JPH06161555A - Travelling controller for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically switch the control state of automatic travelling to the control state of manual travelling with the detecting signal of a car- loading detection sensor by providing this car-loading detecting sensor for detecting a driver gets on the vehicle. CONSTITUTION:When a car-loading switch 69 is turned on, it is judged that an operator exists on a step plate 38 and this operator tries to manually travel a golf car 1, and a mode is automatically switched to a car-loading mode. Then, the golf car 1 can be manually traveled. In such a control state, an accelerator lever 33 is linked through a governor device 31 to the throttle valve of a carburetor 7 by the operation of a switching device 29. Therefore, the throttle opening degree of the carburetor 7 is changed by the manual operation of the lever 33, and the running speed of the golf car 1 can be freely adjusted. The golf car 1 can be freely traveled by operating a handle 21 and can be freely braked by operating a lever 27.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a traveling control device for a vehicle such as a golf car which is capable of traveling unmanned or manned.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above-mentioned golf car has a control state in which unmanned automatic traveling is possible by an operator's operation (hereinafter, this is referred to as an automatic traveling control state) and a control state in which manual traveling is possible. Among these (hereinafter, this is referred to as a control state of manual traveling), there is one that can be selectively switched to any control state.

[0003]

According to the above-mentioned conventional structure, when an attempt is made to switch the automatic running golf car to the manual running control state, for example, first,
It is required that the operator gets on the golf car and then operates the control device mounted on the golf car to switch to the control state of manual travel. However, in the above case, the golf car keeps the control state of the automatic traveling until the operator gets on the vehicle and switches to the control state of the manual traveling. There is a problem that it takes time and the transition to manual driving cannot be performed quickly.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to make it possible to quickly shift an automatically traveling vehicle to a control state of manual traveling. To aim.

[0005]

The feature of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is to switch to one of a control state of unmanned automatic traveling and a control state of manual traveling. A travel control device for a vehicle, which is enabled, is provided with a boarding detection sensor that detects an occupant getting on the vehicle, and a detection signal of the boarding detection sensor changes a control state of the automatic traveling to a control state of a manual traveling. The point is that it is automatically switched to.

[0006]

[Operation] The operation of the above configuration is as follows. The terms in parentheses below correspond to the terms in the claims. With the control state of unmanned automatic driving,
A travel control device for a golf car (vehicle) 1 capable of switching to any one of the control states of manual travel, the boarding switch detecting an occupant getting on the golf car (vehicle) 1. (Boarding detection sensor) 69 is provided,
By the detection signal of the boarding switch (boarding detection sensor) 69, the automatic traveling control state is automatically switched to the manual traveling control state. Therefore, when the golf car (vehicle) 1 that is running automatically is to be switched to the control state for manual running, the operator can ride on the golf car (vehicle) 1 without operating the control device. For example, the boarding switch (boarding detection sensor) 69 can quickly obtain the above-described control state for manual travel.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 6, reference numeral 1 is a golf car that is a vehicle, G is a golf course, and an arrow Fr in the drawing indicates the front of the golf car 1. The right and left described below means the direction toward the front. A pair of left and right front wheels 3, 3 are rotatably supported by a front portion of a vehicle body 2 of the golf car 1. On the other hand, a pair of left and right rear wheels 4 and 4, which are drive wheels, are supported at the rear of the vehicle body 2. A bumper 5 extending in the left-right direction is attached to the front end of the vehicle body 2.

A gasoline engine 6, which is a driving source of the vehicle, is mounted substantially in the center of the front and rear of the vehicle body 2. A carburetor 7 and an intake pipe 8 are connected to an intake port of the engine 6, while an exhaust pipe 9 and a muffler 1 are connected to an exhaust port.
0 and the muffler 10 are arranged on the right side of the vehicle body 2. Further, a fuel tank 11 for supplying gasoline fuel to the engine 6 via the carburetor 7 is provided.

A gear type speed reducer 12 is supported on the vehicle body 2 behind the engine 6. The input shaft of the speed reducer 12 is connected to the engine 6 by an automatic transmission 13 of V belt type, and the output shaft of the speed reducer 12 is connected to the rear wheels 4 and 4. When the engine 6 is driven, the rear wheels 4 and 4 are driven through the automatic transmission 13 and the speed reducer 12 in sequence, and the golf car 1 can run.

A starter dynamo 15 is provided in front of the engine 6, and the starter dynamo 15 is connected to the engine 6 by a V-belt winding device 16. The starter dynamo 15 serves both as a starter motor for starting the engine 6 and as a generator. When the starter dynamo 15 functions as a starter motor, the starter dynamo 15 drives the battery 17 arranged on the left side thereof as a power source to start the engine 6. On the other hand, when the starter dynamo 15 functions as a generator, the output is charged in the battery 17 as above.

A handle post 19 is provided on the front portion of the vehicle body 2 so as to project rearward and upward from the center portion on the left and right sides. A steering shaft 20 is rotatably supported by the handle post 19 so as to be rotatable about its axis, and a bar-type handle 21 is attached to the upper end of the steering shaft 20. The front wheels 3, 3 are steerably connected to the lower end of the steering shaft 20 via a link mechanism 22. In addition, the handle post 19
The steering motor 23 is supported by the steering motor 23, and the front wheels 3 and 3 are also steerably connected to the steering motor 23 via the link mechanism 22.

In any case, the front wheels 3 and 3 are steered via the link mechanism 22 by operating the steering wheel 21 or driving the steering motor 23. A parking lever 24 is pivotally supported on the upper end of the steering shaft 20.

A disk brake 25 is attached to the right end of the intermediate shaft of the speed reducer 12, and an electromagnetic brake 26 is attached to the left end of the other intermediate shaft. The disc brake 25 is braked or released by operating the parking lever 24.
On the other hand, a brake lever 27 is provided corresponding to the left grip of the handle 21, and the disc brake 25 can be braked or released by operating the brake lever 27. By this braking operation, the rear wheels 4, 4 are braked via the speed reducer 12. The electromagnetic brake 26 is normally electrically turned off. In this case, the electromagnetic brake 26 is braking by the spring force, and the rear wheels 4 and 4 are also braked via the speed reducer 12 by this.

On the other hand, when the electromagnetic brake 26 is electrically turned on (ON), the braking of the electromagnetic brake 26 is released by the electromagnetic force that opposes the spring force. A switching device 29 is connected to the throttle valve of the carburetor 7 via a first wire 28, and a governor device 31 is connected to the switching device 29 via a second wire 30. An accelerator lever 33 provided corresponding to the right grip of the handle 21 is connected to 31 via a third wire 32. Further, an electromagnetic clutch 35 and a stepping motor 36 are connected to the throttle valve of the carburetor 7 via the first wire 28 and the switching device 29.

When the accelerator lever 33 is connected to the throttle valve of the carburetor 7 by the switching operation of the switching device 29, the operation of the accelerator lever 33 is performed via the governor device 31 and the switching device 29. Vaporizer 7
Is transmitted to the throttle valve of the
The opening / closing operation of the throttle valve according to the operation amount of 3 is obtained.

Further, if the stepping motor 36 is connected to the throttle valve of the carburetor 7 by the switching operation of the switching device 29, the stepping motor 36 will be operated.
Of the electromagnetic clutch 35 turned on (connection operation),
The same is transmitted to the throttle valve of the carburetor 7 via the switching device 29, and the opening / closing operation of the throttle valve according to the operation of the stepping motor 36 can be obtained.

A step plate 3 is provided at the rear of the vehicle body 2.
8 are laid. When the operator rides on the step plate 38, the steering wheel 21 can be steered while the operator stands on the step plate 38, and the brake lever 27 and the accelerator lever 33 can be operated. A basket 4 for mounting a golf bag 39 on the front part of the vehicle body 2
0 is provided, and the operator can
The golf bag 39 can be carried to a desired position.

1 to 6, the golf car 1 described above is shown.
A control device for electrically and electronically controlling the travel of the vehicle will be described. A main controller 42 is provided substantially at the center of the left and right of the vehicle body 2. On the other hand, an ignition circuit 44 is electrically connected to the engine 6 (hereinafter, simply referred to as connection), and the ignition circuit 44 is connected to the main controller 42. Further, a rotation sensor 45 for detecting the number of rotations of the engine 6 is provided, and the rotation sensor 45 is also connected to the main controller 42 as above. The output signal of the rotation sensor 45 determines the ignition timing in the ignition circuit 44.

A main switch 46 capable of supplying the electric power of the battery 17 is provided to each electric component such as the main controller 42. In addition, a start / stop switch 47 that enables the golf car 1 to start or stop is connected to the main controller 42. The main switch 46 and the start / stop switch 47
Is attached to an instrument panel 43 supported by the handle post 19.

The main switch 46 includes a caddy switch 46a, a self switch 46b, and a fixed point passing switch 46c, as shown in FIGS. The main switch 46 is a key switch and is composed of a lock 48 provided on the side of the instrument panel 43 and a key 49 which is inserted into and removed from the lock 48 and operated by a key.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the key 49 is turned off, the power supply from the battery 17 to all other electric parts is cut off. When the key 49 is set to, the caddy switch 46a is turned on, when set to, the self switch 46b is turned on, and when set to, the fixed point passage switch 46c is turned on. Moreover, when one of the switches is turned on in this manner, the other switches are turned off. In this case, when the caddy switch 46a and the fixed point passage switch 46c are turned on by the key 49, the key 49 cannot be mechanically removed from the lock 48.

2 to 6, the golf car 1 described above is shown.
Separately, a transmitter 50 is provided, and this transmitter 50 also has
A start / stop switch 51 having the same function as the start / stop switch 47 is provided. On the other hand, a remote control receiver 52 connected to the main controller 42 is provided. When the start / stop switch 51 of the transmitter 50 is operated, the signal is received by the remote control receiver 52 and each component of the golf car 1 is operated. Reference numeral 52a is an antenna of the remote control receiver 52.

A vehicle speed sensor 53 is attached to the speed reducer 12, and the vehicle speed sensor 53 is installed in the main controller 4.
Connected to 2. The throttle valve of the carburetor 7 is provided with a throttle sensor 55 for detecting its opening. The throttle sensor 55 is composed of a potentiometer, and is connected to the main controller 42 together with the stepping motor 36.

A resistor 57 is connected in parallel to the series circuit of the battery 17 and the main relay 56, one end of this parallel circuit is connected to the main controller 42 via a power system controller 58, and the other end is connected to the starter dynamo. It is connected to 15. In addition, the main relay 56,
The current sensor 60 is connected to the main controller 42. Further, a steering relay 65 is connected in parallel with the battery 17. The resistor 57 is covered and protected from the outside of the vehicle body 2 by a resistor guard 57a.

At the golf course G, near the ground surface,
Guide wire 6 along the desired running course of the golf car 1
1 is embedded, and an S-pole or N-pole magnet 61a is embedded at a predetermined position along the longitudinal direction of the guide wire 61.

On the other hand, in conjunction with the link mechanism 22, there is provided a turning arm 62 which turns left and right in synchronization with the steering direction of the front wheels 3, 3. Three guide wire sensors 63 are attached to the rotating end of the rotating arm 62, and these guide wire sensors 63 are connected to the main controller 42 via a guide fixed point amplifier 64. In addition, the steering motor 2
3 is also connected to the main controller 42 via the power system controller 58.

On the other hand, a fixed point sensor 66 is attached to the lower abdomen of the vehicle body 2, and a parking switch 68 is provided for detecting that the disc brake 25 has been braked by operating the parking lever 24. Further, the boarding switch 6 serving as a boarding detection sensor is provided on the lower surface side of the step plate 38.
9 are provided, and these sensors 66, 68, 69 are also connected to the main controller 42 of the above.

FIG. 1 shows a flow chart for the main controller 42, in which (P-1) to (P-).
16) shows each step of the program. (P-
1) is a step of starting the mode switching process. In this case, the modes are a caddy mode when the caddy switch 46a is turned on, a fixed mode passing mode when the self mode fixed point passing switch 46c is turned on when the self switch 46b is turned on,
By operating the main switch 46 described above,
Any one of these modes can be selected. And in each of these modes, the golf car 1
It is in the control state of unmanned automatic driving.

In the caddy mode or the fixed point passing mode, the boarding switch 6 is operated in a selected control state.
When 9 outputs a detection signal, the golf car 1 can be automatically switched from the above-mentioned automatic running control state to the manual running control state, and this manual running control state is called a boarding mode.

Each of the above controls will be described in more detail.
When running the golf car 1, first, one of the main switch 46 is selected from the caddy switch 46a, the self switch 46b, and the fixed point passing switch 46c (P-2). Then, the golf car 1 is in the control state of automatic traveling. In addition, if a start command is given to the main controller 42 by operating the start stop switch 47 or the start stop switch 51 of the transmitter 50, the golf car 1 will automatically run.

That is, in response to the start command, the main relay 56 is connected, and thereby the starter dynamo 15 is connected to the battery 17, and the starter dynamo 15 is connected.
Functions as a starter motor and starts the engine 6. Further, the same as above, the electromagnetic clutch 35 is connected by the start command, and the stepping motor 36 is connected to the switching device 29.
Same as above, it is connected to the throttle valve of the carburetor 7 via the electromagnetic clutch 35, and its opening is automatically adjusted by the stepping motor 36. In this case, the connection of the governor device 31 and the accelerator lever 33 to the throttle valve of the carburetor 7 is released by the switching device 29. At the same time as the above, the electromagnetic brake 26 is turned on and the braking is released.

When the engine 6 reaches a predetermined speed, its power is transmitted to the speed reducer 12 while being automatically shifted by the automatic transmission 13. Then, after being decelerated by the speed reducer 12, it is transmitted to the rear wheels 4 and 4, whereby the golf car 1 starts running.

When the running is started, each of the guide wire sensors 63 causes the guide wire 61 in which an alternating current is applied in advance.
The steering motor 23 is driven to rotate in the forward and reverse directions through the main controller 42 and the power system controller 58 in response to the detection of the magnetic force of the steering wheel 23. The barrel front left and right wheels 3, 3 are steered.

At the same time, the steering motor 23
The rotation arm 62 also rotates in conjunction with the driving of the above through the link mechanism 22. Then, the change in the detection signal of each guide wire sensor 63 due to the rotation of the rotating arm 62 is fed back to the steering motor 23, and the steering motor 23 is driven in accordance therewith, again as described above. As each front wheel 3 is steered, the rotating arm 62 is also rotated. Then, this is repeated, and the golf car 1 will automatically run along the guide line 61. When the vehicle speed is slow, the throttle valve of the carburetor 7 is opened more greatly by the operation signal of the vehicle speed sensor 53 during the automatic traveling, and when the vehicle speed is faster, the throttle valve is closed smaller. It is designed to let you.

Further, when the throttle valve is opened and closed by the operation of the stepping motor 36, the throttle sensor 55 detects the opening degree and feeds it back to the stepping motor 36 via the main controller 42. The proper opening can be obtained. In this way, the vehicle speed sensor 53
The throttle valve of the carburetor 7 is adjusted in opening degree by the detection signal of, and normally, a certain high speed traveling is maintained.
However, during this traveling, when the golf car 1 deviates from the guide wire 61 by a certain size or more, it is decelerated and switched to a certain low speed traveling.

The magnet 61a is installed in front of a steep downhill or a sharp corner, and the low speed traveling is performed even when the fixed point sensor 66 detects the magnet 61a. In this low-speed traveling, the low-speed traveling distance is calculated by the detection signal of the vehicle speed sensor 53 and the timer built in the main controller 42, and after the predetermined low-speed traveling, the vehicle automatically returns to the high-speed traveling. It is like this.

While the vehicle is running, the starter dynamo 15 driven by the engine 6 functions as a generator, and its output is charged in the battery 17 via the main relay 56 that is turned on. When going down a downhill, the regenerative braking action is generated by the power generation in the starter dynamo 15, and the golf car 1 is decelerated. When the battery 17 is sufficiently charged, the regenerative braking becomes insufficient. At this time, the main relay 56 is turned off and the starter dynamo 15 is switched to the resistor 57. . Then, the generated current is consumed by the resistor 57, whereby the desired resistance braking is obtained.

When the traveling of the golf car 1 is stopped, a stop command is given to the main controller 42 by the start stop switch 47 or the start stop switch 51 of the transmitter 50. In this case, first, the electromagnetic clutch 3
5 is turned on (connection operation), the stepping motor 36
Then, the carburetor 7 is closed. Then, the golf car 1 is decelerated by the engine brake of the engine 6 and the regenerative braking by the power generation of the starter dynamo 15.
After that, when it is determined by the detection signal of the rotation sensor 45 or the vehicle speed sensor 53 that the rotation speed or the vehicle speed of the engine 6 has become lower than a predetermined value, the engine 6 causes the ignition circuit 44 to misfire. At this time, the electromagnetic clutch 35 is turned off (disengaged), the throttle valve in the carburetor 7 is fully closed by the spring return, and the engine 6 is stopped by these. At the same time as the engine 6 is stopped, the electromagnetic brake 26 is turned off to brake the rear wheels 4 and 4, whereby the golf car 1 is stopped (hereinafter, this stop of the golf car 1 is referred to as stop control. ).

In (P-3), if the mode (previous mode) selected by the main switch 46 is the same as the mode currently running, (P-4) is executed. (P-
In 4), it is detected by the throttle sensor 55 that the electromagnetic brake 26 is in a non-braking state, the opening of the carburetor 7 is not 0, and the opening is open, and the current vehicle speed is 0.
When it is determined that the following is not detected by the vehicle speed sensor 53, that is, when it is determined that the golf car 1 is not stopped, through (P-5),
Return to (P-1) above. And the golf car 1 is
The unmanned automatic driving described above is maintained.

In (P-3), when the previous mode and the current mode are different, that is, when the mode is switched, the mode switching flag is set to "change" ((P-
6). Then, in this case, the golf car 1 is stopped and controlled in the same manner as described above, and then (P-4) is executed. At this (P-4), when it is determined that the golf car 1 is not stopped, the procedure returns to (P-1) through (P-5) in the same manner as described above, and the golf car 1
The stop control of is repeated. Then, if it is determined that the golf car 1 is stopped in (P-4), (P-8)
Is executed.

(P-8) again, main switch 46
Selects one of the caddy mode, self mode, and fixed point passing mode. Same as above (P-8)
Then, when the caddy mode is selected (P-9) and the start command is given to the main controller 42 by operating the start / stop switches 47 and 51, the mode flag becomes the caddy mode (P-10). In this case, as described above, the key 49 of the main switch 46 does not come out of the lock 48, that is, in this caddy mode, anyone can freely operate the main switch 46. In this control state, when the boarding switch 69 is not turned on, that is, when there is no one on the step plate 38 (P-11), the process returns to (P-1) and the above (P-1) to (P-10). ) Is executed.

When the boarding switch 69 is turned on in the above (P-11), it is determined that the operator is present on the step plate 38, that is, the operator intends to manually drive the golf car 1, The mode is automatically switched to the boarding mode (P-12), and the mode flag is set to the boarding mode. In this case, the golf car 1 can be manually driven.

That is, in this control state, the accelerator lever 33 is connected to the throttle valve of the carburetor 7 via the governor device 31 by the operation of the switching device 29. Therefore, by manually operating the accelerator lever 33, the throttle opening of the carburetor 7 can be changed to freely adjust the traveling speed of the golf car 1. Also in this case,
The steering of the golf car 1 can be freely performed by operating the handle 21, and the braking of the golf car 1 can be freely performed by operating the brake lever 27.

When the self mode is selected in the above (P-8) (P-13) and the start command is given to the main controller 42 by operating the start / stop switches 47 and 51, the mode flag becomes the self mode (P-8). -14). In this case, as described above, the key 4 on the main switch 46
9 can be pulled out from the lock 48. If the key 49 is removed in this way, only a specific person such as a golf course manager can operate the main switch 46, and a golfer can prevent the main switch 46 from being freely operated. In the control state in the self mode, (P-1) to (P-8) are executed regardless of whether the boarding switch 69 is turned on.

When the fixed point passage mode is selected (P-8) and the start command is given to the main controller 42 by operating the start / stop switches 47 and 51 in the above (P-8), the mode flag becomes the fixed point passage mode. (P-16). In this case, as described above, the key 49 of the main switch 46 cannot be removed from the lock 48, that is,
In this fixed point passing mode, anyone can freely operate the main switch 46.

By the way, when the golf car 1 reaches the specific magnet 61a while the golf car 1 is in the control state of the automatic running, the fixed point sensor 66 detects the magnet and the golf car 1 is controlled to stop. It has become. However, when the fixed point passage mode is selected, even if the magnet 61a is reached, it is ignored and the vehicle is controlled to travel to the next fixed point magnet 61a. Also in this control state, (P-11) and (P-12) described above are executed as in the case of selecting the caddy mode. Although the above is based on the illustrated example, the step plate 38 may be a seat.

[0047]

According to the present invention, there is provided a traveling control device for a vehicle, which is capable of switching between a control state of unmanned automatic traveling and a control state of manual traveling. An occupant detection sensor for detecting the occupant getting on the vehicle is provided, and the detection signal of the occupant detection sensor is used to automatically switch the control state of the automatic traveling to the control state of the manual traveling. In the case of trying to switch to the control state of manual traveling, it is not necessary to operate the control device, and if the operator gets on the vehicle, the boarding detection sensor can quickly obtain the control state of manual traveling described above. It will be. Therefore, it is possible to shift the automatically traveling vehicle to the control state of manual traveling,
You can do it quickly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a main controller.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a golf car.

FIG. 3 is an overall plan simplified view of a golf car.

FIG. 4 is a detailed rear view of the main switch.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the main switch.

FIG. 6 is an overall diagram including an electrical wiring diagram.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Golf Car (Vehicle) 42 Main Controller 46 Main Switch 69 Ride Switch (Ride Detection Sensor)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A travel control device for a vehicle, which is capable of being switched to any one of a control state that enables unmanned automatic traveling and a control state that enables manual traveling, wherein: A travel control device for a vehicle, which is provided with a boarding detection sensor for detecting an occupant getting on the vehicle, and is configured to automatically switch the above-mentioned automatic travel control state to a manual travel control state by a detection signal of this boarding detection sensor.