JPH03112736A - Lighting device for cornering lamp for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cornering lamp lighting device for a vehicle that turns on a cornering lamp depending on the turning direction of the vehicle.

Some conventional vehicles are equipped with cornering lamps (side illumination lamps) in order to illuminate the direction of the turn, where the light distribution of the headlamp is insufficient when turning. In the conventional cornering lamp lighting device, as shown in FIG. 6, the signal processing circuit 5 detects a signal when the turn signal switch 4 is turned on, and the cornering lamp 3 is turned on.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the above configuration, the cornering lamps are only turned on when the vehicle turns using the turn signal switch 4, and as shown in Figure 5, the cornering lamps are turned on only when the turn signal lamp is not used. There was a problem in that the cornering lamps did not turn on when driving.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention turns on the right or left cornering lamp based on the output signal of an angular velocity sensor that detects the angular velocity of the vehicle in the yaw direction.

With the above structure, the turning direction of the vehicle can be accurately detected by the angular velocity sensor, and the cornering lamp on the side in the turning direction can be turned on, thereby improving the safety of driving at night.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle cornering lamp lighting device according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, which includes an angular velocity sensor 1 for detecting angular velocity in the yaw direction, a signal processing circuit 2, and a cornering lamp 3.

The operation of the vehicle cornering lamp lighting device configured as described above will be described below.

An angular velocity sensor 1 disposed on a vehicle detects the angular velocity in the yaw direction, which is the turning direction of the vehicle. Based on this angular velocity signal, the signal processing circuit 2 determines the turning direction of the vehicle and lights the right or left cornering lamp 3. For example, when a vehicle turns a curve as shown in FIG. 5a, an angular velocity is generated in the vehicle.

This angular velocity is automatically detected by the angular velocity sensor 1, and the cornering lamp 3 is turned on by the signal processing circuit 2, so that the road surface in the turning direction of the vehicle can be illuminated.

Further, the angular velocity sensor 1 and the signal processing circuit 2 can be placed near the cornering lamp 3, and can be configured with short wiring.

Note that if a tuning fork structure vibration type angular velocity sensor is used as the angular velocity sensor of this embodiment, more accurate angular velocity detection can be performed. The tuning fork structure vibration type angular velocity sensor will be explained below based on FIGS. 2 to 4.

The angular velocity sensor has a structure as shown in FIG. 2, and is mainly composed of a drive element made of four piezoelectric bimorphs, a monitor element, and first and second detection elements, including a drive element 101 and a first detection element 103. The first
The vibration unit 109 and the second vibration unit 110 in which the monitor element 102 and the second detection element 104 are orthogonally joined at the joint 106 are connected by a connecting plate 107, and this connecting plate 107 is supported at one point by a support rod 108. It has a tuning fork structure.

When a sinusoidal voltage signal is applied to the drive element 101, the first vibration unit 109 starts to vibrate due to the inverse piezoelectric effect, and the second vibration unit 110 also starts to vibrate due to the tuning fork vibration. Therefore, the charge generated on the surface of the monitor element 102 due to the piezoelectric effect is proportional to the sinusoidal voltage signal applied to the drive element 101. By detecting the charge generated in the monitor element 102 and controlling the sinusoidal voltage signal applied to the drive element 101 so that the charge has a constant amplitude, stable tuning fork vibration can be obtained.

The mechanism by which this sensor generates an output proportional to angular velocity will be explained using FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the angular velocity sensor shown in FIG. 2. When a rotation at an angular velocity ω is applied to the sensing element 103, which is vibrating at a speed υ, a "Coriolis force" is applied to the sensing element 103.
occurs. This "Coriolis force" is perpendicular to the speed υ and has a magnitude of 2mυω.

Since the sensing element 103 is vibrating like a tuning fork, if the sensing element 103 is vibrating at a speed υ at a certain point, the sensing element 104 is vibrating at a speed -υ, which is a "Coriolis force".
is −2mυω. Therefore, the sensing elements 103 and 104 are deformed toward each other in the direction of the "Coriolis force" as shown in FIG. 4, and charges are generated on the surfaces of the elements due to the piezoelectric effect. Here, υ is the movement caused by tuning fork vibration, and the tuning fork vibration is as follows: υ=a-sin ωot a: amplitude ω of tuning fork vibration.

: If it is the period of the tuning fork vibration, the "Coriolis force" is Fc = a - ω · sin ω (, t, which is proportional to the angular velocity ω and the tuning fork amplitude a, and the detection element 103, 104 is Therefore, the surface charge Q of the sensing elements 103 and 104 becomes Qcl:a・ω・Sln ωot, and if the tuning fork amplitude a is controlled to be constant, then Qoc(1)@Sln ωOt Therefore, the amount of surface charge Q generated in the sensing elements 103 and 104 is obtained as an output proportional to the angular velocity ω, and if this signal is synchronously detected with ωot, a DC signal proportional to the angular velocity ω is obtained. Even if a translational motion other than angular velocity is applied, charges of the same polarity are generated on the surfaces of the two sensing elements 103 and 104, so when converted to a DC signal, they cancel each other out and no output is produced. There is.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As described above, the present invention provides an angular velocity sensor that detects the angular velocity of the vehicle in the yaw direction, a signal processing circuit that performs signal processing based on the output signal of the angular velocity sensor, and a lighting device that is lit by the signal processing circuit. By adopting a configuration consisting of cornering lamps, it is possible to automatically turn on the cornering lamps in the direction of the vehicle's turn without operating a turn signal switch (even in one curve), and an angular velocity sensor and signal processing device are installed near the cornering lamps. It is possible to realize a cornering lamp lighting device for a vehicle in which a circuit can be arranged, which reacts to the behavior of the vehicle in the turning direction, and which can be miniaturized.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle cornering lamp lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a structural perspective view of a vibration type angular velocity sensor with a tuning fork structure, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are angular velocity sensors of FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a specific operation of a cornering lamp, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a conventional cornering lamp lighting device. 1... Angular velocity sensor, 2... Signal processing circuit, 3... Cornering lamp, 101...
...Drive element, 102...Monitor element,
103...First sensing element, 104...
・Second detection element, 105, 106... joint part, 107... connection plate, 109... first
vibration unit, 110...second vibration unit;
Soto.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A cornering lamp lighting device for a vehicle consisting of an angular velocity sensor that detects the angular velocity of the vehicle in the yaw direction, a signal processing circuit that performs signal processing based on the signal of this angular velocity sensor, and a cornering lamp that is driven by this signal processing circuit. . (2) The angular velocity sensor includes a first vibration unit formed by orthogonally joining a voltage bimorph element for driving and a first bimorph element for detection, and a voltage bimorph element for monitoring and a second bimorph element for detection. It consists of a second vibration unit which is orthogonally connected to each other and the first and second vibration units.
2. A tuning fork structure in which the free ends of the driving voltage bimorph element and the monitoring voltage bimorph element are connected to each other by a connecting plate so that the vibration units are parallel to each other along the detection axis. 1. The vehicle cornering lamp lighting device according to 1. (3) The vehicular cornering lamp lighting device according to claim 1, wherein the angular velocity sensor and the signal processing circuit are arranged near the cornering lamp.