JP2010195309A - Gear shift device of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gear shift device of a vehicle that excels in versatility while maintaining the detection accuracy of a shift position of a shift operating member. <P>SOLUTION: The gear shift device of the vehicle includes an operating lever 10 operated to a plurality of shift positions, a magnet 11 for moving in conjunction with the operation of the operating lever 10, and a sensor unit 30 having first to fifth Hall elements 32a-32e whose output values are changed according to a change of magnetic field caused by the magnet 11 in conjunction with the movement of the magnet 11. Output values of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a-32e when the operating lever 10 is operated to the plurality of shift positions are stored in advance as reference values. On the basis of the comparison of the reference values with the output values of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a-32e, the number of the Hall elements indicating the output values close to the reference values is counted for each operating position. On the basis of the number of the Hall elements counted for each shift position, it is determined that in which the operating lever 10 is located among a plurality of operating positions. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a shift device for a vehicle, and more particularly to a by-wire shift device that eliminates mechanical connection between a shift operation member such as an operation lever operated by a user and a transmission of the vehicle.

  The shift position of the shift lever is detected by a sensor after eliminating mechanical connection between a shift operation member such as an operation lever operated by a user of the vehicle and the transmission of the vehicle, and the detected shift position. A so-called by-wire shift device that switches the shift range of a transmission based on the above is well known. By adopting such a by-wire structure as a vehicle shift device, it is possible to greatly increase the degree of freedom in vehicle design, for example, it is possible to freely change the arrangement position of the shift lever. Conventionally, as this type of shift device, there are devices described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 16, the shift device described in Patent Document 1 is a so-called lever-type shift device, and an operation lever 80 operated by a user along a shift gate 81 and a shift position of the operation lever 80. And a sensor unit (not shown). On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 17, the shift device described in Patent Document 2 is a so-called dial type shift device, and an operation knob 90 that is rotated around a central axis m1 by a user, and the operation knob 90 And a sensor unit (not shown) for detecting the rotational position. In the shift devices described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when the user operates the operation lever 80 and the operation knob 90, their shift positions are detected through the sensor units, and the transmission is based on the detected shift positions. The shift range is selectively switched to “P (parking range)”, “N (neutral range)”, or the like.

  Thus, by employing a by-wire type shift device as the shift device, the shift operation member can have a lever type structure or a dial type structure. For this reason, the degree of freedom in vehicle design can be increased in that the structure of the shift operation member can be freely changed.

JP 2007-326549 A JP 2002-52948 A

  Thus, in the by-wire type shift device, the arrangement position of the shift lever can be freely changed, and the structure of the shift operation member itself can be freely changed. As a result, the degree of freedom in vehicle design can be greatly increased. However, since the movable range of the shift operation member differs greatly between the lever-type shift device and the dial-type shift device, it is basically necessary to prepare a dedicated sensor unit for each shift device. However, when a dedicated sensor unit is prepared in this way, it is necessary to manufacture each sensor unit separately, which may cause a deterioration in productivity of the shift device and an increase in cost. For this reason, a shift device that can detect the shift position regardless of whether the shift operation member is a lever type or a dial type, for example, a shift device with excellent versatility. There is a situation that is still desired.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle shift device that is excellent in versatility while maintaining the detection accuracy of the shift position of the shift operation member.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a shift operation member operated to a plurality of shift positions, a magnetic body that moves in conjunction with the operation of the shift operation member, When the sensor unit having a plurality of magnetic detection elements whose output values change according to the change of the magnetic field emitted from the magnetic body with movement, and the shift operation member is operated at each shift position An output value that approximates the reference value based on a comparison between the reference value and the output value of the magnetic detection element. The number of magnetic detection elements indicating the number of magnetic detection elements is counted for each shift position, and the shift operation member is moved to any one of the plurality of shift positions based on the number of magnetic detection elements counted for each shift position. It is summarized in that to determine whether the positioned.

  According to this configuration, regardless of whether the shift operation member is, for example, the lever type or the dial type described above, the shift operation member is actually operated to each shift position and each shift position is operated. By measuring the output value of the magnetic detection element at and storing the measurement result in the storage unit in advance, the shift position of the shift operation member can be determined through the common sensor unit. For this reason, an apparatus with excellent versatility can be realized. Further, since the determination of the shift position of the shift operation member is performed based on the output values of the plurality of magnetic detection elements, the determination accuracy can be maintained high.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle shift device according to the first aspect, the sensor unit includes a substrate that is disposed to face the magnetic body at a predetermined interval, and the magnetic unit of the substrate is The gist is that the plurality of magnetic detection elements are arranged uniformly over the entire surface facing the body.

  When changing the operation method, such as when changing the shift operation member from a lever type to a dial type, for example, the moving range of the magnetic material is greatly changed. Depending on the positional relationship with the magnetic body, it may be difficult to determine the shift position of the shift operation member. In this regard, according to the above configuration, since the plurality of magnetic detection elements are uniformly arranged on the opposing surfaces of the magnetic body of the substrate, the shift position of the shift operation member can be flexibly adapted to changes in the movement range of the magnetic body. Can be determined. For this reason, it becomes possible to realize a shift device with more versatility.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle shift device according to the first or second aspect, the magnetic detection element is abnormal based on time-series data of output values of the magnetic detection element. The gist is to notify the user of the abnormality by the notifying means mounted on the vehicle when it is determined whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the magnetic detection element. .

  According to the configuration, when an abnormality occurs in the magnetic detection element, the user is notified of this, so that the user can notice the abnormality of the shift device. As a result, the user can take measures such as having the dealer repair the shift device, for example, so that a safer vehicle shift device can be realized.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle shift device according to any one of the first to third aspects, a shift gate that guides the movement of the shift operation member to the plurality of shift positions is formed. The shift panel is provided with a storage device in which a reference value corresponding to each shift position of the shift gate is stored in advance, and is stored in the storage device of the shift panel instead of the reference value stored in the storage unit. The gist is that the standard value is used.

  When changing the operation method, such as when changing the shift operation member from a lever type to a dial type, for example, the movement range of the magnetic material changes greatly. It is necessary to reset the reference value stored in the storage unit. However, it is difficult for the user himself to perform such work. In this respect, according to the above configuration, since the reference value corresponding to the shift gate is stored in advance in the storage device of the shift panel, the reference value is reset based on the reference value stored in the storage device. By doing so, the reference value can be reset only by replacing the shift panel. Since such a work such as exchanging the shift panel can be easily performed even by the user, the user can change the operation method of the shift operation member. Accordingly, the operation method of the shift operation member can be changed.

  According to the vehicle shift device of the present invention, it is possible to realize a vehicle shift device with excellent versatility while maintaining the detection accuracy of the shift position of the shift operation member.

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle shift device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The side view which shows the side structure about the sensor unit of the shift apparatus of the vehicle of 1st Embodiment. The top view which shows the planar structure about the sensor unit of the shift apparatus of the vehicle of 1st Embodiment. The graph which shows the relationship between the magnetic flux density currently applied to the Hall element, and Hall voltage (voltage value). The block diagram which shows the system structure about the shift apparatus of the vehicle of 1st Embodiment. The chart which shows an example of the reference value memorize | stored in the memory of the speed-change control apparatus of 1st Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the shift position determination process by the transmission control apparatus of the said 1st Embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the output value determination process of the H position by the transmission control apparatus of the first embodiment. (A) to (c) are examples of reference values stored in the memory of the speed change control device of the first embodiment, examples of output values of the first to fifth Hall elements, and count values Ch and Cn. , Cd, and a chart showing an example of Cr respectively. The perspective view which shows the schematic structure about the shift apparatus of the vehicle of the 1st Embodiment. The top view which shows the schematic structure about the shift apparatus of the vehicle of the 1st Embodiment. The top view which shows the planar structure about the sensor unit of the shift apparatus of the vehicle of 1st Embodiment. The chart which shows an example of the time-sequential data of the output value of the 1st-5th Hall element memorize | stored in the memory of the shift control apparatus about 2nd Embodiment of the shift apparatus of the vehicle concerning this invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the abnormality alerting | reporting process by the transmission control apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. The chart which shows an example of the time-sequential data of the output value of the 1st-5th Hall element memorize | stored in the memory of the transmission control apparatus of the said 2nd Embodiment. The perspective view which shows the perspective structure about an example of the shift apparatus of the conventional vehicle. The perspective view which shows the perspective structure about the other example of the shift apparatus of the conventional vehicle.

(First embodiment)
A vehicle shift device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a perspective structure of a vehicle shift device according to the present embodiment. First, a schematic configuration of the vehicle shift device will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this shift device basically includes an operation lever 10 operated by a user and a shift panel 20 formed with a shift gate 21 for guiding the movement of the operation lever 10. This is a so-called lever-type shift device. Here, the shift gate 21 is composed of first and second guide grooves 21a and 21b extending in the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction in the drawing, respectively, and is formed in a T-shape as a whole. In this shift device, the shift position of the operation lever 10 is set in the following modes (a1) to (a4) according to the position of the operation lever 10 on the shift gate 21.

(A1) When the operation lever 10 is located at the tip of the first guide groove 21a. The shift position of the operation lever 10 at this time is set to “H (home) position”.
(A2) When the operation lever 10 is located at the center of the second guide groove 21b. The shift position of the operation lever 10 at this time is set to “N (neutral) position”.

(A3) When the operation lever 10 is located at the front end of the second guide groove 21b. The shift position of the operation lever 10 at this time is set to “D (drive) position”.
(A4) When the operation lever 10 is located at the back end of the second guide groove 21b. The shift position of the operation lever 10 at this time is set to “R (reverse) position”.

  The operation lever 10 moves to any one of the N position, the D position, and the R position when an external force is applied by the user with the H position as a reference position, but when the external force is removed. Is configured to automatically return to the H position. In this shift device, the shift position of the operation lever 10 is determined through the sensor unit 30.

  2 and 3 show a side structure and a planar structure of the sensor unit 30, respectively. Next, a schematic configuration of the sensor unit 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 3, the z-axis direction indicates a direction perpendicular to both the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a magnet 11 as a magnetic body magnetized in the z-axis direction in the figure is attached to the base end portion of the operation lever 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the sensor unit 30 is provided with a substrate 31 so as to face the magnet 11 at a predetermined interval in the z-axis direction in the figure. Hall elements 32a to 32e are mounted. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the five Hall elements 32 a to 32 e have second to second centers around the first Hall element 32 a arranged in the central portion of the surface of the substrate 31 facing the magnet 11. Five Hall elements 32b to 32e are arranged in a cross shape along the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction in the figure. That is, the five Hall elements 32 a to 32 e are arranged uniformly over the entire surface of the substrate 31 facing the magnet 11. When the operation lever 10 is operated by the user, the magnet 11 moves in a manner indicated by a two-dot chain line in the drawing, and when the operation lever 10 is operated to each shift position, the position of the magnet 11 is The positions are shown in the following (b1) to (b4).

(B1) When the operation lever 10 is in the H position. At this time, the magnet 11 is positioned between the first Hall element 32a and the second Hall element 32b.
(B2) When the operation lever 10 is in the N position. At this time, the magnet 11 is positioned between the first Hall element 32a and the fourth Hall element 32d.

(B3) When the operation lever 10 is in the D position. At this time, the magnet 11 is located at a position slightly shifted in the x-axis direction from the third hall element 32c.
(B4) When the operation lever 10 is in the R position. At this time, the magnet 11 is located at a position slightly shifted in the x-axis direction from the fifth Hall element 32e.

  In the sensor unit 30, the magnetic field generated from the magnet 11 is applied to the first to fifth Hall elements 32 a to 32 e, and changes in the magnetic field that occur as the magnet 11 moves are first to fifth. Are detected through the Hall elements 32a to 32e, and an electric signal corresponding to the position of the magnet 11 is output.

  The first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e output a Hall voltage corresponding to the strength of the magnetic field (magnetic flux density) by the Hall effect, and as shown in FIG. 4, the magnitude of the magnetic flux density. A voltage value proportional to is output.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the output signals of the first to fifth hall elements 32a to 32e are shift control that is configured around a microcomputer and generally controls various controls of the automatic transmission 50 of the vehicle. Input to the device 40. The shift control device 40 detects the position of the magnet 11, in other words, the shift position of the operating lever 10, based on the output values VH1 to VH5 of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e. This is a part that executes shift control for switching the shift range of the automatic transmission 50 based on the shift position of the operating lever 10. Further, in the shift device according to the present embodiment, for example, when the shift device is assembled, the operation lever 10 is actually operated to the shift positions to first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e at the shift positions. And the measurement result at that time is stored as a reference value in a memory 41 as a storage unit built in the speed change control device 40. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, reference values VHh1 to VHh5, VHn1 to VHn5, VHd1 to VHd5, and VHr1 of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e corresponding to the shift positions of the operation lever 10. ~ VHr5 is stored. Then, the shift control device 40 executes a shift position determination process for determining the shift position of the operation lever 10 in order to execute the shift control. Note that the shift control device 40 repeatedly executes the shift position determination process at a predetermined calculation cycle when it is determined that the operation lever 10 is stopped for a predetermined period in order to increase the shift position determination accuracy. Incidentally, the shift control device 40 indicates that the operation lever 10 is stopped based on the determination that the amount of change in all output values of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e is equal to or less than a predetermined value. Judging.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the shift position determination process executed through the shift control device 40. Hereinafter, a specific procedure of the process will be described with reference to FIG. In the process shown in FIG. 7, the count values Ch, Cn, Cd, and Cr are set to “0” as their initial values.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in this shift position determination process, first, the output values of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e are compared with the reference value to indicate an output value that approximates the reference value. An output value determination process for counting the number of elements for each shift position is executed (step S1). FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing this output value determination process. In FIG. 8, for convenience of explanation, only the output value determination process corresponding to the H position is shown as a representative.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 8, in this output value determination process, first, current output values VH1 to VH5 of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e are detected (step S10). In the subsequent step S11, reference values VHh1 to VHh5 of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e corresponding to the H position are read from the memory 41. Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the output value VH1 of the first Hall element 32a thus detected approximates the reference value VHh1 (step S12). Specifically, when it is determined that the absolute value of the difference between the output value VH1 of the first Hall element 32a and the reference value VHh1 is smaller than a predetermined threshold value VHa, the output value VH1 of the first Hall element 32a. Is approximated to the reference value VHh1.

  When it is determined that the output value VH1 of the first Hall element 32a is close to the reference value VHh1 (step S12: YES), the count value Ch is incremented (step S13). Thereafter, it is similarly determined whether the output values VH2 to VH5 of the second to fifth Hall elements 32b to 32d are approximate to the reference values VHh2 to VHh5 (steps S14, S16, S18, S20). . When it is determined that the output values VH2 to VH5 of the second to fifth Hall elements 32b to 32d are close to the reference values VHh2 to VHh5, the count value Ch is incremented. (Steps S15, S17, S19, S21).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the output values VH1 to VH5 of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e are not close to the reference values VHh1 to VHh5, respectively (steps S12, S14, S16, S18: NO) ), The count value Ch is not incremented.

  Incidentally, the shift control device 40 replaces the reference values VHh1 to VHh5 corresponding to the H position with the reference values VHn1 to VHn5 corresponding to the N position in the output value determination process shown in FIG. By replacing the value Ch with the N-position count value Cn and performing the same processing, the N-position count value Cn is calculated. Further, the shift control device 40 calculates the count values Cd and Cr of each position by executing the same processing based on the reference values VHd1 to VHd5 and VHr1 to VHr5 corresponding to the D position and the R position, respectively. To do.

  After the count values Ch, Cn, Cd, Cr corresponding to the respective shift positions are calculated in this way, the count values Ch, Cn, Cd, Cr are compared with each other as the processing in step S2 of FIG. Cmax is calculated. Then, it is determined whether or not the calculated maximum value Cmax is equal to or greater than a predetermined value Ca (step S3). When it is determined that the maximum value Cmax is equal to or greater than the predetermined value Ca ( Step S3: YES), it is determined that the shift position of the operating lever 10 is a shift position indicating the maximum value Cmax (Step S4).

  If it is determined that the maximum value Cmax is not equal to or greater than the predetermined value Ca (step S3: NO), the operation lever 10 is not positioned at any of the above shift positions, for example, each shift position. This is considered to be in a state of being located at an intermediate position. Therefore, in the shift device according to the present embodiment, when it is determined that the maximum value Cmax is not equal to or greater than the predetermined value Ca (step S3: NO), for convenience, the shift position of the operation lever 10 is set to the reference position H. It is determined that it is a position (step S5).

  Then, after the shift position of the operation lever 10 is determined through the processes of steps S4 and S5, the count values Ch, Cn, Cd, and Cr are initialized to “0” (step S6). Is terminated.

  Next, how the shift control device 40 determines the shift position of the operation lever 10 through execution of the shift position determination process will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, it is assumed that the reference value corresponding to each shift position is set in advance in the form shown in FIG.

  For example, assuming that the data shown in FIG. 9B is obtained as the output values of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e, these output values are compared with the reference values corresponding to the respective shift positions. The count values Ch, Cn, Cd, Cr are calculated respectively. Specifically, for example, if the threshold value VHa is set to “5 [mV]”, in the output value determination process corresponding to the H position, the first hall element 32a, the third hall element 32c, and It is determined that the output value of the fifth Hall element 32e is close to the reference value. That is, as shown in FIG. 9C, “3” is calculated as the count value Ch of the H position. Similarly, “5”, “0”, and “0” are calculated as count values Cn, Cd, and Cr through output value determination processing corresponding to the N position, D position, and R position, respectively. Then, after the count values Ch, Cn, Cd, and Cr are calculated in this way, the count values Ch, Cn, Cd, and Cr are compared, and it is determined that the count value Cn is the maximum value. If the predetermined value Ca is set to “4”, it is determined that the count value Cn is equal to or greater than the predetermined value Ca, and the shift position of the operating lever 10 is a position corresponding to the count value Cn, that is, It is determined that the position is N.

  According to such a configuration as a vehicle shift device, the shift position of the operation lever 10 can be determined based on the output values VH1 to VH5 of the plurality of hall elements 32a to 32e, and therefore the shift position of the operation lever 10 is determined. High accuracy can be maintained.

  Further, in the shift device according to the present embodiment, when the device is assembled, the operation lever 10 is actually operated to the respective shift positions to output the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e at the respective shift positions. Each value is measured, and the measurement result is set to the reference value of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e corresponding to each shift position. That is, the reference value is a value reflecting, for example, an assembly error of the sensor unit 30, individual differences of the magnets 11, or individual differences of the first to fifth Hall elements 32 a to 32 e. Therefore, if the shift position of the operation lever 10 is determined based on the comparison between the reference value and the output values of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e, the assembly error of the sensor unit 30 is absorbed. In this way, the shift position of the operation lever 10 can be determined. This eliminates the need to finely adjust the arrangement of the magnet 11 and the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e in consideration of the assembly error of the sensor unit 30 at the stage of designing the apparatus. Man-hours for work can be greatly reduced.

  Further, in the shift device according to the present embodiment, since the shift position of the operation lever 10 is determined based on the count values Ch, Cn, Cd, Cr, the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e are temporarily assumed. Even if an abnormality occurs in one of the Hall elements, it is possible to continue to determine the shift position of the operation lever 10 as it is. Specifically, for example, in the output values of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e illustrated in FIG. 9B, an abnormality occurs in the first Hall element 32a, and the output value is “0 [ mV] ”. In this case, through the output value determination process, the count values Ch, Cn, Cd, and Cr illustrated in FIG. 9C are calculated as “2”, “4”, “0”, and “0”. However, since the count value Cn is equal to or greater than the predetermined value Ca (= “4”), it is similarly determined through the shift position determination process that the shift position of the operation lever 10 is the N position. As described above, the vehicle shift device according to the present embodiment has a configuration that is resistant to element failures.

  On the other hand, the vehicle shift device according to the present invention can be applied to, for example, a dial type vehicle shift device by appropriately changing the shapes of the operation lever 10 and the shift panel 20 illustrated in FIG. is there. FIG. 10 shows an exploded perspective structure of the shift device when the present invention is applied to a dial type shift device, and FIG. 11 shows its planar structure.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, this dial type shift device basically includes an operation knob 70 having a circular cross section that is operated by a user, and a shift panel 60 in which a protrusion 61 is formed. The operation knob 70 rotates around the protrusion 61 when the central portion of the operation knob 70 is fitted to the protrusion 61. Here, the shift panel 60 is formed with a semicircular arc-shaped shift gate 62 centered on the protruding portion 61, and a movable portion 71 is inserted through the shift gate 62. That is, the movement of the movable portion 71 is guided by the shift gate 62. Further, the distal end portion of the movable portion 71 is fitted to a portion slightly closer to the center portion from the peripheral edge portion of the operation knob 70, and when the operation knob 70 rotates around the protruding portion 61, the movable portion 71. Rotates together with the operation knob 70. Incidentally, since the movable range of the movable portion 71 is regulated by the shift gate 62, the movable portion 71 rotates by “90 °” in the directions indicated by the arrows a1 and a2 from the intermediate position of the shift gate 62, respectively. Is possible. In this shift device, the shift position of the movable portion 71 is set in the following modes (d1) to (d4) according to the position of the movable portion 71 on the shift gate 62.

(D1) When the movable portion 71 is located at an intermediate position of the shift gate 62. The shift position of the operation knob 70 at this time is set to the H position.
(D2) When the movable portion 71 is located at a position rotated by “45 °” in the direction indicated by the arrow c2 from the intermediate position of the shift gate 62. The shift position of the operation knob 70 at this time is set to the N position.

  (D3) When the movable portion 71 is located at a position rotated by “90 °” in the direction indicated by the arrow c2 from the intermediate position of the shift gate 62. The shift position of the operation knob 70 at this time is set to the R position.

  (D4) When the movable portion 71 is located at a position rotated by “90 °” from the intermediate position of the shift gate 62 in the direction indicated by the arrow c1. The shift position of the operation knob 70 at this time is set to the D position.

  Further, in this shift device, a sensor unit 30 similar to the sensor unit of the lever type shift device is provided, and the rotation position of the movable portion 71 through this sensor unit 30, in other words, the shift of the operation knob 70. The position is determined.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 12 as a diagram corresponding to FIG. 3, the magnet 72 is attached to the base end of the movable portion 71, and when the operation knob 70 is operated by the user, the magnet 72. Moves in the manner indicated by the two-dot chain line in the figure. And when the operation knob 70 is operated to each said shift position, the position of the magnet 72 will be a position shown to the following (e1)-(e4).

(E1) When the operation knob 70 is in the H position. At this time, the magnet 11 is positioned above the fifth Hall element 32e.
(E2) When the operation knob 70 is in the N position. At this time, the magnet 11 is positioned between the second Hall element 32b and the fifth Hall element 32e.

(E3) When the operation knob 70 is located at the R position. At this time, the magnet 11 is positioned above the second Hall element 32b.
(E4) When the operation knob 70 is located at the D position. At this time, the magnet 11 is positioned above the fourth Hall element 32d.

  Here, as is apparent from a comparison between FIG. 12 and FIG. 3, the case where the vehicle shift device according to the present invention is applied to a lever-type shift device and the case where it is applied to a dial-type shift device. The position of the magnet corresponding to each shift position is greatly different. That is, the output values VH1 to VH5 corresponding to the shift positions of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e change greatly. For this reason, when the shift device for a vehicle according to the present invention is applied to a dial shift device, the operation knob 70 is actually operated to each of the above shift positions, and the first to fifth holes at the respective shift positions. It is necessary to measure the output values of the elements 32a to 32e and store the measurement results at that time in the memory 41 of the transmission control device 40 as reference values. Thereby, the shift position of the operation knob 70 can be determined through the execution of the shift position determination process.

  Thus, according to such a configuration as a shift device for a vehicle, whether the shift operation member is a lever type such as the operation lever 10 or a dial type such as the operation knob 70 is used. Instead, the shift positions of the operation lever 10 and the operation knob 70 can be determined through the common sensor unit 30. For this reason, an apparatus with excellent versatility can be realized.

As described above, according to the vehicle shift device of the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The output values of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e when the operation lever 10 and the operation knob 70 as the shift operation member are operated to the respective shift positions are used as reference values VHh1 to VHh5, VHn1 to VHn5. , VHd1 to VHd5, VHr1 to VHr5 are stored in advance in the memory 41 of the transmission control device 40. The output values VH1 to VH5 of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e are approximated to the reference values based on a comparison between the reference values VHh1 to VHh5, VHn1 to VHn5, VHd1 to VHd5, and VHr1 to VHr5. Count values Ch, Cn, Cd, Cr indicating the number of elements indicating the output value are calculated. Further, the shift positions of the operation lever 10 and the operation knob 70 are determined based on the count values Ch, Cn, Cd, Cr. Accordingly, regardless of whether the shift operation member is a lever type such as the operation lever 10 or a dial type such as the operation knob 70, the operation lever 10 and the operation lever can be operated through the common sensor unit 30. Since each shift position of the knob 70 can be determined, an apparatus having excellent versatility can be realized. Further, since the shift positions of the operation lever 10 and the operation knob 70 are determined based on the output values of the plurality of hall elements 32a to 32e, the shift position determination accuracy can be maintained high.

  (2) When the shift device is assembled, the operation lever 10 and the operation knob 70 are actually operated to the respective shift positions, and the output values of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e at the respective shift positions are measured. In addition, the measurement result at that time is set to the reference value of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e corresponding to each shift position. As a result, the shift position of the operation lever 10 and the operation knob 70 can be determined in a manner that absorbs the assembly error of the sensor unit 30 and the like, so that the assembly error of the sensor unit 30 is taken into consideration at the design stage of the apparatus. Thus, it is not necessary to finely adjust the arrangement of the magnet 11 and the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e. Therefore, the number of man-hours for designing the apparatus can be greatly reduced.

  (3) The shift position of the operation lever 10 is determined based on the count values Ch, Cn, Cd, Cr. As a result, even if an abnormality occurs in one of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e, it is possible to continue to determine the shift position of the operation lever 10 as it is. Therefore, it becomes possible to realize a device that is resistant to device failure.

  (4) In determining which of the shift positions the operation lever 10 and the operation knob 70 are located, which of the shift positions indicates the maximum value by comparing the count values Ch, Cn, Cd, Cr with each other. It was made to do by judging. Thereby, the shift positions of the operation lever 10 and the operation knob 70 can be easily determined.

(5) The first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e are arranged uniformly over the entire surface of the substrate 31 facing the magnet 11. Thus, even if the operation method is changed, for example, when the shift operation member is of a lever type or a dial type, the shift operation member can be flexibly adapted to this. Therefore, it is possible to realize a shift device with more versatility.
(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the vehicle shift device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The basic structure of the vehicle shift device according to the second embodiment is similar to the structure illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, and the same elements as those shown in FIGS. A duplicate description is omitted by assigning the same reference numerals to each other, and in the following, differences between the two will be mainly described.

  In the vehicle shift device according to the present embodiment, basically, whether or not an abnormality has occurred in these elements based on the time-series data of the output values of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e. When it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in any one of these elements, a notification to that effect is given.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 5, a warning lamp 51 is provided on an instrument panel of a vehicle on which the shift device is mounted to notify the user of an abnormality of the shift device. The warning lamp 51 is turned on and off through the shift control device 40. The transmission control device 40 acquires the output values of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e at a predetermined cycle, and stores the time-series data of the output values in the memory 41. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, the memory 41 includes the current output values VH1 (n) to VH5 (n) of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e for a predetermined time. As the output values of the previous elements, VH1 (n-1) to VH5 (n-1), VH1 (n-2) to VH5 (n-2), VH1 (n-3) to VH5 (n-3) ), VH1 (n-4) to VH5 (n-4) are stored.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the abnormality notification process executed through the shift control device 40. Hereinafter, a specific processing procedure of the process will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 14, in this abnormality notification process, first, all values of the time-series data VH1 (n) to VH1 (n-4) of the output values of the first Hall element 32a are used as the reference. It is determined whether or not the values VHh1, VHn1, VHd1, and VHr1 deviate (step 30). Specifically, for example, when the reference values VHh1, VHn1, VHd1, and VHr1 of the first Hall element 32a are set to the values illustrated in FIG. Upper limit determination value VHb1max and lower limit determination value VHb1min are set in advance, respectively.

The upper limit determination value VHb1max is set to a value (85 [mV]) larger by a predetermined value (for example, “5 [mV]”) than the maximum value “80 [mV]” of the reference value.
The lower limit determination value VHb1min is set to a value (55 [mV]) that is smaller by a predetermined value (for example, “5 [mV]”) than the minimum value “60 [mV]” of the reference value.
In the process of step S30, all values of the time-series data VH1 (n) to VH1 (n-4) of the output values of the first Hall element 32a are changed from the lower limit determination value VHb1min to the upper limit determination value VHb1max. It is determined whether the value is within the range. When it is determined that all values of the time-series data VH1 (n) to VH1 (n-4) of the output values of the first Hall element 32a are not within the same range, the first It is determined that all the time-series data VH1 (n) to VH1 (n-4) of the output values of the Hall elements 32a are out of the reference values VHh1, VHn1, VHd1, and VHr1.
Then, it is determined that all values of the time series data VH1 (n) to VH1 (n-4) of the output values of the first Hall element 32a are out of the reference values VHh1, VHn1, VHd1, and VHr1. If it has been made (step S30: YES), the warning lamp 51 is turned on to notify that there is an abnormality in the shift device (step S35).

  On the other hand, any one of the time-series data VH1 (n) to VH1 (n-4) of the output value of the first Hall element 32a is not deviated from the reference values VHh1, VHn1, VHd1, and VHr1. If it is determined (step S30: NO), all the values of the time-series data of the output values of the second to fifth Hall elements 32b to 32e are similarly set to the reference values VHh2 to VHh5, VHn2 to VHn5. , VHd2 to VHd5, VHr2 to VHr5 are determined (steps S31, S32, S33, S34). Then, for any one of the second to fifth Hall elements 32b to 32e, all of the time-series data of the output values are the reference values VHh2 to VHh5, VHn2 to VHn5, VHd2 to VHd5, VHr2 to VHr5. When it is determined that it is not within the range (steps S31, S32, S33, S34: YES), the warning lamp 51 is turned on to notify that there is an abnormality in the shift device.

  Here, for example, assume that data shown in FIG. 15 is obtained as output values of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e. At this time, in this abnormality notification process, all values of the time-series data VH1 (n) to VH1 (n-4) of the output value of the first Hall element 32a are set to the upper limit determination value VHb1max (= “85 [ mV] ”) to the lower limit determination value VHb1min (=“ 55 [mV] ”). For this reason, the warning lamp 51 is turned on, and a notification is given to the user that an abnormality has occurred in the shift device.

  According to such a configuration as a vehicle shift device, when an abnormality occurs in the first to fifth hall elements 32a to 32e, the user is notified of the abnormality, so the user notices the abnormality of the shift device. Can do. As a result, the user can take measures such as having the dealer repair the shift device, so that a shift device with higher safety can be realized.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects (1) to (5) according to the first embodiment.
(6) The fact that all values of the time series data of the output values of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e are out of the reference values VHh1 to VHh5, VHn1 to VHn5, VHd1 to VHd5, VHr1 to VHr5. When it is determined, a notification that an abnormality has occurred in the shift device is made. Thereby, since a user can notice abnormality of a shift device, a shift device with higher safety can be realized.
(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the vehicle shift device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 5, and FIG. The basic structure of the vehicle shift device according to the third embodiment is similar to the structure illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, and the same elements as those shown in FIGS. A duplicate description is omitted by assigning the same reference numerals to each other, and in the following, differences between the two will be mainly described.

  As described above, when the operation method is changed, for example, when the shift operation member is changed from the operation lever 10 to the operation knob 70, the moving range of the magnet 11 changes greatly. Needs to reset the reference value stored in the memory 41 of the shift control device 40. However, it is difficult for the user himself to perform such work. Therefore, in the vehicle shift device according to the present embodiment, the reference value can be reset through an operation that can be easily performed even by a user such as replacing the shift panel.

  Specifically, in the vehicle shift device according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the storage device 22 is embedded in the shift panel 20, and the T-shaped shift is stored in the storage device 22. Reference values VHh1 to VHh5, VHn1 to VHn5, VHd1 to VHd5, and VHr1 to VHr5 corresponding to each shift position of the gate 21 are stored in advance.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the storage device 63 is similarly embedded in the shift panel 60, and the reference value corresponding to each shift position of the semicircular arc-shaped shift gate 62 is stored in the storage device 63. VHh1 to VHh5, VHn1 to VHn5, VHd1 to VHd5, VHr1 to VHr5 are stored in advance.

  Then, when the shift panel is attached to the shift device, the shift control device 40 reads the reference value stored in the storage device of the shift panel and performs the shift position determination process based on the read reference value. I do. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, when the shift panel 20 is attached to the shift device, the shift control device 40 uses the reference values VHh1 to VHh5 stored in the storage device 22. VHn1 to VHn5, VHd1 to VHd5, VHr1 to VHr5 are read and the shift position determination process is performed. On the other hand, for example, when the shift panel 60 is attached to the shift device, the shift control device 40 uses the reference values VHh1 to VHh5, VHn1 to VHn5, VHd1 to VHd5, VHr1 to VHr5 stored in the storage device 63. And the shift position determination process is performed.

  According to such a configuration as a vehicle shift device, for example, when the shift operation member is changed from the operation lever 10 to the operation knob 70, the reference value is reset only by replacing the shift panel 20 with the shift panel 60. Will be able to. Since such a work such as exchanging the shift panel can be easily performed even by the user, the user can change the operation method of the shift operation member. Accordingly, the operation method of the shift operation member can be changed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects (1) to (6) of the first and second embodiments.
(7) The shift panels 20 and 60 are provided with storage devices 22 and 63, respectively, in which reference values corresponding to the shift gates 21 and 62 are stored in advance. As a result, the reference value can be reset only by exchanging the shift panel, so that the user can change the operation method of the shift operation member. Thus, the operation method of the shift operation member can be changed.
(Other embodiments)
In addition, each said embodiment can also be implemented with the following forms which changed this suitably.

  In the second embodiment, the abnormality notification is performed by using time series data of the output values of the first to fifth Hall elements 32a to 32e as reference values VHh1 to VHh5, VHn1 to VHn5, VHd1 to VHd5, VHr1. Although it is based on whether or not it deviates from ~ VHr5, instead of this, for example, it is performed based on whether or not the time-series data of the output value of each element shows a constant value. Also good.

  In the second embodiment, the warning lamp 51 is used as a notification means for notifying the user of the abnormality of the shift device. Instead of this, for example, a speaker that emits a sound may be employed. Good.

In each of the above embodiments, the magnetizing direction of the magnet 11 is set in the z-axis direction, but instead, for example, it may be set in the x-axis direction or the y-axis direction.
In each of the above embodiments, five Hall elements are provided in the sensor unit 30, but instead of this, for example, three or six or more may be provided. The detection accuracy of the operation lever 10 and the operation knob 70 can be improved as the number of Hall elements increases. For example, when six Hall elements are arranged on the substrate 31, it is desirable to arrange these six Hall elements uniformly in a hexagonal shape.

  In each of the above embodiments, the Hall element is employed as the magnetic detection element, but instead, for example, a magnetoresistive element (MRE) whose output value changes according to the magnetic field due to the magnetoresistive effect is employed. You can also.

  Considering the situation where the user stops the operation lever 10 at an intermediate position between the H position and the N position, for example, the intermediate position between the H position and the N position is set as the shift position of the operation lever 10 and the operation is performed. You may make it determine whether the lever 10 is located in the intermediate position.

In each of the above embodiments, the vehicle shift device according to the present invention is applied to a lever-type shift device having a T-shaped shift pattern and a dial-type shift device having a semicircular arc-shaped shift pattern. did. Instead, it can be similarly applied to, for example, a lever-type shift device having an h-type shift pattern and a shift device having an H-type shift pattern. Further, the number of shift positions of the operation lever and the operation knob may be increased or decreased in accordance with such a shift pattern change.
(Appendix)
Next, a technical idea that can be grasped from each of the above embodiments and modifications thereof will be additionally described.

  (A) In the vehicle shift device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the determination as to which of the plurality of shift positions the shift operation member is positioned for each of the shift positions. A shift apparatus for a vehicle, characterized in that the shift is performed by comparing the number of magnetic detection elements counted in (1) and (2) to determine which position is the maximum shift position. According to this configuration, the shift position of the shift operation member is determined simply by comparing the number of magnetic detection elements counted for each shift position with each other and determining which position is the maximum shift position. Therefore, the shift position of the shift operation member can be easily determined.

  (B) In the vehicle shift device according to claim 2, the plurality of magnetic detection elements include five magnetic detection elements, and the structure in which the plurality of magnetic detection elements are uniformly arranged is provided on the magnetic body of the substrate. 1. A vehicle shift device comprising a structure in which one magnetic detection element is arranged at a central portion of opposing surfaces and four magnetic detection elements are arranged in a cross shape around the magnetic detection element. According to this configuration, it is possible to appropriately determine the shift position of the shift operation member regardless of whether the shift operation member is a lever type or a dial type.

  (C) In the vehicle shift device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, appendix i, and appendix b, the magnetic detection element outputs a voltage value corresponding to a magnetic field as the output value by a Hall effect. A vehicle shift device characterized by being a hall element. Specifically, as in the same configuration, a Hall element that outputs a voltage value corresponding to a magnetic field by the Hall effect can be employed as the magnetic detection element.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,80 ... Operation lever, 11, 72 ... Magnet, 20, 60 ... Shift panel, 21, 62, 81 ... Shift gate, 21a ... First guide groove, 21b ... Second guide groove, 22, 63 ... Memory Device: 30 ... Sensor unit 31 ... Substrate 32a-32e ... First to fifth Hall elements 40 ... Shift control device 41 ... Memory 50 ... Automatic transmission 51 ... Warning light 61 ... Projection 70, 90 ... operation knob, 71 ... movable part.

Claims (4)

A shift operation member operated to a plurality of shift positions, a magnetic body that moves in conjunction with the operation of the shift operation member, and an output value according to a change in the magnetic field generated from the magnetic body as the magnetic body moves A sensor unit configured to have a plurality of magnetic detection elements whose values change, and output values of the plurality of magnetic detection elements when the shift operation member is operated at each shift position are stored in advance as reference values. And a storage unit
Based on the comparison between the reference value and the output value of the magnetic detection element, the number of magnetic detection elements showing an output value approximate to the reference value is counted for each shift position, and is counted for each shift position. A shift apparatus for a vehicle, wherein the shift operation member is determined in any one of the plurality of shift positions based on the number of magnetic detection elements. The sensor unit includes a substrate that is arranged to face the magnetic body at a predetermined interval, and the plurality of magnetic detection elements are arranged uniformly over the entire surface of the substrate that faces the magnetic body. The vehicle shift device according to claim 1. When determining whether an abnormality has occurred in the magnetic detection element based on time-series data of output values of the magnetic detection element, and when determining that an abnormality has occurred in the magnetic detection element, The vehicle shift device according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein an abnormality is notified to a user by a notification unit mounted on the vehicle. A shift panel formed with a shift gate for guiding movement of the shift operation member to the plurality of shift positions is provided with a storage device in which a reference value corresponding to each shift position of the shift gate is stored in advance, The vehicle shift device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a reference value stored in a storage device of the shift panel is used instead of the reference value stored in the storage unit.

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