JP2004258048A - Microwave detector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a microwave detector which can perform original detecting operation and a warning operation accompanying the original detecting operation, while saving the power. <P>SOLUTION: When a microwave of an object is received by a microwave detector body 2, an alarm unit 7 is operated to issue an alarm. The microwave detector includes a GPS receiver 3 for acquiring GPS information, a position storage unit 4 for storing the position information of a target (object to be detected, etc.), a distance detecting unit 5 for obtaining a distance up to the target from the present position detected by the GPS receiver 3 and the position information of the target existing in the circumference stored in the position storage unit, and an operation controller 6 for controlling the operation of the GPS receiver, in response to the distance up to the target obtained by the distance detecting unit. The operation controller 6 controls so that the shorter the distance up to the target, the shorter the intermittently operating interval. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a microwave detector, and more particularly to an operation control technique of a position detector in a microwave detector having the position detector.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, many automatic speed control devices for controlling speeding offenders have been installed around roads and the like. As an example of an automatic speed control device, a microwave in a predetermined frequency band is emitted toward a vehicle, and the reflected wave is received to measure the traveling speed of the vehicle.

On the other hand, in order to detect the existence of such an automatic speed control device, a microwave detector configured to detect a microwave emitted from the automatic speed control device and output an alarm has been conventionally known.

  By the way, the frequency of the microwave emitted from the automatic speed control device is the same frequency band as the microwave output from the human body detection sensor in the automatic door. Therefore, if the microwave detector is operated when traveling in a city, a false alarm may be output in response to the microwave output from the human body detection sensor.

  When such false alarms are output frequently, it is harsh or conversely, the driver is used to the alarms, and an alarm is issued based on microwaves from the automatic speed control device to be detected. May be determined to be a false alarm.

  In addition, there are types that are easy to detect and types that are difficult to detect, even for an automatic speed control device that is a detection target of the microwave detector. Therefore, for example, when the sensitivity of the microwave detector is set to high sensitivity, microwaves emitted from a device that is easy to detect are detected from a position far from the transmission source and an alarm is issued, so that it is unpleasant. In some cases, if the presence of the automatic speed control device in front of the device cannot be confirmed, there is a possibility that the device may be mistaken for a false alarm.

  Conversely, if the sensitivity of the microwave detector is set to low sensitivity, microwaves emitted from a device that is difficult to detect will be detected and alerted only after reaching the point just before the transmission source, May not be useful.

  Further, even with the same device, the detectable distance varies depending on the installation location. That is, when there is no obstacle on a straight road, the detection distance becomes long, and when the road is curved or there is an obstacle, the detection distance becomes short.

  Furthermore, some automatic speed enforcement devices cannot be detected by conventional microdetectors. As an example, there is a type in which a loop-shaped coil is buried in the ground to detect a vehicle passing over the coil and determine the vehicle speed, as called a loop type. There is also one that detects the speed of a vehicle using light other than microwaves.

  Therefore, the present applicant has developed an apparatus for controlling the operation of the microwave detector using GPS information in order to suppress the occurrence of the above-described problem. In other words, the installation position of a detection target such as an automatic speed control device, the installation position of a non-detection target such as a human body detection sensor, and other areas where a high sensitivity mode is better, or a low sensitivity mode is better. Control information in which a region, such as a good region, is associated with an operation state of the microwave detector in the region is stored in a storage device. As the operation state, for example, an alarm is issued regardless of the presence or absence of the detection of the microwave, an alarm is not issued, or the mode is switched between a high sensitivity mode and a low sensitivity mode.

  On the other hand, the current position of the vehicle is acquired using the GPS information during traveling. Then, the storage device is accessed from the acquired position information, control information suitable for the current position is read, and the operation of the microwave detector is controlled. In other words, when the location is in a city, the reception sensitivity is set low during traveling to make it difficult to respond to human body detection sensors, etc., and when traveling on a suburb or an expressway, the reception sensitivity is raised to ensure automatic reception. Detecting microwaves from the speed enforcement device and automatically switching modes to make it easier to issue an alarm are performed automatically.

  On the other hand, the power source of the microwave detector includes a type obtained from a cigar socket of a vehicle and a type using both a secondary battery and a solar cell. In particular, when a solar cell is used, power saving is indispensable to suppress the consumption of the secondary battery. In the conventional microwave detector, not only the power consumption of each circuit is suppressed, but also the power consumption per unit time is suppressed by intermittent driving.

  By the way, when a control system using the above-described GPS information is mounted on such a microwave detector using a solar battery or a secondary battery as a power source, a GPS position is added in addition to a normal microwave detecting device. Since more power is consumed by a circuit for acquiring information, further power saving is indispensable. Furthermore, simply increasing the stop time during intermittent driving, which is a conventional power saving technique, may require a large amount of power in a circuit that acquires PGS information, and the stop time becomes too long. May not be available.

  That is, for example, when the power consumption of the GPS receiving unit is 100 mA and the target current consumption is 1 mA, this can be realized by setting the intermittent operation to 100: 1. Since the operation time per one time for detecting the microwave is as small as about 10 msec, the stop time can be short even if the interval of the intermittent operation is slightly increased, but in the case of the GPS receiver, the position is detected. Therefore, a reception time of about one second is required. Therefore, if the intermittent operation is set to 100: 1, a non-operation portion occurs for 99 seconds. This means that when the vehicle is traveling at 50 km / h, the position cannot be detected at about 1.4 km. When the vehicle is located far from the target, it is good. It passes the position and is not practical.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described background, and aims at solving the above-described problem and controlling the state of intermittent driving, for example, the stop time, according to the surrounding conditions and the like. Another object of the present invention is to provide a microwave detector capable of performing an original detection operation and an accompanying alarm operation while saving power.

  In order to achieve the above object, a microwave detector according to the present invention includes a microwave detector main body that detects microwaves and outputs an alarm, a position detection unit, and an intermittent operation by controlling operations of the position detection unit. The microwave detector includes an operation control unit for performing an operation, a position storage unit for storing a position of the target, and a distance detection unit for calculating a distance from the position detection unit and the position storage unit to the target. Then, the operation control means determines the control content from the output of the distance detection means.

  When the distance to the target is long, the operation is not particularly controlled. When the distance to the target becomes short, the operation of the position detecting means is controlled in order to accurately recognize the position information.

  As an example of this control, when the distance to the target is within a predetermined range, the intermittent operation is changed to the constant operation, or the length of the intermittent operation interval is determined. it can.

  In addition, speed detection means may be provided, and the operation control means may determine the control content based on an output of the speed detection means and an output of the distance detection means. That is, even if the distance to the target value is the same, the time to reach the target value is different if the speed is different. Therefore, by changing the control content according to the speed, detection and alarm output can be performed at a desired accuracy while saving power. For example, the higher the speed is, the shorter the time to reach the target is. Therefore, the interval at the time of intermittent driving may be shortened.

  The speed detecting means is not limited to a method for obtaining a specific hourly speed, but may be a device for roughly obtaining a speed such as a low speed / high speed. Furthermore, it also includes a method for determining whether the speed is 0, that is, whether the vehicle is running. In other words, in other words, it can be said to be a means for detecting the running state. If it is not necessary to determine a specific speed, such as when the vehicle is stopped, running at low speed, or running at high speed, a sensor with low power consumption such as a vibration sensor or a vehicle speed pulse can be used. Therefore, real-time detection is possible by constantly operating.

  Further, target type storage means for storing the type of the target in relation to the position information of the target is provided, and the operation control means, based on the type of the target stored in the target type storage means, The control content may be determined.

  For example, when it is necessary to acquire accurate position information, such as a speed control device that is difficult to detect or a speed control device that cannot be recognized, the interval of the intermittent operation is shortened, and further, the operation is performed at all times. By performing the control, the position information is accurately obtained, and a predetermined process can be performed.

  Further, when the control is performed in consideration of the speed information (running state) detected by the speed detecting means in addition to the type of the target, the following control can be performed (of course, the control is not limited to the following). ). That is, when the target is an object of intermittent control of the position detecting means such as a speed control device, the interval at which the intermittent operation is performed can be simply determined according to the speed.

  In addition, when the target is a radar-based enforcement device, when the running state of the vehicle is low or intermittent, radar waves can be detected by the microwave detector, and the position detection means is subject to intermittent control. Can not be.

  Further, a vehicle traveling direction detecting means for detecting a traveling direction of the vehicle is provided, and the operation control means determines the control content from an output of the distance detecting means, and the distance detecting means determines the control content. May be a distance to a target existing within a predetermined angle range with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle detected by the vehicle traveling direction detecting means.

  That is, when the angle is greatly shifted, there is a high possibility that the target is installed on a road other than the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling. Therefore, power consumption can be further reduced by not controlling a target installed outside the traveling road.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that a vehicle change detecting unit that detects a change in the traveling speed of the vehicle is provided, and the operation control unit determines the control content based on an output of the vehicle change detecting unit.

  Further, the operation control means can control the position detection means to operate by an output of the microwave detector main body. And a microwave detector main body for detecting the microwave and outputting an alarm, a position detecting means, an operation controlling means for controlling the operation of the position detecting means, and a position storing means for storing the position of the target. In the microwave detection device, the operation control unit may control the position detection unit to operate based on an output of the microwave detector main body.

  Furthermore, a target type storage unit that stores the type of the target in relation to the position information of the target is provided, and the operation of the microwave detector is determined in consideration of the output of the target type storage unit. Good.

  On the other hand, the operation control means has a function of determining the operation of the microwave detector main body, and when one of the position detection means and the microwave detector main body is operating, the other operates. It is good to control not to make it do. By not using them at the same time, an increase in power consumption can be suppressed.

  Further, it is preferable that the operation control means has a function of stopping the operation of the microwave detector main body when the speed of the vehicle is equal to or lower than a certain speed.

  Still further, a road type storage unit for storing a road type on which the target is installed and a road type detection unit for determining a road type in which the vehicle is traveling are provided, and the operation control unit includes a road type determined by the road type detection unit. It is preferable that only the targets installed in the type are set as the control targets. In this way, even if there is a target nearby, if the target is not a running road, it can be processed as invalid. As a result, the number of times that the interval of the intermittent operation is reduced as a processing target can be reduced, and power saving can be achieved.

  And it is good to have the function which controls a warning operation based on the position information detected by the said position detection means. The control of the alarm operation includes both direct control and indirect control. In other words, direct control operations such as issuing an alarm or stopping the alarm based on the position information, and changing the sensitivity of the microwave However, there is an indirect control operation that can issue an alarm or control not to issue an alarm.

  Further, in the case of the control not to issue the alarm, when the microwave is received, the position information is actually acquired by the position detecting means, and the alarm is stopped after confirming that it is a malfunction source. it can. Also, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the position detecting unit performs an intermittent operation and recognizes from the position information obtained during the operation that there is a target object for which an alarm is prohibited within a certain distance. In such a case, the warning may be prohibited even if the microwave is received during the predetermined period during the suspension.

  In the microwave detector according to the present invention, the state of intermittent driving (for example, stop time) can be controlled in accordance with the distance from the current vehicle position to the target and other surrounding conditions. Thus, power saving can be achieved by increasing the operation suspension period. In addition, by appropriately setting the period during which the primary suspension is performed in accordance with the surrounding situation, it is possible to reliably detect the microwave to be detected and perform an alarm operation.

  FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the microwave detector 1. As shown in the figure, a microwave detector 1 detects a microwave in a predetermined frequency band based on set operation setting conditions, and outputs a control signal for outputting an alarm, and a microwave detector main body 2. , A GPS receiving unit 3 as position detecting means for acquiring GPS information, a position storing unit 4 for storing position information of a target (a detection target or the like), a current position detected by the GPS receiving unit 3 and a position storing unit 4. The distance detecting unit 5 for obtaining the distance to the target from the position information of the target existing in the vicinity stored in the GPS receiver 3 according to the distance to the target obtained by the distance detecting unit 5. It has an operation control unit 6 for controlling the operation. Further, an alarm device 7 that issues a predetermined alarm based on a detection signal of the microwave detector main body 2 is provided. Although not shown, the power supply of this embodiment is a solar cell and a secondary battery charged by the solar cell.

  The microwave detector main body 2 detects a microwave having a desired frequency based on the microwave captured through the horn antenna 2a, and determines whether or not the target microwave has been received based on the detection output signal. . Then, when it is received, it sends a detection signal to the alarm device 7 and outputs a predetermined alarm. For example, the alarm may be a buzzer or a sound, or a corresponding one such as a lamp such as a light LED or a display.

  The GPS receiving unit 3 receives a GPS signal emitted from a global positioning satellite, measures the current position of the vehicle, and obtains a traveling speed and a traveling direction based on the measured position. Specifically, the receiving antenna 3a and the GPS receiver 3b receive GPS signals emitted from a plurality of satellites, give the reception to the position detection unit 3c, and based on the reception information, the current position ( Longitude, latitude information). The GPS receiver 3 is driven intermittently, and the ratio of primary stop / operation is determined by a control signal from the operation controller 6.

  The position (latitude, longitude) of the target stored in the position storage unit 4 can be registered in advance using, for example, an input operation unit (not shown) of the position of the automatic speed control device as the target. This input operation may be performed by operating an operation panel, input buttons, and the like provided on the microwave detector to input latitude, longitude, and the like, or by setting a ROM or various storage media and receiving the information therefrom. The user can register or store some information at the time of factory shipment.

  Further, the registration may be automatically performed based on the detection signal of the microwave detector main body 2. This is because, when a desired microwave is detected, the output of the S-meter is monitored, and when the output reaches the maximum value, it can be determined that it is closest to the transmission source, and the position information (latitude, longitude) at that time is detected. It can also be received from the unit 3c and stored.

  When the distance to the target is long, the operation control unit 6 performs an operation of setting the interval (stop time) of the intermittent operation to be long, and when the distance is short, to set it short. The specific intermittent ratio and distance are set based on power consumption and the like. Note that the number of switching may be two or three or more.

  According to this embodiment, for example, if the distance to the target is 10 km, the vehicle arrives at the target 6 minutes after traveling at 100 km / h, and even if the speed is unknown, it is 3 km. There is no problem even if the GPS operation is not performed for about a minute. Therefore, in this case, the interval between the intermittent operations can be set to 180: 1, and the current consumption is further reduced.

  Three minutes later, when the distance to the target is calculated again, if the distance to the target is 4 km, the same processing is performed, and the intermittent operation interval is set to 100: 1. If the distance to the target in the next operation is 1 km, the intermittent operation may be further shortened, or the reception operation may be continued at a fixed distance.

  As a result, when the distance to the target is long, the stop time can be increased, and the consumption of the secondary battery can be suppressed as much as possible. In addition, the operation control for the GPS receiving unit 3 includes not only controlling the interval of the intermittent operation, but also switching from the intermittent operation to the constant operation when approaching the target within a certain distance. You may.

  Although not specifically shown, in the present embodiment, the alarm operation is controlled directly or indirectly based on the detected position information. This can be similarly applied to the following embodiments.

  That is, for example, when the location of a malfunction source such as a human body sensor in an automatic door is stored, an alarm is not output even if microwaves are detected while approaching the stored location. Further, when the position information of the speed control device that cannot be detected by the microwave detector is stored, an alarm is output when the position approaches the stored position. The warning based on the position information is not limited to the speed control device that is difficult to detect as described above, and the warning may be output to the speed control device that is easy to detect. These are the direct control of the alarm operation.

  Further, the sensitivity of the microwave detector body may be switched. That is, the sensitivity is set to be low in a city or the like, and high in a suburb or an expressway. Furthermore, the sensitivity can be made low around the speed control device that is easy to detect, and high sensitivity around the speed control device that is difficult to detect. This is the control of the indirect alarm operation.

  FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. As is apparent from comparison with FIG. 1, the speed detecting unit 8 is provided, and the operation control unit 6 determines the distance to the target obtained by the distance detecting unit 5 and the current traveling speed of the vehicle obtained by the speed detecting unit 8. , The intermittent operation of the GPS receiver 3 is controlled.

  Since the current position information is given from the GPS receiving unit 3 to the speed detecting unit 8, for example, the moving distance per unit time is obtained from the position information at a certain point in time and the position information after a unit time has elapsed, and the vehicle speed Can be calculated. Further, the vehicle speed pulse of the vehicle may be acquired and the speed may be calculated based on the pulse, or other various methods may be used.

  Then, the intermittent operation control of the GPS receiving unit 3 taking into account the speed information basically controls the interval of the intermittent operation to be increased when the speed is low. That is, even if the distance to the target is the same, the faster the speed, the faster the vehicle reaches the target. To put it simply, if the speed is reduced by half, it takes twice as long to reach the speed, so that the interval between the intermittent operations can be doubled.

  In other words, in the specific example shown in the first embodiment, if the vehicle travels at 50 km / h when the distance to the target is 10 km, the vehicle arrives at the target. This is 12 minutes later. Even if the GPS operation is not performed for about 6 minutes, the distance from the target is 5 km, and there is no problem. Therefore, in that case, the interval of the intermittent operation can be set to 360: 1, and the current consumption is further reduced. Conversely, if the speed is high, the interval must be shortened.

  In addition, the control of the interval of the intermittent operation with respect to this speed is performed, for example, by retaining related information of the distance and the interval in the case of the reference speed, and when the actual speed is obtained, based on the ratio of the speed to the reference speed. The interval may be obtained by arithmetic processing, or a plurality of speed regions may be set in advance, the relationship between each speed region and the distance to the target object is obtained and stored, and the interval is determined based on the stored information. May be set. Note that the other configuration and operation and effect are the same as those of the above-described first embodiment, and therefore, are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, based on the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a target type storage unit 9 for storing the type of the target in relation to the position information of the target is provided. The operation control unit 6 determines the control content of the intermittent operation in consideration of the type of the target stored in the target type storage unit 9 in addition to the distance to the target and the current speed.

  Here, the “type of target” is stored in association with the position information stored in the position storage unit 4 and indicates what the target whose position is stored in the position storage unit 4 is. It is. Although the two storage units 4 and 9 are separately described for the sake of convenience, they may be registered in one storage unit in association with each other.

  As specific types of target objects, for example, there are "speed control device that is easy to detect", "speed control device that is difficult to detect, speed control device that cannot be detected", and "malfunction source such as automatic door". An example of each control content is as follows.

* Speed control device that is difficult to detect, speed control device that cannot be detected If the position is confirmed after obtaining the output of the microwave detector, it is not possible to issue an alarm at the proper position. Shortens the interval and captures the position information from the GPS receiver with high accuracy. Then, if necessary, when the distance approaches a predetermined threshold value or less, an alarm may be output irrespective of the presence or absence of microwave reception by the microwave detector main body 2. The alarm at this time is preferably different from the alarm when the detection is performed by the microwave detector main body 2.

* Speed control device that is easy to detect Increase intermittent operation (or sleep state). Even if position information based on GPS cannot be obtained with high accuracy, the microwave detector body 2 can detect with high accuracy. If a microwave is detected as in the embodiment described later, the intermittent operation is controlled. This is because the detection is possible from a long distance, and it is sufficient to detect the microwave.

* Malfunction sources such as automatic doors The signal intensity at the signal source of the transmission source is weak, and the emission direction is different from the speed control device. narrow. The interval between the intermittent operations can be relatively large. In addition, when it is possible to interlock with the reception of microwaves, upon reception, the GPS receiver is operated, the position is confirmed, the type of the target is confirmed, and it is determined whether or not to perform an alarm, Normally, the GPS receiver 3 can be put into a sleep state.

  In addition, if the GPS receiver 3 intermittently operates and passes in front of the malfunction source while passing in front of the malfunction source, the position can be accurately detected. Can not. At this time, as described above, the GPS receiving unit 3 may be operated. However, based on the position information obtained during the operation of the GPS receiving unit 3, a target object that inhibits an alarm within a certain distance (a malfunction source) When the microwave is received during a predetermined period during the suspension (the whole period during the suspension or a part of the period during the suspension), it is possible to reduce the malfunction. Control may be performed to prohibit the warning.

  The above-mentioned predetermined period may be fixed or variable according to the distance to the target. In other words, a window is set according to the distance, and if a signal is received within the window time, an alarm is prohibited. The length of this window increases as the distance to the target increases.

  Further, based on the speed information of the vehicle at that time, an adjustment is made such that the higher the speed is, the shorter the predetermined period is, or when the vehicle is stopped, the stop time is added to the predetermined period set above, and the alarm is prohibited. You can extend the time you do.

  Also in this embodiment, when the vehicle approaches the target within a certain distance, the operation may be switched from the intermittent operation to the constant operation. In this case, it is more preferable to change the distance for switching to the continuous operation according to the purpose type. In other words, in the case of a “speed control device that is difficult to detect or a speed control device that cannot be detected”, where the position needs to be determined with high accuracy, the operation is switched from a relatively distant position to always-on operation. Can be switched to a constant operation from a relatively close position. Further, in the case of a "malfunction source such as an automatic door", since the detectable area is narrow, switching to the normal operation can be performed at a closer position. In addition, instead of switching to all operations in this manner, the operation may be switched to always operation only when approaching some types of targets.

  It is to be noted that the control of the above-described interval is changed according to the type of the target, and the interval is further adjusted according to the speed determined by the speed detecting unit 8 as in the second embodiment.

  Note that the other configuration and operation and effect are the same as those of the above-described second embodiment, and therefore, are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Further, in the present embodiment, the speed detector 8 does not necessarily have to be provided. That is, the control according to the type of the target may be performed based on the first embodiment.

  Furthermore, when the target type is a malfunction source, the final operation of the alarm is to control so as not to issue an alarm even if microwaves are detected. Accordingly, as described above, when approaching the malfunction source (the target object of the alarm prohibition), the power consumption is reduced without shortening the interval of the intermittent operation, and the microcontroller is stopped or within a certain period after the stop. It is also possible to control so as not to warn even if a wave is received.

  FIG. 4 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the present embodiment is based on the third embodiment, and further includes a traveling direction detector 10 for detecting the traveling direction of the vehicle.

  The traveling direction detecting unit 10 can determine the moving direction by obtaining the moving vector from the position information at a certain point in time and the position information after a predetermined time. When the movement direction is determined, for example, two memories are prepared, one of which stores the position information at the measurement time, and the other stores the position information after a fixed time (for example, 2 seconds) from the measurement time. Is stored, the vehicle speed and the traveling direction of the vehicle can be determined from the two pieces of position information. In addition, the mechanism of the arithmetic processing can be applied to the case where the vehicle speed is obtained.

  Also, the determination of the traveling direction does not use the position information obtained by the position detection unit 3c as described above, but uses, for example, a gyro, a compass, or an acceleration sensor (a sensor capable of obtaining a plurality of directions, When the detection direction is one direction, it can be obtained by a plurality of sensors).

  Then, the operation control unit 6 does not execute the operation control when the target does not exist within a predetermined angle range with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle. That is, the intermittent operation having the relatively long stop interval in the normal state is continued.

  That is, when the distance at the target is considered as a straight line distance, if the angle between the direction of the target relative to the vehicle and the traveling direction of the vehicle is larger than the predetermined angle, even if the target Even if the distance is short, it cannot be considered as a target existing on the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling. Therefore, erroneous operation is further reduced by excluding the processing target.

  As an example, as shown in FIG. 5, by considering the object within ± 30 ° with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle, the irrelevant target at the position B is not processed. Becomes possible.

  Since the other configuration and operation and effect are the same as those of the third embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same members, and the detailed description is omitted. In addition, the control function based on the traveling direction can be performed in each of the first and second embodiments.

  FIG. 6 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, based on the fourth embodiment, a vehicle change detection unit 12 for detecting a sudden operation state of a vehicle is provided. As the vehicle change detection unit 12, for example, a vibration sensor or an acceleration sensor can be used. In such a sensor, power consumption is small, so that the problem of consumption of the secondary battery is small even when the sensor is constantly operated.

  The operation control unit 6 determines the control content in consideration of the output of the vehicle change detection unit 12. That is, when determining the interval of the intermittent operation in consideration of the distance and speed between the vehicle and the target, the determination is made assuming that the vehicle travels at the speed at the time of detection. Therefore, if the running speed of the vehicle increases or decreases, the deviation from the expected value occurs.

  Therefore, when a rapid change in the speed occurs, the GPS receiver 3 is operated to measure the current position, the speed, and the like, and the control content (intermittent operation interval) is again determined based on the information obtained by the measurement. , Whether or not to switch to the continuous operation) is determined, and new control is performed based on the determined content.

  In order to perform the alarm operation accurately, the change in speed only needs to be seen in the increasing direction. In order to save power, it is only necessary to look at the decreasing direction. Further, when the speed change is in the increasing direction, a simple measure such as halving the intermittent ratio at the stage when the change occurs may be performed instead of measuring and resetting again as described above. Good. By halving in this way, the period until the next position information measurement is earlier than expected, and it is possible to cope with a speed change by measuring the position information and determining the control content according to the state at that time.

  Since the other configuration and operation and effect are the same as those of the above-described fourth embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same members, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted. Further, the present embodiment can be suitably applied to the second and third embodiments for detecting the speed. Further, the present invention may be applied to the first embodiment.

  FIG. 7 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the present embodiment is based on the first embodiment, and further provides the detection result of the microwave detector main body 2 to the operation control unit 6 and based on the microwave detection signal. Operation is controlled.

  First, the internal structure of the microwave detector main body 2 will be described. A received signal based on a microwave captured via a horn antenna 2a is provided to a microwave receiving unit 2b, and a microwave having a desired frequency is detected there. Outputs the detection signal. This detection signal is provided to the reception determination unit 2c, and it is determined whether or not the target microwave has been received. Further, the microwave receiver 2b is provided with an S-meter output terminal, and the reception signal intensity output from the output terminal is given to the reception intensity determination unit 2d, where a threshold value processing is performed to determine whether the reception intensity is equal to or higher than a certain value. It is determined whether or not.

  Then, the judgment results of the reception judgment unit 2c and the reception intensity judgment unit 2d are given to the alarm judgment unit 2e, and it is judged whether or not a true microwave to be detected is received. This determination is performed, for example, by AND processing, that is, when a microwave having a predetermined frequency is received by the reception determination unit 2c and a signal having a reception intensity equal to or higher than a predetermined reference is received by the reception intensity determination unit 2d, the true microwave is received. Can be determined. The determination method is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that various methods can be used. Then, the functions of the reception determination unit 2c and the reception intensity determination unit 2d may be appropriately changed according to the determination method. Further, when it is determined that the true microwave has been detected by the alarm determination unit 2e, a detection signal is given to the alarm device 7 to output a predetermined alarm. The structure of the microwave detector main body 2 can be basically the same as that of the conventional microwave detector.

  Then, the output of the reception determination unit 2c is provided to the operation control unit 6. That is, a detection signal output when a microwave having a predetermined frequency is detected is supplied to the operation control unit 6. The operation control unit 6 normally stops the operation of the GPS receiving unit 3, and controls to operate the GPS receiving unit 3 when a microwave is detected. The operation at this time may be a continuous operation or an intermittent operation.

  Further, the interval in the case of the intermittent operation is determined in accordance with the current position detected based on the start of the operation of the GPS receiving unit 3 and the distance to the target, as in the first embodiment. In particular, in the case of recognizing a malfunction source and canceling the alarm, or in the case of a crackdown device that is easy to detect, there is no problem even if the GPS receiver 3 is operated after detecting the microwave.

  Preferably, as described in the present embodiment, a mode in which the position is always stopped and the position is detected at the time of detecting the microwave, and a mode in which the position is constantly and intermittently detected as in each of the above-described embodiments. That is, it is necessary to be able to select one with a switch or the like. If any of the modes can be selected as described above, it can be used according to the situation in each place.

  Note that the other configuration and operation and effect are the same as those of the above-described first embodiment. Therefore, corresponding members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. In the illustrated example, an example in which the present invention is applied to the first embodiment is shown, but the present invention can be applied to any of the above-described embodiments.

  FIG. 8 shows a seventh embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the target type storage unit 9 is further provided based on the sixth embodiment. That is, by storing the type of the target stored in the position storage unit 4 in the target type storage unit 9, the operation control unit 6 can perform the following control.

  That is, at the normal time when the microwave is not detected, the interval between the intermittent operations is increased, for example, to 600: 1, so as to save power. Then, if the microwave is detected, the intermittent operation interval may be determined based on the distance to the target according to the type of the target, or the position detection operation may be accurately performed continuously.

  Further, in order to effectively cope with a speed control device that is difficult to detect or a speed control device that cannot be detected, in a state where the interval of the intermittent operation is increased as described above, the position storage unit is used based on the position information detected each time. The surrounding objects stored in 4 are extracted. In other words, the distance to each target is measured.

  If there is a target within a certain standard, the type of the target is determined, and the intermittent operation is performed at the same interval in the case of a speed control device that is easy to detect or a malfunction source. If the target type is a speed control device that is difficult to detect or a speed control device that cannot be detected, control is performed so that the interval between the intermittent operations is shortened, and the interval is set according to the distance to the target. Note that the set interval includes “0”, that is, includes a continuous operation.

  Note that the other configuration and operation and effect are the same as those of the above-described sixth embodiment, and therefore, corresponding members are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Also in the present embodiment, a function of controlling the operation based on speed information, traveling direction angle information, speed change information, and the like may be added.

  FIG. 9 shows an eighth embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, based on the above-described first embodiment, the operation control unit 6 adds an operation control function to the microwave detector main body 2.

  That is, similarly to the first embodiment, the GPS receiving unit 3 performs an intermittent operation, and the interval is set based on the distance to the target obtained by the distance detecting unit 5. In this embodiment, the operation of the microwave detector main body 2 is stopped at least during the operation of the GPS receiving unit 3.

  That is, a high-frequency signal generated inside the GPS receiving unit 3 may cause a malfunction in microwave detection. Therefore, during operation of the GPS receiver 3, the microwave detector main body 2 is not operated, so that the GPS receiver and the microwave detector do not cause mutual interference. If the operation timing of the microwave detector body 2 coincides with the operation of the GPS receiver 3 when the microwave detector body 2 is also performing the intermittent operation, the reception of the microwave at that time is performed. The operation may be stopped, or may be performed after the operation of the GPS receiving unit 3 is completed.

  Although not shown, a speed detecting device may be provided to stop the operation of the microwave detector main body when the speed is low. This saves more power.

  Furthermore, if a detection device such as a vibration sensor that has low power consumption and can determine whether or not the vehicle is stopped is provided, for example, the GPS receiving unit 3 can be stopped while the vehicle is stopped. When the vehicle is stopped during the intermittent operation, the temporary stop time may be further extended by the stop time.

  In addition, the interval of the intermittent operation of the GPS receiving unit 3 is set to the longest (operation stop) during a stop or for a certain time after the start of traveling, and when the traveling is continued thereafter, the interval is shortened after the lapse of the certain time. Further, when traveling continues for a certain period of time thereafter, it is considered that the vehicle is traveling at high speed, and the interval can be set to the shortest interval.

  FIG. 10 shows a ninth embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, different from the above-described embodiments, a road type storage unit 14 is provided to register a road type in which a target exists, that is, a highway / general road distinction. Further, a traveling road detector 15 for receiving the current position information from the GPS receiver 3 and detecting the type of the road on which the current vehicle is traveling is provided, and the detection result is provided to the operation controller 6.

  The traveling road detection unit 15 determines whether the vehicle is traveling on an expressway or a general road. For example, the traveling road detection unit 15 stores the position information of the expressway and determines whether the given current position is on the expressway. If it is determined that the vehicle is not on an expressway, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling on a general road.

  When the vehicle is within a certain distance to the target, the operation control unit 6 determines whether the vehicle is traveling on either the highway or the general road, and the installation position of the target is on the highway or the general road. to decide. Then, when the road on which the vehicle is traveling matches the installation position of the target, control is performed to shorten the interval of the intermittent operation as in the above-described embodiments. Also, even if the target is located close to the target, if the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling is different from the installation position of the target, normal intermittent operation is performed.

  As an example, as shown in FIG. 11, when there is a target A on the highway and it is known that the points B, C, and D are on the highway, two points (C, When it can be confirmed that the vehicle has passed through (B), (D, C), and (D, B), it can be determined that the vehicle is passing through the highway. Then, the operation of the GPS receiving unit 3 is controlled by validating only the target on the expressway.

  That is, in the illustrated example, when the distance to the target A is within a certain range, control is performed such that the interval between the intermittent operations is shortened. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle is traveling on a general road even when approaching the target A, the target A is invalidated, and the normal intermittent operation is performed. By doing so, the interval between the intermittent operations is not shortened unnecessarily, so that power saving can be further achieved.

  In addition, as described above, the determination of the road type in the traveling road detector 15 does not store the position information of the expressway in advance as described above, but measures the continuous traveling time and travels for a certain time or more without stopping. If so, it can be determined that the vehicle is traveling on a highway. Here, whether or not the vehicle is traveling continuously can be determined by, for example, providing a vibration sensor, determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling from the output of the vibration sensor, and using the duration of the traveling.

  Furthermore, the speed of the vehicle may be detected, and a highway may be determined during high-speed travel, and a general road may be determined during low-speed travel. Here, the vehicle speed detection may be calculated based on the travel time and travel distance based on the position detection output detected by the GPS receiver 3 (the position detector 3c), or may be recognized from the vehicle speed pulse. . Furthermore, the amplitude and output level of the vibration sensor can be used for determining the traveling speed. That is, for example, the amplitude of the vibration sensor increases as the speed increases, and this can be used. Of course, the speed determination based on the output of the vibration sensor is not limited to the above-described amplitude, and various determination algorithms can be used.

  Further, in each of the above-described examples, a description has been given of an example in which a highway or a general road is automatically determined. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a switch for manually switching between a highway and a general road is provided. The determination can be made in response to the switch operation.

  However, when the above configuration is provided with a manual switch, it is preferable to combine the above-described functions for performing various automatic determinations. As a result, the effect of forgetting to switch can be reduced. For example, the control based on the road type is performed only when the setting by the manual switch matches the result of the automatic determination, and the control is not performed when they do not match. That is, a predetermined operation is performed as a correct determination when both show the same result, and when they do not match, the determination is invalidated and the intermittent operation is controlled.

1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention. 9 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. 9 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. 9 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an operation according to the fourth embodiment. 9 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. 14 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention. 14 shows a seventh embodiment of the present invention. 17 shows an eighth embodiment of the present invention. The ninth embodiment of the present invention is shown. FIG. 32 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the ninth embodiment.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Microwave detector 2 Microwave detector main body 3 GPS receiver (position detecting means)
4 position storage unit 5 distance detection unit 6 operation control unit 7 alarm 8 speed detection unit 9 target type storage unit 10 traveling direction detection unit 12 vehicle change detection unit 14 road type storage unit 15 traveling road detection unit

Claims (13)

A microwave detector body for detecting a desired microwave,
Position detecting means;
Operation control means for controlling the operation of the position detection means to perform an intermittent operation;
Position storage means for storing the position of the target;
A microwave detector having a distance detection unit that calculates a distance from the position detection unit and the position storage unit to a target,
The said operation control means determines the control content from the output of the said distance detection means, The microwave detector characterized by the above-mentioned. Speed detection means,
The microwave detector according to claim 1, wherein the operation control means determines the control content based on an output of the speed detection means and an output of the distance detection means. Providing target type storage means for storing the type of the target in relation to the position information of the target,
3. The microwave detector according to claim 1, wherein the operation control unit determines the control content based on a type of the target stored in the target type storage unit. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control content includes changing an intermittent operation to a constant operation when a distance from the target becomes a predetermined range. The microwave detector as described. The microwave detector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control content includes a value that determines an interval of the intermittent operation. Providing vehicle traveling direction detection means for detecting the traveling direction of the vehicle,
The operation control means is for determining the control content from the output of the distance detection means, and the output of the distance detection means for determining the control content is an output of the vehicle detected by the vehicle traveling direction detection means. The microwave detector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the distance is a distance to a target existing within a predetermined angle range with respect to the traveling direction. Providing vehicle change detection means for detecting a change in the traveling speed of the vehicle,
The microwave detector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the operation control means determines a control content based on an output of the vehicle change detection means. 8. The microwave detector according to claim 1, wherein the operation control unit controls the position detection unit to operate based on an output of the microwave detector main body. 9. A microwave detector body that detects microwaves and outputs an alarm,
Position detecting means;
Operation control means for controlling the operation of the position detection means,
In a microwave detection device including a position storage unit that stores a position of a target,
The microwave detector, wherein the operation control means controls the position detection means to operate based on an output of the microwave detector main body. Providing target type storage means for storing the type of the target in relation to the position information of the target,
The microwave detector according to claim 9, wherein the operation of the microwave detector is determined in consideration of an output of the target type storage means. The operation control means has a function of determining the operation of the microwave detector body,
The method according to claim 1, wherein when one of the position detection unit and the microwave detector main body is operating, the other is not operated. 11. Microwave detector. The microwave detector according to claim 11, wherein the operation control means has a function of stopping the operation of the microwave detector main body when the speed of the vehicle is equal to or lower than a certain speed. The microwave detector according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising a function of controlling an alarm operation based on the position information detected by the position detection unit.

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