JPH0644644U - Door mirror with wind pressure sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] The objective is to easily measure and recognize the wind pressure applied to a vehicle without impairing the safety and comfort of the vehicle. [Composition] A pressure sensor for detecting the wind pressure applied to the mirror housing is provided on the outer surfaces of the left and right mirror housings 4 attached to the doors of the vehicle at the front in the traveling direction, and the display unit 2 displays the wind pressure inside the vehicle. Is installed in the car.

Description

[Detailed description of the device] [Industrial applications]

The present invention relates to a vehicle door mirror device, and more particularly to a door mirror device having a built-in pressure sensor for sensing wind pressure received by the vehicle.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 The rear-view mirrors of automobiles have various functions such as those that can be operated from the inside of the vehicle with a remote control, and those that automatically switch to an anti-glare state when a headlight of a following vehicle approaches while driving at night by a light sensor. Although a rearview mirror has been proposed, a door mirror incorporating a pressure sensor that detects the wind pressure received by the vehicle while the vehicle is running or stopped has not been developed or proposed.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 As is well known, the safety and comfort of a vehicle can be impaired due to the wind pressures that it receives while driving. For example, it is known that when a vehicle receives a strong crosswind while driving, the vehicle body slips sideways and easily slips. In addition, the current door mirror is constructed so that it can be rotated around the shaft around the overhanging part of the base fixed to the door of the car. A ball clutch is often built in the rotating shaft to give a holding force to the door mirror at the neutral position. However, because of the structure, the span from the center of rotation cannot be taken large, so the deflection in the direction of rotation is large. It is also known that when running at high speeds, the air resistance that hits the door mirrors increases, which causes the door mirrors to vibrate, causing chattering on the mirror surface, and wind noise to reduce quietness.

Therefore, the possibility of an accident is predicted by notifying the driver or passenger in the vehicle of the strength of the wind, and when a strong wind is received, for example, an alarm is issued to reduce the vehicle speed or drive the vehicle. It is necessary to prepare passengers and passengers to take necessary measures to prevent accidents, and to increase the holding force of the door mirror against wind to suppress the vibration of the door mirror and prevent chattering of the mirror surface. It is beneficial to increase.

As is well known, recent passenger cars are required to have a high level of safety as well as a comfortable riding comfort. For this reason, it is important to always recognize or accurately measure the wind pressure applied to the vehicle body regardless of whether the vehicle is running or stopped, and to know the difference in the wind pressure applied to both sides of the vehicle body accurately. is there.

By the way, when mounting the pressure sensor on the vehicle, the mounting position of the pressure sensor may not be anywhere on the vehicle body. According to an experiment conducted by the present inventor, when a pressure sensor is attached to a pillar or a fender of a body, an air flow having a high flow velocity flows against the sheet metal surface of the body, so that a negative pressure results and measurement cannot be performed. If a pressure sensor is attached to the front of the body, Karman vortices will form between it and the preceding vehicle, and the wind flow will be disturbed, making accurate wind pressure measurement impossible. Furthermore, if it is provided so as to project from the side of the body, it will cause a safety problem for pedestrians, etc., and therefore a folding mechanism will be required, and the appearance will be worse.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to easily measure and recognize the wind pressure applied to a vehicle without impairing the safety and comfort of the vehicle.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problem, in the present invention, a pressure sensor for detecting the wind pressure applied to the mirror housing is provided on the outer surface located at the front in the traveling direction of the left and right mirror housings attached to the door of the vehicle. Moreover, the gist is to provide a display part inside the car to display the wind pressure inside the car.

As a known sensor for measuring pressure, a pressure sensor that converts pressure into an electric signal and detects the electric signal has been put into practical use. That is, when a piezoresistor is formed on a silicon diaphragm and the diaphragm is deformed by pressure, the resistivity of the piezoresistor changes. A so-called semiconductor pressure sensor is known, which measures pressure by pressure-voltage conversion by driving a piezoresistor with a bridge structure at a constant current, and a phosphor bronze diaphragm that converts pressure to mechanical displacement and a diaphragm. A capacitance-type pressure sensor is known that is composed of a movable electrode connected to the electrode and a fixed electrode that faces the movable electrode, and that the capacitance between the two electrodes changes depending on the pressure. There is. The wind pressure sensor of the present invention can use any of the above types of pressure sensors.

[0010]

[Action]

 According to the above configuration, when the vehicle is traveling, the total of the dynamic pressure (pressure correlated with the speed of the vehicle) and the static pressure (atmospheric pressure) is output to the pressure sensor. Since the pressure sensors are installed on the left and right mirror housings, the difference in wind pressure on both sides of the vehicle body can be easily and accurately detected through the display unit provided inside the vehicle at all times. Therefore, the driver and passengers can prepare to take the necessary measures to prevent accidents, and can position and control various steering and stabilizing devices with respect to the wind, improving the safety and comfort of the vehicle. It can be further improved.

[0011]

【Example】

 Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of an automobile equipped with a door mirror device with a wind pressure sensor according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the door mirror. 3 shows an example of a display device, FIG. 4 shows an example of a crosswind detection circuit, and FIG. 5 shows an example of a crosswind alarm circuit.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 indicates a body of an automobile, and a door mirror device 3 is attached to the triangular window portions of the left and right doors. The present invention incorporates pressure sensors 5R and 5L in the mirror housings on the left and right sides of the door mirror device as follows. That is, a pressure sensor is attached to the front side of the mirror housing 4 attached to the door in the vehicle traveling direction to detect a cross wind.

The wind pressure applied to the mirror housing 4 detected by the pressure sensor is preferably displayed on a display unit installed inside the vehicle. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, it can be visually displayed on the inner mirror 2 mounted in front of the driver's seat. If necessary, a voice generator (that is, an alarm signal generator) may be provided in parallel, so that when a strong crosswind is detected, for example, an alarm can be sounded at the same time.

In FIG. 4, 5R indicates a pressure sensor on the right side, and 5L indicates a pressure sensor on the left side, which are respectively attached to the left and right mirror housings. 6 and 7 are signal amplifiers for amplifying the signal from the pressure sensor, and 8 and 9 are integrating circuits. The signals from the left and right pressure sensors are amplified by signal amplifiers 6 and 7, respectively. Since the pressure is constantly changing while the vehicle is running, the waveform is integrated and smoothed by the integrating circuits 8 and 9 composed of the resistor R1 and the capacitor C1 or the resistor R4 and the capacitor C2.

The signal (analog output) corresponding to the pressure is output as it is as a correction control signal to the traction controller, spoiler controller and tire steering angle controller of the vehicle. Normally, the above signals are digitally output by each controller via an A / D converter to control the traction controller, spoiler controller and tire steering angle controller.

In FIG. 4, the voltage values at the points where the signal outputs from the signal amplifiers 6 and 7 pass through the integrating circuits 8 and 9 are VR and VL, respectively. The left and right signal outputs are compared left and right, and a voltage divider circuit composed of voltage comparators 11 and 12 and R2 and R3 or R5 and R6 so that an output is produced when the left and right pressure balance exceeds a certain specified value. 13 and 14 are used. Here, R2 = R5 and R3 = R6. The reference numeral 15 indicates an OR circuit, which is composed of diodes D1 and D2 and a resistor R9. Reference numeral 16 is a reference voltage circuit, which includes resistors R7 and R8 and a capacitor C3. Reference numeral 17 is a power supply circuit, which is connected to the ignition switch IG.

By the way, when the left and right pressures applied to the pressure sensors 5R and 5L are equal, VR = VL, VR + R3 / R2 + R3 is input to the + side input terminal of the voltage comparator 11, and the − side terminal is also input. VL is input, and the + side input is lowered only by the partial pressure of R2 and R3. Therefore, the output of the voltage comparator 11 becomes low level. Similarly, VL.R6 / R5 + R6 is input to the + side input terminal of the voltage comparator 12, and VR is input to the-side terminal, and the + side input is lowered by the divided voltage of R5 and R6. ing. Therefore, the output of the voltage comparator 12 also becomes low level. On the other hand, when the signal output of the right pressure sensor 5R side becomes high, VR · R3 / R2 + R3 ≧ VL, and the output of the voltage comparator 11 (output to the right side wind alarm) becomes high level. When the signal output from the pressure sensor 5L on the left side becomes high, VL · R6 / R5 + R6 ≧ VR, and the output of the voltage comparator 12 (output to the crosswind alarm on the left side) becomes high level.

In the crosswind alarm circuit of FIG. 5, when an alarm signal is input from the crosswind detection circuit, either the transistor Q1 or Q2 is turned on, and a current flows through either LED1 or LED2. As shown, for example, a crosswind warning display sign 16 provided in advance on the surface of the inner mirror 2 is turned on. Even if an alarm signal comes in from either left or right, the signal is inputted to the alarm signal generating circuit 19 through the OR circuit 18 including the diodes D4 and D5 and the resistor R13, and the sounding element 20 is activated. ing. An alarm ON / OFF switch 21 may be provided between the OR circuit 17 and the alarm signal generating circuit 18.

As described above, the difference in wind pressure between both side surfaces of the vehicle body can be easily and accurately detected through the display section provided inside the vehicle at all times. Therefore, the driver and passengers can prepare to take the necessary measures to prevent accidents, and can position and control various steering stabilizing devices against the wind, thus ensuring vehicle safety. You can further improve your comfort.

FIG. 6 shows a concrete example of controlling the anti-rattle device of the door mirror by the signals taken out from the left and right pressure sensors. Referring to FIG. 6, the mirror housing 4 is configured so as to be rotatable around a shaft 23 on a projecting portion 22 of a base fixed to a door. Further, around the shaft, a chattering prevention plunger 24 is provided on at least one of the overhanging portion 22 and the mirror housing 4, and when the plunger 24 is excited, the operating rod advances and presses either the base 21 or the housing 4. It is configured to give a holding force. FIG. 7 shows a drive circuit for the plunger 24. When a constant pressure detection signal is output from the cross wind detection circuit shown in FIG. 4, this signal turns on the transistor Q3 and the plunger 24 is excited. ing. Therefore, this circuit causes the actuating rod of the plunger 24 to advance between the base 21 and the housing 4 to apply a holding force to the door mirror in the neutral position.

[0021]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, according to the present invention, the pressure sensor for detecting the wind pressure applied to the mirror housing is provided on the outer surface of the left or right mirror housing attached to the door of the vehicle, which is located at the front in the traveling direction. Since the wind pressure is displayed inside the vehicle, it is possible to accurately know the wind pressure received by the vehicle body when the vehicle is running or stopped, even when the vehicle is inside the vehicle. Therefore, the driver and passengers can take the necessary measures to cope with the strong wind, can control various devices against the strong wind, and further improve the safety and comfort of the vehicle. be able to.

Further, according to the present invention, since the pressure sensor is provided at the position projecting to the extreme left and right sides of the vehicle, accurate wind pressure measurement can be performed without causing turbulence in the air flow when the vehicle is traveling.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an automobile equipped with a door mirror device incorporating a pressure sensor according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the door mirror.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a crosswind display device.

FIG. 4 is a crosswind detection circuit diagram.

FIG. 5 is a side wind alarm circuit diagram.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a door mirror provided with a chattering prevention plunger.

FIG. 7 is a drive circuit diagram of a plunger.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Car Body 2 Inner Mirror 3 Door Mirror Device 4 Mirror Housing 5R Pressure Sensor 5L Pressure Sensor 6 Signal Amplifier 7 Signal Amplifier 8 Integrating Circuit 9 Integrating Circuit 11 Voltage Comparator 12 Voltage Comparator 13 Voltage Dividing Circuit 14 Voltage Dividing Circuit 15 OR Circuit 16 Reference voltage circuit 17 Power supply circuit 18 OR circuit 19 Alarm signal generation circuit 20 Sounding element 21 Switch 22 Overhang portion 23 Shaft 24 Plunger

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location G01L 9/08 9009-2F

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] Claims: 1. A pressure sensor for detecting a wind pressure applied to a mirror housing is provided on an outer surface of a mirror housing attached to a door of a vehicle on the front side in the traveling direction, and a display unit for displaying the wind pressure in the vehicle. A door mirror with a wind pressure sensor for automobiles, which is equipped inside the car. 2. A detection circuit for outputting a signal for controlling a steering mechanism of a vehicle, a control mechanism portion of a traveling stabilizer such as an air spoiler, or a chattering prevention actuator of a door mirror when the mirror housing receives a predetermined wind pressure. The door mirror according to claim 1, which is provided.