JP2014213695A - Operation switch of vehicle head light, and head light control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operation switch of a head light which prevents the head light from remaining lighted or unlighted as a user does not notice it when an auto-light function is broken.SOLUTION: A switch includes: an operation part 11 operated by an operator; function displays 12 which display respective switchable functions of the operation part; a display panel 13 which arranges the respective function displays in positions corresponding to positions of the respective functions over a movable range of switching operation of the operation part; a detection part 15 which detects the function selected among the functions which can be switched by the operation part; and a drive part 16 which drives the operation part. The functions, which can switch the operation part, include at least a turn-on function, a turn-off function, and an automatic turn-on/off function. When the selected function detected by the detection part at a failure of the automatic turn-on/off function is the automatic turn-on/off function, the drive part moves the operation part from a selecting position of the automatic turn-on/off function to a selecting position of the other function.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle headlight operation switch and a headlight control device for performing a switching operation of functions related to turning on and off.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a switch that is attached to an instrument panel of a vehicle and performs a switching operation to turn on / off a headlight is widely known (for example, Patent Document 1). Among these, for the convenience of the driver, an autolight function is also known that turns the headlight on / off in accordance with the light / dark situation around the vehicle (the amount of light). For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a rotary switch intended to be securely attached to a dashboard. The rotary switch includes a switch housing, an operating shaft rotatably disposed in the switch housing, a knob attached to one end of the operating shaft, and a face plate that surrounds the knob and is detachably fastened to the switch housing. Provided on the surface of the ring-shaped face plate are symbols indicating the positions of various switch functions including auto light. The driver selects a function such as auto light by turning the knob.

  Further, in Patent Document 3, although it is a dial type switch that selects the wind direction of an air conditioner, it is attached to an instrument panel of a vehicle and aims to make it easy to recognize which mode is selected regardless of surrounding light and darkness. A switching operation device is disclosed. In this switching operation device, the two-color light emitting unit is lit in an instruction color such as orange from behind one picture display instructed to operate with a dial switch. The other two-color light emitting unit LEDs behind the non-indicating picture display are turned off when the light switch is turned off, and lighted up in a non-designated color such as green when the light switch is turned on.

EP1074429B1 publication JP 2005-317538 A JP 2000-133305 A

  By the way, if the vehicle has an auto light function, the user of the vehicle always keeps the switch at the auto light position without operating the switch by himself / herself to turn on / off the headlight. There is. Then, when the auto light function breaks down, the user may continue driving without noticing the failure. For example, even if the surroundings become bright, driving is performed with the headlights on. In addition, the headlight does not turn on even though the surroundings become dark during driving, and the headlight is turned on manually only when the failure of the auto light function is noticed at that timing. Therefore, the timing for turning on the headlight is delayed.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a headlight operation switch for preventing a headlight from being left unlit without being noticed by a user when the autolight function is broken, or a head including such a switch. A light control device is provided.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a switch for switching the function related to turning on and off the vehicle headlight, and a function for displaying each of an operation unit operated by an operator and a switchable function of the operation unit. A function selected from among a display panel in which function displays are arranged at positions corresponding to the positions of the respective functions and a function that can be switched by the operation unit is detected over the movable range of the display and the operation unit switching operation. Provided with a detection unit and a drive unit that drives the operation unit, the functions that can be switched by the operation unit include at least a lighting function, a light-off function, and an automatic light-off function. When the detected selection function is the automatic lighting function, the drive unit is provided with a switch for moving the operation unit from the selection position of the automatic lighting function to the selection position of another function. .
According to this, it is possible to provide a switch that forcibly turns on and off by automatically moving from the position of the automatic turn-on / off function to the position of another function.

Further, when the selection function detected by the detection unit when the automatic lighting / light-out function fails is the automatic lighting / light-off function, the drive unit moves the operation unit from the selection position of the automatic lighting / light-off function to the selection position of the lighting function. This may be a feature.
According to this, it is possible to provide a switch that forcibly lights up by automatically moving from the position of the automatic turn-on / off function to the position of the lighting function.

In addition, the automatic on / off function selection position is set at the end of the movable range, and the automatic on / off function display corresponding to the automatic on / off function is arranged at the end of the movable range on the display panel, and the operation section is switched. A switching restriction mechanism that restricts operation is further provided, and when the automatic turn-off function fails, the switching restriction mechanism automatically turns the operation part on and off to select the automatic turn-off function after the operation part is moved by the drive part. The switching operation to the display position may be restricted.
According to this, since it is not possible to perform switching operation to the position of the automatic light on / off function, it is possible to provide a switch for notifying that the auto light function has failed.

Further, the rotary switch is a rotary type in which the operation unit is rotatable, and the display panel is provided on the outer peripheral side or the inner peripheral side of the operation unit over the movable range of the operation unit switching operation. Also good.
According to this, it is possible to provide a rotary switch that forcibly turns on and off by automatically moving from the position of the automatic turn-on / off function to the position of another function.

Further, each of the function displays can be turned on, and when the automatic turn-off function fails, the automatic turn-off function display may not be turned on.
According to this, it is possible to provide a switch for visually recognizing that the auto light function has failed.

In order to solve the above problems, the above switch, a light control unit that controls turning on / off of the vehicle headlight, a failure detection unit that detects a failure of the automatic turning on / off function and notifies the light control unit, , A headlight control device is provided.
According to this, the headlight control device for forcibly turning on / off by automatically moving from the position of the automatic on / off function display to the position of another function display and notifying that the auto light function has failed is provided. Can be provided.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when the autolight function fails, the headlight operation switch that prevents the headlight from being turned on or staying on without being noticed by the user is prevented. And a headlight control apparatus provided with such a switch can be provided.

The front view of the headlight operation switch of the 1st example concerning the present invention. 1 is a block diagram of a headlight control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The control flowchart of the write-control part of 1st Example which concerns on this invention. 1A is a front view showing a normal state of the headlight operation switch according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1B is a front view showing that the rotation is restricted when the automatic lighting function is broken, and FIG. The front view which shows rotating forcibly at the time of failure of a lighting-off function.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
<First Example>
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a vehicle headlight operation switch 10 in this embodiment. The switch 10 is a switch that is attached to the instrument panel of the vehicle and switches the function related to turning on and off the headlight of the vehicle. The switch 10 includes an operation unit 11, a plurality of function displays 121 to 123, and a display panel 13.

  The operation unit 11 is a part that is gripped and operated by an operator's hand typified by a vehicle driver. The operation unit 11 is provided around the display panel 13 so as to be rotatable in a ring shape, and is rotated left and right by an operator using the center of the ring as a rotation axis. The operation unit 11 is provided with a function selection display 111 indicating which function is selected from the function display 12 described later. The function display 12 in which the function selection display 111 is located nearest to the function selection display 111 indicates that the function is currently selected.

  In this embodiment, the function display 12 includes a lighting function display 121 indicating a lighting function, a lighting function display 122 indicating a lighting function, and an automatic lighting function display 123 indicating an automatic lighting function. I have. That is, there are a plurality of function displays 12, and the plurality of function displays 12 respectively display a lighting function, a light-off function, and an automatic light-off function that are functions that can be switched by the operation unit 11.

  The display panel 13 has the function displays 12 arranged at positions corresponding to the positions of the three functions. That is, when the function selection display 111 of the operation unit 11 is set to the automatic turn-on / off function display 123 as shown in (A), the switch 10 automatically switches the headlamps on the assumption that the automatic turn-off / out function is selected by the operator. Turn it on and off. Further, when the function selection display 111 is set to the turn-off function display 122 as shown in (B), the switch 10 turns off the headlamp, assuming that the turn-off function is selected by the operator. Further, when the function selection display 111 is set to the lighting function display 121 as shown in (C), the switch 10 turns on the headlamp, assuming that the lighting function is selected by the operator.

  The switch 10 is a switch for performing an operation of switching the above three functions related to the headlight by the operation unit 11. Accordingly, the operation unit 11 rotates so that the positions of the three functions can be selected. Moreover, it rotates so that positions other than the three functions cannot be selected. Then, since the switch 10 is a rotary switch in this embodiment, the movable range of the operation unit 11 is as shown in (C). That is, as in the present embodiment, when the automatic turn-on / off function display 123 is arranged at the extreme end position when turning right, and the extinguishing function display 122 is arranged at the extreme end position when turning left, The movable range of the operation unit 11 is a range from the automatic turn-on / off function display 123 located on the right to the turn-off function display 122 located on the left.

  The display panel 13 arranges the function displays 121 to 123 at positions corresponding to the positions of the functions over the movable range for the switching operation of the functions by the operation unit 11. That is, the display panel 13 is provided with an automatic turn-on / off function display 123 at the right end of the movable range, a light-off function display 122 at the left end of the movable range, and a lighting function display 121 at the center of the movable range. . The switch 10 causes the function selected by the function selection display 111 of the operation unit 11 to function.

  In this embodiment, the display panel 13 is provided on the inner peripheral side (inner side) of the operation unit 11, but may be provided on the outer peripheral side (outer side) of the operation unit 11. In this embodiment, the switch 10 is a rotary switch, but it is needless to say that the switch 10 is not limited to this. For example, the switch may be a lever that moves linearly. Then, the display panel may have an automatic turn-on / off function display at the right end of the movable range and a turn-off function display at the left end of the movable range over the movable range of the switching operation of the operation unit that is a lever. . In this embodiment, three functions will be described as an example, but other functions (for example, a function of lighting a small lamp) may be provided.

  In the present embodiment, the position at which the automatic turn-on / off function is selected is at the right end of the movable range on the display panel 13, but is not limited to this, and may be at the left end. Set to the end of the range. In addition, since the function display is arranged at a position corresponding to the position of each function, the automatic on / off function display 123 corresponding to the automatic on / off function is arranged at the end of the movable range on the display panel 13.

  The headlight control device 3 including the switch 10 and the switch 10 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. As described above, the switch 10 has the operation unit 11 that can be operated by the operator, the function displays 121 to 123 that indicate the function of switching on / off / automatic on / off, and the position corresponding to the position of each function. And a display panel 13 on which function displays are arranged. In addition to these, the switch 10 includes a switch illumination 17 made of an LED corresponding to each of the function displays 121 to 123. Thereby, each of the function displays 121 to 123 can be turned on.

  The switch 10 further includes a switching restriction mechanism 14 that restricts the switching operation of the operation unit 11, a detection unit 15 that detects a function selected from the functions that can be switched by the operation unit 11, and a drive that drives the operation unit 11. Part 16.

  The switching restriction mechanism 14 is a mechanism that is disposed behind the operation unit 11 and the display panel 13 and prevents the rotating operation unit 11 from rotating. That is, when the rotation of the operation unit 11 is restricted by the switching restriction mechanism 14, it is impossible to rotate from the lighting function of the operation unit 11 to the automatic on / off function, and the function selection display 111 is displayed on the lighting function display 121. It becomes impossible to rotate from the portion to the position of the automatic lighting on / off function display 123. The structure of the switching restriction mechanism is not particularly limited, and all structures that can be considered by those skilled in the art are applicable. For example, a cylinder that rotates integrally with the operation unit 11 and a pin that regulates the rotation of the cylinder are provided at the back of the operation unit 11, and when the automatic turn-off function fails, the pin pops out to the cylinder side. A mechanism may be employed in which the operation unit 11 and the cylinder cannot be rotated to the position of the automatic light on / off function display 123. Alternatively, a mechanism may be provided in which a groove is provided in the cylinder at the back of the operation unit 11 and a latch is engaged with the groove so as to prevent the operation unit 11 and the cylinder from rotating from the position of the lighting function display 121. .

  The detection unit 15 detects a function selected by the function selection display 111 of the operation unit 11 from the turn-off function, the turn-on function, and the automatic turn-on / off function that can be switched by the operation unit 11, and will be described later. Notify the light control unit 20. The detection method is not particularly limited, and any structure that can be considered by those skilled in the art can be applied, whether physical detection or electrical detection. For example, a fixed contact is provided on a substrate inside the switch 10 and a movable contact that rotates in conjunction with the operation unit 11 is provided to detect a function selected according to a connection state between the fixed contact and the movable contact. May be. Alternatively, a structure in which switch elements, fixed contacts, rubber contacts, and the like corresponding to each function are arranged on the substrate inside the switch 10 and operated according to the function selected by the operation unit 11 may be used.

  The drive unit 16 drives and rotates the operation unit 11. The structure of the drive unit 16 is not particularly limited, and all structures that can be considered by those skilled in the art are applicable. For example, the drive unit 16 is engaged with a cylinder integrated with the operation unit 11 and a motor, and the motor is rotated by a command from the light control unit 20 to move the operation unit 11 from one position to another predetermined position. The structure to rotate may be sufficient.

  In addition to the above-described switch 10, the light control device 3 provided in the vehicle 1 receives a failure notification from the failure detection unit 30 that detects a failure of the automatic on / off function, and the headlight 2 is turned on / off. And a light control unit 20 that controls a switching restriction mechanism of the switch 10 and the like. The failure detection unit 30 detects a failure of the automatic lighting function. The failure of the automatic turn-off function is, for example, a failure of an automatic turn-off sensor that detects the brightness (illuminance) outside the vehicle for the automatic turn-off function, or wiring between the automatic turn-off sensor and the control unit (ECU). It may be the case that is disconnected.

  The light control unit 20 receives a notification of the selected function directly from the operation unit 11 or by the detection unit 15. The light control unit 20 controls turning on / off of the headlight according to the notification. When the extinguishing function is selected in the operation unit 11, the light control unit 20 turns off the headlight regardless of the brightness outside the vehicle. When the lighting function is selected in the operation unit 11, the light control unit 20 turns on the headlight regardless of the brightness of the outside of the vehicle. In addition, when the automatic turn-off function is selected in the operation unit 11, the light control unit 20 turns on the headlight when the outside of the vehicle becomes a predetermined brightness or less, and turns off the headlight when the outside becomes a predetermined brightness or more.

  In addition, when the failure detection unit 30 detects that the automatic turn-off function has failed, the light control unit 20 causes the switching restriction mechanism 14 to switch the operation unit 11 to the automatic turn-off function. A command is issued to restrict the switching operation to the display position. Based on this, the switching restricting mechanism 14 prevents the operation unit 11 from being rotated to the position where the automatic turn-on / off function is displayed. In addition, since the position of the automatic on / off function display is located at the end of the movable range, even if the switching restriction mechanism 14 cannot be rotated, other functions can be selected, so that no trouble is caused. According to this, since it is not possible to perform the switching operation to the position of the automatic light on / off function display, it is possible to provide a switch (rotary switch) for notifying that the automatic light on / off function has failed.

  In addition, when the failure detection unit 30 detects that the automatic turn-off function has failed, the light control unit 20 determines that the selection function detected by the detection unit 15 is the automatic turn-off function, the drive unit 16 A command is issued to move (rotate) the operation unit 11 from the selection position of the automatic lighting function to the selection position of another function. The same applies to a case where a notification that the automatic turn-on / off function is selected directly from the operation unit 11 is given. Based on this, the drive unit 16 drives the operation unit 11. According to this, it is possible to provide a switch that forcibly turns on and off by automatically moving from the position of the automatic turn-on / off function to the position of another function. In such a case, it is preferable that the drive unit 16 moves (rotates) the operation unit 11 from the selection position of the automatic lighting function to the selection position of the lighting function. According to this, it is possible to forcibly turn on the light by automatically moving from the position of the automatic lighting function to the position of the lighting function. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, the lighting function display 121 is preferably arranged next to the automatic lighting on / off function display 123.

  According to the switch 10 and the headlight control device 3 described above, since it is not possible to switch to the position for displaying the automatic on / off function, it is possible to notice that the automatic on / off function has failed. In addition, it is possible to forcibly turn on / off by automatically moving from the position of the automatic on / off function display to the position of another function display.

  In addition, when the failure detection unit 30 detects that the automatic turn-on / off function has failed, the light control unit 20 issues a command not to turn on the switch illumination 17 corresponding to the automatic turn-on / off function display. According to this, it is possible to visually notice that the automatic lighting function has failed.

  A control method of the write control unit 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 shows a control flowchart of the write controller 20. 4A shows a state when the automatic lighting function is operating normally, and FIG. 4B shows that the rotation of the operation unit is restricted when the automatic lighting function fails. FIG. 5C shows that the operation unit is forcibly rotated when the automatic lighting function is broken. The step is described as S. In S100, the light control unit 20 receives a notification that the failure detection unit 30 has detected a failure of the automatic lighting function. Next, in S102, the light control unit 20 checks whether or not the position of the switch selected by the operation unit 11 is the automatic on / off function. If the operation unit 11 has selected the automatic turn-on / off function, as shown in FIG. 4C, the light control unit 20 turns on the operation unit 11 from the selected position of the automatic turn-on / off function in S104. (The arrow in the figure indicates that the automatic turn-on / off function selection position is forcibly turned to the lighting function selection position).

  When the operation unit 11 has not selected the automatic turn-on / off function or after S104, the light control unit 20 causes the operation control unit 11 to select the automatic turn-on / off function for the switching restriction mechanism 14 in S106. A command is issued to restrict the switching operation to the position of the automatic on / off function display. If the automatic light on / off function fails when the automatic light on / off function is selected, the light control unit 20 forcibly rotates the selected position of the operation unit 11 to a position other than the automatic light on / off function, and then automatically turns on The position of the extinguishing function is restricted so as not to rotate. As a result, even if the automatic light-off function fails, it can be forcibly turned on, and after that, it cannot be switched to the position of the automatic light-off function display. Can be noticed.

  When the automatic on / off function is operating normally, the switch illumination 17 made up of LEDs is provided corresponding to the function displays 121 to 123, so that all the function displays 121 to 123 are lit. On the other hand, when the automatic light on / off function fails, the light control unit 20 issues a command not to turn on the switch illumination 17 corresponding to the automatic light on / off function display 123 in S108. Then, only the switch illumination 17 corresponding to the automatic turn-on / off function display 123 is turned off (indicating that the automatic turn-on / off function display 123 is turned off by being indicated by a dotted line). As a result, it is possible to visually recognize that the automatic light-off function has failed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the automatic lighting function is operating normally, the switching display 111 is rotated from the position of the lighting function display 121 to the position of the automatic lighting function display 123. Can do. However, when the automatic turn-on / off function fails, the switching restriction mechanism 14 restricts the operation unit 11 from rotating to the position of the automatic turn-on / off function display based on the command of the light control unit 20. Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the switching display 111 cannot be rotated from the position of the lighting function display 121 to the position of the automatic on / off function display 123 (X in the figure indicates the switching display 111). Indicates that it cannot move from the position of the lighting function display 121 to the position of the automatic lighting function display 123).

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the illustrated Example, The implementation by the structure of the range which does not deviate from the content described in each item of a claim is possible. That is, although the present invention has been particularly illustrated and described with respect to particular embodiments, it should be understood that the present invention has been described in terms of quantity, quantity, and amount without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. In other detailed configurations, various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art.

1 Vehicle 2 Headlight 3 Headlight Control Device 10 Switch (Rotary Switch)
11 Operation part (rotary type)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 111 Function selection display 12 Function display 121 Illumination function display 122 Light extinction function display 123 Automatic light extinction function display 13 Display panel 14 Switching control mechanism 15 Detection part 16 Drive part 17 Switch illumination 20 Light control part 30 Fault detection part

Claims (6)

A switch for switching a function related to turning on / off of a vehicle headlight,
An operation unit operated by an operator;
A function display for displaying each switchable function of the operation unit;
A display panel in which the function display is arranged at a position corresponding to the position of each function over a movable range of the switching operation of the operation unit;
A detection unit for detecting a function selected from the switchable functions in the operation unit;
A drive unit for driving the operation unit;
With
The function that the operation unit can switch includes at least a lighting function, a light-off function, and an automatic light-off function,
When the selection function detected by the detection unit at the time when the automatic lighting / light-out function fails is the automatic lighting / light-off function, the driving unit moves the operation unit from the selection position of the automatic lighting / light-off function to another function. Move to the selected position,
switch.   In a case where the selection function detected by the detection unit when the automatic turn-off function fails is the automatic turn-off function, the drive unit moves the operation unit from the selected position of the automatic turn-off function. The switch according to claim 1, wherein the switch is moved to a selected position. The selection position of the automatic light on / off function is set at the end of the movable range, and the automatic light on / off function display corresponding to the automatic light on / off function is arranged at the end of the movable range on the display panel,
A switching restricting mechanism for restricting the switching operation of the operation unit; and when the automatic turn-off function fails, the switching restriction mechanism selects the automatic turn-off function after the operation unit is moved by the drive unit. 3. The switch according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is restricted from being switched to the position of the automatic turning-on / off function display. A rotary switch that is a rotary type in which the operation unit is rotatable,
The switch according to claim 1, wherein the display panel is provided on an outer peripheral side or an inner peripheral side of the operation unit over a movable range of the switching operation of the operation unit.   5. The switch according to claim 1, wherein each of the function displays can be turned on, and the automatic turn-on / off function display is not turned on when the automatic turn-on / off function fails. A switch according to any one of claims 1 to 5;
A light control unit for controlling turning on and off of the vehicle headlight;
A failure detection unit that detects a failure of the automatic lighting function and notifies the light control unit;
A headlight control device.