JPS636387B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a control circuit device having a plurality of switches including a horn switch provided on a steering wheel.

In automobiles, switches that are operated while driving are placed on the steering wheel for safety reasons such as being able to operate without taking your hands off the steering wheel or changing your posture, and to prevent erroneous operation by allowing confirmation without averting your line of sight. Attempts are being made to do so.

However, a horn switch is already installed on the steering wheel of a car. Therefore, in order to newly install the operation switch, a signal line for the operation switch is required in addition to a signal line for the horn switch. However, as is well known, the handle rotates freely several times, so adding a new signal line has the disadvantage that a new slip ring must be provided.

If a specific switch in the switch group is assigned to a horn switch, only a single signal line is required, but the signal voltage identification circuit must be constantly powered on, which has an adverse effect on the consumption of the automobile battery.

Furthermore, if a horn, a horn relay, or the like is used as an identification impedance element, it is difficult to identify other switch signals without the horn operating, and there is a drawback that reliability is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention aims to provide a control circuit device for installing a large number of switch groups on a handle without making significant changes to the handle structure and signal lines.

In particular, the present invention ensures that the horn is activated by a horn switch provided on the steering handle, and in this case, when no command switch other than the horn switch is used, that is, a signal from the command switch is used. The horn switch can operate the horn even when power is not being supplied to the control device, and the command signal for the horn switch and other command switches can be activated when power is being supplied to the control device. Another object is to provide a control circuit device that can be detected reliably.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 1 indicates a car battery, and reference numeral 2 indicates a horn, one end of which is connected to the + terminal of the battery 1, and the other end connected to one end B of the normally closed contact of the relay 3. One end of the drive coil of the relay 3 having a normally closed contact is connected to the + terminal of the battery 1 and the other end to the 7c terminal of the control circuit 7. The other end S of the normally closed contact is the control circuit 7
It is connected to terminal 7b and contact 4 to form a signal line. The contact 4 is a lever-shaped contact fixed to the body side in contact with the handle, and its tip is in contact with a slip ring 5 that maintains electrical contact even when the handle is rotated.
Furthermore, the slip ring 5 is connected to the signal line 6a of the switch group 6. The switch group 6 includes switches S1, S2, S3, and S4, each of which has one end grounded. The other end of Switchtsuchi S1 has low resistance R
1, the other end of the switch S2 is connected to the other end of the resistor R1 and one end of the resistor R2, and the other end of the switch S3 is connected to the other end of the resistor R2 and the resistor R2.
The other end of the switch S4 is connected to the other end of the resistor R3, and the slip ring 5 is connected to the terminal 6a.

Switch S5 is a power switch for control circuit 7 and load 8.

The control circuit 7 includes integrated circuits IC1 to IC14 and a resistor R.
4 to R13, capacitors C1 to C3, transistors T1 to T4, and diode D1. Terminal 7a is connected to the + terminal of battery 1 through power switch S5. The 7d terminal is grounded, and the 7e, 7f, and 7d terminals are connected to the load terminals 8b and 8.
They are connected to the c and 8d terminals, respectively.

Semiconductor integrated circuit IC1 has common terminal GND and input terminal IN
By applying voltage (12V) between
This is a so-called 3-terminal series regulator that generates a stabilized voltage (5V) at OUT.

Integrated circuits IC2, IC3, IC4, and IC5 are commonly known voltage comparators. This integrated circuit IC
The power terminals of ICs 2 to IC4 are connected to a power line V, and the ground terminals of ICs 2 to IC4 are connected to a ground line E.

Integrated circuit IC6, IC7, IC8, IC9, IC10,
IC11 and IC12 are logic elements, IC6 is 3-input NOR (NOR), IC7 is 2-input NOR (NOR), IC
8, IC9 is an inverter (INVERTER), IC10,
IC11 and IC12 are AND elements.
The power supply terminal of this integrated circuit IC6 to IC12 is the power supply line V
The ground end is connected to the ground wire E.

The power input terminal 7a of the control circuit 7 is a regulator IC.
The output OUT supplies power to the power line V. The signal input terminal 7b is connected to the cathode of the diode D1.
The anode of is connected to one end of resistor R4 and voltage comparator IC2.
~ IC4 are connected to each one input, and the other end of the resistor R4 is connected to the power supply line V.

The resistors R5 to R9 are each connected in series so as to divide the potentials of the power supply line V and the ground line. The + terminal of voltage comparator IC2 is connected to the contact between resistors R5 and R6, and the voltage comparator IC is connected to the contact between resistors R6 and R7.
Voltage comparator at the + terminal of 3, the contact between resistors R7 and R8
The + terminal of the voltage comparator IC5 is connected to the + terminal of IC4 and the contact between resistors R8 and R9.

The output of the voltage comparator IC2 is connected to the input end of a logic circuit IC10, the output end of IC10 is connected to one end of a resistor R10, and the other end is connected to the base of a transistor T1 and one end of a capacitor C1. The other end of capacitor C1 and the emitter of transistor T1 are connected to a ground line. The collector of transistor T1 is connected to load 8b through output terminal 7e.

The output of voltage comparator IC3 is logic circuit IC6, IC1
1 input. The output of IC11 is resistor R
11, and the other end of R11 is a transistor T2.
The base of C2 is connected to one end of capacitor C2.
The other end of the capacitor C2 and the emitter of the transistor T2 are grounded. The collector of transistor T2 is connected to load 8c through terminal 7f.

The output of voltage comparator IC4 is connected to logic circuits IC6, IC7,
It is connected to the input of IC12, and the output of IC12 is connected to one end of resistor R12. The other end of the resistor R12 is connected to the base of the transistor T3 and one end of the capacitor C3, and the other end of the capacitor C3 and the emitter of the transistor T3 are connected to the ground line E. The collector of transistor T3 is connected to the load 8d terminal through the 7g terminal.

The output terminal of the voltage comparator IC5 is the logic circuit IC6,
It is connected to the inputs of IC7, IC8, and IC9, and the output of IC9 is connected to one end of resistor R13. Resistor R13
The other end is connected to the base of transistor T4,
The emitter of transistor T4 is connected to ground line E. The collector of the transistor T4 is connected to one of the coil ends of the relay 3 having the normally closed contact through the terminal 7c.

The output terminal of the logic circuit IC6 is connected to the input terminal of the logic circuit IC10. The output terminal of the logic circuit IC7 is connected to the input terminal of the logic circuit IC11. The output terminal of the logic circuit IC8 is connected to the input terminal of the logic circuit IC12.

In addition, when the horn is not connected to the signal line, the potential of the terminal 7h when the switch S1 is pressed is 7j<7h<7i, and the potential of the terminal 7h when the switch S2 is pressed is 7k<7h<
7j, terminal 7h when pressing switch S3
The resistance values of resistors R1 to R9 are selected such that the potential of terminal 7h is 7l<7h<7k, and the potential of terminal 7h when switch S4 is pressed is 7h<7l, and the resistance is smaller than the impedance of horn 2. R1~
The impedance of R3 is selected to be sufficiently high.

Next, the operation of the device of the present invention will be explained. When the switch S5 is currently in the off state, no power is supplied to the control circuit 7, so the transistors T1 to T4 remain in the off state. Therefore, relay 3 is not driven and its contacts are closed. Switch S1~S
4 are off, no current flows through the horn 2, so the horn 2 does not operate. At this time, since the signal line is at approximately the battery potential, the diode D1 at the input terminal 7b of the control circuit prevents reverse flow. Next, when any of the switches S1 to S3 is on, the resistance values of the resistors R1 to R3 have a higher impedance than the horn 2, as described above, so the horn 2 does not operate. Next, when the switch S4 is turned on, the horn 2 is operated through the relay 3, the contact 4, the slip ring 5, and the switch S4. Thus, it can be seen that when the power of the control circuit is off, the switch S4 operates normally as a horn switch, and the horn does not malfunction in other switches.

Next, consider a state in which S5 is on, that is, the power to the control circuit is on. If the switches S1 to S4 are both off at this time, the signal input line 7b has almost the same potential as the battery voltage, so the anode potential of the diode D1 becomes the same as the potential of the power supply line V by the resistor R4, and the voltage comparators IC2 to All outputs of IC5 are at low level. Therefore, the transistor T1 is a logic circuit IC10, and the transistor T2 is a logic circuit.
Since the logic circuit IC12 is at a low level, IC11 and transistor T3 are each off. On the other hand, the logic circuit IC9 is connected to the base of the transistor T4.
Since the O logic is inverted, current flows through the resistor R13, turning on the transistor T4, driving the relay 3, and disconnecting the horn 2 from the signal line. However, since there is no change in the potential of the terminal 7h, the horn 2 is disconnected from the signal line.

Next, when power switch S5 of control circuit 7 is on and only handle switch S1 is on, resistor R4
Due to the current flowing through the diode D1, resistors R3, R2, and R1, the potential of the terminal 7h becomes the potential between the terminals 7j and 7i, and the output of the voltage comparator IC2 becomes a high level, and the outputs of the voltage comparators IC3 to IC5 become a low level. becomes. That is, in this state, as mentioned above, transistors T2 and T3 are off, and transistor T
4 remains on, but all inputs to logic circuit IC6 are at low level and the output is at high level.
Both inputs of logic circuit IC10 are therefore at a high level, transistor T1 turns on (after a time delay due to resistor R10 and capacitor C1) and outputs a signal to terminal 8a of load 8.

Subsequently, when the handle switch S1 is released, all of the handle switches S1 to S4 are returned to the OFF state, and no signal is output to the load 8.

Next, when only handle switch S2 is turned on,
Since the potential of the terminal 7h becomes the potential between the terminals 7k and 7j, the outputs of the voltage comparators IC2 and IC3 become high level, and the outputs of IC4 and IC5 become low level. In this state, one of the input terminals of the logic circuit IC6 is at a high level, so the output terminal of IC6 is at a low level.
The output of the logic circuit IC10 also becomes a low level, and the transistor T1 is in an off state. Also logic circuit
Since both inputs of IC7 are at a low level, the output is at a high level, and both input terminals of the logic circuit IC11 are at a high level. The output terminal of IC11 also becomes high level,
Transistor T2 turns on and 8c of load 8
Output a signal to the terminal. Next, when the handle switch S2 is turned off, the power of the control circuit is turned on, so the transistor T2 is turned off.
The signal will no longer be output.

Next, consider a state in which the power switch S5 of the control circuit 7 is on and only the handle switch S3 is on. At this time, as mentioned above, the potential of terminal 7h is
Since the potential is between l and 7k, the voltage comparator IC
2. The outputs of IC3 and IC4 are respectively high level, IC
The output of 5 is low level. Therefore, transistor T4 remains on. logic circuit IC6,
One end of the input circuit of IC7 becomes high level, and IC6,
The outputs of IC7 each become low level. Therefore, since one end of the input of each of the logic circuits IC10 and IC11 is at a low level, the output is also at a low level, and the transistors T1 and T2 are in an off state. However, since the input of the logic circuit IC8 is at a low level, the output becomes a high level, and both inputs of the logic circuit IC12 are at a high level, the output is also at a high level, the transistor T3 is turned on, and the input terminal 8 of the load 8 is turned on.
Outputs a signal to d. Next, handle switch S
3 separates, the state is the same as the power-on state of the control circuit 7, and no signal is output to the load 8.

Next, consider a case where the power switch S5 of the control circuit 7 is on and only the handle switch S4 is on. At this time, the potential of the terminal 7h is lower than the potential of the terminal 7l, so the outputs of the voltage comparators IC2 to IC5 all become high level. Logic circuit IC6,
The outputs of IC7, IC8, and IC9 are all at low level, and the transistors T1 to T4 are in the off state as described above. Then, relay 3 with normally closed contacts
Since no drive current flows through the horn 2, the current flows through the relay 3, contact 4, slip ring 5, and switch S4 to operate the horn 2. However, since the switch S4 is on even during the ON operation, the potential at the terminal 7h is lower than the potential at the terminal 7l, the output of the voltage comparator is the same as above, and the horn continues to operate. Then, when switch S4 is released, the power is returned to the on state, and relay 3 is connected to transistor T.
4, the contacts of relay 3 are separated and horn 2 is no longer activated.

Note that when the power switch S5 of the control circuit is on and, for example, the switch S2 is turned on, the potential of the terminal 7h continuously crosses the potential of the terminals 7i and 7j from the power supply potential V, so the transistor T1 is turned on for a moment. To prevent this condition, a capacitor C1 is effective at the base of the transistor T1. The same applies to capacitors C2 and C3.

Further, when the power switch S5 of the control circuit is on and a plurality of switches are turned on, each switch can be clearly prioritized (S4>S3>S2>S1).

Here, if the load 8 is, for example, a constant speed traveling device, switch S1 is used as a speed increase switch (while this switch is on, the speed is increased, and the vehicle travels at a constant speed when it is off), and switch S2 is used as a return switch (constant speed). If you turn on this switch after canceling driving, it will return to the state before cancellation.), and if switch S3 is set as a deceleration switch (while this switch is on, the speed will be decelerated, and the speed will be constant when it is off), the speed will be reduced to 2 by mistake. You can avoid danger without increasing speed even if you operate a switch. In this embodiment, the voltage comparator and the logic circuit are semiconductor integrated circuits, but the same effect can be expected with transistor diodes and the like. In connection with this, the input voltage of the voltage comparator was stabilized using a regulator, but this can be done without any particular stabilization as long as the battery voltage varies.

Further, in this embodiment, the number of switches is four, but this number can be increased or decreased.

The resistors R1, R2, and R3 constituting the switch group may be diodes or the like. In addition, in the embodiment, the load may not be a constant speed traveling device, but may be, for example, a direction indicator,
Lamp control, wiper control, etc. may be used, and combined loads of these may also be possible. Furthermore, although this embodiment has a configuration of a control circuit and a burden circuit, it is also possible to include the control circuit in the load circuit, or conversely, to include the load circuit in the control circuit.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the power switch of the control circuit is not turned on, the contact of the normally closed relay is in the closed state, and when the horn switch is turned on, the horn can be reliably activated. .
Furthermore, when the power switch is turned on and the horn switch is off, the contact of the normally closed relay is open, so when another command switch is turned on, only the control signal corresponding to that command switch is generated, and the horn will not operate. Definitely prevented. Further, when the horn switch is turned on while the power switch is turned on, the contacts of the normally closed relay return to the closed state and the horn is activated.

In this way, the present invention makes it possible to reliably operate the horn when the horn switch is turned on, regardless of the state of power supply to the control circuit, and to reliably prevent malfunction of the horn even when other command switches are turned on. The excellent effect of being able to do this can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawing is an electric circuit diagram showing one embodiment of a control circuit device according to the present invention. 2...Horn, 3...Relay, 6...Switch, 7...
Control circuit, IC2 to IC5... Comparator, IC6 to IC12
...Logic circuit, D1...diode.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Switching means that includes a plurality of command switches, one of which is a horn switch, provided on the steering handle and generating a different potential for each of the switches; and a control signal in response to the potential from the switching means. a power switch for supplying power to the control circuit means; a signal coupling means for connecting the switch means and the control circuit means by a single common line; a normally closed relay for connecting a horn in series between the switch means and a power source; The control is characterized by comprising a relay drive means that outputs a relay drive signal to open a contact of the switch and stops outputting the relay drive signal when an on state of the horn switch is detected while the power switch is turned on. circuit device. 2. The control circuit device according to claim 1, wherein the signal coupling means includes a diode for preventing backflow of current from the power supply to the control circuit means.