JPH04136707A - Slant detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable slant angle in an arbitrary direction to be detected with improved accuracy by allowing light emitted from a light-emitting element to be reflected by a reflection plate which is provided at a lower edge part of a plumb member which is supported rotatably around a support and to be received by an optical sensor. CONSTITUTION:An optical sensor 5 consists of a light-emitting element 5a and a light-receiving element 5b for receiving reflected light emitted from this light-emitting element 5a. When a fixing member 1 is held horizontally, an optical sensor which is provided at a bottom plate 2 opposes a central point of a central surface part 9a with a low reflectance of an above reflection plate 9. Therefore, output signal of the optical sensor is off. When the amount of relative rotation between the reflection plate 9 of the lower edge of a plumb member 8 and the fixing member 1 exceeds a certain value, the optical sensor 5 opposes and outside surface member 9b with a high reflectance. In that state, output signal of the optical sensor 5 is turned on.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A1 Object of the Invention 1) Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to an inclination detection device for detecting inclination when a certain member or structure is inclined from a horizontal state by a certain angle or more. .

Such an inclination detection device is used, for example, to issue a warning when an aerial work vehicle inclines by 3 degrees or more, or when a construction work vehicle inclines by 13.5 inches or more.

2) Prior Art As a conventional tilt detection device of this type, those shown in FIGS. 8A to 10B are known.

The tilt detection device shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B is a mercury switch in which mercury 02 and terminals 03 and 04 are enclosed in a sealed container 01. This mercury switch is off in the horizontal state shown in FIG. 8A, but in the left-down tilted state shown in FIG. 8B, mercury 02 is connected between the terminals 03 and 04 and turned on. Therefore, if it is tilted downward to the left by a predetermined angle or more, it can be detected.

The tilt detection device shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B is composed of a reed switch 05, a magnetic fluid 07 sealed in a container 06, and a magnet 08 floating in the magnetic fluid 07.

The member supporting this inclination detection device is in a horizontal state (No. 9A
In the case (see figure), the reed switch 05 is on because the magnet 08 is close to it, but in the slope i (see figure 9B), the reed switch 05 is off because the magnet o8 is in a far position. It is.

The tilt detection device shown in FIG. 108 in the 1st OA is
A slit 011 of a predetermined shape is formed in a pendulum 010 that is swingably supported around the pendulum, and a light emitting element 012 and a light receiving element 013 are arranged facing each other with the slit 011 in between. In the tilt detection device shown in FIGS. 10A and 108, when the pendulum 010 rotates around the rotation axis 09 by a predetermined angle or more, the light receiving element 013 stops receiving light from the light emitting element 012.

3) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, since the conventional tilt detection devices shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B, 9A, and 9B utilize fluid flow,
There is a problem in that when the viscosity of the fluid increases at low temperatures, the fluidity decreases and the sensitivity decreases. Moreover, the inclination detection device shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B has the problem that it can only detect inclination in one direction. Further, the tilt detection device shown in FIG. 1OA, FIG. 108 can detect the tilt angle around the rotation axis that supports the pendulum, but there is a problem in that it cannot detect the tilt angle around the axis perpendicular to the rotation axis. Ta.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention provides an inclination detection device that includes:
An object of the present invention is to enable accurate detection of an inclination angle in any direction.

B1 Structure of the Invention 1) Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the inclination detection device of the present invention includes:
A reflecting plate is provided at the lower end of the vertical member that is rotatably supported by a fulcrum provided on the fixed member and maintained in a vertical position by gravity, and the reflecting plate is connected to the central surface portion of the central portion of the vertical member and the central surface of the vertical member. A light-receiving device is formed so that the reflectance of light is different between the outer surface portion of the portion, and the fixed member receives the reflected light when the emitted light of the light-emitting element and the light-emitting element is reflected by the reflector. A light sensor consisting of an element is supported, and the light sensor is arranged to detect light reflected from the center of the central surface portion while the fixing member is held horizontally.

Note that the phrase "the reflective plate is formed such that the reflectance of light is different between a central surface portion at the center thereof and an outer surface portion outside the central surface portion" means that the central surface portion is different from the outer surface portion of the reflective plate. This means both cases in which the reflectance is formed to be lower or higher than that of the other parts.

2) Operation The inclination detection device of the present invention having the above-described configuration is used by fixing the fixing member to a structure such as the body of a construction vehicle. When the fixing member is held horizontally together with the vehicle body, the optical sensor detects reflected light from the center of the central surface portion. When the fixed member is tilted together with the vehicle body, the vertical member is held in a vertical position by gravity, but at that time, the vertical member and the reflector plate connected to the vertical member are tilted with respect to the fixed member. rotate relative to each other. When this relative rotation amount is less than a predetermined value, the optical sensor detects reflected light from the central surface portion of the central portion of the reflecting plate;
When the relative rotation amount exceeds a predetermined value, the optical sensor detects reflected light from the outer surface portion of the reflector. In that case, since the light reflectance is different between the central surface portion and the outer surface portion of the reflector, the detection signal of the optical sensor changes when the fixing member, the vehicle body, etc. are tilted by a predetermined value or more. The inclination of the vehicle body or the like is detected by a change in the detection signal of the optical sensor.

3) Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the inclination detection device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1.2 is an explanatory view of the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a side sectional view and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line nn of FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1.2, a fixing member 1 to be attached to a vehicle body such as a construction vehicle has a disc-shaped bottom plate 2 and a cap-shaped cover 3 that covers the top surface of the bottom plate 2. A cap-shaped intermediate wall 4 is provided inside the cover 3. An optical sensor 5 is disposed in the center of the bottom plate 2. The optical sensor 5 is composed of a light emitting element 5a and a light receiving element 5b that receives reflected light of the light emitted from the light emitting element 5a.

A ball bearing 7 is provided in the center of the cap-shaped intermediate wall 4. This ball bearing 7 has a rod-shaped vertical member 8.
The upper end of the ball bearing 7 is rotatably supported around the fulcrum (the center point of the ball bearing 7). A spherical aluminum reflector plate 9 is connected to the lower end of the vertical member 8. A circular surface portion (i.e., central surface portion) 9a at the center of the lower surface of the reflector plate 9 is covered with a low-reflection layer colored black, and a donut-shaped outer surface outside the central surface portion 9a. The portion 9b is finished as a mirror surface with high reflectance.

The fixing member 1 attached to the body of the construction vehicle, etc.
When the fixing member 1 and the vertical member 8 are held horizontally together with the vehicle body, the fixing member 1 and the vertical member 8 are held in the state shown in FIG. At this time, the bottom plate 2 of the fixing member l
The photosensor disposed at is opposed to the center point of the low-reflectance center surface portion 9a of the reflector plate 9. Therefore, in this state (the state in which the fixing member 1 is held horizontally), the output signal of the optical sensor is OFF (OFF>).

However, when the amount of relative rotation between the reflecting plate 9 at the lower end of the vertical member 8 and the fixed member 1 exceeds a certain value, the optical sensor 5 comes to face the outer surface portion 9b of high reflectance. In this state, the output signal of the optical sensor 5 is on (ON>).

The third section shows an embodiment of the tilt detection circuit of the tilt detection device.

In FIG. 3, when the optical sensor 5 including the light emitting element 5a and the light receiving element 5b is in a non-conducting state as shown in FIG. 1, the transistor TR is OFF.

However, when the optical sensor 5 becomes conductive, the base potential of the transistor TR drops, and the transistor TR is turned on. At this time, the alarm circuit 14 is activated.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4A to 5B.

When the fixing member 1 is used by being attached to the body of a construction vehicle, etc., when the vehicle body is in a horizontal position, the fixing member 1
, the reflection 9, etc. are maintained in the state shown in FIG.

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the optical sensor 5 is opposed to the central surface portion 9a, so it is maintained in an OFF state. In this case, as can be seen from FIG. 3, the transistor TR is kept off.

By the way, when the fixing member 1 is tilted by a predetermined angle or more together with the vehicle body, the reflector plate 9 rotates relative to the optical sensor 5 as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, and the optical sensor 5 receives the reflection The outer surface portions 9b of the plates 9 are now facing each other. At this time, the outer surface portion 9b having a high light reflectance
The optical sensor 5 opposite to the is in a conductive state. At this time, the transistor TR is turned on and the alarm circuit 14 is activated. For example, if the engine is stopped when the alarm circuit 14 is activated, the vehicle body or the like is prevented from rolling over.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6.7. In the description of the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as in the first embodiment, and redundant detailed explanation will be omitted.

Four permanent magnets 10 and 11 are fixed to the bottom plate 2 and the intermediate wall 4, respectively, and magnetic members 12 and 13 fixed to the permanent magnets 10 and 11, respectively, are made of aluminum (conductive). are arranged so as to sandwich the reflective plates 9 from above and below. A magnetic flux generating device K is constituted by the permanent magnets 10 and 11 and magnetic members 12 and 13, and the magnetic flux generated by the magnetic flux generating device K passes through the conductive reflecting plate 9. Therefore, when the reflector plate 9 rotates, an eddy current is generated in the reflector plate 9, and a brake is applied to the rotational movement.

In the second embodiment of the present invention having the above-described configuration, the magnetic flux generated by the magnetic flux generating device K fixed to the fixed member 1 passes through the reflecting plate 9, so that the reflecting plate 9 is connected to the fixed member 1. When the reflector 9 rotates relative to the reflector 9, an eddy current is generated in the reflector 9 and a brake is applied. The faster the reflection plate 9 moves, the greater the brake is applied, which slows down the response (inclination detection speed) and produces a damper effect. Therefore, when the vehicle travels on uneven ground, there is no possibility that the reflection plate 9 will move significantly due to short-term acceleration such as when the vehicle runs over a pebble, and unnecessary signals will be output. however,
When the movement of the reflection plate 9 is slow, the damper effect becomes small and the inclination of the vehicle body etc. is detected with high accuracy.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various small design changes may be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention as set forth in the claims. It is possible to do so.

For example, instead of making the center surface portion of the reflector plate have a low reflectance and the outer surface portions have a high reflectance, it is also possible to make the center surface portion have a high reflectance and the outer surface portions have a low reflectance. Further, by making the central surface portion into a shape other than a circle, such as an ellipse or a rectangle, the detected inclination angle can be varied depending on the detection direction. Furthermore, the reflecting plate may be flat instead of spherical.

C3 Effects of the Invention The inclination detection device of the present invention described above detects the inclination of the vehicle body, etc., based on a change in the amount of light detected by the optical sensor when the amount of relative rotation of the reflecting plate with respect to the fixed member becomes a predetermined value or more. be done. Since the optical sensor fixed to the fixing member is composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element that receives reflected light from the reflective surface of the reflecting plate, it is not necessary to arrange the light emitting element and the light receiving element at separate positions. Instead, it can be placed at 1fIJ.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a structural explanatory diagram of a first embodiment of the inclination detection device of the present invention, and shows the state when the object to be detected is in a horizontal position, and Fig. 2 is taken along the line n-n of Fig. 1. A sectional view, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the inclination detection circuit used in the same embodiment, and FIGS. 4A to 5
Fig. B is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the same embodiment, Fig. 6 is a structural explanatory diagram of the second embodiment of the inclination detection device of the present invention, showing the state when the inclination detection target is in a horizontal posture, and Fig. 7 The figure is a sectional view taken along the line ■--■ in FIG. 6, and FIGS. 8 to 10 are explanatory views of the conventional example. K... Magnetic flux generator, 1... Fixed member, 5... Optical sensor, 5a... Light emitting element, 5b... Light receiving element, 8... Vertical member, 9...
・Reflector, 9&...Central surface portion, 9b...Outer surface portion, Fig. 3, Fig. 10A, Fig. 10B, Fig. 4A, Fig. 5A, Fig. 4B, Fig. 5B, Fig. 8A, Fig. 9A, Fig. 9B.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A reflecting plate is provided at the lower end of the vertical member, which is rotatably supported around a fulcrum provided on the fixed member and maintained in a vertical position by gravity, and the reflecting plate is connected to the central surface of the central part of the vertical member, and the central surface of the vertical member. A light-receiving device is formed so that the reflectance of light is different between the outer surface portion of the portion, and the fixed member receives the reflected light when the emitted light of the light-emitting element and the light-emitting element is reflected by the reflector. an optical sensor comprising an element, the optical sensor being arranged to detect reflected light from the center of the central surface portion while the fixing member is held horizontally.