JP4914752B2 - Vehicle alarm device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an alarm device for a vehicle, and more particularly, to an electric seat using a motor for operating an electric seat when the vehicle may deviate from the lane or when a driver is asleep. It generates vibration and issues a warning to the driver.

Conventionally, when there is a risk that a running vehicle may deviate from the lane, or when the driver is falling asleep, a warning by display on the meter display unit, a warning by voice, and / or a warning by vibration, Various vehicular alarm devices are provided to inform the danger.
For example, as this type of alarm device, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-341599 (Patent Document 1), when a danger is detected, a vibrator provided in a seat cushion portion, a seat back portion, and a floor carpet portion is vibrated. An alarm device that issues an alarm to a driver is provided.
Unlike a warning by voice, an alarm device that issues an alarm by vibration is not recognized by passengers other than the driver, so there is an advantage that passengers other than the driver do not feel uncomfortable by the alarm. is there.

However, in the vehicle alarm device provided in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to newly provide an actuator such as a vibrator for generating vibration. In particular, electrical components for improving comfort tend to increase in the seat, and there is a problem that it is difficult to secure a space for mounting the actuator and a bracket for fixing the actuator to the seat. .
In addition, since a new actuator is added, a new material cost such as an actuator, a bracket, wiring, and a connector, and a processing cost thereof are required, resulting in a problem of high cost.

JP 2001-341599 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a component to be newly added by using a motor that is provided in advance to operate an electric seat and issuing a warning by vibration to the driver. The problem is to reduce the cost and reduce the mounting space problem.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a danger detection means including at least one of a vehicle lane departure prediction means, a lane departure detection means, and a driver's drowsiness detection means,
When receiving a detection signal from the danger detection means, it outputs a forward / reverse rotation signal, and comprises an alarm motor control means for generating an alarm vibration in the electric seat by rotating a motor that operates the electric seat forward and backward,
A position memory ECU having a position memory unit for storing the position of each part of the electric seat whose position is controlled by the motor; the position memory ECU includes a switching circuit for rotating the motor forward and backward, and the danger detection unit Providing the alarm motor control means comprising an alarm circuit for receiving a detection signal and transmitting a forward / reverse rotation signal to the switching circuit;
Said switching circuit is configured to receive the forward and reverse rotation signal from the previous SL alarm circuit, a position where the vibration generating portion of the power seat from the position memory unit is close to the limit position of the working range than the vibration width during alarm Upon receiving the and provides a vehicle alarm system performs control for forward and reverse rotation of the front SL motor the vibration generating portion from retracted to a position away than the predetermined oscillation width from the limit position .

According to the vehicle alarm device of the present invention, when the danger detection means detects the danger of a vehicle lane departure or the driver's drowsiness, the alarm motor control means slides or reclines the electric seat back and forth. For this reason, the motor provided for this purpose is rotated forward and backward repeatedly to give vibration to the electric seat, so that this vibration serves as an alarm to the driver and can inform the driver of the danger.
In the present invention, the electric seat is vibrated for an alarm to the driver. In order to generate this vibration, a motor provided in advance is used to slide or recline the electric seat. Therefore, it is not necessary to mount a new actuator in order to generate vibration in the electric seat. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost by suppressing newly added parts, and it is not necessary to provide a space for mounting new parts such as an actuator in the limited space of the electric seat, thereby facilitating the design. it can.

The motor driven by the alarm motor control means at the time of danger detection by the danger detection means is one of a slide motor, a reclining motor, a lifter motor, a front vertical motor, a lumbar motor, a cushion length variable motor, and a headrest vertical motor. Or it is preferable that there is a plurality.
Among the motors, vibrating the electric seat with a slide motor or a reclining motor is effective for reliably informing the driver of the danger, and is not limited to a single motor as necessary, and a plurality of motors. May be simultaneously rotated in the forward and reverse directions to vibrate a plurality of portions of the electric seat.

The slide motor is a motor that slides the electric seat in the front-rear direction.
The reclining motor is a motor for adjusting the inclination angle of the backrest.
The lifter motor is a motor for adjusting the height of the cushion portion.
The front vertical motor is a motor for adjusting the inclination angle of the cushion portion.
The lumbar motor is a motor for adjusting the position of the backrest lumbar support.
The cushion length variable motor is a motor for adjusting the length of the cushion portion.
The headrest vertical motor is a motor for adjusting the vertical height of the headrest.

As noted before, the electric sheet, due to the provision of a position memory ECU with position memory unit for storing the position of each part of the power seat to be position-controlled by the motor, to the position memory ECU, the motor The alarm motor control means comprising a switching circuit that rotates forward and reverse and a warning circuit that receives a detection signal from the danger detection means and transmits a forward and reverse rotation signal to the switching circuit,
The switching circuit acquires position information from the position memory unit and receives a forward / reverse rotation signal from the alarm circuit to rotate the motor forward / reversely.
According to the above configuration, it is not necessary to provide a new box for the alarm motor control means, and cost reduction and space saving can be achieved.

As described above, when the switching circuit receives from the position memory unit that the vibration generation portion of the electric seat is close to the limit position of the operating range , the switching circuit moves the vibration generation portion from the limit position to a predetermined vibration width. have you line control to rotate forward and backward the motor from retracts to a position away than.
If the vibration part of the electric seat is vibrated in a state that is closer to the limit position of the operation range than the vibration width at the time of alarm, the vibration part will move the operation range at the limit position of the operation range, that is, the lock position. Interfering with regulating members or vibrating parts are locked, causing excessive discomfort to the driver and generating excessive noise, causing discomfort to passengers other than the driver . Therefore, in such a case, the electric seat is temporarily retracted from the limit position of the operating range to a position away from the vibration width, and then the electric seat is vibrated, thereby causing discomfort to the driver and other passengers. I am trying not to.

Specifically, the motor is a slide motor that slides the electric seat back and forth,
If the position memory unit recognizes that the cushion portion of the electric seat is in a position closer to the front end or rear end that is the limit position of the operating range than the vibration width at the time of the alarm, the alarm motor It is preferable that the control unit retreats the cushion portion from the front end or the rear end to a position away from the vibration width and then vibrates the slide motor by rotating it forward and backward.

  Since the motor for sliding the electric seat in the front-rear direction is provided in almost all electric seats, the alarm device that vibrates the electric seat by the slide motor is highly versatile and the electric seat on which the driver sits Since it vibrates itself back and forth, the driver can be surely informed of the danger.

Preferably, the alarm motor control means switches the rotation direction of the motor 1 to 40 times per second, and controls the vibration width of the vibration generating portion of the electric seat within a range of 1 to 50 mm.
This is because if the rotation direction of the motor is changed less than once or more than 40 times, the driver cannot be immediately notified of the danger.
In addition, if the vibration width of the vibration part is smaller than 1 mm, it is impossible to notify the driver of danger, and if the vibration width of the vibration part is larger than 50 mm, the driver cannot drive in a normal state. On the other hand, it will interfere with safety during driving.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the danger detection means detects the danger of a vehicle lane departure or the driver's drowsiness, the alarm motor control means slides the electric seat back and forth or reclines. For this reason, the motor provided for this purpose is rotated forward and backward repeatedly to give vibration to the electric seat, so that this vibration serves as an alarm to the driver and can inform the driver of the danger.
In this way, in order to generate vibration in the electric seat, a pre-installed motor is used to slide or recline the electric seat, so a new actuator is used to generate vibration in the electric seat. There is no need to install. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost by suppressing newly added parts, and it is not necessary to provide a space for mounting new parts such as an actuator in the limited space of the electric seat, thereby facilitating the design. it can.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3 show a reference first embodiment of the present invention.
This reference embodiment of a vehicle alarm system 10 (hereinafter, referred to as a warning device 10) repeats normal and reverse rotation of the slide motor 12 for sliding the power seat 11 of the driver's seat of a motor vehicle in the longitudinal direction in a short time Thus, the electric seat 11 is vibrated in the front-rear direction, and the driver is informed of the danger by this vibration.

The electric seat 11 according to the first embodiment does not include a position memory ECU that stores the position of each part such as the position of the electric seat 11 in the front-rear direction and the inclination angle of the backrest. An alarm control box 13 for controlling is provided. The alarm control box 13 includes a switching circuit 13a that rotates the slide motor 12 forward and reverse, and an alarm circuit 13b that receives a detection signal from a danger detection means described later and transmits a forward / reverse rotation signal to the switching circuit 13a. Yes.
As shown in FIG. 2, the alarm control box 13 is interposed between the switch device 14 and the slide motor 12 for the driver to operate each part of the electric seat 11, and is dangerous. The alarm generation determination box 15 constituting the detection means is connected to the signal line 16.

The danger detection means for detecting the danger of lane departure of the vehicle comprises the alarm generation determination box 15, the camera 17 and the vehicle speed sensor 18 connected to the alarm generation determination box 15. Both the vehicle speed sensor 18 and the vehicle speed sensor 18 are disposed on the vehicle side.
The alarm generation determination box 15 includes an image processing unit 15a and a determination processing unit 15b. The image processing unit 15a performs image processing on a video in front of the traveling vehicle photographed by the camera 17, and recognizes the lane. From the vehicle speed information detected by the sensor 18, the determination processing unit 15b determines the risk of lane departure of the vehicle. The judgment processing unit 15b detects a danger when the vehicle speed is determined to be 50 km / h or more from the lane information and the vehicle speed information and deviates from the lane after about 1 second, and a detection signal is transmitted to the alarm control box 13. To do.

When the alarm control box 13 receives the detection signal, a normal / reverse rotation signal is generated by the alarm circuit 13b of the alarm control box 13, and the slide motor 12 repeatedly rotates forward / reversely by the switching circuit 13a that has received the normal / reverse rotation signal. To be controlled. In the first reference embodiment, the rotation direction of the slide motor 12 is switched at equal intervals 7 times per second, and the vibration width in the front-rear direction is set to 1 mm. Therefore, the electric seat 11 vibrates in the front-rear direction. An alarm alerts the driver of the danger.

The electric seat 11 is also equipped with a reclining motor 21, a lifter motor 22, a front vertical motor 23, a lumbar motor 24, a cushion length variable motor 25, and a headrest up / down motor 26, each without going through the alarm control box 13. It is directly connected to the switch device 14.
In normal times when the detection signal is not issued, the driver operates the switch device 14 so that the slide motor 12 and the motors 21 to 26 rotate, and the required portion of the electric seat 11 moves.

Next, the operation of the alarm device 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, when the vehicle starts to travel, the front of the traveling vehicle is photographed by the camera 17, and the vehicle speed of the vehicle is measured by the vehicle speed sensor 18 (step S1).
Next, the image processing unit 15a of the alarm generation determination box 15 performs image processing on the video captured by the camera 17 and recognizes the lane (step S2).
Next, the determination processing unit 15b of the alarm generation determination box 15 determines the risk of a vehicle lane departure from the lane information by the image processing unit 15a and the vehicle speed information detected by the vehicle speed sensor 18 (step S3). Here, when it is determined that the vehicle speed is 50 km / h or more and the vehicle departs from the lane after about one second, a danger is detected and a detection signal is transmitted to the alarm control box 13 (step S4).
Next, when the alarm circuit 13b of the alarm control box 13 receives the detection signal, the alarm circuit 13b generates a forward / reverse rotation signal (step S5).
Then, the switching circuit 13a that has received the forward / reverse rotation signal controls the slide motor 12 to repeatedly rotate forward / reversely, and the electric seat 11 vibrates in the front-rear direction. Informed (step S6).

According to the above configuration, when the danger of lane departure of the vehicle is detected, the alarm control box 13 controls the slide motor 12 to rotate forward and backward repeatedly, and the electric seat 11 vibrates. It becomes a warning to the driver and can inform the driver of the danger.
Moreover, although the electric seat 11 is vibrated for the warning to the driver, the slide motor 12 provided in advance for sliding the electric seat 11 is used to cause this vibration. There is no need to mount a new actuator for causing vibration in the electric seat 11. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost by suppressing newly added components, and it is not necessary to provide a space for mounting a new component such as an actuator in the limited space of the electric seat 11, thereby facilitating the design. Can do.
In the first embodiment, the electric motor 11 is vibrated by rotating the slide motor 12 forward and backward. However, the other reclining motor 21, lifter motor 22, front vertical motor 23, lumbar motor 24, cushion length Either the variable motor 25 or the headrest up / down motor 26 may be rotated forward and backward to vibrate a required portion of the electric seat 11.
Further, the number of motors that rotate forward and backward for warning is not limited to one, and a plurality of motors may be rotated forward and backward to vibrate a plurality of portions of the electric seat 11.

4 and 5 show an implementation form of the present invention.
The electric seat 11 of the present embodiment includes a position memory ECU 30 that stores the position of each part whose position is controlled by a motor. The position memory ECU 30 includes a position memory unit 30a and a configuration similar to that of the first embodiment. The alarm circuit 30b which consists of and the switching circuit 30c are provided. That is, in the present embodiment, a new box is not required to provide alarm motor control means for rotating the slide motor 12 forward and backward during alarm.

When the alarm circuit 30b of the position memory ECU 30 receives a detection signal from the alarm generation determination box 15, the alarm circuit 30b transmits a forward / reverse rotation signal to the switching circuit 30c.
The switching circuit 30c that has received the forward / reverse rotation signal receives the position information of the electric seat 11 from the position memory unit 30a.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), the electric seat 11 has a rear end R that is the limit position of the operating range rather than the vibration width L at the time of alarm (the rear end R in FIG. When it is detected that the position is close to the rear end position of the cushion portion when locked at the end position), as shown in FIG. 5B, the electric seat 11 is moved by the switching circuit 30a. After retreating from the rear end R to a position away from the vibration width L, the slide motor 12 is rotated in the forward and reverse directions to vibrate and an alarm is issued.
Note that the retracted distance of the electric seat 11 is greater than or equal to the vibration width L.
Similarly, when the electric seat 11 is located closer to the front end, which is the limit position of the operating range than the vibration width L, the electric seat 11 is vibrated after performing the retracting operation.

According to the said structure, it becomes unnecessary to provide a new box for the motor control means for an alarm which rotates the slide motor 12 forward / reversely, and it can achieve cost reduction and space saving.
In addition, since the electric seat 11 is vibrated after the electric seat 11 is temporarily retracted to a position away from the limit position of the operating range, the electric seat 11 regulates the operating range at the limit position of the operating range, that is, the lock position. It can be prevented from interfering with a member being locked or being locked during vibration, and excessive vibration and excessive sound can be prevented from being generated, and the driver and other passengers are not uncomfortable.
In addition, since another structure and an effect are the same as that of reference 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
In the present embodiment, the danger detection means detects the driver's drowsiness and vibrates the electric seat to issue an alarm.

The danger detection means includes an indoor camera 19 for photographing the driver and an alarm generation determination box 15.
The image processing unit 15a of the alarm generation determination box 15 recognizes the movement of the driver's eyeball, the posture of the driver, etc. taken by the indoor camera 19, and the determination processing unit 15b makes the driver fall asleep from this driver information. Is judged. When the determination processing unit 15 b determines that the driver is asleep, a detection signal is transmitted to the alarm control box 13. Upon receipt of the detection signal, the alarm control box 13 issues a warning to the driver by rotating the slide motor 12 forward and reverse to vibrate the electric seat as in the first embodiment.

Incidentally, it means for detecting the dozing of the driver is not limited to the camera, but may be other means, such as measuring the pulse rate of the driver.
Further, reference to the first embodiment, the snooze detection knowledge means danger detection knowledge means and the second reference embodiment which detects the lane departure risk of this embodiment may be used in combination.
Further, as in the present embodiment, a position memory ECU may be provided in the electric seat, and the electric seat may be retracted before issuing an alarm due to vibration.
Other configurations and operational effects are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the same reference numerals are given and description thereof is omitted.

It is a perspective view showing an electric seat of a reference 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram of the alarm device for vehicles. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the alarm device for vehicles. It is a block diagram of a vehicle alarm system implementation embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a drawing showing a state before the electric seat is retracted, and (B) is a drawing showing a state after the retracting operation. It is a block diagram of the alarm device for vehicles of a reference 2nd embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle alarm device 11 Electric seat 12 Slide motor 13 Alarm control box 14 Switch device 15 Alarm generation judgment box 17 Camera 18 Vehicle speed sensor 19 Indoor camera 21 Reclining motor 22 Lifter motor 23 Front vertical motor 24 Lumbar motor 25 Cushion length variable motor 26 Headrest vertical motor 30 Position memory ECU

Claims (4)

A danger detection means including at least one of a vehicle lane departure prediction means, a lane departure detection means, and a driver doze detection means;
When receiving a detection signal from the danger detection means, it outputs a forward / reverse rotation signal, and comprises an alarm motor control means for generating an alarm vibration in the electric seat by rotating a motor that operates the electric seat forward and backward,
A position memory ECU having a position memory unit for storing the position of each part of the electric seat whose position is controlled by the motor; the position memory ECU includes a switching circuit for rotating the motor forward and backward, and the danger detection unit Providing the alarm motor control means comprising an alarm circuit for receiving a detection signal and transmitting a forward / reverse rotation signal to the switching circuit;
Said switching circuit is configured to receive the forward and reverse rotation signal from the previous SL alarm circuit, a position where the vibration generating portion of the power seat from the position memory unit is close to the limit position of the working range than the vibration width during alarm When receiving the vehicle alarm system performs control for forward and reverse rotation of the front SL motor from retracts the vibration generating portion at a position distant than the predetermined oscillation width from the limit position. The motor driven by the alarm motor control means at the time of danger detection by the danger detection means is one of a slide motor, a reclining motor, a lifter motor, a front vertical motor, a lumbar motor, a cushion length variable motor, and a headrest vertical motor. The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1 , wherein there are a plurality of the alarm devices. The rotation direction of the motor is switched 1 to 40 times per second by the alarm motor control means, and the vibration width of the vibration generating portion of the electric seat is controlled within a range of 1 to 50 mm. The vehicle alarm device according to 2. The vehicle alarm device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the danger detection means includes a camera and a vehicle speed sensor .

Images