JP5484993B2 - In-vehicle control signal communication system - Google Patents

Description

  In the vehicle, the present invention transmits a control signal from a wheel pad switch provided around a steering wheel and a column switch of a steering column section to related auxiliary machines and receives various signals from the auxiliary machine. The present invention relates to a control signal communication system.

In recent vehicles, from the viewpoint of safety and ease of operation, various auxiliary machines are operated around the steering wheel so that the switch can be operated without moving the line of sight or the hand during driving. Switches are intensively arranged. Here, “auxiliary equipment” refers to horns, wipers, lights, turn signals, car navigation systems, TVs, radios, mode conversions, and other devices.
In order to stably transmit control signals from a large number of switches arranged around the steering wheel to various auxiliary machines, wiring by wires and rotary connectors have been conventionally used. However, when the number of control signal lines increases due to the concentration of switches, the structure becomes complicated and large, and it has been proposed to wirelessly communicate control signals from these switches.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a plurality of switches are arranged in a steering wheel pad, a transmission circuit and a light emitting element are arranged, a light receiving element and a receiving circuit are arranged on the meter cluster side, and a signal from the switch is transmitted to an infrared ray. It has been proposed to transmit by optical communication using. However, when infrared communication is performed in this manner, the light has a directionality of approximately ± 45 degrees, and therefore, if the steering wheel is rotated by more than ± 45 degrees (= 90 degrees), a problem occurs in which communication is not possible. There is.

  In order to solve this problem, in Patent Document 2, the signal output from the switch is a communication that enables optical communication in an angular range in which the rotation angle exceeds 90 degrees using a plurality of light emitting elements having different emission angles. A system is disclosed (the emission angles of the respective light emitting elements are arranged so as to be partially overlapped with each other, and the total range of the emission areas is expanded as a whole). This enables optical communication even when the steering wheel is rotated 90 degrees or more.

JP 10-29540 A JP 2003-312393 A

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 2 has the following problems. That is, the invention described in Patent Document 2 transmits a light signal from a light emitting part provided on the side of the wheel pad to a light receiving part provided at a predetermined position on the surface of the instrument panel. The element is exposed near the driver's seat in the vehicle. As described above, when the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are exposed to the outside (in the vehicle), there is a problem of deterioration in communication performance due to dirt on the surface and disturbance light, and the light emitting unit or the light receiving unit itself is temporarily a driver. There is a possibility that a communication interruption state may occur due to being covered with an arm or other obstacles, and there is a problem that stable communication cannot be ensured such as a temporary communication failure.

  If these panel operations are not performed smoothly, not only does the auxiliary machine not operate well, but the driver may be distracted by the operation and the attention may be dispersed. In addition, since there are auxiliary devices such as a direction indicator and a wiper that are directly connected to the operation, this is a problem that may have an important influence on the safety.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and enables reliable transmission of a control signal regardless of the rotation angle of a steering wheel, and prevents a communication failure due to dirt, light path shielding, or the like. It is an object to provide an internal control signal communication system.

  According to the present invention, the light emitting unit is fixed to the steering post around the steering, the light receiving unit is fixed to the vehicle body side, the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are arranged at a distance from each other, and control signals are transmitted and received by optical communication. By having constituted, the said subject was solved.

The in-vehicle control signal communication system according to the first aspect of the present invention is a vehicle having a function of adjusting the position and angle of a steering wheel.
A light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit that are arranged to face each other at a distance from each other, and control signals input from a plurality of switches provided around the steering wheel are transmitted to corresponding auxiliary devices provided on the vehicle body side. A communication system that communicates by communication,
The light emitting portion is a steering column within the cover, and transmits the switch or these signals is provided to be fixed to the steering post around the steering wheel as an optical signal,
The light receiving portion is disposed and fixed to the vehicle body so as to face the light emitting portion in the instrument panel, and receives an optical signal from the light emitting portion.
Is fixed to the light receiving portion gully Nhosu,
And the light emitting portion facing disposed apart and the light receiving section, at a predetermined reference position, the line connecting the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit is disposed at a position serving as the steering post and the flat row,
The in-vehicle control signal communication system , wherein the steering post is coupled and fixed to the lean hose.

In this embodiment, the term “fixed” is used to include not only a state in which it does not move in the attached state but also a position and angle that are adjustable. According to this aspect, since the light emitting unit is fixed to the steering post and the light receiving unit is fixed to the vehicle body, neither the light emitting unit nor the light receiving unit is affected by the rotation angle of the steering wheel, and stable optical communication is possible. It becomes.
In addition, since both the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are covered with a steering column cover or the like, the optical communication optical path is not shielded by a driver or a passenger or the like.

  In order to perform stable optical communication, it is desirable to keep the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit facing each other as accurately as possible. Therefore, the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are fixed so that the optical axes of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are substantially parallel to the steering post. However, many recent cars have a function of adjusting the position and angle of the steering wheel according to the height and physique of the driver. In this case, the angle of the steering post is changed by adjusting the steering position by the driver. For this reason, in this embodiment, the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are attached so that the optical axes of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are substantially parallel to the steering post at a predetermined reference position. Here, the reference position may be a mounting position at the time of factory shipment or a position when adjusted to an intermediate position in the steering adjustment function range. Further, the reference position may be changed according to the physique of the user in the shipping country.

The light receiving portion is fixed to a lean hose. The lean hose is a vehicle reinforcing member that is disposed in the lateral direction so as to cross the vehicle body at the inner portion of the instrument panel of the vehicle body in order to maintain the rigidity of the vehicle. The lean hose and the steering post are coupled to each other and vibrate in the same direction with respect to vibration such as vibration during traveling. For this reason, the light receiving unit and the light emitting unit are in a state of not relatively vibrating with respect to the shaking during traveling, and stable optical communication is possible.

The in-vehicle control signal communication system according to the second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the light emitting part and the light receiving part are fixed via an attachment member. By fixing using the mounting member, it is possible to easily mount and fix the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit to face each other.

The in-vehicle control signal communication system according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the mounting member is capable of adjusting the positions and directions of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit. If the position and direction of the light emitting unit or the light receiving unit can be adjusted by the mounting member, adjustment for fixing the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit to the optimum communication position is further facilitated.

The in-vehicle control signal communication system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a reflection surface that reflects light is provided on an inner surface of the steering column cover that covers the light receiving unit.
Thus, by using the inner surface of the steering column cover as a reflecting surface, the possibility that the light emitted from the light emitting unit and scattered light is reflected by the reflecting surface and input to the light receiving unit is increased, and the communication efficiency is improved. Get higher. A reflective surface may be provided on the entire inner surface of the steering column cover, or a reflective surface may be provided on a part thereof.

An in-vehicle control signal communication system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention includes a reflecting member that reflects light on an inner surface of the steering column cover that covers the light receiving unit, and the reflected light from the reflecting member is collected in the light receiving unit. The reflective member is arranged so as to emit light.

An in-vehicle control signal communication system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of the light emitting units, all of the light emitting units simultaneously output a control signal, and perform optical communication with one light receiving unit. To do.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the light emitting portion is fixed to the steering post, the light receiving portion is fixed to the vehicle body portion, and they are arranged facing each other and separated from each other, and the two are attached by the steering column cover or the instrument panel. By covering, it is possible to suppress the dirt from the outside and perform stable optical communication without fear that the optical communication optical path is blocked by an obstacle. In addition, by fixing the light receiving unit to the lean hose, it is possible to suppress a decrease in reception accuracy due to running vibration.

It is a side view for demonstrating the attachment position of the light emission part of the control information communication system for vehicles concerning one Embodiment of this invention, and a light-receiving part. It is a partially exploded perspective view which shows the position of the lean hose which attaches a light-receiving part as an example of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows typically the position of the switch of the control information communication system for vehicles which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, the position of a light emission part and a light-receiving part, and wiring relationship. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of the control signal path | route of the vehicle control information communication system which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating other embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating other embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating other embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating other embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a side view for explaining mounting positions of a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit of a vehicle control information communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an example of a fixing position for mounting the light receiving unit. It is a partially exploded perspective view which shows the position of a lean hose. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view around the steering schematically showing the position of the switch, the position of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit, and the wiring relationship of the vehicle control information communication system, and FIG. 4 is a vehicle control according to the present invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of the control signal path | route of an information communication system.

  In the vehicle control signal communication system 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, an input controller 11 including a light emitting unit 12 that emits and transmits an optical signal for optical communication includes an attachment member. It is fixedly attached to the steering post 50 via 55 and is covered by the steering column cover 40. Further, the accessory drive controller 21 including the light receiving unit 22 that receives the optical signal from the light emitting unit 12 is also fixedly attached to the lean hose 51 via the mounting member 56. Here, that the light emitting unit 12 and the light receiving unit 22 are fixed is fixed in a state in which the positions, the emission angle, and the incident angle of the light emitting unit 12 and the light receiving unit 22 can be adjusted by the attachment members 55 and 56. Includes things.

The light emitting unit 12 and the light receiving unit 22 are arranged and fixed at positions separated from each other. By transmitting and receiving control signals by optical communication, various auxiliary devices are controlled by optical communication without using a long signal line such as a harness. Control signals to be transmitted and received. The light emitting unit 12 and the light receiving unit 22 are preferably provided on a straight line so as to face each other so that an optical signal can be transmitted and received, but the present invention is not limited to this, as will be described later. It is preferable that an obstruction that blocks an optical signal is not provided between the light emitting unit 12 and the light receiving unit 22.
In addition, although infrared communication using infrared rays is desirable for optical communication, it is not limited to this, and optical communication of various frequencies can be used. In addition, the gland connecting the light emitting unit 12 and the light receiving unit 22 is preferably in a straight line substantially parallel to the steering post 50, but is not limited thereto.

The mounting position of the light receiving unit 22 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.
A steering post 50 connected to the steering wheel 30 extends toward the lean hose 51. The lean hose 51 is a vehicle reinforcing member, and is provided across the width direction of the vehicle so as to intersect the steering post 50 inside the vehicle (back side). The steering posts 50 are coupled and fixed to the lean hose 51 at an intersection (not shown). The lean hose 51 is fixed to the vehicle body by fixing brackets 53a, 53b and the like.

  The auxiliary machine input controller 21 including the light receiving unit 22 is fixed to the lean hose 51 via an attachment member 56. Since the lean hose 51 is a reinforcing member for the vehicle body, it vibrates together with the vehicle body and the steering post 50. Therefore, the vibrations of the light emitting unit 12 and the light receiving unit 22 due to vehicle running and the like are almost the same, and even if the vehicle vibrates, both are not relatively vibrated. Since the vibration of the optical axis is suppressed, the influence on the optical communication due to the vibration can be suppressed as much as possible.

  FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the positional relationship between the various switches, the input controller 11 including the light emitting unit 12, and the accessory drive controller 21 including the light receiving unit 22. As shown in FIG. 3, control signals from various switches provided in the wheel pad 31 and the steering column portion 32 are input to the input controller 11 through the signal line 33 and the connector 35. Control signals from various switches may be input directly to the connector 35 via the signal line 34, or may be input to the connector 35 via the rotary connector (not shown) and the signal line 33. Preferably, the signal line 33 may be input to the input control device 11 without going through the connector 35.

  The control signal input to the input controller 11 is converted into an optical signal and output from the light emitting unit 12. The optical signal output from the light emitting unit 12 is received by the light receiving unit 22 of the auxiliary device drive controller 21. The optical signal received by the light receiving unit 22 is converted into an electrical signal and transmitted from the auxiliary device drive controller 21 to the auxiliary devices via the connector 36 and the signal line 37 via the communication control unit.

The path of the control signal will be briefly described with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG.
First, FIG. 4A will be described. The light emitting unit 12 is fixed to the steering post 50 by a mounting member 55. Although FIG. 4 shows an example in which only the light emitting unit is fixed to the steering post 50, the entire input control unit 11 is fixed to the steering post 50 even if only the light emitting unit 12 is fixed to the steering post 50 in this way. Anyway. In the present invention, unless specifically limited, the expression “fix the light emitting portion 12 to the steering post” is used in the meaning including any of these cases.

  Further, as described above, it is desirable to fix the light receiving unit 22 to the lean hose 51. The lean hose 51 extends in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. The light receiving unit 22 is also fixed to the lean hose 51 using the attachment member 56. As in the case of the light emitting unit 12, in this specification, unless otherwise specified, the expression “fix the light receiving unit 22 to the lean hose” is not limited to the case of directly fixing the light receiving unit, This includes the case where the controller is fixed to the lean hose.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4, various switches such as a horn, digital terrestrial, audio, drive mode switching, operation of various lights, wipers, turn signals, etc. are provided as switches provided in the wheel pad 31 and the steering column unit 32. ing. Control signals from these various switches are input to the input unit 13 of the input control unit 11 through the connector, and are output as light signals from the light emitting unit 12 through the communication control unit 14.

  The optical signal output from the light emitting unit 12 is received by the light receiving unit 22 provided to face the light emitting unit 12. The received optical signal is converted into an electrical signal, sent to the communication control unit 23 on the drive unit side, and output to each corresponding auxiliary device (horn, terrestrial digital, etc.) via the output unit 24. As described above, the light emitting unit 12 and the light receiving unit 22 are fixed to the steering post 50 and the lean hose 51, respectively, and both vibrate in the same manner. Therefore, stable optical communication is hardly affected by the vibration of the vehicle body. It becomes possible. Moreover, since the light emission part 12 is covered with the steering column cover, it is hard to get dirt and dust compared with the case of external exposure. In addition, stable optical communication is possible without blocking the optical path of the driver or passenger optical communication.

  As described above, the light emitting unit 12 and the light receiving unit 22 are fixed to the steering post 50 or the lean hose 51 by the attachment members 55 and 56. The mounting members 55 and 56 are preferably configured so that the positions and angles of the light emitting unit 12 and the light receiving unit can be adjusted. As the position and angle adjusting mechanism, a conventional adjusting mechanism such as a screw or a gear structure can be freely adopted, thereby changing the emission angle and the incident angle of the light emitting part and the light receiving part, and the light emitting part. 12 and the light receiving unit 22 can be adjusted to approach or separate from the steering post and the lean hose, respectively.

  FIG. 4B is a block diagram showing another embodiment. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a communication system including an existing auxiliary machine input / output controller 45. A control signal received by the light receiving unit 22 of the repeater 29 is transmitted from the communication control unit 23 to a conventional auxiliary unit. This is output to the input / output unit 46 of the machine input / output controller 45. As a result, since the existing auxiliary input / output controller 45 can be used, it is not necessary to provide a new input / output controller, and space saving and cost reduction can be realized.

  4A and 4B show only transmission from the switch side to the auxiliary machine side. However, by providing a light emitting part on the auxiliary drive controller 21 and auxiliary input / output controller 45 side and a light receiving part on the input controller 11 side, for example, for auxiliary equipment such as terrestrial digital TV and audio, It is also possible to configure to perform bidirectional communication.

  In the above example, the light emitting unit 12 is fixed to the steering post 50 and the light receiving unit 22 is fixed to the lean hose 51. However, the fixing position is not limited to these. The fixing position is not limited to the above position as long as the light emitting unit 12 and the light receiving unit 22 are fixed substantially opposite to each other along the steering post 50 and can be fixed at a position where the optical axis does not shift due to vibration of the vehicle body.

FIG. 5 illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, a reflective surface 41 having a high reflectivity is provided on the inner surface of the steering column cover 40 so that an optical signal from the light emitting unit reaches the light receiving unit more reliably. As the reflective surface 41, for example, a foamed resin or the like can be molded. Further, a film or resin having a high light reflectance may be attached to the inner surface, and a reflecting surface may be formed on the inner surface of the steering column cover 40 by using vapor deposition such as vacuum vapor deposition or plating. Accordingly, the reflected light can be received by the light receiving unit, and more reliable optical communication is possible.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, in addition to providing a reflector on the inner surface of the steering column cover 40, a reflecting surface is provided on the rear surface of the steering column cover 40 so that the reflected light is directed toward the light receiving portion as much as possible. It is also possible to provide a protrusion or reflecting member 42 or a tapered shape.
Here, the tapered shape means that the entire steering column cover is tapered, and the light receiving portion is disposed at the tip of the taper, so that the light from the transmitting portion can be efficiently collected on the light receiving portion.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the present invention. In this example, a protrusion having a reflecting surface or a reflecting member is provided on the back surface of the steering column cover 40, and an optical signal is emitted from the light emitting portion toward the protrusion. The protrusion or reflection member 42 is arranged at an angle at which the reflected light is collected on the light receiving surface. Thereby, even when the light emitting unit 12 cannot be connected to the light receiving unit 22 in a straight line, optical communication is possible.
That is, when a component that obstructs the optical path is inevitably arranged in a virtual straight line connecting the light emitting unit 12 and the light receiving unit 22, the light signal from the light emitting unit 12 is irradiated toward the reflecting member 42, By irradiating the light receiving unit 22 with the reflected light from the reflecting member 42, it is possible to secure a path for optical communication. At this time, it is also possible to provide a plurality of protrusions (reflective members) 42 so that as much reflected light as possible by mutual reflection of the respective parts is condensed on the light receiving part.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 has two light emitting units. Optical signals are output from the two light emitting units toward one light receiving unit. By outputting the same optical signal from two light emitting units simultaneously, optical communication is performed through two optical paths, so that more reliable optical communication is possible. The outputs from the two light emitting units can be configured to output two optical signals by simultaneously driving two LEDs emitting infrared rays.
In this example, two light emitting units are provided. However, a plurality of three or more light emitting units may be provided. At this time, optical communication may be performed using a different wavelength for each light emitting unit.

  Further, after providing a plurality of light emitting portions as described above, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a reflecting surface is provided on the inner surface of the steering column cover 40 as shown in FIGS.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 8, an optical signal emitted from one light emitting unit 25 is output from two output units 27 and 28 using an optical branching device 26. The same optical signal is divided into two systems from the output units 27 and 28 and output as optical paths L ₁ and L ₂ . Respective light receiving portions 22 and 39 are provided corresponding to the _two optical paths L ₁ and L ₂ .
As the light branching device 26, a light guide body divided into two branches as shown in FIG. 8 can be used. The light guide is formed in a substantially Y shape, and the light emitting element (light emitting portion) 25 is disposed so that the base end portion is formed in a concave shape and faces the concave portion.

Of the two optical signals output from the output units 27 and 28 of the branching total device 26, the optical signal received by the light receiving unit 22 through one of the optical paths (for example, the optical path L ₁ ) is the example shown in FIGS. Are transmitted to various auxiliary devices as control signals from various switches similar to those shown in FIG.
Using a signal received by the light receiving unit 39 that receives light from the other optical path (for example, the optical path L ₂ ), for example, it can be used as a detection device that detects the movement state of various parts such as the position of a wiper or steering. Is possible.
Examples for illustration of the light path L _2, illustrating the detection of steering adjustment positions. The steering position is adjusted to a position where driving is easy according to the physique of the driver. In this case, adjusting the steering position, should be configured to move in a direction in which a part P of the associated member that is connected to the steering shield the light path L ₂ (the direction of the broken line position from the solid line position) . Thus, the adjustment of the steering position is made, in accordance with the adjustment amount, gradually block the light path L _2. Therefore, by detecting a change in the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 39, the light receiving unit 39 can recognize the steering adjustment position.

  In the above description, an example in which only the light emitting part is provided on the steering post side and only the light receiving part is arranged on the vehicle body side is shown. However, bidirectional communication is possible by providing the light emitting part and the light receiving part on both sides. Such a configuration is also possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Control information communication system 11 for vehicles which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention Input controller 12 Light-emitting part 21 Auxiliary-device drive controller 22 Light-receiving part 30 Steering wheel 31 Wheel pad 32 Steering column parts 33, 34, 37 Signal line 35, 36 connectors
40 Steering column cover 41 Reflecting surface 42 Protruding part (reflecting member)
50 Steering post 51 Lean hose
53a, 53b Fixing bracket 54 Steering shaft
55, 56 Mounting member

Claims (6)

In a vehicle with a function that can adjust the position and angle of the steering wheel,
A light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit that are arranged to face each other at a distance from each other, and control signals input from a plurality of switches provided around the steering wheel are transmitted to corresponding auxiliary devices provided on the vehicle body side. A communication system that communicates by communication,
The light emitting portion is a steering column within the cover, and transmits the switch or these signals is provided to be fixed to the steering post around the steering wheel as an optical signal,
The light receiving portion is disposed and fixed to the vehicle body so as to face the light emitting portion in the instrument panel, and receives an optical signal from the light emitting portion.
Is fixed to the light receiving portion gully Nhosu,
And the light emitting portion facing disposed apart and the light receiving section, at a predetermined reference position, the line connecting the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit is disposed at a position serving as the steering post and the flat row,
The in-vehicle control signal communication system, wherein the steering post is coupled and fixed to the lean hose.   The in-vehicle control signal communication system according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are fixed via an attachment member. The in-vehicle control signal communication system according to claim 2 , wherein the mounting member is capable of adjusting positions and directions of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit.   The in-vehicle control signal communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a reflection surface that reflects light is provided on an inner surface of the steering column cover that covers the light receiving portion.   A reflection member that reflects light is provided on an inner surface of the steering column cover that covers the light receiving portion, and the reflection member is disposed so as to collect reflected light from the reflection member on the light receiving portion. Item 5. The in-vehicle control signal communication system according to any one of Items 1 to 4.   6. The vehicle control according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of the light emitting units, wherein all of the light emitting units simultaneously output a control signal and perform optical communication with one light receiving unit. Information communication system.

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