JP3705131B2 - Air suspension control device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an air suspension control device for a vehicle using an air suspension as a suspension of a vehicle body frame.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The air suspension uses an air spring as a vehicle chassis spring, and is mainly used for a large truck or the like. In trucks and the like, it is desired from the viewpoint of safe driving and efficient driving that the height of the vehicle body frame (vehicle height) is maintained at a predetermined height from the axle regardless of the load capacity. The predetermined height is said to be a “reference vehicle height”, but the value is appropriately determined depending on the vehicle type.
In vehicles using air springs, when the vehicle height changes, "air control" that supplies air from the air tank or exhausts air from the air spring to the atmosphere (exhaust) to return to the reference vehicle height. Done automatically.
[0003]
In addition to automatic control to the reference vehicle height, the vehicle height is also controlled to a desired height when loading / unloading luggage.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the vehicle height control at the time of loading and unloading work. In FIG. 5, 1 is a vehicle, 2 is a front wheel, 3 is a rear wheel, 4 is an in-vehicle controller, 5 is a load, and 6 is a platform.
FIG. 5 (1) shows that when the height of the rear part of the loading platform of the vehicle 1 is lower than the height of the platform 6 for loading and unloading the luggage 5, air is supplied to the air suspension part (not shown) of the rear wheel 3, The case where the rear vehicle height is raised to match the height of the platform 6 is shown (the dotted line shows the raised state).
In FIG. 5 (2), in order to facilitate the work of lowering the load 5, air is supplied to the air suspension portion (not shown) of the front wheel 2 to slightly raise the front portion of the loading platform and toward the rear portion. It shows a case where a gentle slope is given (a dotted line shows a raised state).
[0004]
Controlling to a desired height in this way is also performed from the outside of the vehicle 1 by a remote control device.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a conventional air suspension control device including such a remote control device. Reference numerals correspond to those in FIG. 5, 3A and 3B are rear wheels, 7A and 7B are rear axles, 8A and 8B are air suspension units, 9 is a differential device, 10 is a connection cable, and 11 is a vehicle height manual adjustment device. It is. The vehicle height manual adjustment device 11 is a remote control device.
[0005]
An air suspension 8A is installed on the rear shaft 7A between the differential 9 and the rear wheel 3A, and an air suspension 8B is installed on the rear shaft 7B between the differential 9 and the rear wheel 3B. Has been. Here, only the rear wheel portion is shown, but a similar air suspension portion is also installed in the front wheel portion.
The vehicle height manual adjustment device 11 is connected to the in-vehicle controller 4 of the vehicle 1 via the connection cable 10. When a command for raising or lowering is issued from the vehicle height manual adjusting device 11, air is supplied to or discharged from the air suspension portion at the designated location.
[0006]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle height manual adjustment device. The reference numerals correspond to those in FIG. 2, 20 is a display window, 21 is a display lamp, 22 is a front axle side vehicle height adjustment switch, 23 is a rear axle side vehicle height adjustment switch, 24 is a vehicle height return switch, 25 and 26 Is a memory switch, 27 is an up switch, 28 is a down switch, and 29 is an emergency stop switch. Although not shown, the vehicle height manual adjustment device 11 incorporates a computer-configured controller including a storage element and a CPU.
The display lamp 21 displays that a predetermined switch associated therewith (for example, the front axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 22 or the rear axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 23) is turned on.
The front axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 22 is a switch that is turned on when the vehicle height on the front axle (front wheel shaft) side is to be controlled from now on, and the rear axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 23 is the rear axle (rear wheel). This switch is turned on when the vehicle height on the wheel shaft side is to be controlled.
[0007]
The vehicle height return switch 24 is a switch that is turned on when the manual control to a desired height is terminated and the control is returned to the automatic control to the reference vehicle height. The emergency stop switch 29 is a switch that is turned on to stop an operation being performed at the time during manual control to a desired height.
The raising switch 27 is a switch that is turned on when the vehicle height is to be raised. While it is kept on, air is supplied to the instructed air suspension unit. The lowering switch 28 is a switch that is turned on when the vehicle height is to be lowered. While continuing to turn on, air is discharged from the instructed air suspension. These vehicle height controls are performed via the in-vehicle controller 4.
The memory switches 25 and 26 are switches that issue commands for storing the height of a specific platform that is frequently used.
[0008]
The manual control using the vehicle height manual adjusting device 11 will be described as follows, taking as an example the case where the front axle side vehicle height is raised.
(1) Turn on the front axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 22.
(2) The rise switch 27 is kept on.
(3) When the front axle side vehicle height reaches a desired height, the ascent switch 27 is turned off.
(4) The vehicle height return switch 24 is turned on (when the loading / unloading of the cargo has been completed and it is no longer necessary to set the vehicle at a desired height).
(5) Turn off the front axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 22.
[0009]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the control operation by such a conventional apparatus. FIG. 7 is a time chart of the control by the conventional device. First, the vehicle height control by the front axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 22 is performed, and then the vehicle height control by the rear axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 23 is performed. This is shown by way of example. This will be described with reference to this figure.
Steps 1 to 7 are control by the vehicle height manual adjustment device 11, and step 8 is control by the in-vehicle controller 4.
[0010]
Step 1: Specify the location where you want to control the vehicle height. This designation is performed when the worker turns on a vehicle height adjustment switch corresponding to the location. For example, if it is desired to control the vehicle height on the front axle side, the front axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 22 is turned on (time t _{1 in} FIG. 7).
Step 2 ... Next, the ascent and descent are controlled. This pushes the up switch 27 or the down switch 28 to set the vehicle height at that point to a desired height (time t _{2 in} FIG. 7).
Step 3... Check whether all the points where the vehicle height should be controlled are controlled. If there is still a portion to be controlled, the process returns to step 1 to designate the control portion (time t _{3 in} FIG. 7). For example, if the control of the rear axle side vehicle height is not yet performed, the rear axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 23 is turned on. Thereafter, the vehicle height adjustment switch that has been used is turned off (time t _{4 in} FIG. 7). If there are no more, go to Step 4.
[0011]
Step 4... If the vehicle heights at all the control points are controlled to the desired heights, the operation (eg, loading / unloading of luggage) that has been attempted after the vehicle heights have been performed (time t _{5 in} FIG. 7). ). This operation is performed with the last used vehicle height adjustment switch turned on.
Step 5 ... Until the required work is completed, the vehicle height manual adjustment device 11 is not operated at all. In this case, the controller built in the vehicle height manual adjustment device 11 first checks whether or not the vehicle height return switch 24 is turned on. If it is turned on, the process proceeds to step 8 where automatic control to the reference vehicle height is immediately performed (by the in-vehicle controller 4). FIG. 7 shows a case where the vehicle height return switch 24 is not turned on.
[0012]
Step 6: If the vehicle height return switch 24 is not turned on, the controller built in the vehicle height manual adjustment device 11 checks whether all the vehicle height adjustment switches have been turned off. If not, return to step 5. It should be noted that the last used vehicle height adjustment switch remains on during required work such as loading and unloading of luggage, and is turned off after the work is finished (time t _{6 in} FIG. 7). The vehicle height adjustment switch is turned off.
Step 7: When all the vehicle height adjustment switches are turned off, a signal indicating that all the vehicle height adjustment switches are turned off is sent to the in-vehicle controller 4.
Step 8 ... The in-vehicle controller 4 automatically controls the vehicle height of the vehicle 1 to be the reference vehicle height during travel (the automatic control is based on a detection signal from a vehicle height sensor (not shown) as the reference vehicle height). To be done.)
[0013]
The reason why the automatic return control of the reference vehicle height is performed (even if the vehicle height return switch 24 is not turned on) even when all the vehicle height adjustment switches are turned off is as follows. .
At the stage where the control to the desired vehicle height is achieved, one of the vehicle height adjustment switches is in the on state. However, after completing the work such as loading and unloading of the luggage, It may be misunderstood that the rear end is over just by turning off the height adjustment switch, and the vehicle height return switch 24 may be forgotten to turn on. In this case, the vehicle starts running without returning to the reference vehicle height, which is dangerous.
Therefore, even if the operator makes a mistake as described above, even if all the vehicle height adjustment switches are turned off, automatic return control to the reference vehicle height is performed. Has been.
[0014]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
(problem)
In the above-described conventional air suspension control device, the operation procedure when the vehicle height control with one vehicle height adjustment switch is finished and the vehicle height control with another vehicle height adjustment switch is shifted is a procedure that is likely to cause an error. In addition, it is not easy to use and consumes air wastefully.
[0015]
(Explanation of problem)
When all the vehicle height adjustment switches are turned off, the vehicle is automatically returned to the reference vehicle height. Therefore, when controlling the vehicle height to a desired height, the vehicle height adjustment switch to be used next ( For example, after the rear axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 23) is turned on, the current vehicle height adjustment switch (eg, front axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 22) must be turned off.
However, when the vehicle height control at the current location is finished, it is normal order sense to operate in the order of turning off the vehicle height adjustment switch and then turning on the next vehicle height adjustment switch. , You win that way. For example, in FIG. 7 (1), increase control of the front axle side vehicle height, the lowering control ends, at which time t _2, the a win will be pre-off shaft side vehicle height adjustment switch 22. Then, since all the vehicle height adjustment switches are OFF until time t ₃ , as shown in FIG. 7 (3), the returning operation to the reference vehicle height is performed during this time.
In other words, in the conventional procedure, the vehicle height that has just been controlled is returned to the reference vehicle height, and must be controlled again. This is inconvenient, takes time for control, and wastes air.
An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems.
[0016]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, an in-vehicle controller that controls supply and discharge of air to and from an air suspension, a plurality of vehicle height adjustment switches that specify a location where the vehicle height is to be controlled, and a vehicle height at the location. A vehicle height manual adjustment device which has at least an ascent switch for instructing ascent and a descending switch for instructing ascent and which is connected so as to be able to exchange signals with the in-vehicle controller and controls the vehicle height from the outside of the vehicle; When the vehicle height adjustment switch is turned off, a signal to that effect is sent to the on-board controller, and the vehicle height adjustment switch is turned off in the air suspension control device that automatically controls the vehicle to the reference vehicle height. Timekeeping starts from the hour, is reset when it is turned on, and the vehicle height adjustment switch off signal is valid until the timer setting time is counted It was decided to provide a timer, which is so as not to.
[0017]
(Summary of actions to be resolved)
After controlling one vehicle height adjustment switch with one vehicle height adjustment switch on the vehicle height manual adjustment device turned on, when trying to control the vehicle height at another location, it has been turned on until now. After the vehicle height adjustment switch was turned off, the vehicle height adjustment switch corresponding to the next location should be turned on before the set time of the timer elapses.
Since such an operation order is an order in which the control ends are turned off and then the next control is turned on, it follows the normal sense of order and the operator is less likely to make an erroneous operation.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an air suspension control device of the present invention. Reference numerals correspond to those in FIG. 2, and 12 is a timer. The configuration is different from the conventional apparatus of FIG. 2 in that a timer 12 is newly provided.
The timer 12 is a timer provided in the vehicle height manual adjustment device 11 and starts counting the timer set time T when the vehicle height adjustment switch is turned off. The off signal of the vehicle height adjustment switch is sent to the in-vehicle controller 4 after the timer set time T has elapsed. In other words, the valid off signal is only effective after the timer counts the set time T.
In addition, the external configuration of the vehicle height manual adjustment device 11 in the present invention is the same as the conventional one (see FIG. 4).
[0019]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a control operation by the air suspension control device of the present invention. Steps 1 to 3 are the same as steps 1 to 3 in FIG. FIG. 8 is a time chart of the control according to the present invention. As in FIG. 7, the control is first performed by the front axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 22, and then the rear axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 23 is controlled. For This will also be described with reference to this.
[0020]
Step 1: Specify the location where you want to control the vehicle height. This designation is performed by turning on the vehicle height adjustment switch corresponding to the location. For example, if it is desired to control the vehicle height on the front axle side, the front axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 22 is turned on (time t _{1 in} FIG. 8).
Step 2... Press the ascending switch 27 or the descending switch 28 and perform the ascending control or descending control to set the vehicle height at that point to a desired height.
Step 3... Check whether all the points where the vehicle height should be controlled are controlled. If there are more, go to step 4, otherwise go to step 9.
[0021]
Step 4 ... when still in others, the off operation of vehicle height adjustment switch which has been turned on (time t ₂ in FIG. 8). This point is different from the conventional one. Conventionally, the vehicle height adjustment switch that has been used must be turned off only after the vehicle height adjustment switch to be used next is turned on. (In the present invention, even if the vehicle height adjustment switch is turned off, the off signal is immediately validated so that it is not sent to the in-vehicle controller 4. Therefore, it is distinguished from the time when the off signal becomes valid. Therefore, the expression “off operation” is used.)
Step 5: If the vehicle height adjustment switch is turned off, the timer 12 measures the time. Until the timer counts the set time T, OFF is not enabled.
[0022]
Step 6... Check whether the timer has timed the set time T.
Step 7: It is checked whether any vehicle height adjustment switch is turned on before the timer set time T is measured. If it is not turned on, the process returns to step 5 to continue counting the timer. If there is still a place where the vehicle height is to be controlled, the worker should immediately turn on the vehicle height adjustment switch (for example, the rear axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 23) corresponding to the place.
Note that the length of the timer setting time T is longer than the time normally required from when an operator turns off a vehicle height adjustment switch to turning on the vehicle height adjustment switch corresponding to another part that has not yet been controlled. Set a little longer (for example, several seconds).
Step 8: If any of the vehicle height adjustment switch is turned on (time t ₃ in FIG. 8), resets the timer, to determine the off-engineered off vehicle height adjustment switch first.
Then, the process returns to step 2, and the ascending / descending control of the newly designated portion is performed.
[0023]
Step 9: If the vehicle heights of all the control points were controlled to the desired height in the inspection in Step 3, the work that was going to be performed after that vehicle height (eg, loading and unloading) (Time t _{5 in} FIG. 8). This operation is performed with the last used vehicle height adjustment switch turned on.
Step 10: The vehicle height manual adjustment device 11 is not operated until the required work is completed. In this case, it is first checked whether or not the vehicle height return switch 24 is turned on. If it is turned on, the routine proceeds to step 13, where automatic control to the reference vehicle height is immediately performed (by the in-vehicle controller 4). FIG. 8 shows a case where the vehicle height return switch 24 is not turned on.
[0024]
Step 11: If the vehicle height return switch 24 is not turned on, it is checked whether or not the vehicle height adjustment switch that has been turned on until now (for example, the rear axle side vehicle height adjustment switch 23) has been turned off. If not turned off, the process returns to step 10. If it is turned off (time t _{6 in} FIG. 8), the process returns to step 5 and the timer is timed. Thereafter, if another vehicle height adjustment switch is turned on within the timer set time T, the above-described process is followed by the route of step 6 → 7.
Step 12: When the timer set time T has elapsed without any vehicle height adjustment switch being turned on, the vehicle height adjustment switch that was last turned off is confirmed to be off (time t _{7 in} FIG. 8). Thereby, since all the vehicle height adjustment switches are turned off, a signal to that effect is sent to the in-vehicle controller 4.
Step 13: The in-vehicle controller 4 automatically controls the vehicle height to be the reference vehicle height.
[0025]
As described above, when the control of one control point is finished and the control of the next control point is started,
(1) Turn off the vehicle height adjustment switch corresponding to the location where the control is over,
{Circle around (2)} The vehicle height adjustment switch can be turned on in an extremely natural order of turning on the vehicle height adjustment switch corresponding to the location to be controlled next. For this reason, the portion that has been controlled to the desired vehicle height at the turning angle is less likely to be returned to the reference vehicle height by an erroneous operation, the control time can be shortened, and air is not wasted.
In the above-described embodiment, the timer is described as being provided in the vehicle height manual adjustment device 11, but may be provided in the in-vehicle controller 4.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the air suspension control device of the present invention has the following effects.
(1) Since the vehicle height adjustment switch of the vehicle height manual adjustment device can be turned on and off in the usual order sense, it is easy to use, and erroneous operations are reduced.
That is, the vehicle height of a certain part of the vehicle is controlled with one vehicle height adjustment switch of the vehicle height manual adjustment device turned on, and then when the vehicle height of another part is to be controlled, it remains on until now. If the vehicle height adjustment switch corresponding to the next location is turned on before the timer set time elapses after the vehicle height adjustment switch was turned off, the vehicle can be prevented from returning to the reference vehicle height. Became.
Since such an operation order is an order in which the control ends are turned off and then the next control is turned on, it follows the normal sense of order and the operator is less likely to make an erroneous operation.
[0027]
(2) The time required for vehicle height control by the vehicle height manual adjustment device is reduced, and the amount of air consumption is reduced.
As described above, since erroneous operations are reduced, it is less likely to return to the reference vehicle height during control. For this reason, it is less likely that the vehicle height must be controlled again, so that the control time is shortened and the air consumption is reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an air suspension control device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a conventional air suspension control device. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a control operation according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle height manual adjustment device. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating vehicle height control during loading and unloading work. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control operation performed by a conventional device. Time chart [FIG. 8] Time chart of control according to the present invention [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle, 2 ... Front wheel, 3 ... Rear wheel, 4 ... Car-mounted controller, 5 ... Luggage, 6 ... Platform, 7A, 7B ... Rear axle, 8A, 8B ... Air suspension part, 9 ... Differential gear, 10 ... Connection Cable: 11 ... Vehicle height manual adjustment device, 12 ... Timer, 20 ... Display window, 21 ... Display lamp, 22 ... Front axle side vehicle height adjustment switch, 23 ... Rear axle side vehicle height adjustment switch, 24 ... Vehicle height return switch , 25, 26 ... memory switch, 27 ... ascent switch, 28 ... descending switch, 29 ... emergency stop switch

Claims (1)

An in-vehicle controller that controls the supply and discharge of air to the air suspension;
It has at least a plurality of vehicle height adjustment switches for designating a location where it is desired to control the vehicle height, an ascending switch for instructing raising of the vehicle height at that location, and a descending switch for instructing descending, and can exchange signals with the in-vehicle controller A vehicle height manual adjustment device that is connected to control the vehicle height from the outside of the vehicle,
When all vehicle height adjustment switches are turned off, a signal to that effect is sent to the in-vehicle controller, and the air suspension control device is designed to automatically control to the reference vehicle height.
The timer that starts timing from when the vehicle height adjustment switch is turned off, resets when the vehicle height adjustment switch is turned on, and disables the vehicle height adjustment switch off signal until the timer setting time is counted. An air suspension control device provided.

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