JPH037677A - Steering device of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To have a steering performance in backward motion in the same feeling as in forward motion by allowing an image displaying means on the surface ahead the driver seat to display an image photographed by a photographing means installed in the rear part of the car, and steering the rear wheels at the time of backward motion while watching this image on the display. CONSTITUTION:When a car 1 is in forward motion, a control device 24 steers the front wheels 8, 9 with the aid of a front wheel steering device 25 on the basis of the amount of turning the steering wheel 3. At this time, the rear wheels 10, 11 are fixed in the initial position. Subsequent turning-on of a backward motion command switch 23 will fix the front wheels 8, 9 in the initial position, and the rear wheels 10, 11 are steered by a rear wheel steering device 26 on the basis of the amount of turning the steering wheel 3. The driver uses an image display means 7 and allows a half mirror 5 to reflect the image in the rear field of view photographed by a photographing means 4 such as video camera installed in the rear part of the car, and the steering shall be made while he watches it. Thus the backward motion can be maneuvered in the same feeling as in forward motion.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] This invention provides a steering device for a vehicle in which a steering wheel operated from the driver's seat can steer the front wheels when moving forward and the rear wheels when moving backwards. It is related to.

[Conventional technology]

Traditionally, vehicles have been equipped with steering handles at the front and rear, allowing the front driver's seat to drive the vehicle when moving forward, and the rear driver's seat to drive the vehicle when reversing.
It is disclosed in Publication No. 096. In addition, a device equipped with a camera device for monitoring the rear of the vehicle or the surrounding area of the vehicle is disclosed in, for example, Utility Model Publication No. 50-34444 or Japanese Patent Publication No. 62.
-16073, etc. The purpose of both of the devices described in these publications is to ensure the driver's field of vision when moving forward or backward, and to safely steer the vehicle.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In this way, conventional steering devices are configured to use the steering wheel to steer the front wheels of the vehicle, so even if the driver's field of vision is sufficient when the vehicle is moving backwards, the steering wheel operation when moving forward is difficult. Different operations are required. In other words, when reversing, the vehicle moves in the opposite direction to the direction in which the steering wheel is turned, which can be confusing, especially for beginners. By the way, in vehicles equipped with steering handles at the front and rear of the vehicle as in the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 49-22096, the steering device is complicated, and the driver has to move to the rear driver's seat when reversing. .

This invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a steering device in the driver's seat at the front of the vehicle that allows the vehicle to be steered with the same feeling when moving backwards as when moving forwards. purpose.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A steering device for a vehicle according to the present invention includes a driver's seat provided at the front of the vehicle, an imaging means provided at the rear of the vehicle for imaging the rear of the vehicle, and An image display means for displaying a captured image on the front of the driver's seat, a steering wheel sensor for detecting the amount of operation of a steering wheel operated by the driver, and steering the front wheels of the vehicle in response to the output signal of the steering wheel sensor. a front wheel steering device, a means for instructing a vehicle to move backward;
When this reverse direction instruction means is operated, the rear wheel steering device steers the rear wheels in response to the output signal of the steering wheel sensor so that the rear wheels turn in the direction in which the steering wheel is turned when traveling backwards in the same way as when traveling forwards. In addition, when the vehicle is moving backward, the rear wheels are steered while viewing the image on the image display means.

[Function] In this invention, when the vehicle is traveling backwards, turning the steering wheel to the right causes the vehicle to turn right in the direction of travel, and turning the steering wheel to the left causes the vehicle to turn in the direction of travel. The operation causes the vehicle to turn to the left, and the above operation allows the user to drive the vehicle backwards with the same feeling as when the vehicle is moving forward, while looking at the rear view displayed by the image display means.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1st
The figure is a side view of a vehicle in which a steering device according to the present invention is installed, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the steering device. 3 is a steering wheel operated by the driver; 4 is an imaging means such as a video camera provided at the rear of the vehicle to take an image of the rear view; 5 is a half mirror 7 provided on a windshield 6; 8.9 is a front wheel of the vehicle; 8.9 is a front wheel of the vehicle;
0.11 is also the rear wheel. 12 is a tie rod for the front wheel 8.9, 13 is a tie rod for the rear wheel 10°11, and racks 14 are attached to both tie rods 12.13, respectively.
Binions 16 and 17 are engaged with 15. One of the binions 16 is rotated by an electric motor 18 and the tie rod 1
2 in the direction of the arrow to steer the front wheels 8.9. The other pinion 17 is rotated by an electric motor 19 and moves the tie rod 13 in the direction of the arrow to move the rear wheel 10.1.
1 can be steered. 20 is a wheel direction sensor that detects the direction of the front wheels 8.9, 21 is a wheel direction sensor that detects the direction of the rear wheels 10.11, 22 is a steering wheel sensor that detects the amount of operation of the steering wheel 3, and 23 is a vehicle 24 is a steering wheel sensor 22. Reverse direction switch 23
This is an electronic control device that inputs an output signal and instructs the front wheel steering device 25 and the rear wheel steering device 26 to perform predetermined control. The front wheel steering device 25 rotates the electric motor 18 according to instructions from the electronic control device f24 so that the steering angle of the front wheels 8.9 corresponds to the output signal of the steering wheel sensor 22,
At this time, the output signal of the wheel direction sensor 20 is input to perform feedbank control. On the other hand, the rear wheel steering device 26 rotates the electric motor 19 in accordance with instructions from the electronic control device 24 so that the steering angle of the rear wheels 10, 11 corresponds to the output signal of the handle sensor 22. Feedback control is performed by inputting the output signal of the wheel direction sensor 21.

Next, the operation will be explained. When the vehicle 1 moves forward, the front wheels 8.9 are steered by the front wheel steering device 25 according to the amount of operation of the steering handle 3 operated by the driver. At this time, the rear wheels 1.0.11 are at the initial steering position, that is, the vehicle 1
The vehicle is held fixed in the direction of the wheels when traveling straight. The driver drives the vehicle while keeping an eye on the front of the vehicle through the windshield 6, and when the steering wheel 3 is turned to the right, the vehicle 1 turns to the right in the direction of travel, and when turned to the left, the front wheels are steered so that the vehicle 1 turns to the left. bag!
The electric motor 18 is rotationally driven by the pinion 1
6 Rack 14. Front wheels 8 and 9 are steered via tie rods 12. Next, when the driver turns on the reverse instruction switch 23 to move the vehicle 1 backward, the rear wheels 10 and 11 are steered by the rear wheel steering device 26 according to the amount of operation of the steering wheel 3 operated by the driver. be done. At this time, the front wheels 8.9 are held fixed in the initial steering position, that is, in the wheel direction when the vehicle 1 is traveling straight. Then, the driver drives while watching the rear view of the vehicle projected on the half mirror 5 by the image display means 7, and when the driver turns the steering wheel 3 to the right, the vehicle 1 turns to the right in the direction of travel (reverse direction). , the electric motor 19 is rotationally driven by the rear wheel steering device 26 so that the rear wheel steering device 26 turns the pinion 17 to the left. Rack 15.
The rear wheels 10.11 are steered via tie rods 13.

In this way, when the vehicle is traveling backwards, the driver can drive with the same feeling as when driving forward while looking at the rear view displayed by the image display means 7.

Next, the operating procedure of the electronic control unit 24 will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First of all, after starting
In step 101, the operation amount signal of the steering handle 3 is read from the handle sensor 22. Next, in step 102, it is determined whether the reverse direction switch 23 has been operated, and if the reverse direction switch 23 has been operated and turned ON, step 1
Step 03 instructs the front wheel steering device 25 to fix and hold the steering position of the front wheels 8.9 at the initial position, and in step 104, the rear wheel steering device 26 instructs the front wheel steering device 25 to fix and hold the steering position of the front wheels 8.9 at the initial position. Compatible rear wheels 10.11
instructs steering control. On the other hand, if the reverse direction switch 23 is not turned on in step 102, step 1
Step 05 instructs the rear wheel steering device 26 to fix and maintain the rear wheel steering position at the initial position, and in step 106 the front wheel steering device 25 is instructed to fix and hold the steering position of the rear wheels at the initial position. Instructs front wheel steering control. In this way, the above processing is repeatedly executed.

In the above embodiment, the electronic control device 24 and the front wheel steering device 25. Although the rear wheel steering bags N26 are shown as having separate configurations, they may be configured integrally as the computer device 27. Further, in order to eliminate the difference between the inner wheels between the rear wheels and the front wheels when the vehicle moves backward, the front wheels are not fixedly held at the initial position, but are configured to be steered by the front wheel steering device 25 according to the amount of steering of the rear wheels. You can also do that.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that the image displayed by the image display means 7 when traveling backward must be the rear view of the vehicle as seen in the direction of travel. Further, a cathode ray tube, a projection screen, or the like may be used as the image display means, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, when the vehicle is moving backward, it is possible to steer the rear wheels while looking at the rear view displayed by the image display means provided in the driver's seat, and moreover, the rear wheels can be steered at the same time as the vehicle is moving forward. Since the vehicle is configured to turn in the direction in which the steering wheel is turned, the backward operation of the vehicle can be performed with the same feeling as the forward operation, and especially beginners can safely drive the vehicle backward.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a vehicle equipped with a steering device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the steering device, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart explaining the operation. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Vehicle, 2... Driver's seat, 3... Steering handle, 4... Imaging means, 7... Image display means, 8.9.
...Front wheel, 10.11...Rear wheel, 22...Handle sensor, 23...Reverse movement instruction means, 25...Front wheel steering device, 26...Rear wheel steering device. Note that the same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A driver's seat provided at the front of the vehicle, an imaging means provided at the rear of the vehicle for taking an image of the rear of the vehicle, an image display means for displaying an image taken by the imaging means on the front of the driver's seat, and a driver's seat. A steering wheel sensor that detects the amount of operation of a steering wheel to be operated, a front wheel steering device that steers the front wheels of the vehicle in response to an output signal of the steering wheel sensor, a vehicle reversing instruction means, and a vehicle reversing instruction means that is operated. The vehicle is equipped with a rear wheel steering device that steers the rear wheels in response to the output signal of the steering wheel sensor so that the vehicle turns in the same direction as when the steering wheel is turned when going backwards, in the same way as when going forwards, and the above image is displayed when the vehicle is going backwards. A vehicle steering device characterized in that the rear wheels are steered while viewing an image of the vehicle.