JPH0341371B2 - - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To safely carry out the correction of shifting without hindrance by providing a means of detecting and correcting the shift of straight advance position on the steering position detecting device of a cornering lamp which is interlocked with the steering of a handle, and fixing right and left optical axes in a defined direction until the correction of the shifting is completed. CONSTITUTION:An analog voltage signal from a sensor 1 for detecting the steering position of a steering wheel is arithmetically processed by a processing circuit 2 and the motors 32, 42 of a right lamp driving unit 3 and a left lamp driving unit 4 are driven, to rotate the lamps. Comparators 221-224, a decoder 23, flip-flop circuits 241-243, and an AND gate are provided in the processing circuit 2 and a defined processing of signals is carried out by an up/down counter 27. When a straight advancing position is shifted, the up/down counter 27 is reset by means of a frequency divider 52. Meanwhile, each of the lamps are fixed to their defied safe side positions (right lamp for straight advancing, left lamp for left direction), to safely carry out correction without hindrance.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a cornering lamp system for a vehicle, which is provided with lighting means on each side of the front left and right sides of the vehicle, and whose direction of illumination is variable in conjunction with steering wheel steering. It is.

[Conventional technology]

Vehicles, especially automobiles, are equipped with headlights on the left and right sides of the front of the vehicle as lighting means for illuminating the area ahead at night, but these headlights only illuminate the front of the vehicle in a fixed manner. When the vehicle approaches a curve, the direction in which the vehicle is traveling cannot be illuminated. In other words, when cornering or the like, there is a risk that sufficient illumination will not be provided in the direction in which the vehicle is actually traveling, resulting in danger.

In order to solve this problem, a cornering lamp system has been proposed in which the direction of the front illumination is varied in conjunction with the steering wheel of the vehicle, and the direction of travel is illuminated. In other words, a sensor output is sent out in conjunction with the steering wheel, and based on this sensor output, the rotational direction and position of the steering wheel are detected to obtain variable operation of the headlight illumination direction according to the direction of travel. There is.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, with such conventional cornering lamp systems, if an error occurs in the detection of the rotational direction and position of the steering wheel based on the sensor output, there is no means to correct this error, and the headlight illumination direction variable operation is required. A problem arises in that the position of the vehicle is deviated from the direction of travel of the vehicle.

In other words, the irradiation direction of the headlights, which should be facing forward in the straight-ahead steering position, ends up pointing to the right or left due to incorrect detection of the rotation direction and position of the steering wheel, causing the irradiation direction to match the actual direction of travel. This resulted in a problem that variable operation could no longer be obtained.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and it detects the straight steering position when steering the steering wheel, and at the same time detects the straight steering position when the steering wheel is turned. The illumination direction of at least one of the first and second lighting means is fixed at a predetermined deflection angle position until this correction is made. This is what I did.

[Effect]

Therefore, according to the present invention, the irradiation directions of the first and second lighting means are corrected in the straight forward steering position when the steering wheel is steered, and the irradiation direction of the lighting means is corrected until this correction is made. It can be fixed in a safe direction.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The vehicle cornering lamp system according to the present invention will be described in detail below. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing one embodiment of this cornering lamp system. In the figure, 1 is a steering sensor that sends out an analog voltage signal that rises and falls with each rotation of the steering wheel in conjunction with the steering wheel in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions, and 2 is an analog signal sent by this steering sensor 1. A processing circuit that processes voltage signals; 3 a right lamp drive unit that drives a fog lamp (hereinafter referred to as the right lamp), not shown, installed on the right side of the front of the vehicle based on the processing signal sent from the processing circuit 2; 4; Similarly, numeral 5 denotes a left lamp drive unit which drives a fog lamp (hereinafter referred to as the left lamp), not shown, which is installed on the left side of the front of the vehicle based on a processed signal sent out from the processing circuit 2. 5 is a DC power supply.

The steering sensor 1 is composed of a sliding contact type variable resistor 11, and the connection position of the output terminal 1a to the variable resistor 11 is changed in conjunction with steering wheel steering. That is, when the steering wheel is in the straight steering position, that is, when the steering rotation angle is 0°, the output terminal 1a
The variable resistor 1 is connected so that the divided voltage (analog voltage signal) generated at the variable resistor 1
The connection position of the output terminal 1a with respect to the output terminal 1 is set. Then, the voltage value of the analog voltage signal generated at the output terminal 1a gradually increases in conjunction with steering the steering wheel in a clockwise direction (hereinafter referred to as rightward) starting from the straight-ahead steering position, and counterclockwise ( It is designed to gradually descend in conjunction with steering the steering wheel in the left direction (hereinafter referred to as the left direction). Figure 2a
shows the waveform of the analog voltage signal generated at the output terminal 1a of the steering sensor 1. When the steering rotation angle is 0° (point N in the figure), an analog voltage signal with a voltage value of V0 is generated, and as shown below. When the steering wheel is rotated to the right from this state, that is, when the steering rotation angle is increased in the positive direction, the voltage value of the analog voltage signal gradually increases in proportion to this increase in the steering rotation angle, and the steering rotation angle increases to +180°. The maximum voltage value Vmax is reached when the voltage reaches Vmax. Furthermore, when the steering wheel is rotated to the left and the steering rotation angle is increased in the negative direction, the voltage value of the analog voltage signal gradually decreases in proportion to this, and reaches its minimum when the steering rotation angle reaches -180°. The voltage value becomes Vmin. In other words, an analog voltage signal that continuously changes from the minimum voltage value Vmin to the maximum voltage value Vmax during one rotation from the leftward half-turn position to the rightward half-turn position of the steering wheel starting from the straight-ahead steering position. It is generated in response to the steering rotation angle, and when the steering rotation angle exceeds +180° and increases in the positive direction, the analog voltage signal changes from the maximum voltage value to the minimum voltage at the point when the steering rotation angle exceeds +180°. Level down to value,
From then on, the minimum voltage value for each rotation of the handle to the right.
An analog voltage signal is generated that increases from Vmin to the maximum voltage value Vmax. Also,
If the steering rotation angle exceeds -180° and increases in the negative direction, the analog voltage signal changes from the minimum voltage value Vmin to the maximum voltage value at the point when the steering rotation angle exceeds -180°.
An analog voltage signal is generated whose level increases to Vmax and then decreases from the maximum voltage value Vmax to the minimum voltage value Vmin every time the handle is rotated to the left.

The analog voltage signal generated at the output terminal 1a of the steering sensor 1 is input to the inverting input terminals of the comparators 221, 222, 223 and the non-inverting input terminal of the comparator 224 in the processing circuit 2. The non-inverting input terminals of 221, 222, and 223 have a comparison reference voltage determined by resistors R1 and R2.
Comparison reference voltage determined by V2, resistors R3 and R4
A comparison reference voltage V3 determined by V1 and resistors R5 and R6 is set. Further, a comparison reference voltage V4 determined by resistors R7 and R8 is set at the inverting input terminal of the comparator 224. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2a, the comparison reference voltage V1 is higher than the voltage value V0 of the analog voltage signal generated in the straight-ahead steering position by +60 degrees in terms of the steering rotation angle, and the comparison reference voltage V2 but
The comparison reference voltage V3 is set lower than V0 by -60° in terms of steering rotation angle, and the comparison reference voltage V3 is set higher than V0 by +15° in terms of steering rotation angle.
The comparison reference voltage V4 is set lower than V0 by -15 degrees in terms of steering rotation angle. and,
The outputs of the comparators 221 and 222 are input to the input terminals 23A and 23B of the decoder 23, and when the decoder 23 receives a "0" level signal to both its input terminals 23A and 23B, its output is When the level of the terminal 23a is set to the "1" level and signals of the "0" and "1" levels are input, the level of the output terminal 23b is set to the "1" level, and both signals of the "1" level are input. When this occurs, the level of the output terminal 23c is set to "1" level.

Then, the output terminal 23a of the decoder 23 is R.
It is connected to the set terminal and the reset terminal of the S flip-flop circuits 241 and 243, and when the output terminal 23a reaches the "1" level, the one-shot multivibrator 253 continues for a predetermined period of time and sends a signal to one end of the AND gates 262 and 265. It is designed to send out a one-shot signal of level 1. In addition, the output terminal 2 of the decoder 23
3b is connected to the reset terminal and set terminal of the R.S flip-flop circuits 241 and 242, and when the output terminal 23b reaches the "1" level, the one-shot multivibrator 252 continues for a predetermined time and the AND gates 263 and 26
A one shot signal of "1" level is sent to one end of the 6. Furthermore, the decoder 23
The output terminal 23c is connected to the reset terminal and set terminal of the R.S flip-flop circuits 242 and 243, and the output terminal 23c is set to "1".
When the level is reached, the one-shot multivibrator 251 continues for a predetermined time and the AND gate 2
A one-shot signal of "1" level is sent to one end of the terminals 61 and 264.

On the other hand, the Q output and output of the flip-flop circuit 241 are connected to the AND gates 261 and 264.
The Q output and output of flip-flop circuit 242 are input to the other ends of AND gates 262 and 265, and the Q output and output of flip-flop circuit 243 are input to the other ends of AND gates 263 and 266. It is now being entered. And gate 261
-263 and the outputs of AND gates 264-266 are input to each input terminal of three-input OR gates 271 and 272. Then, the outputs of OR gates 271 and 272 are
The up/down counter 27 starts counting each time a "1" level signal is input to the input terminal 27u or 27d. The count is increased or decreased, and a digital signal corresponding to the counted value is sent to the decoder 28.
The decoder 28 receives this digital signal, selects a predetermined output terminal among the output terminals 28a to 28i, and sets the level to the "0" level. That is, the count value in the up/down counter 27 is set to zero at point N in FIG. It is set to the "0" level. And atup/
Each time the count value of the down counter 27 increases by one, the output terminal to be set to the "0" level is incremented sequentially from 28e to 28d, 28c, . . . , 28a. Also, each time the count value in the up/down counter 27 goes down by 1 from zero, the output terminal to be set to the "0" level is set to 2.
From 8e to 28f, 28g, . It goes without saying that even during countdown after count-up or count-up after countdown, the output terminals that are at the "0" level are successively incremented or incremented to the adjacent output terminals. Then, output terminals 28a to 2 of the decoder 28
8d is the inverter 291 and the AND gate 27
2 to the output terminal 2a of the processing circuit 2 via 0.
8f to 28i are connected to the output terminal 2b via an inverter 292.

Therefore, the output terminals 2a and 2 of the processing circuit 2
b is the relay coil 3 of the right lamp drive unit 3.
1 and one end of the relay coil 41 of the left lamp drive unit 4. The right lamp drive unit 3 includes a DC motor 32 and a lamp drive shaft 33 that is rotationally driven by the DC motor 32, and is configured so that a movable contact 34 rotates integrally with the lamp drive shaft 33. There is.
The movable contact 34 is connected to the positive polarity side of the DC power supply 5, and the contact portions 24a and 34b formed at both ends thereof are arranged at the lower end as the lamp drive shaft 33 rotates. It is adapted to come into sliding contact with arc-shaped conductor patterns 35 and 36. The conductor pattern 35 is connected to the relay coil 31
The common terminal 37c is connected to one end of the DC motor 32. Further, the conductor pattern 36 is connected to a normally open contact terminal 38a of a second normally open/normally closed contact 38 driven by the relay coil 31, and its common terminal 38c is connected to the other end of the DC motor 32. It is connected. Movable contact 34 and conductor pattern 35
The relative positional relationship with 36 and 36 is the Ricoh coil 3
1, that is, the common terminals 37c and 38 of the normally open and normally closed contacts 37 and 38
When c is connected to the normally closed contact terminals 37b and 38b, the contact portions 34a and 34b are in a non-contact and contact state with the conductor patterns 35 and 36, as shown in the figure. Then, the contact portion 34b, the conductor pattern 36,
The DC motor 32 is rotated clockwise by the current supplied through the path of the normally open/normally closed contact 38, and the lamp drive shaft 33 is rotated clockwise in the figure, and the contact portion 34b of the movable contact 34 is a conductor. Even after being separated from the pattern 36, the contact portion 34a and the conductor pattern 35 maintain their contact state. It goes without saying that the DC motor 32 is rotated counterclockwise by the current supplied through the path of the contact portion 34a, the conductor pattern 35, and the normally open and normally closed contacts 37, thereby rotating the lamp drive shaft 33 to the left. The other end of the relay coil 31, normally open/normally closed contact 3
The normally open contact terminals 37a and the normally closed contact terminals 38b of 7 and 38 are grounded. By rotating the lamp drive shaft 33 clockwise and counterclockwise, the irradiation direction of the right lamp installed on the right side of the front of the vehicle changes.By rotating the lamp drive shaft 33 clockwise, the right lamp The direction of irradiation rotates to the right when viewed from the driver's seat, and by rotating to the left, the direction of irradiation rotates to the left.

Although the structure of the right lamp drive unit 3 has been described above, the structure of the left lamp drive unit 4 is similar, and each part is given a number corresponding to that of the right lamp drive unit 3, and a description thereof will be omitted. However, by rotating the lamp drive shaft 43 clockwise and counterclockwise, the irradiation direction of the left lamp installed on the left side of the front of the vehicle changes, and by rotating the lamp drive shaft 43 clockwise, the left lamp The irradiation direction rotates to the left when viewed from the driver's seat, and by rotating to the left, the irradiation direction rotates to the right.
It should be noted that when the lamp drive shafts 33 and 43 are positioned as shown in the figure, the irradiation directions of the right lamp and the left lamp are set to remain oriented toward the front.

Furthermore, the outputs of the AND gates 261 and 265 are input to a 3-input OR gate 273 with negative logic input via inverters 293 and 294, and the output of a 4-input OR gate 274 is input to the remaining input terminal of the OR gate 273. It's becoming like that. One-shot multivibrators 254, 255, 25 are connected to each input terminal of the OR gate 274.
6 and 257 are input, and multivibrators 254, 255, 256 and 257 operate at a predetermined level when the outputs of AND gates 262, 263, 264 and 266 reach the "1" level. A one-shot signal of level "1" is sent out continuously for a period of time (10 seconds in this embodiment). The output of the OR gate 274 is branched and inputted to one end of the AND gate 267, and the clock signal sent from the reference clock generator 50 is inputted to the other end of the AND gate 267. It's getting old. And and gate 2
The clock signal passing through the clock signal 67 is input to the frequency divider 51, and the frequency divider 51 outputs "1" when the input clock signal overflows.
The flip-flop circuit 244 outputs the level frequency division.
It is designed to be sent to the set terminal of still,
The output of the OR gate 273 is input to the reset terminals of the frequency divider 51 and the flip-flop circuit 244, and the Q output of the flip-flop circuit 244 is input to one end of the AND gate 269. The outputs of the comparators 223 and 224 are input to the other end of the AND gate 269, and the output of the AND gate 269 is passed through an OR gate 275 to the reset terminal of the up/down counter 27 and to the flip-flop circuit 246. It is designed to be input to the set terminal.

On the other hand, the clock signal sent by the reference clock generator 50 is also input to one end of an AND gate 268, and the outputs of the comparators 223 and 224 are input to the other end of the AND gate 268. Then, the clock signal passing through the AND gate 268 is input to the frequency divider 52, and when the input clock signal overflows, the frequency divider 52 sends the divided output of the "1" level to the set terminal of the flip-flop circuit 245. It is now being sent out. The outputs of the comparators 223 and 224 are inverted by an inverter 295 and inputted to the reset terminals of the frequency divider 52 and the flip-flop circuit 245, and the Q output of the flip-flop circuit 245 is inputted to the reset terminals of the frequency divider 52 and the flip-flop circuit 245. It is designed to be input to the reset terminal of the up/down counter 27 and the set terminal of the flip-flop circuit 246. The Q output of the flip-flop circuit 246 is input to the other end of the AND gate 270 and the inverter 292, and the reset terminal of the flip-flop circuit 246 is connected to the capacitor C1.
A divided voltage generated at the connection point between the resistor R12 and the resistor R12 is input. In addition, capacitor C1
The other end is connected to a high potential power source in conjunction with operation of a switch (not shown) when the cornering lamp system is activated.

Next, the operation of the vehicle cornering lamp system configured as described above will be explained. That is,
It is now assumed that the automobile is traveling straight ahead and the steering wheel is in the straight ahead steering position (point N in FIG. 2e). Also, at this time, the output of the OR gate 269 is at the "0" level, and the flip-flop circuit 24
6 is in the set state, and its Q output is maintained at the "1" level. At this time, if it is normal, the count value in the up/down counter 27 is zero, and only the output terminal 28e of the decoder 28 is at the "0" level. That is, output terminals 28a to 28d and 28f to 28
i is in the "1" level state, so the output level of the output terminals 2a and 2b is the same as that of the inverter 29.
The inversion by 1 and 292 results in a "0" level. That is, at this time, no current flows through the relay coils 31 and 41 of the right lamp drive unit 3 and the left lamp drive unit 4, and the normally open and normally closed contacts 37, 38 and 47, 48 maintain the states shown in the figure. . Therefore, power is not supplied to the DC motors 32 and 42 from the DC power supply 5, and the lamp drive shafts 33 and 43 do not rotate, so the irradiation direction of the right and left lamps continues to face the front direction and stop. Also, at this time, steering sensor 1
The voltage value of the analog voltage signal sent out by
Therefore, the output of the comparator 221 is "0"
level, and the output of the comparator 222 is at the "1" level. That is, of the output terminals 23a to 12c of the decoder 23, only 23b is at the "1" level, the flip-flop circuits 241 and 242 are reset and set, their outputs and Q outputs are at the "1" level, and the AND It is input to gates 264 and 262.

When the steering wheel is rotated clockwise to start right steering from such a state, the steering rotation angle increases in the positive direction, and the analog voltage signal sent from the steering sensor 1 starts to gradually rise. Then, when the steering rotation angle exceeds +60 degrees, the voltage value of the analog voltage signal exceeds V1, and the output of the comparator 222 is inverted from the "1" level to the "0" level. (Point a in Figure 2c). That is, the outputs of the comparators 221 and 222 both become "0" level, and the output terminal position of the decoder 23 that sends out the "1" level is shifted from 23b to 23a.
It goes up to . As a result, the flip-flop circuit 241 enters the set state, and a signal of the "1" level is input to the multivibrator 253, and the multivibrator 253 transmits the one-shot signal of the "1" level to the AND gate 262 and the two.
65. On the other hand, flip-flop circuit 2
42 maintains the Q output at the "1" level even after the "1" level signal to the set terminal disappears,
As a result, the two inputs of the AND gate 262 both go to the "1" level, so the AND gate 262 begins to send out an output at the "1" level. Therefore,
The output of the OR gate 271 becomes "1" level,
The count value in the up/down counter 27 increases by one. As a result, the decoder 28
The "0" level signal that was being sent out until then is now incremented and sent from the output terminal 28e to the output terminal 28b, and this "0" level signal is inverted by the inverter 291, and at this time, the AND gate 270 is inverted. Flip-flop circuit 2 on the other end
Since the "1" level Q output of 46 is input, the output terminal 2a of the processing circuit 2 becomes "1" level, and the relay coil 3 of the right lamp drive unit 3
1 is energized (point a in FIG. 2 d). By energizing the relay coil 31, the common terminals 37c and 38c of the normally open/normally closed contacts 37 and 38 and the normally open contact terminals 37a and 38a are brought into conduction, and the contact of the power contact 34 is connected to the DC motor 32. A drive current begins to flow through the path of the portion 34b, the conductor pattern 36, the normally open/normally closed contact 38, and the normally open/normally closed contact 37 (point a in FIG. 2d). This drive current causes the DC motor 32 to rotate clockwise, rotate the lamp drive shaft 33 clockwise, and rotationally shift the irradiation direction of the right lamp to the right. and,
As the lamp drive shaft 33 rotates clockwise, the movable contact 3
When the contact portion 34a of No. 4 starts to move in contact with the conductor pattern 35 and the contact portion 34b is separated from the conductor pattern 36, the supply of drive current to the DC motor 32 is cut off. That is, at this point, the lamp drive shaft 33 stops rotating, and the irradiation direction of the right lamp is fixed at one point in the steering direction of the steering wheel.

If the right steering is continued even after reaching this state, the analog voltage signal sent by the steering sensor 1 will further increase, and at point b in Fig. 2a, where the steering rotation angle becomes +180 degrees,
The voltage value is from the maximum voltage value Vmax to the minimum voltage value
Level down to Vmin. As a result, the output of the comparator 221 becomes "1" from the "0" level.
At the same time, the output of the comparator 222 also inverts from the "0" level to the "1" level (point b in FIG. 2c). Therefore, the output terminal positions for sending out the "1" level of the decoder 23 are from 23a to 23c.
The flip-flop circuit 243 is set, and the multivibrator 251 is set.
begins to send a one-shot signal of "1" level to AND gates 261 and 264. On the other hand, since the flip-flop circuit 241 maintains the Q output of the "1" level even after the "1" level signal to its set terminal disappears, the AND gate 261
sends out a “1” level output, and the OR gate 26
7 becomes the "1" level, and the count value in the up/down counter 27 further increases by one. As a result, the decoder 28 moves up the "0" level signal that had been sent out from the output terminal 28d to the output terminal 28c and sends it out. And the steering rotation angle is +
When the angle reaches 300° (point c in FIG. 2a), the outputs of comparators 221 and 222 become "0" and "1" levels (points c in FIG. 2b and c), and the output terminal 23b of the decoder 23 becomes The signal at the "1" level is sent out again, and the output of the AND gate 263 becomes "1" level.
The count value in the up/down counter 27 further increases. In other words, if you continue steering to the right starting from the straight steering position, the AND gate 26
The outputs of 2, 261, and 263 sequentially become "1" level, the count value in the up/down counter 27 increases by 1, and the output terminal position of the decoder 28 that sends out the "0" level becomes 28d,
28c...28a, and so on. Here, the output terminals 28c to 28a are output terminals 28d
Similarly, since it is connected to the output terminal 2a via the inverter 291 and the AND gate 270, after the steering rotation angle exceeds +60° and the output terminal 28d of the decoder 28 becomes the "1" level, the output terminal 2a is maintained at the "1" level, and the irradiation direction of the right lamp is maintained fixed at one point in the steering direction of the steering wheel.

On the other hand, when steering to the right starting from the straight steering position described above, the output terminal 28f of the decoder 28
~28i is at the "1" level, so the processing circuit 2
The level of the output terminal 2b continues to maintain the "0" level, no energizing current flows through the relay coil 41 in the left lamp drive unit 4, and the DC motor 42
Since the lamp does not rotate, the direction of illumination from the left lamp does not change and continues to face forward. In other words, when steering to the right from the straight-ahead steering position, only the irradiation direction of the right lamp moves in conjunction with steering wheel steering to a predetermined deflection angle position on the steering direction side and is fixed, and this irradiation direction cannot be changed. This action ensures visibility when cornering by steering to the right. At this time, the left lamp illuminates the front direction in a fixed manner, ensuring visibility in front of the vehicle and allowing safer cornering to the right.

When steering to the left starting from the straight-ahead steering position, the outputs of comparators 221 and 222 are both at the "1" level at point e in FIG. 2a (points e in FIGS. 2b and c), The output terminal position of the decoder 23 that sends out the "1" level moves down from 23b to 23c, the output of the AND gate 264 becomes the "1" level, and the count value in the up/down counter 27 becomes 1.
Just go down. As a result, the output terminal position of the decoder 28 that sends out the "0" level moves down from 28e to 28f, and the output terminal 2 of the processing circuit 2
b reaches the "1" level, the relay coil 41 of the left lamp drive unit 4 is energized (point e in Figure 2), the lamp drive shaft 43 is driven by the DC motor 42, and the left lamp is driven. The irradiation direction moves to the left. Then, when the contact portion 44b of the movable contact 44 is separated from the conductor pattern 46,
The DC motor 42 stops, and the irradiation direction of the left lamp is fixed at one point on the steering direction side.

If the left steering is continued even after reaching this state, the analog voltage signal sent by the steering sensor 1 will further decrease, and at point f in Fig. 2a, where the steering rotation angle becomes -180 degrees,
The voltage value is from the minimum voltage value Vmin to the maximum voltage value
Level up to Vmax. At this time, the outputs of the comparators 221 and 222 both become "0" level (points f in FIG. 2 b and c), and the output terminal position of the decoder 23 that sends out the "1" level is 2.
Moves from 3c to 23a, and gate 2
65 becomes the "1" level, the count value in the up/down counter 27 decreases, and the position of the output terminal of the decoder 28 that sends out the "0" level moves down from 28f to 28g. Therefore, at point g in FIG. 2a, the outputs of comparators 221 and 222 become "0" and "1" levels (points g in FIG. 2b and c),
At point h, the outputs of comparators 221 and 222 both become "1" level, and the decoder 23
The output terminal position that sends out the “1” level is 23a.
From 23b, from 23b to 23c,
The outputs of the AND gates 266 and 264 become "1" level, and the count value in the up/down counter 27 is further decreased. This results in
The position of the output terminal of the decoder 28 that sends out the "0" level is sequentially moved from 28g to 28h and from 28h to 28i. Here, output terminals 28g to 28
i is the same as the output terminal 28f, and the inverter 292
Since it is connected to the output terminal 2b through the decoder 28, if the steering rotation angle exceeds -60°
After the output terminal 28f of the output terminal 28f reaches the "1" level, the relay coil 41 maintains the energized state,
The DC motor 42 maintains a stopped state, and the irradiation direction of the left lamp remains fixed at one point in the steering direction of the steering wheel.

On the other hand, when steering to the left starting from the straight-ahead steering position described above, the output terminal 28a of the decoder 28
~28d is at the "1" level, so the processing circuit 2
The output terminal 2a of the lamp continues to maintain the "0" level, and the relay coil 31 in the right lamp drive unit 3
Since no energizing current flows through and the DC motor 32 does not rotate, the irradiation direction of the right lamp continues to remain facing the front. In other words, when steering to the left starting from the straight-ahead steering position, only the irradiation direction of the left lamp moves in conjunction with the steering wheel steering to a predetermined deflection angle position on the steering direction side and is fixed, and this irradiation direction cannot be changed. This action ensures visibility when cornering by steering to the left. At this time, the right lamp illuminates the front direction in a fixed manner, ensuring visibility to the front of the vehicle and allowing safer cornering to the left.

In this embodiment, the operation was explained when the steering wheel was rotated clockwise and counterclockwise from the straight-ahead steering position. However, while the output terminal positions of the decoder 28 at the "0" level are at 28a to 28d and 28f to 28i, the irradiation direction of the right lamp and left lamp is not variable, and the irradiation is fixed in the right and left directions. Continue to maintain. And up/down counter 27
When the count value in the decoder 28 decreases, the count value in the decoder 28
When the output terminal 28e of the UP/DOWN counter 2 starts sending out a "0" level signal,
The count value at 7 goes up, and the decoder 28
At the time when the output terminal 28e of the
Normally open/normally closed contact 37, normally open/normally closed contact 38 or contact portion 44a of movable contact 44, conductor pattern 4
5. It is re-driven along the path of the normally open/normally closed contact 47 and the normally open/normally closed contact 48, and the irradiation direction of the right lamp or the left lamp is returned to face forward, and then it stops.

By the way, in a cornering lamp system that performs such basic operations, let us consider a case where the count value of the up/down counter 27 is in a state of deviation from the true count value. That is, for example, assume that when the automobile is stopped, the rotational position of the steering wheel is to the left from the straight-ahead steering position. When the cornering lamp system starts operating in such a state, the up/down counter 27 sets the count value at this time to zero, and thereafter performs a counting operation in conjunction with the steering wheel steering. Therefore, when the steering wheel is returned to the straight-ahead steering position, the count value in the up/down counter 27 increases from zero, and the right lamp illuminates in the right direction (toward the oncoming lane) while the vehicle is traveling straight. , there is a risk of dazzling oncoming vehicles passing by. However, in this embodiment, since the correction operation as described below is quickly performed, the irradiation directions of the right and left lamps can be varied in conjunction with the steering wheel steering without any problem.

In other words, it is no exaggeration to say that most of the roads that cars travel on are straight roads, and cars do not drive for long periods of time with the steering wheel turned once. In other words, the time for the analog voltage signal sent by the steering sensor 1 to rise and fall near the rotation angle position (origin position) for each clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of the steering wheel starting from the straight steering position is short; Most of them rise and fall near the straight-ahead steering position. Therefore, among the origin positions located at each rotation of the steering wheel including the straight steering position, the origin position where the analog voltage signal sent by the steering sensor 1 remains within a predetermined range centered on the origin position for a long time; The origin position that is frequently raised and lowered within a predetermined range centered on the origin position can be determined to be the straight steering position.

Now, the car is running straight, and the steering sensor 1 detects V0 at point N in Figure 2 a.
Assume that an analog voltage signal with a voltage value of At this time, comparators 223 and 224 are in the "1" level output state, and the clock signal sent from reference clock generator 50 passes through AND gate 268 and is input to frequency divider 52. The frequency divider 52 divides the clock signal to "1" every time the number of input clock signals reaches a predetermined value, that is, every time a predetermined time τ ₁ (10 sec in this embodiment) elapses in the frequency divider 52. Send out the cyclic output.
This frequency-divided output is input to the set terminal of the flip-flop circuit 245, and at this time, the reset terminal of the flip-flop circuit 245 is connected to the inverter 29.
Since the "0" level signal is input through the gate 5, its Q output becomes "1" level, maintains this "1" level state, and goes to the reset terminal of the up/down counter 27 via the OR gate 275. is input. This "1" level reset input forces the count value in the up/down counter 27 to zero. After that, when the analog voltage signal sent by the steering sensor 1 rises above V3 or falls below V4, the comparators 223 and 224
The signal inputted to the reset terminal of the flip-flop circuit 245 through the flip-flop circuit 245 goes to the "1" level, the Q output of the flip-flop circuit 245 goes to the "0" level, and the reset operation in the up/down counter 27 is canceled.

Even at the origin position of each rotation of the steering wheel starting from the straight steering position, the voltage value of the analog voltage signal sent by the steering sensor 1 is V0, but in this case, the voltage value of the analog voltage signal is between V4 and V3. According to experiments based on the inventor's actual situation, the time it stays at is less than 10 seconds. That is,
At the origin position of each rotation of the steering wheel starting from the straight steering position, the division time τ ₁ after the first clock signal is input to the frequency divider 52
(10 seconds), the analog voltage signal rises above V3 or falls below V2, and the comparators 223 and 2
Since the frequency division operation of the frequency divider 52 is reset via the frequency divider 24, no correction operation is performed in the up/down counter 27.

In this way, the count value in the up/down counter 27 is appropriately corrected only in the true straight steering position, and from then on, the right and left lamps perform normal variable operation in the direction of illumination in conjunction with steering wheel steering. It becomes like this.

On the other hand, when the AND gate 261 or the AND gate 265 reaches the "1" level,
“1” is input to the frequency divider 51 via the OR gate 273.
A level reset signal is input. Then, each time the outputs of the AND gates 262, 263, 264, and 266 reach the "1" level, the multivibrators 254, 255, 256, and 257 send out one-shot signals of the "1" level, and the OR gate 27
The output of 4 becomes the "1" level. That is, while the output of OR gate 274 is at the "1" level, the clock signal sent from reference clock generator 50 passes through AND gate 267 and is input to frequency divider 51. Then, each time the number of input clock signals reaches a predetermined value, the frequency divider 51 operates for a predetermined time τ ₂ (in this embodiment,
The flip-flop circuit 244 receives the frequency divided output of the "1" level and sets its Q output to the "1" level. However, and gate 2
When a "1" level signal is input to the other end of 69 via comparators 223 and 224,
The output of the OR gate 275 becomes "1" level,
The count value in the up/down counter 27 is forcibly returned to zero. In other words, in the rotation angle range of ±180° of the steering wheel starting from the straight steering position, the voltage value of the analog voltage signal is V1.
The frequency of raising and lowering V2 is higher than that at other origin positions, and at this time, the multivibrators 254 to 257 successively send out one-shot signals of the "1" level by overlapping their output times. In other words, multivibrators 254 to 257
The overlap time of the one-shot signal sent by
When it becomes longer than 20 seconds, in other words, the voltage value of the analog voltage signal becomes V1 with a maximum period of 10 seconds.
And when the frequency of raising and lowering V2 is high, the frequency divider 5
1 sends out a divided output of the "1" level, and when the voltage value of the analog voltage signal falls within the range of V4 to V3, the count value in the up/down counter 27 is corrected. As a result, it is possible to detect the straight steering position during slalom driving at less than ±180° where the voltage value of the analog voltage signal cannot stay within the range of V4 to V3 for more than 10 seconds, and the detection result of this straight steering position Based on this, the count value in the up/down counter 27 is appropriately corrected, and from then on, the right and left lamps perform normal irradiation direction variable operation in conjunction with steering wheel steering.

Furthermore, even in the rotation angle range of ±180° starting from the straight steering position, if the period in which the voltage value of the analog voltage signal rises and falls between V1 and V2 exceeds 10 seconds, the multivibrator 254~
Since the output time of the one shot signal sent by 257 does not overlap, the OR gate 274 cannot send out a "1" level signal that continues for more than 20 seconds.
No correction operation is performed in the up/down counter 27.

In addition, in this embodiment, in order to determine the true straight-ahead steering position, the voltage value of the analog voltage signal is
Both methods of determining whether the analog voltage signal stays within the range of V4 to V3 for 10 seconds or more, or whether the voltage value of the analog voltage signal frequently rises and falls above and below V1 and V2, were adopted in parallel, but they are not necessarily adopted in parallel. They are not necessary and may be used independently.

By the way, the up/down counter 2 mentioned above
The count value correction operation in step 7 is performed only when the straight steering position of the steering wheel is determined. That is, from the time the present cornering lamp system is activated until the straight-ahead steering position is determined, the count value in the up/down counter 27 is not corrected, and the decoder 28 selects the output terminal according to the count value. The level is set as "0". In other words, the decoder 28 is connected to its output terminal 28e in the straight steering position of the steering wheel.
However, other output terminal positions may be set to the "0" level between the activation of the cornering lamp system and the determination of the straight-ahead steering position. However, in this embodiment, at the same time as the cornering lamp system is activated, current flows through the series circuit of capacitor C1 and resistor R12, and the potential at the connection point between capacitor C1 and resistor R12 rises.
The flip-flop circuit 246 is reset and its Q output goes to the "0" level. Therefore, one end of AND gate 270 and inverter 292
A “0” level signal is input to the decoder 28.
Regardless of the output state of is fixed at a predetermined deflection angle position. Then, as the capacitor C1 is charged, the reset signal to the reset terminal of the flip-flop circuit 246 disappears, and the output level of the OR gate 275 becomes "1" when the straight steering position is determined.
At the same time the count value in the up/down counter 27 is corrected, the flip-flop circuit 2
46 enters the set state, its Q output goes to the "1" level, opens the gate of the AND gate 270, and the inverter 292 steadily inverts the "0" level signals sent from the output terminals 28f to 28i of the decoder 28. I come to do it. That is, at the same time as the cornering lamp system is activated, the irradiation directions of the right lamp and the left lamp are fixed to the front and left directions, and when the first straight steering position is determined, that is, the count value in the up/down counter 27 is corrected. Once this has been reliably performed, the irradiation direction of the right and left lamps can be varied in conjunction with the steering wheel. Therefore, even if there is an error in the count value in the up/down counter 27 when the cornering lamp system starts operating, the irradiation direction of the right and left lamps will not be directed toward the oncoming lane.
Conversely, visibility to pedestrians will be secured,
Improves safety when the cornering lamp system is activated.

In this embodiment, the right lamp's irradiation direction is fixed to the front and the left lamp's irradiation direction is fixed to the left at the same time as the cornering lamp system is activated. Needless to say, the cover is fixed so that the right lamp's irradiation direction is directed to the right, and the left lamp's irradiation direction is fixed to the front. Furthermore, the irradiation direction of one lamp does not necessarily have to be fixed so as to face the front, and the irradiation direction of the right and left lamps may be fixed at predetermined deflection angle positions in the right and left directions, respectively. . In other words, if you choose a swing angle position that does not dazzle oncoming vehicles, you can widen the direction of the lamp irradiation on the oncoming lane, and by doing this, you can ensure sufficient visibility to both the left and right sides. , safety at the start of driving is improved.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the cornering lamp system for a vehicle according to the present invention, the straight steering position when steering the steering wheel is detected, and the first and second lighting means arranged on the right and left sides of the front of the vehicle at this straight steering position are detected. The irradiation direction of at least one of the first and second lighting means is fixed at a predetermined deflection angle position until the correction is made. The irradiation direction of the first and second lighting means is corrected in the straight forward steering position when the steering wheel is steered, and the irradiation direction of the lighting means is fixed in the safe direction until this correction is performed. This makes it possible to realize correction of the variable operation of the irradiation direction in conjunction with steering wheel steering without any problems.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of a cornering lamp system for a vehicle according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a time chart illustrating the operation of this cornering lamp system. 1...Steering sensor, 2...Processing circuit,
221-224... Comparator, 254-25
7...One-shot multivibrator, 244
~246...R/S flip-flop circuit, 27
...Up/down counter, 3...Right lamp drive unit, 4...Left lamp drive unit, 50
...Reference clock generator, 51, 52... Frequency divider.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 comprising first and second lighting means disposed on the right and left sides of the front of the vehicle, and an irradiation direction variable means that changes the irradiation direction of the first and second lighting means in conjunction with steering wheel steering. In a cornering lamp system for a vehicle, an irradiation direction correcting means detects a straight steering position when the steering wheel is steered, and corrects the irradiation direction of the first and second lighting means at the straight steering position, and the irradiation direction correcting means irradiation direction fixing means for fixing the irradiation direction of at least one of the first and second lighting means at a predetermined deflection angle position until the irradiation direction of the lighting means is corrected by A cornering lamp system for a vehicle characterized by being provided with.