JP2008195098A - Steering lock device of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering lock device of a vehicle capable of attaining sure engagement releasing of a locking member from an engaged part without continuing an unnecessary increase of driving voltage to be supplied to an electric actuator or excessively extending supply time of the driving voltage. <P>SOLUTION: In this steering lock device, a driving control device 7 is provided with a driving circuit 8 for driving an electric motor 6 and a control unit 9 for variably controlling the driving voltage V to be supplied to the electric motor 6 via the driving circuit 8. The control unit 9 makes driving voltage V2 before the elapse of prescribed time T1 from a supply starting time of the driving voltage V2 higher than driving voltage V1 after the elapse of the prescribed time T1, when a steering shaft 2 of a lock state is switched to an unlock state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  According to the present invention, a steering member is selectively switched between a locked state and an unlocked state by drivingly engaging and disengaging a lock member with an electric actuator with respect to an engaged portion that rotates together with a steering shaft of a vehicle. The present invention relates to a locking device.

  In a vehicle such as an automobile, an engaged part that rotates together with the steering shaft, a lock member that engages / disengages the engaged part and selectively switches the steering shaft between a locked state and an unlocked state, and engages / disengages the lock member An antitheft steering lock device (see, for example, Patent Document 1) including an electric actuator for driving and a drive control unit for driving and controlling the electric actuator is well known.

  Here, for example, a push button type engine starter that starts the engine without using a general mechanical key is well known, and in a steering lock system including such an engine starter and the steering lock device, When the engine control unit connected to the vehicle-mounted unit of the keyless entry device receives a predetermined engine start command, the engine is started after the steering lock device is switched to the unlocked steering shaft in the unlocked state. It is configured.

In the steering lock device, usually, the engaged portion is formed of an engagement recess opening outward in the radial direction of the steering shaft, and the lock member is driven to move in the radial direction by the electric actuator and is engaged with and disengaged from the engagement recess. Is done.
JP 2005-313773 A

  In the steering lock device, when the steering shaft is in a locked state, when the turning force acts on the steering shaft and the lock member engaged with the engaged portion is twisted, the lock member is covered. When the engagement portion is strongly engaged, when the locked steering shaft is switched to the unlocked state, the lock member is pulled out from the engaged portion even if the lock member is driven by the electric actuator. There is a possibility that the engagement cannot be released.

  Therefore, when driving the electric actuator, it is conceivable to set the drive voltage supplied to the electric actuator high in advance, and to set the supply time of this drive voltage long in advance. There arises a problem that the electric actuator is liable to be damaged or broken due to heat generation and the like, and the deterioration of the electric actuator is easily promoted.

  It is an object of the present invention to reliably disengage the lock member from the engaged portion when switching the locked steering shaft to the unlocked state, and this keeps the drive voltage supplied to the electric actuator unnecessarily high. It is another object of the present invention to provide a steering lock device for a vehicle that can be achieved without excessively extending the drive voltage supply time (unlock time).

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a steering lock device for a vehicle, wherein the lock member selectively engages / disengages with an engaged portion that rotates together with the steering shaft of the vehicle to switch the steering shaft between a locked state and an unlocked state. In a vehicle steering lock device including an electric actuator for engaging and disengaging the electric actuator and a drive control means for driving and controlling the electric actuator, the drive control means includes a drive circuit for driving the electric actuator, and the drive Voltage control means for variably controlling the drive voltage supplied to the electric actuator via the circuit, and the voltage control means starts when the drive voltage is supplied when the locked steering shaft is switched to the unlocked state. The drive voltage before the lapse of the predetermined time is set higher than the drive voltage after the lapse of the predetermined time. The features.

  In this vehicle steering lock device, the lock member is engaged with the engaged portion, the steering shaft is locked, the lock member is disengaged from the engaged portion, and the steering shaft is unlocked. Become. The electric actuator is driven and controlled by the drive control means, and the lock member is engaged with and disengaged from the engaged portion by the electric actuator. In this drive control means, the drive voltage supplied to the electric actuator is variably controlled by the voltage control means via a drive circuit for driving the electric actuator.

  When the locked steering shaft is switched to the unlocked state, the voltage control means causes the drive voltage before the elapse of a predetermined time from the start of the supply of the drive voltage supplied to the electric actuator to be higher than the drive voltage after the elapse of the predetermined time. Therefore, for example, by setting the drive voltage before a predetermined time to be higher than the normal drive voltage and setting the drive voltage after the predetermined time to be a normal drive voltage, the lock member can be used when the steering shaft is in a locked state. Even when strongly engaged with the engaged portion, the lock member is reliably released from the engaged portion.

Here, the following configuration can be adopted as a dependent claim of claim 1.
The electric actuator comprises an electric motor (claim 2). The voltage control means stops the supply of the drive voltage after a set time longer than the predetermined time from the start of supply of the drive voltage.

  According to the vehicle steering lock device of the first aspect, the lock member is engaged and disengaged by the electric actuator with respect to the engaged portion that rotates together with the steering shaft, and the steering shaft is brought into the locked state and the unlocked state. In particular, the drive control means for driving and controlling the electric actuator variably controls the drive circuit for driving the electric actuator and the drive voltage supplied to the electric actuator via this drive circuit. Voltage control means, and when the voltage control means switches the locked steering shaft to the unlocked state, the drive voltage before the elapse of a predetermined time from the start of supply of the drive voltage is determined from the drive voltage after the elapse of the predetermined time. Also make it high.

  Therefore, even when the lock member is strongly engaged with the engaged portion when the steering shaft is in the locked state, the electric actuator is driven at a high output from the start of driving, and the lock member is engaged. Therefore, it is possible to quickly and reliably disengage, and thus to improve the operation reliability. In addition, since the output of the electric actuator is lowered after the electric actuator is driven at a high output, the effect of reliably releasing the lock member from the engaged portion can be increased unnecessarily to the drive voltage supplied to the electric actuator. This can be achieved without continuing. Therefore, it is possible to suppress damages due to heat generation of the electric actuator, occurrence of failure, and promotion of deterioration of the electric actuator.

  According to the steering lock device for a vehicle of the second aspect, since the electric actuator is an electric motor, the driving voltage for reliably engaging / disengaging the lock member with respect to the engaged portion by the electric motor and supplying the electric motor to the electric motor is provided. By raising the value, the output of the electric motor can be reliably raised.

  According to the steering lock device for a vehicle of claim 3, the voltage control means stops the supply of the drive voltage after a set time longer than the predetermined time from the start of supply of the drive voltage. It is possible to prevent the drive voltage supply time (lock release time) from being excessively long, and to more reliably suppress the damage caused by the heat generation of the electric actuator, the occurrence of failure, and the promotion of the deterioration of the electric actuator.

  In the vehicle steering lock device of the present invention, the lock member is engaged and disengaged by the electric actuator with respect to the engaged portion that rotates together with the steering shaft, and the steering shaft is selectively set to the locked state or the unlocked state. A drive control means for driving and controlling the electric actuator, a drive circuit for driving the electric actuator, and a voltage control means for variably controlling the drive voltage supplied to the electric actuator via the drive circuit; It is equipped with.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a steering lock device 1 for a vehicle is engaged with and disengaged from an engaged portion 3 that rotates together with a steering shaft 2 of a vehicle steering system, and the steering shaft 2 is selectively set to a locked state or an unlocked state. A lock member 4 for switching to the engagement member, an engagement / disengagement drive mechanism 5 having an electric motor 6 which is an electric actuator for engaging / disengaging the lock member 4, and a drive control device 7 which is a drive control means for controlling the drive of the electric motor 6. ing.

  The engaged portion 3 is composed of one or a plurality of engaging recesses 3 opened to the outer periphery of the steering shaft 2 in the radial direction. The lock member 4 is driven to move in the radial direction by the engagement / disengagement drive mechanism 5 and is engaged. The engagement member 3 is engaged and disengaged, the lock member 4 is engaged with the engaged portion 3, the steering shaft 2 is locked, the lock member 4 is disengaged from the engaged portion 3, and the steering shaft 2 is unlocked. The engagement / disengagement drive mechanism 5 may have a mechanism such as a gear that transmits the output of the electric motor 6 to the lock member 4.

  The drive control device 7 is a drive circuit 8 (driver 8) for driving the electric motor 6, and a voltage for controlling the drive circuit 8 and variably controlling the drive voltage V supplied to the electric motor 6 via the drive circuit 8. And a control unit 9 as control means. Electric power is supplied to the drive circuit 8 from the battery 10, and electric power is supplied from the drive circuit 8 to the electric motor 6.

  The control unit 9 includes a CPU 9a, a ROM 9b, and a RAM 9c. For example, although not illustrated, the control unit 9 is electrically connected to the vehicle-mounted unit of the keyless entry device, and is connected to the vehicle-mounted unit of the keyless entry device. When a predetermined engine start command (for example, operation of a push button switch) is received, an unlock command is output to the control unit 9, and the control unit 9 receives the unlock command and engages the lock member 4 The drive control is performed via the drive circuit 8 and the engagement / disengagement drive mechanism 5 so as to release the engagement from the part 3, and the keyless entry device detects that the steering shaft 2 is switched from the unlocked state to the locked state, Start the engine.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the locked steering shaft 2 is switched to the unlocked state, that is, when the lock member 4 is disengaged from the engaged portion 3, the drive motor 7 drives the electric motor 6. In the case of controlling, first, the drive voltage V2 (for example, V2 = 12V) higher than the normal drive voltage V1 (for example, V1 = 5V) is supplied to the electric motor 6, and the output of the electric motor 6 is normally set from the start of driving. Higher than the output of.

  Next, after a predetermined time T1 (for example, T1 = 1 second) from the start of supplying the drive voltage V2 to the electric motor 6, the drive voltage V1 is supplied to the electric motor 6 and the output of the electric motor 6 is set to a normal output. . Next, after a set time Te (for example, Te = 2 seconds) longer than a predetermined time T1 from the start of supplying the drive voltage V2 to the electric motor 6, the electric motor 6 is stopped from supplying the drive voltage V.

  The control executed by the control unit 9 for realizing the above operation is as shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, when this control is started, the timer t is first started (S1), then the drive circuit 8 is controlled to supply the drive voltage V2 to the electric motor 6 (S2), and then It is determined whether or not t = T1 (S3). If S3; No, the process returns to S2, and the drive voltage V supplied to the electric motor 6 is maintained at the drive voltage V2.

  If S3; Yes, the drive circuit 8 is controlled and the drive voltage V1 is supplied to the electric motor 6 (S4). Next, it is determined whether t = Te (S5). If S5; The driving voltage V supplied to the electric motor 6 is maintained at the driving voltage V1. S5; In the case of Yes, the drive circuit 8 is controlled, the supply of the drive voltage V to the electric motor 6 is stopped (S6), and the process ends.

  According to the steering lock device 1 described above, the drive control device 7 that drives and controls the electric motor 6 supplies the drive circuit 8 for driving the electric motor 6 and the electric motor 6 via the drive circuit 8. And a control unit 9 that variably controls the drive voltage V. When the control unit 9 switches the locked steering shaft 2 to the unlocked state, the drive voltage before the elapse of a predetermined time T1 from the start of supply of the drive voltage V2 V2 is set higher than the drive voltage V1 after the elapse of the predetermined time T1.

  Therefore, when the steering shaft 2 is in the locked state, even when the lock member 4 is strongly engaged with the engaged portion 3, the electric motor 6 is driven at a higher output than usual from the start of driving, The lock member 4 can be reliably and quickly disengaged from the engaged portion 3, so that the operation reliability can be improved. Here, the output of the electric motor 6 is reliably increased by reliably driving the lock member 4 to and from the engaged portion 3 by the electric motor 6 and increasing the drive voltage V supplied to the electric motor 6. Can be made.

  Moreover, since the output of the electric motor 6 is lowered after the electric motor 6 is driven at a high output, the driving voltage for supplying the electric motor 6 with the effect that the lock member 4 can be reliably disengaged from the engaged portion 3. Further, the control unit 9 stops the supply of the drive voltage V after a set time Te longer than the predetermined time T1 from the start of the supply of the drive voltage V2. The effect can be achieved without excessively increasing the supply time (lock release time) of the drive voltage V supplied to the electric motor 6, so that the electric motor 6 is damaged due to heat generation, the occurrence of a failure, the deterioration of the electric motor 6. Can be reliably suppressed.

  Note that T1, Te, V1, and V2 can be changed as appropriate. Various electric actuators such as a solenoid actuator can be applied instead of the electric motor 6, and various structures can be applied to the engaged portion 3, the lock member 4, and the engagement / disengagement drive mechanism 5.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 4, when the control unit 9 switches the locked steering shaft 2 to the unlocked state, the control unit 9 decreases the drive voltage V supplied to the electric motor 6 in two steps or more step by step. May be. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, first, the drive voltage V5 (for example, V5 = 12V) higher than the normal drive voltage V3 (for example, V3 = 5V) is supplied to the electric motor 6, and the output of the electric motor 6 is supplied. Make it higher than normal output from the start of driving.

  Next, after a predetermined time T2 (for example, T2 = 0.7 seconds) from the start of supply of the drive voltage V5 to the electric motor 6, the drive voltage V4 that is lower than the drive voltage V5 and higher than the drive voltage V3 is applied to the electric motor 6. (For example, V4 = 8V) is supplied, and then the drive voltage V3 is supplied to the electric motor 6 after a predetermined time T3 (eg, T2 = 1.2 seconds) from the start of supply of the drive voltage V5 to the electric motor 6. Then, after the set time Te (for example, Te = 2 seconds) from the start of the supply of the drive voltage V5 to the electric motor 6, the supply of the drive voltage V to the electric motor 6 is stopped.

  In addition, various modifications can be added without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The present invention is suitable for vehicles such as automobiles, but can be applied to various vehicles such as other motorcycles.

It is a block diagram of a steering lock device. It is a time chart of the operation | movement which a drive control apparatus performs. It is a flowchart of the process which a control unit performs. It is a time chart of the operation | movement which the drive control apparatus of a modification performs.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steering lock apparatus 2 Steering shaft 3 Engagement part 4 Locking member 6 Electric motor 7 Drive control apparatus 8 Drive circuit 9 Control unit

Claims (3)

A lock member that selectively engages and disengages a steering shaft with a steering shaft of a vehicle to selectively switch the steering shaft between a locked state and an unlocked state; an electric actuator that engages and disengages the lock member; In a steering lock device for a vehicle provided with drive control means for driving and controlling an actuator,
The drive control means includes a drive circuit for driving the electric actuator, and a voltage control means for variably controlling a drive voltage supplied to the electric actuator via the drive circuit,
The voltage control means, when switching the locked steering shaft to the unlocked state, makes the drive voltage before the elapse of a predetermined time from the start of supply of the drive voltage higher than the drive voltage after the elapse of the predetermined time. A steering lock device for a vehicle.   The vehicle steering lock device according to claim 1, wherein the electric actuator includes an electric motor.   3. The vehicle steering lock device according to claim 1, wherein the voltage control unit stops the supply of the drive voltage after a set time longer than the predetermined time from the start of supply of the drive voltage. 4. .