JP2003252075A - Vehicle, shift knob, and remote control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a shift knob and a remote control device for a vehicle which can easily and reliably perform a desired operation when applied to a vehicle with an automatic transmission. <P>SOLUTION: Operators 8 and 9 related to the operation other than the gear operation are disposed on the shift knob 5 of the automatic transmission. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle, a shift knob and a remote control device, and is particularly applicable to a vehicle having an automatic transmission. The present invention is
By arranging the operators related to operations other than gear operation on the shift knob of the automatic transmission,
To enable a desired operation to be executed easily and surely.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in vehicles, various operators for operating wipers, audio equipment, etc. are arranged around a so-called steering wheel in a concentrated manner. It is designed not to become.

[0003]

By the way, when the various operators are arranged around the steering wheel in a concentrated manner, there is a problem that the operators for the desired operation are rather hard to find. There is also a risk of doing it. Specifically, there are cases where the direction of the light is changed to change the volume of the audio device, and further, when the rear wiper is moved and the front wiper is moved.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and an object thereof is to propose a vehicle, a shift knob, and a remote control device that can easily and surely perform a desired operation.

[0005]

In order to solve such a problem, the invention of claim 1 is applied to a vehicle in which a shift knob of an automatic transmission is arranged on the side of a driver's seat, and the shift knob is not operated by a gear. The operator for the operation of is arranged.

Further, in the invention of claim 4, the invention is applied to a shift knob of an automatic transmission arranged on the side of a driver's seat, and an operator for an operation other than a gear operation is arranged.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5, when applied to a remote control device, it can be arranged directly or indirectly on a shift lever of an automatic transmission arranged on the side of a driver's seat. And signal output means for detecting the operation of the operator and sending a remote control signal to the controlled object.

According to the structure of the first aspect, the invention is applied to a vehicle in which a shift knob of an automatic transmission is arranged on the side of a driver's seat, and an operator related to an operation other than gear operation is arranged on the shift knob. As a result, the driver can execute the corresponding operation by a simple operation of operating the operator with his / her hand on the shift knob. As a result, the number of operators arranged around the handle can be reduced as compared with the case where such an operator is provided around the handle, and the erroneous operation of the operators can be effectively avoided accordingly. In addition, with the operator arranged on the shift knob in this way, it is possible for the driver to naturally recognize that the operation target differs between the operator arranged around the steering wheel, which also effectively avoids erroneous operation. can do. As a result, the desired operation can be executed easily and reliably.

Thus, according to the structure of claim 4, it is possible to provide a shift knob which can easily and surely perform a desired operation.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to directly or indirectly attach to the shift lever by so-called retrofitting so that a desired operation can be performed easily and reliably.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

(1) First Embodiment (1-1) Configuration of the First Embodiment FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the driver's seat side of a vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Is. In this vehicle 1, a steering wheel 2, an accelerator pedal 3, a brake pedal 4 and the like are arranged on the driver's seat side as in a normal vehicle, and a shift knob 5 is arranged between the driver's seat side and the passenger seat. Is
Further, an audio device 6 is arranged on the dashboard.

Here, FIG. 1A shows a plan view seen from above, and FIG. 1B shows a side view seen from a side. The shift knob 5 is a shift lever of an automatic transmission. 5A is an operation knob for operating the gear 5A, and the gear can be operated by moving it back and forth with a hand. Also, when the button 7 is moved back and forth, the lock can be released by pressing the button 7 to operate the gear position from the parking position.

Further, the shift knob 5 is provided with a plurality of operators 8 and 9 for predetermined operations other than gear operation, in addition to the operators 7 for gear operation. That is, the shift knob 5 is provided with a rotary operator 8 and a rotary operator 9 that can be pressed, at a position on the side of the driver's seat where the thumb is attached. The shift knob 5 is configured to notify the audio device 6 of the operation of the rotary operators 8 and 9 via a cable 10 arranged inside the shift lever. As a result, the shift knob 5 can be operated by a predetermined operation other than the gear operation as described above.
The operation device 8 and 9 can be used to operate the audio device 6.

Further, the shift knob 5 has an infrared ray transmitting / receiving element 11 arranged on the upper end surface thereof. The infrared ray is sent upward by the light transmitting / receiving element 11, and the infrared ray reflected by the hand and returned is received. Has been done. The shift knob 5 is also connected to the audio device 6 by the cable 10 with respect to the light-transmitting / receiving element 11 as well, whereby the light-receiving element 11 is driven by the audio device 6 to process the light-receiving result, thereby bringing the hand closer to the shift knob 5. The state where the hand is attached to the shift knob 5 and the state where the hand is attached to the shift knob 5 can be detected. As a result, the light transmitting / receiving element 11 constitutes a detection mechanism for detecting the approach of the hand.

The audio device 6 drives the speaker 13 arranged in the room by an audio signal obtained from a radio broadcast, an audio signal obtained from a compact disc, or an audio signal obtained from a mini disc, so that various kinds of signals are provided to the user. It is designed to provide music and the like. That is, in the audio device 6,
The receiving unit 14 receives a radio broadcast and outputs an audio signal, and the CD unit 15 reproduces a compact disc and outputs an audio signal. Further, the MD unit 16 reproduces the mini disc and outputs an audio signal.

These receiving section 14, CD section 15, MD section 1
6, the operation is switched under the control of the controller 17,
Thereby, the receiving band, the receiving channel, and the track can be switched.

The liquid crystal display panel (LCD) 18 detects the audio signal provided to the user in this manner.
Display song title, volume, frequency spectrum, etc.

The controller 17 is a control circuit for controlling the operation of the audio device 6, and operates the receiving section 14, the CD section 15, and the MD section 16 by operating various operators provided on the operation panel of the audio apparatus 6. Is selectively activated to switch the audio signal source for the audio signal provided to the user. In addition, the receiving unit 14
Band, channel, CD unit 15, MD unit 1
The track to be reproduced at 6 and the display of the liquid crystal display panel 18 are switched, and the volume is changed.

In the controller 17, in addition to the processing in these ordinary audio devices, the operation of the rotary operators 8 and 9 arranged on the shift knob 5 and the transmission / reception element 1 are performed.
The audio source or the like is switched according to the detection result of 1. That is, the controller 17 sequentially and cyclically switches the audio signal source when the push operation of the rotary operation element 8 is performed. Further, when the rotary operator 8 is rotated, if the audio signal from the receiver 14 is being provided to the user according to the direction of the rotary operation, the reception channel is changed to the audio signal from the CD unit 15 and the MD unit 16. When the signal is being provided to the user, the tracks are sequentially cycled through. When the rotary operator 9 is rotated, the volume of the audio signal provided from the speaker 13 is changed according to the operation direction.

Further, the controller 17 detects the state in which the hand is brought close to the shift knob 5 by driving the light transmitting / receiving element 11 by a signal processing circuit (not shown) and processing the light receiving result. When the hand is approached in this way, the controller 17 changes the display of the liquid crystal display panel 18 from the display for monitoring the volume and frequency spectrum to
The display is switched to a display showing the current state of the operation target by the rotary operators 8 and 9. Specifically, in this embodiment, since the audio signal source, the channel, the track, and the volume can be operated by operating the rotary operators 8 and 9, the controller 17 can control the case where the receiving unit 14 provides the audio signal. Displays the receiving band, channel, and current volume. When an audio signal is provided by the CD unit 15 and the MD unit 16, the display is switched to a symbol indicating a compact disc or a mini disc, a track being reproduced, and a volume.

(1-2) Operation of the Embodiment With the above-described structure, the vehicle 1 can be operated by operating the shift knob 5, the steering wheel 2, the accelerator pedal 3, etc., as in a normal vehicle. At this time, various kinds of operators arranged on the operation panel of the audio device 6 can be operated to switch the audio signal source, the receiving channel, the track, the volume, and the like to audition the audio signal.

In this vehicle 1, in addition to the operations related to these ordinary vehicles, when the driver approaches the shift knob 5 with his / her hand, the infrared rays emitted from the light transmitting / receiving element 11 arranged on the shift knob 5 are reflected by the hand. Then, the controller 17 detects the approach of the hand to the shift knob 5 by receiving the light by the light transmitting / receiving element 11, and the approach of the hand causes the display of the liquid crystal display panel 18 to change from the display for monitoring the volume and the frequency spectrum to The display is switched to a display showing the current state of the operation target by the rotary operators 8 and 9 arranged on the shift knob 5.

Further, when a hand is attached to the shift knob 5 and the rotary operation element 8 which can be pressed by the thumb is pressed, the audio signal source is sequentially and cyclically switched, and the rotation of the rotary operation element 8 causes the receiving channel and the track to be tracked. Can be switched. Similarly, the volume is changed by rotating the rotary operator 9.

As a result, in this vehicle 1, the driver does not have to bother to reach for the operation panel of the audio device 6 to operate the operator, and to arrange the operator such as the volume around the steering wheel 2. Even if it is not necessary, it is possible to execute various operations related to the audio device 6 simply by putting the hand on the shift knob 5 and operating the rotary operation elements 8 and 9.
As a result, the desired operation can be executed easily and reliably.

In particular, since the shift knob 5 of the automatic transmission vehicle is arranged at a position where it can be easily operated like the manual vehicle, the shift knob 5 is much less frequently operated than the manual vehicle. As in the embodiment, by arranging the operators related to operations other than the gear operation on the shift knob 5, the operations of these operators can be executed easily and reliably, and the usability of the vehicle can be improved accordingly. It can be further improved.

By disposing the rotary operators 8 and 9 on the shift knob 5 in this manner, the number of operators arranged around the handle can be reduced accordingly. Therefore, it is possible to effectively avoid erroneous operations with respect to other operators arranged around the handle.

Further, in this manner, the shift knob 5 is provided with an operator 8,
When 9 is arranged, the user can naturally recognize that the operation target is different between the operation elements arranged around the handlebar, and this also allows the shift knob 5 to be operated.
It is possible to reliably prevent an erroneous operation by the user between the operators 8 and 9 and the operators arranged around the handle.

In particular, as in this embodiment, by arranging the operating elements 8 and 9 for operating the audio device 6 on the shift knob 5, the operating elements such as wipers and blinkers arranged around the steering wheel are connected to each other. Now, it is clear to the driver that the operation target is different, and this makes it possible for the driver to significantly reduce the erroneous operation of the operator related to these driving compared to the conventional one. Can be significantly improved.

(1-3) Effects of the First Embodiment According to the above configuration, the desired operation can be performed easily by arranging the operator related to the operation other than the gear operation on the shift knob of the automatic transmission. It can be executed reliably.

Further, since the operation other than the gear operation is the operation of the audio device, it is possible to arrange only the operating elements around the steering wheel, and accordingly, the erroneous operation of these operating elements is significantly reduced. can do.

Further, the shift knob is provided with a detection mechanism for detecting the approach of the hand, and based on the detection result of this detection mechanism, the current state of the operation target by the operator of the shift knob is displayed, so that such a shift knob is displayed. Even a user who does not have knowledge of the arranged operating elements can operate the operating elements of the shift knob simply and reliably.

(2) Second Embodiment In this embodiment, in place of the operator for operating the audio device described above in the first embodiment,
Operators for various operations related to the rear window are arranged on the shift knob.

That is, in this embodiment, an operator for activating the rear window defogger, an operator for spraying window washer liquid on the rear window, and an operator for activating the rear window wiper and changing the speed of the wiper. On the shift knob.

As a result, in this embodiment, various operations relating to the rear window can be performed collectively on the shift knob side, whereby the front side wiper is activated to operate the rear window side wiper, for example. It is possible to effectively avoid an erroneous operation such as turning and improve the usability of the driver.

According to the second embodiment, even if the shift knob is provided with an operator for an operation other than the gear operation and the operation other than the gear operation is various operations related to the rear window, The desired operation can be executed easily and surely. Particularly in this case, it is possible to effectively avoid an erroneous operation between various operations related to the rear window and various operations related to the front window.

(3) Third Embodiment In the third embodiment, a remote commander, which is a remote control device, is attached to a shift knob, and the volume and the like of the audio device are remotely controlled by the remote commander.

Therefore, in the audio device, the remote control signal from the remote commander is received to change the volume and the like, and further the tracks and the like are switched. On the other hand, the remote commander is formed in a thin plate shape and is operated by a built-in battery. Further, an operating element for pressing operation is arranged, and a remote control signal by infrared rays or wireless is output by a built-in signal output circuit by pressing operation of this operating element.

As a result, in this embodiment, unlike the first and second embodiments, even if an operator is not provided on the shift knob on the vehicle side, an operator other than gear operation is attached to the shift knob by so-called retrofitting. It is designed to be able to be placed.

Even if an operator other than gear operation is arranged on the shift knob by so-called retrofitting as in this embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

(4) Other Embodiments In the third embodiment described above, the remote control device is indirectly arranged on the shift lever by attaching the remote commander to the shift knob. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be arranged directly on the shift lever.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the operator related to the audio device and the operator related to the rear window are arranged on the shift knob has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the operation related to the car navigation device, for example. It can be widely applied to the case of arranging children.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the rotary operator that can be pressed, the normal rotary operator, and the press operator are arranged has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a trackball type. The present invention can be widely applied to the case of arranging an operator for inputting xy coordinates, an operator by a toggle switch, or the like.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, a desired operation can be performed easily and surely by disposing an operator for an operation other than gear operation on the shift knob of the automatic transmission.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view and a side view showing a shift knob according to a first embodiment of the present invention together with a peripheral structure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a driver's seat of the vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Vehicle, 5 ... Shift knob, 5A ... Shift lever, 6 ... Audio device, 8, 9 ... Operator, 11 ...
... Transmitting / receiving elements, 14 ... Receiving section, 15 ... CD section, 16
…… MD part, 17 …… Controller, 18 …… Liquid crystal display panel

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle in which a shift knob for an automatic transmission is arranged on the side of a driver's seat, wherein the shift knob is provided with an operator for an operation other than a gear operation. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the operation other than the gear operation is an operation of an audio device. 3. The shift knob is provided with a detection mechanism for detecting an approach of a hand, and based on a detection result by the detection mechanism, a current state of an operation target by the operator by the approach of the hand to the shift knob. The vehicle according to claim 2, wherein is displayed. 4. A shift knob of an automatic transmission arranged laterally of a driver's seat, wherein an operator for an operation other than gear operation is arranged. 5. A shift lever of an automatic transmission arranged laterally of a driver's seat, which can be directly or indirectly arranged, and which detects a manipulation of the manipulator and a remote control target. A remote control device, comprising: a signal output means for transmitting a control signal.