JP2009149123A - Turn signal control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a turn signal control device capable of certainly and automatically completing direction instruction action by a turn signal. <P>SOLUTION: When the direction instruction action is started, a control circuit of the turn signal determines that the traveling state of the vehicle is in any one of lane change and right/left turning based on a vehicle speed obtained by a vehicle speed sensor and a steering angle of a steering wheel obtained by a steering angle sensor, and sets the completion timing of the direction instruction action according to the determination result. Further, when the control circuit determines that the traveling state of the vehicle is in lane change and completes the direction instruction action, it determines existence of slowdown of the vehicle based on variation of the vehicle speed making the starting time of the direction instruction action as reference. When the control circuit determines that the vehicle is reduced in the speed, it continues the direction instruction action, whereas, it completes the direction instruction action when it determines that the vehicle is not reduced in the speed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a turn signal control device that controls lighting of a turn lamp that signals a surrounding area when a vehicle such as an automobile turns right or left.

  Conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1, for example, a vehicle such as an automobile is provided with a turn signal for informing the driver of the other vehicle, a pedestrian, and the like of the traveling direction of the host vehicle. The turn signal includes a left / right turn lamp disposed on the vehicle body, an operation lever provided in the vicinity of the steering wheel, and a left / right turn switch provided in association with the operation lever. The operation lever can be displaced from the neutral position to the left turn operation position and the right turn operation position, and is held at the operation position when the operation lever is displaced to these operation positions. While the operation lever is displaced to the left turn operation position or the right turn operation position and is held at any of the operation positions, the left turn switch or the right turn switch is turned on to turn the left turn as the vehicle direction instruction operation. The lamp or the right turn lamp blinks at regular intervals.

Further, the turn signal is provided with a return mechanism for automatically returning the operation lever held at the left turn operation position or the right turn operation position to the neutral position in accordance with the operation of the steering wheel. When the operation lever is displaced to the left or right turn operation position and then the steering wheel is turned to the left or right side by a certain angle or more and then returned to the steering angle midpoint (steering angle when the vehicle goes straight), it returns. By the function of the mechanism, the operation lever held at the left turn operation position or the right turn operation position is automatically returned to the neutral position in accordance with the return operation to the steering angle midpoint of the steering wheel. When the operation lever returns to the neutral position, the left turn lamp or the right turn lamp that has been blinking until then is extinguished, thereby completing the direction indicating operation of the vehicle.
JP 2004-142560 A

  In the conventional turn signal, when the steering angle of the steering wheel reaches the cancellation preparation angle set according to the vehicle speed and falls within the range of the cancellation angle including the steering angle midpoint, The direction indicating operation by the turn lamp is completed. Specifically, as the vehicle speed increases, the cancel preparation angle is set to a smaller angle. Therefore, even when the steering wheel has a small steering angle, such as when changing lanes during high-speed driving, the direction indication operation is performed by the left and right turn ramps. Can be automatically terminated. In addition, since the cancellation preparation angle is set to a larger angle as the vehicle speed is lower, the direction indicating operation is completed between the start of the direction indicating operation by the left and right turn ramps and the start of the right / left turn at the intersection, for example. There is no inconvenience of being generated. Thus, by changing the value of the cancel preparation angle according to the vehicle speed, it corresponds to the automatic end of the direction indicating operation at the time of turning left and right and at the time of lane change.

  However, the conventional turn signal has the following problems. That is, various situations are assumed as the running state of the vehicle. For example, during high-speed running, a situation may occur in which the vehicle turns right or left immediately after changing the lane or after a short time. In such a case, from the viewpoint of convenience for the driver, it is preferable that the direction indicating operation is continuously performed from the start of the lane change to the end of the right / left turn.

  However, in the conventional turn signal, as described above, even when the steering angle of the steering wheel is small, in order to properly automatically terminate the direction indicating operation, the cancel preparation angle of the direction indicating operation becomes smaller as the vehicle speed increases. It is set to a value. Therefore, even if the lane changes while driving at high speed, or right or left after a short time, when the lane is changed, the lane is changed and the steering wheel is moved to the steering angle midpoint side. There is a concern that the direction indicating operation is automatically terminated only by a slight return. In this case, the driver eventually needs to operate the operation lever returned to the neutral position to the left-turn operation position or the right-turn operation position and start the direction indicating operation again.

  As described above, the end timing of the direction indicating operation in the conventional turn signal may not be appropriate depending on the traveling state of the vehicle, such as a situation in which the direction indicating operation may be automatically ended excessively. There was a risk of becoming. Therefore, there has been a demand for a turn signal that can automatically and automatically end the direction indicating operation according to the state of travel of the vehicle.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a turn signal control device capable of accurately and automatically terminating a direction indicating operation.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a direction indicating operation for signaling the traveling direction of the vehicle to the periphery is started, the vehicle speed acquired through the vehicle speed detecting means provided in the vehicle and the steering acquired through the same steering angle detecting means. In a turn signal control device that determines whether the vehicle traveling state is a lane change or a left / right turn based on the steering angle of the means, and sets the end timing of the direction indicating operation according to the determination result, the vehicle traveling state Is determined to be a lane change and the direction indicating operation is terminated based on the end timing, the vehicle is decelerated based on a change in vehicle speed based on the start of the direction indicating operation. The gist of the present invention is to continue the direction indicating operation when it is determined that the vehicle is decelerated, and to end the direction indicating operation when it is determined that the vehicle is not decelerated.

  Various situations are assumed as the running state of the vehicle. For example, a situation in which the vehicle turns right or left immediately after changing the lane or after a short time is also assumed. Without considering any possibility of such a left or right turn, when the direction indicating operation is ended at the end timing of the direction indicating operation set based on the determination result that the vehicle is a lane change, this does not match the actual situation. There is concern. Specifically, as described above, in a situation where the vehicle turns right or left immediately after changing the lane or after a short time, it is preferable that the direction indicating operation is continuously performed until the right / left turn is completed. It is also conceivable that the direction indicating operation is terminated when the lane change is completed.

  In this regard, in the present invention, even when it is determined that the traveling state of the vehicle is a lane change, the vehicle speed based on when the direction indicating operation is started when actually terminating the direction indicating operation. Based on this change, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is decelerating, and when it is determined that the vehicle is decelerating, it is assumed that a right or left turn may be performed, and the direction indicating operation is continuously performed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle has not been decelerated, the direction indicating operation is terminated on the assumption that there is a low probability that a right or left turn will be performed and that there is a high probability of a lane change. These determinations are based on the assumption that the vehicle is normally decelerated when turning right or left. Thus, according to the present invention, it is possible to automatically end the direction indicating operation accurately in accordance with the actual traveling state of the vehicle.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the turn signal control device according to the first aspect, the presence or absence of deceleration of the vehicle is determined by a deceleration determination threshold value and a direction indicating operation set based on a vehicle speed at the start of the direction indicating operation. The gist is to determine based on a comparison with the vehicle speed at the time of termination, and to set the deceleration determination threshold to a value obtained by multiplying the vehicle speed at the start of the direction indicating operation by a coefficient greater than 0 and less than 1.

  The vehicle is decelerated because it is determined whether or not the vehicle is decelerated based on a comparison between a deceleration determination threshold value that is smaller than the vehicle speed at the start of the direction indicating operation and the vehicle speed when the direction indicating operation ends. It is possible to avoid excessive determination. For example, even in the case of a lane change, it is often assumed that the vehicle is slightly decelerated after the direction indicating operation is started. In such a case, the direction indicating operation is continued because there is a possibility of turning left or right. If this is the case, this will not match the actual situation of the vehicle.

  In this regard, according to the present invention, by setting a deceleration determination threshold value, which is a determination criterion for the presence or absence of deceleration, smaller than the vehicle speed at the start of the direction indicating operation, that is, by loosening the determination criterion for the presence or absence of deceleration, It is possible to prevent the direction instruction operation from being erroneously determined that there is a possibility of turning right or left despite the lane change. In addition, by loosening the criteria for determining whether or not there is deceleration, the possibility of turning left and right becomes more accurate. This is based on the assumption that the vehicle is often greatly decelerated when turning left or right. Therefore, according to the present invention, the direction indicating operation can be automatically terminated more accurately in accordance with the actual traveling state of the vehicle.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the turn signal control device according to the first or second aspect, the vehicle direction instruction operation is performed through a blinking control of a turn lamp provided in the vehicle, and the vehicle is decelerated. The gist of the determination of the presence or absence of is that the determination is made immediately before the turn lamp is next lit on the basis of the end timing set based on the determination result that the traveling state of the vehicle is a lane change.

  For example, when turning right or left after changing lanes, it is often assumed that the vehicle decelerates after starting a direction instruction operation and then slightly idles. In such a case, as the time elapses from the start of the direction indicating operation, a change in vehicle speed (here, deceleration) becomes more prominent. Therefore, the determination becomes more accurate by determining whether or not the vehicle is decelerated after a certain period of time has elapsed since the start of the direction indicating operation.

  In this regard, as in the present invention, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is decelerated immediately before the turn lamp is next turned on with reference to the end timing set based on the determination result that the traveling state of the vehicle is a lane change. Accordingly, it is possible to delay the determination of the presence or absence of deceleration by the amount of time from the end timing to just before the turn lamp is next turned on. Therefore, it is possible to more accurately determine the change in the vehicle speed, here the presence or absence of deceleration of the vehicle speed, as compared with the case where the presence or absence of deceleration is immediately determined based on the end timing of the direction indicating operation. .

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the turn signal control device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the vehicle speed is determined when it is determined that the traveling state of the vehicle is a left / right turn. A cancel preparation angle for the direction indicating operation and a cancel angle smaller than the cancel preparation angle are set as absolute angles from the steering angle midpoint corresponding to the steering neutral position of the steering means in accordance with the vehicle speed acquired through the detection means. In addition, a direction indicating operation is performed with the end timing when the absolute steering angle based on the steering angle midpoint acquired through the steering angle detection means becomes less than the cancellation angle after exceeding the cancellation preparation angle. The gist is to terminate.

  According to this configuration, when the driver steers the steering means to turn left or right, the cancel angle is set after the steering angle detecting means detects that the steering means is steered to a position exceeding the cancel preparation angle. When it is detected that the vehicle is steered in the reverse direction to the lower position, the direction indicating operation is automatically terminated. Here, as described above, the cancel preparation angle and the cancel angle are set as absolute angles from the rudder angle midpoint based on the vehicle speed acquired through the speed detecting means. The automatic end of the operation is preferably performed.

  In this case, it is preferable to set the cancellation preparation angle and the cancellation angle to smaller values as the vehicle speed increases. This is based on the assumption that the steering angle of the steering means decreases as the vehicle speed increases.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the turn signal control device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the vehicle speed is determined when it is determined that the traveling state of the vehicle is a lane change. A steering return angle of the direction indicating operation is set as a relative steering angle of the steering means according to the vehicle speed acquired through the detection means, and the steering angle detection means that the steering means is operated in the reverse direction by the cancellation return angle. The gist is to end the direction indicating operation with the end timing as the end timing.

  According to this configuration, when the driver steers the steering means to change the lane, when it is detected that the steering means is steered in the reverse direction by the cancel return angle in the reverse direction through the steering angle detection means. If the vehicle is not decelerated, the direction indicating operation is automatically terminated. Here, as described above, the cancel return angle is set as the relative steering angle of the steering means according to the vehicle speed acquired through the vehicle speed detection means, so that the direction indicating operation is automatically ended according to the vehicle speed in each case. Is preferably performed.

  In this case, it is preferable to set the cancellation return angle to a smaller value as the vehicle speed increases. This is based on the assumption that the steering angle of the steering means decreases as the vehicle speed increases.

  According to the present invention, the direction indicating operation by the turn signal can be accurately and automatically terminated.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied as a turn signal for a four-wheeled vehicle will be described with reference to FIGS. The turn signal performs a direction indicating operation for informing the driver of the other vehicle of the traveling direction of the host vehicle by blinking a pair of left and right turn lamps provided respectively in front and rear of the vehicle.

<Overview of turn signal operation>
As shown in FIG. 1, the turn signal is operated through a lever switch device 11 provided in a steering column of the vehicle. The lever switch device 11 includes a main body case 12 fixed to the steering column, and an operation lever 13 that is cantilevered by the main body case 12 and operates a turn signal. As shown in FIG. 2, a bracket 14 is supported inside the main body case 12 so as to be rotatable about first and second shafts 15 and 16 that are orthogonal to each other. A base end portion of the operation lever 13 is fixed to the bracket 14, and a distal end portion on the opposite side to the base end portion of the operation lever 13 protrudes outside the steering column.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the operation lever 13 has an arrow in the XY plane in the XYZ coordinate system centering on the first axis 15 together with the bracket 14 when an operation force is applied by the operator, for example. It tilts by a predetermined angle in the direction indicated by a1 and a2, and tilts by a predetermined angle in the direction indicated by arrows b1 and b2 within the YZ plane in the XYZ coordinate system around the second axis 16. A rotary switch 17 is provided at the tip of the operation lever 13. The rotary switch 17 rotates about a central axis extending in the longitudinal direction of the operation lever 13 by a predetermined angle in a direction indicated by arrows c1 and c2 in FIG.

  The operation lever 13 is held at an operation neutral position O1 whose central axis is indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. When the operation lever 13 is applied with an operation force in the direction of the arrow a1 while being held at the operation neutral position O1, the left turn indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. Tilt to the operation position O2, and left turn lamps (not shown) provided before and after the vehicle blink. When the operation force in the arrow a1 direction is released, the operation lever 13 returns to the operation neutral position O1 by the action of a return mechanism (not shown). Even when the operation lever 13 is returned to the operation neutral position O1, the blinking of the left turn lamp is continued.

  Further, when the operation lever 13 is held at the operation neutral position O1 and is applied with an operation force in the direction of the arrow a2, the right turn shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. Tilt to the operation position O3 and right turn lamps (not shown) provided on the front and rear sides of the vehicle blink. When the operation force in the direction of the arrow a2 is released, the operation lever 13 returns to the operation neutral position O1 by the action of the return mechanism. Even when the operation lever 13 returns to the operation neutral position O1, the blinking of the right turn lamp is continued.

  Incidentally, when the operation lever 13 is operated in the directions of arrows b1 and b2 shown in FIG. 1, a dimmer switch (high beam and low beam changeover switch) (not shown) is switched so that the irradiation of the headlight of the vehicle is directed upward. . When the operation lever 13 is operated in the direction of the arrow b1, the operation position is held. When the operation lever 13 is operated in the direction of the arrow b2, the operation position is held only while an operation force in the direction is applied. . Further, when the rotary switch 17 is rotated in the directions of arrows c1 and c2 shown in FIG. 1, the small lamp and the headlight of the vehicle are switched on and off.

<Electrical configuration>
Next, the electrical configuration of the turn signal operated through the lever switch device 11 described above will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control circuit 21 of the turn signal 20 is composed of a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like (not shown). The ROM stores various control programs and data for comprehensively controlling the entire turn signal 20. The control program includes a lighting control program for performing lighting control of a turn lamp for turning left and right, for example. In addition, the data is set as a reference for determining whether the traveling speed of the vehicle is in a so-called low speed range or a high speed range, for example, as data referred to when the lighting control program is executed. A vehicle speed determination threshold value V1h is stored. The RAM is a data storage area, that is, a work area for the microcomputer to execute various processes by developing a control program stored in the ROM.

  Connected to the control circuit 21 are a vehicle speed sensor 22 that detects the traveling speed of the vehicle, a steering angle sensor 23 that detects the steering angle of the steering wheel SH, and a turn switch 24 that is turned on and off in conjunction with the operation of the lever switch device 11. Has been. Further, two left turn lamps 26 a and 26 b and two right turn lamps 27 a and 27 b are connected to the control circuit 21 through a drive circuit 25. The left turn lamps 26a and 26b and the right turn lamps 27a and 27b are provided one by one on the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle.

The vehicle speed sensor 22 detects the traveling speed of the vehicle and outputs a vehicle speed detection signal corresponding to the detected speed to the control circuit 21.
The steering angle sensor 23 detects a steering angle that is a rotation angle when the steering wheel SH is rotated by the driver, and outputs a steering angle detection signal to the control circuit 21 according to the detected steering angle. To do. More specifically, the rudder angle sensor 23 detects whether the steering wheel SH has been rotated in the left or right direction with respect to the rudder angle midpoint (steering angle when the vehicle is traveling straight), and in any case, the rudder is steered. The steering angle information having a positive value with reference to the midpoint of the angle is output as the steering angle detection signal. The steering angle information includes steering direction information indicating whether the steering wheel SH is steered in the left or right direction.

  The turn switch 24 is a double-throw so-called c contact, and includes a movable contact 24 a connected to the ground and first and second fixed contacts 24 b and 24 c connected to the control circuit 21. The movable contact 24 a is connected to the first and second fixed contacts 24 b and 24 c in conjunction with the tilting operation of the operation lever 13. That is, when the operation lever 13 is in the operation neutral position O1, the movable contact 24a is not connected to any of the first and second fixed contacts 24b and 24c, as shown by the solid line in FIG. . When the operation lever 13 is in the left turn operation position O2, the movable contact 24a is connected to the first fixed contact 24b, and when the operation lever 13 is in the right turn operation position, the movable contact 24a is connected to the second fixed contact 24c. It becomes a state.

  When the control circuit 21 detects that the operation lever 13 is tilted from the operation neutral position O1 to the left turn operation position O2 and the movable contact 24a of the turn switch 24 is connected to the first fixed contact 24b, the control circuit 21 passes through the drive circuit 25. By intermittently supplying drive current to the two left turn lamps 26a and 26b, the left turn lamps 26a and 26b are blinked. Further, when the control circuit 21 detects that the operation lever 13 is turned to the right turn operation position O3 and the movable contact 24a of the turn switch 24 is connected to the second fixed contact 24c, the control circuit 21 performs two operations through the drive circuit 25. By intermittently supplying drive current to the right turn lamps 27a and 27b, the right turn lamps 27a and 27b are blinked.

  When the control circuit 21 starts a direction indicating operation for signaling the traveling direction of the vehicle to the periphery through the blinking of the left turn lamps 26a, 26b or the right turn lamps 27a, 27b, the vehicle speed acquired through the vehicle speed sensor 22 and Based on the steering angle acquired through the steering angle sensor 23, it is determined whether the vehicle is in a lane change or right / left turn. Then, the control circuit 21 sets the end timing of the direction indicating operation according to the determination result, and automatically ends the direction indicating operation based on the end timing. Specifically, the supply of drive current to the two left turn lamps 26a, 26b or the two right turn lamps 27a, 27b is stopped to turn off the left turn lamps 26a, 26b. The setting of the end timing of the direction instruction operation will be described in detail later.

<Operation of turn signal>
Next, the operation of the turn signal configured as described above will be described according to the flowcharts shown in FIG. 4 and FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (c). This flowchart shows the control when the control circuit 21 detects that the operation lever 13 is tilted and the movable contact 24a of the turn switch 24 is connected to the first fixed contact 24b or the second fixed contact 24c. The circuit 21 executes it according to the lighting control program stored in the ROM. Normally, the operation lever 13 is held at the operation neutral position O1, and the left turn lamps 26a and 26b and the right turn lamps 27a and 27b are kept in the off state. When turning right or left or changing lanes, the driver blinks the left turn lamps 26a, 26b or the right turn lamps 27a, 27b through the tilting operation of the operation lever 13 to signal the fact to the periphery.

  As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5A, the turn switch 24 is turned on through the tilting operation of the operation lever 13 by the driver, that is, the movable contact 24a is connected to the first or second fixed contact 24b, 24c. Then, the left turn lamps 26a and 26b or the right turn lamps 27a and 27b flash. When the control circuit 21 detects that the turn switch 24 is turned on, that is, that the movable contact 24a is connected to the first or second fixed contact 24b, 24c (step S101), the steering angle sensor at this time The steering angle θ of the steering wheel SH acquired through 23 is stored in the RAM as the current maximum steering angle θmax (step S102). Thereafter, the control circuit 21 updates the value of the maximum steering angle θmax as needed based on a comparison between the steering angle θ acquired through the steering angle sensor 23 at a predetermined sampling period and the maximum steering angle θmax stored in the RAM. To do. Further, the control circuit 21 stores the vehicle speed V, which is the traveling speed of the vehicle acquired through the vehicle speed sensor 22 at this time, in the RAM as the initial value V1 of the vehicle speed (step S103). Note that the processing order of steps S102 and S103 may be reversed.

  Next, the control circuit 21 determines whether or not the current traveling state of the vehicle is a so-called low speed traveling state (step S104). That is, it is determined whether or not the initial value V1 of the vehicle speed stored in the RAM in step S103 described above is larger than the vehicle speed determination threshold value V1h stored in advance in the ROM. As described above, the vehicle speed determination threshold value V1h is determined in advance as a reference for determining whether or not the traveling speed of the vehicle is in the low speed range, and is, for example, 20 km / h here.

<Low-speed driving state>
When the control circuit 21 determines that the initial value V1 of the vehicle speed is smaller than the vehicle speed determination threshold value V1h (NO in step S104), the control circuit 21 assumes that the vehicle is in a low-speed traveling state and is likely to be turned right and left. The process proceeds to step S105 in FIG. 5B in which the combination indicated by the numeral 1 is used. This determination is normally made based on the assumption that the vehicle speed is reduced when turning right or left and the vehicle speed decreases.

  In step S105, as shown in FIG. 4A, the control circuit 21 uses the steering angle midpoint, which is the steering angle when the steering wheel SH is in the steering neutral position (the straight traveling position) as a reference. A cancel preparation angle θ1 is set as an absolute rotation angle, and a cancel angle θ2 (<θ1) is set according to the cancel preparation angle θ1. The cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 are used to determine whether or not to end the continuing direction indicating operation when it is determined that the traveling state of the vehicle is a right / left turn. That is, the end timing of the direction indicating operation at the time of turning left and right is determined by the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2. Further, the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 are set according to the vehicle speed at that time. Specifically, the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 are set to a larger value as the vehicle speed is lower, and conversely as the vehicle speed is higher. Here, since the case where the vehicle speed is relatively small is considered, the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 are set to relatively large values, for example, about several tens of degrees. The control circuit 21 stores the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 in the RAM.

  Subsequently, the control circuit 21 determines whether or not the current steering angle θ of the steering wheel SH acquired through the steering angle sensor 23 is larger than the cancel preparation angle θ1 set in step S105 (step S106). When the control circuit 21 determines that the current steering angle θ is equal to or less than the cancel preparation angle θ1 (NO in step S106), the control circuit 21 repeats the process of step S106. If the control circuit 21 determines that the current steering angle θ is larger than the cancel preparation angle θ1 (YES in step S106), the process proceeds to step S107. In this way, the process of step S106 is repeated until the steering angle θ of the steering wheel SH exceeds the cancel preparation angle θ1. That is, the blinking operation of the left turn lamps 26a and 26b or the right turn lamps 27a and 27b is continued.

  In step S107, the control circuit 21 determines whether or not the current steering angle θ of the steering wheel SH is smaller than the cancel angle θ2 set in step S105. When the control circuit 21 determines that the current steering angle θ is equal to or greater than the cancellation angle θ2 (NO in step S107), the control circuit 21 repeats the process of step S107. When the control circuit 21 determines that the current steering angle θ is smaller than the cancellation angle θ2 (YES in step S107), the control circuit 21 proceeds to step S108. As described above, after the steering angle θ of the steering wheel SH exceeds the cancel preparation angle θ1, the process of step S107 is repeated until the steering angle θ becomes smaller than the cancel angle θ2. That is, the blinking operation of the left turn lamps 26a and 26b or the right turn lamps 27a and 27b is continued.

  In step S108, the control circuit 21 performs a direction indicating operation cancel process. That is, the control circuit 21 cuts off the supply of drive current to the left turn lamps 26a and 26b or the right turn lamps 27a and 27b. As a result, the left turn lamps 26a, 26b or the right turn lamps 27a, 27b are extinguished to automatically end the direction indicating operation. The control circuit 21 ends the process related to the lighting control program when the cancel process of the direction indicating operation is completed.

  As described above, when the vehicle is in a low-speed traveling state and the direction indicating operation is started, it is assumed that the left / right turn is likely to be performed, and the steering wheel SH is rotated beyond the cancel preparation angle θ1. When the rotation operation is performed in the reverse direction to a position below the cancel angle θ2, the direction indicating operation is automatically ended. Here, as described above, when the vehicle speed is relatively small (in this embodiment, the vehicle speed is less than the vehicle speed determination threshold value V1h), the steering angle θ of the steering wheel SH is generally large. The cancellation preparation angle θ1 is set to be relatively large. Then, by setting the cancel angle θ2 according to the cancel preparation angle θ1, the direction indicating operation can be appropriately automatically ended even when the steering angle θ of the steering wheel SH is relatively large. As a result, for example, it is possible to avoid a problem that the direction indicating operation is automatically terminated against the driver's intention while turning right or left at the intersection. Thus, by performing the direction indicating operation canceling process at the timing determined by the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2, a suitable direction indicating operation is performed when the vehicle turns right or left.

<Medium and high speed driving>
On the other hand, when the control circuit 21 determines in step S104 described above that the initial value V1 of the vehicle speed is larger than the vehicle speed determination threshold value V1h (YES in step S104), the vehicle is not in the low speed running state, that is, the medium high speed running. Assuming that the state (here, the speed exceeding 20 km / h) is reached, the process proceeds to step S109.

  In step S109, as shown in FIG. 4B, the control circuit 21 sets the cancel preparation angle θ1 as a relatively small absolute rotation angle based on the steering neutral position of the steering wheel SH, and the cancel circuit The cancel angle θ2 is set according to the preparation angle θ1. Here, the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 are set according to the vehicle speed as described above. Here, since the initial value V1 of the vehicle speed is larger than the vehicle speed determination threshold value V1h, the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 are set in the above-described step S105. The cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 are set to a smaller value. In general, the steering angle θ of the steering wheel SH decreases as the vehicle speed increases. Therefore, by setting the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 accordingly, it is possible to appropriately correspond to the actual operation of the steering wheel SH. it can. The control circuit 21 stores the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 in the RAM.

  Subsequently, the control circuit 21 determines whether or not the vehicle is currently changing the lane based on the current steering angle θ of the steering wheel SH acquired through the steering angle sensor 23. That is, the control circuit 21 determines whether or not the current steering angle θ of the steering wheel SH is larger than the cancel preparation angle θ1 set in step S109 (step S110).

  When the control circuit 21 determines that the current steering angle θ is larger than the cancel preparation angle θ1 (YES in step S110), it is assumed that there is a high probability that a right / left turn is performed instead of a lane change. The process proceeds to step S111 in FIG. This determination is based on the assumption that the steering wheel SH is not rotated so much when the lane is changed, and the steering angle θ does not exceed the cancel preparation angle θ1.

  In step S111, the control circuit 21 determines whether or not the current steering angle θ is smaller than the cancellation angle θ2 set in step S109 described above. When the control circuit 21 determines that the current steering angle θ is larger than the cancel angle θ2 (NO in step S111), the control circuit 21 repeats the determination in step S111. When the control circuit 21 determines in step S111 that the current steering angle θ is smaller than the cancel angle θ2 (YES in step S111), the control circuit 21 proceeds to step S112. As described above, when it is determined that the vehicle is not in the low speed traveling state, when the steering angle θ of the steering wheel SH exceeds the cancel preparation angle θ1, the process of step S111 described above is repeated until the steering angle SH becomes smaller than the cancel angle θ2. That is, the blinking operation of the left turn lamps 26a and 26b or the right turn lamps 27a and 27b is continued.

  In step S112, the direction indicating operation is automatically terminated by performing the direction indicating operation canceling process in the same manner as in step S108 described above, and then the process related to the lighting control program is terminated.

  As described above, when the steering wheel SH is rotated beyond the cancel preparation angle θ1 when the vehicle is in the middle / high speed traveling state and the direction indicating operation is started, it is assumed that the probability of a right / left turn is high. The direction indicating operation is automatically canceled when the steering wheel SH is reversely rotated until it falls below the cancel angle θ2. By performing the direction indicating operation canceling process at such timing, a suitable direction indicating operation is performed at the time of turning right or left of the vehicle in the medium-high speed traveling state.

  On the other hand, when the control circuit 21 determines in step S110 described above that the current steering angle θ is smaller than the cancel preparation angle θ1 (NO in step S110), the vehicle does not turn right or left but changes lanes. Since the probability is high, the process proceeds to step S113. As described above, the determination is based on the assumption that the steering wheel SH is not rotated so much when the lane is changed and the steering angle θ does not exceed the cancel preparation angle θ1. .

  In step S113, the control circuit 21 determines whether or not the current steering angle θ of the steering wheel SH is larger than the maximum steering angle θmax at this time stored in the RAM.

  When the control circuit 21 determines that the current steering angle θ is larger than the maximum steering angle θmax stored in the RAM (YES in step S113), the control circuit 21 sets the steering angle θ as a new maximum steering angle θmax. (Step S114), and the process proceeds to step S115. The state of the vehicle for which the determination is made is that the steering wheel SH is still being rotated in the direction in which the steering angle θ is increased when the lane is changed from the right lane to the left lane or from the left lane to the right lane. A situation is assumed.

  Further, when the control circuit 21 determines that the current steering angle θ is smaller than the maximum steering angle θmax at this time stored in the RAM (NO in step S113) in the above-described determination in step S113. Then, the process proceeds to step S115. As a state of the vehicle for which the determination is made, when the lane is changed, the steering wheel SH is rotated to the maximum in the direction in which the steering angle θ is increased, and then returned to the steering neutral position (straight drive position) side. It is assumed that the situation is in the middle.

  In step S115, the control circuit 21 calculates the return angle θm of the steering wheel SH based on the following equation (A). The return angle θm is an angle (relative angle) indicating how much the steering wheel SH is currently returned to the steering neutral position side with respect to the maximum steering angle θmax so far.

θm = θmax−θ (A)
Here, θmax is the maximum steering angle stored in the RAM at this time, and θ is the actual steering angle at this time.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4C, the control circuit 21 sets a cancel return angle θ3 as a relative rotation angle (step S116), and the process proceeds to step S117. This cancel return angle θ3 is used to determine whether or not to continue the direction instruction operation when it is determined that the traveling state of the vehicle is a lane change. That is, the end timing of the direction indicating operation when changing the lane is determined by the cancel return angle θ3. The cancel return angle θ3 is set according to the vehicle speed at that time. Specifically, the cancellation return angle θ3 is set to a larger value as the vehicle speed is lower, and conversely as the vehicle speed is higher. Here, since the case where the vehicle speed is relatively high (in this embodiment, the case where the vehicle speed exceeds the vehicle speed determination threshold value V1h) is considered, the cancel return angle θ3 is set to a relatively small value, for example, about several degrees. The

  Note that the process in step 116 may be executed as a process between the above-described determination in step S110 and step S113, or may be executed at a timing before step S115.

  In step S117, the control circuit 21 determines whether or not the return angle θm calculated in step S115 described above is larger than the cancel return angle θ3 set in step S116 described above. When it is determined that the return angle θm is smaller than the cancel return angle θ3 (NO in step S117), the control circuit 21 determines that the lane change is in progress and shifts the process to step S109 described above. If the control circuit 21 determines that the return angle θm is larger than the cancel return angle θ3 (YES in step S117), the control circuit 21 shifts the process to step S118, assuming that the lane change is completed.

  In step S118, the control circuit 21 determines whether or not the vehicle is decelerated based on the time when the turn switch 24 is turned on. That is, the control circuit 21 determines that the current vehicle speed V acquired through the vehicle speed sensor 22 at this time is a value obtained by multiplying the initial value V1 of the vehicle speed stored in the RAM in step S103 described above by a predetermined coefficient k. It is determined whether or not it is larger than a threshold value (= k · V1). Here, the coefficient k is set to a value of 1 or less. The coefficient k is preferably 0.7 to 0.9. In the present embodiment, 0.8 is adopted as the value of the coefficient k.

  When the control circuit 21 determines that the current vehicle speed V is smaller than the deceleration determination threshold value (NO in step S118), the control circuit 21 assumes that the vehicle is decelerating, that is, there is a possibility of turning right or left. Then, the process proceeds to step S105 in FIG. Then, as described above, the control circuit 21 sets the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 in step S105. Thereafter, when the control circuit 21 recognizes that the steering wheel SH has been rotated beyond the cancel preparation angle θ1 and then rotated backward to a position below the cancel angle θ2 through the determination of step S106 and step S107, The direction indicating operation canceling process is executed, and the process related to the direction indicating program ends.

  On the other hand, if the control circuit 21 determines in step S118 that the current vehicle speed V is greater than the deceleration determination threshold value (YES in step S118), the probability that the vehicle has not been decelerated, that is, the lane has been changed. Is high, the direction indicating operation canceling process is executed (step S119). When the canceling process is completed, the process related to the direction indicating program ends.

  As described above, after determining that the vehicle is changing the lane based on the vehicle speed V and the steering angle θ at that time, it is determined again whether or not the vehicle is decelerated before executing the direction indicating operation canceling process. This makes it possible to accurately grasp the state of the vehicle at that time. Then, by setting the end timing of the direction indicating operation based on the determination result of the possibility of the right / left turn after the lane change, the direction indicating operation can be automatically ended accurately according to the state of the vehicle it can.

  Specifically, in the turn signal of the present embodiment, when it is determined that the probability of lane change is high, the lane change is based on whether the vehicle is decelerated when the steering wheel SH is returned by the cancel return angle θ3. It is finally judged whether the turn is right or left. When it is determined that the lane is changed again, the direction indicating operation is immediately canceled, and when it is determined that the vehicle is turning right or left, the direction indicating operation is not cancelled.

  For example, while driving at medium or high speeds, it is assumed that the vehicle will turn left immediately after changing lanes to the left or turn right immediately after changing lanes to the right. At that time, the direction indicating operation is not canceled. That is, the direction indicating operation is continued until the right / left turn after the lane change is completed. In this way, it is possible to suitably cope with a right / left turn performed following the lane change. Accordingly, when the lane is changed, the direction indicating operation is not excessively canceled, and the direction indicating operation based on the turn signal can be automatically terminated accurately.

  Incidentally, in the above-described prior art, the cancel preparation angle and the cancel angle are uniformly set according to the vehicle speed in order to appropriately cope with the case where the steering angle of the steering wheel is relatively small, such as when changing lanes. Like that. Therefore, in the case of turning right and left immediately after changing lanes when driving at medium and high speeds, the direction indicating operation is canceled when the steering wheel is slightly rotated backward, that is, when the lane is changed. Can happen. Thus, in the said prior art, we are anxious about the cancellation of the direction instruction | indication operation | movement at the time of a lane change being performed excessively. In this case, the driver needs to operate the operation lever again to the left turn operation position or the right turn operation position. According to the present embodiment, there is no such trouble.

<Effect of Embodiment>
Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) When the turn signal control circuit 21 starts the turn signal control circuit 21, the vehicle running state is determined based on the vehicle speed acquired through the vehicle speed sensor 22 and the steering angle of the steering wheel SH acquired through the steering angle sensor 23. It is determined whether it is a lane change or a left / right turn, and the end timing of the direction indicating operation is set according to the determination result. Then, when the control circuit 21 determines that the traveling state of the vehicle is a lane change and ends the direction indicating operation, the control circuit 21 determines whether or not the vehicle is decelerated based on the change in the vehicle speed with respect to the start time of the direction indicating operation. When it is determined that the vehicle has been decelerated, the direction indicating operation is continued. When it is determined that the vehicle has not been decelerated, the direction indicating operation is terminated.

  Here, as the running state of the vehicle, various situations are assumed, for example, a situation where the vehicle turns right or left immediately after changing the lane or after a short time. Without considering any possibility of such a left or right turn, when the direction indicating operation is ended at the end timing of the direction indicating operation set based on the determination result that the vehicle is a lane change, this does not match the actual situation. There is concern. Specifically, it is preferable that the direction indicating operation is continuously performed until the right / left turn is completed. However, a situation in which the direction indicating operation is ended at the time when the lane change is completed may be considered.

  In this regard, in the present embodiment, as described above, even when it is determined that the traveling state of the vehicle is a lane change, the direction instruction operation is started when the direction instruction operation is actually ended. Whether or not the vehicle is decelerated is determined based on the change in the vehicle speed with reference to the time when the vehicle is decelerated, and if it is determined that the vehicle is decelerating, the direction indicating operation is continuously performed on the assumption that a right or left turn may be performed. This is based on the assumption that the vehicle is usually decelerated when the vehicle turns right or left. Therefore, the direction indicating operation can be automatically terminated accurately in accordance with the actual traveling state of the vehicle.

  (2) The control circuit 21 determines whether or not the vehicle is decelerated based on a comparison between a deceleration determination threshold set based on the vehicle speed at the start of the direction indicating operation and the vehicle speed when the direction indicating operation is ended. did. The control circuit 21 sets the deceleration determination threshold to a value obtained by multiplying the vehicle speed (initial value V1) at the start of the direction indicating operation by a coefficient k greater than 0 and less than 1.

  The vehicle is decelerated because it is determined whether or not the vehicle is decelerated based on a comparison between a deceleration determination threshold value that is smaller than the vehicle speed at the start of the direction indicating operation and the vehicle speed when the direction indicating operation ends. It is possible to avoid excessive determination. For example, even in the case of a lane change, it is often assumed that the vehicle is slightly decelerated after the direction indicating operation is started. In such a case, the direction indicating operation is continued because there is a possibility of turning left or right. If this is the case, this will not match the actual situation of the vehicle.

  In this regard, according to the present embodiment, by setting a deceleration determination threshold value, which is a determination criterion for the presence or absence of deceleration, to be smaller than the vehicle speed at the start of the direction indicating operation, that is, the determination criterion for the presence or absence of deceleration is relaxed. Thus, it is possible to suppress the erroneous determination that there is a possibility of turning left or right and the continuation of the direction indicating operation in spite of the lane change. In addition, by loosening the criteria for determining whether or not there is deceleration, the possibility of turning left and right becomes more accurate. As described above, this is based on the assumption that the vehicle is often greatly decelerated when turning right or left. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the direction indicating operation can be automatically terminated more accurately in accordance with the actual traveling state of the vehicle.

  (3) When the control circuit 21 determines that the vehicle traveling state is turning left or right, the control circuit 21 determines from the cancel preparation angle θ1 of the direction indicating operation according to the vehicle speed acquired through the vehicle speed sensor 22 and the cancel preparation angle θ1. Also, the small cancellation angle θ2 is set as an absolute angle from the steering angle midpoint corresponding to the steering neutral position of the steering wheel SH. Then, the control circuit 21 ends the direction indicating operation when the absolute steering angle based on the steering angle midpoint acquired through the steering angle sensor 23 becomes less than the cancellation angle θ2 after exceeding the cancellation preparation angle θ1. I did it.

  Therefore, when the driver steers the steering wheel SH to make a right or left turn, the steering wheel SH is steered to a position exceeding the cancel preparation angle θ1 and then steered in a reverse direction to a position below the cancel angle θ2. Direction instruction operation is automatically terminated. Here, as described above, the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 are set as absolute angles from the rudder angle midpoint based on the vehicle speed acquired through the vehicle speed sensor 22, and accordingly, according to the vehicle speed at each time. The automatic end of the direction indicating operation is preferably performed. For example, the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 are set to smaller values as the vehicle speed increases, and conversely as the vehicle speed decreases. This is based on the assumption that the steering angle of the steering wheel SH decreases as the vehicle speed increases, and the steering angle of the steering wheel SH increases as the vehicle speed decreases.

  (4) When the control circuit 21 determines that the traveling state of the vehicle is a lane change, the control circuit 21 sets the cancel return angle θ3 of the direction indicating operation according to the vehicle speed acquired through the vehicle speed sensor 22 to the relative steering of the steering wheel SH. It was set as a corner. When the control circuit 21 detects that the steering wheel SH has not been decelerated when it is detected through the steering angle sensor 23 that the steering wheel SH has been rotated in a predetermined direction and then operated in the reverse direction by the cancel return angle θ3. The direction indication operation was finished.

  Here, since the cancel return angle θ3 is set as a relative steering angle of the steering wheel SH according to the vehicle speed acquired through the vehicle speed sensor 22, when the lane is changed, the direction indicating operation is performed according to the vehicle speed at each time. Automatic termination is preferably performed. In particular, when the lane is changed during traveling on an expressway, the steering angle of the steering wheel SH is assumed to be extremely small. Even in such a case, by setting the cancel return angle θ3 to a small value according to the vehicle speed, the steering wheel SH is steered slightly after the steering wheel SH is steered at the time of lane change, thereby performing the direction indicating operation. Preferably, it can be automatically terminated.

<Other embodiments>
In addition, you may implement this Embodiment as follows.
In the present embodiment, when the vehicle speed V exceeds the vehicle speed determination threshold V1h and the steering angle θ is equal to or less than the cancel preparation angle θ1, the control circuit 21 determines that the vehicle is changing lanes and cancels the vehicle. Set the return angle θ3. After that, when the return angle θm of the steering wheel SH exceeds the cancel return angle θ3 (YES in step S117 in FIG. 5A), the control circuit 21 sets the vehicle on the basis of the start of the direction indicating operation. The presence or absence of deceleration is determined (step S118 in FIG. 5A).

  Here, the determination of the presence or absence of the deceleration may be executed immediately when the return angle θm of the steering wheel SH exceeds the cancel return angle θ3, as indicated by a timing t1 in FIG. Further, as indicated by timing t2 in the figure, after the return angle θm of the steering wheel SH exceeds the cancel return angle θ3, the timing immediately before the left turn lamps 26a, 26b or the right turn lamps 27a, 27b are turned on next time. It may be determined whether or not there is deceleration.

  As described above, the determination of the presence or absence of deceleration of the vehicle may be performed at any of the timings described above, but it is assumed that it is actually preferable to determine the presence or absence of deceleration at the latter timing. This is due to the following reason. For example, at the time of turning left or right, the vehicle may run slightly after starting the direction indicating operation and then decelerate. In this way, it is assumed that the change in vehicle speed (here, deceleration) often appears more prominently as time elapses after starting the direction indicating operation. Therefore, the determination becomes more accurate by determining whether or not the vehicle is decelerated after a certain amount of time has elapsed since the start of the direction indicating operation.

  Specifically, according to the latter timing described above, the left turn lamps 26a, 26b or the right turn lamp 27a from when the return angle θm of the steering wheel SH exceeds the cancel return angle θ3 as the end timing of the direction indicating operation. , 27b can be delayed by the amount of time until just before the next lighting. Therefore, it is possible to more accurately determine the change in the vehicle speed, here the presence or absence of deceleration of the vehicle speed, as compared with the case where the presence or absence of deceleration is immediately determined based on the end timing of the direction indicating operation. .

  In the present embodiment, the vehicle speed V at the start of the direction indicating operation, that is, the deceleration determination threshold set by multiplying the initial value V1 of the vehicle speed V by the coefficient k (≦ 1) is set when the lane is changed from the left lane to the right lane. And the same value at the time of lane change from the right lane to the left lane, but may be different. That is, in determining whether or not there is deceleration, the value of the coefficient k to be multiplied by the vehicle speed V (= initial value V1) acquired when the turn switch 24 is turned on is set when the lane is changed from the left lane to the right lane and from the right lane to the left lane. Set as follows when the lane changes to.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when changing lanes and going straight, it is assumed that there is often no significant deceleration when changing from the left lane to the right lane. On the other hand, when changing the lane from the right lane to the left lane, it is assumed that there is often a certain degree of deceleration. Further, when turning right, the turning speed of the vehicle is larger than when turning left, so that the vehicle speed may be faster (increased). Therefore, when it is determined that the lane change is from the left lane to the right lane, for example, 0.9 is used as the value of the coefficient k, and when it is determined that the lane change is from the right lane to the left lane. May adopt, for example, 0.7 as the value of the coefficient k. Even in this case, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the lane change has occurred. Note that whether the lane change is in the left or right direction can be determined by the operation direction of the turn switch 24.

  In the present embodiment, the cancel preparation angle θ1, the cancel angle θ2, and the cancel return angle θ3 are set according to the vehicle speed in each case, but these may be set to fixed values. Good. Even in such a case, when canceling the direction indicating operation when it is determined that the lane has been changed, the possibility of a right or left turn after the lane change is confirmed based on the change in the lane speed, so that the actual driving of the vehicle The direction indicating operation can be automatically terminated accurately in accordance with the state.

  In the present embodiment, when the control circuit 21 determines that the lane is changed (NO in step S110 of FIG. 5A), the cancel return angle θ3 is set and the steering wheel SH has the cancel return angle θ3. If there is no deceleration when the reverse rotation operation is performed, the direction indicating operation is automatically terminated. However, the following may be performed. In other words, when it is determined that the lane is changed, the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 are set to values (several degrees) smaller than the values (several tens of degrees) set at the time of turning left and right, and the steering wheel SH If there is no deceleration when the reverse rotation operation is performed until the rotation angle is less than the cancellation angle θ2 after the rotation operation exceeds the cancel preparation angle θ1, the direction indicating operation is automatically ended. Even if it does in this way, according to the driving | running | working state of the vehicle from time to time, a direction instruction | indication operation | movement can be correctly complete | finished automatically.

  In the present embodiment, when it is determined that the vehicle is turning right or left (NO in step S104 in FIG. 5A, YES in step S110, NO in step S118), the cancel preparation angle θ1 and the cancel angle θ2 are set. I did it. The direction indicating operation is automatically terminated when the steering wheel SH is rotated in excess of the cancel preparation angle θ1 and then reversely rotated until it is less than the cancel angle θ2, but the following operation is also performed. Good. That is, when it is determined that the vehicle is turning left or right, the cancel return angle θ3 is set to a value (several tens of degrees) larger than the value (several degrees) set when the lane is changed, and the steering wheel SH is rotated. Then, when the reverse rotation operation is performed by the cancel return angle θ3, the direction indicating operation is automatically ended. Even if it does in this way, according to the driving | running | working state of the vehicle from time to time, a direction instruction | indication operation | movement can be correctly complete | finished automatically.

  In the present embodiment, a return mechanism is provided that always automatically returns the operation lever 13 to the operation neutral position O1 when the operation force applied to the operation lever 13 is released. That is, when the operation lever 13 is tilted from the operation neutral position O1 to the left turn operation position O2 or the right turn operation position O3, a holding function for holding the operation lever 13 at these positions is added to the return mechanism. Then, the return mechanism releases the holding of the operation lever 13 based on a command from the control circuit 21 and automatically returns to the operation neutral position O1. Even when such a configuration is employed, the direction indicating operation can be automatically terminated accurately in accordance with the actual traveling state of the vehicle, as in the above-described embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the present invention is embodied in turn signals for four-wheeled vehicles such as private cars and trucks, but may be embodied as turn signals for two-wheeled vehicles such as scooters and motorcycles.

<Other technical ideas>
Next, other technical ideas that can be grasped from the embodiment will be described below.
-In the turn signal control device according to claim 2, when it is determined that the traveling state of the vehicle is a lane change from the left lane to the right lane, it is also determined that the lane change is from the right lane to the left lane. A turn signal control device adopting a larger value as the coefficient than the above. Even when such a configuration is adopted, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the lane is changed.

The perspective view which shows the perspective structure of the turn signal of this Embodiment. The front view which similarly shows the front structure of a turn signal. The circuit block diagram which similarly shows the electrical structure of a turn signal. (A)-(c) is a front view of the steering wheel for demonstrating cancellation cancellation angle (theta) 1, cancellation angle (theta) 2, and return angle (theta) 3 similarly. (A)-(c) is a flowchart which similarly shows the process sequence of the cancellation process of direction instruction | indication operation | movement. FIG. 10 is an on / off waveform diagram of a turn lamp showing timings for determining whether or not there is deceleration in another embodiment. The schematic diagram which shows the pattern of the driving state of the vehicle in other embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 ... Operation lever (operation knob), 20 ... Turn signal, 21 ... Control circuit (turn signal control apparatus), 22 ... Vehicle speed sensor (vehicle speed detection means), 23 ... Steering angle sensor (steering angle detection means), 26a, 26b , 27a, 27b, turn ramps, SH, steering wheel (steering means), θ, steering angle, θ1, cancel preparation angle (end preparation angle), θ2, cancel angle (end angle), and θ3, cancel return angle.

Claims (5)

When a direction indicating operation for signaling the traveling direction of the vehicle to the periphery is started, the vehicle travels based on the vehicle speed acquired through the vehicle speed detection unit provided in the vehicle and the steering angle of the steering unit acquired through the steering angle detection unit. In the turn signal control device that determines whether the state is a lane change or right / left turn, and sets the end timing of the direction indicating operation according to the determination result,
When it is determined that the running state of the vehicle is a lane change and the direction indicating operation is terminated based on the end timing, the presence or absence of deceleration of the vehicle is determined based on the change in the vehicle speed based on the start time of the direction indicating operation. A turn signal control device that continues the direction indicating operation when it is determined that the vehicle is decelerated, and ends the direction indicating operation when it is determined that the vehicle is not decelerated. In the turn signal control device according to claim 1,
The presence or absence of deceleration of the vehicle is determined based on a comparison between a deceleration determination threshold set based on the vehicle speed at the start of the direction indicating operation and the vehicle speed when the direction indicating operation is ended,
The deceleration determination threshold value is set to a value obtained by multiplying the vehicle speed at the start of the direction indicating operation by a coefficient greater than 0 and less than 1. In the turn signal control device according to claim 1 or 2,
The direction instruction operation of the vehicle is performed through blinking control of a turn lamp provided in the vehicle, and the determination of the presence or absence of deceleration of the vehicle is set based on the determination result that the traveling state of the vehicle is a lane change A turn signal control device which is performed immediately before the turn lamp is turned on next with reference to timing. In the turn signal control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
When it is determined that the traveling state of the vehicle is a left / right turn, a cancel preparation angle for a direction indicating operation and a cancel angle smaller than the cancel preparation angle are set according to the vehicle speed acquired through the vehicle speed detection unit. The absolute angle from the steering angle midpoint corresponding to the steering neutral position of the steering means is set, and the absolute steering angle based on the steering angle midpoint acquired through the steering angle detection means exceeds the cancel preparation angle. A turn signal control device for ending the direction indicating operation with the end timing as the end timing when the angle becomes less than the cancel angle. In the turn signal control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
When it is determined that the traveling state of the vehicle is a lane change, a cancel return angle of the direction indicating operation is set as a relative steering angle of the steering means according to the vehicle speed acquired through the vehicle speed detecting means, and the steering A turn signal control device for ending a direction indicating operation with the end timing when the means is detected through the rudder angle detecting means that the means is operated in the reverse direction by the cancel return angle.

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