JP2015160608A - Steering angle notification device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a steering angle notification device capable of notifying a driver of a steering angle of a steering wheel by allowing a light emission part provided in the steering wheel of a vehicle to emit light in a light emission mode corresponding to the steering angle of the steering wheel.SOLUTION: A steering angle notification device 1 comprises: an acquisition part 14 for acquiring steering angle information which shows a steering angle of a steering wheel of a vehicle; a light emission part 3 provided in the steering wheel; a storage part 13 for associating and storing the steering angle information and a light emission mode of the light emission part 3; and a control part 11 for performing the emission control of the light emission part 3 so that the light emission part 3 emits light in the light emission mode corresponding to the steering angle of the steering wheel on the basis of the steering angle information acquired by the acquisition part 14 and the information stored in the storage part 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering angle notifying device for notifying a steering state of a steering wheel by causing a light emitting portion provided on the steering wheel to emit light in a light emitting mode according to a steering angle of a steering wheel of a vehicle.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a so-called steer-by-wire steering device in which there is no mechanical connection between the steering input means used when the driver performs a steering operation and the left and right steering wheels of the vehicle. . The steering input unit of the steering apparatus includes an operation member and a steering operation amount detection unit that detects a movement amount of the operation member as a steering operation amount. The steering device sets a target turning angle of the steered wheel based on the steering operation amount detected by the steering operation amount detecting means, and the steered wheel is set to the target turning angle without mechanical connection with the steering input means. To steer. In addition, the steering device includes a steering reaction force transmission unit that transmits the presence of a steering reaction force accompanying the steering operation of the steered wheels to the driver by vibrating the steering input unit.

JP 2008-290633 A

In the steering device of Patent Document 1, the steering input means can be vibrated to notify the driver that the steered wheels have been steered. However, if the steering input means vibrates during driving, the driver can drive. There was a problem of being unable to concentrate.
Also, depending on the steering state of the steering input means, there is a problem that the driver in the vehicle cannot recognize how much the steered wheels are steered when the vehicle starts. For example, when the annular operation member is rotated 360 degrees, the driver in the vehicle is in a state where the operation member is not steered, rotated 360 degrees clockwise, or 360 degrees counterclockwise. Cannot recognize whether it is in a rotated state.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make a driver emit light in a light emitting mode corresponding to the steering angle of the steering wheel by causing a light emitting unit provided on the steering wheel of the vehicle to emit light. An object of the present invention is to provide a steering angle notifying device capable of visually notifying the steering angle of a steering wheel.

  A steering angle notification device according to the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires steering angle information indicating a steering angle of a steering wheel of a vehicle, a light emitting unit provided in the steering wheel, steering angle information, and a light emitting mode of the light emitting unit. Are stored in association with each other, the steering angle information acquired by the acquisition unit, and the information stored in the storage unit so that the light emitting unit emits light in a light emission mode corresponding to the steering angle of the steering wheel. And a control unit for performing light emission control of the light emitting unit.

In the present invention, the acquisition unit acquires the steering angle information of the steering wheel. The storage unit stores the steering angle information and the light emission mode of the light emitting unit provided on the steering wheel in association with each other. The control unit performs light emission control of the light emitting unit so that the light emitting unit emits light in a light emission mode corresponding to the steering angle information acquired by the acquisition unit.
Therefore, the driver can recognize the steering angle of the steering wheel by checking the light emission mode of the light emitting unit.

  In the steering angle notifying device according to the present invention, the light emitting part is provided on a hub or spoke of the steering wheel.

  In this invention, since the light emission part is provided in the hub or spoke of the steering wheel, the light emission part is not hidden by the driver's hand holding the steering wheel.

  In the steering angle notifying device according to the present invention, the light emitting unit includes a plurality of light emitting elements, and the control unit causes more light emitting elements to emit light as the steering angle of the steering wheel increases.

In the present invention, the light emitting unit includes a plurality of light emitting elements, and the larger the steering angle of the steering wheel, the more light emitting elements emit light.
Therefore, the driver can recognize the magnitude of the steering angle of the steering wheel by the number of light emitting elements that emit light.

  In the steering angle notifying device according to the present invention, the light emitting section includes a right light emitting element disposed on the right side of the hub or spoke of the steering wheel at a neutral position, and a left light emitting element disposed on the left side of the hub or spoke. The control unit causes the right light emitting element to emit light when the steering wheel is steered clockwise, and causes the left light emitting element to emit light when the steering wheel is steered counterclockwise. .

In the present invention, when the steering wheel rotates clockwise, the right light emitting element arranged on the right side of the hub or spoke emits light, and when the steering wheel rotates counterclockwise, it is arranged on the left side of the hub or spoke. The left side light emitting element thus emitted emits light.
Therefore, the driver can easily recognize whether the steering wheel is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise.

  The steering angle notifying device according to the present invention includes a plurality of the right light emitting elements and the left light emitting elements, and the control unit increases the right light emitting elements or the left light emitting elements as the steering angle of the steering wheel increases. The device emits light.

In the present invention, there are a plurality of right side light emitting elements and left side light emitting elements, and the larger the steering angle of the steering wheel, the more right side light emitting elements or left side light emitting elements emit light.
Accordingly, the driver can recognize the magnitude of the steering angle of the steering wheel based on the number of the right side light emitting elements or the left side light emitting elements emitting light.

  In the steering angle notification device according to the present invention, when the steering angle of the steering wheel is approximately an integral multiple of 180 degrees, the control unit causes both the right light emitting element and the left light emitting element to emit light.

  In the present invention, when the steering angle of the steering wheel is substantially an integral multiple of 180 degrees, both the right side light emitting element and the left side light emitting element emit light. When the steering angle of the steering wheel is substantially an integer multiple of 180 degrees, the right light emitting element and the left light emitting element are arranged in the left-right direction, but both the right light emitting element and the left light emitting element emit light, and thus the steering wheel The steering direction is not recognized by mistake.

  According to the present invention, the steering angle of the steering wheel is visually notified to the driver by causing the light emitting portion provided on the steering wheel of the vehicle to emit light in a light emitting manner corresponding to the steering angle of the steering wheel. Can do.

It is a block diagram which shows one structure of the steering angle alerting | reporting system in embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the light emission part provided in the steering wheel. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the light emission mode table. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the control part which concerns on the notification of a steering angle. It is a schematic diagram which shows the light emission state of the light emission part when rotating a steering wheel clockwise. It is a schematic diagram which shows the light emission state of the light emission part when rotating a steering wheel largely clockwise. It is a schematic diagram which shows the light emission state of the light emission part when rotating a steering wheel counterclockwise. It is a schematic diagram which shows the light emission state of the light emission part when a steering wheel is rotated about 180 degree | times.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings illustrating embodiments thereof.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a steering angle notification system in the embodiment. The steering angle notification system is provided in a vehicle and includes a steering angle notification device 1, a light emitting ECU 2, a light emitting unit 3, and a steering angle sensor 4. The steering angle notification device 1 performs light emission control of the light emitting unit 3 by transmitting control information corresponding to the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor 4 to the light emitting ECU 2. The driver of the vehicle can visually recognize the steering direction and the magnitude of the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 (see FIG. 2) from the light emitting state of the light emitting unit 3.

  The steering angle notification device 1 includes a control unit 11 that controls the operation of each component of the steering angle notification device 1. The control unit 11 includes, for example, one or a plurality of CPUs (Central Processing Units), a multi-core CPU, and the like. A temporary storage unit 12, a storage unit 13, an acquisition unit 14, and a communication unit 15 are connected to the control unit 11 via a bus. The control unit 11 reads a later-described control program stored in the storage unit 13 into the temporary storage unit 12 and controls the operation of each component unit.

  The temporary storage unit 12 is a volatile memory such as SRAM (Static RAM) or DRAM (Dynamic RAM). The temporary storage unit 12 temporarily stores a control program read from the storage unit 13 and various data generated by the calculation process when the calculation process of the control unit 11 is executed. The volatile memory is an example of the temporary storage unit 12, and the temporary storage unit 12 may be configured by a nonvolatile memory.

  The storage unit 13 is a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) or a flash memory. The storage unit 13 performs a notification process of causing the light emitting unit 3 to emit light in a light emitting manner according to the steering direction and the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 by the control unit 11 controlling the operation of each component of the steering angle notifying device 1. A control program for execution is stored. The storage unit 13 stores a light emission mode table 13a as information in which the steering angle information indicating the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 of the vehicle and the light emission mode of the light emitting unit 3 are associated with each other. The light emission mode table 13 a is a table for specifying a light emission mode corresponding to the steering direction and the steering angle of the steering wheel 5. Details of the light emission mode table 13a will be described later.

  The acquisition unit 14 is an interface connected to the steering angle sensor 4 and acquires steering angle information indicating the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 detected by the steering angle sensor 4.

The communication unit 15 is connected to the light emitting ECU 2 and other ECUs via a communication line. The communication unit 15 transmits control information for controlling light emission of the light emitting unit 3 to the light emitting ECU 2 in accordance with a communication protocol such as LIN (Local Interconnect Network), CAN (Controller Area Network).
In this embodiment, an example in which the steering angle sensor 4 is connected to the acquisition unit 14 of the steering angle notification device 1 will be described. However, the steering angle sensor 4 is connected to a communication line, and the control unit 11 is connected via the communication unit 15. The steering angle information may be acquired.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the light emitting unit 3 provided in the steering wheel 5. The light emitting unit 3 is provided on the hub 5 a of the steering wheel 5. The light emitting unit 3 includes a plurality of right light emitting elements 31 juxtaposed on the right side of the hub 5a of the steering wheel 5 at the neutral position, and a plurality of left light emitting elements 32 juxtaposed on the left side of the hub 5a. The plurality of right side light emitting elements 31 and left side light emitting elements 32 are arranged side by side, for example, five by five. The right light emitting element 31 and the left light emitting element 32 are, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode), an organic EL (Electro Luminescence), or the like, but the type of the light source is not particularly limited.

Each right side light emitting element 31 and left side light emitting element 32 are connected to the light emitting ECU 2. The light emitting ECU 2 includes a communication unit 21 and a drive unit 22. The communication unit 21 is connected to the communication unit 15 of the steering angle notification device 1 via a communication line, and receives control information transmitted from the steering angle notification device 1 according to the LIN or CAN communication protocol. The right light emitting element 31 and the left light emitting element 32 are connected to the driving unit 22, and the light emitting ECU 2 controls the operation of the driving unit 22 according to the received control information, and controls each right light emitting element 31 and left light emitting element 32. Make it emit light. Specifically, the light emitting ECU 2 causes one or more of the right light emitting element 31 and the left light emitting element 32 to emit light according to the information on the light emission mode included in the control information.
In the present embodiment, the steering angle notifying device 1 transmits light control information to the light emitting ECU 2 to perform light emission control of each right light emitting element 31 and left light emitting element 32. However, the steering angle notifying device 1 is driven. The unit 22 may be provided so as to directly control the light emission of each of the right light emitting element 31 and the left light emitting element 32.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the light emission mode table 13a. The light emission mode table 13a includes a “steering angle” column, a “right light emitting element” column, and a “left light emitting element” column. Each row stores information indicating the direction and magnitude of the steering angle of the steering wheel 5, the number of lighting the right light emitting element 31, and the number of lighting the left light emitting element 32. The number of the right light-emitting elements 31 and the left light-emitting elements 32 that are turned on is configured to increase as the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 increases.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the control unit 11 related to the notification of the steering angle. The control unit 11 acquires steering angle information from the operation angle sensor via the acquisition unit 14 (step S11). The control unit 11 stores the acquired steering angle information in the storage unit 13. And the control part 11 specifies the light emission mode corresponding to the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 based on the steering angle information which the acquisition part 14 acquired by step S11 and the light emission mode table 13a which the memory | storage part 13 memorize | stores (step). S12).

  Next, the control unit 11 determines whether or not the steering angle indicated by the steering angle information is a substantially integer multiple of 180 degrees (step S13). The substantially integer multiple of 180 degrees means a predetermined angle range including an integer multiple of 180 degrees. The predetermined angle range is, for example, 5 to 10 degrees. When it is determined that the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 is substantially an integral multiple of 180 degrees (step S13: YES), the control unit 11 transmits control information to the light emitting ECU 2, thereby causing each right light emitting element 31 and left light emission. Both of the elements 32 are caused to flash and emit light (step S14), and the process is completed.

  When it determines with the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 not being a substantially integer multiple of 180 degree | times (step S13: NO), the control part 11 transmits the control information based on the light emission mode specified by step S12 to light emission ECU2. Thus, the light emission control of the light emitting unit 3 is performed so that the light emitting unit 3 emits light in a light emission mode according to the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 (step S15), and the process is finished. For example, the control unit 11 causes the right light emitting element 31 to emit light when the steering wheel 5 is steered clockwise, and causes the left light emitting element 32 to emit light when the steering wheel 5 is steered counterclockwise. Further, the larger the steering angle is, the more right light emitting elements 31 or left light emitting elements 32 are caused to emit light. When a plurality of the right light emitting elements 31 or the left light emitting elements 32 are lit, it is preferable to increase the number of the light emitting elements in order from the center side of the steering wheel 5.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a light emission state of the light emitting unit 3 when the steering wheel 5 is rotated clockwise. As shown in FIG. 5, when the steering wheel 5 rotates clockwise, one right light emitting element 31 emits light. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, when the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 is the first clockwise angle range, as the light emission mode of the light emitting unit 3, one right light emitting element 31 is caused to emit light, A mode in which the left light emitting element 32 does not emit light is specified. The control unit 11 causes the right light emitting element 31 to emit one light by transmitting the control information of the specified light emitting mode to the light emitting ECU 2.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a light emission state of the light emitting unit 3 when the steering wheel 5 is largely rotated clockwise. As shown in FIG. 6, when the steering wheel 5 further rotates clockwise, two right light emitting elements 31 emit light. When the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 is further increased, the number of right light emitting elements 31 that emit light increases to three, four, and five.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a light emission state of the light emitting unit 3 when the steering wheel 5 is rotated counterclockwise. As shown in FIG. 7, when the steering wheel 5 rotates counterclockwise, the left side light emitting element 32 emits light. When the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 is further increased, the number of left side light emitting elements 32 that emit light increases to three, four, and five.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a light emission state of the light emitting unit 3 when the steering wheel 5 is rotated approximately 180 degrees. However, when the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 becomes approximately an integral multiple of 180 degrees, the control unit 11 causes both the right light emitting element 31 and the left light emitting element 32 to blink. This is because when the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 is approximately an integral multiple of 180 degrees, if one of the right light emitting element 31 and the left light emitting element 32 is caused to emit light, the rotational direction may be misunderstood. In particular, when the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 is 360 degrees, the driver of the vehicle can recognize that the steering angle is not 0 degrees and prevent the vehicle from being bent when the vehicle starts. Can do.

  According to the steering angle notification device 1 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, by causing the light emitting unit 3 provided on the steering wheel 5 of the vehicle to emit light in a light emitting mode according to the steering angle of the steering wheel 5, The steering angle of the steering wheel 5 can be visually notified to the driver.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, since the light emission part 3 is provided in the hub 5a of the steering wheel 5, the light emission part 3 is not hidden by the driver's hand holding the steering wheel 5, and the driver of the vehicle Steering angle information can be recognized more reliably.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the driver can be notified of the steering state in more detail by the light emission of the plurality of right light emitting elements 31 and left light emitting elements 32 juxtaposed on the hub 5a of the steering wheel 5. .

  Furthermore, when the steering wheel 5 rotates clockwise, the right light emitting element 31 emits light, and when the steering wheel 5 rotates counterclockwise, the left light emitting element 32 emits light. The direction of rotation can be recognized intuitively.

  Furthermore, as the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 is larger, more right light emitting elements 31 or left light emitting elements 32 emit light, so that the driver can calculate from the number of right light emitting elements 31 or left light emitting elements 32 that emit light. The magnitude of the rotation angle of the steering wheel 5 can be recognized.

  Furthermore, when the steering angle of the steering wheel 5 is substantially an integral multiple of 180 degrees, both the right light emitting element 31 and the left light emitting element 32 emit light, and therefore the steering direction of the steering wheel 5 is erroneously recognized. Can be prevented.

In the present embodiment, the light emitting unit, that is, the right light emitting element and the left light emitting element are provided in the hub. However, the light emitting part may be provided in the spokes of the steering wheel.
Moreover, although the light emission part demonstrated the example provided with several right side light emitting elements and left side light emitting elements in the right side and left side of the hub in the steering wheel in a neutral position, it equipped with several light emitting elements in the arbitrary locations of a steering wheel. Also good. In such a case, the control unit acquires the steering angle information from the operation angle sensor via the acquisition unit, and performs control to cause more light emitting elements to emit light as the steering angle of the steering wheel indicated by the steering angle information increases. good. For example, a plurality of light emitting elements are provided at the center of the hub, and the control unit causes more light emitting elements to emit light as the steering angle of the steering wheel increases.
With this configuration, the driver can recognize the magnitude of the steering angle of the steering wheel based on the number of light emitting elements that emit light.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the steering angle of the steering wheel is approximately an integral multiple of 180 degrees, an example in which both the right light emitting element and the left light emitting element are turned on has been described. However, the steering angle is approximately an integral multiple of 360 degrees. In some cases, both the right side light emitting element and the left side light emitting element may be lit.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the steering angle information is acquired from the steering angle sensor and the light emission control of the light emitting unit is performed. However, the control unit stores the acquired steering angle information in the storage unit, and when the engine is started or the engine Prior to activation, the steering angle information stored in the storage unit may be read, and the light emission control of the light emitting unit may be performed based on the read steering angle information. For example, when the door of the vehicle is unlocked or when the door is opened, the control unit may perform light emission control of the light emitting unit based on the steering angle information stored in the storage unit. In this case, the steering angle information of the steering wheel can be promptly notified to the driver without starting the operation of the steering angle sensor.

  It should be thought that embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration and restrictive at no points. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the meanings described above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

1 Steering angle notification device 2 Light emitting ECU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Light emission part 4 Steering angle sensor 5 Steering wheel 5a Hub 11 Control part 12 Temporary memory | storage part 13 Memory | storage part 13a Light emission mode table 14 Acquisition part 15 Communication part 21 Communication part 22 Drive part 31 Right side light emitting element 32 Left side light emitting element

Claims (6)

An acquisition unit for acquiring steering angle information indicating a steering angle of a steering wheel of the vehicle;
A light emitting portion provided on the steering wheel;
A storage unit that stores steering angle information and a light emission mode of the light emitting unit in association with each other;
Based on the steering angle information acquired by the acquisition unit and the information stored in the storage unit, control for performing light emission control of the light emitting unit so that the light emitting unit emits light in a light emission mode corresponding to the steering angle of the steering wheel. And a steering angle notification device. The light emitting unit
The steering angle notification device according to claim 1, wherein the steering angle notification device is provided on a hub or spoke of the steering wheel. The light emitting unit includes a plurality of light emitting elements,
The controller is
The steering angle notification device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the larger the steering angle of the steering wheel is, the more light emitting elements emit light. The light emitting unit
A right light emitting element disposed on the right side of the hub or spoke of the steering wheel in a neutral position, and a left light emitting element disposed on the left side of the hub or spoke,
The controller is
The right side light emitting element emits light when the steering wheel is steered clockwise, and the left side light emitting element emits light when the steering wheel is steered counterclockwise. Steering angle notification device. Each of the right side light emitting element and the left side light emitting element is plural,
The controller is
The steering angle notification device according to claim 4, wherein the larger the steering angle of the steering wheel is, the more the right light emitting element or the left light emitting element emits light. The controller is
The steering angle notification device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein when the steering angle of the steering wheel is a substantially integer multiple of 180 degrees, both the right light emitting element and the left light emitting element emit light.

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