JP4656439B2 - WINKER CONTROL DEVICE FOR VEHICLE - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a winker control device for a vehicle.

  A turn signal lamp, also called a turn signal lamp, blinks when turning right or left, and gives direction instructions to notify the surroundings in advance of the movement. The winker is also used when changing lanes. This winker switch is usually attached as a lever that protrudes horizontally to the front side of the steering handle. When the lever is pushed lightly up or down, it is half-pressed (hereinafter referred to as half-press). When blinking further, pressing the button further keeps the switch on even after you release the lever (hereinafter referred to as full depression), and the blinker continues to blink. That is, when the switch is half-pressed, the contact point of the switch comes into contact, and when fully pressed, the contact state is fixedly held. When you release your hand from the half-pressed state, the switch turns off and the blinker stops blinking. On the other hand, in the fully-pressed state, in order to turn the switch off, it is necessary to push the lever in the opposite direction or turn the steering handle back to the blinker blinking side after a predetermined angle. When turning left or right, just turn the steering handle as in the latter, the turn signal switch turns off from the fully depressed state, but when changing lanes, the steering wheel turning angle is small. Then, in order to turn the switch off, it is necessary to push the lever to the opposite side again as in the former. Another method is to hold the lever by hand to maintain the half-pressed state and change the lane. It is done to release your hands when you are done.

  However, when overtaking other vehicles, after blinking for a short time with the blinker switch fully pressed as described above, pressing the lever again to turn it off, or overtaking it while keeping it half pressed, Since the operation is to handle the steering handle with one hand, it is not preferable from the viewpoint of safety.

  Therefore, a winker control device for a vehicle that drives and stops the winker for a set time only by one-touch switch operation has been devised (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-291720 A

  In Patent Document 1, the blinker blinking time is changed in accordance with the vehicle speed. However, if the blinking time is short, it may be considered that the blinker is lit once, and the surrounding vehicle may not be visually recognized.

  The safety standards of the Road Transport Vehicle Law stipulate that the number of blinking of the direction indicator (blinker) is “blinking at a constant cycle between 60 and 120 times per minute”. Since the blinking cycle of the direction indicator varies depending on the vehicle, the method of changing the blinking time needs to define the relationship between the vehicle speed and the blinking time for each vehicle, and there is a problem that the versatility is lacking.

  Further, Patent Document 1 does not disclose blinking of the blinker when the visibility is lower than when it is sunny, such as when it is raining.

  Against the background of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a winker control device for a vehicle that has higher visibility from the surroundings even when a lane is changed in bad weather.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

A blinker control device for a vehicle for solving the above-described problem is a blinker blinking drive operating means for performing blinking drive operation of the blinker of the vehicle, and a blinker blinking drive means for performing blinking driving of the blinker of the vehicle based on the blinking drive operation. In the flashing drive operation, when a predetermined first operation is performed, a normal operation mode in which the blinker of the vehicle continuously flashes until a predetermined flashing stop operation is performed, or a predetermined second When the operation is performed, a blinker blinking drive control means for controlling blinking drive of the blinker of the vehicle according to any one of a temporary operation mode which automatically ends after a blinking operation in a predetermined pattern, and vehicle driving environment information It is acquired when the driving environment information acquisition means to be acquired and the blinker driving of the vehicle blinker is performed in the temporary operation mode. When the driving environment reflected in the driving environment information does not satisfy a predetermined switching condition, the blinker of the vehicle is flashed in a predetermined first flashing pattern, while the predetermined switching condition is satisfied. Is premised on that it includes a blinking emphasis switching means for switching to a predetermined second blinking pattern, which is different from the first blinking pattern, for emphasizing the visibility of the winker, and blinking the winker of the vehicle. .

  With the above configuration, when the lane is changed, for example, the blinking pattern is not changed only by the conventional uniform blinking pattern or the vehicle speed, but the blinking pattern can be switched under other conditions, and the surrounding visibility is also improved.

  Further, the blinking emphasis switching means in the vehicle blinker control device of the present invention can be configured such that the number of blinking of the vehicle blinker in the second blinking pattern is larger than that in the first blinking pattern.

  With the above configuration, surrounding visibility can be further increased. In addition, since the number of blinks is changed (increased) instead of the blinking time, even if the blinker blinking period is different depending on the vehicle, the blinker can be blinked the same number, and versatility is not impaired.

  The traveling environment information acquisition means in the vehicle winker control device of the present invention includes weather reflection information acquisition means for acquiring weather reflection information reflecting the weather condition around the vehicle, and the blinking emphasis switching means is acquired. When the weather reflection information reflects a predetermined weather condition, the blinker of the vehicle can be flashed in the second flashing pattern.

  With the above-described configuration, visibility from the surroundings can be further increased by increasing the blinker blink count in a weather state where visibility is reduced.

  Further, the weather reflection information acquisition means in the vehicle winker control device of the present invention includes a wiper operation state detection means for detecting the operation state of the wiper of the vehicle as weather reflection information, and the blinking emphasis switching means includes the wiper operating In this case, the vehicle blinker can be blinked in the second blinking pattern.

  It is considered that the visibility of the wiper is lowered due to rainfall, snowfall, and the like. Also, wipers are equipped on most vehicles. With the above configuration, the weather reflection information can be acquired without adding a new device, and the blinker can be blinked in a blink pattern corresponding to the weather reflection information.

  Further, the weather reflection information acquisition means in the winker control device for a vehicle according to the present invention includes a rain condition detection means for detecting a rain condition for the vehicle as the weather reflection information, and the blinking emphasis switching means is used when the rain condition is detected. The blinker of the vehicle can also be configured to blink in the second blinking pattern.

  An auto wiper that detects water droplets attached to a windshield with a rain sensor and automatically activates the wiper based on the detected state is becoming widespread. In other words, the rain (or snow) state can be detected by the rain sensor. With the above configuration, even in a rainy state where visibility is considered to be lowered, the blinker can be blinked in a blinking pattern corresponding to the rainy state.

The travel environment information acquisition means in the vehicle winker control device of the present invention includes vehicle speed detection means for detecting the vehicle speed of the vehicle as the travel environment information, and the blinking emphasis switching means includes a vehicle speed threshold at which the vehicle speed of the vehicle is determined in advance. It is also possible to configure the blinker of the vehicle to blink in the second blinking pattern when it falls below.

  With the above configuration, the blinker of the vehicle can be blinked with an optimum blinking pattern corresponding to the traveling environment by both the weather reflection information and the vehicle speed information, and visibility from the surroundings can be further enhanced.

  Hereinafter, a winker control device for a vehicle according to the present invention (hereinafter abbreviated as a winker control device) will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the blinker control device 1. The winker control device 1 includes a turn signal operation switch 13, a wiper switch 21, a wiper drive device 22, a rain sensor 23, a vehicle speed sensor 24, a turn signal state detection unit 26, a flasher control circuit 27, a turn signal (28, 29), and These connected control circuits 8 and the like are provided.

  The turn signal operation switch 13 that performs the blinking drive operation of the vehicle winker is configured as a lever switch, for example, and the winker lever 10, the right turn signal switch 11 for the right turn, the left turn signal switch 12 for the left turn, the right The switch includes a right lane change switch 14 for changing the lane to the lane and a left lane change switch 15 for changing the lane to the left lane.

  When the blinker lever 10 is lightly pushed up or down and the second operation of the present invention is performed, it is in a half-pressed state, and contacts the contact of the right lane change switch 14 or the left lane change switch 15. Further, when the blinker lever 10 is further pressed and the first operation of the present invention is performed, it is fully pressed, and contacts with the contact of the right turn signal switch 11 or the left turn signal switch 12, and the contact state is fixedly held. . The turn signal operation switch 13 corresponds to the blinker blinking drive operating means of the present invention.

  The right lane change switch 14 or the left lane change switch 15 may not be included in the turn signal operation switch 13.

  The state of the turn signal operation switch 13 is input to the flasher control circuit 27. Based on the state, the turn signal (R) 28 for right turn or the turn signal (L) 29 for left turn which is a winker of the present invention is driven to blink. Is controlled. The flasher control circuit 27 corresponds to the blinker blinking driving means of the present invention.

  When the winker lever 10 is in the half-pressed state, the auto lane change instruction state (described later) is entered, and the state of the lane change switches (14 and 15) is input to the control circuit 8, and flashing control is performed based on the state. A command is sent to the flasher control circuit 27, and the turn signal (R) 28 or the turn signal (L) 29 is automatically terminated after a blinking operation in a predetermined pattern (temporary operation mode of the present invention).

  When the winker lever 10 is fully pressed, the state of the turn signal switch (11 and 12) is input to the flasher control circuit 27, and the turn signal (R) 28 or the turn signal (L ) 29 is blinked continuously (normal operation mode of the present invention). Then, when the blinker lever 10 is pushed in the opposite direction or when the blinking stop operation is performed to return the steering handle to the blinker blinking side by a predetermined angle or more, the blinker is turned off. The flasher control circuit 27 corresponds to the blinker blinking driving means of the present invention.

  The wiper switch 21 is used to instruct a wiper drive, and is attached to the steering column as a lever switch, for example. The wiper switch 21 can select, for example, four operation modes of OFF, INT (intermittent operation), Lo (low speed operation), and Hi (high speed operation), and the wiper driving device 22 is wiped according to the operation mode. Operation control (not shown) is performed. The wiper switch 21 corresponds to the traveling environment information acquisition means, weather reflection information acquisition means, and wiper operation state detection means of the present invention.

  The rain sensor 23 is attached to, for example, the back side of the room mirror, and detects water droplets (raindrops) attached to the windshield. As shown in FIG. 12, the rain sensor 23 turns on a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode (LED) 23a at a constant cycle, and irradiates the windshield 30 with light A from the LED 23a. The light A from the LED 23a is reflected by the surface of the windshield 30 through the lens 23b and the prism 23c, and enters the light receiving element such as the photodiode 23e through the prism 23c and the lens 23d. Then, the output signal (pulse signal) of the photodiode 23e is taken into the control circuit 8 to detect raindrops and the amount of raindrops attached based on the amount of reflected light (number of pulses), and finally measure the rainfall level. ing. The rain sensor 23 corresponds to the traveling environment information acquisition unit, the weather reflection information acquisition unit, and the rainfall state detection unit of the present invention.

  The vehicle speed sensor 24 includes a rotation detection unit such as a known rotary encoder, and is installed, for example, in the vicinity of the wheel mounting unit to detect the rotation of the wheel and send it to the control circuit 8 as a pulse signal. The control circuit 8 converts the rotational speed of the wheel into the speed of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 24 corresponds to the traveling environment information acquisition means and vehicle speed detection means of the present invention.

  The control circuit 8 includes a well-known CPU 81, ROM 82, RAM 83, I / O 84, which is an input / output circuit, an A / D converter 86, a flash memory 90, and a bus line 85 for connecting these components. The CPU 81 performs control based on the control program 82p and data stored in the ROM 82. The control circuit 8 corresponds to the blinker blinking drive control means and the blinking emphasis switching means of the present invention.

  The A / D converter 86 includes a well-known A / D (analog / digital) converter circuit. For example, the CPU 81 can calculate analog data input to the control circuit 8 from each of the sensors (23, 24). It is to convert to data.

  The flash memory 90 is an electrically rewritable semiconductor storage medium in which information and data necessary for the operation of the wiper control device 1 are stored. The flash memory 90 is configured to retain the stored contents even when the blinker control device 1 is turned off.

  The auto lane change control process will be described with reference to FIG. This process is included in the control program 82p and is repeatedly executed together with other processes of the control program 82p. First, information on the turn signal operation switch 13 is acquired (S11). When the right lane change switch 14 or the left lane change switch 15 is in an on state (ie, half-pressed state) and is in an auto lane change instruction state (S12: Yes), weather information reflection processing (S13, described later) , Vehicle speed information reflection processing (S14, described later) and blinker blinking control processing (S15, described later) are sequentially executed.

  The weather information reflection process corresponding to step S13 in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the information of the wiper switch 21 which is the weather reflection information of the present invention is acquired (S31). When the wiper switch 21 is not in the OFF state and the wiper is operating, that is, when the switching condition of the present invention is satisfied (S32: Yes), the flashing correction frequency Kws corresponding to the wiper operating state is calculated (S33). When the wiper is not operating (S32: No), the blink correction count Kws is set to zero (S38).

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the relationship between the information of the wiper switch 21 and the number of blink correction times Kws. This is stored in advance in the ROM 82 or the flash memory 90. The blinking correction count Kws is determined according to the state of the wiper switch 21, and the blinking correction count Kws increases as the operation of the wiper increases. In the intermittent operation mode (INT), the blinking correction count Kws may be a fixed value. If the intermittent operation cycle can be made variable by switch operation, a value corresponding to the cycle is set. May be.

  Instead of acquiring the state of the wiper switch 21, information may be acquired from the wiper driving device 22. That is, since the wiper is driven by a motor, the rotational speed of the motor is detected. Then, the flashing correction count Kws is acquired from the relationship between the motor rotation speed and the flashing correction count Kws stored in advance in the ROM 82 or the flash memory 90. In this case, the number of blinking corrections Kws increases as the number of rotations of the motor increases. The voltage applied to the motor may be detected, and the blinking correction count Kws may be obtained from the voltage value.

  Returning to FIG. 3, subsequently, the weather reflection information of the present invention and the information of the rain sensor 23 that is in a rainy state are acquired (S 34). When the rain sensor 23 detects a water droplet, that is, when the switching condition of the present invention is satisfied (S35: Yes), the blink correction count Krs according to the rain sensor information is calculated (S36). When no water droplet is detected (S35: No), the blinking correction count Krs is set to zero (S39).

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the relationship between the amount of water droplets detected by the rain sensor 23 (indicated as the water droplet detection amount in FIG. 5) and the number of blink correction times Krs. Based on this relationship, a water droplet amount range corresponding to the blink correction count Krs is defined in advance in the ROM 82 or the flash memory 90. The amount of water droplets is, for example, a detection amount per unit time.

  Alternatively, the rain level (that is, the weather) may be measured from the amount of water droplets detected by the rain sensor 23, and the blink correction count Krs may be calculated according to the rain level. FIG. 6 shows an example of the relationship between the rainfall level and the number of blink correction times Krs. As the rainfall level increases, the number of flashing corrections Krs increases.

  Finally, the sum of the blink correction count Kws according to the wiper operation state and the blink correction count Krs according to the rain sensor information is calculated as the weather correction count Kw (S37).

  As the weather correction frequency Kw, only one of the flashing correction frequency Kws corresponding to the wiper operation state or the flashing correction frequency Krs corresponding to the rain sensor information may be used. When only the blink correction count Kws according to the operation state of the wiper is used, steps S34 to S36 and S39 in FIG. 3 are skipped. Similarly, when only the blink correction count Krs according to the rain sensor information is used, steps S31 to S33 and S38 are skipped.

  The vehicle speed information reflection process corresponding to step S14 in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. First, vehicle speed information that is travel environment information of the present invention is acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 24 (S91). Next, the speed correction number Kv corresponding to the vehicle speed information is calculated (S92).

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the relationship between the vehicle speed information and the speed correction count Kv. This is stored in advance in the ROM 82 or the flash memory 90. As the vehicle speed (V) becomes slower, the lane change time becomes longer, so the number of speed corrections Kv increases.

  The blinker blinking control process corresponding to step S15 in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the weather correction count Kw calculated in the above-described weather information reflection process is acquired (S111). Next, the speed correction number Kv calculated in the vehicle speed information reflection process described above is acquired (S112).

  Next, the sum of the weather correction count Kw and the speed correction count Kv is calculated as the blink correction count Kt (S113). Then, for example, a predetermined first blink pattern of the present invention, such as three times, which is obtained by adding the blink correction number Kt to the default blink number at the time of auto lane change and the blinker blink number K (first of the present invention). (Two blinking pattern) is calculated (S114).

  FIG. 10 shows an example of the relationship between the vehicle speed and the blinker blink count K. A weather correction count Kw determined according to the weather is added to the relationship between the vehicle speed information and the speed correction count Kv similar to FIG. Of course, as the vehicle speed (V) becomes slower, the lane change time becomes longer, so the blinker blink count K increases.

  Returning to FIG. 9, a command is sent from the control circuit 8 to the flasher control circuit 27 to start blinking of the turn signal, that is, the turn signal (R) 28 and the turn signal (L) 29 (S115). The flasher control circuit 27 causes the turn signal (R) 28 and the turn signal (L) 29 to blink at a predetermined blinking cycle.

  During blinking of the blinker, the control circuit 8 detects the blinking state of the turn signal (R) 28 and the turn signal (L) 29 by the turn signal state detection unit 26. As shown in FIG. 11, a pulse signal corresponding to the blinking cycle is output from the flasher control circuit 27 to the turn signal (R) 28 and the turn signal (L) 29. The turn signal (R) 28 and the turn signal (L) 29 are repeatedly turned on / off according to the state (ON / OFF) of the pulse signal.

  The turn signal state detection unit 26 detects the rising signal that changes from OFF to ON and the falling signal that changes from ON to OFF in the pulse signal of FIG. 11, and sends the information to the control circuit 8.

  Returning to FIG. 9, the control circuit 8 calculates the blinker blink count based on the acquired rising / falling signal of the pulse signal (S116). That is, as shown in FIG. 11, the number of blinks is counted as one when the falling signal is detected following the rising signal detected first after the blinking start command is sent. Thereafter, when the rising signal and falling signal pair is detected in the same manner, the number of flashes is incremented, and when the number of flashes coincides with the blinker flashing number K (S117: Yes), the control circuit 8 changes the flasher control circuit 27 to A command is sent to end blinking of the turn signal, that is, the turn signal (R) 28 and the turn signal (L) 29 (S118). Then, the flasher control circuit 27 turns off the output to the blinker.

  In addition to the method of increasing the blinker blink frequency, a method of changing the luminance when blinker blinks may be used. This is to make the brightness of the blinker brighter than usual during wiper operation or when a water droplet is detected. As the operation of the wiper increases, or as the amount of water droplet detection, that is, the amount of rainfall increases, the brightness increases (brightens). The brightness may be increased as the vehicle speed increases. Furthermore, a method of changing both the number of blinks and the brightness may be used.

  Moreover, it is good also as a structure which does not perform correction | amendment by vehicle speed. in this case. Step S14 in FIG. 2 (the process in FIG. 7) and step S112 in FIG. 9 are skipped.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to them, and the knowledge of those skilled in the art can be used without departing from the scope of the claims. Various modifications based on this are possible.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the blinker control apparatus of a vehicle. The flowchart explaining an auto lane change control process. The flowchart explaining a weather information reflection process. The figure which shows an example of the relationship between the information of a wiper switch, and blink correction frequency Kws. The figure which shows an example of the relationship between water droplet detection amount and the blink correction frequency | count Krs. The figure which shows an example of the relationship between a rainfall level and the frequency | count of blink correction Krs. The flowchart explaining a vehicle speed information reflection process. The figure which shows an example of the relationship between vehicle speed information and the frequency | count of speed correction Kv. The flowchart explaining a blinker blink control process. The figure which shows an example of the relationship between a vehicle speed and the blinker frequency | count K of blinkers. The figure which shows the blink state of a blinker. The figure which shows the structure of a rain sensor.

Explanation of symbols

1 blinker control device 8 control circuit (blinker blink drive control means, blink emphasis switching means)
10 Winker lever 11 Right turn signal switch 12 Left turn signal switch 13 Turn signal operation switch (winker blinking drive operation means)
14 Right lane change switch 15 Left lane change switch 21 Wiper switch (running environment information acquisition means, weather reflection information acquisition means, wiper operation state detection means)
22 wiper drive device 23 rain sensor (running environment information acquisition means, weather reflection information acquisition means, rainfall state detection means)
24 vehicle speed sensor (traveling environment information acquisition means, vehicle speed detection means)
26 Turn signal state detection unit 27 Flasher control circuit (blinker blinking drive means)
28 Turn signal (R) (winker)
29 Turn signal (L) (winker)

Claims (4)

Blinker blinking drive operation means for performing blinking drive operation of the blinker of the vehicle;
Blinker blinking drive means for performing blinking drive of the blinker of the vehicle based on the blinking drive operation;
In the flashing driving operation, when a predetermined first operation is performed, a normal operation mode in which the blinker of the vehicle continuously flashes until a predetermined flashing stop operation is performed, or a predetermined second A blinker blinking drive control means for controlling blinking drive of the blinker of the vehicle according to any one of the temporary operation modes that automatically end after the blinking operation in a predetermined pattern when the operation is performed;
Driving environment information acquisition means for acquiring the driving environment information of the vehicle;
When the driving environment reflected in the acquired driving environment information does not satisfy a predetermined switching condition when the blinker driving of the winker of the vehicle is performed in the temporary operation mode, a predetermined first When the blinker pattern blinks the blinker of the vehicle while the predetermined switching condition is satisfied, in order to emphasize the visibility of the blinker, the second blinker blink frequency is increased from the first blink pattern . Blinking emphasis switching means for switching to a blinking pattern and blinking the blinker of the vehicle;
Equipped with a,
The travel environment information acquisition means includes weather reflection information acquisition means for acquiring weather reflection information reflecting the weather conditions around the vehicle,
The blinking emphasis switching means blinks the blinker of the vehicle in the second blinking pattern when the acquired weather reflection information reflects a predetermined weather condition. Vehicle blinker control device. The weather reflection information acquisition unit includes a wiper operation state detection unit that detects an operation state of the wiper of the vehicle as the weather reflection information,
The blinker control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the blinking emphasis switching means blinks the blinker of the vehicle in the second blinking pattern when the wiper is operating . The weather reflection information acquisition means includes a rain state detection means for detecting a rain state for the vehicle as the weather reflection information,
The blinker control device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the blinking emphasis switching means blinks the blinker of the vehicle in the second blinking pattern when the rainy state is detected . The travel environment information acquisition means includes vehicle speed detection means for detecting the vehicle speed of the vehicle as the travel environment information,
The blinking emphasis switching means causes the blinker of the vehicle to blink in the second blinking pattern when the vehicle speed of the vehicle falls below a predetermined vehicle speed threshold value. The vehicle winker control device described.

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