JP2935323B2 - Vehicle crosswind detector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for easily detecting the presence or absence of a crosswind while a vehicle is running.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional crosswind detection device for a vehicle is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-105256.
At the same time as detecting the pressure difference between the right front and the left side of the vehicle while the vehicle is traveling, the pressure difference between the left front and the right side of the vehicle is detected symmetrically, and the cross wind Although the direction is detected, the pressure on the side surface of the vehicle body fluctuates considerably due to the turbulence of the running wind of the vehicle, etc., so that it is not always easy to accurately detect the above differential pressure. There was a problem that the cross wind was easily erroneously detected according to the displacement.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily detect the presence or absence of a crosswind while a vehicle is running.

[0004]

In order to achieve this object,
A cross wind detection device for a vehicle according to the present invention includes a wind receiving plate disposed at a front portion of the vehicle along a front-rear direction of the vehicle and pivotally supported by a vertical shaft, and a wind receiving plate with respect to the shaft.
Spring member for urging in one of the rotation directions, and the wind receiving plate
Receives the traveling wind and moves the shaft against the urging force of the spring member.
It has a detection mechanism for measuring the direction of rotation about the center and / or the angle of rotation.

Further, a method for detecting a crosswind of a vehicle according to the present invention detects a lateral acceleration of the vehicle while the vehicle is running, and detects a direction of a running wind disposed at a front portion of the vehicle.
The direction of inclination of the traveling wind with respect to the vehicle is directly detected by the wind receiving plate that rotates in accordance with the direction of the vehicle, and the difference between the direction of the lateral acceleration and the direction of the traveling wind is detected to detect the presence of the side wind. I have to.

[0006]

In other words, since the wind receiving plate is disposed at the front of the vehicle along the front-rear direction of the vehicle, the traveling wind from the front with relatively little turbulence acts on the wind receiving plate, so that the cross wind is blowing. wind receiving plate spring portion due to its crosswind flow when
Since the rotation is made around the pivot shaft against the urging force of the material, the presence of the cross wind can be easily detected by measuring the rotation direction and / or the rotation angle by the detection mechanism. In addition, since the direction of the lateral acceleration of the vehicle and the inclination direction of the traveling wind are detected, and the presence or absence of the lateral wind is detected by detecting the difference between the directions, the vehicle is displaced left and right when the vehicle is drifting. Even if it is, the presence of the crosswind can be reliably detected without error.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawings will be specifically described below. In FIG. 1, immediately after the center of the front grille of the vehicle, a rotating shaft 1 and a rotating shaft 2 are respectively combined concentrically and doubly, and are vertically erected in a mutually rotatable state. The front ends of the symmetrical wing-shaped upper wind receiving plate 3 and lower wind receiving plate 4 are fixed to the rotating shafts 1 and 2, respectively, and one end of the coil spring 5 is fixed to the vehicle body side. The end is fixed to the upper surface of the upper wind receiving plate 3, and the rear end of the upper wind receiving plate 3 is urged toward the stopper 6 about the rotation shaft 1 by the coil spring 5, and is similar to the coil spring 5. The other end of a coil spring (not shown) whose one end is fixed to the vehicle body side is fixed to the lower surface of the lower wind receiving plate 4, and the rear end of the lower wind receiving plate 4 about the rotation shaft 2 is fixed by the coil spring. The two wind receiving plates 3, 4 are urged toward the stopper 7, It is disposed along the front-rear direction.

Further, gears or cams (not shown) are attached to the lower ends of the two rotating shafts 1 and 2, and the amount of rotation of the two rotating shafts 1 and 2 is controlled by a potentiometer or a potentiometer driven by the gears or cams. Is measured, while the traveling speed and lateral acceleration (hereinafter abbreviated as lateral G) of the vehicle are respectively measured by a speedometer and an accelerometer (not shown) mounted on the vehicle, and these measured values are sent to a computer (not shown). Sent.

If no side wind is blowing when the vehicle is traveling straight, the traveling wind that has blown through the front grill from the front of the vehicle blows substantially upward from the front against the upper wind receiving plate 3 and the lower wind receiving plate 4 as shown by an arrow X. At this time, both wind receiving plates 3, 4
Has a symmetrical airfoil cross section, and the rear ends of the wind receiving plates 3 and 4 are urged toward the stoppers 6 and 7 around the rotation shafts 1 and 2 by the respective coil springs.
The two wind receiving plates 3 and 4 are reliably prevented from vibrating finely due to the traveling wind, and are maintained in the illustrated state.

[0010] However, when a cross wind blows from the side or obliquely forward when the vehicle is traveling, the traveling wind always blows obliquely forward from the vehicle, for example, rightward or obliquely forward in the traveling direction of the vehicle. When the cross wind is blowing from above, the traveling wind blows the vehicle diagonally right forward, and as a result, the wind receiving plates 3 and 4 move clockwise around the rotation axes 1 and 2 respectively when viewed from above. The wind pressure acts so as to rotate, and at this time, the lower wind receiving plate 4 is prevented from rotating about the rotation shaft 2 by the stopper 7, but the upper wind receiving plate 3 is changed according to the strength of the side wind. And rotates clockwise around the rotation shaft 1 against the spring force of the coil spring 5.

When a cross wind is blowing from the left or diagonally forward left in the traveling direction of the vehicle, on the contrary, the traveling wind blows the vehicle diagonally from the left diagonally forward. Wind pressure acts on the plates 3 and 4 so as to rotate counterclockwise about the rotation axes 1 and 2 as viewed from above, respectively. At this time, the upper wind receiving plate 3 Although the rotation about the center is prevented, the lower wind receiving plate 4 rotates counterclockwise about the rotation shaft 2 against the spring force of the lower coil spring according to the strength of the lateral wind. Therefore, the direction of the crosswind and the intensity of the crosswind exerted on the vehicle can be easily detected by the computer from the rotation angle and the traveling speed of the vehicle measured by the speedometer. Thus, safe operation of the vehicle can be achieved by control such as steering the vehicle.

Next, as in the case of drifting of a vehicle,
A case where the vehicle is rapidly displaced left and right with respect to the traveling direction will be described. In FIG. 2, when the vehicle 10 travels to the left and drifts, the vehicle 10 moves in the direction A, which is a diagonally forward right direction toward the traveling direction. The wind pressure acts on the upper wind receiving plate 3 and the lower wind receiving plate 4 so as to rotate in the clockwise direction in FIG. The receiving plate 3 has an angle θ leftward from the neutral position along the front-rear direction toward the traveling direction.
Only rotate. At this time, the direction of the lateral G measured by the accelerometer is represented by + to the right in the traveling direction and-in the opposite direction, and the turning direction of the wind receiving plates 3, 4 is directed to the traveling direction. + To the left and-in the opposite direction.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when the vehicle 10 similarly moves to the left, and the vehicle 10 moves in the direction B, which is diagonally forward left toward the traveling direction, , The lateral G of-is measured by the accelerometer,
On the other hand, it is assumed that the crosswind Y is blown obliquely rightward and forward in the traveling direction, and the wind pressure causes the lower wind receiving plate 4 to turn leftward in the traveling direction in the + direction.

That is, in the control flowchart of the computer shown in FIG. 4, first, in step 11, the magnitude of the rotation angle θ of the upper wind receiving plate 3 or the lower wind receiving plate 4 is set by the cross wind dead zone set by each coil spring. Level θ
It is checked whether or not it exceeds 1, and if it does not exceed the crosswind dead zone level θ1, it returns to the original start state, but if it does, it proceeds to the next step 12. In step 12, the control routine is divided depending on whether the rotation angle θ is positive or negative. If the rotation angle θ <0, the process proceeds to step 13, where the lateral G measured by the accelerometer is the lateral G dead zone level g1 (> 0). If it does not exceed the limit, the process returns to the original start state.

On the other hand, in step 12, the rotation angle θ>
If the value is 0, the process proceeds to step 15, and if the measured lateral G is not less than the negative value of the lateral G dead zone level g1, the process returns to the original start state. As described above, when the rotation angle θ of the upper wind receiving plate 3 or the lower wind receiving plate 4 is opposite to the positive or negative of the measured lateral G, the presence of the lateral wind is detected in step 14, and in this case, Can very reliably detect the presence of a crosswind even when the vehicle is drifting.

Thereafter, when the process proceeds to step 16, the yaw control of the front or rear wheels of the vehicle is automatically performed by a hydraulic or electromagnetic device, or the spoiler or aerodynamic device mounted on the vehicle is automatically controlled by the hydraulic or electromagnetic device. By appropriately deforming or manipulating the vehicle, control is performed to enhance the running stability or straight running performance of the vehicle against crosswinds,
Safe driving of the vehicle can be further facilitated.

It is needless to say that the rotatable directions of the upper wind receiving plate 3 and the lower wind receiving plate 4 may be set to be opposite to those described above. The receiving plates 4 are fixed to the rotating shaft 1 and the rotating shaft 2, respectively. The two wind receiving plates 3, 4 are rotatably supported on a common fixed shaft, and the respective wind receiving plates 3, 4 can be configured to measure the rotation angle, and the rear end portions of both wind receiving plates 3 and 4 are pivotally supported by the respective vertical axes and provided with appropriate rotation stoppers. Even in this case, the same function can be achieved.

Further, a single wind receiving plate is used, and a double-effect spring is provided in both rotating directions about the vertical pivot shaft. By preventing the vibration, it is possible to provide the same operational effects as those of the above embodiments. Furthermore, the above-mentioned wind receiving plates are installed on the left and right sides of the front grill, which can smoothly take in the traveling wind, other traveling wind intakes at the front of the vehicle, or the shaft of an emblem for receiving the traveling wind. It goes without saying that you can also do things.

[0019]

According to the cross wind detecting device for a vehicle according to the present invention, the turning direction and / or the turning angle of the wind receiving plate arranged along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle are measured by a detecting mechanism to detect the presence of the cross wind. Since the crosswind can be easily detected with a relatively simple configuration, the vehicle can be safely driven by controlling the vehicle to be steered in consideration of the presence of the crosswind.

Further, in the method for detecting a crosswind of a vehicle according to the present invention, the difference between the direction of the side G acting on the vehicle and the inclination direction of the traveling wind with respect to the vehicle is detected to detect the presence of the crosswind. Therefore, even when the vehicle is displaced left and right, for example, when the vehicle is drifting, the presence of a cross wind can be reliably detected without error, so that safe driving of the vehicle can be further facilitated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a control flowchart of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotating shaft 2 Rotating shaft 3 Upper wind receiving plate 4 Lower wind receiving plate 5 Coil spring 6 Stopper 7 Stopper 10 Vehicle

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A wind receiving plate disposed at a front portion of a vehicle along a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and pivotally supported by a vertical axis .
The wind receiving plate is urged in one rotation direction with respect to the axis.
When the spring member and the wind receiving plate receive the traveling wind,
A cross wind detection device for a vehicle, comprising a detection mechanism for measuring a direction of rotation about the axis and / or a rotation angle thereof against a biasing force of a spring member . 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle detects a lateral acceleration of the vehicle while the vehicle is running.
The direction of the inclination of the traveling wind with respect to the vehicle is directly detected by the wind receiving plate that rotates in accordance with the direction of the traveling wind, and the difference between the direction of the lateral acceleration and the direction of the traveling wind is detected to detect the presence of the side wind. A method of detecting a cross wind of a vehicle, wherein the vehicle is detected.