for generating the data.

  According to this configuration, when the turn signal is turned off or when it is predicted that the turn signal is turned on, the lighting operation by the operation unit enters the invalidation state. That is, when the turn signal is extinguished, the manual extinguishing operation by operating the operating means to the opposite side is invalidated. For this reason, for example, when the steering wheel is returned, the driver misunderstands that the turn signal is not turned off even though the turn signal is turned off, and a manual turn-off operation is performed to operate the operation means to the opposite side. However, the reverse turn signal does not light up. Therefore, since it is not necessary to turn on a turn signal opposite to the side intended by the user, it is possible to ensure lighting in accordance with the user's will.

  In the present invention, the lighting invalidation means invalidates the lighting operation by the operation means for a certain period of time after the turn signal is turned off automatically after the turn signal is turned off. To do.

  According to this configuration, after the turn signal is switched off, the turn signal is manually turned off by the reverse operation of the operation means by a simple process of invalidating the lighting operation by the operation means for a certain period of time. It becomes possible to prevent reverse lighting.

  The gist of the present invention is that the lighting invalidation means cancels the invalidation when detecting that the operation means is operated when the lighting operation by the operation means is in invalidation.

  According to this configuration, when the operation unit is operated when the lighting operation by the operation unit is invalidated, the invalidation state of the lighting operation by the operation unit is canceled. For this reason, if the operation means is operated once again at the time of invalidation, then the turn signal lighting operation by the operation means becomes possible, and the subsequent lighting operation can be executed without any problem.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the exact lighting operation along a user's will can be ensured.

The schematic diagram which shows the external appearance of attachment of the turn lever in one Embodiment. The block diagram of a turn signal lighting control apparatus. A table showing each mode of automatic turn-off. The time chart which shows the operation | movement process at the time of turn-off of a turn signal. The time chart which shows the operation | movement process at the time of extinction of the turn signal of another example. The time chart which shows the operation | movement process at the time of the extinction of the conventional turn signal.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a turn signal lighting control device embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the vicinity of a steering wheel 1 of a vehicle, a turn lever 3 that is operated when turning on the turn signal 2 of FIG. For example, when the turn lever 3 is tilted upward from the neutral position, the left turn signal 2a shown in FIG. 2 is lit (flashes), and when the turn lever 3 is tilted downward from the neutral position, the right turn signal 2b is lit. (Flashes). The turn lever 3 corresponds to the operating means.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle is provided with a turn signal lighting control device 4 for controlling lighting of the left and right turn signals 2a and 2b. The turn signal lighting control device 4 is provided with a controller 5 as a control unit of the turn signal lighting control device 4. The controller 5 is connected to the left and right turn signals 2a and 2b via the drive circuit 6.

  A switch 7 that detects the operation of the turn lever 3 is connected to the controller 5. The switch 7 is provided with one movable contact 7 a and two fixed contacts 7 b and 7 c, and the fixed contacts 7 b and 7 c are connected to the controller 5. When the turn lever 3 is in the neutral position, the movable contact 7a is in the open position. When the turn lever 3 is operated to the left, the movable contact 7a is turned on to the first fixed contact 7b, and the turn lever 3 is moved to the right. When operated, the movable contact 7a is turned on to the second fixed contact 7c.

  A vehicle speed sensor 8 that detects the vehicle speed is connected to the controller 5. A steering angle sensor 9 that detects the steering angle of the steering wheel 1 is connected to the controller 5. The controller 5 is connected to a yaw rate sensor 10 that detects turning (angular velocity) of the vehicle. The yaw rate sensor 10 detects a change in the rotational direction applied to the vehicle body, for example, when the vehicle changes lanes.

  When the vehicle is steered left or right, the turn lever 3 is operated to turn on the turn signal 2. At this time, the switch 7 connects the movable contact 7a to one of the first fixed contact 7b or the second fixed contact 7c, and outputs an ON signal to the controller 5 from the connected side. When the controller 5 receives the ON signal from the switch 7, the controller 5 starts lighting (flashing) the turn signal 2 on the side where the ON signal is input.

  When the turn signal 2 is lit, the controller 5 turns on the basis of the vehicle speed signal output from the vehicle speed sensor 8, the steering angle signal output from the steering angle sensor 9, and the angular velocity signal output from the yaw rate sensor 10. The signal 2 is automatically turned off (auto cancel). In the case of this example, the controller 5 determines the vehicle speed based on the output of the vehicle speed sensor 8, and executes control for automatically turning off the turn signal 2 in a mode corresponding to the vehicle speed. And the controller 5 will extinguish the turn signal 2 in lighting, if the light extinction conditions are satisfied in the mode to perform.

  FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the vehicle speed and the automatic turn-off mode. At high speed, control by the yaw rate sensor 10 is executed. In the control by the yaw rate sensor 10, when the turn signal 2 is turned on, the turn signal 2 is turned off when the angular velocity of the vehicle body is equal to or lower than the threshold value.

  At medium speed, either the control by the steering angle sensor 9 or the combined use of this control and the control by the yaw rate sensor 10 is executed. In the control by the steering angle sensor 9, when the turn signal 2 is turned on, if the steering angle of the steering wheel 1 reaches the steering angle (cancellation angle) at the start of steering, the turn signal 2 is turned off. Further, in the combined automatic turn-off, the turn signal 2 is turned off when the turn-off condition is satisfied by either the steering angle sensor 9 or the yaw rate sensor 10.

At low speed, control by the rudder angle sensor 9 is executed. Further, at the time of slowing down or stopping, automatic turn-off is not performed and the turn signal 2 is kept on.
When the controller 5 recognizes that the turn lever 3 is operated on the opposite side of the turn signal 2 that is lit (so-called reverse turn lever operation) while the turn signal 2 is lit, the controller 5 turns off the turn signal 2 that is lit. To do. Thus, the driver can manually turn off the turn signal 2 that is lit at an arbitrary timing.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the controller 5 is provided with a lighting prohibition unit 11 that prohibits a lighting operation by the turn lever 3 after the turn signal 2 is automatically turned off. This is because, for example, when the steering wheel 1 is returned to the neutral position, the turn lever 3 is reversely operated by assuming that the turn signal 2 is not turned off even though the turn signal 2 is turned off automatically. However, the turn signal 2 on the reverse operation side is not lit. The lighting prohibition unit 11 corresponds to a lighting invalidating unit.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the turn signal 2 being turned on automatically turns off, the lighting prohibition unit 11 sets the operation state of the controller 5 to a lighting operation prohibited state for a certain period of time, and performs a lighting operation by the turn lever 3. Is prohibited. Further, the lighting prohibition unit 11 cancels the prohibition state when a predetermined time has elapsed since entering the prohibition state. The fixed time is set to a very short time, for example, a few seconds of commas. Further, when the lighting prohibition unit 11 detects the operation of the turn lever 3 when the operation state is the lighting operation prohibition state, the lighting prohibition unit 11 cancels (invalidates) the lighting operation prohibition state and restarts the lighting operation by the turn lever 3. Make it possible.

Next, operation | movement of the turn signal lighting control apparatus 4 of this example is demonstrated using FIG.
For example, it is assumed that after the left turn signal 2a is turned on, the turn-off condition is satisfied, for example, when the steering wheel 1 is returned. At this time, the lighting prohibition unit 11 puts the controller 5 in a lighting operation prohibited state, and prohibits the lighting operation by the turn lever 3 for a certain time. Therefore, the controller 5 enters a lighting operation cancel period (switch input cancel period) for a certain period of time thereafter, and enters a state in which no switch signal is received from the switch 7.

  Here, in the process of returning the steering wheel 1 rotated by the driver to the left, for example, to the neutral position, the reverse turn lever operation is performed assuming that the left turn signal 2a is not automatically turned off even though it is automatically turned off. There is a case where the left turn signal 2a is manually turned off. However, in this example, since the controller 5 enters the lighting operation prohibited state for a certain period from the time when the left turn signal 2a is automatically turned off, the right turn signal is not detected even if such reverse turn lever operation is performed. 2b does not light up.

  Further, when the controller 5 is in the lighting operation prohibited state, when the lighting prohibition unit 11 detects that the turn lever 3 is operated during this period, the lighting operation prohibited state is canceled at that time. Therefore, after this, regardless of whether the turn lever 3 is operated to the right or left, the turn signal 2 on the operation side is lit without any problem.

  As described above, in this example, the operation state of the controller 5 is changed to the lighting operation prohibited state in which the lighting operation by the turn lever 3 is prohibited for a certain period from the time when the turn signal 2 being turned on is automatically turned off. Therefore, when the steering wheel 1 is operated to return, even if the driver misunderstands and the manual turn-off operation is performed by the reverse turn lever operation after the automatic turn-off, the turn signal 2 on the opposite side is lit. Absent. Therefore, it becomes possible to ensure the lighting state according to the user's intention.

According to the configuration of the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) When the turn signal 2 is automatically turned off, the lighting operation by the turn lever 3 enters the lighting operation prohibited state for a certain time. For this reason, even if the turn signal 2 is automatically turned off, even if the driver misunderstands and the manual turn-off operation is performed by the reverse turn lever operation, the reverse turn signal 2 does not turn on. Therefore, since it is not necessary to turn on the turn signal 2 opposite to the side intended by the user, it is possible to ensure lighting according to the user's will.

  (2) After the turn signal 2 is automatically turned off, lighting by the reverse turn lever operation can be limited by a simple process of prohibiting the lighting operation by the turn lever 3 for a certain period of time.

  (3) When the lighting operation by the turn lever 3 is in the prohibited state, when the turn lever 3 is operated again, the prohibited state is released. Therefore, since the lighting operation by the turn lever 3 can be performed after the release operation, the turn signal 2 can be turned on without any problem by operating the turn lever 3.

Note that the embodiment is not limited to the configuration described so far, and may be modified as follows.
The lighting operation prohibition state is not limited to the execution after the turn signal 2 is automatically turned off. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the lighting operation prohibition state may be started from a predetermined time before it can be predicted that automatic turn-off will occur. In this case, when it can be predicted from the output of the sensors that the turn signal 2 is automatically turned off, for example, the controller 5 is put into a lighting operation prohibited state prior to the automatic turn-off. At this time, the lighting operation prohibition state is entered in advance, but the turn signal 2 is extinguished without any problem when the automatic extinguishing conditions are met.

The lighting operation prohibition state is not limited to prohibiting both the left and right lighting operations of the turn lever 3, and for example, the lighting operation only on the side that has been in the lighting state until immediately before may be prohibited.
-An operation means is not limited to a lever, For example, it is good also as a button.

  The automatic turn-off is not limited to the process using the three parameters of the vehicle speed sensor 8, the steering angle sensor 9, and the yaw rate sensor 10. For example, it may be a process of simply determining whether or not the steering angle of the steering wheel 1 has been returned to the neutral position.

  The lighting operation prohibited state (lighting invalidation) is not limited to entering the prohibited state by not accepting the switch signal from the switch 7 by the controller 5. For example, the switch 7 may not output a switch signal.

-Disabling the lighting may prevent the switch 7 from being turned on in the reverse direction, for example, by prohibiting the reverse operation of the switch 7 itself.
The switch 7 may be replaced with a switching element such as a transistor.

The fixed time is not limited to a fixed value, and may be a variable value that changes according to the vehicle state (vehicle speed, steering angle of the steering wheel 1, angular velocity of the vehicle body, etc.), for example.
The function of manually turning off the turn signal 2 by operating the turn lever 3 on the opposite side to lighting is not always necessary, and may be omitted.

The turn signal lighting control device 4 is not limited to being mounted on an automobile, and can be applied to other vehicles such as two-wheeled vehicles.
Next, technical ideas that can be grasped from the above-described embodiment and other examples will be described below together with their effects.

  (A) In any one of claims 1 to 3, when the turn signal is in a lighting state, if the operation means is operated to the opposite side to lighting, the lighting turn signal can be manually turned off. ing. According to this configuration, it is possible for the driver to switch the turn signal that is turned on to light-off at an arbitrary timing.

  (B) In any one of claims 1 to 3 and the technical idea (A), the lighting invalidation means is a controller that controls lighting and extinction and is invalid without receiving an operation signal from the operation means. By doing so, the lighting operation by the operation means enters the invalidation state. According to this configuration, a lighting operation invalidation state can be provided by a program of the controller.

  2 (2a, 2b) ... turn signal, 3 ... turn lever as operation means, 4 ... turn signal lighting control device, 11 ... lighting prohibition section as lighting invalidation means.

Claims (3)

In the turn signal lighting control device that turns on the turn signal based on the operation of the momentary-type operation means and turns off the turn signal that is turned on when the turn signal is turned on and the turn-off condition of the light is satisfied.
A turn characterized by comprising a lighting invalidating means for invalidating a lighting operation by the operating means when the turn signal being turned on is turned off or when a situation that can be predicted to be switched is entered. Signal lighting control device. 2. The lighting invalidating means invalidates a lighting operation by the operating means for a certain period of time after the turn signal extinction condition is satisfied and the turn signal is automatically extinguished. Turn signal lighting control device according to claim 1. 3. The lighting invalidation means cancels the invalidation when detecting that the operation means is operated when the lighting operation by the operation means is being invalidated. Turn signal lighting control device according to claim 1.

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