JP2012091700A - Brake pedal sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a brake pedal sensor capable of outputting such two kinds of signals having different forms as a linear signal that represents the depressing amount of a brake pedal and the ON/OFF signal that represents the presence or the absence of the depressing operation of the brake pedal at the same time.SOLUTION: A magnet 14 of an actuator 10 rotates while interlocking with the depressing operation of the brake pedal 100. First and second detection parts 11, 12 respectively detect rotational operation of the magnet 14. A first arithmetic processing section 31 and a linear signal outputting section 41 generate and output two linear signals having mutually inverted polarities for controlling a brake force of a wheel based on detection signals output by the first and the second detection portions 11, 12. A second arithmetic processing section 32 and an ON/OFF signal outputting section 42 generate and output two ON/OFF signals having mutually inverted polarities for controlling turning on/turning off of a stop lamp based on the detection signals output by the first and the second detection portions 11, 12.

Description

  The present invention relates to brake control of a vehicle or the like, and more particularly to a brake pedal sensor that outputs a control signal related to braking based on operation of a brake pedal.

  Generally, as a brake control device mounted on a vehicle or the like, a braking sensor used for controlling the braking force of each wheel, and a stop lamp sensor used for controlling lighting / extinguishing of a stop lamp behind the vehicle Is attached to the brake pedal. See, for example, US Pat.

  Both of these two sensors detect the operation of the brake pedal, that is, the state of the depression of the brake pedal. Here, since high reliability is required for the braking control of the wheel, an analog linear signal that accurately reflects the depression amount (displacement amount) of the brake pedal is required for the output of the braking sensor. . On the other hand, since it is sufficient that the stop lamp can be switched on / off, a digital ON / OFF signal that can determine whether or not the brake pedal is depressed is required for the output of the stop lamp sensor. That is, the signal form required as the output of the brake sensor is different from the signal form required as the output of the stop lamp sensor.

  As described above, since the signal form required as the sensor output is different, for example, the brake sensor is configured by a stroke sensor that detects the depression amount of the brake pedal, and the stop lamp sensor detects whether or not the brake pedal is depressed. In the current situation, each switch is made up of separate parts, such as a switch.

JP 2010-167970 A

As described above, in the conventional brake control device, it is necessary to mount two types of sensors, the brake sensor and the stop lamp sensor, on the brake pedal.
For this reason, there exists a subject that the components cost of the sensor for brake pedals becomes high, and the subject remains also in the point which must ensure the space for a structure in order to mount | wear a brake pedal with two sensors.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a brake pedal capable of outputting two types of signals, namely, a linear signal indicating the amount of depression of the brake pedal and an ON / OFF signal indicating whether or not the brake pedal is depressed. It is to provide a sensor.

The present invention is directed to a brake pedal sensor that outputs a control signal related to braking based on operation of a brake pedal. And in order to achieve the said objective, the brake pedal sensor of this invention is equipped with a magnet, two detection parts, a 1st output part, and a 2nd output part. The magnet is fixed to the shaft, and rotates around the shaft according to the depression operation of the brake pedal. The two detectors independently detect the rotation of the magnet. The first output unit generates and outputs two linear signals that continuously represent changes in the rotational operation from the two results detected by the two detection units. In addition, the second output unit has two on / off values representing the change in the rotational operation in binary values based on the threshold value provided for each result from the two results detected by the two detection units. Generate and output an OFF signal.
According to this configuration, it is possible to output two types of control signals having different signal forms from one sensor component.

As described above, according to the brake pedal sensor of the present invention, two types of brake sensor and stop lamp sensor, which have been conventionally required, can be replaced with one sensor component. Thereby, cost reduction of sensor components and space saving of an installation place are realizable.
In addition, according to the brake pedal sensor of the present invention, since the two detection units are provided to independently detect the rotation operation of the magnet, a highly reliable brake pedal sensor based on the two detection results is realized. be able to.

The figure which shows the structure of the brake pedal sensor 1 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The figure which illustrates the structure of the actuator 10 notionally AA sectional view of actuator 10 in FIG. The figure which illustrated the ON / OFF signal output from the linear signal output from the linear signal output part 41, and the ON / OFF signal output part 42

The brake pedal sensor according to the present invention performs a process of supplying an appropriate control signal to the brake electronic control unit (brake ECU), the other electronic control unit (other ECU), and the stop lamp according to the depression operation of the brake pedal. Do.
The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a brake pedal sensor 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The brake pedal sensor 1 includes an actuator 10, a first detection determination unit 21, a second detection determination unit 22, a first calculation processing unit 31, a second calculation processing unit 32, and a linear signal output unit 41. , An ON / OFF signal output unit 42 and an external input determination unit 50.

First, the actuator 10 will be described.
The actuator 10 includes a first detection unit 11, a second detection unit 12, a rotating plate 13, and a magnet 14. The actuator 10 is mechanically connected to the brake pedal 100 so that an operation linked to the depression operation of the brake pedal 100 is possible. FIG. 2 conceptually illustrates the structure of the actuator 10. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the actuator 10 in FIG. The rotating plate 13 rotates around a predetermined axis in accordance with the depression operation of the brake pedal 100. The magnet 14 is mounted on the rotating plate 13 and rotates together with the rotating plate 13 itself. The 1st detection part 11 and the 2nd detection part 12 are provided in the non-contact position with the magnet 14, respectively detect rotation operation of the magnet 14, and output this detected result as a detection signal. The first detection unit 11 and the second detection unit 12 are respectively installed at positions that are symmetric with respect to the axis of the rotary plate 13, and the detection signal output from the first detection unit 11 and the second detection unit. It is desirable that the detection signal output from the unit 12 has a polarity reversal relationship.

  The actuator 10 applicable to the present invention may be a mechanism that rotates the rotating plate 13 in conjunction with the depression operation of the brake pedal 100, and a mechanical connection structure between the brake pedal 100 and the brake pedal sensor 1. Is not particularly limited. In the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a mechanism is shown in which the arm 15 connected to the shaft of the rotating plate 13 moves circularly in the direction of the arrow in conjunction with the depression of the brake pedal 100.

Next, a linear signal for controlling the braking force of the wheel will be described.
The first arithmetic processing unit 31 inputs a detection signal output from the first detection unit 11 and a detection signal output from the second detection unit 12, and from these detection signals, a predetermined voltage range (for example, 0V to 5V) is generated. The linear signal output unit 41 outputs the two linear signals generated by the first arithmetic processing unit 31 to the brake electronic control unit 101.
FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating two linear signals (output 1 and output 2) output from the linear signal output unit 41. FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, the two linear signals become polarity inversion signals that linearly increase (output 1) or decrease (output 2), respectively, according to the depression amount of the brake pedal 100. Highly reliable control can be realized by individually controlling the braking force of the wheel using the two linear signals of polarity inversion.

Next, an ON / OFF signal for controlling on / off of the stop lamp 103 will be described.
The first detection determination unit 21 receives the detection signal output from the first detection unit 11, and compares the first threshold value stored in advance with the detection signal. Similarly, the second detection determination unit 22 inputs the detection signal output from the second detection unit 12, and compares the second threshold value stored in advance with the detection signal. The first threshold value and the second threshold value are determined according to the depression amount of the brake pedal 100 for which the stop lamp 103 is to be turned on. Note that the first threshold value and the second threshold value may be the same value or different values.

The second arithmetic processing unit 32 inputs the comparison result obtained by the first detection determination unit 21 and the comparison result obtained by the second detection determination unit 22 respectively, and changes in these comparison results are determined in a predetermined manner. By switching discontinuously between two voltages (for example, 0V and 12V), ON / OFF signals expressed in binary are generated. The ON / OFF signal output unit 42 outputs the two ON / OFF signals generated by the second arithmetic processing unit 32 to the stop lamp 103 and other electronic control units 102.
4B and 4C are diagrams illustrating two ON / OFF signals (output 1 and output 2) output from the ON / OFF signal output unit 42. FIG. As shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, the two ON / OFF signals switch the two voltage values from low to high according to the determination that the brake pedal 100 is depressed (output 1) or Switching from High to Low (Output 2) becomes a polarity inversion signal. Highly reliable control can be realized by individually controlling the braking of the wheel using the two ON / OFF signals of polarity inversion. In particular, if the first threshold value and the second threshold value are different from each other, more reliable control can be realized (see the interval y in FIG. 4C).

  The external input determination unit 50 inputs ECU information given from the brake electronic control unit 101, and the first detection determination unit 21 and the second detection determination unit 22 use the first threshold value and the first threshold value used for comparison according to the ECU information. Change the threshold of 2. In this way, by making the threshold value changeable, the stop lamp 103 can be always lit at an appropriate timing (see the interval x in FIG. 4B). For example, even when the depression amount of the brake pedal 100 and the lighting timing of the stop lamp 103 are deviated due to variations in the mounting of the brake pedal 100 or the like, the lighting timing can be corrected to an appropriate lighting timing.

  As described above, according to the brake pedal sensor 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the linear signal indicating the depression amount of the brake pedal 100 and the ON / OFF signal indicating the presence / absence of the depression operation of the brake pedal 100 are provided. Two different types of signals can be output simultaneously. As a result, two types of brake sensor and stop lamp sensor, which were conventionally required, can be replaced with one sensor component, and the cost of the sensor component can be reduced and the installation space can be saved. .

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the detection signal output from the first detection unit 11 and the detection signal output from the second detection unit 12 are already in a polarity reversal relationship has been described. However, this polarity reversal relationship only needs to be satisfied at the output stage of the linear signal output unit 41 and the ON / OFF signal output unit 42. Therefore, the detection signals output from the first detection unit 11 and the second detection unit 12 are in-phase signals, and the first detection determination unit 21 and the second detection determination unit 22 or the linear signal output unit 41 In the ON / OFF signal output unit 42, the polarity of one signal may be reversed.

  Further, if an abnormality occurs in any part of the brake pedal sensor 1, the first linear signal and the second linear signal output from the linear signal output unit 41 become abnormal (in the above example, The linear signal is fixed at either 0V or 5V), and the occurrence of abnormality can be easily determined.

  Further, when the first detection unit 11 and the second detection unit 12 are configured on one integrated circuit (IC), the characteristic error between the two detection units can be suppressed to the minimum. Accuracy is improved.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used as a sensor for detecting a depression operation of a brake pedal in a vehicle or the like having a brake pedal, and is particularly suitable for outputting two signals having different signal forms with one sensor component.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Brake pedal sensor 10 Actuator 11, 12 Detection part 13 Rotary plate 14 Magnet 15 Arm 21, 22 Detection judgment part 31, 32 Operation processing part 41 Linear signal output part 42 ON / OFF signal output part 50 External input judgment part 50
100 Brake pedal 101 Brake electronic control unit (brake ECU)
102 Other electronic control units (other ECUs)
103 Stop lamp

Claims (1)

A brake pedal sensor that outputs a control signal related to braking based on an operation of the brake pedal,
A magnet that is fixed to a shaft, and that rotates around the shaft according to the depression of the brake pedal;
Two detectors that independently detect the rotational motion of the magnets;
A first output unit that generates and outputs two linear signals that continuously represent a change in rotational motion from the two results detected by the two detection units;
From the two results detected by the two detectors, two ON / OFF signals that represent a change in the rotational operation in binary values are generated and output based on a threshold value provided for each result. A brake pedal sensor, comprising: a second output unit.

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