JPH0318970Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically steering a vehicle that undergoes a figure-of-eight turning test.

[Background Art] A figure-of-eight turning test for a vehicle is conducted to check the strength and durability of disc wheels, tires, vehicle drive system parts, suspension-related parts, and the like.

The operation of the vehicle in which this figure-of-eight turning test is performed is automatically performed by this type of device, and various measures have been taken in anticipation of its failure.

In the event of a failure of this type of device, the vehicle will move gradually towards the outside of the turning test area in a figure-eight trajectory, and then make a circular turn on one side of the area, or Go straight from near the center to the outside.

Therefore, in cases where the vehicle gradually moves outside the turning test area while following a figure-eight trajectory, a limit switch is installed on the front bumper of the vehicle, and a rope is installed surrounding the turning test area. A rope is stretched across the rope, and when the limit switch is activated, an emergency stop system is activated to control the vehicle to stop.

In addition, when the vehicle turns in a circle, the device monitors the driving cycle of a limit switch installed on the roof of the test vehicle using a wire stretched in a V-shape in the turning test area. An abnormality is detected, and when the abnormality is detected, an emergency stop system is activated to control the vehicle to stop.

When the vehicle moves straight from near the center of the turning test area to the outside of the turning test area, the vehicle The emergency stop system is activated by a limit switch provided on the front bumper of the vehicle being driven by a rope stretched around the area.

However, when the vehicle heads straight to the outside of the turning test area, the vehicle travels straight at almost a right angle to the rope, and the vehicle speed at that time is high, so when the emergency stop system starts operating, The braking distance required for a vehicle to stop is long, and for this reason, conventionally, various equipment installed nearby,
There was a possibility that the test vehicle would collide with related equipment.

As a result, in the past, in order to prevent collisions due to equipment failure, space was secured outside the turning test area, and measures were taken to protect nearby equipment and related equipment that could potentially be subject to vehicle collisions. The need arose. Therefore, in the past, there was a problem in that a large space and a large amount of cost were required for testing.

[Purpose of the invention] The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its purpose is to enable testing within the minimum necessary space and to provide protection against vehicle collisions in the event of equipment failure. To provide an autopilot device for a figure-of-eight turning test vehicle that does not require much cost for countermeasures.

[Summary of the invention] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that the emergency stop system is activated immediately when the vehicle travels straight for a predetermined period of time or more.

Therefore, the device according to the present invention includes a neutral position detector that detects the neutral position of the steering wheel, and a steering neutral position detection signal that detects when the steering wheel is in the neutral position for a predetermined period of time or more. and an emergency stop system that causes the vehicle to come to an emergency stop.

[Embodiments of the invention] Examples of the autopilot device according to the invention will be described below based on the drawings.

In FIG. 1, this test is carried out within a rectangular rope 10.

This rope 10 has rope stands 12A, 1
2B, 12C, 12D, and stands for those ropes 12A, 12B, 1C, 12D
The height of the rope 10 between the rope height holding plates 14A, 14B, 14C, 14D, 14E, 14
F, 14G, 14H, 14I, 14J, 14K,
14L.

FIG. 2 shows a rope stand used in this embodiment. In FIG. 2, a tire 18 is fixed as a plow on a disk-shaped base 16, and a stand bar is provided at the center of the base 16.
20 are erected. and stand bar 20
A support wire 22 is connected between the upper side of the rope 10 and the rope 10.
A pulley 24 for supporting the rope 10 is provided on the top of the stand bar 20.

Further, FIG. 3 shows a front view of the rope height support plate used in this embodiment, and FIG. 4 shows its cross section.

As can be understood from the drawings, the rope height holding plate of this embodiment is disk-shaped, and the rope 10 is inserted through a rope hole 26 formed in the center thereof.

Above rope stands 12A, 12B, 12
C, 12D, rope height holding plates 14A, 14B,
14C, 14D, 14E, 14F, 14G, 14
The rope 10 is stretched horizontally by H, 14I, 14J, 14K, and 14L at a height of 150 mm from the road surface.

The road surface is flat and level, paved with asphalt or concrete, and the rectangular rope 10 has a short side of 30 m and a long side of 40 m.

In this way, the test vehicle was automatically steered by this device while drawing a figure-eight trajectory 100 as shown in FIG. 1 within the turning test area set by the rectangular rope 10. There is.

For this automatic operation, a wire 28 is stretched in a V-shape in FIG. 1. This wire 28 is supported by a fixed wire support stand 30 and movable wire support stands 32A, 32B, and the V-shaped angle α is adjusted to about 15 degrees by moving the movable wire support stands 32A, 32B.

FIG. 5 shows a fixed wire support stand 30 used in this embodiment, and the lower part of the support column 34 is embedded and fixed in the road surface. Then, the wire 28 is passed through the winch 3 through the pulley 36.
8.

FIG. 6 shows the front of the movable wire support stand used in this embodiment, and FIG. 7 shows the side.

This movable wire support stand is movable by means of wheels 42 on its base plate 40. A support 44 is erected on the base plate 40, and a pulley 46 is provided at the top of the support 44.

Further, a weight 48 is connected to the tip of the wire 28 hung on the pulley 46, as shown in FIG. Furthermore, tires 50 used as weights are stacked on the base plate 40.

The height of the wire 28 stretched in a V-shape in this manner is set to approximately 2 meters from the road surface using height adjustment stands 52A, 52B, 52C, and 52D as shown in FIG. has been done.

FIG. 9 shows the height adjustment stand used in this embodiment, and its weight bases 54A, 5
4B is fixed to both ends of a base connector 56 consisting of an L-shaped bar. And this base
A plurality of hook holes are formed on both sides of the connector 56, one end of the bar 58 is attached to one of the hook hole groups, and a bar 60 is attached to one of the other hook hole groups. One end of each is hooked. Further, the other end of the bar 60 is rotatably attached to the tip of the bar 58, and the tip of the bar 58 supports the wire 28.

Next, the device of this embodiment installed in the test vehicle will be explained.

FIG. 10 shows the overall configuration of the apparatus of this embodiment.

The apparatus of this embodiment includes a steering operation system for operating a steering wheel 62, a pedal operation system for operating an accelerator pedal 64, a clutch 66, and a brake pedal 68, and a controller 70 for automatically controlling these operation systems.

In FIG. 10, a steering limit switch 72 and an emergency stop switch 74 are connected to the controller 70.

The steering limit switch 72 is mounted on the roof 76 of the vehicle via a bracket 78, as shown in FIG.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 12, an antenna 80 is attached to the lower side of the roof 76.

On the other hand, the emergency stop switch 74 is constructed by attaching three limit switches 82 shown in FIG. 13 to the front surface of the front tamper of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 14.

A switch signal from the steering limit switch 72 is supplied to a steering command generation circuit 84 of the controller 70 via a 1/2 frequency divider 86, and directly to a start/stop control circuit 88.

Further, the steering command generation circuit 84 can supply a steering direction switching command to the motor drive inverter 90 each time the steering limit switch 72 is switched, and the motor drive inverter 90 is driven in accordance with the command. Current can be supplied to the steering motor 92 of the steering operation system.

The steering operation thread in this embodiment is the steering motor 9.
2 operates the steering wheel 62, and the steering motor 92 is attached to a frame 94 shown in FIG. 15 fixed at the driver's seat position. The steering motor 92 drives a drive shaft 96, and the driving force of the drive shaft 96 is provided by an electromagnetic brake.
The signal is transmitted to the steering shaft 102 of the steering wheel 62 via the key 98.

Also, in FIG. 15, the guide shaft 104 is on the right side of the frame 94, and the switch base 104 is on the left side.
6 are each mounted parallel to the drive shaft 96.

The guide shaft 104 is connected to the slide plate 108.
can be guided in the axial direction of the drive shaft 96, and the slide plate 108 is driven by a thread 110 formed on the circumferential surface of the drive shaft 96.

On the other hand, a limit switch 112 for stopping right turning and a limit switch 114 for stopping left turning are installed at predetermined intervals on the switch base 106.
2. The left turn stop limit switch 114 is rotated by the steering motor 92 and the drive shaft 96
A slide plate moved by a screw thread 110 of
108.

In FIG. 10, the electromagnetic brake 98 is driven and controlled by the start/stop control circuit 88, and the switch signals of the right turn stop limit switch 112 and the left turn stop limit switch 114 are supplied to the steering command generation circuit 84. has been done.

Next, regarding the pedal operation system, Fig. 10 and 1
This will be explained using Figure 6.

In this embodiment, the accelerator pedal 64, the clutch 66, and the brake pedal 68 are operated by air pressure, so that the air compressed by the compressor 116 is supplied to the main air tank 118. The compressed air in the main air tank 118 is supplied to solenoid valves 120, 122, 12.
Air actuators 126, 128,
130, and the compressed air allows the air actuator 126 to operate the accelerator pedal 64, the air actuator 128 to operate the clutch 66, and the air actuator 130 to operate the brake pedal 68.

In addition, the emergency stop system of this embodiment for making an emergency stop of the vehicle includes an air actuator 132 that operates the brake pedal 68. It is supplied via a solenoid valve 138.

Note that the solenoid valves 120, 122, 1
24 and the solenoid valve 138 are controlled by a start/stop control circuit 88. The air pressure inside the main air tank 118 is measured by the air pressure detector 14.
0, and the detection signal is supplied to the start/stop control circuit 88.

In FIG. 16, the main air tank 118 is housed in a pedestal 142, and the pedestal 142 is fixed on an actuator bracket 144 mounted at the driver's seat position. A sub-tank 136 equipped with a compressed air check valve 134 is attached to the side surface of the pedestal 142. Further, a solenoid stay 146 fixed on the actuator bracket 144 has an actuator 1 mounted thereon.
26, a solenoid valve 148, an actuator 128, and an air pressure detector 140 are installed. Here, the solenoid valve 148 is connected to the air actuator 130 and the air actuator 132.
It consists of

A shaft 150 is attached to the forefront of the actuator bracket 144, and the actuator unit 15 is mounted on the shaft 150 with spacers 152 and 154 between the accelerator pedal 64, the clutch 66, and the brake pedal 68.
6,158,160 are installed.

The actuator unit 156 is connected to the actuator 126 constituted by an air cylinder.
A holder 162 for holding an accelerator pedal is provided at the tip thereof.

Further, the actuator unit 158 is the air actuator 1 constituted by an air cylinder.
30 and 132, and a holder 164 for holding the brake pedal is attached to the tip thereof.

The actuator unit 160 has an air actuator 128 consisting of an air cylinder, and a holder 166 for holding a clutch pedal is attached to the tip of the air actuator 128.

Furthermore, between the actuator 126 and the holder 162, between the air actuators 130 and 132 and the holder 164, and between the actuator 12
8. Turnbuckles 168, 170, and 172 are provided between the holder 166 and the holder 166 for length adjustment.

Furthermore, a control box 174 in which the controller 70 is built is mounted on the pedestal 142, and this control box 174 includes a knife switch 176 for turning on the vehicle battery power, and a voltage detector for detecting the power supply voltage. 178 is installed. The detection signal from the voltage detector 178 is supplied to the start/stop control circuit 88 of the controller 70, as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 17, a receiver 180 and an integration counter 182 are attached to the back surface of the pedestal 142.

The receiver 180 is connected to the antenna 80 of FIG. 12 via a cable 184 as shown in FIG.
The receiver 180 receives vehicle start and stop commands sent from a transmitter 186 installed at the command center, and sends the received signals to the start/stop control circuit as shown in FIG. 88 can be supplied.

In addition, the integration counter 182 is supplied with a frequency-divided signal from the 1/2 frequency divider 86 as shown in FIG. When one cycle is defined as drawing 100 and returning to the original position, that cycle can be counted. The count value is supplied to the start/stop control circuit 88, which can control the vehicle to stop when the count value reaches a set value.

Note that the frequency-divided signal of the 1/2 frequency divider 86 is supplied to the self-braking meter 188, and the self-braking meter 188 can measure the lateral acceleration of the vehicle.

Further, the start/stop control circuit 88 can start the engine by driving the starter 190 based on the received operation start command.

Here, this device uses a neutral position detector 192 for detecting the neutral position of the steering wheel 62.
The start/stop control circuit 88 can control an emergency stop system to bring the vehicle to an emergency stop when the steering wheel 62 is in the neutral position for a predetermined time or longer based on the steering neutral position detection signal.

In this embodiment, the neutral position detector 192 is attached to the switch base 106,
It is constituted by a limit switch disposed at an intermediate position between a right-hand turn stop limit switch 112 and a left-hand turn stop limit switch 114, and is driven by the slide plate 108 when the steering wheel 62 is in the neutral position.

The device of this embodiment has the above-mentioned configuration, and its operation will be explained below.

In FIG. 18, a vehicle 194 is guided to a predetermined position within a turning test area, and its transmission is set to first speed in the case of a passenger car. In the case of a freight vehicle, the second speed may be selected, and in the case of an automatic transmission vehicle, the L range is selected.

When the transmitter 186 of the command center receives a command to start operation, the start/stop control circuit 88 starts the start operation based on the received signal.
After driving the engine 190 to start operating the engine, the pedal operation system operates the accelerator pedal 64 and clutch 66 to start the vehicle.

When the traveling vehicle 194 reaches position _P1 , the steering limit switch 72 is driven by the wire 28, and the signal is supplied to the controller 70 to drive the steering motor 92 in a predetermined direction.

As a result, the steering wheel of the steering wheel 62 is driven clockwise, and is controlled to stop when the right turn stop limit switch 112 is driven.

After passing through position P ₁ , vehicle 194 advances to position P ₄ ,
At this position, the steering limit switch 72 is driven again, but at this time, the steering wheel 62 is not operated even by this driving.

When the vehicle 194 further advances to position _P2 , the steering limit switch 72 is again driven by the wire 28, and the steering motor 92 is driven in the opposite direction.

As a result, the steering wheel of the steering wheel 62 is driven in the opposite direction, and is controlled to stop when the left turn stop limit switch 114 is driven.

Thereafter, the vehicle 194 reaches position _P3 , and the steering limit switch 72 is driven, but the steering motor 92 is not driven at this position as well as at position _P4 , and therefore the vehicle 194 is Return to position P ₁ again.

In this manner, the vehicle 194 repeatedly makes double-figure turns, during which time the integration counter 182 increases its count value each time the vehicle 194 traces the trajectory 100 once. Self-braking meter 188 also measures lateral acceleration.

When the vehicle 194 makes a set number of figure-eight turns without any trouble, the start/stop control circuit 88
is at least the brake pedal 68 and the electromagnetic brake.
The key 98 is operated to control the vehicle 194 to stop.

Note that if it becomes necessary to stop the vehicle 194 during this test, a stop command is transmitted to the receiver 180 by operating the transmitter 186. When the received signal is supplied to the start/stop control circuit 88, the vehicle is controlled to stop in the same manner.

Next, a case will be described in which the vehicle 194 is automatically brought to an emergency stop due to some kind of trouble.

During the test, the start/stop control circuit 88 is connected to the wire 28.
The driving interval of the steering limit switch 72 which is driven by the vehicle 194 is monitored, and an abnormal turning is detected when the vehicle 194 traces a circular orbit within the turning test area. When this is detected, the start/stop control circuit 88 controls the solenoid valve 138 to drive the air actuator 132 to operate the brake pedal 68 and operate the electromagnetic brake 98.

In this way, when the vehicle 194 turns abnormally in a circular orbit within the turning test area during the test, the device of this embodiment itself senses the abnormality and the emergency stop system brings the vehicle 194 to an emergency stop.

Further, in an abnormal situation where the vehicle 194 gradually moves toward the outside of the turning test area while tracing a figure-eight trajectory, the emergency stop switch 74 is driven in contact with the rope 10. When that signal is supplied to the start/stop control circuit 88, the start/stop control circuit 88
8 applies the brake pedal 6 to the air actuator 132 by controlling the solenoid valve 138.
8 to cause the emergency stop system to stop the vehicle 194 and to operate the electromagnetic brake 98.

Furthermore, the start/stop control circuit 88 is connected to the air pressure detector 1.
40. The air pressure and power supply voltage in the main air tank 118 are monitored based on the detection signal of the voltage detector 178, and when it is determined that these are below the allowable values, the air actuator 132 is
The vehicle 194 is brought to an emergency stop.

Here, an abnormal situation in which the vehicle 194 moves straight from near the center of the turning test area toward the outside will be described using FIG. 19.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the start/stop control circuit 88 in response to this abnormality.
This process starts when the neutral position detector 192 is driven by the slide plate 108.
A one second timer is immediately started (step 200).

Then, it is determined whether the steering wheel 62 is in the neutral position based on the input of the neutral position detection signal (step 202).

If it is determined in step 202 that the steering wheel 62 is not in the neutral position, the 1 second timer is cleared (step 204) and the process ends. When it is determined that the steering wheel 62 is in the neutral position, it is determined whether or not this timer has timed up (step 206).

When it is determined that the timer has not timed up, the process returns to step 202, and when it is determined that the timer has timed up, emergency stop processing is performed (step 208).
This process ends.

As a result of the above operations, when the steering wheel 62 is in the neutral position for one second or more, the vehicle 194 is brought to an emergency stop by the emergency stop system (step 208).
As a result, the vehicle 194, which is braked by the air actuator 132 before going straight to the rope 10 at high vehicle speed, is brought to an emergency stop immediately before or slightly beyond the rope 10. Ru.

In this way, in the event of an abnormality in which the vehicle moves straight from near the center of the turning area to the outside, the vehicle is immediately brought to an emergency stop, making it possible to conduct this type of test within the minimum necessary space. In addition, it is possible to take measures to protect the surrounding equipment and equipment from vehicle collisions at extremely low cost.

[Effects of the invention] As explained above, according to the invention, when an abnormality occurs in which the vehicle moves straight from the center of the turning test area to the outside, it is immediately brought to an emergency stop. It is possible to perform various types of tests, and it is also possible to significantly reduce the cost required for protection measures for related equipment and equipment against vehicle collisions.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram of the layout of various equipment in the Figure 8 test site, Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the rope stand used in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram of the rope stand used in Figure 1. - An explanatory diagram of the structure of the rope height retaining plate, FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the rope height retaining plate of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the fixed wire stand used in FIG. 1. 6 is a front view of the movable wire support stand used in FIG. 1, FIG. 7 is a side view of the movable wire support stand used in FIG. 1, and FIG. 8 is a front view of the movable wire support stand used in FIG. Fig. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the height adjustment stand used in Fig. 1, Fig. 10 is a system diagram showing the overall configuration of the embodiment device, and Fig. 11 is an illustration of the steering limit switch. Figure 12 is an illustration of the installation position of the antenna, Figure 13 is an external view of a limit switch used in an emergency stop switch, Figure 14 is an illustration of the installation position of the limit switch in Figure 3, and Figure 15 is an illustration of the installation position of the limit switch in Figure 3.
Figure 16 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the handle operation system, Figure 16 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the pedal operation system, Figure 17 is a rear perspective view of the gantry in Figure 16, and Figure 18 is an illustration of the operating principle of the figure-eight turning test. , FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the start/stop control circuit in FIG. 10. 10... Rope, 28... Wire, 70... Controller, 72... Steering limit switch,
74...Emergency stop switch, 82...Limit switch, 88...Start/stop control circuit, 92...
Steering motor, 108... Slide plate, 11
2... Limit switch for stopping right turning, 114...
...Limit switch for stopping left turning, 116... Compressor, 118... Main air tank, 12
0,122,124...Solenoid valve, 12
6,128,130,132...Air actuator, 192...Vehicle.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A neutral position detector that detects the neutral position of the steering wheel, and an emergency stop system that brings the vehicle to an emergency stop when it is determined that the steering wheel is in the neutral position for a predetermined period of time or more based on the steering neutral position detection signal. An autopilot device for a figure-of-eight turning test vehicle, comprising: