JPH049694B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention detects and cancels the beginning and end of cornering in a vehicle such as a motorcycle, based on a certain relationship that occurs between vehicle speed, steering wheel turning angle, and travel distance. The present invention relates to an automatic turn signal canceler device for a vehicle.

The applicant has previously developed practical automatic turn signal canceller devices for use in motorcycles, and has developed several practical automatic turn signal canceler devices using a steering wheel turning angle detection method that are composed of various electrical circuits. I was proposing it. When attempting to equip a vehicle such as a motorcycle with an automatic turn signal canceling device that detects the steering wheel turning angle, a major problem is how to start a cornering condition,
The question is whether to detect the end. This is because in a vehicle such as a motorcycle, when cornering, the vehicle body is banked and the bundle turning angle is small, making it difficult to detect. For this reason, when a vehicle such as a motorcycle is to be equipped with a steering wheel angle type automatic turn signal canceling device, there is an urgent need to develop a cornering detection device, and a cornering detection device with higher detection performance is desired. It depends on what happens.

In view of the above-mentioned demands, the present inventors have created the present invention in order to effectively solve the above-mentioned problems.

The purpose of the present invention is to determine setting values during cornering based on the relationship specific to two-wheeled vehicles regarding vehicle speed, steering wheel turning angle, and travel distance, thereby accurately detecting the beginning and end of cornering using a device with a simple circuit configuration. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic turn signal canceling device for a vehicle capable of canceling a turn signal at an accurate timing.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a distance detecting means for outputting a pulse signal every predetermined travel distance, a steering wheel turning angle detecting means for detecting a steering wheel turning angle, and a steering wheel turning angle detecting means for detecting a steering wheel turning angle. Based on this, the integrated value of the output of the steering wheel turning angle detecting means is started, and when this integrated value exceeds a set value and the steering wheel turning angle becomes less than a predetermined angle, a turn signal cancel command signal is outputted to stop blinking of the turn signal. The present invention is characterized by comprising a cancel signal output means.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the concept of the present invention will be described. Regarding cornering of motorcycles, the following characteristics are known empirically. In other words, when the traveling speed v is constant, the steering wheel turning angle θ is inversely proportional to the turning radius,
Further, the turning radius and the traveling distance D related to cornering are in a proportional relationship. As a result, the steering wheel turning angle θ and the travel distance D are inversely proportional, and the relationship θD=constant is obtained. On the other hand, when the radius of rotation is constant, there is a difference of vθ between the speed v and the steering wheel turning angle θ.
= constant, and the larger the speed v, the smaller the steering wheel turning angle becomes. From the above, θD at the maximum cornering speed
By determining the value of , and using this as a set value, it becomes possible to determine whether or not the running motorcycle is in a cornering state by comparing the value with this set value.

Based on the above concept, a circuit of an automatic turn signal canceling device as shown in FIG. 1 is constructed.

In FIG. 1, a voltage +Vcc is applied to a terminal 1, and a turn signal relay 2 connected to ground and left and right turn signal lamps 3 and 4 arranged in parallel are connected in series via a turn signal switch 5. Ru. The turn signal switch 5 is manually selectively connected to the left and right terminals 5a and 5b from a neutral position, and causes either the turn signal lamps 3 or 4 to blink. The blinking is based on the action of the blinker relay 2 described above. Further, the turn signal switch 5 is in a relationship where it can be returned to the neutral position by the excitation operation of the solenoid 6.

On the other hand, a circuit route in which a forward diode 7, a PNP transistor 8, and a resistor 9 are connected in series is provided between the terminal 5c of the turn signal switch 5 and the ground, and the base of the transistor 8 and the terminal 5a,
5b are provided with diodes 10 and 11, respectively, whose forward direction is in the right direction in the figure. According to this circuit route, when the turn signal switch 5 is in the neutral position, the transistor 8 is in the on state and generates a predetermined voltage drop across the resistor 9, and the turn signal switch 5 is connected to either the terminal 5a or 5b. When this occurs, the transistor 8 is turned off, producing the effect of reducing the terminal voltage of the resistor 9 to zero.

In addition, the circuit shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a travel distance detection circuit, which mainly consists of a magnet 10 that rotates in conjunction with the wheels and a reed switch 11 disposed close to the magnet 10. The terminal is grounded, and the upper terminal is connected to the output terminal of the regulator 13 via the resistor 12. A voltage +Vcc is applied to the input terminal of the regulator 13 via the terminal 14. Therefore, the magnet 10 rotates and the reed switch 11 is turned on.
If the off-operation is repeated, a pulse train signal is generated based on pulses that occur every fixed distance at point a, and by measuring the number of pulses, the travel distance of the vehicle can be determined. This pulse train signal is sent to the differential amplifier 1 via a differentiator circuit including a capacitor 15 and a resistor 16 and an upper terminal of a constant voltage diode 17.
It is input to the positive input terminal of No.8. On the other hand, the output voltage of the regulator 13 is divided by resistors 19 and 20, set to a predetermined voltage, and applied to the negative input terminal of the differential amplifier 18. In the above, the pulse train signal, which is the distance signal, generated at point a by the action of the regulator 13, the differentiator, the constant voltage diode 17, etc. is waveform-shaped and is generated as a pulse train signal at the output of the differential amplifier 18.

_A1 is a circuit representing a steering wheel turning angle sensor, and the turning angle sensor _A1 has a resistor 21 whose center point b is grounded and both terminals of which are connected to the output terminal of the differential amplifier 18, and a terminal serving as the rotation axis. A movable element 23 which is rotatable around the rotor 22 and whose tip contact portion is slidable on the resistor 21;
3, the switch 24 is turned on when the movable element 23 is at the center point b of the resistor 21, and turned off when the movable element 23 moves from the center point b toward any terminal side. The relationship between the resistor 21 and the mover 23 is as follows:
The positional relationship between the resistor 21 and the mover 23 represents the turning angle of the steering wheel. For example, when the mover 23 is at the center point b, the turning angle is zero and the vehicle is traveling straight, and the steering wheel is turned in either direction from both ends of the resistor 21. When the mover 23 moves, the amount of movement, that is, the voltage value obtained with respect to the center point b, which has zero potential, can be used later as a value proportional to the left and right turning angle of the handle. Particularly, the feature of this steering wheel turning angle sensor _A1 is that it is provided with a switch 24 that works in conjunction with the movable element 23 and can detect whether or not the movable element 23 is at the center point. The handle turning angle can be detected by the mover 23, and the cancel timing can be detected by the switch 24.

FIG. 3 shows a specific mounting state of the steering wheel turning angle sensor _A1 , and FIG. 4 shows a specific structure of the sensor _A1 . In Fig. 3, sensor case 2
5 is a front fork 27 that supports the front wheel 26;
The steering stem 31 is inserted between the top bridge 28 and the bottom bridge 29 provided at the upper part of the steering stem 31 and is inserted and supported within the cylindrical head tube 30. Ru. Other sensor case 2
A movable shaft 34, which is integrated with a movable member 23, which is a bridge-shaped slider, etc., in the movable shaft 5 is connected and integrated with a vehicle body frame 36 by a lever 35. In FIG. 4, a substantially ring-shaped resistor 21 and conductive plates 37, 38, 39 are disposed concentrically in the case 25 of the sensor _A1 as shown in the figure, and a terminal _T1 is connected from each end. , T ₂ , T ₃ , T ₄ , and T ₅ are derived. A conductive movable element 23, which is a bridge-like slider, is disposed between the resistor 21 and the conductor plate 39.
Also, at the end of the center position, the angle ±
A conductive movable element 40 similar to that described above is disposed between the conductive plate 37 and the conductive plate 38 having the wide area portion 37a with an opening angle of 7.5°.

In the above, the resistor 21 and the conductor plates 37, 38,
39 is fixed to the case 25 side, and the mover 23, 4
0 is fixed to the side of the movable shaft 34, so when the handle is turned, the movable elements 23,
40 slides on the resistor 21 and conductor plates 37, 38, and 39. And as mentioned above, resistance 21
As the mover 23 slides on the terminal T ₁ ,
The left and right steering wheel turning angles can be taken out as voltage between _T5 and terminal _T3 . Note that a cut blank section 21a is formed at the center position of the resistor 21,
Neutral zones held at zero potential are provided to the left and right of the center with an opening of ±1°. With such a resistor 21, it is possible to detect a steering wheel turning angle of 150° left and right.

On the other hand, the conductor plates 37, 38 and the mover 40 constitute the above-mentioned switch 24, and according to this, when the handle is in the center position (center point b), the wide area portion 37a connects the terminal _T2 . Terminal T ₄ becomes conductive, causing switch 24 to turn on. When the handle is turned to either the left or right side, the connection between the mover 40 and the conductive plate 37 is broken, so that the terminals T ₂ and T ₄ become non-conductive, and the switch 24 is turned off. It turns out.

In addition, in detecting the above-mentioned steering wheel turning angle, the steering wheel is configured such that a pulse voltage generated by periodic pulses from the differential amplifier 18 is applied between the center point b of the resistor 21 and both terminals. Also in the turning angle sensor, the voltage related to the turning angle is periodically detected at every fixed distance.

The voltage related to the steering wheel turning angle detected by the resistor 21 by the mover 23 is inputted to the positive input terminal of the differential amplifier 42 via the resistor 41, and the output terminal of the differential amplifier 42 is connected to the npn type transistor 43.
connected to the base of Further, the terminal voltage of a resistor 44 provided between the emitter of a transistor 43 and the ground is inputted to the negative input terminal of the differential amplifier 42. Therefore, in the transistor 43, a handle turning angle sensor is used. A current will flow between the collector and emitter of _A1 in proportion to the voltage detected by the movable element 23. The collector of transistor 43 is capacitor 4
The negative pole of 5 is also connected to the output terminal of the correct regulator 13 of a capacitor 45. Therefore, when the steering wheel is turned to create a turning angle and a predetermined voltage corresponding to the turning angle is generated at the output of the differential amplifier 42, the capacitor 45 is charged by the current flowing in accordance with the output voltage. Ru. In reality, as described above, the capacitor 45 is charged every fixed distance. On the other hand, each terminal of the capacitor 45 is connected to the emitter and collector of a pnp transistor 46, and the base of the transistor 46 is connected to a resistor 4.
It is connected to the output terminal of the regulator 13 via a resistor 48, to the terminal 24a of the switch 24 via a resistor 48, and further connected to the collector of an npn transistor 50 via a diode 49. Therefore, if the transistor 50 is in the on state, the base of the transistor 46 becomes approximately zero potential, and the transistor 46 is in the on state, shorting the terminals of the capacitor 45. However, if the transistor 50 is in the off state, the switch 24 is turned off. The base of transistor 46 is held at a high potential, provided that transistor 4
6 is turned off and remains in a state allowing a charging effect to occur on the capacitor 45. The switch 24 is turned off when the handle is turned at an angle due to the movement of the mover 22, and the emitter of the transistor 50 is grounded and the collector is connected to the output terminal of the regulator 13 via a resistor 51. Since the transistor 50 is turned off when the turn signal switch 5 is operated, the turn signal lamp blinks and the steering wheel is turned off. When the vehicle is cutting and cornering, the aforementioned charging action is always carried out in the capacitor 45. Further, when the cornering is completed, the switch 24 is turned on, which turns on the transistor 46, so that charging is stopped.

In the above, when cornering is performed with either blinker lamp 3 or 4 blinking, the capacitor 45 is charged a predetermined amount at regular intervals, but the terminal voltage of the capacitor generated by this is the final voltage. corresponds to the above-mentioned θD.
This is because, under the condition that the turn signal lamp is flashing, charging of the capacitor 45 starts periodically at regular intervals when cornering starts, and when cornering ends and the vehicle returns to straight-ahead driving. This is because charging stops.

Furthermore, the negative terminal c of the capacitor 45 is connected to the positive input terminal of the differential amplifier 53, while the negative input terminal of the differential amplifier 53 is connected to the regulator 13.
The output voltage is divided by resistors 54 and 55 and input at a predetermined voltage. A capacitor 56 is arranged in parallel with the resistor 55 to stabilize the predetermined voltage value. Furthermore, this predetermined voltage corresponds to the value of θD at the maximum speed at which cornering is possible, as described above, and by comparing this value with the value obtained as the terminal voltage of capacitor 45 that occurs during cornering, it is possible to determine whether the cornering state is correct. It is determined whether or not there is, and whether cornering has ended.

The output of the differential amplifier 53 is applied to a differentiating circuit consisting of a capacitor 57 and a resistor 58, and then the differential output is applied via a resistor 59 to an output circuit consisting of two NPN type transistors 60 and 61 connected in two stages. It is configured like this. transistor 6
The collectors 0 and 61 are connected to one terminal of the solenoid 6, and the other terminal of the solenoid 6 is connected to the terminal 1.
Connected to 4.

In the above, when the vehicle in front that is cornering is traveling straight and the turn signal switch 5 is in the neutral position, the transistor 8 is turned on and a terminal voltage is generated at the resistor 9, and the base of the transistor 46 is driven to approximately zero through the transistor 50. potential, the transistor 46 is turned on, the terminals of the capacitor 45 are short-circuited, and the transistor 46 is turned on.
3 is in the off state. Therefore, the potential at the c terminal is approximately the same as the output voltage of the regulator 13, as shown in FIG. 2C.

Next, when the turn signal switch 5 is connected to either terminal 5a or 5b, the transistor 8 is turned off.
Transistor 50 is turned off. In this state, when cornering is started and the steering wheel turning angle is generated and the switch 24 is turned off (FIG. 2B), the transistor 43 becomes conductive according to the turning angle amount and the transistor 46 is turned off. The capacitor 45 is charged in proportion to the traveling distance of the vehicle, and as a result, the potential _V1 at the c terminal gradually decreases (FIG. 2C). Then, the output of the differential amplifier 53, which was originally at a high level at the predetermined value _V10 , becomes a low level (62 in FIG. 2D). After that, when cornering is finished and the hand turning angle becomes approximately zero, switch 2
4 is turned on, and as a result, the transistor 46 is turned on and the capacitor 45 is discharged (63 in FIG. 2C).
In addition, the transistor 43 is turned off, and as a result, the potential at the c terminal returns to the original high voltage, so the output of the differential amplifier 53 changes from a low level to a high level (second
64 in Figure D). When this change from a low level to a high level is detected by a differentiating circuit and input to the transistor 60 of the output circuit as a pulse signal _p1 , the solenoid 6 is instantaneously energized, thereby moving the turn signal switch 5 to the neutral position. In other words, turn it off (65 in Fig. 2F).

In the above, the start and end of cornering are detected by the on/off operation of the switch 24, and the steering wheel turning angle is detected by the mover 23 and converted into an amount of current by the differential amplifier 42 and the transistor 43. There is. Based on the amount of current in transistor 43, capacitor 45 is charged while switch 24 is off. In this case, as is clear from FIG. 2A, the steering wheel turning angle is configured to be obtained by sampling at regular distance intervals.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention,
Setting values are set using the relationship between vehicle speed, steering wheel turning angle, and travel distance that occur during cornering, which is unique to motorcycles.This allows for reliable detection of the beginning and end of cornering with a simple device configuration, and the turn signal is activated at the appropriate timing. can be automatically canceled.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of an automatic blinker canceling device according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows a signal waveform diagram of each part of the circuit during cornering, where A is the output voltage detected by the movable element 23, B is the operating state of the switch 24, C is the voltage state of terminal c, and D is the voltage state of the terminal c. Differential amplifier 53
E is the input of the transistor 60, F is the operating state of the turn signal switch 5, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the specific installation state of the steering wheel turning angle sensor, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the specific structure of the sensor. It is a diagram. In the drawing, 5 is a turn signal switch, 3 and 4 are turn signal lamps, 6 is a solenoid, 10 is a magnet,
11 is a reed switch, 23 is a mover, 24 is a switch, 43 is a voltage/current conversion transistor,
45 is a charging capacitor, 60 and 61 are output circuit transistors, and _A1 is a steering wheel turning angle sensor.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Distance detection means for outputting a pulse signal every fixed travel distance; Steering wheel turning angle detecting means for detecting a steering wheel turning angle; Cancel signal output means that starts integrating the output of the turning angle detection means and outputs a turn signal cancel command signal to stop blinking of the turn signal when the integrated value exceeds a set value and the steering wheel turning angle becomes less than a predetermined angle. An automatic turn signal canceling device for a vehicle, characterized by comprising: