JP2006044447A - Device and method for controlling hazard lamp - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device and a method for controlling a hazard lamp capable of realizing a situation of blinking the hazard lamp by only a vehicle located in a vicinity of a tail end of the traffic congestion with an easy configuration. <P>SOLUTION: The narrow-band communication is performed between an own vehicle and the other vehicle present therearound. After the own vehicle starts the blinking of a hazard lamp 61, the number of the other vehicles starting the blinking of the hazard lamp is counted, and the blinking of the hazard lamp 61 of the own vehicle is stopped based on the counted number. In the narrow-band communication vehicle system, the hazard lamp 61 which automatically starts the blinking can be automatically stopped according to the blinking state of the hazard lamp of the other vehicles present therearound, and only the vehicle located in a vicinity of the tail end of the traffic congestion can easily realize the situation of blinking the hazard lamp, providing the environment for easily determining the position of the tail end of the traffic for a driver of a succeeding vehicle approaching the tail end of the traffic congestion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a warning light control apparatus and method for performing narrow-area communication between a plurality of vehicles and controlling the operation of a warning light provided in the host vehicle.

  Conventionally, a technique for automatically blinking a hazard lamp when approaching to the rear of another vehicle blinking the hazard lamp in a traffic jam is known in Patent Document 1 below.

Specifically, in the technology described in Patent Document 1, the distance between the host vehicle and another vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and the traveling speed of the host vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined value. When it is detected that the other vehicle in front is blinking the hazard lamp, it is determined that the host vehicle is located behind the congestion line, and the hazard lamp is blinked automatically. Thereafter, when the speed of the host vehicle exceeds a predetermined value, the blinking of the hazard lamp is automatically stopped. According to such a technique, when the own vehicle approaches the traffic jam line, the hazard lamps can be automatically blinked to notify the driver of the other vehicle traveling behind the own vehicle.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-200782

  By the way, blinking of the hazard lamp at the time of traffic jam is performed in order to inform the driver of other vehicles approaching from the rear of the traffic jam, but in the conventional technology including the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, The hazard lamp blinks when traveling at a predetermined speed or less for a certain period of time, and the hazard lamp blinks when traveling at a specified speed or higher for a certain period of time after blinking the hazard lamp. It was something to stop.

  For this reason, when vehicles follow one after another in a traffic jam that continues to run at a speed below the predetermined speed, the condition for stopping the blinking of the hazard lamp is not satisfied, and the driver stops the blinking of the hazard lamp voluntarily. Otherwise, the hazard lamp will continue to flash. Therefore, when a vehicle to which the technology described in Patent Document 1 described above is applied and a plurality of vehicles form a congestion queue, it is difficult for the driver of the vehicle approaching from behind to visually determine the last position of the congestion queue. was there. In particular, when driving at night or gently climbing uphill, if the group of vehicles that form a traffic jam continues to flash the hazard lamp, it is extremely difficult for the driver of the vehicle approaching from behind to determine the last position of the traffic jam line. It was creating a situation.

  Moreover, in the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above, a system using an image processing device is used as a means for recognizing a warning display of a preceding vehicle. Therefore, an expensive camera device and a function for performing advanced image processing are used. There is a problem that the cost is increased.

  Therefore, the present invention has been proposed in view of the above-described situation, and a warning light control device that can easily create a situation where only a vehicle located near the tail end of a traffic jam is blinking a hazard lamp, and It aims to provide a method.

  The present invention relates to a warning light control device and method for controlling blinking start and stop of blinking of a warning light of a host vehicle that presents a warning to other surrounding vehicles, and performs narrow-area communication with other vehicles in the vicinity To send a radio wave including blinking state information indicating whether or not the warning light of the own vehicle is blinking, receive blinking state information from another vehicle, start blinking the warning light of the own vehicle, Count the number of other vehicles that have started blinking. And the above-mentioned subject is solved by stopping blinking of the warning light of the own vehicle based on the measured number.

  According to the warning light control device and method of the present invention, after starting the flashing of the warning light of the own vehicle, the number of other vehicles that have started flashing the warning light is counted, and the own vehicle is based on the measured number. The flashing of the warning light of the vehicle can be automatically stopped according to the number of other vehicles that have flashed the warning light among other vehicles following the own vehicle. It is possible to easily create a situation in which only the vehicle located near the tail end of the traffic congestion blinks the hazard lamps by automatically stopping the blinking of the warning lights of a number of succeeding vehicles including.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The warning light control device to which the present invention is applied performs inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles existing in the surroundings using a narrow-area communication system in which radio waves reach only in a short distance range of several meters, for example, The hazard lamp, which is a warning light, automatically starts blinking, and the hazard lamp blinks automatically based on the blinking state of the hazard lamp in other vehicles, and only the vehicle near the tail of the traffic jam blinks the hazard lamp. The situation is created.

[Operation principle of warning light control device]
The warning light control device is mounted on each of the other vehicles constituting the host vehicle 10 and the front other vehicle group 20 as shown in FIG. 1, and the surrounding vehicles existing in the region within the maximum detection distance LR by the vehicle detection unit described later are displayed. A function of detecting and performing broadcast-type narrow area communication in which a region within a predetermined narrow area communication radius LD (generally LD> LR) is set as a radio wave reachable range is installed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the own vehicle 10 approaches the front other vehicle group 20 forming the traffic jam line from behind to within the narrow area communication radius LD, the own vehicle 10 performs narrow-area communication with the front other vehicle group 20, It is possible to exchange blinking state information such as information indicating whether or not the hazard lamp blinks and information indicating the blinking start time of the hazard lamp. As a result, the own vehicle 10 that has reached the end of the traffic jam counts how many other vehicles blinking the hazard lamps in its communicable area, and forwards other vehicles that are equal to or greater than the predetermined value. When the presence of the vehicle group 20 is confirmed, the hazard lamp blinks. Then, the own vehicle 10 records the blinking start time of the hazard lamp and transmits the blinking state information of the own vehicle to other vehicles existing within the communicable area in a broadcast format.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when another vehicle group follows behind the host vehicle 10, the rear other vehicle group 30 that causes the hazard lamp to flash after the time when the host vehicle 10 starts flashing the hazard lamp. Will be formed. The own vehicle 10 performs narrow-area communication with the rear other vehicle group 30 existing in the narrow-area communication radius LD, and blinks the hazard lamp after the time when the self starts blinking the hazard lamp. When the number of rear other vehicles is counted and the existence of the rear other vehicle group 30 having a number greater than or equal to the predetermined value is confirmed, it is determined that the vehicle is not already driving near the tail end of the traffic jam, Stop blinking the lamp.

  In this way, the warning light control device transmits information indicating the blinking presence / absence information of the hazard lamp and the blinking state information that is the blinking start time to other vehicles around the own vehicle 10, and the hazard lamp of the other vehicle Based on the difference between the blinking start times of the hazard lamps of the own vehicle 10 and the other vehicle, the number of the rear other vehicles following the own vehicle 10 and the other vehicle blinking the hazard lamp are received. Predict the number. Then, the warning light control device automatically stops the hazard lamp of the own vehicle 10 that has started blinking automatically based on the blinking state of the hazard lamp of the other vehicle, so that only the vehicle near the tail end of the traffic jam. Can create a situation where the hazard lamp is blinking.

[Configuration of warning light control device]
Such a warning light control device is specifically configured as shown in FIG. That is, the warning light control device includes a control unit 51 that is a control unit, an acceleration sensor 52, a vehicle speed sensor 53 that is a speed detection unit, a keyless unit control unit 54, an ignition switch unit 55, a display unit 56, An instrument panel switch unit 57, a travel control unit 58 that detects the operating states of the brake 59 and the throttle 60, a hazard lamp 61 and a brake lamp 62 to be controlled, a vehicle detection unit 63, a time acquisition unit 64, A narrow area wireless communication unit 65, which is a narrow area communication means, and a travel road size estimation section 66, which is a travel road scale estimation means, are connected to each other.

  The control unit 51 includes, for example, a ROM that stores a program in which processing contents are described, a RAM, and a CPU that executes a program stored in the ROM. The control unit 51 performs overall control of the connected units based on various input signals by executing a program. Thereby, the control unit 51 controls the start and stop of blinking of the hazard lamp 61 of the vehicle, the engine (not shown) based on the signal from the keyless unit control unit 54 or the ignition switch unit 55, the vehicle detection unit 63, and the vehicle. Control of starting and stopping of various electronic circuits provided is performed.

  The acceleration sensor 52 detects a positive acceleration and a negative acceleration (deceleration) from a change in the vehicle speed of the vehicle, and supplies the detection result to the control unit 51 as acceleration data. As the acceleration sensor 52, for example, a capacitive semiconductor acceleration sensor or a silicon acceleration sensor is used to detect acceleration by taking out a capacitance change as a differential output, or a thermal resistance acceleration sensor or the like. Thus, the heating resistor can be operated, and the acceleration can be detected based on the amount of change in the current due to the acceleration.

  The vehicle speed sensor 53 detects the vehicle speed of the vehicle and supplies the detection result to the control unit 51 as vehicle speed data. As the vehicle speed sensor 53, for example, a vehicle speed is detected from an output shaft of an engine, or a pulse signal corresponding to the number of rotations of a member that rotates together with a driving wheel and a driven wheel of the vehicle is output. The vehicle speed of the vehicle can be detected.

  When the keyless unit control unit 54 receives a radio signal including an ID (Identification) code transmitted from a distance via a remote key dedicated to the vehicle via the keyless antenna 54a, the keyless unit control unit 54 analyzes the ID code. Then, the keyless unit control unit 54 supplies a control signal for starting various electronic circuits provided in the vehicle and a control signal for controlling opening / closing of the door lock to the control unit 51 according to the analysis result. To do.

  When a dedicated ignition key is inserted into the vehicle and rotated to a specific position, the ignition switch unit 55 supplies a control signal for starting each unit to the control unit 51.

  The display unit 56 displays various information about the vehicle and presents it to the driver under the control of the control unit 51. For example, the display unit 56 displays warning information such as a hazard lamp warning that prompts the driver to blink the hazard lamp 61 in addition to navigation information and information representing the vehicle running state.

  The instrument panel switch unit 57 is provided on the instrument panel and is used for manually operating various devices in the vehicle. The instrument panel switch unit 57 includes a hazard switch 57a for manually starting and stopping the blinking of the hazard lamp 61. .

  The travel control unit 58 detects the operating states of the brake 59 and the throttle 60 and supplies the detection result to the control unit 51 as a signal. Specifically, the travel control unit 58 supplies a brake detection signal to the control unit 51 when a brake signal is output when the brake 59 is stepped on by the driver. In addition, the traveling control unit 58 detects the opening / closing degree of the valve in the throttle 60 and supplies a throttle state signal corresponding to the detected opening / closing degree to the control unit 51. The brake 59 has a brake pedal and a brake pedal switch (not shown). When the brake pedal is depressed by the driver, the brake pedal switch is turned on and supplies a brake signal to the travel control unit 58. Throttle 60 is interlocked with an accelerator pedal of a vehicle (not shown), and when the accelerator pedal is depressed by the driver, the throttle is opened to increase the engine speed. The opening / closing degree of the valve in the throttle 60 is monitored by the travel control unit 58.

  The hazard lamps 61 are provided at the front and rear of the vehicle and blink on the basis of the hazard lamp blinking signal supplied from the control unit 51 to mainly display a warning on the rear of the vehicle. The brake lamp 62 is provided on the rear side of the vehicle and lights up based on a brake lamp lighting signal supplied from the control unit 51 to notify the rear that the vehicle is decelerating or stopped.

  The vehicle detection part 63 is comprised, for example from a passive type sensor. The vehicle detection unit 63 is provided in front of the vehicle and detects a situation in front of the host vehicle such as the position of another vehicle existing in front of the host vehicle and whether the hazard lamp 61 and the brake lamp 62 of the vehicle are blinking. The detection result is supplied to the control unit 51 as the front situation information.

  The time acquisition unit 64 includes a timer that operates according to the control of the control unit 51, acquires time information such as the blinking start time of the hazard lamp 61, and supplies this time information to the control unit 51.

  The narrow-area wireless communication unit 65 includes a communication device that performs narrow-area communication with another vehicle under the control of the control unit 51. The narrow area wireless communication unit 65 transmits and receives blinking state information indicating the blinking state of the hazard lamp 61 by performing the above-described narrow area communication with another vehicle via the narrow area communication antenna 65a. As a result, the narrow area wireless communication unit 65 sends the blinking presence / absence information indicating whether or not the hazard lamp 61 is blinking and the blinking start time information indicating the blinking start time of the hazard lamp 61 between the other vehicle. Send and receive with.

  The traveling road size estimation unit 66 is configured as a so-called navigation system, and estimates the road size on which the host vehicle is currently traveling according to the control of the control unit 51. Specifically, the traveling road size estimation unit 66 acquires the road type such as the number of lanes, an expressway, and an urban road as the road size.

[Blink operation control processing of warning light control device]
Next, a process of controlling the blinking operation of the hazard lamp 61 by the warning light control device configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, in step S1, when a signal indicating that the ignition key is inserted by the ignition switch unit 55 and rotated to a specific position is detected by the control unit 51, in step S2, the control unit 51 turns on a cell motor (not shown). Detecting that the vehicle engine is started.

  Next, the control part 51 starts each part including the vehicle detection part 63 in step S3. The control unit 51 may start the engine using the radio wave detected by the keyless unit control unit 54 as a trigger. Specifically, the keyless unit control unit 54 supplies the engine start signal to the control unit 51 when receiving a radio signal instructing engine start transmitted from the remote key. In response to this, the control unit 51 starts the engine and vehicle detection unit 63. Thereafter, the vehicle detection unit 63 captures the situation ahead of the vehicle, performs image processing on the obtained image, recognizes the situation ahead of the vehicle, and supplies it to the control unit 51 as front situation information.

  When the engine is started in this manner, the control unit 51 is based on the acceleration data supplied from the acceleration sensor 52, the vehicle speed data supplied from the vehicle speed sensor 53, and the throttle state signal supplied from the travel control unit 58. Thus, the vehicle acceleration, vehicle speed, and valve opening / closing control state of the throttle 60 are detected to recognize the vehicle running state. That is, the control unit 51 detects whether or not the vehicle is accelerating based on the current speed of the vehicle based on the vehicle speed data, the acceleration data, and the throttle state signal, and recognizes the traveling state of the vehicle based on these detection results. To do. Then, in step S4, based on the respective signals, the controller 51 determines that the vehicle speed is at or above a predetermined speed at which it can be determined that the vehicle is traveling at a high speed such as 50 km / h or more, for a predetermined time of 5 minutes or more. It is determined whether or not it continues. Note that 50 km / h is the legal minimum speed on the highway, and other values may be set. Here, the predetermined speed is set as the speed at which the vehicle is traveling at high speed because the hazard lamp 61 needs to be blinked when the vehicle is traveling at high speed and the vehicle reaches the end of the congestion line. This is because it occurs.

  Here, the control unit 51 determines that the state where the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined speed does not continue for the predetermined time or longer, that is, when the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the predetermined speed, or even when the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined speed. If it is not continued, the blinking control of the hazard lamp 61 is not necessary, so the process returns to step S3, and the vehicle running state is continuously detected.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the state where the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the predetermined speed continues for a predetermined time or longer, the control unit 51 recognizes that the vehicle is traveling at a high speed. In step S5, the control unit 51 confirms the positions of the host vehicle and the other front vehicle based on the front situation information supplied from the vehicle detection unit 63, and recognizes the other front vehicle in more detail in step S6. To do. Specifically, based on the front situation information, the control unit 51 recognizes the positional relationship between the other vehicle ahead and the host vehicle in step S5, and further travels in the same lane as the host vehicle in step S6. Recognize other vehicles ahead.

  Subsequently, when the control unit 51 recognizes a front other vehicle traveling in the same travel lane as the host vehicle, in step S7, based on the front situation information supplied from the vehicle detection unit 63, the brake lamp of the front other vehicle is detected. Detects lighting and flashing of hazard lamps. Here, in this step S7, the blinking state information of the other vehicle ahead may be obtained by performing narrow-area communication with the other vehicle ahead, and the presence or absence of blinking of the hazard lamp may be determined. And when lighting of the brake lamp of other vehicles ahead and blinking of a hazard lamp are not detected, the control part 51 returns a process to step S3, and recognizes the driving state of a vehicle again.

  On the other hand, when it is detected that the brake lamp of the other vehicle ahead and the flashing of the hazard lamp are blinking, the control unit 51 manually detects the hazard switch 57a of the instrument panel switch unit 57 in step S8. It is determined whether or not is turned on. Here, when it is determined that the hazard switch 57a is turned on, the control unit 51 determines that the hazard switch 57a is currently blinking, and the process proceeds to step S11. Transition.

  On the other hand, when the controller 51 determines that the hazard switch 57a has not been operated and is in the off state, the control unit 51 proceeds to step S9 and controls the display unit 56 to turn on the hazard switch 57a. A warning notice to prompt the user to enter the state is displayed. At the same time as the display of the warning notification starts, the control unit 51 activates a built-in timer (not shown) to measure the elapsed time from the display of the warning notification, and automatically starts the hazard lamp 61 after a predetermined time has elapsed. An instruction to start flashing is given, and the process proceeds to step S11 to perform control for flashing the hazard lamp 61.

  Next, when the control unit 51 actually starts blinking the hazard lamp 61 in step S11, the time acquisition unit 64 records the blink start time of the hazard lamp 61, and the narrow area radio communication unit 65 causes the hazard lamp 61 to blink. Flashing presence / absence information indicating that 61 is flashing and flashing start time information indicating the flashing start time of the hazard lamp 61 are sent to the surroundings, and the process proceeds to processing for stopping the flashing of the hazard lamp 61 in step S12 and thereafter. To do.

  In addition, the control part 51 adjusts the output of the narrow area | region wireless communication part 65 with the scale of the road where the own vehicle is drive | working, ie, the number of lanes. That is, the control unit 51 estimates the size of the road on which the vehicle is traveling by the traveling road size estimation unit 66, and outputs the output of the narrow area wireless communication unit 65 when traveling on a road with a large number of lanes. Increase the narrow communication radius LD to increase the number of other vehicles to receive radio waves, and when driving on a road with a small number of lanes, reduce the output of the narrow wireless communication unit 65 Control is performed so as to narrow the area communication radius LD and limit the number of other vehicles that can receive radio waves.

  Moreover, after transmitting a radio wave to the surroundings in step S11, the warning light control device is in a state of receiving a response radio wave for the transmitted radio wave. When the narrow area wireless communication unit 65 receives a response radio wave from another vehicle existing in the narrow area communication radius LD, the narrow area radio communication unit 65 extracts the blinking state information of the hazard lamp included in the response radio wave and supplies it to the control unit 51. It will be. At this time, when the own vehicle is located at the end of the traffic jam row and another vehicle equipped with the warning light control device is followed, the number of the following other vehicles gradually increases. And the warning light control apparatus of the own vehicle will receive a some response electric wave in the narrow area | region radio | wireless communication part 65, and will accumulate | store several blinking presence / absence information in the control part 51. FIG.

  Next, in step S12, the control unit 51 determines whether or not the driver of the host vehicle has manually turned off the hazard switch 57a of the instrument panel switch unit 57. Here, when the control unit 51 determines that the hazard switch 57a is in the OFF state, the control unit 51 proceeds to step S16 and stops blinking of the hazard lamp 61. Then, the control unit 51 clears the flashing start time of the recorded hazard lamp 61, and causes the narrow area wireless communication unit 65 to send flashing presence / absence information indicating that the hazard lamp 61 has stopped flashing to the surroundings. Then, a series of processing ends.

  On the other hand, if the control unit 51 determines that the hazard switch 57a remains on, the process proceeds to step S13, and after the radio wave is transmitted in step S11, the narrow area wireless communication unit 65 causes the other vehicle to Based on the information received from the vehicle, after the own vehicle starts blinking the hazard lamp 61, the number of other vehicles that have started blinking the hazard lamp is counted, and it is determined whether the number of other vehicles is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. To do.

  At this time, when the other vehicle and the own vehicle are configured to send blinking presence / absence information only when the hazard lamp 61 starts blinking, the number of times the blinking presence / absence information is received from the other vehicle after the sending is sent. The number of other vehicles that have started blinking the hazard lamp after the own vehicle has started blinking the hazard lamp 61 may be counted. Further, when the other vehicle and the own vehicle are configured to transmit the blink start time, the blink start time information included in the information received from the other vehicle and the blink start time information transmitted by the own vehicle are displayed. In comparison, when the blink start time of the other vehicle is behind the own vehicle, after the own vehicle starts blinking the hazard lamp 61, the number of other vehicles that have started blinking the hazard lamp is counted. good.

  If the control unit 51 determines that there are more than a predetermined number of other vehicles in the vicinity where the hazard lamp starts blinking, the control unit 51 proceeds to step S16 to stop blinking the hazard lamp 61 and record. In addition to clearing the blinking start time of the hazard lamp 61, the narrow-area wireless communication unit 65 sends blinking presence / absence information indicating that the hazard lamp 61 is not blinking to the surroundings, and the series of processing ends.

  On the other hand, if the control unit 51 determines that there are less than a predetermined number of other vehicles around where the hazard lamp starts blinking, the control unit 51 proceeds to step S14 and supplies the vehicle from the acceleration sensor 52. Vehicle acceleration data, vehicle speed data supplied from the vehicle speed sensor 53, and throttle state signal supplied from the travel control unit 58, vehicle acceleration, vehicle speed, and valve opening / closing control status in the throttle 60 are detected. Detecting the running state of Then, in step S15, the control unit 51 determines, for example, whether or not a state where the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed of 20 km / h or more continues for a predetermined time or more based on each signal detected in step S14. .

  Here, the control unit 51 determines that the state where the vehicle speed is 20 km / h or more has not continued for a predetermined time or more, that is, when the vehicle speed is 20 km / h or less, or is 20 km / h or more. If it has not continued for a predetermined time, the process returns to step S12.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the state where the vehicle speed is 20 km / h or more continues for a predetermined time or more, the control unit 51 recognizes that the vehicle has exited the traffic jam line, and in step S16, the hazard lamp 61 Is stopped, the flashing start time of the recorded hazard lamp 61 is cleared, and the flashing presence / absence information indicating that the hazard lamp 61 is not flashing is sent to the surroundings by the narrow area wireless communication unit 65. To end the series of processing.

  That is, the control unit 51 detects that the hazard lamp 57a is turned off when the driver voluntarily manually turns off the hazard switch 57a, when the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed, and when the vehicle is behind the own vehicle. The blinking of the hazard lamp 61 is stopped when any of the three conditions when it is determined that there are more than a predetermined number of other vehicles existing around the blinking start.

  In step S6 described above, in order to recognize the situation in front of the vehicle, the vehicle detection unit 63 has been described as imaging the situation in front of the vehicle and performing image processing on the obtained image. By appropriately setting the communicable area, as shown in FIG. 2, the other vehicle in front of the host vehicle is used only by the narrow area communication by the narrow area wireless communication unit 65 and depending on the presence / absence of a response radio wave from the other vehicle. May be recognized. This eliminates the need for expensive camera equipment and a function for performing advanced image processing, thereby reducing costs.

[Effect of the embodiment]
As described above in detail, according to the warning light control device, the narrow area wireless communication unit 65 performs narrow area communication with other vehicles existing in the vicinity, and blinking indicating whether the hazard lamp 61 is blinking or not The flashing state information indicating the flashing start time of the hazard lamp 61 is transmitted / received to / from the other vehicle, and the hazard lamp 61 is started after the own vehicle starts flashing the hazard lamp 61 based on the information received from the other vehicle. The number of other vehicles that have started flashing can be counted, and the flashing of the hazard lamp 61 of the host vehicle can be stopped based on the counted number.

  Further, according to this warning light control device, the state where the speed of the host vehicle is determined to be higher than the speed at which the vehicle is traveling at a high speed or more continues for a predetermined time or more, and the flashing of the hazard lamps of other vehicles ahead is recognized. The hazard lamp 61 of the own vehicle is blinked in the case where the vehicle has been operated, and the hazard lamp 61 of the blinking own vehicle is blinked when the state where the own vehicle has exceeded the speed at which it is determined that the vehicle has exited the traffic jam continues for a predetermined time or longer. Stops blinking. As a result, when the own vehicle approaches the tail end of the traffic jam, not only the hazard lamp 61 can be automatically blinked, but also the number of other vehicles having the hazard lamp blinked after the own vehicle. A plurality of stop conditions for the blinking of the lamp 61 can be provided, and various controls that can be appropriately selected according to the situation can be performed.

  As a result, according to the warning light control device, the hazard lamp 61 that has started blinking automatically can be automatically stopped according to the blinking state of the hazard lamps of other vehicles that are present in the vicinity. It is possible to easily create a situation where only the vehicle located in the vicinity of the tail is blinking the hazard lamp. Therefore, according to this warning light control device, it is possible to provide an environment for easily determining the position of the tail of the traffic jam to the driver of the subsequent vehicle approaching the tail of the traffic jam. In addition, according to this warning light control device, a complicated operation of stopping blinking of the hazard lamp 61 while visually confirming the number of other vehicles behind the vehicle is not forced, and the vehicle is moved forward in a situation where the vehicle interval is close. Can be concentrated, and the driving load on the driver of the vehicle traveling in the traffic jam can be reduced.

  Further, according to this warning light control device, the number of other vehicles that need to communicate is adjusted by adjusting the output of the narrow area wireless communication unit 65 based on the scale of the road on which the host vehicle is traveling. It can be made variable according to the road scale, and appropriate information can be acquired according to the situation. Specifically, when traveling with a large inter-vehicle distance on an expressway or the like with a large number of lanes, radio waves with higher output can be transmitted.

  The above-described embodiment is an example of the present invention. For this reason, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made depending on the design and the like as long as the technical idea according to the present invention is not deviated from this embodiment. Of course, it is possible to change.

It is a figure for demonstrating the principle of operation of the warning light control apparatus to which this invention is applied, Comprising: It is a figure which shows the relationship between a maximum detection distance and a narrow area communication radius. It is a diagram for explaining the principle of operation of the warning light control device to which the present invention is applied, and when the host vehicle approaches from the rear to the inside of the narrow communication radius with respect to the front other vehicle group forming the traffic jam row, It is a figure which shows a mode that a narrow region communication is performed mutually. It is a figure for demonstrating the principle of operation of the warning light control apparatus to which this invention is applied, Comprising: It is a figure which shows a mode that narrow area communication is performed between the back other vehicle groups located in the back of the own vehicle. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the warning light control apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a flowchart which shows a series of processes at the time of controlling blink operation | movement of a hazard lamp in the warning light control apparatus to which this invention is applied.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Own vehicle 20 Front other vehicle group 30 Back other vehicle group 51 Control part 52 Acceleration sensor 53 Vehicle speed sensor 54 Keyless unit control part 55 Ignition switch part 54a Keyless antenna 56 Display part 57 Instrument panel switch part 57a Hazard switch 58 Travel control part 59 Brake 60 Throttle 61 Hazard lamp 62 Brake lamp 63 Vehicle detection section 64 Time acquisition section 65 Narrow-area wireless communication section 65a Narrow-area communication antenna 66 Travel road size estimation section LD Narrow-area communication radius LR Maximum detection distance

Claims (5)

In the warning light control device for controlling the blinking start and blinking stop of the warning light of the own vehicle that presents a warning to other surrounding vehicles,
Narrow-area communication means for performing narrow-area communication with other vehicles in the vicinity,
Using the blinking state information received from the other vehicle by the narrowband communication means, controlling the narrowband communication means to transmit a radio wave including blinking state information indicating whether or not the warning light of the host vehicle is blinking. A control means for counting the number of the other vehicles that have started blinking the warning light after starting the blinking of the warning light of the own vehicle, and stopping blinking of the warning light of the own vehicle based on the number A warning light control device comprising:   The control means counts the number of times the flashing state information is received from the other vehicle after sending the flashing state information, starts flashing the warning light of the host vehicle, and then starts flashing the warning light The warning light control device according to claim 1, wherein the number of the other vehicles is counted.   The control means sends out blink start time information indicating the time when the warning light of the host vehicle starts blinking as the blink state information and receives blink start time information from the other vehicle, and the narrow area communication means The received blinking start time information is compared with the flashing start time information of the own vehicle, and after the warning light of the own vehicle is started to blink, the number of the other vehicles that have started blinking the warning light is counted. The warning light control device according to claim 1, wherein: A traveling road size estimating means for estimating the size of the road on which the host vehicle is traveling;
The warning according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control means adjusts the output of the narrow area communication means based on the road size estimated by the traveling road size estimation means. Light control device. In the warning light control method of the own vehicle equipped with a communication device that performs narrow-area communication with other vehicles,
A step of sending a radio wave including blinking state information indicating whether or not the warning light of the host vehicle flashes when the flashing of the warning light of the host vehicle is started;
Receiving blinking state information indicating presence or absence of blinking of a warning light of the other vehicle;
The blinking state information received from the other vehicle is used to count the number of the other vehicles that have started blinking the warning light after the warning light of the own vehicle has started blinking, and based on the number, A warning light control method comprising: a step of stopping blinking of the warning light of the vehicle.

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