JPS62198546A - Vehicle body interference judging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To avoid getting any vehicle body interference before it happens, by constituting a device so as to give warning to possibility of interference with a road projecting part, in case of a difference in both boarding and loading conditions, at a time when a door and a trunk are opened and both body and door under surfaces are smaller than a critical clearance interfering with a road surface. CONSTITUTION:When a vehicle is in stoppage or running at low speed or not is judged on the basis of a signal out of a running speed sensor 6, and a fact that at least one of a door and a trunk is opened is detected by reach of on-off switches 7 and 8. And, an oscillating signal on a distance between both body and door lower surfaces and a road surface in a distance sensor is inputted into an interface circuit 11 of a microcomputer 10, comparing it with an interference critical distance being preset in an arithmetic processing unit 12, and it is operated. Thereupon, a possibility of changing both boarding and loading conditions is judged, and when these body and door lower surfaces are smaller than the interference critical distance, an interference warning signal is outputted out of an output circuit 15, whereby a warning lamp 16 or a warning sound is generated. With this constitution, interference between a road projecting part and a rear overhang part is preventable.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] This invention addresses the possibility of interference between the lower part of the vehicle body or the lower part of the door and road surface protrusions such as curbstones and road protrusions when passengers board the vehicle or load luggage. The present invention relates to a vehicle interference determination device for determining vehicle body interference.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional vehicles, especially those with a low minimum ground clearance, vehicles with low spring constants for suspension devices, or vehicles with a large ratio of empty weight to fully loaded weight such as light cars, basically or when fully loaded, the lower part of the vehicle body or the distance between the bottom of the door and the road surface is small. Furthermore, even in ordinary vehicles, when the vehicle is fully loaded, the height of the vehicle is considerably lower than when the vehicle is empty, and the distance between the lower part of the vehicle body or the lower part of the door and the road surface becomes smaller.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in such conventional vehicles, the distance between the lower part of the vehicle body or the lower part of the door and the road surface is basically or especially when fully loaded, so the lower part of the vehicle body or the lower part of the open door is exposed to curbs, road bumps, etc. There was a problem of interference with road surface protrusions.

In addition, even in the case of ordinary vehicles, for example, when a vehicle driven by one person backs up and parks with the rear overhang facing the curb without interfering with the curb. Next, when, for example, five passengers get on the vehicle, there is a problem in that the rear overhang portion interferes with the curb.

This invention was made by focusing on such conventional problems, and when the door or trunk opens and there is a possibility that passenger riding conditions and cargo loading conditions may change, the lower part of the vehicle body or the lower part of the door is opened. It determines whether there is a possibility of interference with road surface protrusions such as curbs or road protrusions, and outputs an interference warning signal when there is a possibility of interference. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle body interference determination device that can prevent interference in advance.

[Means for solving problems]

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle body interference determination device of the present invention includes a distance measuring means for measuring the distance between the road surface and at least one location in the lower part of the vehicle body and the lower part of the door, and a distance measuring means for measuring the distance between at least one location in the lower part of the vehicle body and the lower part of the door and the road surface. an opening/closing detection means for detecting opening/closing, and when the opening/closing detection means detects that at least one of the door and the trunk is open, the distance measured by the distance measuring means is set as a preset interference danger distance; The apparatus includes an interference determining means for making a comparative determination, and an output means for outputting an interference warning signal when the distance measured by the interference determining means is determined to be smaller than the interference danger distance.

[Effect]

When the opening/closing detection means detects that at least one of the door and the trunk is open, at least one of the lower parts of the vehicle body and the lower part of the door measured by the distance measuring means.
The distance between the place and the road surface is compared with a preset interference danger distance by the interference determination means, and when the interference determination means determines that the measured distance is smaller than the interference danger distance, the output means issues an interference warning. It outputs a signal.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, to explain the configuration, in Fig. 2, 1 is a distance sensor (distance measuring means) that measures the distance between the installation position and the road surface, and this distance sensor 1 may be one that uses ultrasonic waves, for example. , an oscillation circuit 2 that oscillates in response to a command signal, a transmitter 3 that transmits ultrasonic waves based on its oscillation output, and a receiver 4 that receives reflected waves of the transmitted ultrasonic waves from the road surface. , and a waveform shaping circuit 5 that outputs an electrical reception pulse signal when the reception signal is at a predetermined level or higher.

This distance sensor 1 is attached to a vehicle part that may interfere with road surface protrusions such as curbs and road protrusions, and is intended to prevent such interference. The vehicle parts that are susceptible to this are the opening/closing range of the lower part of the vehicle body and the lower part of the door, as shown by diagonal lines in FIG. Parts that are particularly likely to interfere are the front overhang part, the rear overhang part, and the lower part of the door, and it is preferable to attach the distance sensor I to these parts.

In order to determine the interference between the lower part of the door and a convex part of the road surface, it is best to install the distance sensor 1 at the lower part of the door as shown in Fig. You may also do so.

In this embodiment, as an example, as shown in FIG.
A distance sensor 1 is attached to a rear overhang portion facing the road surface to determine the possibility of interference between the rear overhang portion and a road surface protrusion.

Returning to FIG. 2, 6 is a vehicle speed sensor (stop or low-speed driving detection means) that generates a vehicle speed pulse signal for detecting the vehicle speed, and this vehicle speed sensor 6 is configured to detect, for example, the rotational speed of a speedometer cable by a reed switch. A device that converts the signal into a vehicle speed pulse signal and outputs the signal using the following is used. 7 is a door opening/closing switch (opening/closing detection means), and this door opening/closing switch 7 is turned on, for example, when any door is opened;
Outputs a signal that turns off when all doors are closed. 8 is a trunk opening/closing switch (opening/closing detection means), and this trunk opening/closing switch 8 outputs, for example, a signal that is turned on when the trunk is open and turned off when the trunk is closed.

10 is a microcomputer (interference determining means);
This microcomputer 10 is an interface circuit 1
1, an arithmetic processing unit 12, and a RAM.

The interface circuit 11 includes a storage device 13 such as a ROM, and the above-mentioned sensors and switches 1.6 to 8 are connected to the input port side of the interface circuit 11.

The arithmetic processing unit 12 reads detection signals from the sensors and switches 1, 6 to 8 via the interface circuit 11, and performs calculations and other processing described below based on these signals. Further, the storage device 13 stores a predetermined program necessary for executing the processing, and also stores a predetermined program necessary for executing the processing.
The processing results of step 2 are stored.

15 is an output circuit (output means), and this output circuit 15
is connected to the output port side of the interface circuit 11,
A control signal sent from the interface circuit 11 based on the processing result of the arithmetic processing unit 12 is input, converted into an interference warning signal, and output. 16 is a warning light, and this warning light 16 is turned on by an interference warning signal supplied from the output circuit 15. Further, reference numeral 17 denotes a warning sound generating device, and this warning sound generating device 17 is a device that issues a warning sound or a warning sound based on an interference warning signal supplied from the output circuit 15.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. Referring to FIG. 6, when the ignition switch is turned on, the power of the vehicle interference determination device is turned on, and the processing program in the microcomputer 10 is executed.

First, in step (2), it is determined from the vehicle speed value based on the vehicle speed pulse signal from the vehicle speed sensor 6 whether the vehicle is stopped or running at low speed.

This is to determine that the vehicle is stopped if the vehicle speed value is 0, and that the vehicle is running at low speed if the vehicle speed value is less than or equal to a preset small predetermined value.

If it is determined in step (2) that the vehicle is stopped or running at low speed, the process proceeds to step (3), where the distance sensor 1 and the road surface are determined based on the pulse signal received from the distance sensor 1. The distance Δh is read.

That is, in FIG. 2, when a command signal is sent from the interface circuit 11 to the oscillation circuit 2 of the distance sensor 1, an ultrasonic wave is transmitted from the transmitter 3 based on the command signal, and an ultrasonic wave that is reflected off the road surface is transmitted. The wave is received by the transfer device 4, and based on the wave, a received pulse signal is output from the waveform shaping circuit 5. At this time, a timer is used to measure the time from the time when the command signal is sent from the interface circuit 11 to the oscillation circuit 2 to the time when the received pulse signal is supplied from the waveform shaping circuit 5 to the interface circuit 11. The distance Δh between the installation position of the distance sensor 1 and the road surface is calculated and measured by multiplying by the speed of sound and dividing by 2.

Returning to FIG. 6, the process then moves to step (2), where the measured and read distance Δh is compared with a preset interference danger distance 1hc.

This interference danger distance hc means that when the value of the measured distance Δh is smaller than this interference danger distance hc, the rear overhang part may interfere with the road surface protrusion, and when Δh is larger than hc, the rear overhang part may interfere with the road surface. This value is used to determine that there is no possibility of interference. Specifically, this interference danger distance hc is determined by, for example, the weight change (per one rear wheel) between when the vehicle is empty and when it is fully loaded.
When is ΔW and the spring constant at the end of one wheel is k, it is given as hc=ΔW/.

If it is determined in step (2) that Δh≦hc, then the process moves to step (2), and based on the detection signals of the door open/close switch 7 and the trunk open/close switch 8, it is determined whether or not the door and trunk are open. investigate. This means that when the detection signal of at least one of the door open/close switch 7 and the trunk open/close switch 8 is on, it is determined that at least one of all the doors and the trunk is open, and the door open/close switch 7 and the trunk open/close switch are determined to be open. When both detection signals No. 8 are off, it is determined that all doors and trunks are closed.

If at least one of all the doors and the trunk is open in step ■, that is, the vehicle is stopped or running at low speed (step ■), and (distance Δh between distance sensor 1 and the road surface) ≦ (interference risk distance) (step ■), and all doors and at least one of the trunks are open (step ■), this means that more passengers or luggage than the present If riding conditions or loading conditions change, such as loading
It is determined that there is a high possibility that the rear overhang portion will interfere with a road surface protrusion, and the process then proceeds to step (3), where an interference warning signal is output from the output circuit 15 via the interface circuit 11.

For example, the interface circuit 11 supplies a control signal of "H (high level, or logical value "L")" to the output circuit 15, and the output circuit 15 converts this control signal into a voltage signal of a predetermined voltage value or a predetermined voltage signal. It converts the current value into a current signal and outputs it.

This interference warning signal from the output circuit 15 causes the warning light 1 to
6 is illuminated, or a warning sound or warning sound is generated from the warning sound generating device 17, which prompts the vehicle driver to move the vehicle slightly to remove the rear overhang from the road surface protrusion, and then ride or load luggage. By doing so, it is possible to prevent interference between the rear overhang portion and the road surface protrusion.

In FIG. 6, the processing program ends after outputting the interference warning signal in step (2).

In addition, if it is determined in step ■ that the vehicle is traveling at a predetermined vehicle speed value or higher, and if it is determined in step ■ that (distance sensor 1 and road surface stopping distance Δh)>(interference danger distance), If it is determined that all the doors and trunks are closed in , and step (2), the processing program ends without outputting an interference warning signal from the output circuit 15.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the interference warning signal sent from the output circuit 15 lights up the warning light 16 and the warning sound generating device 17 generates a warning sound or sound. As shown by the dashed line, an interference warning signal from the output circuit 15 is supplied to the vehicle height adjustment device 18, and the vehicle height is adjusted to be raised based on the interference warning signal to avoid interference with road surface protrusions. Alternatively, the interference warning signal from the output circuit 15 can be transmitted to the spring constant changing device 19.
The spring constant of the suspension device may be changed to the hard side by the interference warning signal to reduce the degree of sinking of the vehicle and avoid interference. These warning lights16.
Any one of the warning sound generating device 17, the vehicle height adjusting device 18, and the spring constant changing device 19 may be used alone, or
Appropriate two or more of them may be used in combination at the same time.

In addition, in Figures 1, 2, and 6, step ■
and the distance sensor 1, a specific example of the distance measuring means, the processing of steps (2), (2), and (2) are a specific example of the interference determination means, and the processing of step (2) and the output circuit 15 are a specific example of the output means, respectively. show.

In addition, although the car body interference determination device is configured using a microcomputer, it is also possible to configure it by combining electronic circuits such as a command value setting circuit, a comparison circuit, and a logic circuit. .

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a stop or low-speed running detection means is provided to determine vehicle body interference while the vehicle is stopped or running at low speed, but in reality, riding conditions and loading conditions hardly change while the vehicle is running. , there is no practical problem even if the vehicle is not provided with a stop or low-speed driving detection means.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the vehicle body interference determination device of the present invention has the following features:
When at least one of the doors and the trunk is open, if the distance between the lower part of the vehicle body or the lower part of the door and the road surface is smaller than the preset interference danger distance, if riding conditions or loading conditions change, the lower part of the vehicle body or It is configured to generate an interference warning signal that warns that the lower part of the door may interfere with a bump on the road surface, so it is possible to recognize the possibility that the lower part of the vehicle body or the lower part of the door will interfere with the bump in the road surface, and the interference warning signal is also generated. By using this, it is possible to avoid the interference with the vehicle body.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of the vehicle body interference determination device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 3 shows the possibility of interference with road surface protrusions such as curbs. FIG. 4 is a front view showing an example of how a distance sensor is mounted on a vehicle; FIG. 5 is a side view showing a distance sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention mounted on a rear overhang. 6 are flowcharts showing the processing procedure of a program executed in the microcomputer. 1... Distance sensor, 6... Vehicle speed sensor, 7... Door opening/closing switch, 8... Trunk opening/closing switch, 10
...Microcomputer, 11...Interface circuit, 12...Arithmetic processing unit, 13...Storage device, 15...Output circuit. Figure 2■

Claims (1)

[Claims] distance measuring means for measuring the distance between the road surface and at least one location on the lower part of the vehicle body and the lower part of the door; opening/closing detecting means for detecting the opening/closing of at least one of the door and the trunk; interference determining means for comparing and determining the distance measured by the distance measuring means with a preset interference danger distance when at least one of the distance measuring means is detected to be open; A vehicle body interference determination device comprising an output means for outputting an interference warning signal when the distance is determined to be smaller than the interference danger distance.