JPS5833548A - Signal transmission system for steering operation board - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the need for an electric signal cable, and to simplify equipments mounted to a steering by forming a power supply line between the operation board of a steering wheel and a battery through a slip ring and modulating and demodulating operation signals through a transmitting and receiving coil. CONSTITUTION:A key switch 90, a CPU80, a modulation circuit 100, a demodulation circuit 110 and the coil STL1 for transmission and reception are mutually connected and mounted at the operation board side of the steering wheel. Various kinds of apparatus 140, a CPU130, a modulation circuit 150, a demodulation circuit 160 and the coil STL2 for transmission and reception are mutually connected and set up at the car upper side. Said both coils for transmission and reception are fitted oppositely, signals are induced in the coil STL2 when modulated-wave signals are supplied to the coil STL1, and both coils form the transmitting and receiving line of modulated waves. The slip rings are mounted between the power supply line SPL at the operation board side of the steering wheel and the power supply line VPL of the battery on a car.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a system for transmitting electrical signals from an operation board mounted in the center of a steering link wheel and suspended from the wheel to a fixed control unit on the vehicle.

In terms of vehicle width, the steering wheel is closest to the driver and closer to the driver's hands, so in order to improve operability, the operation board equipped with key switches for controlling on-board equipment should be placed in the center of the steering wheel. It is preferable to equip it in the department.

However, because the steering mechanism that transmits wheel rotation to the steering shaft is complex, it is difficult to wire the signal cable that connects the operation board (steering link operation board) installed in the center of the steering wheel and the fixed control unit. In order to facilitate this, it is necessary to further install a wiring pipe and/or a spring for connection on the steering link mechanism in a manner that does not interfere with the operation of the steering mechanism, and it is necessary to install a wiring pipe and/or a spring for connection on the steering link mechanism in a manner that does not interfere with the operation of the steering mechanism. These wirings are quite difficult due to the limited space they occupy.

The first object of the present invention is to arrange an operation board in the steering wheel part, and the second object is to omit the electric cable for transmitting and receiving electric signals between the operation board and the on-vehicle fixed control unit. A third purpose is to prevent the structure of the steering link wheel portion from becoming complicated and increasing in volume.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention connects the operation board of the steering link wheel portion and the battery power line on the vehicle fixed side with a slip ring and a brush to form a power supply line to the operation board. The operation board includes a key switch for controlling on-board equipment as well as an electric coil for transmission.

Equipped with a modulation circuit and a transmission control device, it modulates a code corresponding to key switch operation and sends it to the transmission coil.
The on-board fixed control unit is equipped with a receiving electric coil, a demodulation circuit, and a receiving control device to demodulate the modulated wave appearing on the receiving electric line, regenerate the code, decipher the key switch operation, and read the instructions. perform control operations.

In order to confirm the reception process and control the status display on the steering wheel operation board, it is preferable to send a code indicating reception, status display instructions, etc. to the steering wheel operation board from the fixed control unit of the vehicle. Accordingly, in one aspect of the present invention, the steering wheel operating board includes a demodulation circuit and, if necessary, a lamp.
The transmission control device is equipped with a display means such as a light emitting diode, a character display, a two-dimensional graphic display, etc. and/or a notification means such as a speaker, and furthermore, the transmission control device is configured to transmit a received notification code and/or notification instruction code or notification data from the fixed control unit. The fixed control unit is equipped with a coil i and a modulation circuit, and the reception control device is capable of decoding or reproducing status notification codes or data as required. There is little to control transmission.

This allows key operation information on the steering wheel operation board to be sent to the fixed control unit using digital processing logic without connecting electrical signal cables.
In the preferred embodiment, the operation board and the fixed control unit can transmit and receive electrical signals, provide notifications, and control equipment in the same way as data transmission and reception processing between normal telecommunication terminals.

Other objects and features of the invention will become clearer in the following description with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

In this example, the steering wheel operation board includes a constant voltage power supply 70. A microcomputer unit 80 which is a transmission control device. key switch 90, FSK modulation circuit 100. It is equipped with an FSK demodulation circuit 110 and a transmitting/receiving coil STLI. The fixed control unit on the on-board battery side includes a constant voltage power supply device 120. Microcomputer unit 13 (1
, an FsKia circuit 150, an FSK demodulation circuit 160, and a transmitting/receiving coil STL 2, a microcomputer unit] 30, and various devices 140.
is connected.

A constant voltage power supply 120 and a fixed-side slip ring 45 are directly connected to the power supply line V P L of the battery on the vehicle, and the output terminal of the FSK modulation circuit 150 and the FSK
The input end of the demodulation circuit 160 is connected to the coil 5TL2. A brush 48a contacts the slip ring 45, and another brush 48b connected to this brush 48a contacts the operation board side fixed slip link 46. As will be described later, the brush links 45, 46 are stationary, and as the wheels rotate, the brushes 48a, 48b rotate.

The output terminal of the FSK modulation circuit 100 and F
'The input end of the SK demodulation circuit 110 is connected. The power supply line SPL on the operation board side is connected to a constant voltage power supply device 70. The operation board side power line SPL and the fixed control unit side power line vPL are slip links 4.
5.46 and brushes 48a and 48b, which serve as a power supply line to the operation board.

Figure 2a shows a perspective view of the steering wheel.
Figure b shows a front view. In FIGS. 2a and 2b, 30 is a steering link wheel (handle);
An operation panel 31 of the attitude control device is installed in the center thereof. The three switches 32a, 3'3a and 34a located on the right side of the steering wheel 30 are for tilt angle control, 32a is an up switch that corrects the vertical angle upward, and 33a is an up switch that corrects downward. The down switch 34a is an away switch that specifies the upper and lower corners as the upper limit retraction (tilt away) position and returns the upper limit retraction position to the original operating position.

Three switches 32b, 33b, and 34b arranged on the left side of the steering link wheel 30 are for controlling the wheel height, 32b is an up switch that instructs to drive the wheel up, and 331) is an up switch that instructs to drive the wheel down. The down switch 34b is an away switch that instructs the wheel to be driven to the upper limit retracted position, and also instructs to drive the wheel to the operating position when the wheel is in the upper limit retracted position.

FIG. 2C is a side view of the operating portion 35 of the steering mechanism. This operation section 35 can be roughly divided into a steering link wheel 30. Operation panel 31. It is composed of a steering telescope mechanism 36 and a tilt mechanism 37. FIG. 2d is a sectional view showing a support structure for the steering link wheel 30 and the operation panel 31. The support 38 and the gear 39 are fixed to a potey of the vehicle, and the steering main shaft 40 is rotatably supported by the support 38. The support 41 is connected to the steering link wheel 30 and the steering main shaft 40, and the support 41 is connected to the steering link wheel 30 and the steering main shaft 40.
42 and the connecting member 43 are rotatably supported. The connecting member 43 has gears 39 and 42 at both ends thereof.
It has gears 43a and 43b having the same number of meshing teeth. A printed circuit board 44 including an attitude control circuit and an operation panel 31 are fixed to a gear 42 . 45 and 46
are slip links fixed to the support 38 and the operation panel 31, respectively, and a brush 48 is pressed onto both by compression coil springs 47a and 47b, so that the two are electrically connected. Note that the gears 39 and 42 have the same number of teeth. The purpose of this structure is to prevent the operation panel 31 from rotating as the steering wheel 30 rotates. In this embodiment, when the steering link wheel 30 is rotated, the support 41 and The steering main shaft 40 rotates to perform a steering operation, but the gears 43a,
43b and 39.42 have the same number of teeth, so the relative movement amount (angle) between the support 41 and the gear 39 caused by the circular movement of the connecting member 43 due to the rotation of the support 41, and the relative movement between the support 41 and the gear 42. The amounts become equal, the gear 42 does not rotate relative to the gear 39, and as a result, even if the steering wheel 30 turns tl+L, the operation panel 31 does not rotate. The supply of power to the printed circuit board takes place via slip links 45, 46 and brushes 48. An electric coil S T L 2 is fixed to a support plate 39 a fixed to the gear 39 , and a coil 5TLI is connected to the operation panel 3 in opposition to the coil 5TL 2 .
It is fixed inside 1.

FIG. 2e is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the drive section of the steering link chirescope mechanism 36 (7), and FIG. 2f is a cross-sectional view thereof taken along the line 1lf-1f. The steering telescope mechanism 36 moves the steering wheel 30 forward and backward relative to the driver, and in this embodiment is driven by a motor M7. The main shaft 40 and the shaft 40a are fitted so that they do not slip in the direction of rotation ζ and are slidable in the direction indicated by the arrow.

A driving section including a motor M7 is provided on the guide member 50 on the fixed side, and drives a threaded rod 52 fixed to the bracket 51 on the movable side. The shaft 53 of motor M7 is a worm shaft 54
A worm gear 54 formed on the worm shaft 54 and coupled with the worm gear 54
a is engaged with a thread formed on the outer periphery of the nut 55. The nut 55 is screwed into the threaded rod 52 and is fixed in position and is rotatable, so when the motor M7 rotates, the worm gear 54a rotates, which rotates the nut 55 and moves the threaded rod 52 forward in the direction of the arrow. (or move backwards). As a result, the movable side of the steer link wheel 30 etc. has a guide member 5
0 and moves back and forth in the axial direction of the main shaft 40, that is, in the direction of arrow A. This moves the steering link wheel 30 up and down. The position of the shirt 40b is fixed, and the shaft \40a is connected to the shaft 40b by a universal joint 56, so that the vertical angle can be changed in the direction of arrow B. Reference numeral 57 denotes an arm having one end connected to a position below the universal joint 56, which serves as a fulcrum for changing the vertical angle, and the other end connected to a nut 58 on the driving side. The nut 58 is threaded onto a threaded rod 59 that is rotationally driven by a motor M6. Therefore motor M
6 rotates, the threaded rod 59 rotates, but the nut 58 does not rotate, so the nut 58 moves in the axial direction (in the direction of the arrow) and drives the arm 57. The movable side is centered around the universal joint 56. Rotate as. In addition, 60a
, 60h is a limit switch that detects the 1st limit position on the movable side.

FIG. 3a shows the configuration of the operation board mounted on the operation panel 31. In this case, the key switch 9 shown in FIG.
0 is a key human power section 91°, which is a combination of a momentary key, an input key encoder, and a momentary key that is closed only while the key is being pressed as shown in Fig. 3a. It is composed of operation switch input sections 92 and 93 made of flip-flops for state latching. The FSK modulation circuit 100 includes a pulse oscillator 101. FSK modulator 102. Output cutoff gate 1
03 and transmission driver 104, and F8
The demodulation circuit 110 includes an amplification/waveform shaping circuit 111 . It is composed of a noise cutoff circuit 112 and an FSK demodulator 113. The microcomputer unit 80 is a chip microcomputer CPU, an address latch ADL, and a semiconductor read-only memo! JROM, input/output capo) Consists of an I10 reset switch and a clock pulse oscillator, and transmits control that creates a transmission code in response to key manually read program data and key state changes in the ROM, and sends it. Program data is stored.

Figure 8b shows the configuration of the fixed control unit.

This fixed control unit also includes an FSK modulation circuit 150 (pulse oscillator 15, F''SK modulator 152, output gate 153, and transmission driver 154) as well as the operation board.
and an FSX demodulation circuit (amplification/waveform shaping circuit 161, noise cutoff circuit 162, and FSX demodulator 168). In this embodiment, a constant speed control device, an air conditioner, and a radio are connected to the microcomputer unit 130 in a relay control mode. unit 180
In addition to FSK transmission/reception control program data, the ROM stores control program data for decoding received codes and controlling energization of relays L1 to L6.

The FSK modulation circuit (1
00, 150) and FsK demodulation circuit (110°160
) is shown in Figure 5. Referring to FIG. 5, the FSX modulation circuit 100 (500 also operates in the same way) and the FS
The operation of the K demodulation circuit 110 (160 also operates in the same way) will be explained. ■ When the chip microcomputer CPU's output capacitor P24 reaches a high level H, the pulse oscillator 10
1 is energized to generate a constant frequency pulse B. In this state, when the output P25 is at a high level H, the output C of the modulator 102 becomes a pulse synchronized with the pulse B, and when the output P25 is at a low level L, the output C becomes a frequency-divided pulse of the pulse B. Therefore, during the P25 month level, the output C becomes the pulse B, and during the L level, the output C becomes the μ-divided pulse of the pulse B. This output C is amplified by the driver 104 and sent to the power supply line SPL. Since a coupling capacitor is inserted between the transmission driver 104 and the power line side electric coil 5TLI, a bipolar pulse D appears in the electric coil 8TLI. When a hyperbolic pulse D appears in the electric coil 8TL1, it is amplified by the amplification/waveform shaping circuit 111 via a coupling capacitor, shaped into a positive polarity pulse E, and applied to the noise cutoff circuit 112, where it is further It is shaped into a predetermined width to widen the high level H width (F), integrated in the demodulation circuit 113 and converted to analog (H), and further binarized to become a binary signal I of high level H or low level L. , input terminal T. is applied to The microcomputer CPU of the unit 80 sets the output port P25 to the high level for a time T when the transmission bit is high.
During the first T, one period 2T is assigned to 1 bit as L, and when the transmission bit is L, the output P25 is output for a time of 1/! ! T (7) During the H1 order 1/2T, this one cycle T is assigned to one bit, and when receiving, the input terminal T is set. If it is [■] between T, it is read that 1 pith) H has arrived, and if it is H during 1/2T, it is read that 1 pith) L has arrived. The same applies to the processing or decoding of transmitting and receiving signals by the microcomputer CPU of unit 130.

In this embodiment, the frame structure of the transmitted signal is as shown in Fig. 4a, which includes a low bit mark code indicating the beginning of the frame, a 1-bit mark indicating the start of data, 16 bits of data, and an 8-bit CFLC check bit. The data bits are further divided into two 8-bit sections A and B, and the A group contains horn energization instruction and radio control data (key switch status notification bit) as shown in Figure 4b. As shown in Figure 4C, group B has constant speed driving control and air conditioner control (
key switch status notification bit) is assigned.

FIG. 6a shows a transmission/reception control flow of the microcomputer unit 80 (FIG. 3a) of the operation board (31). Transmission and reception control of the unit 80 will be explained with reference to this. The CPU of unit 80 initializes the input read registers and input/output ports when it is powered on;
Ilo's input port and its own input port P13~
P10 is monitored, and if there is a state change indicating that the key is closed or the switch is closed, each bit of the input port P13 to P10 of Ilo is set in the input reading register, and the contents are read as the transmission data (data A Plus data B)
, and create a CRC check sheet C for the transmission take. And a counter for checking transmission/reception errors (
Set a predetermined value in the program counter (program counter), set H in the output port P24, and write the signal to the output port P25 according to each bit of the mark code, start bit, data, and BCC (when the 2T period (beep) = H) or A pulse of T period (when bit=L) is output with one period assigned to one bit. This allows electric coils 5TLI and 5T
FSK demodulation circuit 160 of the fixed control unit via L2
A bipolar pulse D corresponding to the serial bit arrangement of the transmission frame (Fig. 4a) arrives at , which is demodulated and is similar to the pulse sent to the output port P25 of the CPU of the operation board (Fig. 3a). The pulses from the input port T of the CPU (FIG. 3b) of the fixed control unit. is applied to

The CPU of the operation board (Figure 3a)
The timer (program timer)
is turned on, the output port P25 outputs a TT cycle pulse indicating L. Time is over (!:, set both output ports P24 and P25 to L, turn on the timer, and turn T.

Wait for the terminal to reach 4 months before this timer times out.

When the terminal becomes H, count the H time and check whether the H bit or L
Determine if it is a hit, store it in the reception register, increment the bit count register by 1, and do the same in the same way.
. This is repeated every time the count register becomes L or H, and when the count register reaches 19, the contents (ACK) of the 12th to 19th bits of the receive register are checked and all of them are L (
If reception is complete), P24 is set to H again, and P25 is filled with mark (10 bits), start 1 bit, and continuous [■
A pulse corresponding to the 8-bit ACK frame is output, and then P25 is set to L for a predetermined period of time, and then P24 is set to L. After that, the input terminal T for a predetermined period of time. monitor.

If it becomes H during that time, write the data to the reception register in the same way as described above, decrement the limit counter by 1, read the data, and receive an ACK (A
CK is a reply code, consisting of 8 hits, all pitches) L
==0 indicates completion of reception, and all bits H=1 indicates completion of transmission), it is considered that reception is complete. Reception completed (ACK=L
x s bits) for a predetermined period of time. is H
If not, the CPU of the operation board (FIG. 3a) returns to manual key reading. Data frame (Fig. 4a) If reception completion (ACK=-LX8 bits) is not sent within a predetermined time period, the limit counter is decremented by 1 and the data frame is transmitted again. When the limit counter reaches zero, it is considered an error and the warning light on the operation board is set to turn on.

Return to key manual reading. ACK (: L
X s bits) After receiving the frame, the input terminal T is further input. is H
If so, read the data and set the limit counter to 1.
If the data is ACK = L x 8 bits after decrementing, send the transmission completion ACK = H x 8 bits again and ACK
:If it is not LX8 bit, further set the limit counter to 1.
Decrement. When the limit counter becomes zero after receiving the reception end ACK "0", the alarm display is turned off and the process returns to manual key reading.

In manual key reading, the status signal of the manual boat is read at predetermined intervals and compared with the memory bit of the input register, and if any input is different from the memory bit of the input register, it is assumed that a key or switch input has been made. , writes the input status signal to the input register and performs the above-mentioned transmission and reception.

Figure 6b shows the microcomputer C of the fixed control unit.
The reception and transmission control flow of the PU (FIG. 3b) is shown. This is the same as the reception/transmission control flow of the operation board's CPU (Figure 3a), but it generates a CRC check bit from the data bits of the received data (Figure 4a) and compares it with the received BCC to detect transmission/reception errors. If the data frame (Figure 4a) is received without error, a reception completion frame is sent with the data part of the data frame (Figure 4a) converted to 8-bit L (AC, K "0"), and the received data is converted into a device control code. The difference is that the output port is converted into an output port and set on the output port to the device 140.

Furthermore, other display means, notification means, small devices, etc. are connected to the microcomputer unit 80 of the operation boat (31), and if necessary, a key switch is connected to the unit 130, and the CPUs of the units 80 and 130 are connected. In either case, two-way remote instruction and control are possible by storing a program that can execute both the control flows of FIGS. 6a and 6b.

Furthermore, the transmission/reception data frame can have not only the configuration shown in FIG. 4a, but also any other desired configuration, such as one that includes a data number code and the data has a variable number of bits, as shown in FIG. 7, for example. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, FS
Although K-modulation and demodulation are performed, other modulation and demodulation used for data communication may be used.

As described above, according to the present invention, the power supply line is arranged between the steering wheel operation board and the on-board battery, and the electric coils are arranged on the operation board side and the battery power supply side, respectively. Keystrokes or switch operations can be transmitted to a control unit fixed on the vehicle, an operation display panel, etc. The reverse transmission can also be performed if necessary.

No electrical signal cables are required, and the area around the steering mechanism does not become particularly complicated or bulky.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a general configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2a is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a steering wheel operation board in an embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2b is a plan view, and Fig. 2c is a longitudinal sectional view of the steering stem part, the second
Figure d is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the operation board mounting part, Figure 2e is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the wheel vertical drive mechanism, and Figure 2f is a cross-sectional view of the operation board mounting part.
Fig. 3a is a block diagram showing details of the configuration of the steering wheel operation board, Fig. 31-+ is a block diagram showing details of the structure of the on-board battery side fixed control unit, and Fig. 4a is a sectional view taken along the line f-11f. 4b and 4c are plan views showing the contents of transmission data, and FIG. 5 is a time chart showing input and output signals of the FSX modulation circuit and the demodulation circuit. FIG. 6a is a flowchart showing the transmission/reception control operation of the microcomputer unit 80 shown in FIG. 3a, and FIG.
The figure shows the microcomputer unit 13 shown in FIG. 3b.
2 is a flowchart showing the transmission/reception control operation of 0. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing another structure of the transmitted and received data frame. 30 Steering link wheel 31: Operation panel (operation board) 32: Amplifier switch 33: Down switch 34 Near-way switch 35 Steering mechanism operation section 36: Steering link telescope mechanism 37: Tilt mechanism 38. 41: Support 39
．． 42: Gear 40: Steering link main shaft 43: Connection member 44 Niblint board 45.
46: Slip ring 47a, 47b: Compression coil spring 48: Brush
50 Ni guide member 51 Ni Bracket
52: Threaded rod 53: Motor shaft
54: Worm shaft 55.58: Nut
56: Universal joint 57: Arm
6o: Limit switch 80: Microcomputer unit (transmission control device) 130: Microcomputer unit (reception control device) 8TL I, 5
TL2: Electric coil 28 Figure 7 HMBU 58-33548 (9) Figure 2d f 269- Figure 2f 5

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Connect the power line of the onboard battery and the power line of the steering operation board with a slip ring and a brush that contacts it, and install at least one electric coil on the steering operation board side and the power line side of the onboard battery, respectively. The steering control board is equipped with an input key switch, a modulation circuit, and a transmission control device that modulates the code corresponding to the operation of the input key switch and applies it to the electric coil. A steering operation board signal transmission system that is equipped with a circuit and a reception control device that demodulates the signal induced in the electric coil on the power line side of the vehicle and regenerates the code corresponding to the switch operation. (2) The steering operation board further includes a demodulation circuit,
The transmission control device decodes the demodulation code of this demodulation circuit, and further includes a ÷ temple ÷ modulation circuit on the power line side of the on-board battery, and the reception control device sends a code addressed to the steering operation board to this alarm modulation circuit. Said claim No. (
Steering link operation board signal transmission method described in section 1).