JP2002254987A - Information device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information device for a vehicle with push button switches on a mirror body of a room mirror device, eliminating a possible change in direction of the mirror body with the operation of the push button switches. SOLUTION: The mirror body 16 of the room mirror device 12 is tiltingly connected to a supporting frame 13 to be mounted on the body side of the vehicle via a ball joint 15. The push button switches 6-8 are arranged on the side of the mirror body 16 of the room mirror device 12. A braking device 22 is provided on the mirror body 16 with a brake lever 24 to be pressed against a ball 19. The possible movement of the mirror body 17 with the operation of the push button switches 6-8 is eliminated by the braking force of the braking device 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-vehicle notifying device for notifying an emergency in a vehicle when the emergency occurs.

[0002]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A vehicular reporting device detects the presence or absence of an accident by detecting the impact force (deceleration of the vehicle) generated due to a collision or the like by an acceleration sensor.
As soon as an accident is detected, the transmission / reception device automatically informs a predetermined report destination, for example, a police station, a fire department, an emergency service center, etc., of the vehicle ID, the current position of the vehicle, and the magnitude of the impact force received by the accident. It is configured to transmit information.

[0003] In this vehicle reporting device, not only an automatic report in the event of an accident, but also a report to an emergency service center when, for example, the user feels sick while driving the vehicle,
In order to notify a road service center when a vehicle breaks down, a push button switch for transmitting is provided. There is a conventional vehicle notification device in which this push button switch is provided on a mirror body of a rearview mirror device so that a driver can easily operate it even during driving.

However, since the mirror body of the rearview mirror device is connected to a support frame mounted on the body of the vehicle via a ball joint so as to be able to adjust the direction, a notification device having a pushbutton switch provided on the mirror body is provided. In this case, the operation of the push button switch may change the direction of the mirror main body, which may make it difficult to visually recognize the rear.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a push-button switch provided on a mirror body of a rearview mirror apparatus, and to have a mirror body oriented even if the push-button switch is pressed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle reporting device that is not likely to change.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a suppressing means for suppressing the tilt for adjusting the direction of the mirror body of the rearview mirror apparatus. There is no risk of accidentally changing. When the suppression by the suppression means is released by the release means, the direction of the mirror body can be easily adjusted.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a vehicle notification device provided in a passenger car. As shown in the figure, the notification device 1 includes a control circuit 2, a transmission / reception device 3,
It comprises a GPS receiver 4, an acceleration sensor 5, for example, three push button switches 6 to 8, a microphone 9, a speaker 10, and the like. In FIG. 5, the push button switches 6 to 8 are 1
Shown individually.

The control circuit 2 is configured as a computer system including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like.
The ROM stores vehicle ID information. The control circuit 2 receives signals from the GPS receiver 4, the acceleration sensor 5, and the three push-button switches 6 to 8.

The GPS receiver performs calculations based on positioning radio waves from GPS satellites to detect the current position (latitude, longitude, altitude) of the vehicle. The acceleration sensor 5 detects the acceleration of the vehicle, and its detection signal is used in the control circuit 2 and also as an airbag operation signal. Also, among the three push button switches 6 to 8, the push button switch 6
Is to notify the emergency service center in case of sudden illness,
The push button switch 7 is for notifying the road service center when the vehicle is out of order, and the push button switch 8 is for canceling the report to the emergency service center or the road service center by the push button switches 6 and 7 described above.

The control circuit 2 outputs an emergency occurrence signal to the transmission / reception device 3 when detecting the occurrence of an emergency based on signals from the acceleration sensor 5 and the push button switches 6 and 7. At this time, the transmission / reception device 3 simultaneously transmits to the transmission / reception device 3 the position data of the vehicle acquired from the GPS reception device 4 and the emergency situation information indicating which of the acceleration sensor 5 and the push button switches 6 and 7 the emergency situation has occurred. Output. The memory of the transmission / reception device 3 stores the telephone number of the notification destination according to the emergency status information. The transmission / reception device 3 performs, based on the emergency occurrence signal and the emergency status information sent from the control circuit 2, A report is made to the report destination using the telephone number of the predetermined report destination. For example, when the acceleration sensor 5 operates, a report is made to, for example, a police station, a fire department or an emergency service center, and when the push button switch 6 is operated, a report is made to the road service center.

At the time of notification, the voice of a driver or other person in the vehicle is input from the microphone 11 to the control circuit 2, and the control circuit 2 modulates the voice signal input from the microphone 9 to
Output as a radio signal. Also,
The control circuit 2 demodulates the radio signal received by the transmission / reception device 3 via the antenna 11 and outputs the demodulated audio signal to A
/ D conversion and output to the speaker 10.

[0012] Inside the vehicle, a rearview mirror device 12 is provided at the front upper portion of the driver's seat for rearward visibility. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rearview mirror device 12 includes a plastic support frame 13 fixed to a vehicle body (not shown) by a fixing means such as a screw or an adhesive, and the support frame. A mirror body 16 is connected to the distal end of the thirteen arms 14 via a ball joint 15 as a movable connecting means. The mirror body 16 is a mirror housing 1
7 and the mirror 1 mounted on the mirror housing 17
8

The ball joint 15 has a ball 19 formed at the tip of the arm 14 and a spherical recess 2 formed in the mirror housing 17 so as to hold the ball 19.
It has a well-known structure consisting of 0. The mirror body 16 is rotatable around the ball 19 of the ball joint 15, that is, can be tilted up, down, left, and right. The view behind the vehicle can be changed. The tilt position of the mirror 18 is maintained by the friction between the ball 19 and the spherical recess 20.

The mirror housing 17 of the rearview mirror device 12 as described above is hollow, and a switch arrangement portion 21 is formed at a lower central portion so as to protrude downward.
A printed circuit board (not shown) is provided in the hollow of the switch placement section 21, and the push button switches 6 to 8, the microphone 9, and the speaker 10 are mounted on the printed circuit board. The push button switches 6 to 8 are arranged side by side in the left and right direction, and the push button portions protrude forward from the switch arrangement portion 21. In addition, microphone 9
The loudspeaker 10 is disposed on the switch arranging portion 21 so as to be located on the left and right sides of the push button switches 6 to 8.

A brake device 22 is provided at a lower portion of the mirror housing 17 as restraining means for restraining the mirror body 16 from inadvertent tilting. The brake device 22 is made of a plastic brake lever 24 supported on the mirror housing 17 via a hinge shaft 23 so as to be rotatable up and down, and a front end of the brake lever 24 is rotated via a shaft pin 25. A release button 26 as a suppression release means connected as possible.

A hole (not shown) is formed in the bottom surface of the switch arrangement portion 21, and the lower end of the release button 26 projects from this hole. A hole 27 and a split groove 28 are formed below the spherical recess 20 of the mirror housing 17, and the rear end of the brake lever 24 protrudes into the hole 27 and the split groove 28. A tension coil spring 29 as an urging means is stretched between the shaft pin 25 and the bottom of the switch arrangement portion 21. The elasticity of the tension coil spring 29 causes the brake lever 24 to move in the direction of arrow A. The rear end portion is pressed against the ball 19 by being urged to rotate. The brake force is applied by the pressure contact of the brake lever 24 to the ball 19, and the tilting of the mirror body 16 is suppressed.

The release button 26 is connected to a tension coil spring 29.
, And always protrudes downward from the switch arrangement portion 21. When the release button 26 is pushed up, the brake lever 24 rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow A and separates from the ball 19. As a result, the braking force is released, and the mirror body 16 can be tilted.

In the notification device configured as described above, for example, when the passengers feel sick while driving the vehicle, the push button switch 6 is pressed to notify the emergency service center. Then, the information is output from the control circuit 2 to the transmission / reception device 3, and the transmission / reception device 3 notifies the emergency service center. The conversation between the driver of the emergency service center and the driver at this time is performed through the microphone 9 and the speaker 10.

When the push button switch 6 is pressed, the brake lever 24 is in pressure contact with the ball 19 to suppress the tilting of the mirror body 16, so that the mirror body 16 is inadvertently tilted by the pressing operation. There is no fear that the direction will change. Of course, the effect of suppressing the tilting of the mirror main body 16 at the time of the pressing operation can be obtained similarly at the time of the pressing operation of the other push button switches 7 and 8. On the other hand, when changing the direction of the mirror body 16 to change the rear view, the release button 26 is pushed up.
Then, the brake lever 24 rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow A and separates from the ball 19 to release the brake. As a result, the mirror main body 16 can be tilted. As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the thumb of one hand is applied to the release button 26, and the other finger is applied to the upper part of the mirror main body 16, and the mirror main body 26 is moved. Perform a tilt operation to change to the desired direction.

The present embodiment is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, but can be extended or modified as follows. The transmission / reception device 3 may be configured by a mobile phone. Various other specific structures of the brake device 22 are conceivable. The suppressing means is not limited to the brake device. For example, a number of concave portions are formed on the outer surface of the ball 19, and a pin is provided on the mirror body 16 side so as to be removably engaged with the concave portion of the ball 19, and the pin is engaged with the concave portion. Mirror body 1 depending on the case
6 may be locked. The number of push button switches provided on the support frame 14 may be one. The movable connecting means for connecting the mirror body 16 to the support frame 14 is not limited to the ball joint 15. The report destination by the push button switch is not limited to the emergency service center or the road service center. The number of pushbutton switches provided on the mirror body 16 may be one.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state when a push button switch is operated.

FIG. 2 is a front view

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a brake device.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a state in which the inclination of the mirror body is changed.
Equivalent figure

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration.

[Explanation of symbols]

In the figure, 1 is a reporting device, 2 is a control circuit, 3 is a transmitting and receiving device,
6 to 8 are pushbutton switches, 12 is a room mirror device, 13
Is a support frame, 14 is an arm, 15 is a ball joint, 16 is a mirror body, 22 is a brake device (suppression means), 24 is a brake lever, and 26 is a release button (release means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vehicular communication device provided with a push button switch for transmitting a signal to the outside, comprising: a support frame fixed to a vehicle body side; and a rearwardly supported tiltable support for adjusting the direction of the support frame. In a room mirror device having a mirror main body for visual recognition, the push button switch is disposed on the mirror main body, and a suppression unit for suppressing tilting of the mirror main body is provided, and the suppression by the suppression unit is released. A notification device for a vehicle, further comprising a suppression canceling means for tilting the mirror body.