JP2008265408A - Side turn lamp control circuit and side turn lamp device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a side turn lamp control circuit and a side turn lamp device for a vehicle, which turns off both an essential light emission LED and an optional light emission LED when the conduction to a control circuit of a side turn lamp is blocked by some cause. <P>SOLUTION: A wire from a positive terminal 12 of a power source is branched into two wire portions. An essential light emission circuit 111 including an essential light emission LED 9 is formed on one wire portion and connected to an anode terminal 16 of an optical MOSFET 15. An optional light emission circuit 112 including an optional light emission LED 11 is formed on the other wire portion and connected to a drain terminal 21 of the optical MOSFET 15. The essential light emission LED 9 is lighted by the current running in the essential light emission circuit 111, and the light emission diode 24 in the optical MOSFET 15 is lighted by the current to operate the MOSFET 25, and the optional light emission LED 11 is lighted by closing a loop of the optional light emission circuit 112. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a side turn lamp control circuit and a side turn lamp device that are installed in a door mirror of a vehicle.

  In vehicles (for example, automobiles), in order to ensure the safety of pedestrians and improve the driving safety of vehicles, it is legal to attach turn indicators (turn signal lamps) to the front, rear and side parts of the vehicle body. It is prescribed. Among these, a direction indicator lamp (side turn signal lamp, hereinafter referred to as “side turn lamp”) attached to the side surface of the vehicle body may be attached to the door mirror housing from the viewpoint of decorativeness (Patent Document 1). See).

  This side turn lamp needs to be visually recognized from the outside within a predetermined angle range in accordance with laws and regulations. For this reason, the light emission lamp (light emitting LED) is arrange | positioned at the front-end | tip part of the housing of a door mirror so that the normal side turn lamp may satisfy a regulation. In order to further enhance the decorativeness of the door mirror, a light emitting lamp may be disposed at the rear portion of the door mirror housing. That is, a light-emitting lamp (essential light-emitting LED) for satisfying the regulations and a light-emitting lamp (arbitrary light-emitting LED) for enhancing decorativeness are arranged in this type of door mirror.

For some reason, energization of the control circuit that causes the essential light emitting LED and the optional light emitting LED to emit light may be interrupted. At this time, only one of the light emitting LEDs may turn off. That is, only the optional light emitting LED is turned off and the essential light emitting LED is turned on, and only the essential light emitting LED is turned off and the arbitrary light emitting LED is turned on. In the case of the former, there is no problem under the law. In particular, in the latter case, since the arbitrary light emitting LED is lit, the driver may not notice that the essential light emitting LED is extinguished and may continue driving.
JP 2003-282394 A

  This invention makes it a subject to make both essential light emission LED and arbitrary light emission LED light-extinguish when an energization to the control circuit of a side turn lamp is interrupted | blocked for some reason in view of the above situation.

Means and effects for solving the problems

The present invention for solving the above problems is as follows.
In the side turn lamp control circuit used in the vehicle,
An essential light emitting circuit including one or more essential light emitting LEDs that perform the essential light emission;
An arbitrary light-emitting circuit including one or more arbitrary light-emitting LEDs that emit light in synchronization with the essential light-emitting LED and are connected in parallel with the essential light-emitting LED circuit and perform arbitrary light emission in a side turn lamp;
An optical MOSFET or photo that is provided at the junction of the essential light emitting circuit and the optional light emitting circuit, and for shutting off the energization to the optional light emitting circuit when the energization to the essential light emitting circuit is interrupted for some reason A coupler,
It is characterized by including.

  The present invention is configured as described above, and the optical MOSFET or the photocoupler is operated by the current flowing through the essential light emitting circuit. When the current stops flowing in the essential light emitting circuit for some reason, the current flowing in the arbitrary light emitting circuit is interrupted by the optical MOSFET or the photocoupler, so that the arbitrary light emitting circuit does not form a closed loop. As a result, when the essential light emitting circuit is de-energized and the essential light emitting LED is turned off, the arbitrary light emitting LED of the arbitrary light emitting circuit is always turned off.

  The switch means for cutting off the energization to the arbitrary light emitting circuit is an optical MOSFET or a photocoupler. That is, since the connection between the essential light emitting circuit and the arbitrary light emitting circuit is electrically insulated and connected by light, smooth switching is possible and malfunction due to noise or the like is prevented. In particular, in the case of an optical MOSFET, there is an advantage that current switching can be performed even with a slight current (for example, about several mA) compared to a photocoupler.

  Further, it is desirable that a constant current diode is installed between the essential light emitting LED and the optical MOSFET or photocoupler so as not to allow a current exceeding a predetermined value to flow through the optical MOSFET or photocoupler. .

  Since a current exceeding the maximum allowable value is prevented from flowing through the optical MOSFET or the photocoupler, the optical MOSFET or the photocoupler can be prevented from being damaged.

  And the side turn lamp apparatus which uses the above-mentioned side turn lamp control circuit can be comprised. Since the control circuit of the side turn lamp is reliable, the operation of the side turn lamp device is also stabilized.

  A side turn lamp control circuit 101 according to an embodiment of the present invention and a side turn lamp device using the control circuit will be described. This specification demonstrates the door mirror 200 which is an example of a side turn lamp apparatus. 1 is a rear view of the door mirror 200, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the door mirror 200 with a part broken away, and FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a control circuit 101 for causing the essential light emitting LED 9 and the arbitrary light emitting LED 11 to emit light.

  First, a side turn lamp device (door mirror 200) using the side turn lamp control circuit 101 according to the present invention will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the mirror case 1 of the door mirror 200 is attached to a predetermined position of a vehicle body panel (not shown) by a panel attaching portion 2. A mirror 3 is attached to the front portion (the rear side of the vehicle) of the mirror case 1. The substantially central portion in the height direction of the rear surface portion (the front side of the vehicle) of the mirror case 1 is notched horizontally from the front end portion (the right end portion in the drawing view of FIG. 1) of the mirror case 1, and the notch The portion 4 is closed by the lens body 5.

  Inside the mirror case 1, a lamp support portion 6 is provided at a portion facing the notch portion 4. The lamp support portion 6 is provided substantially along the lens body 5 fitted in the notch portion 4. Each stay 7 protrudes toward the lens body 5 at the center and both ends of the lamp support 6 in the left-right direction. A lamp substrate 8 is supported by each stay 7.

  A total of five light emitting LEDs are mounted on the lamp substrate 8. That is, in the lamp substrate 8, two light emitting LEDs (essential light emitting LEDs 9) are mounted on the right side in the drawing view of FIG. 2, and three light emitting LEDs (arbitrary light emitting LEDs 11) are mounted on the left side. Yes. The two essential light emitting LEDs 9 on the right side are obliged to emit light by the driver's operation of the direction indicator switch, and the three arbitrary light emitting LEDs 11 on the left side further enhance the decorativeness of the door mirror 200. Therefore, light is emitted simultaneously with the essential light emitting LED 9. Various elements to be described later are mounted on the lamp substrate 8, but these are not shown in FIG.

  The control circuit 101 for causing the essential light emitting LED 9 and the arbitrary light emitting LED 11 mounted on the lamp substrate 8 to emit light will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, an electric wire extending from a positive terminal (positive terminal 12) of a power source (not shown) through a diode 13 is branched in two directions, and two essential wires are provided on one electric wire. The light emitting LEDs 9 are connected in series to form an essential light emitting circuit 111, and the three arbitrary light emitting LEDs 11 are connected in series to the other electric wire to form an arbitrary light emitting circuit 112. The electric wire of the essential light emitting circuit 111 is branched in two directions immediately downstream of the essential light emitting LED 9, and one electric wire is connected to the anode terminal 16 of the optical MOSFET 15 via the constant current diode 14, The other electric wire is connected to a negative terminal (negative terminal 18) of the power source via a resistor 17. Further, the electric wire of the arbitrary light emitting circuit 112 is connected to one drain terminal 21 of the optical MOSFET 15 through the resistor 19. Further, the other drain terminal 22 and the cathode terminal 23 of the optical MOSFET 15 are short-circuited, and an electric wire extending from them is connected to the negative terminal 18 of the power source.

  Here, the optical MOSFET 15 is a light-emitting element (light-emitting diode 24) and a light-receiving element (MOSFET 25) that are electrically insulated and integrated, and light emitted from the light-emitting diode 24 (indicated by an arrow 26). The MOSFET 25 is turned on / off. That is, the optical MOSFET 15 has a current switch function. Since the light emitting diode 24 on the light emitting side and the MOSFET 25 on the light receiving side are electrically insulated, there is an advantage that no electrical noise is generated. The constant current diode 14 is for preventing damage to the optical MOSFET 15 by preventing a current exceeding the maximum allowable current from flowing even if the voltage applied to the optical MOSFET 15 fluctuates greatly.

  The operation of the door mirror 200 of this embodiment will be described. When the driver operates a direction indicating switch (not shown), a current flows from the positive terminal 12 of the power source, and the essential light emitting LED 9 of the essential light emitting circuit 111 and the arbitrary light emitting LED 11 of the arbitrary light emitting circuit 112 try to emit light. Since the diode 13 is interposed between the positive terminal 12 and the essential light emitting circuit 111 and the optional light emitting circuit 112, no current flows in the reverse direction. The current flowing in the essential light emitting circuit 111 flows to the negative terminal 18 of the power supply through the resistor 17. Thereby, the loop of the essential light emitting circuit 111 is closed, and the essential light emitting LED 9 is turned on.

  The current flowing through the essential light emitting circuit 111 flows through the constant current diode 14 and is supplied to the anode terminal 16 of the optical MOSFET 15. Then, it flows through the light emitting diode 24 in the optical MOSFET 15 and flows from the cathode terminal 23 of the optical MOSFET 15 to the negative terminal 18 of the power source. Thereby, the light emitting diode 24 operates and light (arrow 26) is emitted. With the function of the MOSFET 25, the drain terminals 21 and 22 of the optical MOSFET 15 are connected. The current flowing through the arbitrary light emitting circuit 112 is supplied to one drain 21 of the optical MOSFET 15 via the resistor 19 and flows from the other drain 22 to the negative terminal 18 of the power source. As a result, the loop of the arbitrary light emitting circuit 112 is closed, and the arbitrary light emitting LED 11 is turned on in synchronization with the essential light emitting LED 9.

  If the energization to the essential light emitting circuit 111 is interrupted for some reason, no current flows to the light emitting diode 24 in the optical MOSFET 15. The MOSFET 25 in the optical MOSFET 15 does not operate, the drains 21 and 22 of the optical MOSFET 15 are not connected, and only the arbitrary light emitting LED 11 is not lit. That is, when the essential light emitting LED 9 is not turned on, the arbitrary light emitting LED 11 is not turned on, and only the arbitrary light emitting LED 11 is prevented from being turned on.

  The optical MOSFET 15 does not change its output-side conduction characteristics depending on the input current value, and can be used only as a pure current switch. For example, the optical MOSFET 15 can be operated even with a small input current of about several mA. There is an advantage. As the above-described optical MOSFET 15, TLP222G manufactured by Toshiba Semiconductor Co., Ltd. can be used.

  In the first embodiment described above, the optical MOSFET 15 is used as the current switch, but a photocoupler 27 may be used. FIG. 4 shows the control circuit 102 at that time. Similar to the optical MOSFET 15, the photocoupler 27 is not only smaller and lighter than the mechanical relay, but also has an advantage that no operating sound or noise is generated.

2 is a rear view of the door mirror 200. FIG. It is a top view of the door mirror 200 which fractured | ruptured one part. It is a circuit diagram of the control circuit 101 which light-emits essential light emission LED9 and arbitrary light emission LED11 using the optical MOSFET15. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of a control circuit 102 that causes the essential light emitting LED 9 and the arbitrary light emitting LED 11 to emit light using the photocoupler 27.

Explanation of symbols

101, 102 Control circuit (side turn lamp control circuit)
111 Essential light emitting circuit 112 Optional light emitting circuit 200 Door mirror (side turn lamp device)
9 Essential LED
11 Arbitrary LED
14 Constant current diode 15 Optical MOSFET
27 Photocoupler

Claims (3)

In the side turn lamp control circuit used in the vehicle,
An essential light emitting circuit including one or more essential light emitting LEDs that perform the essential light emission;
An arbitrary light-emitting circuit including one or more arbitrary light-emitting LEDs that emit light in synchronization with the essential light-emitting LED and are connected in parallel with the essential light-emitting LED circuit and perform arbitrary light emission in a side turn lamp;
An optical MOSFET or photo that is provided at the junction of the essential light emitting circuit and the optional light emitting circuit, and for shutting off the energization to the optional light emitting circuit when the energization to the essential light emitting circuit is interrupted for some reason A coupler,
A side turn lamp control circuit comprising:   Between the essential light emitting LED and the optical MOSFET or photocoupler, a constant current diode for preventing a current exceeding a predetermined value from flowing through the optical MOSFET or photocoupler is attached. The side turn lamp control circuit according to claim 1.   A side turn lamp device using the side turn lamp control circuit according to claim 1.

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