JPH08198067A - Parking brake device for electric automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make the starting of an electric motor impossible while a brake device is being operated, by turning a parking brake lever so as to engaging and removing the pole of a rachet member to the locking teeth of a parking gear installed to a propeller shaft. CONSTITUTION: When a key switch 54 is opened in a parking condition, a signal voltage V from a lock detecting device 30, and a set voltage α by which it is decided that a parking brake is applied at least partially, are compared. And if the signal voltage V is larger than the set voltage α, the parking brake is operated at least partially. That is, a pole 24 and the locking teeth 16 are engaged at least partially. And since the solenoid 58a of a relay switch 58 is energized by a control unit 50, so as to open the switch 58, the power feeding circuit of an electric motor 10 is cut off, and made in the starting impossible condition. Consequently, a damage of the electric motor 10, and an unexpected runaway on the sloped ground can be prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a parking brake device for electric vehicles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional electric vehicle has a large number of heavy batteries as a power source and therefore has a large self-weight, and an electric motor as a prime mover is more likely to rotate than a gasoline engine or a diesel engine and has a self-braking ability. Therefore, it is possible to provide a parking brake device that has a reliable braking effect when parking on a slope such as a slope.
It is necessary for safety.

Under the above circumstances, a parking gear or a ratchet wheel fixed to a motor shaft or a rotary shaft concentrically fitted to the motor shaft is provided inside a housing of an electric motor that drives wheels as a prime mover of an electric vehicle. The parking gear or the ratchet member having a pawl for engaging and disengaging the pawl wheel is provided, and the pawl member is rotated by a cam that responds to the operation of a parking brake lever provided in the vehicle interior. Braking devices have already been proposed. (See JP-A-5-116540)

In the previously proposed parking brake device, since the parking gear or the ratchet wheel and the pawl member that cooperates with the parking gear or the ratchet wheel are housed inside the motor housing, the structure of the electric motor is improved. There is a problem that it becomes extremely complicated and the manufacturing cost increases, and when manufacturing various types of electric motors with different capacities corresponding to various vehicle types, there is a problem that each model requires a great development cost. . In addition, in the above proposed parking brake device, when the brake device is operating, the driver can forget to release the brake device and attempt to start the vehicle, so that the electric motor can be energized. In this case, serious damage such as seizure of the motor may occur.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has an extremely simple structure and a low manufacturing cost as compared with the previously proposed device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a parking brake device that can easily cope with different types of electric vehicles equipped with various types of electric motors having different capacities. Further, the present invention makes it possible to reliably prevent serious damage such as seizure of the electric motor by disabling the starting of the electric motor while the parking brake device is operating. The other purpose is to provide.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electric motor, a motor housing of a transmission connected to the electric motor, or a propeller shaft or a transmission output shaft arranged outside the transmission housing. A parking gear mounted on the vehicle body, a pawl member having a pole pivotally supported by a vehicle body component member and engaging with a locking tooth of the parking gear, and one end of the pawl member connected to a parking brake lever in the vehicle compartment A transmission member such as a cable or a rod connected to the pawl member is provided, and the pawl of the pawl member is engaged with or disengaged from the engaging gear of the parking gear by rotating the parking brake lever. We propose a parking brake device for electric vehicles, which is characterized in that Than it is.

Further, in the present invention, it is preferable that the pawl member or the parking brake lever is provided with a lock detecting device for detecting a meshing state of the engaging tooth of the parking gear and the pawl. Preferably, the power supply circuit of the electric motor is cut off when it is detected by the device that the locking tooth and the pole are at least partially engaged. Further, when the lock detecting device detects that the locking tooth and the pole are at least partially engaged, and when the accelerator pedal for controlling the rotation speed of the electric motor is depressed, the parking brake is activated. Is configured to be activated, and the lock detecting device detects that the engaging tooth and the pole are incompletely engaged. In this case, it is preferable that the second alarm device for notifying the incomplete engagement is activated.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a propeller shaft arranged outside the housing of an electric motor or a transmission output shaft extending outside the housing of a transmission connected to the electric motor or a propeller connected to the output shaft. Since the parking gear is mounted on the shaft and a pawl member having a pole that engages with the locking teeth of the parking gear is provided on an appropriate vehicle body constituent member such as the chassis frame, the structure of the electric motor is simplified. Moreover, it is possible to easily cope with a change in motor capacity without requiring a special development cost. Further, a lock detecting device for detecting the engagement state of the locking tooth of the parking gear and the pawl of the pawl member is provided, and the locking tooth and the pawl are at least partially engaged by the lock detecting device. Is detected, the power supply circuit of the electric motor is cut off.
Energization of the motor in a non-rotatable state is prevented. Further, when the locking teeth and the pawl are completely engaged, as well as incompletely engaged, that is, at least partially engaged, the driver is erroneous. When the accelerator pedal is depressed, the first alarm device is activated, so the driver is warned that the parking brake device is in operation and that the brake must be released for starting. When the locking teeth and the pole are incompletely engaged, the second alarm device is activated to inform the driver that the parking brake device is incompletely operated. It

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, in the schematic configuration diagram of FIG. 1 and the partial side view of FIG. 2 (side view seen from the direction of arrow II in FIG. 1), reference numeral 10 is an electric motor as a prime mover of an electric vehicle, and 12 is the electric motor 10. Motor housing 10 '
Is a propeller shaft that is arranged outside the vehicle and is driven by being connected to a motor shaft (not shown). Reference numeral 14 is a parking gear or a ratchet wheel that is fitted onto the propeller shaft 12 to rotate integrally therewith. A large number of locking teeth 16 are provided on the outer circumference of the. The locking teeth 16 may have a saw-tooth shape as shown, or may have a trapezoidal shape or any other shape.

An appropriate vehicle body structural member adjacent to the parking gear 14, for example, the chassis frame 18 and the bracket 2 is attached.
The upper end of 0 is fixed, and the pawl member 22 is pivotally supported at the lower free end of the bracket 20. Same pawl member 2
At the lower end of 2, there is provided a pawl 24 capable of locking the parking gear, and hence the propeller shaft 12, in a non-rotatable manner by engaging the locking teeth 16 of the parking gear 14. Further, a tension spring 26 is stretched between the vicinity of the upper end of the pawl member 22 and the bracket 20, and the pawl member 22 is biased by the spring 26 so as to always rotate clockwise around its pivot 28. In other words, the pole 24 is the locking tooth 1
It is urged rotationally in the direction of separating from 6.

Further, at the lower end portion of the bracket 20,
A lock detecting device 30 for detecting the engagement state between the pawl 24 and the locking teeth 16 is provided, and the lock detecting device 30 is provided.
Comprises a transmitter, such as a potentiometer, which is coupled to the pivot 28 to detect the angle of rotation of the pawl member 22, and thus the position of the pole 24, to generate an electrically variable amount of signal representative of the pole position. There is.

On the other hand, a parking brake lever 36 pivotally supported via a pivot 34 on a bracket 32 fixed to the passenger compartment floor is provided in the passenger compartment of the electric vehicle. One end of a cable 38 for operating the parking brake is connected to the parking brake lever 36,
The other end of the cable 38 is connected near the upper end of the pawl member 22. A lock latch 40 is pivotally supported inside the parking brake lever 36, and the lock latch 40 is provided with a locking tooth 4 formed on the upper edge of a striker plate 42 fixed to the bracket 32.
It is provided with latch teeth which define the rotational angle position of the parking brake lever 36 by engaging with 2 '. Further, inside the parking brake lever 36, a release rod 46 having a knob 44 at one end and the other end connected to the lock latch 40 is inserted. The knob 44 protruding from the grip 48 provided at the free end of the parking brake lever 36 is attached to the grip 48.
By pushing in, the release rod 46 is moved to the right in FIG. 1 to unlock the lock latch 40, and the parking brake lever 36 can be displaced to a desired rotational angle position. For the parking brake lever 36 and the various members that cooperate with each other, it is advantageous in terms of cost to use a mass-produced normal vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine as it is.

The parking brake lever 36 is rotated by a sufficient angle in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1 by pushing and unlocking the knob 44 to rotate the pawl member 22 counterclockwise through the cable 38. Pole 2 at its bottom
4 engages with the locking teeth 16 of the parking gear 14 to lock the propeller shaft 12 non-rotatably. If the rotation angle of the parking brake lever 36 is insufficient, the engagement between the pawl 24 and the locking teeth 16 becomes insufficient,
Since the rotation restraining force of the propeller shaft 12 is insufficient, there is a safety problem in parking on a slope with a large slope. The rotation angle of the pawl member 22, that is, the engagement state of the pawl 24 and the locking tooth 16 is detected by the lock detection device 30 and is supplied to the control unit 50 of FIG. 3 as an electric signal.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 52 is a power source including a large number of batteries, 54 is a key switch, and 56 is the electric motor 1.
A regulator such as a variable resistor for controlling the rotation speed of 0,
Reference numeral 58 is a relay switch interposed in the motor power feeding circuit between the key switch 54 and the regulator 56, 60 is an accelerator pedal controlled by the driver, and 62 is an electrically variable amount according to the depression amount of the accelerator pedal 60. An accelerator signal generator such as a potentiometer for generating an accelerator signal Ac for supplying the accelerator signal Ac to the control unit 50;
₁ is a first warning light, L ₂ is a second warning light, B ₁ is a first buzzer, and B ₂ is a second buzzer.

The relay switch 58 is a normally closed switch which is normally closed when the solenoid 58a is deenergized, and the parking brake lever 36 is controlled and operated so that the pawl 24 of the pawl member 22 can be controlled. It is opened by the drive signal of the control unit 50 only when is engaged at least partially with the locking teeth 16 of the parking gear 14. During normal operation of the electric vehicle, the key switch 54 is closed and the relay switch 58 is
Since the vehicle is also closed, when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal 60, the accelerator signal Ac corresponding to the amount of depression is input from the accelerator signal generator 62 to the control unit 50. On the other hand, since a signal indicating that the parking brake is not applied is input from the lock detection device 30 of the parking brake device to the control unit 50, the control unit 50 causes the regulator 56 to operate.
Based on the drive signal output to the electric motor 10, the electric motor 10 rotates at a speed according to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 60, and the vehicle speed of the electric vehicle is adjusted.

Next, an operation mode of the control unit 50 when the electric vehicle is parked will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. If the key switch 54 is closed during parking, the program starts, and in step S ₁ , the signal voltage V from the lock detection device 30 is output.
Is compared with a first set voltage α, which is determined to be at least partially applied to the parking brake. If the signal voltage V is NO, which is greater than the set voltage α, then the parking brake is at least partially applied (ie the pole 24 and the locking tooth 16 are at least partially engaged). ), So the step proceeds to S ₂ . In step S _2, the solenoid 58a of the relay switch 58 by the control unit 50 is energized, since the switch 58 is opened, it is interrupted power supply circuit of the electric motor 10, the start disabled state. (In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the electric motor 10 is simply abbreviated as a motor.)

Next, the program proceeds to S _3, whether the accelerator pedal 60 is depressed is checked. The driver mistakenly depresses the accelerator pedal 60 without rotating the parking brake lever 36 to the release position Y
In the case of ES, the step proceeds to S ₄ , where the first warning light L ₁ provided at an appropriate position in the vehicle compartment, preferably the instrument panel is turned on and the first buzzer B ₁ is activated to park the driver. Informs that the brake is applied. Since of course the electric motor 10 in step S ₂ is a non activated, the motor will not start, failure does not occur, such as burning and the parking gear 14 or the pawl member 22 is not damaged. Step S ₄ returns to step S ₁ , and the driver notices the operation of the first alarm device including the first warning light L ₁ and the first buzzer B ₁ ,
The first alarm device continues to operate until the accelerator pedal 60 is released.

[0018] In step _{S 3,} the accelerator pedal 6
When 0 is not depressed NO, the program proceeds to step S _5, and the signal voltage V of the lock detection device 30, engaging partially in incomplete application i.e. poles 24 and the locking teeth 16 of the parking brake It is compared with the second set voltage β which indicates that only V is performed, and it is checked whether V <β. If the parking brake is incomplete engagement (YES), step goes to S _6, similarly to the second warning lamp L _{2 (first} warning lamp L ₁ constituting the first second alarm device to the instrument panel (Preferably provided) lights up. The driver does not notice the lighting of the second warning light L ₂ ,
If the state of V <β continues for t seconds or more without correcting the incomplete engagement of the parking brake (step S ₇ ), the step proceeds to S ₈ and the second buzzer B ₂ is additionally operated.
Step S ₈ is returned to step S _1, the driver (until NO is determined in step S ₇₎ until correcting the incomplete engagement of the parking brake to continue. Therefore, there is an advantage that it is possible to surely prevent an unexpected start due to imperfect application of the parking brake at the start of parking, especially when parking on a slope having a large slope.

[0019] Returning again to step S _1, if from the signal voltage V of the lock detection device 30 of the first set voltage α is large YES, that if the parking brake is determined not to be applied, if For instance a temporary stop , or if it is Mawarido the release position of the parking brake lever 36 for the parking after the start, as shown in step S _9, the electric motor 10 is bootable, as already described, the operation A person can run by depressing the accelerator pedal 60.

Also, when parking, the parking brake is fully applied, that is, the parking brake lever 36 is fully rotated so that the pole 24 is fully engaged with the locking tooth 16 as shown by the dotted line in FIG. When combined and are the signal voltage V of the lock detection device 30 becomes larger than the second set voltage β representing the incomplete engagement, NO in step S ₅
Is determined, step proceeds to S _10, whether the key switch 54 has been opened is checked. (Opening / closing of the key switch 54 is easily determined by detecting the voltage on the downstream side of the switch as shown in FIG. 3.) The key switch 5 is used because the driver leaves the vehicle.
If 4 is opened, and whether re-V <beta in step S _11, i.e. whether the parking brake is not engaged incomplete engagement is determined, if it is determined that if an incomplete engagement (YES), step the procedure proceeds to S _12, the second warning lamp _{L 2}
Lights up and the second buzzer B ₂ operates. Thus the driver will be operating the parking brake fully engaged state, so that step S ₁₁ is (to eliminate the incomplete engagement) NO, and the program is completed.

Furthermore, in step _{S 5,} V <
If β is NO, that is, it is determined that the parking brake is operating but is not in the incompletely engaged state, and if the incompletely engaged state in which V <β is not continued for t seconds or more in step S ₇ , that Kaeten's notice the lighting of the second warning lamp at step S _6, when completely engaged the parking brake by operating fix the parking brake lever 36,
Both the process proceeds to step S _10, if YES key switch 54 is opened, as described above, the step S
Proceed to ₁₁ . However, in step S _10, if NO the key switch 54 is closed, the program returns to step S _1, the operation is repeated again. By the operation of the control unit 50 described above,
When the electric vehicle is parked, the warning from the alarm device reliably prevents the driver from leaving the vehicle with the parking brake incompletely engaged. There is an advantage that danger such as runaway can be surely prevented.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but various changes and modifications can be added thereto. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the parking gear or the ratchet wheel 14 is mounted on the propeller shaft 12 connected to the motor shaft of the electric motor 10. However, the transmission is connected to the electric motor 10 and the output shaft of the transmission is connected to the propeller shaft 12. When the propeller shaft 12 is connected, the parking gear or the ratchet wheel 14 is attached to any one of the transmission output shaft protruding outside the transmission housing or the propeller shaft 12 connected to the output shaft. be able to. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the lock detection device 30 is arranged so as to detect the rotation angle of the pivot 28 of the pawl member 22,
It can be changed to detect the rotation angle of the parking brake lever 36. However, in this case, sufficient care must be taken for maintenance in consideration of the elongation of the cable 38 and the like.
Further, in the above embodiment, the first and second buzzers B ₁ and B ₂ are provided, but a single buzzer can be modified to operate in the steps S ₄ , S ₈ and S ₁₂ . Alternatively, the cable can be replaced by a transmission rod. In addition, the function of the control unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 4 can be appropriately modified, and steps S ₁₁ and S ₁₂ can be omitted, for example.

[0023]

As described above, the parking brake device for an electric vehicle according to the present invention includes an electric motor, a motor housing of a transmission connected to the electric motor, or a propeller shaft or a gearbox disposed outside the transmission housing. A parking gear mounted on the machine output shaft, a pawl member having a pole pivotally supported by a vehicle body component member and engaging with a locking tooth of the parking gear, and one end of which is connected to a parking lever in the vehicle interior and the other end A transmission member such as a cable or a rod connected to the pawl member, and by rotating the parking lever, the pole of the pawl member is engaged with the locking tooth of the parking gear or from the engaging tooth. Characterized by being configured to be detached, the structure is extremely simple, the manufacturing cost is low, and the capacity is different. There is an advantage that it can easily be applied to electric vehicles of different vehicle types that are equipped with different types of electric motors. Further, in the above configuration, a lock detection device for detecting the engagement state between the locking teeth of the parking gear and the pole is provided. Is provided, and in cooperation with the lock detection device, the electric motor is disabled when the engaging teeth of the parking gear and the pawl are completely engaged, and an alarm is issued when the engagement is incomplete. By adding the above, there is an effect and an advantage that the electric motor can be surely prevented from being damaged, and an unexpected runaway that may occur at the time of parking on a slope ground can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial side view seen from the direction of arrow II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a control circuit diagram including a parking brake device and an electric motor control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation mode of the control unit in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Electric motor, 12 ... Propeller shaft, 14 ... Parking gear, 16 ... Engaging tooth, 18 ... Car body component member (car frame), 20 ... Bracket, 22 ... Pawl member,
24 ... Pole, 30 ... Lock detection device, 36 ... Parking brake lever, 38 ... Cable, 50 ... Control unit, 52 ... Power supply (battery), 54 ... Key switch, 60 ... Accelerator pedal, 62 ... Accelerator signal generator, L ₁ ... first讐告lamp, L 2 _... second warning lamp, _{B 1} and _{B 2} ... buzzer.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An electric motor, a motor housing of a transmission connected to the electric motor, a propeller shaft arranged outside the transmission housing, a parking gear mounted on an output shaft of the transmission, and a vehicle body component pivotally supported. A pawl member having a pawl that engages with a locking tooth of a parking gear, and a transmission member such as a cable or a rod that has one end connected to a parking brake lever in a vehicle compartment and the other end connected to the pawl member. Then, by rotating the parking brake lever, the pawl of the pawl member is configured to be engaged with or disengaged from the engaging tooth of the parking gear. apparatus. 2. The electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the pawl member or the parking brake lever is provided with a lock detecting device for detecting a meshing state between the locking tooth of the parking gear and the pole. Parking brake device. 3. The power supply circuit of the electric motor is cut off when it is detected by the lock detection device that the locking tooth and the pole are at least partially engaged with each other. The parking brake device for an electric vehicle according to claim 2. 4. The lock detecting device detects that the engaging tooth and the pole are at least partially engaged, and when an accelerator pedal for controlling the rotation speed of the electric motor is depressed. The parking brake device for an electric vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the first alarm device for notifying that the parking brake is operating is activated. 5. When the lock detecting device detects that the engaging teeth and the pawl are incompletely engaged, a second alarm device for informing the incomplete engagement is activated. A parking brake device for an electric vehicle, which is configured.