JP6759913B2 - Accelerator device for electric vehicles - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an accelerator device for an electric vehicle for traveling an electric vehicle such as a steering wheel type electric wheelchair.

In an electric vehicle such as a steering wheel type electric wheelchair, the vehicle is driven by pushing down the accelerator lever in order to simplify the accelerator operation of the driver. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an electric vehicle that runs a vehicle by rotating an accelerator lever provided in parallel with the grip shaft of the handlebar in the circumferential direction of the grip shaft.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-150644

However, in a structure in which the vehicle is driven by pushing down the accelerator lever in the circumferential direction of the grip shaft of the handlebar, the driver can simplify the accelerator operation, but the driver mistakes for the handlebar and hands on the accelerator lever. There is room for further improvement in the situation where the vehicle runs against the driver's will if it is placed or if a caregiver accidentally touches the accelerator lever.

An object of the present invention is to provide an accelerator device for an electric vehicle, which has been made in consideration of the above circumstances and can surely prevent the vehicle from traveling contrary to the intention of the driver.

An accelerator device for an electric vehicle according to the present invention, the accelerator device for an electric vehicle to run the electric vehicle, an operating handle for the driver to grip, an accelerator lever to allow the running of the electric vehicle by depressing operation, the A steering mechanism unit that is provided with a movable plate that is movable in the front-rear direction of the vehicle with respect to a base plate to which an operation handle is attached and that supports the accelerator lever, and that steers the electric vehicle, and the movable plate is the base plate. A grip detection unit that detects a gripping operation of the accelerator lever toward the operation handle side when the accelerator lever is moved rearward in the front-rear direction of the vehicle by a predetermined amount, and a gripping operation of the accelerator lever by the grip detection unit. Is detected and the accelerator lever is pushed down, the traveling control unit that causes the electric vehicle to travel based on the operation amount of the accelerator lever is provided, and the grip detection unit is the gripping detection unit. It is characterized in that a predetermined amount of values relating to the movement of the movable plate for detecting the gripping operation of the accelerator lever is adjustable .

According to the present invention, since the electric vehicle travels by the two-step operation of the accelerator lever gripping operation and the accelerator lever pressing operation, the electric vehicle does not travel only by the accelerator lever pressing operation. .. Therefore, when the accelerator lever is erroneously pushed down, which is contrary to the driver's intention, the running of the electric vehicle can be reliably prevented.

The left side view which shows the electric vehicle to which one Embodiment of the accelerator device of the electric vehicle which concerns on this invention is applied. The front view which shows the handle unit of FIG. The front view which shows the steering mechanism part in the steering wheel unit of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a grip detection sensor, an accelerator opening sensor, an accelerator lever, and the like in FIG. The front view which shows the basic position of the movable plate and the accelerator lever of FIG. The block diagram which shows the accelerator device of the electric vehicle of FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a gripping movement position of the movable plate and the accelerator lever of FIG. It is a VIII arrow view of FIG. 3, and is the figure which shows the push-down operation of an accelerator lever. The flowchart which shows the procedure of the traveling control executed by the traveling control unit of FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a left side view showing an electric vehicle to which one embodiment of the accelerator device for the electric vehicle according to the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, in an electric vehicle 10 such as a steering wheel type electric wheelchair, a pair of left and right front wheels 12 and rear wheels 13 are supported by a body frame 11 via a suspension (not shown). The vehicle body frame 11, except for a part thereof, is covered with a resin vehicle body cover including a front cover 14, a leg shield 15, a floor panel 16, a rear cover 17, and the like.

The substantially box-shaped rear cover 17 at the rear of the vehicle body is projected upward, and inside the rear cover 17, an electric motor 18 for driving the rear wheels 13 and the output of the electric motor 18 are transmitted to the axle 19. A gear unit, a battery (both not shown), etc. are housed. The electric motor 18 applies a driving force to the rear wheels 13 as driving wheels to drive the electric vehicle 10, and is controlled by the traveling control unit 20.

Above the rear cover 17, a seat 22 on which the driver sits is mounted via a bracket (not shown) that rises from the vehicle body frame 11. The seat 22 includes a seat cushion 23 and a seat back (backrest) 24. Further, armrests 26 are provided on both sides of the seat back 24, and each armrest 26 is rotatably supported around the fulcrum 27.

The leg shield 15 is arranged in the vertical direction at the front of the vehicle body to protect the legs of the driver seated on the seat 22 from being exposed to wind or the like. A steering shaft 29 for steering the front wheels 12 is erected inside the leg shield 15, and a steering wheel unit 30 is attached to the upper end of the steering shaft 29. The driver steers the front wheels 12 by sitting on the seat 22 and rotating the steering wheel unit 30 left and right.

As shown in FIG. 2, the steering wheel unit 30 has semicircular operating handles 32 attached to the left and right sides of the switch box 31, and an accelerator lever 33 is provided so as to project the steering mechanism portion 28 into the switch box 31. (Fig. 3) is housed and configured. The switch box 31 is equipped with switches such as a power switch 34, a maximum speed setting switch 35, a forward / backward changeover switch 36, left and right winker switches 37, an alarm sound switch 38, and a display 39.

The steering mechanism 28 steers the electric vehicle 10, and as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 8, the operation handle 32, the accelerator lever 33, the base plate 41, the movable plate 42, the support pin 43, and the grip detection It is configured to have a grip detection sensor 44 and an accelerator opening sensor 45 as a unit.

The base plate 41 is rotationally and integrally connected to the upper end of the steering shaft 29, and semicircular operation handles 32 are attached to both the left and right sides. The driver grips the grip portion 46 at the tip of the operation handle 32. A support pin 43 is projected from one of the base plate 41 and the movable plate 42 (the movable plate 42 in the present embodiment), and a support hole (not shown) is formed in the other (the base plate 41 in the present embodiment). The support pin 43 is provided at the center position of the movable plate 42 in the vehicle width direction. The support hole is formed at the center position of the base plate 41 in the vehicle width direction and has an elongated hole shape extending in the vehicle front-rear direction.

By inserting the support pin 43 of the movable plate 42 into the support hole of the base plate 41, the movable plate 42 is arranged so as to be linearly movable in the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the base plate 41. The movable plate 42 is normally located at the basic position shown in FIG. 5 (a position where the accelerator lever 33 is not gripped (described later)) due to the action of a spring (not shown) arranged between the movable plate 42 and the base plate 41. ) Is held.

The accelerator lever 33 bends in a crank shape on both sides from the rotating shaft portion 48 at the central portion in the axial direction and extends in the vehicle width direction, and operating portions 49 are provided at both tip portions. The rotating shaft portion 48 of the accelerator lever 33 is rotatably supported by the movable plate 42 using the bearing bracket 50 in a state of being substantially positioned on an extension line of the axis of the grip portion 46 of the operating handle 32. Further, the operation portion 49 of the accelerator lever 33 is positioned in the vicinity of the grip portion 46 of the operation handle 32 in a state substantially parallel to the grip portion 46.

Therefore, the operating portion 49 of the accelerator lever 33 rotates in the circumferential direction (Q direction and R direction in FIG. 8) of the grip portion 46 within a range equidistant with respect to the axis of the grip portion 46 of the operating handle 32. The Q direction is the direction when the driver of the electric vehicle 10 puts his / her palm on the grip portion 46 of the operation handle 32 and pushes down the operation portion 49 of the accelerator lever 33 with his / her finger. Further, the R direction is a direction when a restoring force by a return spring (not shown) for returning the accelerator lever 33 to the initial position (solid line position in FIG. 8) acts. The electric vehicle 10 can be traveled by pushing down the operation unit 49 of the accelerator lever 33 described above.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 7, the grip detection sensor 44 detects a grip operation of the accelerator lever 33 toward the grip portion 46 side (P direction in FIG. 7) of the operation handle 32. , A magnet 51 or an electromagnet (magnet 51 in this embodiment) and a hall sensor unit 52. The magnet 51 is installed on the movable plate 42. Further, the hall sensor portion 52 is installed at the tip of the sensor bracket 53 erected on the base plate 41 so as to cover the front end portion of the upper surface of the magnet 51. In this grip detection sensor 44, when the accelerator lever 33 is gripped toward the grip portion 46 side of the operation handle 32 and the movable plate 42 moves with respect to the base plate 41, the hall sensor portion 52 is formed by the magnet 51. It is a non-contact magnetic field detection sensor that detects changes in the magnetic flux density of the magnetic field.

That is, from the basic positions of the movable plate 42 and the accelerator lever 33 shown in FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. 7, the driver of the electric vehicle 10 operates the operation handles 32 on both the left and right operating portions 49 of the accelerator lever 33 with both hands or one hand. When the grip portion 46 side (P direction in FIG. 7) is gripped, the movable plate 42 moves rearward in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the positions of the hall sensor portion 52 of the grip detection sensor 44 and the magnet 51 change. .. The hall sensor unit 52 of the grip detection sensor 44 detects the change in the magnetic flux density of the magnetic field formed by the magnet 51 at this time.

Then, the hall sensor portion 52 of the grip detection sensor 44 outputs an ON signal based on the change in the magnetic flux density when the movable plate 42 and the accelerator lever 33 move a predetermined amount backward in the front-rear direction of the vehicle with respect to the base plate 41. Then, it is detected that the accelerator lever 33 has been gripped. Further, the hall sensor portion 52 of the grip detection sensor 44 outputs an OFF signal when the amount of movement of the movable plate 42 and the accelerator lever 33 backward in the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the base plate 41 is less than the above-mentioned predetermined amount. It is detected that the accelerator lever 33 has not yet been gripped. The detection signals (ON signal, OFF signal) from the hall sensor unit 52 of the grip detection sensor 44 described above are transmitted to the travel control unit 20.

Here, the grip detection sensor 44 is configured to be adjustable by changing the value of the predetermined amount regarding the movement of the movable plate 42 that detects the presence or absence of the grip operation of the accelerator lever 33. That is, the amount of gripping operation of the accelerator lever 33 differs depending on the driver of the electric vehicle 10. For example, for a driver whose gripping operation amount of the accelerator lever 33 is small, the value of the predetermined amount regarding the movement of the movable plate 42 for detecting the presence / absence of the gripping operation of the accelerator lever 33 may be slightly changed and adjusted. Therefore, even in such a driver, the gripping operation of the accelerator lever 33 can be reliably detected by the gripping detection sensor 44.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 8, the accelerator opening sensor 45 includes a hall sensor portion 55 rotationally and integrally installed on the rotation shaft portion 48 of the accelerator lever 33, and a magnet 51 of the grip detection sensor 44. It is a non-contact type magnetic field detection sensor that has the same magnet 51 and the Hall sensor unit 55 detects a change in the magnetic field density of the magnetic field formed by the magnet 51. That is, in the Hall sensor unit 55, the position of receiving the magnetic field formed by the magnet 51 changes as the operation unit 49 of the accelerator lever 33 is pushed down and the rotation shaft unit 48 rotates, so that the magnetic field to be detected changes. From the change in the magnetic flux density, the amount of rotation of the rotating shaft portion 48 of the accelerator lever 33 due to the amount of pressing operation of the operating portion 49 of the accelerator lever 33 is detected as the accelerator opening degree, and the accelerator opening degree signal is output. This accelerator opening signal is transmitted to the traveling control unit 20.

An electric vehicle accelerator device 56 having a steering mechanism unit 28 having the above-mentioned operation handle 32 and an accelerator lever 33, a grip detection sensor 44, an accelerator opening sensor 45, and a travel control unit 20 to drive the electric vehicle 10. Is configured as shown in FIG.

Of these, the travel control unit 20 detects the gripping operation of the accelerator lever 33 by outputting the ON signal from the gripping detection sensor 44, and outputs the accelerator opening signal from the accelerator opening sensor 45 to accelerate the accelerator. When the pressing operation of the operating unit 49 of the lever 33 and the operating amount thereof are detected, the electric motor 18 applies power according to the pressing operation amount of the operating unit 49 of the accelerator lever 33 (that is, the output value of the accelerator opening signal). The electric motor 18 is rotationally driven to control the running of the electric vehicle 10, particularly the running speed.

The traveling control of the electric vehicle 10 by the traveling control unit 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, the travel control unit 20 outputs an ON signal from the grip detection sensor 44, and determines whether or not the accelerator lever 33 has been gripped toward the grip portion 46 of the operation handle 32 (S1). In the case of Yes, when the accelerator lever 33 is gripped and operated in step S1, the travel control unit 20 then outputs an accelerator opening signal from the accelerator opening sensor 45, and the operation unit 49 of the accelerator lever 33 operates. It is determined whether or not the push-down operation has been performed (S2).

In the case of Yes, when the operation unit 49 of the accelerator lever 33 is pushed down in step S2, the travel control unit 20 outputs a value of the accelerator opening signal output from the accelerator opening sensor 45 (that is, the accelerator lever 33. The power supply to the electric motor 18 is controlled according to the pressing operation amount of the operation unit 49), and the running of the electric vehicle 10 is controlled (S3). If No in steps S1 and S2, that is, if the detection signal from the grip detection sensor 44 is an OFF signal, or if the accelerator opening signal is not output from the accelerator opening sensor 45, the travel control unit 20 Maintains the electric vehicle 10 in a stopped state (S4).

Since it is configured as described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects (1) to (5) are obtained.
(1) The travel control unit 20 accelerates when the gripping detection sensor 44 detects the gripping operation of the accelerator lever 33 and the accelerator opening sensor 45 detects the pushing down operation of the operating unit 49 of the accelerator lever 33. The electric vehicle 10 is configured to be travel-controlled according to the amount of pushing down operation of the operating portion 49 of the lever 33. In this way, since the electric vehicle 10 travels by the two-step operation of the gripping operation of the accelerator lever 33 and the pressing operation of the operating portion 49 of the accelerator lever 33, only the operating portion 49 of the accelerator lever 33 is pushed down. The electric vehicle 10 does not run just by being used. Therefore, when the operation unit 49 of the accelerator lever 33 is erroneously pushed down, which is contrary to the driver's intention of starting the running of the electric vehicle 10, the running of the electric vehicle 10 can be reliably prevented.

(2) In order to drive the electric vehicle 10, it is necessary to grasp the accelerator lever 33 and push down the operation unit 49 of the accelerator lever 33, and it is sufficient to operate only the accelerator lever 33 described above. Therefore, since the driver is not required to perform complicated operations by the plurality of parts for the running of the electric vehicle 10, the operability for running the electric vehicle 10 can be improved.

(3) Since the accelerator lever 33 is the only component operated to drive the electric vehicle 10, the number of components can be reduced. Therefore, the assembling man-hours and the assembling quality of the small electric vehicle 10 can be ensured satisfactorily.

(4) The grip detection sensor 44 detects the gripping operation of the accelerator lever 33 pivotally supported by the movable plate 42 when the movable plate 42 moves rearward in the vehicle front-rear direction by a predetermined amount with respect to the base plate 41. Therefore, the driver's gripping operation of the accelerator lever 33 can be detected with high accuracy.

(5) The grip detection sensor 44 detects the grip operation of the accelerator lever 33 when the movable plate 42 moves a predetermined amount backward in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the value of the predetermined amount at this time can be adjusted. It is configured. Therefore, by adjusting the value of the predetermined amount according to the magnitude of the gripping operation amount of the accelerator lever 33 by the driver, for example, a driver having a small gripping operation amount of the accelerator lever 33 grips the accelerator lever 33. Even when the gripping operation is performed, the gripping detection sensor 44 can reliably detect the gripping operation.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention, and the replacements and changes thereof can be made. , It is included in the scope and gist of the invention, and is also included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

For example, instead of the grip detection sensor 44, a switch that operates when the movable plate 42 moves a predetermined amount backward in the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the base plate 41 is provided, and the travel control unit 20 operates this switch ON. In this state, when the pressing operation of the operation unit 49 of the accelerator lever 33 is detected by the accelerator opening sensor 45, the electric vehicle 10 may be driven based on the pressing operation amount.

Further, instead of the grip detection sensor 44, a sensor for detecting that the movable plate 42 moves forward in the vehicle front-rear direction or the accelerator lever 33 moves upward with respect to the base plate 41 is prepared, and the sensor is used. After the above-mentioned movement is detected, the travel control unit 20 causes the electric vehicle 10 to travel based on the pressing operation amount of the operation unit 49 of the accelerator lever 33 detected by the accelerator opening sensor 45. May be good.

10 ... Electric vehicle, 20 ... Travel control unit, 28 ... Steering mechanism unit, 32 ... Operation handle, 33 ... Accelerator lever, 41 ... Base plate, 42 ... Movable plate, 44 ... Grip detection sensor (Grip detection unit), 45 ... Accelerator opening sensor, 46 ... Grip part, 49 ... Operation part.

Claims (1)

In the accelerator device of an electric vehicle that runs an electric vehicle
An operating handle for the driver to grasp, pressing the accelerator lever to allow the running of the electric vehicle by the operation, the operating handle is a vehicle arranged to be movable in the longitudinal direction relative to the base plate mounted and the accelerator lever A steering mechanism unit that includes a movable plate that supports the electric vehicle and steers the electric vehicle.
A grip detection unit that detects a gripping operation of the accelerator lever toward the operation handle when the movable plate moves a predetermined amount backward in the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the base plate .
When the gripping operation of the accelerator lever is detected by the gripping detection unit and the accelerator lever is pushed down, the traveling control unit that runs the electric vehicle based on the operation amount of the accelerator lever is provided. Is composed of
The gripping detection unit is an accelerator device for an electric vehicle, characterized in that a predetermined amount of values relating to movement of the movable plate for detecting a gripping operation of the accelerator lever is adjustable .

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