JPH0826157A - Automatic turn signal lamp turning-off device for two wheeler - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an automatic turn signal lamp turning-off device for a two wheeler, capable of extinguishing the lightingness of a turn signal of a two wheeler automatically after changing the course. CONSTITUTION:This automatic turning-off device is composed of a direction indicator operating switch 10 operating a turn signal of a two wheeler, a traveling state detecting means 20 detecting those of handle steering angle, body inclination, traveling distance, car speed, body azimuch or the like, a controller 30 detecting the completion of course change after reading a state of this traveling state detecting means since the direction indicator operating switch has been operated and thereby outputting a light-off signal, and an operator which resets the direction indicator operating switch by the light-off signal to be outputted by this controller 30.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic turn-off device for a two-wheeled vehicle suitable for application to a two-wheeled vehicle such as a motorcycle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In two-wheeled vehicles such as motorcycles currently on the market, a direction indicating operation switch mounted on a steering wheel is operated to display a right turn display state or a left turn display state on a direction indicator, and a right turn or a left turn is terminated. After that, it is necessary to return the direction indicating operation switch to the original state and turn off the display state.

[0003]

Conventionally, since the driver has a structure in which the operation of returning the display state of the turn signal indicator to the original is carried out by the driver himself, there is a problem that the operator forgets to return it to the original state. That is, as a characteristic of the course change of the two-wheeled vehicle, the steering angle of the steering wheel becomes smaller as the vehicle speed becomes faster, and the course change is mainly performed by inclining the vehicle body at the time of high speed traveling. For this reason, the automatic turn-off method of the steering angle interlocking system such as that of a four-wheeled vehicle cannot be used for a two-wheeled vehicle. In addition, since there is no other device to prevent forgetting to turn off, there is no other countermeasure for turning off the turn signal except by relying on the driver's attention.

However, forgetting to turn off the direction indicator is often seen especially by beginners, and even a driver who is a little distracted may forget to turn off the direction indicator when performing another operation while changing course. is there. In some cases, forgetting to turn off the turn signal may lead to a serious traffic accident. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic turn-off device for a two-wheeled vehicle that can automatically turn off a two-wheeled vehicle when the course is changed.

[0005]

According to the present invention, a direction indicating operation switch for operating a direction indicator of a two-wheeled vehicle in a right turn display state or a left turn display state, a vehicle body inclination angle sensor for detecting an inclination angle of a vehicle body, and a steering wheel. A traveling state detecting unit configured by a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle, and a signal from the traveling state detecting unit are fetched to determine whether or not the two-wheeled vehicle is in the course change and to determine the course change end, and change the course. A direction indicator for a two-wheeled vehicle by a controller that outputs a turn-off signal of the turn signal after the end determination and an operator that returns the turn-instruction operation switch to the non-operation state (original position) by the turn-off signal output by the controller. It is a device for automatically turning off the device.

The traveling state detecting means may be composed of only an azimuth sensor for detecting the direction of the vehicle body, or a combination of an azimuth sensor and a vehicle body inclination angle sensor, a steering angle sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, and a traveling distance sensor. . According to the configuration of the present invention, for example, it is determined that the course is being changed when the steering angle and the inclination angle of the vehicle body satisfy the predetermined setting conditions (or the change in the direction of the vehicle body exceeds the set value), and the course is changed. When the course change is stored in the storage means and the course change is stored, the course change is made at the time when the steering angle and the vehicle body inclination angle shift from the above-mentioned condition during the course change to the setting condition of the normal traveling state. Since the configuration is such that the end of the operation is determined, it is possible to reliably detect the end of the course change even with a two-wheeled vehicle.
Therefore, it is possible to provide the automatic turn-off device for a two-wheeled vehicle turn indicator that can surely reach the turning-off operation when the course is changed.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a first example of the basic configuration of the present invention. A first basic configuration of the present invention is a control for detecting a direction change operation switch 10, a traveling state detecting means 20 for detecting a traveling state of a vehicle body, and a detection signal of the traveling state detecting means 20 to detect the end of a course change. The case where the device 30 and the operation device 40 that returns the direction indicating operation switch 10 to the non-operation position by the light-off signal output by the controller 30 are shown.

As shown in FIG. 2, the direction indicating operation switch 10 is composed of a changeover switch having two contacts 11 and 12. The movable contact 13 is normally held at the non-operation position N, but when the display is switched to the right turn or the left turn, the movable contact 13 contacts the contact 11 or 12, and the left turn display lamp L or the right turn display lamp R is turned on. Turn on the light.
The movable contact 13 is a contact 11 or 12 by a lock mechanism.
Although it is maintained (locked) in the state of being in contact with, it can be returned to the non-operation position N by a manual operation. In the present invention, a structure is added in which the lock mechanism is removed by the operation device 40 and the movable contact 13 is returned to the non-operation position N by the force of the spring.
That is, the operating device 40 can use, for example, an electromagnetic solenoid, and the electromagnetic solenoid is excited by giving an extinguishing signal output from the controller 30 to the electromagnetic solenoid, and by this excitation, the operator of the solenoid is moved.
A structure in which the lock mechanism of the movable contact 13 is released by the movement of the operator can be adopted.

In this example, the traveling state detecting means 20 is constituted by a steering angle sensor 21 for detecting the steering angle of the steering wheel and a vehicle body inclination angle sensor 22 for detecting the inclination angle of the vehicle body. The steering angle sensor 21 may have a structure in which the steering angle of the steering wheel is transmitted to a potentiometer and the steering angle is detected by a voltage signal output from the potentiometer.

The vehicle body inclination angle sensor 22 may be, for example, an inclinometer for detecting the inclination of the vehicle body to the left or right, or an angular velocity sensor such as a vibration type gyro may be configured with an integration processing unit. It is possible to detect that the course is being changed by detecting the inclination of the vehicle body. The detection signal of the traveling state detecting means 20 is input to the controller 30. The controller 30 can be configured by a microcomputer. The controller 30 activates the automatic turn-off control program when the direction indicating operation switch 10 is operated to the left turn state or the right turn state, and determines whether the course of the left turn or the right turn is being changed according to the detection signal input from the traveling state detection means 20. And the operation to detect the end of the course change is performed.

FIG. 3 shows an outline of the control program.
In steps S1 and S2, the state of the direction indicating operation switch 10 is constantly monitored. Directional operation switch 10
Is turned on for either left turn or right turn, the process branches to the automatic light-off control program constituted by steps S3 to S10. In step S3, the vehicle body inclination angle initial value φ ₀ and the steering angle initial value β ₀ are read from the traveling state detection means 20.

However, step S3 is executed only when YES is initially determined in step S2. In step S4, the vehicle body inclination angle φ and the steering angle β are read. In step S5, the difference Δφ from the initial value φ ₀ of the vehicle body inclination angle φ is calculated by Δφ = φ−φ ₀ . Further, in step S6, the difference Δβ of the steering angle β is Δβ =
It is calculated by β-β ₀ .

At step S7 (see FIG. 4), it is judged that the course is changed.
Execute regular processing. Δφ> 0 and Δβ> 0, and a car
Absolute value | Δφ | of difference Δφ of body inclination angle φ is set value φ_SYo
Larger, | Δφ |> φ_SOr or | Δβ |> β_SAt right
It is determined that the vehicle is being folded, and the course change storage means T_MTo T_MSubstitute = 1
Then, the change of course is memorized. Also (Δφ <0) and
| Δφ | ≧ φ for (Δβ <0)_SOr or | Δβ |> β
_SIf so, it is determined that the vehicle is turning left, and the course change storage means T_MTo T
_M= 1 is substituted and the fact that the course is changed is stored.

In step S8, a process for determining the end of course change is executed. When the course change is completed, the course change storage means T _M is set to T.
_If | Δφ | <φ _S and | Δβ | <β _S when _M = 1, it is determined that the course change is completed. If not completed, the process returns to step S4. When it is determined that the operation is finished, the turn-off signal is output in step S9, the direction indicating operation switch 10 is returned to the non-operation state, and the initial values φ ₀ and β ₀ are changed to φ ₀ = 0 and β in step S10.
₀ = 0, the course change storage means T _M is reset to T _M = 0, and the process returns to step S1.

In step S8, the determination process is executed for each calculation processing rate of the microcomputer. However, since the sensor signal from the running state detecting means 20 may contain noise, the noise of each sensor is detected. Due to the influence, even if momentarily, the conditions of | Δφ | <φ _S and | Δβ | <β _S are satisfied, and YES determination (malfunction) may occur even while the course is being changed. Therefore, it is desirable to perform a filtering process on each sensor signal or to branch to step S9 as a more probable YES determination only when the determination result of step S8 is continuously performed a certain number of times or more.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the state of the control. FIG. 5A shows the operation status of the direction indicating operation switch 10. Difference Δφ from the initial value of the vehicle body inclination angle φ
And the difference Δβ of the steering angle beta are both exceed the set value phi _S and beta _S, as diverting storage means T _M is shown in FIG. 5D T _M
From the state of = 0 to the state of T _M = 1. The difference Δφ of the vehicle body inclination angle φ and the difference Δβ of the steering angle β are both set values φ _S and β
_If it returns to a value smaller than _S , specifically, to a state of almost 0, and the course change storage means T _M stores T _M = 1 at that time point, an extinguishing signal is output as shown in FIG. 5E.

Therefore, according to the embodiment shown in FIG.
In either case of left turn or right turn indicated by symbols a and b, the operating state of the direction indicating operation switch 10 operated at the point X ₁ is the difference Δφ of the vehicle body inclination angle φ and the steering angle β after the course change.
When the difference Δβ of ∘ returns to about 0 at the points X ₂ and X _{3, a} turn-off signal is output and the turn signal can be turned off automatically.

FIG. 7 shows the second part of the basic construction of the present invention. The basic configuration 2 shows a case where the traveling state detecting means 20 is constituted by an azimuth angle sensor 25 such as an angular velocity sensor or a geomagnetic sensor. By using the azimuth sensor 25, the orientation of the vehicle body changes during the course change as shown in FIG. 8, and the difference ΔΨ from the initial value Ψ ₀ of the azimuth angle Ψ is ΔΨ> 0 or ΔΨ depending on whether it is clockwise or counterclockwise. <0 and if Ψ ′ = ΔΨ / ΔT (ΔT is time) | Ψ ′
When the condition that || is larger than the set value Ψ ′ _S and | Ψ ′ | ≧ Ψ ′ _S is satisfied, it can be determined that the course is being changed.

When it is determined that the course is being changed, the course is changed.
Change storage means T_MTo T_M= 1 is substituted and the course is changed
Memorize Course change storage means T_MIs T_M= 1
And, | Ψ ′ | <Ψ ′_STo detect that
Therefore, it can be determined that the course change has been completed. Figure
9 and 10 show the outline of the control program. here
Is the azimuth initial value Ψ in step S3.₀Read first
At the same time, the vehicle body azimuth angle Ψ is changed every moment in step S4.
Read, initial value Ψ in step S5A₀Azimuth difference with
ΔΨ = Ψ−Ψ ₀In step S5B, the azimuth angular velocity Ψ ′ =
Calculate ΔΨ / ΔT.

In step S6, it is determined whether or not the course is changing depending on whether ΔΨ> 0 or ΔΨ <0 and whether the condition of | Ψ ′ | ≧ Ψ ′ _S is satisfied. If there is, T _M = 1 is substituted into the route change storage means T _M. In step S7, a process for determining the end of the course change is performed. If the conditions for completion of the course change are T _M = 1 and (| Ψ ′ | <Ψ ′ _S ) are satisfied, it is determined that the course change is completed, and an extinguishing signal is output in step S8, and in step S9. The initial value Ψ ₀ and the route storage means T _M are reset to Ψ ₀ = 0 and T _M = 0, and the process returns to step S1. From the above, it can be understood that the azimuth sensor 25 alone can constitute an automatic turn-off control device for a motorcycle.

FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is characterized in that a trip meter or the like is used as the traveling state detecting means 20, or a traveling distance sensor 23 in which an integration processing unit is added to a vehicle speed sensor is added.
By providing the travel distance sensor 23, as shown by the reference numeral c in FIG. 6, even though the direction indicating operation switch 10 was operated at the point X ₁ , the vehicle went straight without changing the course. Even in the case, it can be turned off automatically.

That is, when the direction indicating operation switch 10 is operated to the left or right, the vehicle travels straight, as shown in FIG. 12, the traveling distance ΔL from the time when the direction indicating operation switch 10 is operated. ΔL = L−L ₀ (L
Calculation is started with ₀ being the initial value. Difference in body inclination angle φ Δφ
And the steering angle β difference Δβ is Δφ = 0 and Δβ = 0 as shown in FIGS. 12B and C, and the course change storage means T _M is T _M = 0 as shown in FIG. 12D. However, as shown in FIG. 12E, when the traveling distance ΔL exceeds a preset value L _S , for example, L _S = 60 meters, the controller 30 is configured to output an extinguishing signal at that time.

Therefore, according to the embodiment shown in FIG.
In addition to the function of automatically turning off the lights after turning left and right, a function of automatically turning off the turning indicators even if the driver goes straight ahead despite operating the direction indicating operation switch 10 is added. be able to. It should be easily understood that the configuration of the travel distance sensor 23 shown in FIG. 11 can be added to the basic configuration 2 shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a traveling distance sensor 23 and a vehicle speed sensor 24 are added to the traveling state detecting means 20. By providing the vehicle speed sensor 24, the set values φ _S and β _{S for} comparing the difference Δφ in the vehicle body inclination angle and the difference Δβ in the steering angle.
Can be changed according to the vehicle speed, and a function that can reliably perform the automatic extinguishing operation during low speed traveling and high speed traveling can be added.

That is, regarding the vehicle body inclination angle φ, 2
In the case of a wheeled vehicle Inclination angle φ commensurate with centrifugal force according to the traveling speed
Must be given to the car body. Therefore, the vehicle body inclination angle φ given to the vehicle body is small during low speed traveling, and the vehicle body inclination angle φ increases toward high speed traveling. As a result, the vehicle body inclination angle φ
The set value φ _S to be compared with must be corrected according to the vehicle speed. FIG. 14 shows an example of the correction characteristic. 14
In the above example, the constant set value φ _S1 is maintained up to 10 km / h, but when the speed exceeds 10 km / h, the set value is gradually increased. Hereinafter, this correction operation will be referred to as a rate scheduling process. In the figure, φ _SDL represents the set value of the vehicle body inclination angle corrected by the speed scheduling process.

FIG. 15 shows the speed scheduling characteristic of the steering angle β. The steering angle β becomes smaller as the vehicle speed becomes higher. For this reason, the speed scheduling characteristic is corrected so that the steering angle set value becomes smaller as the speed increases. β
_SDL indicates the set value of the rudder angle subjected to speed scheduling processing. 16 and 17 show an outline of a control program for operating the embodiment shown in FIG. The feature here is that the traveling distance ΔL after the direction indicating operation switch 10 is operated to ON is calculated in step S5, and the calculation result ΔL is compared with the set value L _S in step S6.
If L exceeds the set value L _S , step S shown in FIG.
Jumps to 12, a point to automatically turn off the to output the off signal direction indicator, running speed scheduling processing at step S7, obtains the set value phi _SDL and beta _SDL that rate scheduling process, and this set value phi _SDL The point is that β _SDL is used in step S10 shown in FIG. The other steps are the same as those in FIGS. 3 and 4.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, an example in which the mileage sensor 23 and the vehicle speed sensor 24 are added to the basic configuration 1 of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 has been described, but the present invention shown in FIG. It can be easily understood that the mileage sensor 23 and the vehicle speed sensor 24 can be added to the basic configuration 2 of FIG. Further, by combining the basic configurations 1 and 2 with each other, it is possible to use the respective detection signals of the sensors 21, 22, 25 to detect the course change and the course change end. By thus using the sensor in combination, it is possible to configure a highly reliable automatic turn-off device for a two-wheeled vehicle turn indicator.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the controller 30 is a digital signal processing circuit composed of a computing element such as a microcomputer has been described, but various calculation and judgment processings performed in the controller are represented by a flow chart. Therefore, even if this is configured by an analog signal processing circuit such as a switching circuit, a difference circuit, a sample hold circuit, a comparator, etc., it is possible to obtain the automatic turn-off device for a two-wheeled vehicle direction indicator which is the object of the present invention. .

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize automatic turn-off of the turn signal even in a two-wheeled vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the driver from forgetting to turn off the turn signal indicator, thereby reducing the burden on the driver. In addition, since there is no accident due to forgetting to turn off the direction indicator, the effect is great for practical use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a connection diagram for explaining the configuration of the direction indicating operation switch shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the outline of a control program used in the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart similar to FIG.

5 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view for explaining the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram for explaining a modified embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the modified example shown in FIG.

9 is a flowchart for explaining an outline of a control program used in the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart similar to FIG.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

14 is a graph for explaining an operation of speed scheduling processing of a set value of a vehicle body inclination angle used in the embodiment shown in FIG.

15 is a graph for explaining the operation of speed scheduling processing of the steering angle set value used in the embodiment shown in FIG.

16 is a flowchart for explaining the outline of a control program used in the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart similar to that of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Directional operation switch 20 Traveling state detection means 30 Controller 40 Operation device

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A. First Embodiment A direction indicating operation switch for operating the direction indicator of the two-wheeled vehicle to a right turn display state or a left turn display state, and B. A traveling state detecting means including a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle of the steering wheel and a vehicle body inclination angle sensor for detecting an inclination angle of the vehicle body; A signal from the running state detection means is taken in, it is determined that the course is being changed when the steering angle and the vehicle body inclination angle have reached the set values, and the presence or absence of the course change is stored in the course change storage means for storing the presence or absence of the course change. At the same time, it is determined that the course changing operation has ended when the steering angle and the vehicle body inclination angle have returned to the set values or less while the course changing storage means stores the course changing, and the turn-off signal of the turn signal is given. An output controller, and D. An automatic turn-off device for a two-wheeled vehicle turn indicator, comprising: an operation device that returns the above-mentioned direction instruction operation switch to a non-operation state by a light-off signal output from this controller. 2. A. A direction indicating operation switch for operating the direction indicator of the two-wheeled vehicle to a right turn display state or a left turn display state, and B. A traveling state detecting means composed of an azimuth sensor for detecting the direction of the vehicle body; A signal from the running state detection means is taken in, it is determined that the course is being changed when the change in the orientation of the vehicle body exceeds the set value, and the course change storage means that stores the presence or absence of the course change is stored with the course change. The turn-off signal of the turn signal is determined when it is determined that the course change operation has been completed when the change in the direction of the vehicle body is returned to the state below the set value while the course change storage means stores the change in course. A controller for outputting D. An automatic turn-off device for a two-wheeled vehicle turn indicator, comprising: an operation device that returns the above-mentioned direction instruction operation switch to a non-operation state by a light-off signal output from this controller. 3. An azimuth angle sensor according to claim 2 is added to the traveling state detecting means according to claim 1, and signals from the azimuth angle sensor, a vehicle body inclination angle sensor and a steering angle sensor are taken in to change the course and finish the course change. A turn signal automatic extinguishing device for a two-wheeled vehicle, which is configured to detect a signal and output an extinguishing signal. 4. A traveling distance sensor is added to the traveling state detecting means according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and the controller starts accumulation of traveling distance from the time when the direction instruction operation switch is operated, and the traveling path is determined. The turn signal automatic turn-off for a two-wheeled vehicle is characterized in that the turn-off signal is output when the integrated value of the traveled distance exceeds the set value in the state where the change storage means stores the fact that the course has not been changed. apparatus. 5. A vehicle speed sensor is added to the traveling state detecting means according to claim 1, and each set value of a vehicle body inclination angle, a steering angle or a direction change for determining that the course is being changed according to the vehicle speed. The automatic turn-off device for a two-wheeled vehicle turn indicator which is capable of reliably detecting that the vehicle is changing course at each vehicle speed from low speed to high speed.