JP2002183887A - Vehicle departure informing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle departure informing device capable of informing the departure state of a preceding vehicle a prescribed number ahead of an own vehicle on a traffic lane on which the own vehicle is running. SOLUTION: This vehicle departure information device is provided with an information receiving part receiving information from the preceding vehicle running on the same traffic lane to the own vehicle, an information transmission part transmitting the information to a following vehicle running the same traffic lane to the own vehicle and an information provision part providing the information to a driver. Preceding vehicle information is formed based on the preceding vehicle information received by the information receiving part and the departure information of the own vehicle (steps S3 and S10), while the preceding vehicle information is transmitted to the information transmission part, the information receiving part monitors the departure state of a departure monitor counter-vehicle a prescribed number of ahead of the own vehicle based on the preceding vehicle information received by the information receiving part (step S8), and when the departure state of the departure monitor counter- vehicle is detected, the monitor countervehicle departure information is transmitted to the information provision part (step S9) so as to inform the departure of the departure monitor counter-vehicle to the driver.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle start notifying device capable of notifying start information of a preceding vehicle existing in the same lane as the own vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional vehicle start notification device, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-166895 (hereinafter, referred to as a first conventional example) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-266399 (hereinafter, referred to as a second conventional example). Are known. In the first conventional example, an inter-vehicle distance sensor that detects an inter-vehicle distance to a preceding vehicle existing in front of the vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor that detects a traveling speed of the vehicle, and an inter-vehicle distance and a vehicle speed sensor that are detected by the inter-vehicle distance sensor. A following travel control device that controls the vehicle so as to follow the preceding vehicle based on the detected traveling speed, a driver detecting unit that detects a state in which the driver is not looking forward, and a careless forward Alarm means for issuing an alarm according to the state, when the vehicle is ready to start, determines whether the driver is in a forward monitoring posture, and when the non-forward monitoring posture is continued for a predetermined time Describes a vehicular following travel control device that issues a warning to a driver.

[0003] The second conventional example includes an inter-vehicle communication means, a traveling information processing unit, a map additional data storage unit, a traveling control unit, and an in-vehicle controller communication unit, and is used for traveling of another vehicle traveling around the own vehicle. A traveling control device by vehicle-to-vehicle communication that can collect information and inform a driver in advance of traveling conditions such as slip road surface, sudden braking, and traffic congestion information is described.

[0004]

However, in the first conventional example, when the driver's own vehicle is ready to start, the driver continues the non-forward monitoring posture for a predetermined time. Determines that the driver has not noticed the start of the preceding vehicle, so there will be a time delay from the start of the preceding vehicle until the alarm is issued, and when the driver recognizes the start of the preceding vehicle by the alarm notification. There is an unsolved problem that the driver may feel uncomfortable because the preceding vehicle is far away.

[0005] In the second conventional example, traveling information such as slip road surface, sudden braking, traffic congestion information, etc. can be collected. Unlike the information common to the driving lanes like this, it requires only the starting information of the vehicle that is stopped in the lane where the host vehicle runs, and it is possible to collect the preceding vehicle information only for the lane where the host vehicle runs. There is an unsolved problem that cannot be solved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned unresolved problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to notify the starting state of a preceding vehicle required by a required number of vehicles ahead of the vehicle in the lane in which the vehicle travels. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle start notification device capable of performing the following.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle start notifying apparatus for receiving information from a preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane as a host vehicle, and a driver. An information providing means for providing information to the start monitoring target vehicle which is a predetermined number of vehicles ahead of the own vehicle based on the information from the preceding vehicle received by the information receiving means; When a condition is detected,
The present invention is characterized in that the information providing means is provided with a monitoring target vehicle start notifying means for transmitting the monitoring target vehicle start information.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle start notifying device according to the first aspect, information transmitting means for transmitting information to a succeeding vehicle traveling in the same lane as the own vehicle, and detecting start of the own vehicle. Own vehicle start detecting means, and preceding vehicle information formed by the preceding vehicle information received by the information receiving means and start information of the own vehicle detected by the own vehicle start detecting means, and transmitted to the information transmitting means. And preceding vehicle information forming means.

Further, in the vehicle start notifying device according to claim 3, in the invention according to claim 2, when the preceding vehicle information forming means does not detect the start of the own vehicle by the own vehicle start detecting means, It is characterized in that the value of the vehicle information is incremented and the value of the preceding vehicle information is cleared to "0" when the start of the own vehicle is detected.

Further, in the vehicle start notifying device according to claim 4, in the invention according to claim 2, when the preceding vehicle information forming means does not detect the start of the own vehicle by the own vehicle start detecting means, The value of the preceding vehicle information is incremented. When the start of the own vehicle is detected, the value of the preceding vehicle information is cleared to "0". When the value of the preceding vehicle information is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the preceding vehicle information is transmitted. Characterized in that it is configured to be sent to the means.

Further, in the vehicle start notifying device according to claim 5, in the invention according to claim 2, the preceding vehicle information forming means does not detect the start of the own vehicle by the own vehicle start detecting means. Sometimes, the value of the preceding vehicle information is decremented, and when the start of the own vehicle is detected, the value of the preceding vehicle information is set to a predetermined value.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle start notifying device according to the second aspect, the preceding vehicle information forming means does not detect the start of the own vehicle by the own vehicle start detecting means. Decrements the value of the preceding vehicle information,
When the start of the vehicle is detected, the value of the preceding vehicle information is set to a predetermined value, and when the value of the preceding vehicle information is equal to or less than the predetermined value, the transmission of the preceding vehicle information to the information transmitting means is stopped. It is characterized by being.

Further, in the vehicle start notifying device according to claim 7, in the invention according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the monitoring target vehicle start notifying means is provided when the value of the preceding vehicle information reaches a predetermined value. It is characterized in that it is configured to detect the starting state of the monitored vehicle. Furthermore, claim 8
The vehicle start notifying device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: an inter-vehicle distance detecting means for detecting an inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle immediately before the own vehicle, and wherein the information receiving means includes: When the inter-vehicle distance to the vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the vehicle is configured to receive preceding vehicle information from the immediately preceding vehicle.

Further, a vehicle start notification device according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the vehicle start notification device according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, further comprising stop state detection means for detecting a stop state of the own vehicle, and wherein the information reception means is provided. When the stop state detecting means detects the stop state of the host vehicle, the reception sensitivity for receiving preceding vehicle information from the immediately preceding vehicle is reduced.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle start notification device according to any one of the second to eighth aspects, the vehicle start notification unit further includes a vehicle speed detection unit for detecting a traveling speed of the own vehicle. When the traveling speed of the host vehicle becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the host vehicle is detected to be in a starting state. Further, in the vehicle start notifying device according to claim 11, the shift position detecting means for detecting a shift position of the transmission mechanism and a brake operation detecting device for detecting a braking operation by the driver in any one of claims 2 to 8 of the present invention. And the vehicle start detecting means is configured to detect that the vehicle is in the start state when the shift position is the forward position and the braking operation is released. And

[0016]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the information transmitted from the preceding vehicle is received, and the monitoring target vehicle start notifying means detects a predetermined number of vehicles ahead of the own vehicle based on the received information from the preceding vehicle. The start monitoring status of the start monitoring target vehicle is monitored, and when the start status of the start monitoring target vehicle is detected, the information providing means notifies the driver of the start monitoring target vehicle start. The effect that the start timing can be notified can be obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the preceding vehicle information is formed based on the information transmitted from the preceding vehicle and the start information of the own vehicle, and the preceding vehicle information is transmitted to the following vehicle. For the following vehicle, the effect is obtained that the start information of the own vehicle as the “preceding vehicle” and the start information of the vehicle preceding the own vehicle can be used even in the following vehicle. further,
According to the third aspect of the invention, the preceding vehicle information forming means includes:
When the start of the own vehicle is not detected by the own vehicle start detecting means, the value of the preceding vehicle information is incremented, and when the start of the own vehicle is detected, the value of the preceding vehicle information is cleared to "0". Therefore, it is possible to recognize how many preceding vehicles are in the starting state from the value of the preceding vehicle information.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the second aspect of the present invention, the preceding vehicle information forming means further comprises: when the value of the preceding vehicle information is equal to or less than a predetermined value, Is transmitted to the information transmitting means, so that when the starting vehicle is ahead of the monitoring target vehicle required by the own vehicle by the required number or more, the transmission of the preceding vehicle information to the following vehicle is stopped. And the effect of suppressing the amount of communication information can be obtained.

Still further, according to the invention according to claim 5, the preceding vehicle information forming means decrements the value of the preceding vehicle information when the own vehicle start detecting means does not detect the start of the own vehicle, When the start of the own vehicle is detected, the value of the preceding vehicle information is set to a predetermined value, so that it is possible to recognize how many preceding vehicles are in the starting state from the value of the preceding vehicle information. The effect that it can be obtained is obtained.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the fifth aspect of the present invention, the preceding vehicle information forming means includes means for generating the preceding vehicle information when the value of the preceding vehicle information is equal to or less than a predetermined value. Since the transmission to the information transmitting means is configured to be stopped, the effect that the amount of communication information can be suppressed can be obtained. Further, according to the invention according to claim 7,
Since the monitoring target vehicle start notifying means is configured to detect the starting state of the monitoring target vehicle when the value of the preceding vehicle information reaches a predetermined value, the starting state of the monitoring target person is determined from the value of the preceding vehicle information. Can be detected accurately.

Further, according to the invention of claim 8, the information receiving means receives the preceding vehicle information from the immediately preceding vehicle when the inter-vehicle distance to the immediately preceding vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined value. Therefore, when the vehicle is approaching the preceding vehicle, it is possible to reduce the possibility of receiving the preceding vehicle information of the side or the adjacent lane, and to accurately acquire the preceding vehicle information of the same lane as the own vehicle. The effect that it can be obtained is obtained.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the information receiving means receives the preceding vehicle information from the immediately preceding vehicle when the stopped state detecting means detects the stopped state of the own vehicle. It is possible to receive the preceding vehicle information from the preceding vehicle ahead of the immediately preceding vehicle, not to mention the side or adjacent lane, by lowering the reception sensitivity when the host vehicle stops. , The preceding vehicle information can be obtained from the immediately preceding vehicle in the same lane as the own vehicle.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the self-vehicle start detecting means detects that the self-vehicle is in a start state when the traveling speed of the self-vehicle becomes a predetermined value or more. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an effect that the starting state of the vehicle can be accurately detected. Further, according to the invention according to claim 11, the own vehicle start detecting means is configured to detect that the own vehicle is in the start state when the shift position is the forward position and the braking operation is released. Since the starting state can be detected at a stage just before the own vehicle starts to start, the effect of being able to accurately detect the starting state due to the creep phenomenon as in a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission. can get.

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes an information receiving unit disposed at the center in the left-right direction at the front end of the vehicle C, which communicates with the vehicle using communication media such as radio waves such as millimeter waves, light such as infrared rays, and ultrasonic waves. The preceding vehicle information transmitted from the immediately preceding vehicle in the same lane is received, and the received preceding vehicle information is input to the information processing unit 2.

The information processing section 2 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer, and has a vehicle speed sensor 3 provided at the input side thereof and disposed at the output side of the automatic transmission for detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle.
An inter-vehicle distance sensor 4 including a millimeter wave radar, a laser radar, and the like for detecting an inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle immediately before the own vehicle is connected, and is disposed at an output side at a rear end of the vehicle at a central portion in the left-right direction. The information transmitting unit 5 as information transmitting means for transmitting the preceding vehicle information to the following vehicle using the same communication medium as the information receiving unit 1, and visually informing the driver of the preceding vehicle visually and audibly. Display 6 such as a liquid crystal display
and an information providing unit 6 as information providing means having a sound generator 6b such as a buzzer and a speaker.

Then, the information processing section 2 executes a preceding vehicle start notification process shown in FIG. The preceding vehicle start notification process is started when the power is turned on to the information processing unit 2. First, the own vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 3 is read in step S1, and the own vehicle speed V is set to a preset stop. By determining whether or not the vehicle speed exceeds the nearby set vehicle speed Vs,
It is determined whether or not the host vehicle is traveling. When V> Vs, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling, and the vehicle waits until a stop state where V ≦ Vs is satisfied. When V ≦ Vs, a stop state is determined. And the process moves to step S2.

In step S2, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle has started. This determination is made by the vehicle speed sensor 3
From the state where the own vehicle speed V detected at the time becomes “0” once, V>
The determination is made as to whether or not the vehicle has started. When the host vehicle is in the starting state, the process proceeds to step S3, where the preceding vehicle information P is set to "0" and updated and stored in the preceding vehicle information storage area. Then, the process proceeds to step S4 to form a transmission frame of a predetermined format in which the preceding vehicle information P stored in the preceding vehicle information storage area is set in the data area, and the transmission frame is transmitted to the information transmission unit 5 The process returns to step S1.

The result of the determination in step S2 is that the vehicle speed V
When the vehicle is in the stopped state in which the vehicle speed decreases from the set vehicle speed Vs to “0” and the state in which V = “0” is maintained, the process proceeds to step S5, and the information receiving unit 1 causes It is determined whether a transmission frame has been received. If no transmission frame has been received, the process returns to step S1. If a transmission frame from a preceding vehicle has been received, the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, the inter-vehicle distance sensor 4
The inter-vehicle distance L from the immediately preceding vehicle detected in step S3 is read, and then the process proceeds to step S7 to determine whether the inter-vehicle distance L is equal to or less than a preset inter-vehicle distance Ls (for example, about 1 to 2 m), When L> Ls, it is determined that there is no preceding vehicle immediately before the same lane as the own vehicle when the inter-vehicle distance L is long, and the process returns to step S1. When L ≦ Ls, the preceding vehicle immediately before the same lane as the own vehicle is used. It is determined that a car exists, and the process proceeds to step S8.

In step S8, it is determined based on the preceding vehicle information P included in the transmission frame whether or not the monitoring target vehicle ahead of the own vehicle by a predetermined number has started. In this determination, it is determined whether or not the preceding vehicle information P is less than a preset number N1 (for example, N1 = 4). If P ≧ N1, it is determined that the monitored vehicle has not started. The process directly proceeds to step S10, and when P <N1, it is determined that the monitored vehicle has started, and the process proceeds to step S9, where notification information for notifying that the monitored vehicle has started is transmitted to the information providing unit 6. Then, the process proceeds to step S10.

Here, the notification information is displayed on the display 6a by arranging blocks imitating the vehicle on the display screen and displaying the own vehicle and the currently transmitted vehicle in different display colors. At the same time, the sound generator 6b is set so as to transmit the sounding information that emits a chime sound the number of times representing the number between the own vehicle and the starting vehicle.

In step S10, the current preceding vehicle information P
Is updated and stored in the preceding vehicle information storage area as new preceding vehicle information P, and the process proceeds to step S11, where the preceding vehicle information P is set to a preset relay number N2 (for example, N2 = 10). ) Is determined, and if P ≧ N2, it is determined that the number of relays from the preceding vehicle that has started to the host vehicle is too large, and the process returns to step S1. If P <N2, the relay number is determined. Is determined to be appropriate, and the process proceeds to step S4.

In the processing shown in FIG. 2, the processing of steps S5 to S7 and the information receiving section 1 correspond to the information receiving means, and the processing of steps S3, S4, S10 and S11 correspond to the preceding vehicle information forming means. The processes in steps S8 and S9 correspond to the monitoring target vehicle start notification unit. Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.

Now, the vehicle speed V is higher than the set vehicle speed Vs.
In the state where the vehicle is traveling, the information receiving unit 1, the information transmitting unit 5, and the information providing unit 6 are in a non-operating state by repeating step S1 in the processing of FIG. 2, and the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle exist. Even in such a case, the transmission and reception of the preceding vehicle information with them is stopped. In this state, the process shown in FIG. 2 is performed in the traveling lane of the own vehicle. For example, five preceding vehicles start deceleration by approaching a red light intersection where the vehicle is stopped, and stop immediately after the last vehicle. Then, when the own vehicle speed V becomes lower than the set vehicle speed Vs, the process proceeds to step S5 via step S2 in FIG. 2, and it is determined whether the information receiving unit 2 has received the preceding vehicle information P from the preceding vehicle. In this case, since all five preceding vehicles are stopped at the intersection of the red light, the leading vehicle does not receive the preceding vehicle information from the preceding vehicle in the traveling lane of the own vehicle, and the other vehicles crossing the intersection do not receive the preceding vehicle information. Even if the preceding vehicle information is received from the vehicle, the inter-vehicle distance L detected by the inter-vehicle distance sensor 4 exceeds the set distance Ls. Therefore, the process returns to step S1, and the preceding vehicle information is transmitted to the following vehicle. There is no.

As a result, the preceding vehicles do not receive the preceding vehicle information from the preceding vehicle even in each succeeding vehicle. Therefore, the preceding vehicle information is not transmitted to the following vehicle, and even if the own vehicle stops at the rear end, the preceding vehicle information is not transmitted. Is not received, step S
From 5, the process returns to step S <b> 1, and the transmission of the preceding vehicle information to the following vehicle is stopped. From this state, when the red signal at the intersection changes to a green signal and the leading vehicle starts, by executing the processing of FIG. 2 in the leading vehicle,
The process proceeds from step S2 to step S3, where the preceding vehicle information P is set to "0" and transmitted to the succeeding vehicle.
For this reason, the second vehicle from the top does not start itself, so the process moves from step S2 to step S5,
By receiving the preceding vehicle information P set to "0" from the preceding vehicle, the process proceeds to step S6, where the leading vehicle has just started, and the following distance between the leading vehicle and the leading vehicle detected by the following distance sensor 5 has been detected. Since L is smaller than the set inter-vehicle distance Ls, the process proceeds to step S8. Since the preceding vehicle information P is “0” and smaller than the set value N1, the process proceeds to step S9 to start the preceding vehicle. The display unit 6a of the information presentation unit 6 displays the two blocks, the leading vehicle and the own vehicle, with different display colors, and emits one chime sound by the sound generator 6b. As a result, the second vehicle from the head can notify the driver that the leading vehicle has started, and the driver starts preparation for starting.

Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S10, in which the preceding vehicle information P is incremented by "1" to "1".
This is updated and stored in the preceding vehicle information storage area, and since the preceding vehicle information P is smaller than the set number N2, the process proceeds to step S4, and the transmission frame including the preceding vehicle information P representing "1" is transmitted from the subsequent head. Transmit to the third vehicle. Therefore, the process of FIG. 2 is performed based on the preceding vehicle information P in the third vehicle from the head in the same manner as the second vehicle from the head, and it is detected that the second preceding vehicle has started. 3 in S9
Displaying the blocks corresponding to the vehicles, displaying the leading vehicle and the own vehicle in different display colors, and emitting two chime sounds to notify the driver that the vehicle two vehicles ahead has started,
Next, the preceding vehicle information P is incremented by "1" and set to "2", and this is updated and stored in the preceding vehicle information storage area. Transmit to the fourth vehicle.

In the fourth vehicle from the head, since the preceding vehicle information P is "2", blocks for four vehicles are displayed, and the head start vehicle and the own vehicle are displayed in different display colors. At the same time, three chime sounds are emitted to notify that the leading vehicle three vehicles ahead has started, then the preceding vehicle information P is set to “3”, and the preceding vehicle information P is set to 5 from the following head.
Transmit to the own vehicle.

In the fifth vehicle from the head, the received preceding vehicle information P is "3", which is equal to the set number N1, so that five blocks are displayed, and the leading vehicle and the own vehicle are displayed. Are displayed in different display colors, four chimes are issued, the driver is notified that the fourth vehicle from the head has started, and the preceding vehicle information P is set to "4". P is transmitted to the subsequent sixth vehicle from the head.

In the sixth vehicle, the preceding vehicle information P is "4", which is larger than the set number N1, so that the process of FIG. 2 proceeds to step S10 without proceeding from step S8 to step S9. That is, the preceding vehicle information P is set to "5" without informing the driver of the starting vehicle, and then the preceding vehicle information P is transmitted to the sixth vehicle from the head of the succeeding vehicle.

Thereafter, when there is a following vehicle, the preceding vehicle information is sequentially incremented by "1", and in the twelfth vehicle from the head, the preceding vehicle information P calculated in step S10 is changed to "11". When the number becomes larger than the set number N2, the process returns to step S1, and the transmission of the transmission frame including the preceding vehicle information to the following vehicle is stopped.

Therefore, in the thirteenth vehicle from the head,
Since the preceding vehicle information P is not received from the immediately preceding vehicle, the processes of steps S1, S2, and S5 are repeated in the process of FIG. 2 to notify the driver of the start information and the preceding vehicle to the following vehicle. Stop sending car information. As described above, when the leading vehicle starts, the driver is notified that the leading vehicle has started in the second to fifth vehicles from the leading vehicle, and the second vehicle from the leading vehicle is started anyway. The third and subsequent vehicles from the head can make preparations for starting with a margin, and the vehicle can be started immediately following the starting of the immediately preceding vehicle.

Thereafter, when the second vehicle from the head also starts, the leading vehicle information P representing "0" is transmitted from the second vehicle from the top to the third vehicle from the top.
The driver is notified for the first time in the sixth vehicle from the head that the leading vehicle has started, and then the remaining vehicles start in sequence, so that the starting vehicle transmits the preceding vehicle information P of "0" to the succeeding vehicle. By doing so, the seventh and subsequent vehicles from the head are sequentially informed of the start of the leading vehicle.

On the other hand, when the host vehicle stops on a road having a plurality of driving lanes, the inter-vehicle distance L between the host vehicle C1 and the preceding vehicle C2 becomes equal to the set inter-vehicle distance Ls, as shown in FIG.
When the length is longer, the directivity of the preceding vehicle information P transmitted by the information transmitting unit 5 of the preceding vehicle C2 in the same lane as the own vehicle C1 is wide, so that the information receiving unit 1 of the own vehicle C1 becomes Is transmitted from the preceding vehicle C2 in the same traveling lane as the emission range T2 of the preceding vehicle information transmitted from the preceding vehicle C2 and the information transmission unit 5 of the preceding vehicle C3 traveling in the traveling lane adjacent to the left of the traveling lane of the own vehicle C1. The vehicle is included in both of the emission ranges T3 of the preceding vehicle information and receives both the preceding vehicle information of the preceding vehicles C2 and C3. However, since the inter-vehicle distance L is longer than the set inter-vehicle distance Ls, the starting vehicle Without returning to step S7, the process returns from step S7 to step S1.

However, when the inter-vehicle distance L between the host vehicle C1 and the preceding vehicle C2 is less than or equal to the set inter-vehicle distance Ls, FIG.
As shown in (b), the information receiving unit 1 of the own vehicle is the own vehicle C.
1 belongs to the radiation range T2 of the information transmission unit 5 of the preceding vehicle C2 in the same traveling lane, but the radiation range T3 of the information transmission unit 5 of the preceding vehicle C3 traveling in the adjacent lane is the preceding vehicle in the same traveling lane as the own vehicle C1. The non-radiation range T3 ', which is blocked by the vehicle body of C2, exists. Since the information receiving unit 1 exists in the non-radiation range T3', the information is transmitted from the information transmitting unit 5 of the preceding vehicle C3. The preceding vehicle information P is not received by the information receiving unit 1 of the own vehicle C1, and only the preceding vehicle information from the immediately preceding preceding vehicle C2 in the same traveling lane required by the own vehicle C1 can be received.

As described above, according to the first embodiment,
When a plurality of vehicles are stopped at a traffic signal or traffic jam, the leading vehicle starts, and the starting state of the leading vehicle is changed to the number of subsequent vehicles obtained by adding “1” to the set number N1 and the leading vehicle starts. The driver will be notified of the condition, and these drivers will be able to prepare for launch with plenty of time,
Smooth starting can be performed, and the set number N
It is possible to reliably detect the number of vehicles obtained by adding “1” to “1”, that is, the start of the vehicle 5 vehicles ahead.

The information providing unit 6 displays the number of vehicles that have just started and the number of chime sounds. A person can surely recognize how many vehicles have started before. Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the second embodiment, the information receiving unit 1 is used instead of detecting the inter-vehicle distance L from the preceding vehicle to prevent reception of preceding vehicle information other than necessary preceding vehicle information.
The reception gain of the vehicle is set to be smaller in the stopped state than during the traveling, so that unnecessary reception of the preceding vehicle information is prevented.

That is, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the preceding vehicle start notifying process executed by the information processing section 2 is performed in steps S6 and S7 in the process of FIG. Is omitted. Alternatively, when the result of the determination in step S1 is that the vehicle is running, the process proceeds to step S21, and the reception gain of the information receiving unit 1 is set to a large value of the normal gain, and Returning to S1, if the result of determination in step S2 is that the host vehicle has not started, the process proceeds to step S22, in which the reception gain of the information receiving unit 1 is reduced to a value smaller than the normal gain, The process proceeds to S5, except that the determination result in step S5 is changed to directly proceed to step S8 when the preceding vehicle information is received. Was treated in the same manner as FIG. 2 are denoted by the same step numbers to the corresponding processing in FIG. 2, and detailed description thereof will be omitted this.

In the process shown in FIG.
The processing of S21 and S22 and the information receiving section 1 correspond to the information means, the processing of steps S3, S4, S10 and S11 correspond to the preceding vehicle information forming means, and the processing of steps S8 and S9.
Corresponds to the monitoring target vehicle start notification means. According to the second embodiment, when the host vehicle is running, the reception gain of the information receiving unit 1 is set to a relatively large normal value, as shown in FIG.
Since the reception range R11 of the information receiving unit 1 of the own vehicle C1 is wide, the information transmitted by the information transmitting unit 5 of the preceding vehicle C2 traveling in the same running lane as the own vehicle C1 and the left traveling lane adjacent to the own vehicle C1 And the information of the preceding vehicle C3 traveling on the vehicle can be received, and the traveling road information such as road congestion information and road surface slip information can be received.

When a stop state due to a signal or a stop state due to traffic congestion is made from this running state, the process proceeds from step S1 to step S22 in the process of FIG. 4, so that the reception gain of the information receiving unit 1 is smaller than the normal value. 5B, the information receiving range R12 of the information receiving unit 1 of the own vehicle C1 becomes narrower as shown in FIG. 5 (b), and the information receiving range R12 immediately before traveling on the same traveling lane as the own vehicle C1. Preceding car C2
Only the preceding vehicle information transmitted from the information transmitting unit 5 of the own vehicle C1 is received, and the reception of the preceding vehicle information transmitted from the preceding vehicle C3 in the traveling lane other than the traveling lane of the own vehicle C1 is reliably prevented. be able to.

Therefore, also in the second embodiment, when the own vehicle is stopped, only the preceding vehicle information transmitted from the preceding vehicle immediately before the same lane as the own vehicle is received, and based on this preceding vehicle information, It is possible to accurately detect the starting state of the preceding vehicle that is ahead of the own vehicle by the set number N1. In the first and second embodiments, when the start state of the host vehicle is detected, the preceding vehicle information P is set to “0”, and the preceding vehicle information P is sequentially set to “1” in the succeeding vehicle. Has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. When the start state of the own vehicle is detected,
The preceding vehicle information P may be set to, for example, "15", and the preceding vehicle information P may be sequentially decremented by "1" in a succeeding vehicle. In this case, in step S8 in FIGS. The set number N1 is set to, for example, "11". When P ≧ N1, the process proceeds to step S9. When P <N1, the process jumps to step S10. It is set to “6”, and when P ≧ N2, the process proceeds to step S4, and when P <N2, the process proceeds to step S1.
With the configuration returning to the above, the same operation and effect as those of the first and second embodiments can be obtained.

In the first and second embodiments, the case where the information providing unit 6 provides both the display information and the sound information to the driver has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, either one of them may be omitted. Further, in the first and second embodiments, the case where the starting state of the host vehicle is detected based on whether or not the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 3 has increased from “0” has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is provided with shift position detecting means for detecting the shift position of the transmission mechanism, and braking operation detecting means for detecting the braking operation of the brake device, and the shift position detecting means shifts the transmission mechanism. When the position is in the forward position and the brake operation detecting means detects the release of the brake operation, it can be detected that the own vehicle is in a start state. In this case, the start of the own vehicle is started immediately before the start of the own vehicle. Since it can be detected that the vehicle is in the state, the preceding vehicle information indicating the starting state can be transmitted to the following vehicle before the inter-vehicle distance L with the following vehicle increases, and the vehicle can be detected as in the first embodiment. When determining whether to perform the start notification control based on preceding vehicle information based on the distance L, it is possible to send precisely the preceding vehicle information that represents the start state to the following vehicle.

In the first and second embodiments, the case where the set number N1 is fixed has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the set number N1 may be set according to the driver's preference. You may make it comprise so that N1 can be set arbitrarily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a preceding vehicle start notification processing procedure executed by an information processing unit in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram serving to explain a preceding vehicle information receiving state when the host vehicle is in a stopped state in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a preceding vehicle start notification processing procedure executed by an information processing unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram serving to explain a preceding vehicle information receiving state when a host vehicle is in a stop state in a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information receiving part 2 Information processing part 3 Vehicle speed sensor 4 Inter-vehicle distance sensor 5 Information transmitting part 6 Information providing part 6a Display 6b Sound generator

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) B60R 21/00 626 B60R 21/00 626E 626C G01P 13/00 G01P 13/00 B G01S 13/08 G01S 13 / 08 17/08 17/08 F term (reference) 2F034 AA16 AC08 AC10 AC11 AC14 BA01 3D044 AA25 AA35 AC22 AC24 AC26 AC56 AC59 AE03 AE04 5H180 AA01 BB02 BB04 CC03 CC12 CC14 LL07 5J070 AB24 AC02 AE01 AF03 AK22 A04A04 AC02 EA22

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An information receiving means for receiving information from a preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane as a host vehicle, an information providing means for providing information to a driver, and an information receiving means for receiving information from the preceding vehicle received by the information receiving means. A monitoring target vehicle that monitors a starting state of a start monitoring target vehicle that is a predetermined number of vehicles ahead of the own vehicle based on the own vehicle, and sends monitoring target vehicle start information to the information providing unit when detecting the starting state of the start monitoring target vehicle. A vehicle start notification device comprising: a start notification unit. 2. An information transmitting means for transmitting information to a succeeding vehicle traveling in the same lane as the own vehicle, an own vehicle start detecting means for detecting start of the own vehicle, a preceding vehicle information received by the information receiving means, 2. A preceding vehicle information forming means for forming preceding vehicle information based on the start information of the own vehicle detected by the own vehicle start detecting means and transmitting the information to the information transmitting means. The vehicle start notification device according to the above. 3. The preceding vehicle information forming means increments the value of the preceding vehicle information when the start of the own vehicle is not detected by the own vehicle start detecting means, and the preceding vehicle information is formed when the start of the own vehicle is detected. 3. The vehicle start notification device according to claim 2, wherein the value is set to "0". 4. The preceding vehicle information forming means increments the value of the preceding vehicle information when the starting of the own vehicle is not detected by the own vehicle start detecting means, and sets the preceding vehicle information when detecting the starting of the own vehicle. 3 is set to "0", and when the value of the preceding vehicle information is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the preceding vehicle information is transmitted to the information transmitting means. Vehicle start notification device. 5. The preceding vehicle information forming means decrements the value of preceding vehicle information when the start of the own vehicle is not detected by the own vehicle start detecting means, and decrements the preceding vehicle information when the start of the own vehicle is detected. 3. The vehicle start notification device according to claim 2, wherein the value of the information is set to a predetermined value. 6. The preceding vehicle information forming means decrements the value of preceding vehicle information when the starting of the own vehicle is not detected by the own vehicle start detecting means, and decrements the value of the preceding vehicle when detecting the starting of the own vehicle. The information value is set to a predetermined value, and transmission of the preceding vehicle information to the information transmitting means is stopped when the value of the preceding vehicle information is equal to or less than the predetermined value. 2. The vehicle start notification device according to 2. 7. The monitoring target vehicle start notifying unit is configured to detect a start state of the monitoring target vehicle when the value of the preceding vehicle information reaches a predetermined value. 7. The vehicle start notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. 8. An inter-vehicle distance detecting means for detecting an inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle immediately before the host vehicle, and said information receiving means includes: The vehicle start notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the vehicle start notification device is configured to receive preceding vehicle information from a vehicle. 9. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a stop state detecting means for detecting a stop state of the own vehicle, and wherein said information receiving means detects a stop state of the own vehicle by said stop state detecting means and sets a preceding vehicle from a preceding vehicle in front of the preceding vehicle. The vehicle start notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a reception sensitivity for receiving information is reduced. 10. A vehicle speed detecting means for detecting a running speed of the host vehicle, wherein the host vehicle start detecting means is in a starting state when the running speed of the host vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. The vehicle start notification device according to any one of claims 2 to 9, wherein the device is configured to detect the vehicle start. 11. A vehicle having a shift position detecting means for detecting a shift position of a transmission mechanism and a braking operation detecting means for detecting a braking operation by a driver. 10. The vehicle start notification device according to claim 2, wherein the self-vehicle is detected to be in a start state when the braking operation is released.