JP3499409B2 - Hazard lamp device for impact detection of automobiles - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an impact sensing hazard lamp apparatus for an automobile which automatically starts blinking a hazard lamp when an impact is sensed. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, at the time of a collision and when an impact force corresponding to the collision is sensed, a hazard lamp (commonly used as a turn signal lamp) disposed at each of the four corners of a vehicle body is automatically provided. Some are provided with an impact sensing hazard lamp device which is made to blink temporarily. [0003] As a conventional shock sensing hazard lamp device, for example, when an airbag system is provided, there is a device in which the hazard lamp blinks in conjunction with the operation of the system (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-166438).
No., JP-A-4-278849). In such a hazard lamp device, the battery current is supplied from the hazard fuse to the hazard lamp via the flasher relay, and the hazard lamp starts blinking. [0004] By the way, at the moment of a collision, a large impact force causes a large deformation of a body, especially a collision portion. Therefore, a harness constituting an energization circuit for a hazard lamp is formed by a sheet metal of the body. There is a risk of being short-circuited by being strongly sandwiched by each other. When a portion of the harness closer to the battery than the hazard lamp is short-circuited by being sandwiched by a metal plate of the body, when the flashing operation of the hazard lamp is started, a large current flows from the harness to the body (earth) side. There is a possibility that the hazard fuse will blow and the hazard lamp will not be able to blink thereafter. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides an automobile impact sensing hazard lamp device capable of avoiding a problem that a hazard lamp cannot be turned on and off due to a blown hazard fuse due to body deformation at the time of a collision. It is intended to provide. [0006] Here, the present inventors have observed in detail the deformation of a body at the time of a collision of an automobile, and the collision part of the body is transient due to a large impact force at the moment of the collision. At the next moment, the amount of the deformation is slightly reduced due to the springback of the sheet metal, and the state returns to a predetermined steady state. That is, even when the body is deformed and the harness is short-circuited between the metal plates at the moment of the collision, (1)
It can be seen that the short-circuit state of the harness returns to the normal state due to the decrease in the deformation amount , (2) the part sandwiched between the sheet metals is disconnected and separated, and (3) the short-circuit state continues. Was. The present invention relates to an impact sensing hazard lamp apparatus for an automobile in which a hazard lamp automatically starts blinking at the time of a collision and at the time of detecting an impact force corresponding to the collision (hereinafter simply referred to as "impact sensing"). Impact sensing means for sensing the impact force, delay time detecting means for detecting the elapse of a preset delay time from the time of sensing the impact, and the impact force is sensed, and after the delay time has elapsed, Hazard lamp control means for starting blinking of the hazard lamp, wherein the delay time is detected by the impact force.
Changes in the body from the impact force
Until the form returns to the steady state where the decrease has stopped
The feature is that the time was. [0009] Here, the delay time in the present invention is as described above.
As from the time when the impact force is sensed, the amount of deformation of the body is reduced by the disappearance of the impact force acting, but the decrease is the time until when returning to a steady state has been stopped, specifically
Is about 1.0 second. According to the present invention, the blinking operation of the hazard lamp is started after a predetermined delay time has elapsed since the impact was detected. Therefore, in the state where the harness is sandwiched between the sheet metals at the moment of the collision and the short circuit occurs, the current supply to the hazard lamp is not started, and the deformation of the body returns to the steady state, and the states of the above (1) and (2) In this case, the current supply is started after the short-circuit state of the harness with the sheet metal is eliminated, and as a result, the problem that the hazard fuse is blown by the short-circuit current can be suppressed. In the case of (1) , all the hazard lamps can blink, and in the case of (2) , the hazard lamps other than the damaged portion can blink. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 3 are views for explaining an impact sensing hazard lamp device for an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration, and FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram thereof. FIG. 3 is a timing chart for explaining the operation. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an impact sensing hazard lamp device which automatically flashes a hazard lamp 2 when an impact is sensed. The device 1 includes an impact sensing sensor 3 for sensing the impact force and a vehicle speed. Vehicle speed sensor 4 to detect
And a delay time detection for detecting the elapse of a delay time T set to a value sufficiently larger than the time from the time t2 at which the impact force is sensed to the time t1 'at which the deformation of the body due to the impact returns to a steady state. The means 5 and the hazard when the delay time T elapses from the impact force sensing time t2 and the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 4 becomes 0 km / h within a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds). A hazard lamp control means 6 for outputting a start signal A for starting the blinking of the lamp 2 and a drive circuit 7 for blinking the hazard lamp 2 by the start signal A from the hazard lamp control means 6 are provided. The delay time detecting means 5 and the hazard lamp control means 6 are realized by the function of a CPU 9 in an operation control device 8 mounted for controlling the operation of the vehicle. The hazard lamp 2 is also used as a turn signal lamp, and includes a front right and rear lamps Rf and Rb on the right side of the vehicle, and a front and rear lamps Lf and Lb on the left side of the vehicle. . The drive circuit 7 includes a hazard fuse 14 between the battery 13 and the hazard lamp 2,
It has a structure in which first and second relays 10 and 11 that are turned on by a start signal A from the PU 9 and a flasher relay 12 that interrupts current supply are provided in series. The drive circuit 7 manually switches a hazard switch 15 for blinking the hazard lamp 2 and a turn switch 16 for operating the hazard lamp 2 as a turn signal lamp, and sets a current value when the turn signal lamp blinks to a predetermined value. And a limiting turn fuse 17. Next, the operation and effects of the apparatus according to this embodiment will be described. In a normal driving state, each switch is in an off state indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2. For example, when the driver switches the turn switch 16 to a right contact 16a as indicated by a broken line when turning right, the battery current becomes Turn fuse 17, turn side contact 15 of hazard switch 15
a, the off-side contact 10a of the first relay 10, the flasher relay 12, and the right contact 16a of the turn switch 16 flow to the right front and rear lamps Rf and Rb, and these turn signal lamps blink. When the driver turns on the hazard switch 15 when the driver stops on the side of the road or the like, each terminal is switched to the hazard side contacts 15b to 15d shown by broken lines, and the battery current is reduced to the hazard side of the hazard fuse 14 and the hazard switch 15. Contact 15b, off-side contact 10 of first relay 10
a, the flasher relay 12, and the hazard lamp 2 via the hazard side contacts 15c and 15d of the hazard switch 15.
To flash these lights. On the other hand, at the time of a collision, the impact sensor 3 detects an impact force, a predetermined delay time T has elapsed since the impact was detected, and the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 4 becomes 0 km / h within 10 seconds. When this happens, the start signal A is output from the CPU 9, and the first and second relays are turned on by the start signal A to switch to the position shown by the broken line in FIG. As a result, the battery current is reduced to the hazard fuse 14, the first relay 1
Through the hazard contact 10b, the flasher relay 12, and the hazard contacts 11a, 11b of the second relay 11, the current flows to the right lamps Rf, Rb and the left lamps Lf, Lb, and these lamps start blinking. The operation at the time of the collision will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. When a collision occurs at time t1, the output of the impact sensor 3 becomes high at time t2 with a certain time delay,
The counting of the delay time T is started from the time t2. Then, at time t3, the output of the vehicle speed detection sensor 4 becomes low,
When the delay time T reaches the subsequent time t4, the activation signal A is output, and the first and second relays 10, 11 are output.
Turns on, and the hazard lamp 2 starts blinking. The time t5 after the elapse of the delay time T
When the output of the vehicle speed sensor 4 becomes low at
At 5, the flashing of the hazard lamp 2 is started. The output of the vehicle speed sensor 4 is a predetermined time (10 seconds in this embodiment).
If it does not become zero within this time, the impact sensing hazard device 1 does not operate. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the delay time T is determined by the time at which the impact force acting on the vehicle body at time t1 starts at time t1 '.
When the deformation of the vehicle body due to the impact force returns to a predetermined steady state, the time is set to a time sufficiently longer than the times t1 to t1 '. The delay time T is obtained in advance by experiments or the like. It is about 1.0 second. As described above, in this embodiment, when the predetermined delay time T elapses from the time of impact detection, the hazard lamp 2
Blinking, the body is deformed by the impact force at the time of the collision, and for example, the hazard lamp 2 is short-circuited when the harness portion on the battery side of the hazard lamp 2 is sandwiched between sheet metals and a short circuit occurs. Can be suppressed from being supplied with the battery current, and the risk that the hazard fuse 14 is blown by the short-circuit current can be reduced. In the above-mentioned embodiment, one of the hazard lamp blinking start conditions is that the vehicle speed becomes zero within a predetermined time by the speed sensor, but this speed condition is not always necessary. For example, when the impact sensor is also used as an impact sensor for operating the airbag, or when the activation of the airbag is detected and used as a condition for starting the flashing of a hazard lamp, the vehicle speed need not be detected.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle impact sensing hazard lamp device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a circuit configuration diagram of the embodiment device. FIG. 3 is an operation timing chart of the embodiment device. [Description of Signs] 1 Shock sensing hazard lamp device 2 Hazard lamp 3 Shock sensing sensor (shock sensing means) 5 Delay time detecting means 6 Hazard lamp control means T Delay time

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-5-59855 (JP, A) JP-A-6-278529 (JP, A) JP-A-4-278849 (JP, A) JP-A-4-166438 (JP) JP-A-58-43096 (JP, A) JP-A-58-126217 (JP, A) JP-A-2-66339 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB Name) B60Q 1/00-9/00 E05B 65/00 B60J 5/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claim 1] An automobile in which a hazard lamp automatically starts blinking at the time of a collision and at the time of detecting an impact force corresponding to the collision (hereinafter, simply referred to as at the time of impact detection). Impact sensing hazard lamp device, impact sensing means for sensing the impact force, delay time detecting means for detecting the elapse of a predetermined delay time from the time of impact sensing, the impact force is sensed, and Hazard lamp control means for starting the blinking of the hazard lamp after the delay time has elapsed, wherein the delay time is determined when the impact force is detected.
The amount of deformation of the body due to the disappearance of the acting impact force
Time to decrease and return to a steady state where the decrease has stopped
That the the impact detecting hazard lamps of a motor vehicle according to claim.