JPH0737194Y2 - Front vehicle start alarm - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Industrial Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a front vehicle start alarm of a vehicle for informing a driver that a vehicle ahead has started.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, obstacles behind or ahead of a vehicle are detected by using ultrasonic waves or the distance between the vehicle and a vehicle in front is detected by a radar or the like. Various alarm devices have been developed to avoid a collision with a vehicle in front of the vehicle. However, there is no device yet to inform the driver when a vehicle ahead starts when waiting for a traffic light or in a traffic jam, and it is necessary to always pay attention to the vehicle ahead even when the vehicle is stopped. Yes, it was a heavy burden on the driver.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a front vehicle start alarm which detects the start of a vehicle ahead and notifies the driver of the start.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a front vehicle start indicator for a vehicle, which informs a driver that a vehicle ahead has started, and (a) is provided in the vehicle, A stop sensor that detects that the parking brake of the vehicle is in operation and outputs a stop signal; and (b) a vehicle in front of the vehicle is located within a predetermined approach distance. An approach sensor that outputs an approach signal when the approach signal is generated, and (c) a caution sound generation circuit that generates a caution sound when the supply of the approach signal is stopped while the stop signal and the approach signal are both supplied. And having.

The caution sound generation circuit generates a caution sound when, for example, one of the stop signal and the approach signal is supplied and the other is not supplied, and the stop signal is supplied and the approach signal is supplied. It is desirable to have a stopping means for stopping the attention sound generated under the non-operating condition after a certain period of time.

In the vehicle equipped with such a front vehicle start alarm,
When the vehicle is stopped and the parking brake is operated following the former when waiting for a signal or in a traffic jam, the stop signal and the approach signal are both supplied from the stop sensor and the approach sensor, and the front vehicle starts in that state and is set in advance. When the supply of the approach signal is stopped after the approach distance is exceeded, a caution sound is generated by the caution sound generation circuit, and the driver is informed that the preceding vehicle has started.

As described above, according to the front vehicle start indicator of the present invention, the attention sound is generated when the front vehicle starts, so that the driver does not have to always pay attention to the front vehicle while the vehicle is stopped. The driver's burden while the vehicle is stopped can be greatly reduced by making it possible to go and take a rest, and the following vehicle is not disturbed without knowing the start of the preceding vehicle.

Further, in the present invention, when the parking brake is in operation, in other words, when the vehicle is reliably stopped, a stop signal is output from the stop sensor, and the stop signal is supplied while the stop signal is being supplied. When the supply is stopped, a warning sound is generated, so for example, accelerator off
However, there is no problem that the driver's own vehicle moves while the driver is looking away from the front vehicle when the automatic vehicle under the driving force is stopped or when the vehicle is stopped on a slope. Is obtained. In other words, even if the vehicle is stopped by depressing the brake pedal, if the attention sound is generated with the start of the front vehicle, the brake pedal force will be gentle while the driver is relieved from the front vehicle. Even if the vehicle starts to move, the driver may not notice it.

On the other hand, the caution sound generation circuit generates a caution sound when either the stop signal or the approach signal is supplied and the other is not supplied, and the stop signal is supplied and the approach signal is not supplied. In the case where the vehicle is configured to have a stop means for stopping the attention sound generated under the condition after a certain time, not only the attention sound is generated when the preceding vehicle starts while the vehicle is stopped, but also the automobile. Since a caution sound is generated even when the vehicle approaches the front vehicle while driving, the driver is informed of the danger of a collision or the like due to excessive proximity to the front vehicle. Further, since it is sufficient to generate the attention sound by the presence or absence of the stop signal and the approach signal, that is, the combination of these signals, the circuit can be easily configured by using, for example, a relay. Also, when the caution sound is generated under the condition that the stop signal is supplied and the approach signal is not supplied, the caution sound is stopped after a certain time by the stopping means, so that the vehicle is parked without the front vehicle. It is prevented that the attention sound continues to sound unnecessarily when the vehicle stops or when the preceding vehicle disappears after the vehicle is parked.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a front vehicle start alarm of an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention. The connection terminals 10 and 12 are both connected to an ignition switch of an automobile (not shown), and the ACC operation of the ignition switch is performed. Or it can be connected to the battery by turning it on. Connection terminal 10
Is grounded through the light emitting diode 14 and the limit switch 16, and the coil 20 of the relay 18 is connected in parallel with the limit switch 16. The light emitting diode 14 is arranged on the dash panel of the automobile, while the limit switch 16 is opened by the operation of the parking brake of the automobile, that is, turned on, and the parking brake lever is operated. When the parking brake is operated and the limit switch 16 is turned on, the light emitting diode 14 is caused to emit light.

The relay 18 is brought into an ON state in which the contact a and the contact b are connected by supplying the exciting current I _x to the coil 20, and the contact a and the contact are formed by cutting off the supply of the exciting current I _x. It is turned off to connect with c. Therefore, when the limit switch 16 is open, that is, in the OFF state, the exciting current I _x is supplied to the coil 20 and the relay 18 is turned on, while the limit switch 16 is turned on.
When is closed and turned on, the supply of the exciting current I _x is stopped by the electric resistance and the relay 18 is turned off. In this embodiment, the limit switch 16 corresponds to a stop sensor, and the exciting current I _x supplied when the limit switch 16 is in the OFF state and stopped when the limit switch 16 is in the ON state corresponds to a stop signal. However, since the stop signal is output when the car is stopped, the excitation current
The supply state of I _x corresponds to the output stop state of the stop signal, and the supply stop state of the exciting current I _x corresponds to the output state of the stop signal. When the limit switch 16 is turned off and the connection terminal 10 is grounded via the coil 20, the light emitting diode 14 does not emit light because the electric resistance is large.

The contact a of the relay 18 is connected to the connection terminal 12 via a changeover switch 22, and a green light emitting diode 24 is connected between the changeover switch 22 and the relay 18 via a resistor 23. There is. The changeover switch 22 is for switching the operation / stop of the front vehicle start indicator,
When the changeover switch 22 is connected and the front vehicle start alarm is activated, the light emitting diode 24 is caused to emit light. Further, the contact b of the relay 18 is connected to the contact b ₁ of the relay 26, the contact c of the relay 18 is connected to the contact c ₁ of the relay 26, and the contact c ₂ of the relay 26 is connected via the time delay relay 28. Has been done. The time delay relay 28 constitutes a stopping means, and is provided with a switch 30 which is always closed, and opens the switch 30 after a predetermined fixed time, for example, about 3 to 5 seconds has elapsed after energization.

The coil 32 of the relay 26 is connected to the connection terminal 12 via the changeover switch 22 and also has a transistor
It is grounded through 34 and the operation signal is sent to the transistor 34.
When SB is supplied and the exciting current I _y is flown, the contacts a ₁ and a ₂ are connected to the contacts b ₁ and b ₂ to be in the ON state, the supply of the operation signal SB is stopped, and the exciting current I _y is stopped. When I _{y stops} flowing, the contact points a ₁ and a ₂ and the contact points c ₁ and c ₂ are brought into the OFF state. Also, the contact a of the relay 26
₁ is a buzzer 36 that generates a caution sound and the time delay relay 2
It is grounded via switch 30 of 8 and contact a
_A red light emitting diode 38 is connected between ₁ and the buzzer 36 via a resistor 37. The contact a ₂ is grounded as it is.

Therefore, the buzzer 36 and the light emitting diode 38 are
When both the relays 18 and 26 are in the ON state or the OFF state, a current is supplied, the buzzer 36 emits a caution sound, and the light emitting diode 38 emits red light. Relay 18
If both and 26 are turned off, the time delay relay 2
Since the switch 30 is opened by 8 after a certain time, the caution sound of the buzzer 36 stops after a certain time. The coil 32 and the buzzer 36 are respectively provided with a diode 33 and a capacitor 39 in parallel to stabilize their operation. In this embodiment, the relays 18, 26, the time delay relays 28,
A caution sound generating circuit 40 is configured by including the buzzer 36 and the buzzer 36. The circuit 40 is incorporated in a predetermined box together with the changeover switch 22 and is arranged near the driver's seat.

The operation signal SB is supplied from, for example, the ultrasonic circuit 42 shown in FIG. In the ultrasonic circuit 42,
The transmission signal SS having a predetermined frequency output from the transmission signal output circuit 44 is supplied to the transceiver 50 via the changeover switch 48 whose contact is switched according to the timing signal ST supplied from the timing signal output circuit 46. The transmitter / receiver 50 is attached to the front of the vehicle, transmits ultrasonic waves of the same frequency as the supplied transmission signal SS toward the front of the vehicle, and the ultrasonic waves are located in front of the vehicle (front vehicle).
By receiving the reflected wave reflected by 52, the reception signal SR corresponding to the reflected wave is output. Received signal SR
Is supplied to the phase difference detection circuit 56 via the changeover switch 48 and the amplifier 54, the phase difference with the transmission signal SS output from the transmission signal output circuit 44 is detected,
When the phase difference is less than or equal to a predetermined fixed amount, that is, when the inter-vehicle distance from the front vehicle 52 is within a predetermined approach distance l, the operation signal SB is output from the phase difference detection circuit 56. . Therefore, the exciting current I _y is made to flow when the inter-vehicle distance from the front vehicle 52 is within the approach distance l, and the exciting current I _y corresponds to the approach signal. Further, the proximity sensor is configured by including the ultrasonic circuit 42 and the transistor 34. The approach distance 1 is set to, for example, about 1 to 3 m.

Next, the operation of the front vehicle start alarm configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

First, when the vehicle equipped with the front vehicle start alarm is in a normal traveling state and the front vehicle 52 is not within the approach distance l, the limit switch 16 for detecting the operation of the parking brake is in the OFF state and the excitation is performed. The current I _x is passed through the coil 20 and the relay 18 is in the ON state.
Since the operation signal SB is not output from 42, the exciting current I _y for exciting the coil 32 is not passed and the relay 26 is in the OFF state. For this reason, no current is supplied to the buzzer 36 or the light emitting diode 38, no attention sound is generated from the buzzer 36 (OFF state), and the light emitting diode 38 also does not emit light. The first row of FIG. 3 shows this state.

Next, when the vehicle approaches the front vehicle 52 within the approach distance 1 in this state, the ultrasonic circuit 42 outputs the operation signal SB to allow the exciting current I _y to flow, and the relay 26
Is switched to the ON state. For this reason, current comes to flow through the buzzer 36 and the red light emitting diode 38,
A warning sound is emitted from the buzzer 36 (ON state) and the light emitting diode 38 is also caused to emit light, so that the driver is alerted. The second row of FIG. 3 shows this state.

In the above state, the vehicle in front of
When the inter-vehicle distance between and becomes equal to or more than the approach distance l, the output of the operation signal SB stops and the exciting current I _y stops flowing, and the relay 26 becomes
The buzzer 36 and light emitting diode 38 are switched to the OFF state.
The current is no longer applied to the buzzer 36, and the caution sound from the buzzer 36 and the light emitting diode 38 stop emitting light.

Further, when the front vehicle 52 is stopped due to a signal waiting, traffic jam, or the like, and subsequently the vehicle stops within the approach distance l, and when the parking brake lever or the like is operated to operate the parking brake, the limit switch 16 is activated. The relay 18 is switched to the OFF state by turning on the ON state and stopping the supply of the exciting current I _x , and as in the above case, the warning sound from the buzzer 36 and the light emission of the light emitting diode 38 are stopped. It The third row of FIG. 3 shows this state.

After that, when the front vehicle 52 starts and the inter-vehicle distance exceeds the approach distance l, the output of the operation signal SB from the ultrasonic circuit 42 stops, the exciting current I _y stops flowing, and the relay 26 is switched to the OFF state. As a result, an electric current is made to flow through the buzzer 36 and the light emitting diode 38, a caution sound is emitted from the buzzer 36 and the light emitting diode 38 is caused to emit light. This informs the driver that the front vehicle 52 has started. First
Although this state is shown in the fourth stage of the drawings and FIG. 3, the generation of the attention sound from the buzzer 36 is stopped by the switch 30 being opened after a predetermined time by the time delay relay 28.
The switch 30 of the time delay relay 28 is set to the terminals 58 and 60 in FIG.
If it is arranged between and, the light emission of the light emitting diode 38 can be stopped at the same time.

Further, when the parking brake lever is operated and the operation of the parking brake is released because the own vehicle starts after the start of the front vehicle 52, the limit switch 16
When is turned off, the exciting current I _x is passed through the coil 20, and the relay 18 is turned on. For this reason,
The current stops flowing through the buzzer 36 and the light emitting diode 38, and the warning sound from the buzzer 36 and the light emission of the light emitting diode 38 are stopped even before the elapse of the predetermined time. Third
The fifth row in the figure shows this state.

In addition, stop in front of the vehicle 52 is not within the approach distance l,
When the parking brake lever is operated to operate the parking brake, the relay 26 is in the OFF state, and the relay 18 is in the OFF state because the limit switch 16 is in the ON state and the supply of the exciting current I _x is stopped. Therefore, the buzzer 36 and the light emitting diode 38 are supplied with current, and the buzzer 36 emits a caution sound and the light emitting diode 38 emits light even though it is useless. The generation of sound is stopped by opening the switch 30 after a certain time by the timed relay 28.

As described above, according to the preceding vehicle start indicator of the present embodiment, when the vehicle stops following the preceding vehicle 52 when waiting for a signal or during traffic jam,
When 52 starts and is separated by a predetermined approach distance l or more, a warning sound is emitted from the buzzer 36 and the red light emitting diode 38 is caused to emit light, so that the driver is notified of the start of the front vehicle 52. The driver is not always in front of the vehicle while the vehicle is stopped.
It is not necessary to keep an eye on the car, and it is possible to do other things and rest the eyes, etc. It will not bother the vehicle.

Further, the limit switch 16 is turned on when the parking brake is in the activated state.
Is ON, in other words, when the vehicle is surely stopped, the warning sound is generated when the front vehicle 52 starts and exceeds the approach distance l, so that the driving force is applied even when the accelerator is OFF, for example. There is no problem that the driver's own vehicle moves while the driver is looking away from the front vehicle 52 when the automatic vehicle is stopped or on a slope, and high safety is obtained. In other words, if the warning sound is generated when the front vehicle 52 starts even when the vehicle is stopped by depressing the brake pedal, the driver can feel at ease.
Even if the brake pedal force is relaxed and the vehicle starts to move while keeping an eye on 52, the driver may not notice it.

On the other hand, the attention sound generating circuit 40 of the present embodiment is configured so that the exciting currents I _x , I _y
Is provided with a pair of relays 18 and 26 whose connection states are switched according to the supply and stop of supply of the relays.
The combination of ON and OFF of the above, specifically the buzzer 36 sounds when both are in the ON state and the OFF state, so the circuit is simple and the front vehicle 52 starts while the vehicle is stopped. Not only when the buzzer 36 sounds, but also when the vehicle approaches the front vehicle 52 while driving.
Since 36 is sounded, the driver is awakened of dangers such as a collision due to approaching the front vehicle 52 too much. Further, when both the relays 18 and 26 are in the OFF state, that is, when the vehicle is in the stopped state and the front vehicle 52 is away from the approach distance l, the time delay relay
28 stops the buzzer 36 from ringing after a certain period of time, so if you park or stop the car without the front vehicle 52, or if the front vehicle 52 disappears after parking or stopping,
It is prevented that the caution sound continues to ring without use.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the present invention can be implemented in other modes.

For example, the attention sound generation circuit 40 of the embodiment is configured to emit a caution sound even when approaching the front vehicle 52, but at least the front vehicle 52 starts when the vehicle is stopped following the front vehicle 52. The circuit 40 can be appropriately changed as long as the caution sound is emitted when the approach distance l is separated.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the light emitting diode 38 is provided in addition to the buzzer 36 for generating the caution sound, but the light emitting diode 38 is not always necessary.

Further, the proximity sensor of the above embodiment measures the inter-vehicle distance using ultrasonic waves, but it is also possible to measure using radar or infrared rays.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the attention sound generating circuit 40 is the changeover switch.
Although it is installed together with 22 in a predetermined box and arranged near the driver's seat, it can also be installed directly in a dash panel or the like.

Although not illustrated one by one, the present invention can be implemented in various modified and improved modes based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a main part of a front vehicle start alarm which is an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main part of the proximity sensor in the front vehicle start alarm of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the front vehicle start alarm of FIG. 16: Limit switch (stop sensor) 28: Time delay relay (stop means) 34: Transistor, 40: Attention sound generation circuit 42: Ultrasonic circuit, 52: Front vehicle I _x : Excitation current (stop signal) I _y : Excitation current (Approach signal)

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A front vehicle start alarm for a vehicle that detects when a vehicle ahead has started and notifies the driver of the start of the vehicle, and detects that the parking brake of the vehicle is activated. A stop sensor that outputs a stop signal, a proximity sensor that is provided in the vehicle and that outputs an approach signal when a vehicle in front of the vehicle is located within a predetermined approach distance, and the stop signal and And a warning sound generation circuit for generating a warning sound when the supply of the approach signal is stopped while the approach signal is being supplied together. 2. The caution sound generation circuit generates a caution sound when either the stop signal or the approach signal is supplied and the other is not supplied, and the stop signal is supplied and the approach signal. 2. The front vehicle start alarm of an automobile according to claim 1, further comprising a stop means for stopping the attention sound generated under the condition that is not supplied.