JP2000334076A - Golf cart - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a golf cart that gives uniform stopping distance by detecting means of cart guarding, irrespective of whether the home switch of the brake motor is operating or not. SOLUTION: On a plane or an uphill crest, the home switch is on because no brake is operating in the first section, and thus a pretty long period of 100% duty output is required, as (A) of the figure. On the other hand, in a downhill crest where the brake is working, the brake home switch is off as (B) of the figure, and this period can be shorter than (A). In the second section, when the speed of the cart is reduced, the brake output is adjusted to 40% duty until 400 ms later than detection of the cart-guarding signal, to gradually reduce the speed. Finally in the third section, when it approaches the stopping target with a defined distance, the brake output is adjusted by applying 0% to 70% duty.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a golf cart which stops when it detects that a distance from a golf cart or an obstacle ahead is a predetermined distance in an automatic steering mode.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various types of golf carts have been conventionally provided for golf courses. For example, a hand-held type using a caddy, a non-riding type or a riding type using an electric motor or an engine as a driving force are frequently used.

FIG. 1 shows four to five persons developed by the present applicant.
1 shows an external view of a passenger-type engine-type riding golf cart. This riding golf cart is of an engine-driven type having a guide / manual switching means, and is designed to allow a person to ride on each of the front and rear sides. A golf bag can be loaded at the rear, and a roof for sunshade and rain can be installed at the top.

The control system of the riding golf cart generally includes a microcomputer of a control box, an operation unit, a steering unit, a sensor unit, a power supply unit, an engine unit, a parking unit, and a main brake unit.

To automatically steer a riding golf cart having such a configuration, an automatic steering mode is set by setting an automatic operation switching lever to "automatic". At that time, an induced current flowing in a loop line buried along the cart path (travel path) is detected, the magnet is read, and the vehicle travels on the cart path while performing automatic control, automatic increase / decrease, and automatic stop. Then, the user can start and stop at an arbitrary place using the remote control or the start / stop button. In addition, when a danger is detected by various safety devices, an emergency stop is performed.

Next, when performing the manual operation, when the automatic operation switching lever is set to "manual", a manual driving mode is set, and
As with a normal passenger cart, the player can operate forward and backward by operating the steering wheel (steering wheel) and operating the accelerator and brakes.

[0007] In this riding golf cart, in the case of automatic steering, collision is detected if the cart guard detection means of the own vehicle detects an obstacle in the forward direction or an output from the cart guard antenna of the stopped or running golf cart. In order to prevent this, the brakes are automatically applied and stopped.

[0008]

When the golf cart is stopped by operating the brake by the motor, the brake has a margin (play), and therefore has an effective operation area and an invalid operation area. The brakes are activated on downhills where the speed is high or when there is a large amount of load or a large number of people.
There is no margin for pulling the brake, and the brake operates in the effective operation area of the brake. Conversely, on flat terrain, uphill, etc., the brakes are not operating, so there is a time for the brakes to be effective (idle running period) because there is a sufficient amount of braking, and the braking operation taking that amount into account Unless the amount is determined, the stopping distance detected by the cart guard cannot be made uniform.

Therefore, the present invention relates to a golf cart which is stopped by a cart guard detecting means when an obstacle, a stop, or a running golf cart is present in the forward direction and approaches, and the brake is operated by a motor.
The switch (brake motor home switch) that detects that the brake is not operating is operating (ON)
The amount of brake operation can be changed between when and when it is not operating (OFF), and the amount of brake operation that takes into account the time until the brake is applied is determined, and the stopping distance detected by the cart guard is made uniform. It is an object of the present invention to provide a golf cart capable of playing golf.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a golf cart capable of automatically steering along a predetermined traveling path, and further comprising a golf cart in front of the golf cart. In a golf cart which stops by driving a brake by a motor when it detects that a distance to an object is a predetermined interval, a switch for detecting that a brake is not operating is provided, and when the switch is operating. The brake operation amount is changed between when the brake is not operating and when the brake is not operating.

The golf cart according to claim 2 of the present invention is
In a golf cart in which automatic steering along a predetermined traveling path is possible and a brake is operated by a motor when the distance between the golf cart and an obstacle in front is detected to be a predetermined interval, the brake is stopped. A switch for detecting that the key is not operating is provided, and the amount of brake operation is changed between when the switch is operating and when it is not operating, and the amount of operation is changed when the switch is operating. It is configured to be large and to reduce the amount of operation when not operating.

The golf cart according to claim 3 of the present invention is
In a golf cart in which automatic steering along a predetermined traveling path is possible and a brake is operated by a motor when the distance between the golf cart and an obstacle in front is detected to be a predetermined interval, the brake is stopped. A switch for detecting that the key is not operating is provided, and the amount of brake operation is changed between when the switch is operating and when it is not operating. It was configured to do so by changing.

A golf cart according to a fourth aspect of the present invention comprises:
In a golf cart in which automatic steering along a predetermined traveling path is possible and a brake is operated by a motor when the distance between the golf cart and an obstacle in front is detected to be a predetermined interval, the brake is stopped. A switch for detecting that the key is not operating is provided, and the amount of brake operation is changed between when the switch is operating and when it is not operating. It is configured to change the duty.

In this way, when the golf cart is stopped by operating the brake by the motor, the brake has a margin (play), but on a downhill where the speed becomes high, or when the load capacity or the number of people is large, the brake is applied. Is operated, there is no margin for pulling the brake, and the brake operates in the effective operation area of the brake. Conversely, on flat terrain, uphill, etc., the brakes are not operating, so there is a time for the brakes to be effective (idle running period) because there is a sufficient amount of braking, and the braking operation taking that amount into account By determining the amount, the stopping distance by the cart guard detection can be made uniform.

A golf cart according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is
In a golf cart in which automatic steering along a predetermined traveling path is possible and a brake is operated by a motor when the distance between the golf cart and an obstacle in front is detected to be a predetermined interval, the brake is stopped. A switch that detects that the key is not operating is provided, and the amount of brake operation is changed between when the switch is operating and when it is not operating.Brake operation is performed in multiple stages, and the amount of operation is The brake operation, which is adjusted by changing the operation time, is configured to be performed at an initial stage.

In this way, when an obstacle, a stopped golf cart, or a running golf cart is present and approaches in the forward direction, it is detected by the cart guard detecting means, and the brake is operated by the motor to stop the golf cart. Switch that performs brake control in a plurality of stages and detects that the brake is not operating (brake motor home switch)
The amount of brake operation can be changed between when the device is operating and when it is not operating.In the first stage, the amount of operation is adjusted by changing the operation time and the brake operation is adjusted. Determine the amount of braking action taken into account,
In order to make the stopping distance by cart guard detection uniform,

The golf cart according to claim 6 of the present invention is
In a golf cart in which automatic steering along a predetermined traveling path is possible and a brake is operated by a motor when the distance between the golf cart and an obstacle in front is detected to be a predetermined interval, the brake is stopped. A switch for detecting that the key is not operating is provided, and the amount of brake operation is changed between when the switch is operating and when it is not operating, the brake operation is performed in multiple stages, and the switch is Regardless of the operation of changing the amount of operation of the brake between operation and non-operation, the last stage of operation is configured so that the start time can be determined.

In this way, when there is an input from the cart guard detecting means, the brake control is performed in a plurality of stages, and a switch (brake motor home switch) for detecting that the brake is not operating is operated. The amount of brake operation can be changed between when it is operating and when it is not operating, determine the amount of brake operation taking into account the time until the brake is effective, and determine the start time for the last stage operation Thereby, the stopping distance by the cart guard detection can be uniformly and reliably stopped.

A golf cart according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is
In a golf cart in which automatic steering along a predetermined traveling path is possible and a brake is operated by a motor when the distance between the golf cart and an obstacle in front is detected to be a predetermined interval, the brake is stopped. A switch for detecting that the key is not operating is provided, and the amount of brake operation is changed between when the switch is operating and when it is not operating. The operation time is changed accordingly.

A switch for detecting that the brake is not operating (a brake motor home switch)
During operation, it takes time for the braking effect to appear, so by adjusting the 100% energization period according to the speed, the same speed stability as when the brake motor home switch is not operating can be achieved. Thus, collision with the previous cart can be prevented, and the stopping distance detected by the cart guard can be made uniform.

The golf cart according to claim 8 of the present invention is
In a golf cart in which automatic steering along a predetermined traveling path is possible and a brake is operated by a motor when the distance between the golf cart and an obstacle in front is detected to be a predetermined interval, the brake is stopped. A switch for detecting that the key is not operating is provided, and the amount of brake operation is changed between when the switch is operating and when it is not operating. This is achieved by changing the duty of the motor input accordingly.

Thus, depending on the speed of the cart,
When the brake motor home switch is operating and when it is not operating, it takes longer for the brake effect to appear when the switch is operating, so it takes longer for the speed to stabilize. However, since normal brake control does not require urgency, by determining the brake duty according to the running speed of the cart,
Smooth braking control is obtained.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 2 and 3 show system diagrams of a control system of an engine-type riding golf cart to which the present invention is applied. 2 and 3 show the microcomputer 2 of the control box 1.
The figure is divided into left and right with the center as the center, and a composite of both figures is the entire control system diagram. The control system is schematically
The control box 1 includes a microcomputer 2, an operation unit 3, a steering unit 4, a sensor unit 5, a power supply unit 6, an engine unit 7, a parking unit 8, and a main brake unit 9.

The sensor unit 5 is composed of a cart guard detecting means comprising a transmitting antenna 51 installed at the rear part of the golf cart and a receiving antenna 52 for receiving a radio wave transmitted from the preceding vehicle, and a kind of cart guard detecting means. An obstacle sensor 53 composed of an ultrasonic horn and a bumper switch 54 are provided. The cart guard detecting means is for detecting an obstacle ahead and stopping traveling.

The main brake unit 9 includes a drum brake 9
1 to supply the command signal of the microcomputer 2 to the main brake motor 92 via the main brake driver 93, thereby adjusting the braking force by relaxing the drum brake 91. Of course, the drum brake 91 can also be operated initiatively by the brake pedal.

The control system of the steering unit 4 includes an induction sensor, a torque sensor linked to the steering wheel, and a steering motor. Although not shown, a left / right operation corresponding to the left or right rotation of the steering wheel is performed. Means for detecting a steering operation amount such as a detection switch or a volume is provided.

When a passenger golf car having such a configuration is to be operated manually, setting the automatic operation switching lever to "manual" results in a manual driving mode, in which the steering wheel is operated in the same manner as a normal passenger cart. As a result, means for detecting a steering operation amount, such as a switch or a volume, which responds to the rotation of the steering wheel to the left or right, is operated, and the steering motor is rotated to the left via the microcomputer 2. Then, by operating the steering wheel (steering) and operating the accelerator and the brake, the player can perform forward and backward driving by the operation of the player himself.

Next, in the case of automatic steering, when the automatic operation switching lever is set to "automatic", the automatic steering mode is set. At that time, the induction current flowing through the loop line buried along the cart path (running path) is detected as an induction signal by the left and right induction sensors, amplified, detected, and then passed through a differential amplifier to obtain a differential output. Then, it is analog-input to the microcomputer 2.

The vehicle runs on a cart while performing automatic control, automatic increase / decrease, and automatic stop according to a command from the microcomputer 2. It is also possible to start and stop at an arbitrary place by operating the remote control or the start / stop button. Also, when a danger is detected by various safety devices such as a cart guard detecting means, the emergency stop is performed. In particular, in the case of the cart guard detecting means, since the stop operation is automatically performed, the vehicle is stopped while maintaining a certain distance from the preceding vehicle.

When the brake is operated by the motor to stop the golf cart, there is an effective operation area and an invalid operation area because the brake has a margin (play). When the vehicle is traveling on a downhill where the speed is high, or when there is a large amount of load or a large number of people, the brakes are operating, and there is no margin for pulling the brakes, and the brakes operate in the effective operation area. Conversely, on flat terrain, uphill, etc., the brakes are not operating, so there is a time for the brakes to be effective (idle running period) because there is a sufficient amount of braking, and the braking operation taking that amount into account Unless the amount is determined, the stopping distance detected by the cart guard cannot be made uniform.

Therefore, the present invention relates to a golf cart which is stopped by a cart guard detecting means when an obstacle or a stopped or running golf cart is present in the forward direction and approached, and the brake is operated by a motor to stop the golf cart.
The amount of brake operation can be changed between when the switch that detects that the brake is not operating (brake motor home switch) is operating and when it is not operating, and the time until the brake is effective When the cart guard detection means receives an input, the brake control is performed in multiple stages so that the braking operation amount taking into account It is.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a switch for detecting that the brake is not operating, that is, a brake motor home switch. A brake motor shaft is connected to a center point of the rod, and the rod is rotated by the rotational force of the motor, and a brake wire is tightened at the tip of the rod to apply a braking force to the drum brake.

A brake motor home switch is located at the bottom of the rod, and is turned on when the brake is not operating.
And is set to be OFF when operating. FIG. 9A shows ON when the brake is not operating.
FIG. 9A shows an OF signal when the brake is operating.
F is shown. The brake motor home switch is connected to the microcomputer 2 in the control unit, and the brake position information is detected regardless of whether the vehicle is running or stopped.

In addition, the brake naturally has an allowance (play) and has an effective operation area. Therefore, even when the same duty is applied, the stopping distance or the deceleration curve from the time of the brake operation is different. Normally, the brake state is divided into an effective range and an invalid range, apart from the strength, and the brake home switch is set to O
N indicates an invalid range, and OFF indicates both an invalid range and an effective range. However, the invalid range at the time of OFF is only a momentary passage at the time of ON. That is, ON is an invalid range and OFF is determined by ON / OFF of the home switch.
There is no problem in determining that the brake is in the effective range. In the ineffective range, it takes a long time until the brake is applied, and in the effective range, the brake is applied immediately.

The control mode of the brake is a plurality of stages of control. For example, three stages of brake control will be described. FIG. 4 is a chart of three-step braking showing the control mode of the brake of the present invention when the receiving antenna 52 of the cart guard detecting means detects the signal transmitted from the former transmitting antenna 51. In the figure, the upper part is a time axis from the input of the cart guard detection signal, and the lower part shows the control mode of the brake. The three steps are shown in FIG. 4 (A) when the brake home switch is ON. . FIG. 4B shows the state when the brake home switch is OFF.

In the normal state, if there is an obstacle, a stopped or running golf cart in the forward direction, and approaching,
In the first section, the microcomputer 2 sends a 100% duty command signal via the main brake driver 93 to the main brake motor 92 for a period that does not lock the tires so as to reduce the speed as much as possible. To supply. As a result, the drum brake 91 is tightened to output a strong brake.

However, since the brake is not operated on a flat ground, uphill or the like, the brake home switch is ON and there is a time (idle running period) until the brake is effective, and the brake of 100% duty in a longer period is used. An output is required, and the state is as shown in FIG. On the other hand, when the cart guard is stopped while the brake is operating, such as on a downhill, the brake home switch is OFF, as shown in FIG. 4B, and the period from the former is shorter. Is fine.

This period can be obtained from the speed at the time of detection of the cart guard, as shown in FIG. 5. The speed at the time of detection of the cart guard detection signal is plotted on the horizontal axis, and the duty of 100% is plotted on the vertical axis.
Shows the output period of the command signal. Then, for example, when the vehicle speed is 8 km / h, a brake with 100% duty is output for 90 ms.

Next, when the speed of the golf cart is reduced, in the first section, 40 seconds after the detection of the cart guard detection signal.
Until 0 ms, a constant brake output with a duty of 40% is used, and the speed is gradually reduced. Then, in the section where the distance is a predetermined distance from the stop target, the duty 0 is adjusted in order to adjust the shortage of the speed decrease in the section.
The operation for adjusting the braking force is performed in the range of% to 70%.

This calculates the acceleration for 100 ms and changes the duty according to the value, and is calculated from the relationship shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, the abscissa indicates the acceleration and the ordinate indicates the duty (%). The negative acceleration indicates a state where the vehicle is being decelerated by the braking force. In this example, when the acceleration is -1 (m / s ² ), a braking force with a duty of 70% is applied, and the acceleration is -1 (m / s ² ).
/ S ² ), the duty of the braking force is linearly selected in the range of 70% to 0%. Then, the vehicle is stopped by brake control according to the speed gradient.

As described above, when the vehicle is not overloaded by a normal brake or on a downhill slope within a reference gradient, a slip sound is generated by the above-described three-stage brake control without colliding with the preceding cart. The stopping distance by the detection of the cart guard can be made uniform, and the stopping can be performed at a predetermined interval.

On the other hand, when the brake motor home switch is
In the case of N and OFF, ON takes more time until the braking effect appears, so that it takes time until the speed is stabilized. For normal brake control,
Since smooth braking control is required without urgency, the brake duty is determined according to the overspeed with respect to the target speed in the relationship as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, when the brake motor home switch is ON, it takes a long time to apply the brakes in order to prevent a collision with the previous cart and make the stopping distance uniform by the detection of the cart guard. As described above, if the 100% energizing period is adjusted according to the overspeed with respect to the target speed, the same speed stability as when the brake motor home switch is OFF can be achieved.

Next, the stop control of the golf cart according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flow of the control sequence shown in FIG.
In the figure, the start of the cart guard stop control in step S0 determines in step S1 whether or not a cart guard detection signal has been input.

If the cart guard detection signal is present, the process proceeds to step 2, and in step S2, it is determined whether the brake motor home switch is ON. If the home switch is ON, the process proceeds to step S3, and FIG.
During the period (A), 100% duty brake control is performed. If the home switch is OFF, the process proceeds to step S4, and 100% duty brake control is performed during the period of FIG.

Next, in step S5, from the period of 400 ms from the start of the cart guard detection signal, the 100
During the remaining period after subtracting the period of% duty, brake control of 40% duty is performed. 400
ms, then in step S6, during the period, 20% to 70% in consideration of the acceleration obtained in FIG.
% Brake control is performed.

In the next step S7, it is determined whether the golf cart has been stopped. If not, return to step 6 and repeat the same procedure as above. If it has stopped, the flow proceeds to the next step S8, and the control flow of the stop control ends.

[0048]

As described above, in the golf cart of the present invention, when an obstacle or a stopped or running golf cart is present in the forward direction and approaches, the cart guard detection means detects the obstacle and the input of the brake motor is detected. When the duty is controlled to stop the golf cart, whether the brake is inactive or in operation is determined by turning on or off the brake motor home switch.
Detected by the position of FF, ON / OFF of home switch
By changing the brake control according to the F state,
Tire slip on flat ground can be eliminated, cart collision on downhill can be prevented, and stop distance can be made uniform.

Further, in the brake control of the normal running, smooth braking control is required without urgency, so that
The brake duty is determined according to the overspeed with respect to the target speed, and the brake motor home switch is turned off.
At the time of N, it takes time for the braking effect to appear.
By adjusting the 0% energizing period, the speed can be stabilized at the target speed when the target speed is changed, regardless of the brake operation state before the change.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a riding golf cart.

FIG. 2 is a control system diagram of a riding golf cart.

FIG. 3 is a control system diagram of a riding golf cart.

FIG. 4 is a time chart of three-stage braking according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a relationship between a speed at the time of detecting a cart guard and a braking output period.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relationship between an acceleration and a braking force when a cart guard is detected.

FIG. 7 shows a relationship between a target overspeed and a brake motor duty.

FIG. 8 shows a relationship between a target overspeed and a 100% duty period.

FIG. 9 is a layout diagram of a brake motor home switch.

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of a brake control sequence.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control box 2 Microcomputer 3 Operation part 4 Steering part 5 Sensor part 6 Power supply part 7 Engine part 8 Parking part 9 Main brake part 10 Switch 51 Transmission antenna 52 Receiving antenna 53 Obstacle sensor 54 Bumper switch 91 Drum brake 92 Main brake motor 93 Main brake driver

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) B62D 6/00 B62D 6/00 // B62D 109: 00 119: 00 (72) Inventor Tomoaki Uenishi Osaka 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi City Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tomohiro Yamada 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi City, Osaka Prefecture Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Matsuoka 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka F-term (reference) in Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. 3D032 CC50 DA15 DA36 DA78 DA83 DA86 DA93 DB03 DB05 EA01 EB04 FF01 3D033 CA03 CA16 CA18 CA28 CA31 3D046 AA06 BB18 CC04 CC06 EE01 HH02 HH20 HH22 JJ00 KK11 3D050 AA16 BB01 BB11 DD01 EE08 EE15 GG01 JJ02 JJ08 JJ09 KK03 KK13

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A golf which can be automatically steered along a predetermined traveling path and stops by operating a brake by a motor when detecting that a distance from a golf cart or an obstacle in front is a predetermined interval. A golf cart characterized in that a switch for detecting that the brake is not operating is provided in the cart, and the amount of brake operation is changed between when the switch is operating and when it is not operating. 2. The golf cart according to claim 1, wherein the amount of operation is large when the switch is operating, and is small when the switch is not operating. 3. The golf cart according to claim 1, wherein the operation amount of the brake is adjusted by changing an operation time. 4. The golf cart according to claim 1, wherein the operation amount of the brake is adjusted by changing a duty of a motor input. 5. The golf cart according to claim 1, wherein the braking operation is performed in a plurality of stages, and the braking operation for adjusting the amount of operation by changing the operation time is performed in an initial stage. 6. The brake operation is performed in a plurality of stages. Regardless of the operation of changing the amount of brake operation between when the switch is operating and when the switch is not operating, the operation at the last stage has a start timing. The golf cart according to claim 1, wherein the golf cart is determined. 7. The golf cart according to claim 3, wherein the operation of adjusting the operation amount of the brake by adjusting the operation time changes the operation time according to the traveling speed. 8. The golf cart according to claim 4, wherein the operation of adjusting the brake operation amount by adjusting the duty of the motor input changes the duty in accordance with the traveling speed.