JPH055078Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Technical Field of the Invention) This invention relates to a safety confirmation device installed in a vehicle, and particularly to a proximity state confirmation device for confirming the surroundings of the vehicle.

(Technical background of the invention and its problems) In recent years, vehicles have been equipped with various safety confirmation devices to improve the running safety of the vehicle. One of these various safety confirmation devices is a proximity state confirmation device that allows a driver to confirm the degree of proximity between the vehicle and an obstacle near the rear. Specifically, Mikoaki
No. 56-35771 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 50-21762.

The former uses a pair of reversing lights installed on the left and right sides of the rear of the vehicle, and the reversing lights emit a spot light diagonally backwards and inwards toward obstacles in the rear, so that the driver can spot the obstacles in the rear as the vehicle backs up. By visually checking the change between the two irradiation points, it is possible to confirm the degree of proximity between the vehicle and the rear obstacle.

In the latter case, two filaments are installed vertically in the rear combination lamp at the rear of the vehicle body, one above the other, and the light sources from the filaments are irradiated at a predetermined angle so as to intersect. The driver is able to confirm the degree of proximity between the vehicle and the rear obstacle by visually recognizing changes in the shape of the two irradiations.

By the way, the above-mentioned proximity state confirmation device is designed to emit light from a reversing light or the like when the vehicle is reversing, so that the driver can confirm the degree of proximity to the vehicle based on changes in the light spot on the rear obstacle. . however,
In the above-mentioned proximity state confirmation device, the direction of light irradiation with respect to the vehicle remains constant regardless of whether the vehicle is moving with the steering wheel neutral, that is, moving in a straight line, or when moving with the steering wheel turned, that is, moving in a curve. For example, if the light irradiation direction is set according to straight line movement, the light will not be irradiated in the direction of vehicle movement when the vehicle is moving in a curved line, making it impossible to check the proximity of the vehicle to obstacles. .

(Purpose of the invention) This invention changes the direction of light irradiation toward the vehicle based on the vehicle's traveling direction and the vehicle's steering angle, so that light can be applied accurately both when moving in a straight line and when moving in a curve. The purpose is to solve the above problem by making it appear on obstacles.

(Summary of the invention) In order to achieve the above object, this invention is based on a pair of lights that are installed on the left and right sides of the front and rear ends of a vehicle and emit light in different predetermined directions so as to intersect at a predetermined distance from the vehicle. irradiation means; driving direction detection means for detecting whether the vehicle is moving forward or backward; steering angle detection means for detecting a steering angle of the vehicle; a calculation means for calculating a light irradiation direction from the light irradiation means based on a traveling direction and a steering angle detected by the steering angle detection means; and irradiation of light in the irradiation direction calculated by the calculation means. and a drive means for driving the light irradiation means so as to cause the light irradiation means to move.

(Example of the invention) Hereinafter, an example of the invention will be described using the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a proximity state confirmation device which is an embodiment of this invention. Its features include detection from a gear position detection sensor 5 that detects the position of a gear shift lever (not shown) that indicates the running direction of the vehicle 1, and a steering angle detection sensor 3 that detects the steering angle of the steering wheel operated by the driver. The signal is input to the arithmetic circuit 7, and the arithmetic circuit 7 performs a calculation based on the detection signal and outputs a drive signal to the motor 9. The drive signal causes the motor 9 to rotate the light emitting device 11, which will be described later. The aim is to change the direction of irradiation.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the irradiation angle of the light emitting device 11 of the proximity state confirmation device, when the vehicle 1 is traveling forward and the driver operates the steering wheel to the right with respect to the traveling direction by an angle θ. be. Here, the centers of the right and left front tires are O _R and O _L , respectively, and the midpoint connecting the centers of the right and left tires is M, and a line extending from this midpoint M at right angles to the line connecting the centers. Let be the y-axis. Also, the middle point B _R of the rear right and left tires,
Let the line connecting B _L be the x-axis, and the point where it intersects with the y-axis be O. Then, if the so-called wheelbase between the front wheels and the rear wheels is l, the distance from the front end of the vehicle to the center of the front wheel is b, and the distance from point M to the front wheel side end is a, then the light emitting device 11 is provided. The coordinates of the right and left edges F _R and F _L in front of the vehicle are F _R (a, l+b), respectively.
It is expressed as F _L (-a, l+b). On the other hand, if O ₁ is the point that intersects the x-axis in the vertical direction from point M with respect to the steering angle θ of the y-axis from point M when the driver operates the steering wheel to the right by an angle of θ, then the point O ₁
The coordinates of are expressed as (l/tanθ,O). Further, let the right and left irradiation angles of the light emitting device 11 with respect to the steering angle θ be θ _R and θ _L , respectively, and let the angles formed by the θ _R and θ _L with the x-axis be θ _R1 and θ _L1 . Here, since θ _R and θ _R1 and θ _L and θ _L1 are equal, θ _R1 and θ _L1 are expressed as follows: θ _L1 = tan ^-1 {l+b/ltanθ ^-1 +a} = θ _L ...(1) θ _R1 =tan ^-1 {l+b/ltanθ ^-1 −a}=θ _R (2).

Therefore, from this equation, the illumination angles θ _L and θ _R of each light emitting device 11 with respect to the steering angle θ can be obtained.

FIG. 3 shows a layout diagram in which the light emitting devices 11 are attached to the left and right sides of the front and rear ends of the vehicle 1 (only one side is shown in the figure). As for switching the irradiation direction of the light emitting device 11 depending on the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, for example, if the main switch is in the ON state and the shift lever is in the opposite position, the light emitting device 11a at the front end of the vehicle and the light emitting device 11b at the rear end of the vehicle will emit light. If the shift lever is in a position other than back or neutral, the gear position detection sensor 5 detects the shift lever position so that the light emitting device 11a at the front end is illuminated, and outputs it to the arithmetic circuit 7 for switching. .

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the light emitting device 11 whose irradiation angle changes depending on the steering angle described above. The light emitting device 11 includes a first cylindrical body 17 having light sources 19 and 21 therein, a second cylindrical body 15 that accommodates the first cylindrical body 17 in a non-contact manner, and a rotating shaft 13 that is connected to the cylindrical body 15.
The motor 9 is fixed to the bottom plate of the cylindrical body 17 through a through hole 35 shown in FIG.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are a front view and a sectional view taken along the - line of the light emitting device 11, respectively. The motor 9 is fixed to the panel 31, and the cylindrical body 15 is fixed to the inner circumferential surface of one edge of a hollow, almost lappa-shaped mounting body 33 that has no top plate or bottom plate, and is attached to the panel 31 through the mounting body 33. is fixed to. In this way, the light emitting device 11 is fixed to the panel 31.

Furthermore, two reflectors 37 and 41 are fixed to the inside of the cylindrical body 17, spaced apart in the vertical direction, and each having a paraboloid of revolution and whose inner circumferential surface is mirror-curved to reflect light. Each reflector 37, 41
At the focal point are rods 39 and 43 through which electric wires are passed.
The light sources 21 and 19 are fixed through the reflectors 37 and 41, and the light beams emitted from the light sources 21 and 19
The beam is reflected by the beam and irradiated as a parallel beam of light.

Here, the reflector 41 is fixed such that, for example, the reflected light beam L ₁ faces in a vertical orthogonal direction, and the reflector 37 is fixed such that, for example, the reflected light beam L ₂ intersects the reflected light beam L ₁ at a predetermined distance with respect to the vertical direction. It is fixed like that.

The cylindrical body 17 has a hole 2 through which the reflected light beam _L1 passes.
5 and a vertically extending elongated hole 29 through which the reflected light beam _L2 passes. In addition, the cylindrical body 1
5 has a long hole 23 provided in the circumferential direction so that the reflected light beam _L1 can pass through even if the cylindrical body 17 rotates, and a long hole provided in a spiral shape to allow the reflected light beam _L2 to pass through. 27 are provided.

Here, the vertical distance between the long holes 23 and 27 corresponds to the rotation angle of the cylindrical body 17, and the reflected light beam
L ₁ and L ₂ are selected such that the intersection point at a predetermined distance allows linear movement. Therefore, hole 2
5 and the spot light narrowed down by the long hole 23
The intersection point between L ₁ and the spot light L ₂ narrowed down by the elongated holes 27 and 29 can move on a straight line.

Note that the motor 9 is configured to rotate according to the irradiation angles θ _L and θ _R of the above-mentioned equations (1) and (2).

Thereby, when the driver operates the steering wheel, the motor 9 is driven according to the steering angle θ of the steering wheel, and the cylindrical body 17 is rotated. Due to this rotation of the cylindrical body 17, the elongated hole 29 also rotates, so that the reflected light beam _L2 from the reflector 37 is reflected by the elongated hole 27 and the elongated hole 29.
The position to narrow down changes. Due to the focused position of the reflected light beam _L2 , the intersection point of the spot lights _L3 and _L4 moves on a straight line.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained. As shown in FIG. 7, a case will be described in which the vehicle 1 is moved backward in a dead-end alley 45 provided with obstacles such as walls and stopped at the left corner of the dead-end alley 45.

When the driver turns on the main switch,
A pair of left and right front and rear ends of the vehicle 1, that is, the vehicle 1
Light from light emitting devices 11a and 11b (see FIG. 3) provided at the four corners of is irradiated.

Next, when the steering wheel is steered, the steering angle detection sensor 3 detects the steering angle θ and outputs it to the arithmetic circuit 7. Further, the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 is detected by the gear position detection sensor 5 (in this embodiment, backward),
It is output to the arithmetic circuit 7. By inputting the steering angle θ and the running direction, the arithmetic circuit 7 activates the light emitting device 1 described above.
The irradiation angles θ _L and θ _R of 1a and 11b are calculated and the motor 9
Outputs a drive signal to. The motor 9 rotates the cylindrical body 17 of each light emitting device by the irradiation angles θ _L and θ _R based on the drive signal.

i.e. clockwise (passenger side in a right-hand drive car)
When the steering wheel is steered, the light emitting devices 11a at the front left and right ends rotate to the right with respect to the forward direction, and the light emitting devices 11b at the rear left and right ends rotate to the left with respect to the backward direction by the illumination angles θ _L and θ _R. , the light from the light emitting device 11a provided at the front right end is emitted onto the right side, and the light from the light emitting device 11b provided at the rear left end is emitted onto the left wall. Illuminate a point of light.

If the vehicle 1 is moved backward, the distances between the front right end and the right side wall of the vehicle 1 and the rear left end and the left wall will become closer, so the distance between the two light spots will narrow, and eventually the two light spots will become one light. Illuminated as a point on the side wall. By visually recognizing the distance between the light spots, the driver can confirm that the right side wall and the front right end, and the left wall and the rear left end have approached a predetermined distance.

In addition, in this embodiment, the point where two lights emitted from one light emitting device intersect is farther away from the vehicle 1 side as the steering angle of the steering wheel is larger. Since the interval between the irradiated light spots becomes narrower, the degree of proximity to the side wall can be quickly recognized.

In this way, the driver can check the proximity of the vehicle 1's left and right front and rear ends to the obstacle while driving the vehicle 1.
can be stopped in a predetermined position.

(Effects of the invention) As explained above, according to this invention, by changing the direction of light irradiation to the vehicle based on the traveling direction of the vehicle and the steering angle of the vehicle, it is possible to move in a curve even when moving in a straight line. Since the light appears accurately on obstacles, the state of proximity between the vehicle and the obstacle can be confirmed not only when the vehicle is moving in a straight line but also when the vehicle is moving in a curve.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of this invention, Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram of the irradiation angle, Figure 3 is a layout diagram of the proximity state confirmation device installed at the front and rear ends of the vehicle, and Figure 4 is the proximity state. A partially cutaway perspective view of the confirmation device; FIGS. 5 and 6 are respectively a front view of FIG. 4;
- line sectional view and FIG. 7 are conventional operation diagrams. 1...Vehicle, 3...Steering angle detection sensor, 5...
...Gear position detection sensor, 7...Arithmetic circuit, 9...
...Motor, 11...Light emitting device, 13...Rotating shaft,
15, 17... Cylindrical body, 19, 21... Light source, 2
3,27,29...long hole, 25...hole, 37,4
1...Reflector.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] Light irradiation means provided on a pair of left and right sides of the front and rear ends of a vehicle and irradiating light in different predetermined directions so as to intersect at a predetermined distance from the vehicle; a running direction detecting means for detecting whether the vehicle is moving backward or moving backward; a steering angle detecting means for detecting a steering angle of the vehicle; and a running direction of the vehicle detected by the running direction detecting means and the steering angle detection means. calculation means for calculating the direction of light irradiation from the light irradiation means based on the steering angle detected by the means; and the light irradiation means configured to irradiate the light in the irradiation direction calculated by the calculation means. A proximity state confirmation device comprising: a drive means for driving;