JP2917136B2 - Operating element device for controlling longitudinal and lateral movement of a motor vehicle - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operating device for controlling the longitudinal and lateral movements of a motor vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a motor vehicle, a steering wheel conventionally serves as an operating element for controlling lateral movement, and an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal serve as operating elements for controlling longitudinal movement. Paper P. Braenneby et al. ,
Improved Active and Passi
ve Safety by Using Active
Lateral Dynamic Control a
nd an Unconventional Stee
ring Unit, 13th International
nal Technical Conference
on Experimental Safety Ve
chicks, 4. bis 7.11.1991, Pr
receiveds Vol. 1, Seite 224
As an alternative to the conventional steering wheel, for example, an operation lever provided in a central tunnel of a vehicle has been proposed.

[0003] It is also known to provide a common operating element for controlling the longitudinal and lateral movements of the motor vehicle, the longitudinal movement being preferably controlled by operating the operating element in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
The lateral movement is controlled by the actuation of the operating element in the lateral direction, in particular as a rotary movement according to a conventional steering wheel. Such an operating element is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,0,035 in the form of a control rod which is supported on a frame so as to be pivotable about a horizontal horizontal axis.
No. 22,850, the frame is rotatable about a horizontal vertical axis. Paper H. Bubb, Arbei
tsplattz Fahrer-Eine ergon
omischeStudie, Autombil-In
Another operating element of this kind, which is also described in dusty 3/85, Seite 265, comprises two plate-like handles that are closely adjacent and mechanically connected to each other and are movably guided to the central console of the vehicle. The handle is attached to the end of the curved piece to be formed. The longitudinal movement of the vehicle is controlled by moving the curved piece in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the lateral movement is controlled by rotating both plate-like handles in the lateral surface of the vehicle.

The unpublished German patent application No. 19
No. 5,487,17.6 discloses an operating element device for controlling the longitudinal and lateral movements of a motor vehicle, which operating element device comprises two operating elements which can be operated independently of one another, each of these operating elements being disclosed. Are provided for controlling longitudinal and lateral movements and are preferably formed as manually operable control rods. The manually operable control rod is suspended below the console by a universal joint and is formed as a handle extending substantially vertically upward. Due to the electronic coupling of both operating elements, for example, by superposition of control command signals, by manual switching of one operating element each time, or by assigning different priorities of both operating elements, a conflict of commands can occur. Is prevented.

US Pat. No. 4,701,629 describes an operating element device for driving various electric vehicle components such as various lamps, front and rear glazings, horns and defrosters. Have been. The device comprises a carrier formed analogously to a vehicle, wherein the operating keys belonging to the vehicle parts to be driven are provided on the carrier where possible to correspond to the positions of the respective vehicle parts to be driven in the vehicle. I have. The operating key carrier, which is formed analogously to the vehicle, can be provided in the central area of the instrument panel or the steering wheel, in which case it is stationary with respect to the vehicle without rotating with the steering wheel. .

[0006]

It is a technical problem to provide an operating element device for controlling the longitudinal and lateral movements of a motor vehicle having a high degree of operating comfort and riding comfort.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve this problem, the device according to the invention comprises a manually operable operating element simulating the outer contour of the vehicle , the operating element being located at the front of the vehicle. When receiving a force in the direction, an acceleration process occurs,
When receiving a force in the direction of the rear of the vehicle, a deceleration process occurs,
Also, when subjected to a torque around the vertical axis, the same sideways vehicle motion occurs. To simulate a vehicle in this case,
Operation element means having a similar shape to the vehicle. In this case, the forward operation causes vehicle acceleration, the rearward operation force causes vehicle deceleration, and the torque around the operating element vertical axis parallel to the vehicle vertical axis causes a steering motion in the same direction. , As a result of special mounting of the operating element,
A particularly pronounced actuation of the operating element is performed which is directly related to the desired vehicle behavior, the direction of the operating force corresponding to the driver's intuitive desire for vehicle behavior. What significantly contributes to this is that the lateral motion control by the action of torque
Instead of taking place around a substantially horizontal axis as in a conventional steering wheel, it takes place around a vertical axis, which directly corresponds to the vehicle behavior during curve running.

[0008] In contrast to a conventional device having a steering handle for lateral motion control and a separate acceleration and braking pedal for longitudinal motion control, the operating element arrangement according to the invention provides active and passive safety. Further improvements relating to and ergonomics will be made. The operating element thus provides a higher steering speed with the normal steering wheel, and the danger of accidents due to the steering wheel and the pedal system reduces the need to change pedals between the braking and acceleration phases of vehicle longitudinal movement. Disappear as well. Furthermore, the omission of the steering wheel, the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal creates a large free space for installing the instrument panel. The operating element device is
It allows the driver to take a very comfortable position with free choice of foot position. Furthermore, in the same space provision and improved riding of the vehicle, it is possible to shorten the vehicle by the space previously required for the steering wheel and pedal arrangement.

In the operating element device developed according to the second aspect, the operating element is particularly clearly simulated on the outer contour of the vehicle, and the vertical axis on which the operating element is subjected to the torque is defined by the reduced torque outer contour. Selected to cross the rear axle. This position of the vertical axis is most similar to the lateral movement of an ordinary motor vehicle where steering acts on the wheels of the front axle.

[0010] In the operating element device developed according to claim 3, the operating element simulated on the outer contour of the vehicle has a separate console which can assume different positions in the central console of the vehicle or in the interior space of the vehicle, for example on the right side of the vehicle seat. Alternatively, it is provided on a console that can be located on the left side.

[0011]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings and are described below.

The actuating element device, whose components are shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, is simulated and ergonomically shaped into a single outer profile for controlling the longitudinal and lateral movement of the motor vehicle. It includes an operating element 1 which is conveniently formed as a handle part. This operating element 1 is
On the horizontal front area of the central console 2 of the vehicle, it is provided in alignment with the actual vehicle. The operating element 1 is
It can be easily grasped and operated by the driver's right hand on the driver's seat 3, in which case the driver can place his right arm on the driver's seat armrest 3a, which takes an appropriate position. The operating element 1 is pushed forward by a driver with a forward force B and is pulled backward by a backward force V, and the vertical axis 4 of the operating element 1 intersects the rear axle 5 of the small vehicle operating element 1. Is mounted on the central console 2 so that a torque D acting around it can be selectively applied clockwise or counterclockwise. By means of a suitable sensor device, not shown, to which the control device is connected, the operating element device converts these operating forces into suitable control processes for longitudinal and lateral movement of the vehicle.

For this purpose, the operating element 1 can be designed as a so-called passive or isometric or active operating part. In any case, the vehicle is accelerated by the operating force B acting forward, and decelerated by the operating force V moving backward, and the vertical axis 4
Causes a vehicle lateral or steering movement in the same direction. In the case of a passive operating part, which is preferably held in a central position by a spring and, if appropriate, with damping means, the magnitude of the vehicle movement to be controlled is set as a function of the deflection or deflection of the operating element 1, so that Operating element 1
Are held on the central console 2 movably in the appropriate operating direction. In an isometric configuration of the operating part, the operating element 1 is fixed on the central console 2 and the magnitude of the vehicle movement to be controlled is set in relation to the magnitude of the operating force applied. Such a force-related setting of the magnitude of the vehicle movement can also be effected in an active configuration of the operating unit, in which case the operating element additionally has a corresponding realization of the magnitude of the controlled vehicle movement. It is automatically deflected or deflected in relation to the value so that the driver can get a response in this regard. Another active configuration is to set the magnitude of the vehicle movement to be controlled in relation to the deflection or deflection of the operating element and to automatically exert a reaction force on the operating element 1 by means of a suitable operating device for a response. The magnitude of the reaction force is a measure of the respective actual value of the magnitude of the controlled vehicle movement.

Obviously, any combination of passive, active and isometric functional principles can be realized for controlling or regulating the longitudinal and lateral movement of the vehicle by means of the operating element 1. In addition to the operating element 1 formed in the shape of a vehicle, various other operating function elements such as, for example, a turn signal flashing light, a horn, a warning light, window cleaning, etc., are also collected.
The functional element to be controlled is provided to be at the small vehicle operating element 1 in the actual vehicle.

2 and 3, the passive configuration of the operating element 1 is shown by way of example. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the operating element 1 is on a carriage 6 which is guided movably in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle on a central console 2 of the vehicle. The carriage 6 is resiliently supported on its front and rear sides by the central console 2 by means of the two spring elements 7, 8, so that in the absence of a force, it remains in a predetermined inoperative position. Buffer elements 9, 10 provided in parallel to the spring elements 7, 8
With the operating element 1 on the carriage 6
Attenuate the vertical movement of The displacement sensor 11 detects the deviation of the carriage 6 from the inoperative position, and notifies the control device (not shown) of the operating element device.

In order to detect the rotational movement of the operating element 1 about the vertical axis 4 by the respective action of the torque, the operating element 1 has a shaft piece 12 which is mounted on the rear axle 5. The rotary motion is detected by a rotary potentiometer 13 which extends downward through the through hole of the dwelling table 6 in the line of the vertical axis 4 intersecting the center of the vertical axis 4 and is connected to the rotary potentiometer 13. The rotation position information is transmitted to the control device of the operation element device. As can be seen from FIG. 3, this rotational movement in each direction of rotation also includes one spring element 14, 15 and one damping element 16, 17 respectively, which support the operating element 1 with respect to the central console 2 and rotate it. The angularly inactive position is defined and the operating element 1 can be deflected from this inactive position against the elastic spring force. In the inoperative position, the small vehicle operating element 1 is in a position corresponding to the actual vehicle, i.e. its longitudinal and transverse axes are parallel to the longitudinal and transverse axes of the actual vehicle.

As can be seen from the above description of the preferred embodiment, a particularly well-defined ergonomic control of the longitudinal and lateral movement of the motor vehicle is provided by the operating element arrangement according to the invention. Compared to an operating element suspended via a universal joint,
It becomes possible to operate the operating element in a manner that better meets the driver's intuitive desire for the intended vehicle behavior. The rotational movement of the operating element thus directly corresponds to the desired curve running of the vehicle, without having to indirectly infer the desired vehicle lateral movement from different types of steering movements.

If required, two small vehicle operating elements can be provided, one of which can be provided on the right side of the driver's seat and the other on the left side. These actuating elements can be operated alternately or simultaneously with the driver's right or left hand and can prevent conflict of commands by suitable means. As an alternative, the operating elements can be provided on a separate console which can be moved with respect to the vehicle interior space or in any case be located in various places, for example in the area to the right or left of the driver's seat. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a central console area of a motor vehicle having a vehicle-like operating element of an operating element device for controlling lateral movement and lateral movement of a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the operating element of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic bottom view of a range of the operating element of FIG. 1 formed in a vehicle shape.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 operating element 4 vertical axis 5 rear axle

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Vuelner Reichert Esslingen Schyuta Inhardde 30, Germany (56) References JP-A-2-220972 (JP, A) JP-A-6-18051 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B62D 1/00-1/28 G05G 1/04 F02D 11/02

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] An operating element (1) formed simulating the outer contour of a vehicle and operable by hand, when subjected to a force in the direction of the front of the vehicle, undergoes an acceleration process, and in the direction of the rear of the vehicle. Under the action of force, a deceleration process occurs and the vertical axis (4)
Operating device for controlling the longitudinal and lateral movements of a motor vehicle, characterized in that when subjected to the action of torque around the vehicle, the same lateral movement of the vehicle occurs. 2. The control element according to claim 1, wherein the actuating element is provided such that it can receive a torque about a vertical axis crossing the rear axle. 2. The operating element device according to 1. 3. The operating element (1) is movable on a central console (2) of the vehicle or in the interior space of the vehicle, or
3. The operating element device according to claim 2, wherein the operating element device is provided on a console that can be located at various places .