Regional integrated combination switch for steering wheel

Abstract

The invention discloses a steering wheel area integrated combination switch, which has the main design concept that a lamplight and windscreen wiper switch group and a clock spring are integrally designed, and on one hand, the integrated combination switch module is only connected with a steering wheel switch, a steering wheel heater and other electronic components and functional hardware; and on the other hand, switching value signals of various lamplight and windscreen wipers of the original switch group are converted into automobile bus network communication, so that only one connector needs to be deployed on the integrated combination switch to receive all signals and control loads, and the number of the connectors and the number of wire harness loops can be remarkably reduced. According to the invention, lines of each control and function module in the steering wheel area can be obviously simplified, and the speed and reliability of information transmission can be improved while light weight and low cost are realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of automobile electronic circuits, and in particular to a steering wheel area integrated combination switch. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of automobile technology, automobile configurations are constantly improving. The application of intelligent driving technology requires the steering wheel to add electronic components such as HOD (hands-off detection), ambient lights, and intelligent driving light strips, as well as functional hardware such as steering wheel switches and steering wheel heating. If these multifunctional components are controlled by traditional hard wires, the number of channel loops of the clock spring will increase greatly, and the number of wiring harness loops of the entire vehicle will also increase accordingly, which will pose challenges to cost, weight, reliability, etc.

[0003] To elaborate, currently in the steering wheel area, the aforementioned steering wheel switches, HOD and other electronic components need to transmit signals to each corresponding module separately. Due to the number of plug-ins and wiring harnesses, the number of channel loops required for the clock spring is generally about 16 to 18 loops; and the light control signal, wiper control signal, etc. of the combination switch in this area also require about 20 loops, so a total of about 40 loops.

[0004] A large number of connectors and wiring harness loops are not only not conducive to clock springs and lightweight design, but may also affect the speed and reliability of information transmission, and increase costs in all aspects. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the above, the present invention aims to provide a steering wheel area integrated combination switch to solve the above-mentioned technical problems.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0007] The present invention provides a steering wheel area integrated combination switch, wherein a clock spring is integrated with a light switch group and a wiper switch group to form a combination switch module;

[0008] The clock spring is connected to the PCB board in the combination switch module through a pin or an internal wiring harness; the electronic components of other functional modules are connected to the combination switch module through the clock spring and directly connected to the vehicle body wiring harness through the board end plug-in of the combination switch module;

[0009] The switch signals of the light switch group and the wiper switch group are converted into vehicle local area network signals by the MCU inside the combination switch and connected to the vehicle body wiring harness;

[0010] The combination switch module is connected to the vehicle body wiring harness by only one connector.

[0011] In at least one possible implementation, the MCU is configured to include at least an IO management module, a vehicle message bus module, and a network management module that are connected in sequence.

[0012] In at least one possible implementation, the IO management module is configured with at least: an IO acquisition unit, an IO filtering processing unit, and an IO status table unit;

[0013] The IO acquisition unit is used to collect digital or analog signals to obtain real-time status changes of the light switch group and the wiper switch group;

[0014] The IO filtering processing unit is used to filter the switch signal collected by the IO collecting unit according to a preset filtering time;

[0015] The IO status table unit is used to structure and store the status of the switch group.

[0016] In at least one possible implementation, the vehicle message bus module is configured with at least: a protocol adaptation function and a message management unit;

[0017] The protocol adaptation function can support different bus communication protocols;

[0018] The message management unit is used to configure the type and parameter information of different bus communication protocols.

[0019] In at least one possible implementation, the network management module is specifically used for unpacking, assembling and communication scheduling;

[0020] The unpacking and packaging refers to: obtaining the message from the bus and parsing the payload value, and packaging the payload information and sending it to the network bus;

[0021] The communication scheduling refers to: docking with the automobile operating system to generate preset periodic tasks and manage the reception and transmission time of messages.

[0022] In at least one possible implementation manner, the vehicle message bus module is also used to isolate the IO management module and the network management module.

[0023] In at least one possible implementation, the other functional modules include at least one of the following: a steering wheel switch, a steering wheel hands-off detection system, a steering wheel heating, an airbag, an ambient light, and an intelligent driving light strip.

[0024] Compared with the prior art, the main design concept of the present invention is to integrate the light and wiper switch group with the clock spring. The integrated combination switch module only connects electronic components and functional hardware such as the steering wheel switch and steering wheel heating on the one hand, and converts the switch quantity signals of various lights and wipers of the original switch group itself into automobile bus network communication on the other hand, so that only one connector needs to be deployed on the integrated combination switch to undertake all signals and control loads, thereby significantly reducing the number of connectors and wiring harness loops. The present invention can significantly simplify the circuits of various control and functional modules in the steering wheel area, achieve lightweight and low cost, and improve the speed and reliability of information transmission. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0026] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the framework of the steering wheel area integrated combination switch provided by the embodiment of the present invention

[0027] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a processing module for converting a switch signal into a bus network signal provided in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and cannot be interpreted as limiting the present invention.

[0029] Before explaining the solution of the present invention, a brief introduction is given to the current electronic and electrical component system in the steering wheel area. A certain vehicle model includes an independent steering wheel switch: entertainment control, cruise control, shift paddles, horn, background light and other switch signals, a total of 9 signal loops; the steering wheel HOD involves: power supply, ground, LIN, a total of 3 loops; the steering wheel heating involves: heating +, heating -, NTC +, NTC -, a total of 4 loops; and 2 loops for the positive and negative poles of the airbag, a total of 18 loops.

[0030] In addition, in the combination switches in this area, there are 10 circuits for light control: low lights, headlights, AUTO, front fog lights, rear fog lights, left turn, right turn, overtaking, high beam, etc.; there are 9 circuits for wiper control: front wiper inching, automatic, low speed, high speed, washing, sensitivity adjustment, rear wiper, rear wiper washing, etc., a total of 19 circuits.

[0031] Therefore, the electrical components in the steering wheel area of ​​the vehicle require a total of 3 connectors and 37 wire loops.

[0032] Based on this problem, the present invention proposes an embodiment of a steering wheel area integrated combination switch. Specifically, Figure 1 As shown, the clock spring is integrated with the light switch group and the wiper switch group into a combination switch (module), wherein the clock spring is connected to the PCB board in the combination switch through a pin or an internal wiring harness; the steering wheel switch, the steering wheel hands-off detection system, the steering wheel heating, the signal (or load) of the airbag, the ambient light, the intelligent driving light strip and other components are connected to the combination switch through the clock spring, and the positive and negative electrodes of the airbag, the positive and negative electrodes of the steering wheel heating, NTC+, NTC-, etc. can all be directly connected to the body wiring harness through the board-end plug-in of the combination switch; and the original switch group signals, such as a number of switch quantity signals (IO signals) of light control, wiper control, etc., are all converted into vehicle local area network signals through the MCU inside the combination switch and connected to the body wiring harness.

[0033] Through the above design, the connection between the integrated combination switch and the vehicle body wiring harness can be achieved with only one connector and 10 loops, reducing about two-thirds of the loops and connectors, thereby achieving the significant effect of reducing costs, reducing weight, and improving transmission efficiency.

[0034] As mentioned above, the conversion of IO signals to automotive local area network signals is processed by the internal program of the MCU. For details, please refer to Figure 2 As shown, it may include an IO management module, a vehicle message bus module, and a network management module.

[0035] (1) The IO management module at least has the following settings and functions: IO acquisition, IO filtering, IO status table, etc.

[0036] Among them, IO acquisition is mainly used for the acquisition of digital signals and analog signals. In actual operation, the real-time status changes of the light switch group and the wiper switch group can be obtained through the DIO and ADC component interfaces of the underlying driver software;

[0037] IO filtering is used to filter the collected switch signal to avoid signal jump caused by misoperation. Preferably, the filtering time can be set to 20ms;

[0038] The main function of the IO status table is to structure the switch status of each group, and preferably use a key-value pair to store the switch status.

[0039] (2) Vehicle message bus module, including at least a message management unit and a protocol adaptation function:

[0040] Among them, the protocol adaptation function is used to support different bus communication protocols, such as CAN, LIN, Ethernet, etc.; and the message management unit is mainly responsible for configuring the type and parameter information of the protocol. In the embodiment using the CAN network, the CAN parameter information may specifically include: CAN ID, CAN baud rate, message cycle, CAN status value definition, etc.

[0041] (3) Network management module, which is specifically used for packet unpacking, packet assembly and communication scheduling:

[0042] Among them, unpacking and packaging refers to obtaining messages from the bus and parsing out the payload value, and packaging the payload information and sending it to the network bus.

[0043] Communication scheduling is specifically used to connect with the vehicle operating system, generate preset periodic tasks, and support the reception and sending time management of messages.

[0044] In addition, it can be supplemented that the aforementioned vehicle message bus module provided in the middle link can isolate the IO management module and the network management module, thereby ensuring the consistency of the bus message definition.

[0045] In summary, the main design concept of the present invention is to integrate the light and wiper switch group with the clock spring. The integrated combination switch module only connects electronic components and functional hardware such as the steering wheel switch and steering wheel heating on the one hand, and converts the switch quantity signals of various lights and wipers of the original switch group itself into automobile bus network communication on the other hand, so that only one connector needs to be deployed on the integrated combination switch to undertake all signals and control loads, thereby significantly reducing the number of connectors and wiring harness loops. The present invention can significantly simplify the circuits of various control and functional modules in the steering wheel area, achieve lightweight and low cost, and also improve the speed and reliability of information transmission.

[0046] If the expressions expressing orientation are mentioned in the embodiments of the present invention, they are relative concepts based on the embodiments. In addition, "at least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone. Among them, A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" and similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and c can be represented by: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a and b and c, wherein a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0047] The above describes in detail the structure, features and effects of the present invention based on the embodiments shown in the drawings, but the above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that the technical features involved in the above embodiments and their preferred methods can be reasonably combined and matched into a variety of equivalent schemes by those skilled in the art without departing from or changing the design ideas and technical effects of the present invention; therefore, the present invention is not limited to the scope of implementation shown in the drawings, and all changes made in accordance with the concept of the present invention, or modifications to equivalent embodiments with equivalent changes, which still do not exceed the spirit covered by the specification and drawings, should be within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A steering wheel integrated combination switch, characterized in that: The clock spring is integrated with the light switch group and the wiper switch group to form a combined switch module; The clock spring is connected to the PCB board in the combination switch module through a pin or an internal wiring harness; the electronic components of other functional modules are connected to the combination switch module through the clock spring and directly connected to the vehicle body wiring harness through the board end plug-in of the combination switch module; The switch signals of the light switch group and the wiper switch group are converted into vehicle local area network signals by the MCU inside the combination switch and connected to the vehicle body wiring harness; The combination switch module is connected to the vehicle body wiring harness by only one connector.

2. The steering wheel area integrated combination switch according to claim 1, characterized in that: The MCU is configured to include at least an IO management module, a vehicle message bus module, and a network management module which are connected in sequence.

3. The steering wheel area integrated combination switch according to claim 2, characterized in that: The IO management module is at least configured with: an IO acquisition unit, an IO filtering processing unit, and an IO status table unit; The IO acquisition unit is used to collect digital or analog signals to obtain real-time status changes of the light switch group and the wiper switch group; The IO filtering processing unit is used to filter the switch signal collected by the IO collecting unit according to a preset filtering time; The IO state table unit is used to structure and store the state of the switch group.

4. The steering wheel area integrated combination switch according to claim 2, characterized in that: The vehicle message bus module is at least configured with: a protocol adaptation function and a message management unit; The protocol adaptation function can support different bus communication protocols; The message management unit is used to configure the type and parameter information of different bus communication protocols.

5. The steering wheel area integrated combination switch according to claim 2, characterized in that: The network management module is specifically used for unpacking, assembling and communication scheduling; The unpacking and packaging refers to: obtaining the message from the bus and parsing the payload value, and packaging the payload information and sending it to the network bus; The communication scheduling refers to: docking with the automobile operating system to generate preset periodic tasks and manage the reception and transmission time of messages.

6. The steering wheel area integrated combination switch according to claim 2, characterized in that: The vehicle message bus module is also used to isolate the IO management module and the network management module.

7. The steering wheel area integrated combination switch according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The other functional modules include at least one of the following: a steering wheel switch, a steering wheel hands-off detection system, a steering wheel heating, an airbag, an ambient light, and an intelligent driving light strip.

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