JP2000085501A - Escape assist device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To assist occupants in escaping certainly by an inexpensive device. SOLUTION: At the time of detecting a vehicle approaching water areas such as seas, lakes, rivers, and cliffs without embankments, based on map data from a navigation database 12 and position data from a GPS receiver 20 and a D-GPS receiver 22, a device control part 60 controls a door lock 62 and a window 64, then unlocks the door lock 62, and opens the window 64. Since the above-described measure is taken before an accident happens, an escape assist operation can be certainly carried out without waterproof equipment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an escape assist device for assisting an occupant to escape when a vehicle falls down.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a vehicle safety measure device,
There is known an airbag or the like that automatically operates when an accident occurs. In addition, a device that makes an emergency call when a vehicle accident occurs using various communication devices mounted on the vehicle has also been proposed.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Hei 10-221090 discloses an emergency notification device capable of performing an emergency process even in the case of a water spill accident or the like. In this device, when the navigation device determines that the own vehicle position has encountered a water spill accident, an automatic notification is made. Thus, an effective notification can be made even in the case of a water spill accident. In addition, there is a description about opening a window and releasing a door lock in parallel with the notification.

[0004]

However, in the apparatus of this application, when a water accident has occurred, processing such as notification or opening a window is performed, and the processing is performed after the water accident has occurred. Therefore, a device for performing the processing requires a waterproof facility or the like, which is expensive.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an escape assist device that can perform a countermeasure against a water-related accident or the like with an inexpensive device.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a door for opening and closing a vehicle interior and an exterior of a vehicle, an opening and closing control unit for controlling opening and closing of a window, a map information storage unit for storing map information, and a map information storage unit. Based on the vehicle position detection means to be detected, and the map information stored in the map information storage means and the vehicle position information detected by the vehicle position detection means, based on the position to be prepared for the occupant to escape. And an escape assist control means for controlling the opening / closing control means to assist the occupant in escaping from the vehicle when detecting that the vehicle is located.

In particular, the position where the occupant should be prepared to escape is that the position of the vehicle is within a predetermined distance from a water area such as a sea, a lake, a river or the like where no bridge or embankment exists, or an area such as a cliff. It is preferable to detect based on being located at the position.

Preferably, the opening / closing control device controls opening / closing of a window, and the escape control means assists the occupant to escape by forcibly opening the window.

Preferably, the opening / closing control device controls on / off of a door lock, and the escape control means assists an occupant to escape by turning off the door lock.

As described above, according to the present invention, the door is unlocked or the window is opened before reaching a place where there is a danger of falling, such as the sea, a lake, a river, or a cliff. In particular, this operation is performed before an accident occurs, and can be reliably performed as a normal operation. If these operations are to be performed reliably after an accident has occurred, equipment for waterproofing and shock resistance is required, and the apparatus becomes expensive. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, reliable escape assistance of an occupant can be achieved with an inexpensive device that does not require special equipment.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a system using an escape assist device according to this embodiment.
The navigation ECU 10 mounted on the vehicle performs various processes necessary for an emergency call in addition to a process for normal route guidance. A navigation database 12 is connected to the navigation ECU 10 as map information storage means. The navigation database 12 stores map information on locations such as rivers and seas in addition to map information on road shapes. A GPS receiver 20 and a D-GPS receiver 22 are connected to the navigation ECU 10 as vehicle position detection means. The GPS receiver 20 detects a position of the vehicle as an absolute position (latitude, longitude, and altitude) by receiving a radio wave from the GPS satellite 24. Also, the D-GPS receiver 22
Is the GPS supplied from the terrestrial D-GPS base station 26.
Receive the error information. Therefore, the navigation ECU
10 is based on error information from the D-GPS receiver 22,
Correct the current position obtained in the GPS receiver 20,
More accurate current position can be recognized. The position information from the GPS receiver 20 usually has an error of about 100 m,
By matching the information from the D-GPS receiver 22, the current position can be detected with an error of about several meters. The navigation ECU 10 is connected with a wheel speed sensor 30, a shift position sensor 32, and the like.
Detects the running condition of the vehicle.

Further, the navigation ECU 10 includes:
Communication devices such as a beacon communication device 40, a cellular TEL 42, and an inter-vehicle communication device 44 are connected. The beacon communication device 40 communicates with a beacon 46 provided on the roadside. The beacon 46 includes an optical beacon, a radio wave beacon, and the like. The beacon 46 provides absolute position information, information on traffic congestion in the vicinity, and the like, and receives an emergency call from the beacon communication device 40. Roadside beacon 46, police station 48, (company)
It is connected to a maintenance organization 50 for dispatch maintenance, such as the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF), a fire department 52, and an integration center 54. Therefore, when an emergency call is generated from the beacon communication device 40, this is transmitted to the police station 48, the maintenance organization 50, the fire station 52, and the integration center 54.
The integration center 54 collectively processes various types of information, and also collects information when an emergency occurs. When the destination of the drive is obtained from the vehicle, the integration center 54 also performs a service of searching for a route to the destination and providing the route to the vehicle.

The cellular TEL 42 is a vehicle-mounted mobile phone, and performs a normal telephone call via a public telephone line. And
In an emergency, police station 48, maintenance organization 50, fire station 52,
Then, an emergency call is made to the integration center 54 by telephone call. Further, the inter-vehicle communication device 44 performs various kinds of communication with the inter-vehicle communication device 56 of another vehicle, and performs an emergency call in an emergency.

The navigation ECU 10 includes:
A device control unit 60 is connected as opening / closing control means.
The device control unit 60 controls the operation of the door lock 62 and the power window 64 according to a command from the navigation ECU 10 when necessary.

Next, control of the door lock 62 and the power window 64 in the navigation ECU 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, it is determined whether the sampling time has elapsed (S11). If this determination is NO, this determination is repeated until the sampling time has elapsed. If the determination is YES, it is determined whether the current location is on a road (S12). If it is not on the road (determination is NO), the vehicle does not normally travel and returns to S11. It should be noted that a road may be determined if it is a place where traveling is possible, such as in a site such as a warehouse.
If the determination in S12 is YES, the river within the specified distance,
It is determined whether there is a water area such as the sea or a place where there is a danger of falling such as a cliff (S13). If NO in this determination,
Since there is no problem, the process returns to S11. On the other hand, in the determination of S13, Y
If it is ES, it is determined whether the vehicle is traveling toward a water area or a cliff (S14). If NO in this determination, the vehicle leaves the dangerous area, and there is no danger of falling down, so the process returns to the determination in S11.

If the determination in S14 is YES, there is a possibility of falling. Therefore, a door unlock request is issued (S15) and a window open request is issued (S16). In response to this request, the device control unit 60 controls the door lock 62 and the power window 64 to release the door lock and open the window.

As described above, when the vehicle approaches a river, sea, lake, cliff or the like within a certain distance, the door lock is released and the window is opened. This can prevent the occupant from being trapped in the vehicle in the event of a flood accident or falling off a cliff.
In particular, in the present embodiment, the device operates normally because measures are taken before an accident occurs. After an accident occurs, it is not possible to guarantee that the various devices operate normally, and it is necessary to take measures such as waterproofing and countermeasures against impact, which increases the cost of the apparatus. In the present embodiment, such special measures are not required.

When the door is unlocked and the window is opened when entering such a dangerous area, a predetermined report destination is informed of the approach to the dangerous area by the cellular TEL 42, and thereafter the predetermined number is notified. It is also preferable that the confirmation notification is performed every time. As a result, it is possible to estimate the occurrence of an accident due to the interruption of communication at predetermined time intervals. On the other hand, when the vehicle has left the dangerous area, a notification to that effect may be made. It is also preferable to close the window and lock the door when exiting the dangerous area, and it is also preferable to return to the door locked state and the window state before entering the dangerous area.

[0021] Further, the unlocking of the door lock as described above,
When controlling the opening of the window, it is preferable to output a sound indicating that the operation is to be performed from a speaker to notify the occupant. A display to that effect may be displayed.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When a danger such as falling is detected, a window is opened,
And unlock the door. As a result, it is possible to reliably assist the occupant in the event of an accident without requiring a special device such as a waterproof device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a system using an escape assist device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the apparatus.

[Description of Signs] 10 navigation ECU, 12 navigation database, 20 GPS receiver, 22 D-GPS receiver, 24 GPS satellite, 26 D-GPS base station, 3
0 wheel speed sensor, 32 shift position sensor, 40 beacon communication device, 42 cellular TEL, 44 vehicle-to-vehicle communication device, 48 police station, 50 maintenance organization, 52 fire department,
54 Integration center, 56 Inter-vehicle communication device of other vehicles, 60
Equipment control unit, 62 door lock, 64 power window.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G08G 1/0969 G08G 1/0969

Claims (4)

[Claims] A door that opens and closes the interior of the vehicle and the exterior of the vehicle;
Opening and closing control means for controlling the opening and closing of windows, map information storage means for storing map information, own vehicle position detecting means for detecting the own vehicle position, map information and own vehicle stored in the map information storage means Based on the vehicle position information detected by the position detection means,
Escape assist control means for controlling the opening / closing control means to assist the occupant to escape from the vehicle when detecting that the vehicle is located at a position where the occupant should be prepared to escape. An escape assist device characterized by: 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position at which the occupant is to be prepared to escape is: a vehicle area having no bridge, dike, etc., a water area such as a sea, a lake, a river, or the like; Alternatively, the escape assisting device detects based on being located within a predetermined distance from a region such as a cliff. 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the opening and closing control device controls opening and closing of the window, and the escape control means assists the occupant to escape by forcibly opening the window. An escape assist device characterized by the following. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing control device controls on / off of a door lock, and the escape control means turns off the door lock to thereby control the occupant. An escape assist device characterized by assisting escape.