JPH0723067B2 - Vehicle runaway prevention device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Industrial field of application The present invention relates to a vehicle of a type in which the vehicle speed is controlled by operating an accelerator pedal, when the vehicle automatically falls into a runaway state against the driver's will. The present invention relates to a runaway prevention device that reduces the engine speed.

(B) Conventional technology In recent years, with the spread of automatic vehicles (vehicles with a torque converter) in vehicles and the improvement of accelerator response including a power transmission mechanism, the number of accidents in which the vehicle runs out of control has been rapidly increasing.

These runaway accidents are classified into two types: those caused by the vehicle side and those caused by the driver side.

That is, the cause of the vehicle side is abnormal return of the engine due to faulty return of the throttle due to catching of the accelerator cable or failure of the engine control computer,
The cause of the driver's mistake is the mistaken pedal depression of the brake and accelerator, and the depression of the accelerator due to temporary weakness and loss of mind and panic during an accident such as a panic.

Conventionally, the following techniques have been proposed as techniques for preventing these runaways.

(A) An obstacle detection member such as a radar or a contactor is provided on the vehicle to prevent collision with an obstacle during a runaway.

(B) The accelerator opening and the throttle opening are compared with each other, and the engine speed is forcibly reduced when an abnormal state in which the former and the latter are not proportional to each other is detected.
-159346, 60-22537, etc.).

C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with the technique of (a) above, it is practically difficult to suddenly stop a vehicle with inertia even after detecting an obstacle, and in urban areas where there are many vehicles. However, there is a problem that there are many malfunctions, and regarding the technique (b), there is a problem that although it is effective for the runaway caused by the vehicle side, it cannot deal with it due to the driver side. .

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device that can reliably prevent runaway caused by the vehicle side or the driver side. .

D) Means for solving the problems The present invention was created based on a completely new idea of detecting an abnormal state by the position of the heel of the driver.
A sensor that detects the presence or absence of the heel at this setting position is set on the floor surface of the vehicle, and a heel is set at the setting position based on the signal from this sensor. If not, a means for reducing the engine speed regardless of the accelerator opening is provided.

(E) Action That is, as a result of research by the present inventor, when the accelerator pedal is under controllable by the driver, the heel of the driver is always located at a predetermined position on the floor surface (see FIG. 1), and the brake is applied. In the case of an abnormal situation such as a mistake in stepping on or a state of physical and mental loss, it was discovered that the heel floats above the floor or is not located at this predetermined location (see Fig. 2), and it is conceived to use this to prevent runaway. It has come to do.

Therefore, the present invention first detects the non-depressed state of the accelerator pedal of the driver by detecting the heel position, in which case the engine speed is always reduced to a normal value, and secondly, the accelerator pedal is depressed. However, by detecting the heel position, it is detected whether it is normal or in an abnormal situation, and in the case of an abnormal situation, the engine speed is reduced regardless of the accelerator opening to bring the vehicle to a safe speed. It produces a thin effect.

F) Embodiments Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 5 are views showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, a vehicle in which a throttle and an accelerator pedal are connected by a cable has a clutch interposed between the throttle and the accelerator cable for turning on and off based on a signal from a sensor, and when the heel is not in a set position, this clutch is used. This is to reduce the engine speed by turning off the throttle and restricting only the throttle.

In the figure, P indicates a set position which should be a floor surface F of the vehicle and which should be a proper contact point of the heel K when the accelerator pedal 4 is operated.

This set position P may be simply the same plane as the floor surface as a conceptual one, or may be a concave portion so that the driver can easily perceive it as shown in the drawing, or a ridge indicating the position although not shown. Good.

Further, it goes without saying that the floor surface in this case may be the floor of the vehicle itself or may be mats laid on the floor of the vehicle.

The sensor 1 may be of any type as long as it detects the presence or absence of the heel K at the set position P and converts it into an electric signal, and examples thereof include a micro switch, a pressure sensor, and a photoelectric switch.

Reference numeral 11 in the figure denotes a throttle clutch interposed between the throttle and the accelerator cable.

The throttle clutch 11 is formed by stacking an oscillating plate 15 connected to a throttle drum (not shown) and an oscillating plate 12 connected to the accelerator cable 5 in common with the center of rotation. It is fixed and released by.

The oscillating plate 12 is separately movable from the oscillating plate 15 by loosely fitting the shaft 14 in the hollow shaft 16 of the oscillating plate 15, and is urged by the spring 17 in the non-depressing direction of the accelerator pedal.

The oscillating plate 15 connects the hollow shaft 16 to the throttle drum, and is urged by the spring 18 in the throttle throttle direction.

Then, both are fixed and released by moving the plunger 13a forward and backward from the rocking plate 12 toward the locking hole 15a formed on the surface of the rocking plate 15.

Reference numeral 13 in the figure is a solenoid for electrically moving the plunger 13a forward and backward.

The solenoid 13 is operated by the driver 10 on the basis of the detection signal from the sensor 1 processed by the signal processing circuit 2. When the heel of the driver is at the set position, the plunger 13a is locked by the spring into the locking hole 15a. When the heel is separated from the set position, the plunger 13a
Has the effect of retracting from the locking hole 15a in the locking release direction.

Therefore, according to the above-mentioned throttle clutch 11, when the heel of the driver is at the set position, both swing plates 12 and 15 move together (states of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4), and the accelerator pedal and throttle are When the heel is separated from the set position while being kept in the connected state, only the rocking plate 15 is returned to the throttle throttle direction by the spring 18 and the engine speed is reduced (state of FIG. 5).

In this case, even if the heel returns to the set position again, the plunger 13a does not fall into the locking hole 15a unless the swing plate 12 returns to the return angle of the swing plate 15, that is, the position where the accelerator pedal is not depressed. Even if the heel is returned to the set position while the accelerator is being depressed, the situation in which the engine speed suddenly increases is prevented.

In the above embodiment, in order to prevent malfunction,
It is desirable to count the heel disengagement time by the signal processing circuit 2 and to release the throttle clutch 11 only after a predetermined disengagement time has elapsed.

6 to 7 are views showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, a part of the path for supplying fuel to the engine is closed by a valve to reduce the rotation of the engine.

That is, the amount of supplied fuel is reduced by the valve 21 configured to close the passage by advancing and retracting the plunger 22a in the fuel passage 23 to the engine.

Reference numeral 22 in the figure is a solenoid for electrically moving the plunger 22a forward and backward.

The solenoid 22 is operated by the driver 20 based on the detection signal from the sensor 1 processed by the signal processing circuit 2. When the heel of the driver is at the set position, the solenoid 22 is moved in the opening direction of the fuel passage 23. If the heel separates from the set position, set the plunger 22a to the fuel passage 2
It has a function of projecting in the closing direction of 3.

Reference numeral 25 in the figure denotes an accelerator opening sensor, which detects the accelerator opening degree by the driver and even if a signal is issued to open the valve 21 when the accelerator pedal has not returned to the non-depressed state. Even if the heel returns to the set position again by processing in the signal processing circuit 2 to cancel, the fuel passage is not opened unless the accelerator pedal is returned to the non-depressed state position. Prevents the situation where the engine speed suddenly rises even if is returned to the set position.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

This embodiment shows a preferred example when the present invention is applied to an electronically controlled fuel injection type engine.

That is, in this embodiment, the detection signal from the sensor 1 is converted into an interrupt command for reducing the injection charge of the injector in the signal processing circuit 2 and output to the engine control computer 30.

Although some embodiments have been described above, it goes without saying that the means for reducing the engine speed is not limited to the above-mentioned means and can be realized by turning off the ignition system of the engine, for example.

G) Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention configured as described above has the following unique effects.

(A) Since the abnormal state is detected by the heel position of the driver, the runaway can be reliably prevented regardless of whether the runaway is caused by the vehicle side or the driver side.

(B) Since the above-mentioned preventive action is realized by simply disabling the depression of the accelerator pedal, the normal driving operation is not disturbed at all.

(C) Originally, the accelerator operation is realized by bringing the heel into contact with the floor so that an appropriate operation can be realized, and a driver who has performed an incorrect operation method until now is also suitable according to the present invention. It will contribute to preventive safety of high-performance vehicles, especially those requiring special delicate accelerator operation.

(D) Heel contact with the floor means that the seat position is appropriate at the same time, and even a driver who has taken a wrong position up to now can obtain an appropriate position according to the present invention, and it is remarkably important for preventive safety. Contribute.

(E) Since the abnormal state is detected by the position of the heel of the driver, an accident due to a child's mischief whose heel does not reach the floor can be effectively prevented.

(F) For the same reason, driving with geta or high heels, which is prohibited by some regulations, is prevented in advance because the heel cannot contact the predetermined position.

(G) For the same reason, it is possible to prevent the accelerator pedal from being excessively depressed when the vehicle is moving backward.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 and 2 are partially cutaway side views of a first embodiment of the runaway prevention device according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of the same throttle clutch section, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the same. 5, FIG. 5 is a side view of the same, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit of a second embodiment of the runaway prevention device of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the valve part of the same as above, and FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the electric circuit of 3rd Example of the runaway prevention apparatus. Reference symbol (K) in the figure ... Heel (P) ... Setting position (1) ... Sensor (4) ... Accelerator pedal

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A sensor is provided on a floor surface of a vehicle for setting a proper heel contact point when the accelerator pedal is operated, and for detecting the presence / absence of a heel at the set position, and based on a signal from the sensor. When the vehicle is not in the set position, a vehicle runaway prevention device is provided with means for reducing the rotation of the engine regardless of the accelerator opening. 2. A engine is provided between a throttle of the engine and an accelerator cable by interposing a clutch for turning on and off based on a signal from a sensor, and when the heel is not at a set position, the clutch is turned off and only the throttle is throttled independently. The runaway prevention device for a vehicle according to claim 1, which is a means for reducing the rotation of the vehicle. 3. The runaway prevention device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the engine rotation is reduced by closing a part of a path for supplying fuel to the engine. 4. The runaway prevention device for a vehicle according to claim 1, which is a means for reducing the rotation of the engine by reducing an injection charge of an injector for injecting fuel into the engine.