JP5170116B2 - Wiper switch - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is a wiper switch that performs on / off and function selection of a wiper mounted on a vehicle, and realizes more convenient and easy operation in switching, selection, etc. of AUTO, HI, LO, INT, OFF, MIST. It is related with the wiper switch which can do.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicle is equipped with a wiper that wipes a windshield and a rear glass with a wiper blade in order to improve visibility of a driver to the outside of a passenger compartment against rainfall, dust, and the like. In general, such a wiper switch is often provided in the vicinity of a steering wheel that is easy for the driver to operate.

  Such a wiper switch generally has an automatic operation using a rain sensor, a high speed operation HI, a low speed by a tilting operation for selecting a tilting position in a circumferential direction of a steering wheel of a lever switch constituting the wiper switch. The operation is switched between LO and OFF. In addition, a temporary operation MIST can be selected by a pulling operation PULL that pulls the lever switch toward the driver.

  By the way, the sensitivity of the rain sensing by the rain sensor in the automatic operation AUTO described above does not necessarily coincide with the driver's sense of the rain amount, and the driver starts or ends the operation of the wiper by the automatic operation AUTO. Invite a sense of incongruity in timing.

  When the driver feels uncomfortable in such a situation, it is assumed that the driver desires to select INT that is intermittent operation. However, at present, INT is not included in the tilting position of the lever switch in the wiper switch of the type adopting AUTO. This is to prevent the number of tilting positions selected by the lever switch, that is, the number of positions, from increasing and the tilting operation from becoming complicated, but there is a problem that the degree of freedom of selection for the driver is limited. .

  Further, in a situation where the driver desires the MIST that is temporarily activated during the above-described period when the AUTO is selected, the MIST is not currently after performing a tilting operation in which the wiper switch is temporarily tilted from the AUTO to the tilting position. Then, the selection cannot be made by the pulling operation PULL, and there is a problem that the degree of freedom of selection for the driver is limited.

  As a technique for solving such a problem, as described in Patent Document 1, by turning on the washer liquid ejection washer switch provided at the end of the lever switch, the automatic operation AUTO to other than AUTO It is also conceivable to shift to the operation of.

JP-A-5-139252

  However, depending on this method, it is necessary to eject the washer liquid, which is an operation that is not originally necessary for the transition, and wastes energy necessary for driving the washer liquid and the ejection actuator. Further, as described above, adding INT to the circumferential arrangement of the tilt positions of the lever switch also increases the number of tilt positions and complicates the tilt operation, and is accompanied by the tilt operation for selecting each tilt position. The increase in the tilt angle of all lever switches also leads to a decrease in visibility with respect to the lever switches. That is, the conventional technique has a problem that the above-described problem cannot be solved appropriately.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a wiper switch that can appropriately increase the degree of freedom of selection for a driver.

In order to solve the above problem, the wiper switch according to the present invention is:
A momentary switch including a lever that returns to the neutral position except when it is tilted;
A push switch provided on the lever and capable of a push operation and a push continuation operation;
Switching means for switching on and off of automatic operation based on a rain sensor by the push operation;
The switching means switches to a mode in which intermittent operation can be turned on or off by the push continuation operation, and switches to a temporary operation based on the tilting operation of the lever to a predetermined position other than the neutral position. And

Here, in the wiper switch,
It is preferable that the tilting position of the lever that can be selected based on the tilting operation is assigned in two stages in the vertical direction with respect to the neutral position, and the predetermined position is the tilting position that is one step higher.

In addition, in the wiper switch,
It is preferable that the tilt position on the second stage is a position where the stop can be directly selected, and the tilt position on the second stage is a position where the high-speed operation can be directly selected.

Furthermore, in the wiper switch,
The dial switch includes a dial switch provided on the lever. The dial switch can adjust the sensitivity of the rain sensor when the automatic operation is on, and the intermittent operation when the intermittent operation is on. It is preferable that the interval can be adjusted.

In the wiper switch,
It is preferable that the lever includes lighting means that lights up when the automatic operation is on and the automatic operation is normally performed.

  According to the wiper switch of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately increase the degree of freedom of selection for the driver.

It is a mimetic diagram showing one embodiment of a wiper switch concerning the present invention. It is a mimetic diagram showing one embodiment of a wiper switch concerning the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the switching aspect in one Embodiment of the wiper switch which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the switching aspect in one Embodiment of the wiper switch which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the switching aspect in one Embodiment of the wiper switch which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the switching aspect in one Embodiment of the wiper switch which concerns on this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view mainly showing an operation part of the wiper switch 1 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a schematic view mainly showing an operation part of the wiper switch 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a switching mode corresponding to each operation of the wiper switch 1 of the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the wiper switch 1 of the present embodiment includes a momentary switch including a lever 2 that returns to a neutral position N except when it is tilted based on a biasing force by a spring (not shown), 2 is a diagram showing a push switch 3 provided at the end of 2 and capable of a push operation (push) and a push continuation operation (long push), and a switching means for switching on / off of an automatic operation AUTO based on a rain sensor (not shown) by the push operation. The microcomputer 4 shown in FIG.

  The wiper switch 1 includes a contact portion and a terminal portion as obvious configurations, but these are well-known matters, and thus detailed description and illustration are omitted. The momentary switch is a mechanical contact type in this embodiment, but may be an electromagnetic non-contact type.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the momentary switch is tilted by the driver toward the symbol ◯ corresponding to the neutral position N and the symbols △△, △, ▽, ▽ ▽ corresponding to the four tilting points in the upper and lower stages. In this case, each ON output is input to the microcomputer 4. In addition, an AUTO signal that is an ON output of the push switch 3 is also input to the microcomputer 4.

  The microcomputer 4 is composed of, for example, a CPU, ROM, RAM, EEPROM, a data bus for interconnecting them, and an input / output interface. In accordance with a program stored in the flash memory, the microcomputer 4 is a broken line in FIG. The operation mode of the wiper is switched based on each on output shown in the section, and a wiper motor (not shown) is controlled in the mode after the switching.

  The microcomputer 4 switches the operation mode of the wiper (not shown) to a mode in which the intermittent operation INT can be turned on or off by continuing the push operation, and the automatic operation AUTO is on or the intermittent operation INT is on. The operation is switched to the temporary operation MIST based on a tilting operation to a tilting position one level higher indicated by a symbol Δ having a vertex directed upward in FIG. 1 which is a predetermined position other than the neutral position.

  The microcomputer 4 is also configured to switch on / off of the intermittent operation INT by a push operation (push) of the push switch 3. When the automatic operation AUTO is turned off by pushing the push switch 3, or when the intermittent operation INT is turned off, the lever 2 is tilted to move the upper two steps, the upper one step, the lower A manual operation in which the first stage and the lower two stages are appropriately selected is executed.

  In the wiper switch 1 of this embodiment, the tilting position of the lever 2 that can be selected based on the tilting operation is assigned in two stages in the vertical direction with respect to the neutral position indicated by the symbol ○ in FIG. The tilt position is one level higher as indicated by the symbol.

  In addition, in the wiper switch 1 of the present embodiment, the two-stage tilting position indicated by the symbols ΔΔ arranged in the vertical direction in FIG. 1 is a position where the stop OFF can be directly selected, and in the vertical direction in FIG. It is assumed that the two-stage tilt position indicated by the symbols ▽▽ lined up is a position where the high-speed operation HI can be directly selected.

  1 is a position where an operation of selecting and sending high-speed operation HI → low-speed operation LO → stop OFF → temporary operation MIST in this order is performed. The tilt position one step below indicated by the middle symbol is a position at which an operation of selecting stop OFF → low speed operation LO → high speed operation HI in this order is executed.

  Further, the wiper switch 1 of the present embodiment includes a dial switch 5 provided so as to be rotatable in the circumferential direction of the lever 2, and the dial switch 5 is connected to the microcomputer 4 so that the automatic operation AUTO is on. In this case, the sensitivity S of a rain sensor (not shown) can be adjusted, and when the intermittent operation INT is on, the interval T of the intermittent operation can be adjusted.

  Further, in the wiper switch 1 of this embodiment, an indicator lamp 6 is provided on the right side of the dial switch 5 of the lever 2 as a lighting means that lights up when the automatic operation AUTO is on and the automatic operation is normally performed. Yes. The microcomputer 4 monitors the current of the motor for operating the wiper (not shown) by a current sensor (not shown) in FIG. 2, and when the motor current rises normally under the condition that the automatic operation AUTO is on, The indicator lamp 6 is turned on.

  In addition to the indicator lamp 6 being arranged on the right side of the dial switch 5, a wedge shape Δ, which is a symbol indicating the magnitude of the sensitivity S adjusted in the automatic operation AUTO, is arranged on the right side of the dial switch 5, and in the intermittent operation INT. A wedge shape Δ which is a symbol indicating the size of the interval T to be adjusted is arranged on the left side of the dial switch 5.

  Further, in the wiper switch 1 of the present embodiment, even when the microcomputer 4 itself fails, one-off stop operation by the upper two-stage tilt operation by the lever 2 and one lower-stage tilt operation by the lever 2 are performed. The high-speed operation HI operation includes an analog circuit 7 which is a Hi latch circuit in order to be executable. The Hi latch circuit is a well-known circuit that combines transistors and logic circuits, and has a set, reset, and self-holding function.

  Based on the logic described above, the microcomputer 4 switches the operation mode of the wiper (not shown) to intermittent operation INT, low speed operation LO, high speed operation HI, automatic operation AUTO, temporary operation MIST as appropriate, and the wiper in the mode after switching. The motor (not shown) is driven.

  Depending on whether the intermittent operation INT is turned on or the intermittent operation INT can be turned on / off by the push continuation operation (long press) of the push switch 3, there are two mode transition diagrams in this embodiment. . This will be described below using a mode transition diagram. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are schematic views showing the mode transition modes switched by the wiper switch 1 of the present embodiment.

  In the case of shifting to a mode in which the intermittent operation INT can be turned on / off by the push continuation operation, the mode transition diagram is in the form shown in FIG. That is, as shown in the middle part of FIG. 3, by the push continuation operation, the automatic operation AUTO on / off mode (AUTO ON / OFF mode in FIG. 3) and the intermittent operation INT on / off mode (INT ON / OFF in FIG. 3). Mode), that is, mode transition is performed.

  When a push operation (push) is performed in the automatic operation AUTO on / off mode, the automatic operation AUTO on mode (upper left in FIG. 3 AUTO ON mode) and the automatic operation AUTO off mode (upper right in FIG. 3 AUTO OFF mode) Are alternately switched.

  When a push operation (push) is performed in the ON / OFF mode of the intermittent operation INT, the ON mode of the intermittent operation INT (lower left INT ON mode in FIG. 3) and the automatic operation AUTO OFF mode (lower left INT OFF mode in FIG. 3) Are alternately switched.

  In the AUTO ON mode at the upper left in FIG. 3, the temporary operation MIST can be selected by tilting the lever 2 to the tilt position one step above, and the sensitivity S of the rain sensor can be adjusted by rotating the dial switch 5. It is.

  Even in the INT ON mode at the lower left in FIG. 3, the temporary operation MIST can be selected by the tilting operation to the tilting position one step above the lever 2, and the interval T can be adjusted by the rotating operation of the dial switch 5.

  In both the upper right AUTO OFF mode in FIG. 3 and the lower right INT OFF mode in FIG. 3, when the lever 2 is in the upper tilt position, the operation of switching the feed of HI → LO → OFF → MIST is performed. If it is two steps up, one-off is performed. If it is one step down, a feed switching operation of OFF → LO → HI is performed. Done.

  When the intermittent operation INT is turned on by the push continuation operation, the mode transition diagram has the form shown in FIG. That is, as shown on the left side in FIG. 4, by the push continuation operation, there are two modes: an automatic operation AUTO on mode (AUTO ON mode in FIG. 4) and an intermittent operation INT on mode (INT ON mode in FIG. 4). Switching between modes, that is, mode transition is performed.

  When a push operation (push) is performed in the automatic operation AUTO on mode (AUTO ON mode in FIG. 4), it is switched to the off mode (AUTO / INT OFF mode in FIG. 4), and the push operation is performed in the off mode. Is performed, the automatic operation AUTO is switched to the on mode.

  In the intermittent operation INT ON mode (INT ON mode in FIG. 4), if a push operation (push) is performed, the mode is switched to the OFF mode (AUTO / INT OFF mode in FIG. 4), and the push operation is performed in the OFF mode. Is performed, the intermittent operation INT is switched to the on mode.

  In the AUTO ON mode at the upper left in FIG. 4, the temporary operation MIST can be selected by tilting the lever 2 to the tilt position one step above, and the sensitivity S of the rain sensor can be adjusted by rotating the dial switch 5. It is.

  Even in the INT ON mode at the lower left in FIG. 4, the temporary operation MIST can be selected by the tilting operation to the tilting position one step above the lever 2, and the interval T can be adjusted by the rotating operation of the dial switch 5.

  In the AUTO / INT OFF mode on the right in FIG. 4, when the lever 2 is moved to the upper tilt position, the operation of switching the feed of HI → LO → OFF → MIST is performed, When one-off is performed and the operation is switched down by one step, an operation of switching the feed from OFF → LO → HI is performed, and when the operation is performed by two steps, one-shot HI is performed.

  According to the wiper switch 1 of the present embodiment as described above, the following operational effects can be obtained. That is, the microcomputer 4 switches the operation mode of the wiper to the mode in which the intermittent operation INT can be turned on or off by continuing the push switch 3 push operation, and the tilt operation to the tilt position one step higher than the neutral position N of the lever 2. Since switching to the temporary operation MIST is performed based on this, the degree of freedom of selection by the driver can be increased.

  In other words, even after the driver selects the automatic operation AUTO by pushing the push switch 3, the push switch 3 is pushed when the wiper operation by the automatic operation AUTO by the rain sensor deviates from the driver's sense. By continuous operation, it can be switched to one-touch, one-action and intermittent operation INT instantly.

  Even when the automatic operation AUTO is selected, if the driver wants to perform the temporary operation MIST, the lever 2 is tilted upward by one step, which is also one-touch, one-action and immediately into the temporary operation MIST. Can be switched.

  Similarly, even after the driver selects the intermittent operation INT once by the push continuation operation of the push switch 3 from the automatic operation AUTO, the one-touch, one-action and instantaneous operation MIST immediately by the tilting operation of the lever 2 one step upward. Can be switched to.

  Furthermore, compared to simply placing OFF, AUTO, INT, LO, and HI in parallel on the tilting position of the lever 2, the number of tilting positions, that is, the number of positions, is reduced, and the tilting operation is simplified. can do. Further, since the tilt angle of the lever 2 is not increased, it is possible to prevent the visibility of the lever 2 from being lowered.

  Further, in the wiper switch 1 of this embodiment, the selectable tilting position of the lever 2 based on the tilting operation of the lever 2 is assigned in two stages in the vertical direction with respect to the neutral position N, and the temporary operation MIST can be selected. Since the predetermined position to be used is a tilt position that is one step higher, the operability of the driver can be further improved.

  In addition, in the wiper switch 1 of the first embodiment, the tilt position two steps above is a position where the stop OFF can be directly selected, and the tilt position two steps below is a position where the high speed operation HI can be directly selected. As a result, it is possible to improve the operability by making the tilt operation easier to understand for the driver.

  Further, the wiper switch 1 of the present embodiment includes a dial switch 5 provided on the lever 2, and the dial switch 5 can adjust the sensitivity S of the rain sensor when the automatic operation AUTO is on. When the intermittent operation INT is on, the interval T of the intermittent operation can be adjusted, so that the driver's operability can be improved.

  Further, in the wiper switch 1 of the present embodiment, the lever 2 includes an indicator lamp 6 as a lighting means that is turned on when the automatic operation AUTO is on and the automatic operation AUTO is normally performed. It is possible to make the driver always know whether or not AUTO is being executed normally.

  In addition, when the automatic operation AUTO is selected, the indicator lamp 6 located on the right side of the dial switch 5 is lit, and the driver's line of sight is guided to the wedge shape Δ printed on the right side of the dial switch 5. It can be made aware that the sensitivity S of the rain sensor can be adjusted.

  Similarly, when intermittent operation INT is selected, the driver's line of sight is guided to the wedge shape Δ printed on the left side opposite to the indicator lamp 6 to make it aware that the interval T can be adjusted. be able to.

  Accordingly, the adjustment of the sensitivity S of the rain sensor in the wiper switch 1 of the present embodiment and the adjustment of the interval T in the intermittent operation INT can be made easier to understand for the driver.

  Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions are made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. be able to.

  For example, either mode of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 may be selected as the mode transition mode, and the mode transition mode may be as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 5 and 6 are schematic views showing other modes of mode transition switched by the wiper switch 1 of this embodiment.

  In the mode transition diagram shown in FIG. 4, the trigger for switching from the AUTO ON mode to the AUTO / INT OFF mode and the transition trigger are shown in FIG. Tilt operations to tilt positions other than the above can also be added.

  Similarly, in the mode transition diagram shown in FIG. 4, the trigger for transition from the INT ON mode to the AUTO / INT OFF mode is shown in FIG. 5, in addition to the push operation of the push switch 3, It is also possible to add a tilting operation to a tilting position other than one step above.

  In other words, if there is a tilting operation to a tilting position other than one step above the lever 2, the lever 2 is used as a trigger for the transition based on the assumption that the driver wants a manual operation. A tilting operation to a tilting position other than one step above is added. Thereby, the wiper switch 1 can be made easier to use that reflects the driver's intention.

  Further, in FIG. 5, after the transition from the AUTO ON mode to the AUTO / INT OFF mode by the push operation, only the AUTO ON mode is shifted by the push operation again, and the transition to the INT ON mode is not performed. From the AUTO / INT OFF mode to the INT ON mode, it is possible to require a continuous push operation, that is, a double click.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, in the AUTO / INT OFF mode, that is, manual operation, the two-stage assignment of the momentary lever switch including the lever 2 is omitted, and the one-step continuous (double-click) operation is turned off. It is also possible to make a single shot HI by one step down (double click).

  Further, in the above-described embodiments, the washer liquid injection is not mentioned, but for example, the washer liquid injection may be performed by an operation of pulling the lever 2 forward.

  The present invention relates to a wiper switch, and provides a wiper switch that can appropriately increase the degree of freedom of selection for a driver and that can simplify the operation and simplify the structure. Therefore, it is useful when applied to various vehicles such as passenger cars, trucks and buses.

1 Wiper switch 2 Lever 3 Push switch 4 Microcomputer (switching means)
5 Dial switch 6 Indicator lamp 7 Analog circuit (Hi latch circuit)

Claims (5)

  Momentary switch including a lever that returns to a neutral position except when tilting operation, a push switch that is provided on the lever and can be pushed and continued, and automatically operated based on a rain sensor by the push operation Switching means for switching on / off of the lever, the switching means switching to a mode in which intermittent operation can be turned on or off by the push continuation operation, and based on the tilting operation of the lever to a predetermined position other than the neutral position. Wiper switch characterized by switching to temporary operation.   2. The tilting position of the lever that can be selected based on the tilting operation is assigned in two stages in the vertical direction with respect to the neutral position, and the predetermined position is the tilting position one level higher. Wiper switch described in 1.   The wiper switch according to claim 2, wherein the tilting position on the second stage is a position where the stop can be directly selected, and the tilting position on the second stage is a position where the high-speed operation can be directly selected.   The dial switch includes a dial switch provided on the lever. The dial switch can adjust the sensitivity of the rain sensor when the automatic operation is on, and the intermittent operation when the intermittent operation is on. The wiper switch according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the interval of the wiper is adjustable.   The wiper switch according to claim 4, wherein the lever includes lighting means that lights up when the automatic operation is on and the automatic operation is normally performed.

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