JPH1059062A - Industrial-vehicle direction indicator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To safely operate an industrial vehicle even upon omitting to operate the direction-indicator lever. SOLUTION: Two pairs of flasher lamps 2, 2 and 3, 3 are connected to a power source 6 through a controller 1 having an automatic flashing function of automatically flashing either pair of flasher lamps 2, 2 and 3, 3 on the side where the dirigible road wheels are turned by receiving detection signals from an encoder 11 attached on the kingpins supporting the dirigible road wheels and then calculating the turned angles thereof. The controller 1 is connected to the power source 6 also through a selector switch 5 adapted to operate through the operation of its manual lever, to thereby flash the flasher lamps 2, 2 or 3, 3 through the operation of the selector switch 5. The control by the selector switch 5 predominates over the control by the automatic flashing function which may be canceled by the operation of a selector switch 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a direction indicating device for an industrial vehicle, for example, a forklift.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an operation operation of an industrial vehicle, it is required to work efficiently in a limited site without taking care of surroundings. Therefore, in order to reduce the burden on the operator as much as possible, the environment around the driver's seat should be set to be easy to operate, as well as turning on the rotating light during work to encourage the driver not to approach the vehicle, and to change the direction of the vehicle. Is operated so as to give a notice of the course, and to inform surrounding third parties of the driving situation of the vehicle.

[0003]

Industrial vehicles have been provided with measures that allow them to run on public roads as well as ordinary vehicles, and one of them includes a direction indicating device for operating the flasher lamp. As shown in FIG. 4, a conventional direction indicating device includes a pair of flasher lamps 2 and 2 mounted on the front and rear right sides of a vehicle body and a pair of flasher lamps mounted on the left side by manual lever operation. A selection switch 5 that operates to select one of 3, 3; a main switch 4 that is operated by an ignition key; a flasher unit 17 that intermittently turns ON / OFF; and a power supply 6 And are connected in series. If you change course during driving or turn left or right at an intersection, it is a principle to flash the flasher lamp by operating the lever in advance to indicate your intention, and during driving on public roads without cargo handling operation For a driver who is dedicated to driving, the lever operation is hardly noticeable. However, when operating a forklift for the purpose of cargo handling in a small factory, the cargo handling lever and the steering handle are often operated at the same time.For example, when retreating while carrying out cargo handling with multiple lever operations, The number of levers to be operated should be kept to a minimum, and if possible, the operation of the lever of the direction indicating device should be omitted. However, if the operation of the lever of the direction indicating device is omitted, the third person cannot grasp the movement of the vehicle, so that the worker accidentally avoids the same side as the vehicle's path, or another vehicle enters the middle of the path, etc. You may be blocked by running.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a direction indicating device for an industrial vehicle in which a third party in the vicinity can grasp the movement of the vehicle without operating the lever of the direction indicating device during work. The configuration is such that, when the steered wheels are facing left or right with respect to the straight traveling direction, the pointing direction informing means on the side to which the steered wheels are directed can be automatically operated. And the direction indicating device of the industrial vehicle is provided with a steering angle detecting means for detecting a steering angle of the steered wheels, it is possible to operate the indicating direction notifying means when the steering angle is a certain value or more, The direction indicating means can be operated only by operating a manual lever, and the operation by the manual lever is prioritized over the automatic operation by the operation angle detecting means, or the automatic operation by the operation angle detecting means is turned on. And a switch which can be switched between OFF and OFF. When the switch is OFF, the pointing direction notifying means can be operated only by operating a manual lever, or the steering angle detecting means can be connected to a kingpin. It can be an encoder that is attached and detects the rotation angle of the kingpin.

[0005]

[Function] Even if the direction indicator lever is not operated, the pointing direction notifying means on the side to which the steered wheel is directed automatically operates, and the movement of the vehicle is accurately notified to the surrounding third parties. . And if the steering angle is detected by an encoder attached to the kingpin of the steered wheels, there will be no mismatch between the operation of the pointing direction notifying means and the steering angle to which the steered wheels are actually facing, and the steering will be performed in small increments. Even if it turns, the pointing direction informing means does not operate when the steering angle is equal to or smaller than a certain value. Also, if the pointing direction notifying means is also used as the pointing direction notifying means operated by manual lever operation, the existing pointing direction notifying means can be used as it is, and if the manual lever operation is prioritized, the manual lever operation can be performed. Thus, the pointing direction notifying means can be operated by the same manual operation as the conventional one, and at the same time, even if the lever operation is forgotten, the pointing direction notifying means is reliably operated. Of course, the pointing direction informing means can be reliably operated without any manual operation.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a wiring diagram of the direction indicating device. Reference numeral 1 denotes a controller as a central circuit for controlling the direction indicating device.
A flasher unit for intermittently turning on and off is built in, and a pair of flasher lamps 2 and 2 as pointing direction informing means provided on the front and rear right sides of the vehicle body, and a flasher unit for the vehicle body. One of a pair of flasher lamps 3, 3 as pointing direction notifying means provided on the front and rear left sides is connected so as to blink at the same time. The controller 1 includes a main switch 4 and a selection switch 5 which is operated by operating a manual lever (hereinafter simply referred to as a lever, not shown) of the direction indicating device.
Power supply 6 is connected via
Is not turned on, or when the selection switch 5 is not operated even if the main switch 4 is turned on, the connection with the power source 6 is cut off. When the operator decides the course to the right and operates the lever to the right while the main switch 4 is turned on, the selection switch 5 is operated to blink the right flasher lamps 2 and 2 and is built in the controller 1. The flasher unit is activated to flash the right flasher lamps 2 and 2. When the operator determines the course to the left and operates the lever to the right, the selection switch 5 switches the left flasher lamp 3
The flasher unit 3 is operated to flash, and the flasher unit incorporated in the controller 1 is operated to flash the left flasher lamps 3,3. If the vehicle returns to straight running and the operator operates the lever to the neutral position or the lever automatically returns to the neutral position in conjunction with the turning operation of the steering handle, the selection switch does not operate on either side, The flashing of the flasher lamps 2, 2 (3, 3) is stopped.

The controller 1 further includes a power supply circuit 7 for directly supplying power to the controller 1,
A switching circuit 8a having a changeover switch 8 interposed therebetween is connected in parallel with the selection switch 5 to a power supply 6, and as illustrated in FIG.
An encoder 11 as a steering angle detecting means attached to the king pin 10 supporting the camera is connected. The encoder 11 is a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle of the steered wheels 9. The controller 1 operates under a certain condition based on a detection signal of the encoder 11 when the main switch 4 is turned on and the changeover switch 8 is turned off. Below, it has a function to automatically flash the flasher lamps 2, 2 (3, 3). When the changeover switch 8 is in the ON state, the automatic flashing function of the flasher lamp does not work, and the conventional manual operation is performed.

Next, a specific operation of automatically flashing the flasher lamps 2, 2 (3, 3) based on the detection signal of the encoder 11 will be described. Controller 1
Reads the detection signal of the encoder 11 and
Is calculated (for example, a state where the steering wheel is fully cut to the right is 0, and a state where the steering wheel is fully cut to the left is 180 degrees). Judge. Next, the angle of the steered wheels 9 is compared with a preset angle stored in a memory built in the controller 1, and if the angle of the steered wheels 9 is equal to or less than a predetermined value, even if the steered wheels 9 Flasher lamps 2 and 2
(3, 3) is not operated, and the flasher lamps 2, 2 (3, 3) on the steering side are blinked only when the value is equal to or more than a certain value.
When the angle of the steered wheels 9 is smaller than a predetermined value, the flasher lamps 2, 2 (3, 3) do not blink. Note that the controller 1 manually flashes the flasher lamps 2, 2 (3, 3) according to the operation when the selection switch 5 is operated by the lever operation even if the angle of the steered wheels 9 is smaller than a certain value. It has an operation lever priority function. Further, by turning on the changeover switch 8 and turning on the power from the changeover circuit 8a, the function of automatically flashing the flasher lamps 2, 2 (3, 3) in response to the detection signal from the encoder 11 can be canceled.

[0009] In the case of an industrial vehicle that can turn at a stop position while traveling at a slow speed in an operation in a factory, even if the flasher lamp flashes after the vehicle starts to turn while traveling, a third party can recognize the flasher lamp. There is plenty of room to check and avoid disturbing, and even if you turn on the main switch without knowing that the vehicle is parked with the steering turned off and start immediately, the flasher will be turned on at the same time as turning on the main switch Since the lamp blinks to notify the driver of the course, not only the third party but also the operator can be aware of this, and a highly practical direction indicating function is performed.

For detecting the steering angle, various steering angle sensors other than the encoder can be suitably used. Also, the timing of flashing or stopping the flasher lamp should be such that when the steering wheel is operated in small increments during driving, the flashing lamp does not frequently flash, and during stoppage, it is necessary to inform in advance which side to move when it starts moving. It is desirable to be able to adjust according to working conditions. Further, the pointing direction notifying means not only uses an existing flasher lamp operated by a manual lever operation, but can also be separately provided. Can also be.

In the above embodiment, the direction in which the steered wheels face is calculated based on a signal from an encoder attached to a kingpin supporting the steered wheels and detecting the rotation angle of the kingpin. Therefore, the flasher lamp operates extremely accurately according to the steering angle, but the steering wheel and the steering wheel are mechanically connected, and the neutral position of the steering wheel always matches the neutral position of the steering wheel. In the semi-integral method,
As long as the steering angle sensor is a movable part that operates in relation to the steering angle of the steering handle and the steering angle of the steered wheels, it can be expected to operate almost the same as in the embodiment no matter where it is mounted. I do not feel. However, in an FHPS (full hydropower system) using a hydraulic circuit as exemplified in FIG. 3, a deviation is likely to occur in the neutral position between the steering wheel 12 and the steered wheels 9, so that the steering cylinder 1
It is desirable to provide a steering angle sensor 14 between the connecting portion A between the rod tip portion of the steering wheel 3 and the steering wheel 9. However, if the error range is small or has a correction function, an appropriate portion of the shaft of the steering handle 12 can be provided. For example, a steering angle sensor 14 that operates via a gear transmission mechanism may be attached to B, and the steering angle may be calculated by the steering angle sensor 14. Dummy cylinder 15
The limit switches 16 and 16 can be directly operated by the dummy cylinder 15 so that the controller can be controlled mechanically without calculating each time by the controller. ,
The invention is not limited to the examples shown in the above embodiments.

Although the forklift has been described in the above embodiment, the invention can be applied to other industrial vehicles.
It is effective to set the operation timing of the pointing direction notifying means so that the steering angle is set smaller than when the operation is started and the operation is stopped with a slight delay.

[0013]

According to the present invention, each time a course change, rotation, or turn is performed, the pointing direction informing means operates to notify the driving situation. Do not block the front of the vehicle. Also, the pointing direction leaving means can be operated by operating the manual lever,
By prioritizing the operation by the operation of the manual lever, it is possible to select the same usage as before according to the operator's preference, and if the lever is operated positively, the operation timing can be advanced, and the lever operation can be omitted Also, since the direction indication display means is automatically operated, the burden on the operator can be reduced and the operator can concentrate on the work, and can work safely even if he forgets the operation.Moreover, in the automatic operation, the encoder attached to the kingpin If the angle of the steered wheel is calculated based on the detection signal, the pointing direction informing means operates accurately.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a circuit of a direction indicating device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a mounting position of an encoder.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a modified example of a mounting mode of a steering angle sensor.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a circuit of a conventional direction indicating device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Controller, 2, 3, Flasher lamp, 4
..Main switch, 5 ... Selection switch, 6 ... Power supply, 7 ... Power supply circuit, 8 ... Changeover switch, 8
a switching circuit, 9 steering wheel, 10 kingpin, 11 encoder, 12 steering wheel, 13 steering cylinder, 14 steering angle sensor, 15 dummy cylinder, 16 Limit switch, 17 flasher unit.

Claims (5)

[Claims] When the steered wheels are directed to the right or left with respect to the straight traveling direction, the pointing direction notifying means on the side to which the steered wheels are directed can be automatically operated. Vehicle direction indicator. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a steering angle detecting means for detecting a steering angle of the steered wheel, wherein the pointing direction notifying means can be operated when the steering angle is equal to or larger than a predetermined value. Direction indicating device for industrial vehicles. 3. The industrial vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the direction indicating means is operable by operating a manual lever, and the operation by the manual lever is prioritized over the automatic operation by the operation angle detecting means. Turn signal device. 4. A switch for switching an automatic operation by the operation angle detecting means between ON and OFF, and when the switch is OFF, the pointing direction notifying means operates a manual lever. 4. The direction indicating device for an industrial vehicle according to claim 3, which is operated only by the vehicle. 5. The direction indicating device for an industrial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the steering angle detecting means is an encoder attached to a kingpin and detecting an angle of rotation of the kingpin.