JP2003294839A - Easily mountable optical sensor backward radar - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an easily mountable optical sensor backward radar which can be easily mounted on a vehicle body especially by a general driver by oneself. <P>SOLUTION: The easily mountable optical sensor backward radar is provided with a main body in which a hollow tank chamber is formed. An ultrasonic transmitter/receiver and an photoconductive cell and housed in the hollow tank chamber. The ultrasonic transmitter/receiver and the photoconductive cell are sealed in the main body by a transparent outer lid. When the backward radar is actually applied and mounted to a back light of the vehicle body, whether the backward radar is actuated or not is controlled by turning the back light on or off. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical sensor backward radar which is easy to install, and a backward radar sensor equipped with an optical sensor is mounted on a backlight at the rear of a vehicle body so that a driver can perform backward movement. Then, when the backlight is activated, the light source is given to the light sensor,
The light resistance value is modified to control the ultrasonic wave emitted by the retreat radar to perform the detection operation, and conversely, when the light source of the backlight is turned off, the light resistance value of the light sensor is modified again and the retreat is performed. The radar stops detecting.

The present invention relates to an optical sensor backward radar which is easy to install, and more particularly to a sensing device in which an optical sensor element is installed inside the backward radar, which is mainly for turning on / off a backlight at the rear of a vehicle body. By adjusting the internal resistance value of the sensor element, whether to activate the detection of the backward radar is controlled.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art A reverse radar is mounted inside a vehicle body, and when a driver enters a backward movement, it assists in determining whether or not there is any obstacle behind the vehicle body and produces a warning sound. Such techniques already exist in common.

[0004] In order to further improve the sensitivity and accuracy of the backward radar, the technical point that each company is putting efforts into improvement is how to improve the structure of the backward radar and effectively extend and extend the detection range. In addition, it is necessary to avoid generation of an erroneous warning sound due to a detection error of the backward radar.

Although the above-mentioned pursuit is certainly an important point to be improved in the detection technology, another important point to be considered is whether or not the backward radar is easily mounted. is there. As for the known art, whether or not the reverse radar is activated is controlled by the back gear. When mounting, first find the power supply conductor inside the car, remove the insulating rubber layer that covers the outer layer of the conductor to expose the inner metal conductor, and connect the metal conductor and the power supply line of the backward radar again. An electrical connection must be configured, and when the driver changes gears to the back gear, the power supply wire inside the vehicle is energized to drive the operation of the reverse radar and the reverse detection operation is started.

[0006] However, for a general driver, this kind of backward radar mounting flow is not suitable for mounting by himself, so he must ask a specialist to mount it.
Even if you are an expert, the internal wiring is not necessarily the same for each type of vehicle made by each manufacturer, so you have to spend a certain amount of time to find the power supply conductor accurately, which is also a hassle. It is an action.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical sensor backward-moving radar that is easy to install, and in particular, to allow a general driver to easily install it on the vehicle body by himself. is there.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, an optical sensor backward radar that is easy to install is
It is equipped with a main body with a hollow tank chamber, in which the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver and the photoconductive cell are housed, and the transparent outer lid also covers the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver and the light. A conduction cell is sealed inside the body. When actually applying the present invention, when the backward radar is mounted on the backlight of the vehicle body, whether or not the backward radar is activated is controlled by turning on / off the backlight.

[0009]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS To better understand the structural features and other objects of the present invention, a more detailed description is given below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of the present invention, which is connected to a power supply unit (20) and a photodetector circuit (30), and whose output is a main control circuit (40). ) Is provided with a switch control circuit (10) connected to the output alarm circuit (50), of which the main control circuit (40) is responsible for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals and for detecting obstacles. used.

The operating principle of the above circuit block diagram is as follows. That is, during normal operation of the vehicle, since the backlight is not turned on, the relevant switch control circuit (10) exhibits a cut-off state, and the relevant main control circuit (40) is not supplied with power from the power supply unit (20). For,
It does not provide a detection function. On the contrary, when the vehicle backs up, the backlight is turned on and the light source is provided to the light detection circuit (30). After receiving the signal from the light source, the photodetection circuit (30) controls the switch control circuit (10) to switch it to the energized state. At that time, the main control circuit (40) acquires operating power from the power supply unit (20), and at the same time, drives the emission of ultrasonic signals to start detecting whether or not an obstacle is present. When an obstacle is present, the main control circuit (40) concerned receives the ultrasonic signal reflected from the obstacle and, at the same time, drives the alarm output circuit (50) concerned to generate a warning sound and drive the driver. Let us know.

FIG. 2 is a detailed circuit diagram of the present invention, in which the power supply unit (20), the switch control circuit (10) and the light detection circuit (30) are arranged in the lower left portion of the drawing. Are connected. After inputting the power supply unit (20), the PNP transistor (12) of the switch control circuit (10) has its emitter and collector both ends bridge-connected between the input power supply and the ground end.
The collector end of the main control circuit (4
0) inside. The base of the transistor (12) is connected to the collector end of the NPN transistor (11), the emitter end of the transistor (11) is connected to the ground end, and the base end of the transistor (11) is connected to the light detection circuit (30). ) Is connected to the collector terminal of the NPN transistor (32) in FIG. Both ends of the base and the emitter of the transistor (32) are connected to the photo sensor element (31) and the ground end, respectively. With respect to the photodetection circuit (30) in question, whether or not a light beam is input is detected by a photodiode in the present embodiment, but it can be replaced by another photosensitive element, for example, a photoconductive cell. The detailed description of the circuit is as follows.

According to the present invention, the internal resistance value of the photosensor element (31) is mounted inside the backlight at the rear of the vehicle body and is controlled by whether the backlight is on or off. When the vehicle is operating normally, the backlight is not illuminated, so the photosensor element (31) in question has a high resistance value and provides a sufficient bias to energize the transistor (32). At that time, the transistor (11) in the switch control circuit (10) concerned,
Since (12) is not sufficiently biased, it exhibits a cut-off state. And once transistor (12)
Is cut off, the power supply unit (20) does not have a power supply circuit to the electronic main control circuit (40), and therefore no detection operation is performed.

On the contrary, when the vehicle backs up, the backlight is turned on and the light beam is provided to the photosensor element (31) in question and its resistance is reduced, so that the base of the transistor (32) acquires a sufficient bias. Since it cannot be done, it exhibits a cut-off state. Once the transistor (32) is cut off, the potential of its collector increases, so that a sufficient voltage drop occurs in the switch control circuit (1
0) is supplied to the transistor (11), and after the transistor (11) is energized, another transistor (12) is also energized accordingly. At that time, since the power supply unit (20) forms a circuit after the transistor (12) is energized,
Providing an input voltage to the main control circuit (40), a microprocessor (41) inside the main control circuit (40) obtains an operating power source, and immediately after that, an ultrasonic transmitting / receiving element (42)
Is driven to emit an ultrasonic signal to perform a detection operation.
Once an obstacle is present, the emitted ultrasonic signal is immediately reflected by the ultrasonic emitting and receiving element (42) of interest and the signal is fed back to the microprocessor (41). After receiving the feedback signal, the microprocessor (41) immediately outputs the control signal to the control IC (43) inside the alarm output circuit (50), and the drive signal is sent out by the control IC (51) and the buzzer is output. (52) generates a warning sound and achieves a warning function.

Shown in FIG. 3 is a pictorial view of a specific embodiment of the present invention in which a control box (60) is connected to the reverse radar (61) on both sides. Among them, the control circuit of the present invention is installed in the control box (60), and the optical sensor element (32) is already mounted inside each backward radar (61). The reverse radars (61) on both sides are mounted in the backlights on both sides behind the vehicle body. A power plug (62) is separately connected to the control box (60), and the external appearance of the power plug (62) is similar to the cigarette lighter in the vehicle. It can be inserted into the socket and power can be supplied to the control circuit from there. A buzzer (52) is installed in the power plug (62), and once the backward radar (61) detects an obstacle behind the vehicle, the buzzer (52) generates a warning sound and the driver Notify.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show the retreat radar (61), and its specific structure is a main body (70) having an opening and having a hollow tank chamber (71) formed therein. The silicone rubber ring (72) is installed inside the tank chamber (71), and the silicone rubber ring (7)
The ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving sensor element (42) referred to in the above circuit description is installed in the center of 2), and the optical sensor element (31) is provided above the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving sensor element (42). ) Is also installed, and finally each element described above is attached to the main body (7) by a transparent lid (73).
It is sealed in the tank chamber (71) of (0).

As can be seen from the above description, the present invention is one that can be surely and easily installed by the driver itself, and has both simplicity and practicality. The above is a specific description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, which does not limit the scope of the utility model claims of the present invention. Further, the present invention already has the above-mentioned advantages, and also has a remarkable improvement in function when compared with the known art. Therefore, the design of the present invention complies with the requirements of the patent, and it is dependent on the law to file the application.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed circuit diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sketch of a specific embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an assembled sectional sketch of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Switch control circuit 11, 12: Transistor 20: Power supply unit 30: Light detection circuit 31: Optical sensor element 32: Transistor 40: Main control circuit 41: Microprocessor 42: Ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving sensor element 50: Alarm output circuit 51: Control IC 52: Buzzer 60: Control box 61: Backward radar 62: Power plug 70: Main body 71: Tank room 72: Silicon rubber ring 73: Transparent lid

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A body having a hollow tank chamber having an opening, an ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving sensor element mounted in the hollow tank chamber for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals, and the hollow tank. It is installed inside the room and also constitutes an electrical signal connection with the ultrasonic transmitting / receiving sensor element in question, and is equipped with an optical sensor element that detects the input of light rays, and is installed on the backlight of the vehicle body. An optical sensor backward radar that is easy to install, characterized in that the optical sensor element is controlled depending on whether the light is turned on or off, and the activation of the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving sensor element is controlled by the optical sensor element. 2. The optical sensor retractable device according to claim 1, wherein a transparent lid is installed on the tank chamber of the main body, and each element in the tank chamber is sealed thereby. Radar. 3. The optical sensor backward radar is connected to a control box, a control circuit is installed inside the control box, and the optical sensor element and the ultrasonic wave transmitting / receiving element are electrically connected to the control circuit. The optical sensor retracting radar according to claim 2, wherein the optical sensor retracting radar has a simple connection. 4. A power plug is connected to the control box, and the external shape of the power plug is formed by imitating the structure of the cigarette lighter in the vehicle. Therefore, the power plug is inserted in the cigarette lighter socket in the vehicle. The optical sensor backward radar according to claim 3, wherein the plug provides power to the control circuit in the control box by providing the plug. 5. The optical sensor backward radar according to claim 4, wherein a buzzer is installed in the power plug.