JP2993325B2 - Control panel device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control panel device for operating various devices mounted on a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A dashboard of a vehicle is provided with a control panel on which switches such as an air conditioner and an audio system are arranged, and a driver often operates the control panel while sitting on a seat. However, there is considerable individual difference in the body shape of the driver, and the driver is too close or too far from the control panel, and it is difficult for each driver to respond to tribability. Therefore, there is a type in which a control panel is provided in a column portion of a steering wheel, and the control panel is moved in response to a vertical operation (tilt) or a front / rear operation (telescopic) of the steering.

[0003]

However, even when the control panel is provided in the column portion, the position where the steering operation is easy and the position where the control panel operation is easy do not always coincide with each other. Even if the driving attitude is determined by adjusting the steering, there may be situations in which the driving attitude must be changed due to poor operability of the control panel, and the adjustment operation of the control panel is troublesome. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to achieve both operability.

In addition, when a switch is mounted on a column portion of a steering wheel, space is limited, and the type of a switch currently used cannot cope with it. When a switch panel is mounted on a column portion and moved together with the steering wheel, an instrument panel pad is required. The gap with the part that does not move becomes large, and it is necessary to design to prevent it, and the design has great restrictions.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a control panel for operating various devices mounted on a vehicle, a panel movable mechanism for sliding the control panel with respect to the driver, and a position of the driver. And a switch for enabling the human body detecting means to operate, and a distance between the driver and the control panel is determined based on the detection signal, and the panel is movable according to the result of the determination. Control means for driving the mechanism.

[0006]

When the position of the driver is detected by the human body detecting means and a detection signal is output, the control means determines the driver and the control panel provided with the operating members from the detected signal and a preset reference value. Is determined, the panel movable mechanism is driven according to the result of the determination, the control panel is automatically moved, and the distance between the operation member and the driver is adjusted.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a control panel device. The control panel device 1 includes a control panel 3 for operating various devices (not shown) mounted on the vehicle 2, a panel movable mechanism 6 for sliding the control panel 3 with respect to a driver 5 sitting on a seat 4, An optical sensor 7 as a human body detecting means for detecting the position of the optical sensor 5 and outputting a detection signal, an operation switch 8 for enabling the optical sensor 7 to operate, and determining a distance between the driver 5 and the control panel 3 based on the detection signal. A control device 9 as control means for driving the panel movable mechanism 6 according to the result of the determination.
It is mainly composed of In addition, a steering wheel 10 that can be moved up and down and back and forth by a tilt and telescopic mechanism (not shown) is provided in front of the driver 5.

The control panel 3 is mounted on a control box 12 (hereinafter, referred to as a “box 12”) disposed in a recess 11a formed in the dashboard 11 at an angle. positioned.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control panel 3 has an audio ON / OFF switch 30 and a volume switch 31 at the upper right, and an air conditioner operation switch 3 next to the switch.
In the center of the panel, an optical sensor 7 and an operation switch 8 are arranged, together with operating members such as a scroll key 33 for switching a multi-display screen (not shown) for displaying various information such as a navigation system and a television broadcast. Has been established.

These various switches are provided on the front of the panel, face the driver 5, and are connected to each device via a box 12. Among them, the optical sensor 7 and the operation switch 8 are connected to the control device 9 as shown in FIGS.

The light sensor 7 has a light emitting portion 7a and a light receiving portion 7b. As shown in FIG. 5, the light emitted from the light emitting portion 7a is applied to a driver's hand 5a, and the reflected light is applied to a light receiving port. Part 7b
And the reflectance at that time is detected and sent to the control device 9 as a detection signal. More specifically, a distance L to the sensor 7 is measured by irradiating infrared rays to the palm of the control panel 3 to be operated, and an output value V corresponding to the measured distance is sent to the control device 9. Here, the infrared type optical sensor 7 is used as the human body detection means, but a sensor that emits an ultrasonic wave may be used. The operation switch 8 is controlled so that when the operation switch 8 is pressed, the switch is turned on and the optical sensor 7 is made operable, and is turned off after a predetermined time.

Next, the panel movable mechanism 6 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, the panel movable mechanism 6
The box 12 includes a plurality of rollers 13 and 14, a rack 16 and gears 17, a drive motor 18 and limit switches 19 and 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rollers 13 are rotatably supported by bearings 15 fixed to the upper part of the box 12, and are guided by slide rails 23 embedded in the dashboard 11.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the roller 14 is rotatably supported below the box 12 and is in contact with the bottom 12a of the box. Projection 14b is formed.

The rack 16 is provided on the bottom surface 12 a of the box 12.
Are provided so as to extend in the directions of arrows A and B, and mesh with a gear 17 rotatably supported by the dashboard 11.

As the drive motor 18, a stepping motor capable of rotating forward and backward is used, and as shown in FIG.
A pinion 21 meshing with the gear 15 is fixed to the output shaft 18a. The forward rotation of the drive motor 18
Is rotated in the direction of arrow a, and reverse rotation is rotation in the direction of rotating gear 17 in the direction of arrow b.

As shown in FIG. 6, the limit switch 19 is disposed on the back side of the concave portion 11a.
The maximum amount of protrusion of the control panel 3 is restricted by engaging the pin 22 provided on the lower part 12b of the side surface at the bottom of the side with the arm 19a of the switch. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the limit switch 20 is disposed in front of the concave portion 11a (driver), and has an arm portion 20a of the switch.
The initial position of the control panel 3 is determined by engaging the projection 14b with the control panel 3. Specifically, limit switch 1
The pins 22 and the projections 14 are attached to the arms 19a and 20a.
When b is engaged, the drive motor 18 is placed in a non-operating state. The drive motor 18 and the limit switch 1
9 and 20 are connected to the control device 9 as shown in FIGS. That is, limit switch 1
Reference numerals 9 and 20 constitute limiting means for limiting the movement of the control panel 3 between the initial position within a predetermined range and the maximum projection amount.

The control device 9 is a well-known microcomputer, and controls a panel movement routine shown in FIG. 7, a reference value V1 corresponding to a reference distance between the control panel 3 and the hand 5a, and an operation switch 8 for a predetermined time. And a predetermined amount r1 for moving the drive motor 18 in one cycle of the routine in accordance with the output value V.

The operation of the control panel device 1 thus configured will be described. The driver 5 sits on the seat 4 and operates a tilt and telescopic mechanism (not shown) of the seat position and the position of the steering wheel 10 to secure a driving posture suitable for the driver. Then, control panel 3
If it is difficult to perform the operation, the operation proceeds to the operation of moving the control panel 3.

The moving operation is performed by first pressing the operation switch 8 and then, as shown in FIG.
A flat (here, left hand) is put in front of the optical sensor 7.
Then, in the panel movement routine shown in FIG. 7, the operation switch 8 is determined to be on in step C1, and the process proceeds to step C2 to check the state of the timer flag.
If the timer flag is not on, the process reaches step C3, turns the timer flag on, activates the timer (step C4), and proceeds to step C5.

In step C5, if the timer has not been operated for a predetermined period of time, the process proceeds to step C6. If the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step C10 to turn off the timer flag and end. That is, the control panel 3 cannot be automatically moved after a certain period of time from the operation of the operation switch 8.

If the operation of the operation switch 8 is within a predetermined time, the optical sensor 7 is activated in step C6, the distance L between the inserted hand 5a and the control panel 3 is measured, and the output corresponding to the distance is output. The value V is detected by the optical sensor 7, and the process proceeds to Step C7.

In step C7, the set reference value V1
Is compared with the detected output value V. If the output value V is smaller than the reference value V1, it is determined that the distance L between the control panel 3 and the hand 5a has not reached the predetermined distance, and the process proceeds to step C8. When the output V is larger than the set value V1, it is determined that the distance L between the control panel 3 and the hand is short, and the process proceeds to Step C11.

At step C8, the drive motor 18
Rotates by a predetermined amount r1 in the forward rotation direction, and step C11
, The drive motor 18 rotates in the reverse direction by -r1. Then, the pinion 21 on the output shaft 18a shown in FIG. 4 is driven, and in step C8, the gear 17
The box 12 moves in the direction of arrow A,
In step C11, the gear 17 is rotated in the direction of arrow b, and the box 12 is moved in the direction of arrow B.

That is, in step C8, the control panel 3 moves in a direction protruding from the concave portion 11a indicated by arrow A, and in step C11, the control panel 3 moves in a direction drawn into the concave portion 11a indicated by arrow B.

Then, the routine proceeds to step 9, where the output value V is compared with the reference value V1 again, and the output value V is compared with the reference value V1.
If the distance between the control panel 3 and the hand is equal to the reference distance, the process proceeds to step C10, the timer flag is turned off, and the movement of the control panel 3 ends. If the reference distance has not yet been reached, the process returns to step C2 and the same steps are repeated within a predetermined time.

Therefore, the driver 5 adjusts the driving posture, and when there is a problem with the operability of the control panel 3, the operator simply pushes the operation switch 8 on the panel 3 and puts the hand 5 a in front of the optical sensor 7. Then, the control panel 3 automatically moves to automatically adjust the distance L between the hand 5a and the panel 3 to the reference distance. In this embodiment, the reference distance is 30 m
m.

If the operation switch 8 is not operated, the optical sensor 7 does not operate, so that it does not respond to the operation when the driver's hand or body suddenly crosses in front of the sensor 7 and careless control is performed. The movement of the panel 3 can be prevented.

Further, when the control panel 3 moves in the direction of arrow A, as shown in FIG. 6, the pin 22 abuts against the arm 19a of the limit switch 19, and the arm 19a moves from the solid line position to the two-dot chain line position. When moved, the switch 19 is turned off and the drive of the drive motor 18 is stopped, so that the control panel 3 can be prevented from protruding from the excessive concave portion 11a to the driver 5 side.

Conversely, when the projection 14b presses the arm 20a of the limit switch 20 from the position indicated by the two-dot chain line to the position indicated by the solid line when the control panel 3 moves in the direction of arrow B as shown in FIG. Since the drive of the drive motor 18 is stopped, the control panel 3 can be prevented from being excessively retracted into the recess 11a, and can be stably held at the initial position shown in FIG.

In the panel movable mechanism 6 of the present embodiment,
The gear 17 is driven by attaching the pinion 21 to the output shaft 18a of the drive motor 18, but instead, the worm gear 25 is fixed to the output shaft 18a and directly meshed with the rack 16 as shown in FIG. The rack 16 may be moved. In this case, both ends 16 of the rack 16
A toothless portion may be formed in a and 16b to regulate the amount of rack movement.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the position of the driver is detected by the human body detecting means and a detection signal is issued, the control means determines the distance between the driver and the control panel having the operating members. The control panel is automatically moved by driving the panel movable mechanism according to the result of the determination, so that the position of the control panel can be adjusted independently of the steering and the like, thereby eliminating the troublesome adjustment work and driving. The posture and the operability of the control panel can be compatible.

Since the control panel is provided without interlocking with the column portion of the steering wheel, the design can be performed without considering a problem such as a gap between the panel and the instrument panel pad, and the degree of freedom in design is increased. If the operation switch is not operated, the human body detection means does not operate, so it does not respond to the operation when the driver's hand or body unexpectedly crosses in front of the human body detection means, preventing accidental movement of the control panel it can. The movement of the control panel in the direction of approaching or moving away from the driver is limited to a predetermined range by the restricting means, so that the extreme movement of the control panel in the direction of approaching or moving away from the driver can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a configuration of a control panel device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a control panel.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a panel movable mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing main components of the panel movable means.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a human body measurement state by human body detection means.

FIG. 6 is an operation diagram of a limit switch constituting a panel movable unit.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a control panel movement routine according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a relationship between main operation switches and control means of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view showing a modification of the panel movable means.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control panel apparatus 2 Vehicle 3 Control panel 6 Panel movable mechanism 8 Control means (Control apparatus) 19, 20 Limiting means 30, 31, 32, 33 Operating member 34 Human body detecting means 35 Operation switch L Distance between control panel and human body V Detection signal (output value)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A control panel provided with an operation member for operating various devices mounted on a vehicle; a panel movable mechanism for moving the control panel closer to or away from a driver; Human body detection means for detecting a position and outputting a detection signal; andcontrol means for determining the distance between the driver and the control panel based on the detection signal and for driving the panel movable mechanism according to the determination result. Control panel device to be equipped. 2. An operation switch for activating the human body detecting means, wherein the control means drives the panel movable mechanism only when the human body detecting means is in an operable state. The control panel device according to claim 1, wherein the control panel device is configured as follows. 3. The control panel device according to claim 1, further comprising a restricting means for restricting the movement of the control panel within a predetermined range regardless of the result of the judgment.