JP2006232155A - Obstacle sensing device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an obstacle sensing device for a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The obstacle sensing device for the vehicle includes a radar unit mounted at the front end of the vehicle for sensing obstacle(s) located around and an aiming mechanism to adjust the axis of the radar unit, wherein the adjusting part of the aiming mechanism is installed near the top of a front grille through a motion transmitting member extending from the radar unit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an obstacle detection device for a vehicle, and particularly to an aiming mechanism thereof.

In recent years, various radar units such as a laser (light) radar sensor and a millimeter wave radar sensor have been used in vehicles as an obstacle detection device.
This radar unit is widely used, for example, to recognize the distance to the preceding vehicle and keep the distance between the preceding vehicle constant, or to recognize the obstacle ahead including the preceding vehicle. It is used to warn the driver of the danger of rear-end collision, or to wind up the seat belt before the rear-end collision and reduce injury to the passenger.

  Since the radar unit's axis is not positioned in an appropriate direction (direction) with respect to the vehicle on which the radar unit is mounted, its original performance cannot be achieved. It has a mechanism.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an example of this type of aiming mechanism. In Patent Document 1, the radar device is disposed inside the front grille in the center in the width direction, and is attached to the bracket via a total of three adjustment bolts provided on the upper left and right sides and the lower left side of the radar device. The bracket is fixed to the vehicle body.

  In the aiming mechanism, the adjustment bolt on the upper left side or the upper right side of the radar device is screwed or loosened to adjust the left and right of the axis of the radar device, and the adjustment bolt on the lower left side of the radar device is screwed. The axis of the radar device is adjusted up and down by loosening.

JP 2002-303672 A

  However, in the above-described aiming mechanism, when adjusting the axis of the radar device, i.e., aiming, the hand from above is placed in a narrow space between the radar device attached to the vehicle body and the bumper positioned in front of the radar device. The adjustment bolts must be inserted and turned, and these adjustment bolts extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body. Therefore, it is troublesome to turn them from above, and the workability is very poor.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been invented to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle obstacle detection device with good aiming workability.

  In order to achieve the above object, an obstacle detection device for a vehicle according to the present invention is provided with a radar unit for detecting surrounding obstacles at the front end of the vehicle, and an aiming mechanism for adjusting the axis of the radar unit. The adjustment portion is arranged near the upper end portion of the front grille via a motion transmission member extending from the radar unit.

  In the present invention, the adjustment unit of the aiming mechanism includes a vertical adjustment unit for adjusting the vertical axis of the radar unit, and a horizontal adjustment unit for adjusting the horizontal axis of the radar unit. A notch is formed in the front grille, and the vertical adjustment part and the horizontal adjustment part are provided in the front grill so that an operator can access the cutout part via the cutout part. Preferably they are arranged.

  Moreover, in this invention, when the said notch part is seen from upper direction, it is preferable that at least one part of the said left-right direction adjustment part is hidden by the said front grille top surface.

  Further, in the present invention, it is preferable that the vertical adjustment unit is arranged so that an operator can adjust from above, and the horizontal adjustment unit is arranged so that the operator can adjust from diagonally above. .

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the notch is formed at the center in the width direction of the front grille, and a portion of the front grill located in front of the notch protrudes forward to constitute a decorative member mounting part. Is preferred.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the radar unit is attached to a radiator shroud while being displaced in the width direction from the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

  In the vehicle obstacle detection device of the present invention configured as described above, the aiming mechanism adjustment portion is disposed near the upper end portion of the front grill, so that the aiming work is easier than in the prior art aiming mechanism.

  In addition, when the configuration is such that the vertical adjustment unit and the horizontal adjustment unit of the aiming mechanism are arranged in the front grille so that they can be accessed from the notch formed in the front grille, work other than aiming work in particular Therefore, it is possible to prevent the vertical adjustment unit and the horizontal adjustment unit from being accidentally damaged.

  Furthermore, when the cutout portion is viewed from above, it is possible to prevent the left-right adjustment portion from being erroneously operated when at least a part of the left-right adjustment portion is hidden by the front grill top surface. .

  Furthermore, when the vertical adjustment unit is configured to be adjusted from above and the horizontal adjustment unit is adjusted from diagonally above, it is possible to prevent the horizontal adjustment unit from being erroneously operated.

  Furthermore, when the notch portion is formed in the center portion in the width direction of the front grille, the front grille portion located in front of the notch portion protrudes forward, and when the decorative member mounting portion is configured by the protruding portion, Even in a thin front grill, it is easy to form a notch.

  In addition, when the radar unit is configured to be deviated in the width direction from the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, the radar unit is normally connected to the aiming device during the aiming work performed at the center of the vehicle in the width direction. It is possible to prevent the operator from obstructing the radar emission to the measurement unit.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 1, a vehicle obstacle detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention is indicated generally by the reference numeral 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle obstacle detection device 1 has a millimeter wave radar 2, and the millimeter wave radar 2 uses the brackets 32 to 34 described later to extend from the longitudinal center axis of the vehicle V in the width direction. The radiator shroud 30 is attached to the radiator shroud. The measurement result obtained by the millimeter wave radar 2 is transmitted to a processing device (not shown), which processes the measurement result of the millimeter wave radar 2 and issues an alarm notifying the driver of the danger according to a predetermined program. Or control the related devices, such as operating a pretensioner.

  A bumper reinforcement 61 that reinforces the front bumper 60 (FIG. 1) is provided in front of the radiator shroud 30, and a front grill 62 (FIG. 1) is disposed on the front bumper 60. Note that the terms “front”, “rear”, “left”, and “right” in the present application mean front, rear, left and right with respect to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle in the traveling direction of the vehicle when used without special explanation.

  A mounting bar 31 is attached to the radiator shroud 30 using bolts and nuts so as to extend substantially vertically between the upper end portion and the lower end portion thereof. The first bracket 32 has bolts and nuts attached to the mounting bar 31. Attached using. Of course, it may be fixed using welding or an adhesive instead of using bolts and nuts. In the following description, for the purpose of simplifying the description, when any of fastening using a fastening means such as a bolt, a nut, or a screw, or fixing using welding, an adhesive, or the like may be used, simply “ This is referred to as “attachment”.

  The radiator shroud 30 also has a second bracket 33 attached to the right side thereof, and a third bracket 34 attached to the left side front surface of the second bracket 33 and the right side front surface of the first bracket 32.

  As best seen in FIG. 3, the third bracket 34 has a forward protruding portion 35 having a U-shaped cross section on the left side. The front protrusion 35 extends rearwardly from the front wall 35B so as to face a part of the inner wall 35A, an inner wall 35A extending forward from the third bracket 34 body, a front wall 35B extending outward from the inner wall 35A. It consists of an outer side wall 35C.

  Shaft through holes 36 and 37 are formed in the upper and lower portions of the front wall 35B, respectively, and a pair of mounting stays 38A and 38B spaced apart in the vertical direction from the outer wall 35C are parallel to the front wall 35B. The mounting holes 39 are formed in the mounting stays 38A and 38B.

  An extension 40 extends downward from the lower edge of the front wall 35 </ b> B, and an attachment hole 41 is formed in the extension 40. A bracket (not shown) is attached to the attachment hole 41, and an extension wire 54 'described later is held by the bracket.

  As best seen in FIG. 4, the space formed by the first bracket 32 and the upper portion of the front protrusion 35 of the third bracket 34 is provided with an aiming mechanism for adjusting the direction of the axis of the millimeter wave radar 2. The aiming gear 50 which comprises is arrange | positioned. The aiming gear 50 includes a crown gear 51 and a shaft 52 extending from the crown gear 51, and the shaft 52 passes through the shaft through hole 36 of the front wall 35B.

  A pair of rings 52A and 52B are formed on the shaft 52, and these rings 52A and 52B are disposed close to the front and rear surfaces of the front wall 35B, and prevent the shaft 52 from rotating in the front-rear direction while allowing the shaft 52 to rotate. To do. A male thread 52 </ b> C is cut at the free end of the shaft 52.

  On the other hand, the aiming gear is not disposed behind the front protrusion 35 of the third bracket 34.

  Referring to FIG. 3 again, the third bracket 34 has a forward projecting portion 42 having a U-shaped cross section at the lower right portion. The front protrusion 42 includes an inner wall 42A extending forward from the third bracket 34 body, a front wall 42B extending outward from the inner wall 42A, and an outer wall extending rearward from the front wall 42B so as to face the inner wall 42A. 42C.

  A shaft through-hole 43 is formed in the front wall 42B, and a pair of mounting stays 44A and 44B spaced horizontally from the lower edge of the front wall 42B extend downward, and are attached to the mounting stays 44A and 44B. A hole 45 is formed.

  An aiming gear 50 ′ is disposed in the front protrusion 42 of the third bracket 34. Since the aiming gear 50 ′ has the same structure as the above-described aiming gear 50, description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 to 6, the millimeter wave radar 2 has a first stay 2A on the upper left side, a second stay 2B on the lower left side, a third stay 2C on the upper right side, and a lower side. A fourth stay 2D is formed on the right side. In this embodiment, the third stay 2C is not used.

  As best seen in FIG. 4, mounting holes are formed in the respective stays 2 </ b> A and 2 </ b> D, and nut members 46 formed with screw holes are press-fitted and attached to these mounting holes. Although the mounting hole is formed in the stay 2B, the nut member 46 is not press-fitted into the mounting hole.

  Therefore, the male screw 52C of the shaft 52 of the aiming gear 50 is screwed into the screw hole of the nut member 46 of the stay 2A, and the male screw 52C of the shaft 52 of the aiming gear 50 ′ is screwed into the screw hole of the nut member 46 of the stay 2D. At the same time, the millimeter wave radar 2 is held on the radiator shroud 30 by passing the bolt B through the shaft through hole 37 from the rear of the third bracket 34 and screwing it onto a nut (not shown) arranged on the front side of the stay 2B. can do.

  The aiming mechanism for adjusting the direction of the axis of the millimeter wave radar 2 includes a top wall 62A of the front grill 62 as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 7 in addition to the above-described aiming gears 50 and 50 ′. The vertical adjustment unit 53 and the horizontal adjustment unit 53 ′ for operating the aiming gears 50 and 50 ′ are disposed immediately below the vertical adjustment unit 53 and the horizontal adjustment unit 53 ′. , Respectively, which are coupled to crown gears 51, 51 ′ of aiming gears 50, 50 ′ by flexible motion transmission members, in this embodiment, extension wires 54, 54 ′.

  Since the structures of the extension wires 54 and 54 'are the same, the following description will be given taking the extension wire 54 shown in FIG. 4 as an example.

  As best seen in FIG. 4, the extension wire 54 has an outer tube 54A and an inner cable 54B that can rotate within the outer tube 54A.

  A gear member 55 that engages with the crown gear 51 of the aiming gear 50 is disposed outside the outer tube 54, and the gear member 55 is attached to one end of the inner cable 54B, that is, the distal end. .

  Each of the vertical direction adjustment portion 53 and the horizontal direction adjustment portion 53 ′ has an adjustment member 56 in which a groove corresponding to the blade shape of the plus driver and the minus driver is formed on the outer end surface. It is attached to the other end of the cable 54B, that is, the proximal end. Since the structures of the vertical adjustment unit 53 and the horizontal adjustment unit 53 ′ are also the same, the following description will be given by taking the vertical adjustment unit 53 shown in FIG. 4 as an example.

  The vertical adjustment portion 53 also has a metal sleeve 57 fitted to the proximal end of the outer tube 54, and the sleeve 57 extends from the outer tube 54 beyond the adjustment member 56 in the proximal direction. The guide portion 57A is formed extending outward in the proximal direction. A metal sleeve 58 is also fitted to the distal end portion of the outer tube 54.

  The extension wire 54 is flexible so that it can be easily handled, but the inner cable 54B has a rotation angle of the gear member 55 when the adjustment member 56 is rotated using a screwdriver. It is preferable that the torsional rigidity is substantially equal.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the vertical direction adjustment unit 53 and the horizontal direction adjustment unit 53 ′ are attached to the attachment plate 59 attached to the radiator shroud 30 and the attachment bar 31 via the pressing metal fitting 59A, and the outer tube 54A, As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the respective distal portions 54A ′ of the 54A ′ are attached to the mounting stays 38A and 38B and the mounting stays 44A and 44B of the third bracket 34 via the presser fittings 59B and 59C. , Each attached.

  As best seen in FIG. 7, the vertical adjustment portion 53 and the horizontal adjustment portion 53 ′ are disposed in the hollow front grill 62, and the top wall 62 </ b> A of the front grill 62 has a central portion in the width direction of the front grill 62. , A notch 62B is formed, and through this notch 62B, the operator can access the vertical adjustment part 53 and the horizontal adjustment part 53 ′, that is, the adjustment member 56 can be turned by a screwdriver. It can be done. By providing the vertical adjustment unit 53 and the horizontal adjustment unit 53 ′ in the notch 62B, the vertical adjustment unit 53 and the horizontal adjustment unit 53 ′ may be accidentally damaged by operations other than the aiming work. Can be prevented.

  The vertical adjustment part 53 is arranged vertically, and when the cutout part 62B is viewed from above, the entire plane of the vertical adjustment part 53 can be seen, whereas the horizontal adjustment part 53 ′ is arranged obliquely. When the cutout portion 62B is viewed from above, only a part of the plane of the left / right adjustment portion 53 ′ is visible, and the remaining portion is hidden by the top wall 62A. In this way, the configuration that makes it difficult to access a part of the left / right direction adjustment unit 53 ′ is used because the majority of the aiming work is the adjustment of the radar axis in the vertical direction. This is to prevent the user from being operated.

  In the present embodiment, the portion of the front grill 62 positioned in front of the notch 62B protrudes forward to constitute a decorative member mounting portion for mounting a decorative member such as an emblem or mascot M. It is difficult in terms of size and shape to form the notch 62B for accommodating the adjusting portions 53 and 53 ′ in the front grill 62 having a short front-rear direction, in other words, a uniform size in the front-rear direction. Although not preferable from the viewpoint of the rigidity and strength of 62, the cutout portion 62 </ b> B can be formed without difficulty by providing the decorative member mounting portion on the front grill 62.

  Below, operation | movement of the aiming mechanism of the obstacle detection apparatus 1 for vehicles of the structure mentioned above is demonstrated.

First, the vertical adjustment of the axis of the millimeter wave radar 2 will be described.
First, with the hood of the vehicle V opened, a driver is inserted into the notch 62B of the front grill 62, and the adjustment member 56 of the vertical adjustment unit 53 is turned by the blade edge of the driver. Then, due to the torque applied to the adjustment member 56, the inner cable 54B is rotated in the outer tube 54, and the gear member 55 at the tip of the inner cable 54B is also rotated.

  Since the gear member 55 is engaged with the crown gear 51 of the aiming gear 50, the crown gear 51 and its shaft 52 rotate, but the shaft 52 is held by the bracket 34 by the rings 52A and 52B. The shaft 52 does not move in the axial direction.

  Since the nut member 46 of the first stay 2A on the upper left side of the millimeter wave radar 2 is screwed to the male screw 52C at the tip of the shaft 52, the first stay of the millimeter wave radar 2 is rotated by the rotation of the shaft 52. 2A is moved forward or backward according to the rotation direction of the shaft 52.

  On the other hand, since the second stay 2B and the fourth stay 2D on the lower right side remain stationary at the lower left side of the millimeter wave radar 2, the millimeter wave radar 2 connects the second stay 2B and the fourth stay 2D. By rotating forward or backward about the connecting axis, the axis of the millimeter wave radar 2 can be adjusted in the vertical direction.

  When adjusting the axis of the millimeter wave radar 2 in the left-right direction, the adjusting member 56 of the left-right direction adjusting portion 53 ′ is turned by the blade edge of the driver. Then, the same motion transmission as when the adjustment member 56 of the vertical adjustment unit 53 is turned is performed. As a result, the crown gear 51 of the aiming gear 50 ′ and the shaft 52 thereof are rotated, and the fourth stay 2D of the millimeter wave radar 2 is moved forward or backward, whereby the millimeter wave radar 2 is connected to the first stay 2A. By rotating forward or backward about the axis connecting the second stay 2B, the axis of the millimeter wave radar 2 can be adjusted in the left-right direction.

  In the vehicle obstacle detection device 1 according to the present invention, since the adjusting portions 53 and 53 ′ are disposed on the upper portion of the front grille, they are easily accessible and aiming work is easy. Further, the aiming work is usually performed by an operator standing in the center in the width direction of the vehicle. In the vehicle obstacle detection device 1, the millimeter wave radar 2 is displaced in the width direction from the longitudinal axis of the vehicle V. Therefore, there is an advantage that it is possible to prevent the worker from obstructing the radar emission from the radar unit to the measuring unit of the aiming device during the aiming work.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications as described below are possible.

  For example, in the vehicle obstacle detection device 1 of the above embodiment, the millimeter wave radar 2 is attached to the radiator shroud 30. However, if the front end of the vehicle does not interfere with obstacle detection by the millimeter wave radar 2, the millimeter wave radar 2 may be attached to a member other than the radiator shroud 30 or a frame, for example, a bumper reinforcement 40.

  In the above-described embodiment, the millimeter wave radar 2 is used as a means for detecting an obstacle. Instead, any known radar unit such as a laser (light) radar sensor can be used.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the vertical direction adjustment unit 53 and the horizontal direction adjustment unit 53 ′ are disposed adjacent to the top wall in the front grille, and this arrangement is most preferable. The adjusting portions may be arranged behind the front grill if they are substantially facing upward. In addition, the front grille in this application means the front panel arrange | positioned on a front bumper, and includes both with a grill and grillless.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the notch 62B for accessing the adjusting portions 53 and 53 ′ has a rectangular shape that opens rearward, but the notch does not open in any direction and has a closed shape. In this modified example, the risk of accidentally damaging the adjusting portions 53 and 53 ′ can be further reduced.

  In the embodiment described above, the obstacle detection device according to the present invention has been described for automobiles, but the obstacle detection device of the present invention can also be used for vehicles other than automobiles, for example, motorcycles and trains.

1 is a partial schematic perspective view of a vehicle schematically showing a mounting position of a vehicle obstacle detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the schematic perspective view which shows the attachment state to the radiator shroud of the vehicle obstacle detection apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the bracket used for attaching the millimeter wave radar shown in FIG. 2 to a radiator shroud. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows an aiming mechanism. It is a partial right side rear perspective view of the obstacle detection device for vehicles shown in the state where the first bracket and the second bracket are removed. It is a partial left side rear perspective view of the obstacle detection device for vehicles shown in the state where the 1st bracket and the 2nd bracket were removed. (A) is a schematic plan view showing a part of the front grille, and (B) is a partial longitudinal sectional view of (A).

Explanation of symbols

V Vehicle 1 Obstacle detection device for vehicle 2 Millimeter wave radar (radar unit)
53 Vertical adjustment part 53 ', Horizontal adjustment parts 54, 54' Extension wire (motion transmission member)
62 Front grille

Claims (6)

In the vehicle obstacle detection device in which a radar unit for detecting surrounding obstacles is mounted at the front end of the vehicle,
The adjustment unit of the aiming mechanism for adjusting the axis of the radar unit is disposed near the upper end of the front grill through a motion transmission member extending from the radar unit.
Obstacle detection device. The adjustment unit of the aiming mechanism has a vertical adjustment unit for adjusting the vertical axis of the radar unit and a horizontal adjustment unit for adjusting the horizontal axis of the radar unit. ,
A notch is formed in the front grill, and the vertical adjustment part and the horizontal adjustment part are arranged in the front grill so that an operator can access through the notch.
The obstacle detection device according to claim 1.   The obstacle detection device according to claim 2, wherein when the cutout portion is viewed from above, at least a part of the left-right direction adjustment portion is hidden by the front grille top surface.   The said up-down direction adjustment part is arrange | positioned so that an operator can adjust from upper direction, The said left-right direction adjustment part is arrange | positioned so that an operator may adjust from diagonally upward. Obstacle detection device.   The said notch part is formed in the width direction central part of the said front grille, The part of the said front grill located ahead of the said notch part protrudes ahead, and comprises the attachment part for decoration members. The obstacle detection device according to claim 4.   The obstacle detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the radar unit is attached to a radiator shroud with a displacement in a width direction from a longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

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