JP3223096B2 - Riding golf cart - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a riding golf cart capable of automatic traveling and manual traveling with automatic and manual switching means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various types of golf carts have been conventionally provided for golf courses. For example, a manually driven type using a caddy as a power source and a non-riding type or a riding type using an electric motor or an engine as a driving force are frequently used.

In response to the recent shortage of caddies, so-called self-play, in which a player operates a golf cart by himself and performs a round, has been increasing.
On the other hand, the location conditions of golf courses are becoming increasingly severe, and there are many cases where golf courses are opened in mountainous areas, and courses are often up and down. Therefore, in the case of self-play, it is desired that the player himself can move on a golf cart. Particularly for elderly players, a riding golf cart is indispensable. Therefore, recently, a two-seater golf cart or a four-seater golf cart has been used.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a four-seater type riding golf cart developed by the present applicant. This riding golf cart is an engine-driven type having automatic and manual switching means, and is capable of riding two persons in front and back. A golf bag can be loaded at the rear, and a roof for sunshade and rain can be installed at the top.

FIG. 2 is a control system diagram of a riding golf cart.
As shown in FIG. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are diagrams divided into right and left around the microcomputer 2 of the control box 1, and a composite of the two diagrams is an entire control system diagram. The control system is
Schematically, the microcomputer 2 of the control box 1, the operation unit 3, the steering unit 4, the sensor unit 5, the power supply unit 6,
It comprises an engine section 7, a parking section 8 and a main brake section 9.

[0006] When the passenger golf car having such a configuration is to be automatically driven, the automatic driving mode is set by setting the automatic driving switching lever to "automatic". At that time, an induced current flowing in a loop line buried along the cart road is detected, the magnet is read, and the vehicle travels on the cart road while performing automatic control, automatic increase / decrease, and automatic stop. You can also start and stop at any location with the remote control or the call / stop button. In addition, when a danger is detected by various safety devices, an emergency stop is performed. When the automatic operation switching lever is set to "manual", the mode becomes a manual traveling mode, and forward and backward driving can be performed by a player's own operation by operating a steering wheel (steering) as in a normal passenger cart.

[0007]

Since these riding golf carts are not always used by the driver, they are required to have good operability and excellent safety as absolute conditions. ing. The present invention has been made to meet the above-mentioned demands, and an object of the present invention is to provide a riding golf cart having a high maneuverability by providing a power steering function to a steering operation at the time of manual traveling of the riding golf cart. is there.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A riding golf cart according to claim 1 of the present invention is a riding golf cart having automatic and manual switching means. A left operation switch and a right operation switch that are activated by the operation force, the steering motor is rotated leftward when the left operation switch is activated, and the steering motor is rotated rightward when the right operation switch is activated. Control to rotate the PW of the steering motor
It is characterized in that the maximum value of the operation amount of the M control is smaller in the manual operation than in the automatic operation.

A riding golf cart according to a second aspect of the present invention is a riding golf cart having automatic and manual switching means, and is operated by the operating force when the steering wheel is operated leftward or rightward during manual operation. A left operation switch and a right operation switch are provided, and when the left operation switch is activated, the steering motor is rotated to the left with a constant torque, and when the right operation switch is activated, the steering motor is rotated to the right with a constant torque. The motor is controlled to rotate, and the maximum value of the operation amount of the PWM control of the steering motor is made smaller in manual operation than in automatic operation.

A riding golf cart according to a third aspect of the present invention is a riding golf cart having automatic and manual switching means, and is operated by the operating force when the steering wheel is operated to the left or right during manual operation. A left operation switch and a right operation switch are provided, and when the left operation switch is activated, the steering motor is rotated to the left, and when the right operation switch is activated, the steering motor is rotated to the right, When the left or right direction switch is continuously operated, the steering motor is controlled to rotate while increasing the torque according to the continuous time, and the maximum value of the operation amount of the PWM control of the steering motor is set to the manual operation time. Is smaller than in automatic operation.

In a riding golf cart according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in a riding golf cart having automatic and manual switching means, when the steering wheel is operated to the left or right during manual operation, the operating direction and operating force are changed. A torque sensor having a directionality to detect a steering force and output a signal corresponding to an operation force. The steering motor is rotated leftward or rightward in accordance with the output of the torque sensor, and the steering motor is It is characterized in that the maximum operation amount of the PWM control is controlled to be smaller in the manual operation than in the automatic operation.

A riding golf cart according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is a riding golf cart having an automatic / manual switching means, wherein when the steering wheel is manually operated to the left or right, the operating direction and operating force are changed. Is provided with a directional torque sensor that detects signals and outputs a signal corresponding to the operating force, and corresponds to the voltage corresponding to the output of the torque sensor or, in the case of PWM output, to the output of the directional torque sensor. The steering motor is rotated to the left or right at the set duty, and the maximum value of the operation amount of the PWM control of the steering motor is controlled to be smaller in manual operation than in automatic operation.

A riding golf cart according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is a riding golf cart having automatic and manual switching means, wherein when the steering wheel is manually operated leftward or rightward, the operating direction and operating force are changed. A torque sensor having a directionality that detects a torque and outputs a signal corresponding to an operation force, and rotates the steering motor leftward or rightward with a torque corresponding to the output of the torque sensor, It is characterized in that the maximum operation amount of the PWM control is controlled to be smaller in the manual operation than in the automatic operation.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The steering control of a riding golf cart according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. FIG. FIG. 4 shows a control system of the steering unit. The guidance sensor includes a first sensor, a second sensor, and a third sensor.
1 is a steering motor, 12 is a bridge circuit for driving the steering motor, and 13 is current detection means. Although not shown, respective switches that respond to rotation of the steering wheel to the left or right are arranged.

First, the operation at the time of automatic traveling will be described. The induction signal is detected by left and right induction sensors (first and second sensors), amplified, detected, passed through a differential amplifier to obtain a differential output, and input to the microcomputer 2 in analog form. When a left shift is detected, four FEs constituting the bridge circuit 12 are detected.
T is turned “ON” and the steering motor 11
Is rotated to the right, and when a right shift is detected,
ET is turned “ON” and the steering motor 11 is rotated to the left to perform steering control so that the loop line is always at the center of the guidance sensor. At this time, the lower F
The ET is driven by a pulse, and the pulse width is duty-controlled by a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) method according to the amount of deviation to control the rotational force of the motor and smoothen the steering movement. In addition, in order to quickly follow a curve or the like, a PID calculation according to the vehicle speed is performed by a differential output,
The rotation direction and duty are determined. Fig. 5
Shown in

Next, the operation during manual running will be described. Set the automatic operation switching lever to "manual" and set to the manual driving mode,
When the steering wheel is operated, respective switches corresponding to rotation of the steering wheel to the left or right are activated. When the steering wheel is turned to the left, the left operation switch is operated, and the bridge circuit 12 is formed via the microcomputer 2.
One of the FETs is turned "ON" to rotate the steering motor 11 to the left.

When the steering wheel is turned to the right, the right operation switch is activated, and the bridge circuit 12
Of the four FETs is turned "ON" to rotate the steering motor 11 clockwise. Thereby, by using the steering motor 11 at the time of automatic traveling,
Power steering during steering operation can be realized. Further, the driving current of the steering motor 11 is detected by the current detecting means 13 and fed back to the microcomputer 2 to rotate the steering motor 11 in a constant torque control mode.

Further, when the "ON" state of the operation switch due to the rotation of the steering wheel in any direction continues, the microcomputer 2 controls the microcomputer 2 to increase the current to the steering motor 11 to increase the torque based on the continuous time. can do. Thus, when it is necessary to rotate the cart such that the steering wheel is rotated for a long time, the steering motor 11 is driven with a large force.

Next, a case will be described in which a torque sensor is provided for detecting the operation direction and operation force of the steering wheel to the left or right. The torque sensor 10 shown in FIG. 4 is attached in conjunction with the steering wheel, and the relationship between its output and the rotation amount of the steering motor 11 is linear as shown in FIG. Therefore, the operating force of the steering wheel is detected by the torque sensor, and the four FEs constituting the bridge circuit 12 are connected via the microcomputer 2 at the time of rightward operation.
T is turned “ON” and the steering motor 11
Rotate to the right.

At the time of the leftward operation, among the four FETs constituting the bridge circuit 12 via the microcomputer 2,
To “ON” to rotate the steering motor 11 to the left. In this case, the drive voltage applied to the steering motor 11 is a voltage corresponding to the output of the torque sensor 10, or a voltage determined by a duty corresponding to the output of the torque sensor 10 in the case of PWM (pulse width modulation). Can be. As a result, when the turning force of the steering wheel is strongly required, for example, when the operation amount of the steering wheel is large, or when the road surface state has a large tire contact resistance, the output of the torque sensor becomes large. Controls the driving voltage.

FIG. 6 shows this state. PWM control can be performed up to a duty of up to about 64% in accordance with the operating force. Further, the drive current of the steering motor 11 is detected by the current detection means 13 and fed back to the microcomputer 2 to rotate the steering motor 11 with a torque corresponding to the output of the torque sensor 10.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a riding golf cart having automatic and manual switching means, a power steering function is provided by also using a steering motor used for automatic driving in steering operation during manual driving. This makes it easy for the elderly and women to operate the steering wheel, and even when the steering wheel operation amount is large or the road surface condition requires a large operation force, the steering operation force according to the force is steered. Since the motor outputs properly, a riding golf cart with high maneuverability can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a riding golf cart.

FIG. 2 is a control system diagram of a riding golf cart.

FIG. 3 is a control system diagram of a riding golf cart.

FIG. 4 is a control system of a steering unit.

FIG. 5 shows a relationship between a steering wheel operation amount and PWM control during automatic running.

FIG. 6 shows a relationship between a steering wheel operation amount during manual traveling and PWM control.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control box 2 ... Microcomputer 3 ... Operation part 4 ... Steering part 5 ... Sensor part 6 ... Power supply part 7 ... Engine part 8 ... Parking part 9 ...・ Main brake unit 10 ・ ・ Torque sensor 11 ・ ・ Steering motor 12 ・ ・ Bridge circuit for motor drive 13 ・ ・ Current detection means

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Yoshihiro Nomura 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Koji Morimoto 2-5-2 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5 Inside Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Kazuhisa Matsumoto 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Pref. Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. No. 5 Inside Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-7-323847 (JP, A) JP-A-6-298111 (JP, A) JP-A-7-149249 (JP, A) 144276 (JP, A) JP-A-5-162651 (JP, A) JP-A-61-202973 (JP, A) JP-A 7-137651 (JP, A) JP-A-4-2525771 (JP, A) JP-A-4-287769 (JP, A) (58) key Fields examined (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B62D 5/04 B62D 6/00

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A riding golf cart having automatic and manual switching means, comprising: a left operation switch and a right operation switch which are operated by an operation force when a steering wheel is operated leftward or rightward during manual operation; When the left operation switch is operated, the steering motor is rotated to the left, and when the right operation switch is operated, the steering motor is controlled to be rotated to the right , and the PWM control of the steering motor is performed.
A riding golf cart wherein the maximum value of the operation amount is smaller in manual operation than in automatic operation . 2. The riding golf cart according to claim 1, wherein the steering motor is controlled to rotate at a constant torque. 3. The riding golf cart according to claim 1, wherein when the operation of the left or right direction switch is continued, the steering motor is controlled so as to rotate by increasing the torque according to the continuous time. . 4. In a riding golf cart having automatic and manual switching means, when the steering wheel is operated to the left or right during manual operation, the operating direction and the operating force are detected, and a signal corresponding to the operating force is detected. Equipped with a torque sensor with a direction to output, corresponding to the output of the torque sensor,
The steering motor is rotated to the left or right direction, the steering
The maximum value of the operation amount of the PWM control of the rudder motor
Riding golf cart, characterized in that it be so that control less than the automatic time. 5. A steering motor is rotated leftward or rightward at a voltage corresponding to the output of a directional torque sensor or, in the case of PWM output, at a duty corresponding to the output of the directional torque sensor. The riding golf cart according to claim 4, wherein the driving golf cart is controlled as follows. 6. The riding golf cart according to claim 4, wherein the steering motor is controlled to rotate leftward or rightward with a torque corresponding to the output of the directional torque sensor.