JP2002308011A - Operation control device for horn for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately sound a horn installed in an automobile as a standard equipment without causing a trouble. SOLUTION: A controller for controlling the sounding operation of the horn 3 is provided. When a driver turns a dedicated switch 6 on, the horn 3 is operated to sound for a preset short time. Start of the backward traveling of the automobile is detected on the basis of the reverse signal from a gear position switch 7, and a night traveling or not is determined on the basis of the signal from a light switch 8 and a light sensor 9, and in the case of NO, the horn 3 is operated to sound for a short time when starting the backward traveling.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control device for controlling a blowing operation of a horn for an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a horn for issuing an alarm outside a vehicle is provided as standard equipment, and this horn is operated to blow according to the operation of a horn switch by a driver. An operation circuit of such a horn includes, as shown in FIG. 3, an example of an electric horn commonly used in passenger cars, a horn switch a provided on a steering wheel (not shown) or the like, and a vehicle-mounted battery in accordance with the operation of the horn switch a. and an electromagnetic relay d for supplying or interrupting electric power from b to the horn c. Then, when the driver of the automobile pushes the horn switch a to turn it on, the relay d closes and the current flows during that time, the horn c blows and the alarm sounds. When the driver releases the horn switch a, the horn switch a is turned off, the relay d is opened, and the current is cut off.

[0003]

However, according to the conventional operation circuit of the horn as described above, the horn c continues to sound while the horn switch a is in the on state, so that the driver cannot use the horn switch. Even if it is slightly delayed to release the hand from a, the sounding time of the horn c is prolonged contrary to the intention. When the horn c blows for a long time in this way, the alarm sound for calling attention becomes unpleasant noise to the surroundings, or becomes vulgar threatening action to the surroundings, and is not only annoying, but also particularly for children and children. Elderly people may be surprised by the sound of the horn c and make a misjudgment, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of traffic safety.

[0004] In general, when the vehicle is traveling backward, the blind spot from the driver's seat tends to increase in this case. Therefore, the driver must pay close attention to the rearward path via a rearview mirror or the like. Even if the child pays, for example, in the case of a child, the child may invade the path of the car and it is not easy to avoid this.

[0005] In this regard, there is a method of calling attention to the surroundings by sounding a horn. Is the actual situation,
In such a case, the horn switch is erroneously operated as described above, so that the harmful effect that the sounding time becomes longer tends to occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to devise a structure of a device for operating a horn for an automobile, and to appropriately blow the horn at any time so as not to disturb the surroundings. To be able to do it.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to a solution of the present invention, a blowing operation of a horn for an automobile is controlled by a control means, and is set in advance so as to correspond to a running state of the automobile. I made it sound only for the appropriate time.

More specifically, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the horn operation control device controls the horn for a predetermined time in accordance with at least one of a driving state of a vehicle, a surrounding environment, and an operation by a driver. It is configured to include control means for performing a blowing operation.

With the above configuration, the horn blowing operation is controlled by the control means, so that the horn responds to the running state of the automobile, the surrounding environment, or the operation by the driver, etc. The sounding operation is performed only for an appropriate time set in advance. Thus, for example, even if the driver of the automobile mistakenly operates the switch, the horn does not become excessively long, and the trouble of surroundings can be prevented.

Further, without worrying about such an erroneous operation,
If the horn can be appropriately sounded at any time according to the driving state of the car or the surrounding environment, for example,
It is also possible to use a horn instead of a greeting when lining up with an acquaintance's car at a traffic light, thereby expanding the convenience of the horn.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the driver operates the operation switch of the horn to turn on the horn, the operation switch is turned on in response to a signal from the operation switch. The horn shall be operated for a certain period of time regardless of the time period. By doing so, the sounding time of the horn becomes constant irrespective of the operation time of the switch by the driver, and the sound can be made a short and light tone at any time. Can be obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the control means operates the horn to blow the horn in response to the backward running of the vehicle. In this way, in response to the reverse movement of the car, the horn can alert the surroundings with an alarm sound,
Safety can be greatly improved. Further, at this time, the operation and effect of the invention of claim 1 in which the horn is unlikely to cause discomfort to the surroundings becomes more effective.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, detecting means for detecting that the shift lever of the vehicle is at the reverse position is provided, and the control means controls the horn based on a detection result by the detecting means. Shall be controlled.
Thus, when the shift lever is at the reverse position, the reverse driving state of the vehicle can be detected by the detecting means, and the horn can be controlled accurately.
The effect of the invention of the invention can be sufficiently obtained.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, a determining means for determining nighttime is provided, and the control means determines the nighttime by the determining means. Then, the control of the horn corresponding to the reverse running of the car is not performed.

That is, in general, it is considered that the surroundings of a car are quieter at night than at daytime, so that the sound of the horn tends to be annoying to the surroundings. Therefore, in the present invention,
When it is determined by the determining means that the vehicle is in the night, the horn is not sounded during the reverse running regardless of the driver's intention, thereby improving the safety of the vehicle when the vehicle is running backward and improving the surroundings. Prevention of bothersome troubles.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an operation control device A for an automobile horn according to an embodiment of the present invention. This device A supplies or cuts off electric power from an on-vehicle battery 2 to an electric horn 3 by an electromagnetic relay 1 as in the prior art. A feature of the present invention is that the opening and closing operation of the relay 1 is controlled by a horn switch. This is not only performed by the operation of step 4, but also controlled by a dedicated controller 5. That is, the same horn switch 4 as before is connected to the relay 1, and the driver operates the horn switch 4 so that
The horn 3 can be blown.

A controller 5 is connected to the relay 1 in parallel with the horn switch 4. The controller 5 includes a signal output from a dedicated switch 6 (operation switch) operated by a driver of the vehicle and a gear position switch 7 (detection) when the gear position in the transmission of the vehicle is reverse (reverse position). Means) and a light switch 8 for turning on the headlights of the vehicle.
And a signal from an optical sensor 9 for detecting the brightness of the surroundings of the vehicle. The controller 5 outputs a pulse signal to the relay 1 in response to the input signals from the switches and the sensors 6 to 9 and supplies power to the horn 3 for a predetermined period of time to perform a blowing operation. The time of the blowing operation is experimentally set so that the sound of the horn 3 is light and does not disturb the surroundings.

The configuration of the controller will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 2, a dedicated switch signal processing circuit 12 for outputting either an on or off signal in response to a signal from a dedicated switch 6 is provided to the controller 5.
A reverse signal processing circuit 13 that outputs either an on or off signal in response to a reverse signal input from the gear position switch 7, and an on or off signal in response to signals from the light switch 8 and the optical sensor 9. A day / night determination signal processing circuit 14 for outputting either of them is provided.

When the dedicated switch 6 is closed and turned on, the dedicated switch signal processing circuit 12 receives an output signal from the switch 6 and changes the output voltage to a high level (outputs an ON signal). On the other hand, the dedicated switch 6
Is in the off state, the output voltage goes low (outputs an off signal). Also, the reverse signal processing circuit 13
Performs a sequential logic operation based on the input signal from the gear position switch 7, and when the vehicle starts running backward, the output voltage goes high (outputs an ON signal), while in other states, the output voltage goes high. Becomes low level (OFF signal is output).

That is, the reverse signal processing circuit 13
For example, when a reverse signal is input for a predetermined time or more (for example, about 1 second) or more using a capacitor or a resistor, the output is high for a predetermined time, while the output is output in other states. A first signal processing circuit that goes low;
The output becomes low for a second set time (for example, about 10 seconds) after the input of the reverse signal is stopped, and thereafter, the second signal processing circuit is configured so that the output becomes high. Output from the signal processing circuit is AN
What is necessary is just to input to the D gate and take out the output from this AND gate.

According to the reverse signal processing circuit 13, the reverse signal is input from the gear position switch 7 when the shift lever of the vehicle is operated to the reverse position, and the first signal processing is performed when the first set time elapses thereafter. An ON signal is output from the circuit. At this time, if an ON signal is also output from the second signal processing circuit, an ON signal is output from the AND gate. Further, when the shift lever is operated from the reverse position to another position and there is no input of the reverse signal, an off signal is output from the second signal processing circuit until the second set time elapses thereafter.
During that time, even if the ON signal is output from the first signal processing circuit, the ON signal is not output from the AND gate.

Further, the day / night determination signal processing circuit 14
Performs a combinational logic operation based on input signals from the light switch 8 and the optical sensor 9. When the light switch 8 is turned off or the output from the optical sensor 9 is equal to or higher than a preset threshold, the output voltage Becomes high level (outputs an ON signal), while the output voltage becomes low level (outputs an OFF signal) in other states.

The reverse signal processing circuit 1
3 and the output signals of the day / night determination signal processing circuit 14 are input to an AND gate 15, and when both signals are ON signals, the ON signal is output from the AND gate 15; Otherwise, AN
An off signal is output from D gate 15. Further, the output signal from the dedicated switch signal processing circuit 12 and the output signal from the AND gate 15 are respectively input to the OR gate 16, and if one of the input signals is an ON signal, While an ON signal is output from the OR gate 16, an OFF signal is output from the OR gate 16 in other states.

The output signal from the OR gate 16 is input to a pulse generation circuit 17. In this pulse generation circuit 17, when an ON signal is input from the OR gate 16, the input signal is A predetermined time (for example, 5
0 msec.), And outputs a pulse signal having a pulse width of
The signal is input to a driver circuit 18 including a transistor 19. In this driver circuit 18, transistor 19
In the off state, the collector terminal is connected to the battery 2 via the relay 1, the emitter terminal is grounded, and the base terminal is connected to the pulse generation circuit 17, and normally, no current flows from the collector terminal to the emitter terminal. On the other hand, when a pulse signal is input to the base terminal, it is turned on for a time corresponding to the pulse width. And
A current flows from the collector terminal of the transistor 19 to the emitter terminal, and the relay 1 is closed.

Next, the operation of the operation control device A configured as described above will be described in detail. First, when the driver turns on the dedicated switch 6, the dedicated switch signal processing circuit 12 of the controller 5 sends an OR signal. Gate 16
Is output from the pulse generator circuit 17, and the transistor 19 receiving the pulse signal is turned on for a short time. As a result, the relay 1 is closed for a short time, the power is supplied from the battery 2 to the horn 3, and the horn 3 performs a blowing operation for a predetermined short time.

At this time, even if the driver mistakenly operates the dedicated switch 6 and keeps pushing the switch longer than necessary, the sounding time of the horn 3 becomes a fixed short time regardless of the operation time. The tone of the horn is always a light tone for a short period of time, and it is unlikely to give any discomfort to the surroundings.

On the other hand, when the driver operates the shift lever to the reverse position in order to move the vehicle backward, a reverse signal is output from the gear position switch 7 and the reverse signal processing circuit 13 to which the reverse signal has been input outputs an ON signal for a predetermined time. Is output. At this time, in the daytime, since the ON signal is output from the day / night determination signal processing circuit 14, the ON signal is input from the AND gate 15 and the OR gate 16 to which the ON signal is input from both circuits 13 and 14, respectively. Is output from the OR gate 16 to the pulse generation circuit 17, and a light alarm sound is emitted from the horn 3 as described above.

That is, by detecting the start of the backward movement of the vehicle based on the operation of the shift lever by the driver and issuing an alarm sound from the horn 3, it is possible to call attention to the surroundings and greatly improve safety. it can. In addition, at this time, the sound of the horn 3 becomes light for a short time.

When the reverse signal is input to the controller 5 as described above, the ON signal is not output from the reverse signal processing circuit 13 unless the first set time has elapsed. For this reason, for example, in an automobile equipped with an automatic transmission (hereinafter, referred to as an AT car), when starting, the driver operates the shift lever from the parking position (parking) to the retreat position, and then continues to the forward position (drive). In this case, no unnecessary sounding operation of the horn 3 is performed.

Further, in the case of nighttime, the OFF signal is output from the day / night determination signal processing circuit 14, and even if the ON signal is output from the reverse signal processing circuit 13 as described above, the OFF signal is output from the AND gate 15. Is output, so that the horn 3 does not sound when the vehicle is traveling backward. In other words, during nighttime when the surroundings of the automobile are relatively quiet, the horn does not sound during the reverse running regardless of the driver's intention, and the surroundings are not bothered.

In addition, for example, when turning back the car, the driver repeatedly operates the shift lever between the reverse position and other positions. In this case, the reverse signal processing circuit 13 performs the second signal processing. Since the off signal is output from the circuit, the reverse signal processing circuit 13 does not output the on signal for the second and subsequent operations of the shift lever. That is,
The horn 3 is not blown for the second or subsequent shift lever operation at the time of turning back when it is not necessary to sound the alarm sound, which also prevents the sound of the horn from disturbing the surroundings. it can.

As described above, the horn 3 is set in advance by the controller 5 in accordance with the backward running state of the automobile, the surrounding environment (whether or not at night), or the operation of the exclusive switch 6 by the driver. Control means for performing a short-time sounding operation is configured. When the driver operates the dedicated switch 6 to turn on, the controller 5 blows the horn 3 for a certain time for one operation.

The controller 5 detects the start of reverse running of the vehicle based on a reverse signal from the gear position switch 7 (detection means), and also based on signals from the light switch 8 and the optical sensor 9. It is determined whether or not it is nighttime, and if it is determined that it is not nighttime, the horn 3 is sounded at the time of starting the reverse travel. In other words, the light switch 8 and the optical sensor 9
The day and night determination signal processing circuit 14 of the controller 5 constitutes a determination means for determining that it is nighttime.

Therefore, according to the operation control device A of the horn for a vehicle according to this embodiment, first, the blowing operation of the horn 3 is controlled by the controller 5, regardless of the operation time of the dedicated switch 6 by the driver. Since the horn 3 is caused to sound only for a fixed short period of time, it is possible to make the sound of the horn 3 less likely to disturb the surroundings and to provide a light tone. This greatly enhances the convenience of the horn 3.

In the daytime, the driver only operates the shift lever to the reverse position when the vehicle is moving backward,
Since the horn 3 automatically sounds to alert the surroundings, the safety is greatly improved. On the other hand, in the nighttime, the horn 3 does not perform the sounding operation of the horn 3 at the time of the reverse running, so that it is possible to thoroughly prevent the noise at the quiet night time. It is possible to achieve both higher safety and prevention of inconvenience at a high level.

Further, in this embodiment, the processing of the reverse signal is devised so that when the shift lever temporarily passes the reverse position in the case of an AT car, or the shift lever is repeatedly operated for turning back. When the horn 3 is not sounded, the unnecessary sound of the horn 3 is not performed, so that the sound of the horn 3 can be more reliably prevented from disturbing the surroundings.

It should be noted that the configuration of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes other various configurations. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the controller 5 is configured only by a hardware circuit. However, the controller 5 is not limited to this, and the CPU controls the operation of the relay 1 based on signals from sensors and switches 6 to 9. Of course, it is good.

In the above-described embodiment, the horn 3 is made to sound only once at the time of starting the backward running of the vehicle.
It is also possible to make an intermittent sound a plurality of times during reverse travel.

In the above embodiment, the dedicated switch 6
The horn 3 is caused to sound for a predetermined period of time in response to the operation of the vehicle and the backward running of the car.
Not limited to this, the horn sounding operation time is variously set in advance so as to correspond to the running state of the automobile, the surrounding environment, and the like, and a time suitable for the current running state and environment is selected from among them. It may be.

Further, in the above embodiment, the light switch 8 and the light sensor 9 are used to determine that it is nighttime.
Is processed, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, day / night determination may be performed based on the current time.

[0042]

As described above, according to the operation control device for a horn for an automobile according to the first aspect of the present invention, the sounding operation of the horn is controlled by the control means, so that the traveling state of the automobile, the surrounding environment or Since the horn is operated to blow for an appropriate time set in advance in accordance with at least one of the operations by the driver, the sound of the horn is prevented from becoming unpleasant noise, and the surrounding horn is not disturbed. It can be operated properly at any time.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the horn is blown for a fixed time regardless of the time when the operation switch of the horn is turned on, so that a light tone of a short time can be obtained at any time. The effect can be sufficiently obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the horn sounds when the vehicle is traveling backward, so that the safety can be greatly improved. In addition, at this time, the effect of the invention of claim 1 in which the sound of the horn is unlikely to cause discomfort to the surroundings becomes more effective.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the effect of the third aspect of the present invention can be sufficiently obtained by detecting that the shift lever is at the retreat position by the detecting means and performing accurate control of the horn. it can.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, during nighttime when the sound of the horn is likely to disturb the surroundings, the horn is not blown when the vehicle travels backwards regardless of the driver's intention.
Both safety improvement and prevention of inconvenience are achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an operation control device of a horn for an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a controller.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a conventional horn operating circuit.
FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Horn operation control device 1 Electromagnetic relay 3 Horn 4 Horn switch 5 Controller (control means) 6 Dedicated switch (operation switch) 7 Gear position switch 7 (detection means) 8 Light switch (judgment means) 9 Optical sensor 9 (judgment) Means) 12 dedicated switch signal processing circuit 13 reverse signal processing circuit 14 day / night determination signal processing circuit (determination means)

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) B60Q 5/00 B60Q 5/00 660J 660K

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle horn according to claim 1, further comprising control means for operating the horn for a predetermined time in accordance with at least one of a driving state of the vehicle, a surrounding environment, and an operation by a driver. Operation control device. 2. The control means according to claim 1, wherein the control means receives a signal from the operation switch when the driver operates the operation switch of the horn to turn the operation switch on, and turns the operation switch on. An operation control device for a horn for an automobile, wherein the horn is operated to blow a horn for a fixed period of time irrespective of a period in which the horn is operated. 3. The horn operation control device for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the control means is configured to operate the horn to blow in response to the backward traveling of the automobile. 4. A vehicle according to claim 3, further comprising a detecting unit for detecting that the shift lever of the vehicle is at the reverse position, wherein the control unit controls the horn based on a detection result by the detecting unit. An operation control device for a horn for an automobile, wherein 5. The vehicle according to claim 3, further comprising: a judging means for judging that the vehicle is in the night. When the judging means judges that the vehicle is in the night, the control means moves backward. An operation control device for an automobile horn, wherein the operation control device is configured not to control the horn corresponding to traveling.