JPH10324203A - Combination switch system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To apply a combination switch having low current switches to many types of cars switching operating the different actuators. SOLUTION: A combination switch system 11 is provided with a combination switch 13 having a plurality of switches SW1 to SW4 of same contact capacity and a transmission CPU 19 converting an input signal from the switches SW1 to SW4 into a digital value to send it out, and a receiving unit 15 having a receiving CPU 27 which receives a conversion signal from the transmission CPU 19 then sends out a drive control signal of an actuator in correspondence to this conversion signal to a driver circuit 29 and a memory device 31 which stores the address information of the actuator corresponding to a conversion signal, to which the receiving CPU 27 accesses.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a combination switch system capable of sharing a combination switch between different types of vehicles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A combination switch for controlling an actuator such as a light, a wiper, and an auxiliary brake is attached to a handle column of a vehicle. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the combination switch 1 has, for example, a three-stage rotation switching operation of rotating the lever 3 around the steering shaft and a one-stage swing switching operation of lifting the lever 3 in the axial direction of the steering shaft. Enable switching operation. The combination switch 1 generally opens and closes contacts by these switching operations to directly supply / cut off power to the actuator.

Incidentally, such a combination switch 1 may be used for switching of different actuators depending on the type of vehicle mounted. In the case of a heavy-duty truck, for example, an auxiliary brake (exhaust brake) that reduces the rotation of the engine by providing resistance to the exhaust gas by closing a valve provided in the middle of the exhaust pipe of the engine is installed. Generally, the hazard flasher is also switched by the lever 3.
Accordingly, in the case of a large truck, as shown in FIG.
In step 3), the hazard flasher is turned ON / OFF by a swing switching operation (SW4). On the other hand, in the case of a small truck, it is almost the same as a passenger car.
As shown in (b), for example, intermittent wiper (INT), low-speed wiper (LO), high-speed wiper (HI) are performed by three-stage rotation switching operation (SW1, SW2, SW3).
ON / OFF of the auxiliary brake is performed by the swing switching operation (SW4).

As described above, in the conventional combination switch 1, even when the same switching operation is performed, since the actuator differs depending on the type of vehicle mounted, a dedicated contact structure is required depending on the electric capacity and current characteristics of the actuator. We needed to design. For example, motors,
As shown in FIG. 8 (a), a large-to-medium current contact for direct switching, such as a lamp, includes a spring 5, a movable contact 7, a leaf spring contact (with rivet contacts) 9, and a fixed contact (rivet contacts). 11 and the contacts for medium to small current for switching such as relay control are shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the spring 5, the movable contact 7, the leaf spring contact 13, and the fixed contact (bus bar) 15 are configured.
As shown in FIG. 8C, the small current contact for switching the signal is constituted by a movable contact (leaf spring contact) 17 and a fixed contact (bus bar or PCB) 19.

[0005]

However, the above-described conventional combination switch opens and closes the contacts by switching operation to supply / discharge the power of the actuator.
Since the cutoff was performed directly, if the actuator that performs switching operation differs depending on the type of vehicle installed, it is necessary to design a dedicated contact structure that differs for each type of vehicle due to the capacity, current characteristics, etc. of the actuator. This necessitates an increase in the number of design steps and the need to produce a large number of products in small quantities, which causes a problem of complicating parts management and increasing manufacturing costs.
In addition, since the contact is opened and closed to directly supply / interrupt power, when used in a large current contact structure, the wire diameter becomes large, the workability of the wiring is reduced, and the durability life of the contact is short. In addition, there is a problem that the contact portion generates heat.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a combination switch system capable of coping with a large number of variations of a combination switch having a low current switch having the same contact capacity, reducing the number of design steps and controlling parts. It is an object of the present invention to simplify the process, reduce the manufacturing cost, and improve the reliability of the contact structure.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a combination switch system according to the present invention has a plurality of switches having the same contact capacitance and an input signal from the switch is converted into a digital value and transmitted. Send C
A combination switch including a PU, and the transmission C
A receiving CPU for receiving a converted signal from the PU and transmitting a drive control signal for the actuator corresponding to the converted signal to a driver circuit, and a memory for storing address information of the actuator corresponding to the converted signal to be called by the receiving CPU And a receiving unit provided with the device. Also, the combination switch system is provided with a transmission-side multiplex interface for converting a conversion signal from the transmission CPU into a serial data format and transmitting a plurality of signals on the same communication line, while the combination switch includes a transmission-side multiplex interface. Of the received CP
A receiving side multiplex interface for transmitting to U may be provided in the receiving unit.

In the combination switch system configured as described above, an input signal from the switch is transmitted to the transmission CP.
The signal is converted into a digital value by U, and the converted signal is received by the receiving unit. Based on the signal, the driver circuit is controlled by the receiving CPU, and the corresponding actuator is driven. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated contact structure corresponding to the actuator, and a combination switch having the same low current switch structure can correspond to many variations. Further, by providing the transmission-side multiplex interface in the combination switch and providing the reception-side multiplex interface in the reception unit, serial communication can be performed between the combination switch and the reception unit.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a combination switch system according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 is a configuration diagram of a combination switch system according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the combination switch of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a contact portion of the combination switch of FIG. 2, and FIG. It is an expanded sectional view showing the connection structure of the contact board of a combination switch, and an ECU board. As shown in FIG. 1, the combination switch system 11 is roughly divided into a combination switch 13 and a receiving unit 1.
5 units.

The combination switch 13 has a plurality of contacts having the same structure, for example, SW1, SW2, SW3, S
Four switches of W4 are provided. Switches SW1
The SW 4 is connected to a transmission CPU 19 also provided in the combination switch 13 via an input interface 17 provided in the combination switch 13. The input interface 17 includes switches SW1 to S
There is a circuit for converting the input signal from W4 into a value that can be handled by the transmission CPU 19. The transmission CPU 19 controls the switches SW <b> 1 to S
After performing an arithmetic operation or a logical operation based on the input signal from W4, the result is transmitted as a digital value. Send C
The transmission side multiplex interface 21 is connected to the PU 19, and the transmission side multiplex interface 21
The data from 19 is converted to a signal in coded serial data format.

The transmission-side multiplex interface 21 is basically connected to a reception-side multiplex interface 25 provided in the reception unit 15 by one communication line 23. The receiving side multiplex interface 25 reads the coded serial data format signal and converts it into original data. That is, multiplex communication for transmitting a plurality of signals in a serial data format can be performed on one communication line 23 between the combination switch 13 and the receiving unit 15.

The receiving side multiplex interface 25 is connected to a receiving CPU 27 provided in the receiving unit 15. The receiving CPU 27 is connected to a driver circuit 29 also provided in the receiving unit 15. The receiving unit 15 is provided with a memory device 31, and the memory device 31 is connected to the receiving CPU 27. Memory device 3
1 stores address information of a plurality of actuators (loads) corresponding to the above-described input signals to be called by the receiving CPU 27. The memory device 31 can change address information by exchanging with a different memory device or rewriting data.

The receiving CPU 27 reads the address of the corresponding load stored in the memory device 31 based on the data from the receiving-side multiplex interface 25, and sends a drive control signal to the driver circuit 29 by designating this address. A plurality of loads 1, 2, 3, 4 are connected to the driver circuit 29.
A corresponding address is designated for the load 4 and the driver circuit 2
9 is driven by the supply of electric power.

As shown in FIG. 2, the combination switch 13 includes a body 41 through which a steering shaft passes,
The first lever switch 43 and the second lever switch 45 can be mounted on the body 41, and a control unit (ECU) 47 mounted on the lower surface side (engine room side) of the body 41 and the like. This E
The CU 47 transmits the input interface 17 and the transmission C
The PU 19, the transmission-side multiplex interface 21 and the like are integrally configured.

At the base of the first lever switch 43 and the second lever switch 45, a switch assembly 49 is provided. The switch assembly 49 is covered by an upper and lower cover 51 divided into upper and lower parts. Between the upper and lower covers 51, a contact board 53, a movable contact holder 55 shown in FIG.
A movable contact 57 is provided. The movable contact holder 55 is provided with the first lever switch 43 (or the second lever switch 45).
And slides on the contact board 53 by operating the first lever switch 43. Therefore, the movable contact holder 55 slides the movable contact 57 mounted on the bottom surface on the contact board 53,
ON / OFF of the fixed contact 59, that is, the switches SW1 to SW1
SW4 is turned ON / OFF. The movable contact 57 and the fixed contact 59 are small current contacts, that is, the movable contact 57 is a leaf spring contact, and the fixed contact 59 is a bus bar or a PCB.

[0015] As shown in FIG.
9 accommodates a plurality of lever-side terminals 61, and the lever-side terminals 61 are connected to the contact board 5 via an extended connection bar 63.
3 is connected. On the other hand, the lever housing portion 6 of the body 41
5, one end of a body-side terminal 67 projects from one end of the switch assembly 49 when the first lever switch 43 (or the second lever switch 45) is mounted in the lever housing portion 65. The terminal 61 is connected. The other end of the body-side terminal 67 is connected to the ECU 47 mounted on the lower surface of the body 41 by soldering. Thereby, the switches SW1 to SW1
An input signal from the SW 4 is transmitted to the transmission CPU 1 in the ECU 47.
9 is transmitted.

Next, the operation of the combination switch system 11 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which the same combination switch is used for different switching operations by the system of the present invention. An input signal by operating SW1, SW2, SW3, and SW4 is input to the transmission CPU 19 via the input interface 17, and the transmission CPU 19 performs an arithmetic operation or a logical operation based on the input signals from the switches SW1 to SW4. Thereafter, the result is transmitted to the transmission-side multiplex interface 21 as a digital value. The transmission-side multiplex interface 21 converts the data from the transmission CPU 19 into a coded serial data format signal, and transmits the signal to the reception-side multiplex interface 25 in the reception unit 15 via the communication line 23.

The receiving-side multiplex interface 25 reads the coded serial data format signal and converts it into original data, and sends the converted data to the receiving CPU 27. The receiving CPU 27 reads the address of the corresponding load stored in the memory device 31 based on the data from the receiving-side multiplex interface 25, specifies this address, and sends a drive control signal to the driver circuit 29. Therefore, the receiving unit 15 responds to the switching signal sent from the combination switch 13 and
As shown in (a), for example, three stages of rotation switching operations (SW1, SW2, SW3) perform auxiliary brakes I, II,
III is turned ON / OFF and the swing switching operation (S
In W4), the hazard flasher is turned ON / OFF.

On the other hand, when the combination switch system 11 is mounted on different types of vehicles and different loads are turned on / off using the same combination switch 13, the memory device 31 storing a plurality of load address information corresponding to the input signals. The address information is changed by exchanging or rewriting data. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5B, the wiper intermittent (INT), the wiper low speed (LO), and the wiper high speed (HI) are performed by the same switching operation, for example, in three-stage rotation switching operation (SW1, SW2, SW3). The auxiliary brake is turned on / off by the swing switching operation (SW4).

[0019]

As described in detail above, according to the combination switch system of the present invention, a transmission CPU is provided integrally with the combination switch so that an input signal from the switch can be converted into a digital value and transmitted. And a signal from the combination switch is received by a receiving unit, and a receiving CP is generated based on the signal.
Since the driver circuit is controlled by U to drive the corresponding actuator, the combination switch can be adapted to many variations with a low-current switch structure having the same contact capacitance. As a result, design man-hours can be reduced and parts management can be facilitated.
In addition, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the reliability of the contact structure can be improved. Further, if the transmission switch multiplex interface is provided in the combination switch and the reception multiplex interface is provided in the reception unit, the number of signal lines between the combination switch and the reception unit can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a combination switch system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the combination switch of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a contact portion of the combination switch of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing a connection structure between a contact board and an ECU board of the combination switch of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which the same combination switch is used for different switching operations by the system of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a switching operation mode of the combination switch.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which a conventional combination switch is used for different switching operations.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing different contact structures in a conventional combination switch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Combination switch system 13 Combination switch 15 Receiving unit 19 Transmitting CPU 21 Transmitting multiplex interface 25 Receiving multiplex interface 27 Receiving CPU 31 Memory device 29 Driver circuit SW1-SW4 Switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A combination switch comprising: a plurality of switches having the same contact capacitance; and a transmission CPU for converting an input signal from the switch into a digital value and transmitting the digital value; and receiving a conversion signal from the transmission CPU to perform the conversion. A receiving unit for transmitting a drive control signal of the actuator corresponding to the signal to the driver circuit; and a receiving unit including a memory device for storing address information of the actuator corresponding to the conversion signal to be called by the receiving CPU. A combination switch system characterized by the following. 2. A combination multiplex interface for transmitting a plurality of signals on the same communication line by converting a conversion signal from the transmission CPU into a serial data format is provided in the combination switch, while multiplexing from the transmission multiplex interface is performed. The signal is converted to the original signal and the reception C
The combination switch system according to claim 1, wherein a receiving-side multiplex interface for sending to the PU is provided in the receiving unit.