JP2005343360A - Warning device for low-noise vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a warning device for a low-noise vehicle such as an electric vehicle and a hybrid car capable of allowing a pedestrian or the like around the vehicle to be noticed by the warning sound and preventing the warning sound from being felt noisy when the vehicle is started. <P>SOLUTION: As shown in (a), when a vehicle is started, the warning sound is generated, and the magnitude of the warning sound is changed to be high for the first 5 seconds, and then, lower. The warning sound on the low sound level is continued before the vehicle speed exceeds 10 km/h. In this situation, as shown in (b), the magnitude of the warning sound is gradually reduced as the time is elapsed, the sound pressure of the warning sound is alternatively changed to be higher or lower as shown in (c), and the magnitude of the warning sound is changed according to the change of the vehicle speed as shown in (d). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a low-noise vehicle alarm device that is applied to a low-noise vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle and that generates an alarm sound from the alarm means to the outside of the vehicle to notify the presence of the vehicle.

  Conventionally, a low noise vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle travels with a motor when traveling at a low speed, so the traveling sound is extremely quiet. For this reason, a pedestrian or the like may not notice the approach of the vehicle.

Therefore, in such a low-noise vehicle, an alarm sound is generated outside the vehicle at a frequency corresponding to the vehicle speed so that the sound becomes lower as the vehicle speed becomes lower, and the presence of the vehicle is notified to pedestrians around the vehicle. There are some (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-213112 JP 7-205753 A

  In the conventional technology described above, an alarm sound is generated outside the vehicle at a frequency corresponding to the vehicle speed, so that pedestrians around the vehicle can know the approach of a low-noise vehicle at the height of the alarm sound. .

  However, if the warning sound is low, the pedestrian or the like may not be aware of the warning sound. Conversely, if the warning sound is increased, the pedestrian or the like may be noisy. In this case, particularly when the vehicle starts to start, it is necessary to notify a pedestrian or the like of the presence of a low-noise vehicle.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to make an alarm sound notice to pedestrians and the like around the vehicle at the start of starting the vehicle and to prevent the alarm sound from being noisy.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in a low noise vehicle alarm device applied to a low noise vehicle, an alarm sound is generated from the alarm means to the outside of the vehicle to notify the presence of the vehicle outside. A means for determining the start time of a noise vehicle, and when the start time of the start is determined, the warning means generates the warning sound, and the magnitude of the warning sound is initially increased and then reduced. And a control means for changing to the above.

  According to the present invention, at the start of starting, a warning sound is generated with a loud sound at the beginning, so that the warning sound can be surely notified to pedestrians around the vehicle, and the warning sound is then changed to a small sound. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a warning sound from being heard by pedestrians around the vehicle.

  Here, the timing for changing the alarm sound from a loud sound to a small sound can be a time when a predetermined time has elapsed. In this case, if the loudness of the warning sound is gradually reduced as time passes, the loudness of the warning sound can be changed with little discomfort. In addition, the timing for changing the alarm sound from a loud sound to a small sound may be when the vehicle speed becomes a predetermined value or more.

  In addition, after the generation of the warning sound at the start of the start of the low-noise vehicle is stopped, if it is determined that the speed of the low-noise vehicle has become a predetermined value or less, the warning sound is generated again from the warning means. By doing so, it is possible to alert a pedestrian or the like around the vehicle during low-speed traveling before the vehicle stops.

  In addition, a means for determining whether or not an object exists around the vehicle is provided, and an alarm sound is allowed to be generated when the presence of the object is determined, and an alarm sound is generated when the presence of the object is not determined. If it is prohibited, generation of useless alarm sound when no object is present can be prevented.

  Moreover, if the sound is composed of a plurality of frequencies as the alarm sound, the cancellation effect due to the interference of the reflected sound reflected by the walls around the vehicle is small, so that the direction of occurrence can be easily understood in the sound. A pedestrian or the like can be surely notified in which direction the noise vehicle is present.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an alarm device for a low noise vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The alarm device according to this embodiment includes a vehicle speed sensor 1, a shift lever position sensor 2, a parking brake detector 3, a foot brake detector 4, a computer 5 such as a microcomputer, an alarm sound data memory 6, an audio amplifier 7, and a speaker 8. It is composed of

  Here, the vehicle speed sensor 1 outputs a vehicle speed pulse corresponding to the traveling speed of the vehicle, and the shift lever position sensor 2 is set at a position of a shift lever such as P (parking), R (reverse), D (drive), or the like. The parking brake detector 3 outputs a signal indicating whether or not the parking brake is applied, and the foot brake detector 4 is turned on when the foot brake is depressed. A signal indicating whether or not is output.

  The computer 5 is a process for generating an alarm sound according to a flowchart shown in FIG. 2 to be described later, based on signals output from the vehicle speed sensor 1, the shift lever position sensor 2, the parking brake detector 3, and the foot brake detector 4. Execute. At that time, the computer 5 takes in the alarm sound data from the alarm sound data memory 6 storing the alarm sound data for generating the alarm sound, and outputs the alarm sound signal for generating the alarm sound from the alarm sound data. And output to the audio amplifier 7. The audio amplifier 7 amplifies the warning sound signal and generates a warning sound from the speaker 8 outside the vehicle. Although only one speaker 8 constituting the alarm means is shown in FIG. 1, it is at the front and rear of the vehicle and generates an alarm sound outside the vehicle from the front and rear of the vehicle. Yes.

  Next, the operation of the above alarm device will be described. In a vehicle equipped with the alarm device, when the key switch is turned on and the electrical system of each part is in an operating state, the computer 5 executes an alarm sound generation process shown in FIG.

  In the process shown in FIG. 2, in step 101, it is determined whether or not the shift lever is in the D (drive) or R (reverse) position based on the signal output from the shift lever position sensor 2. In step 102, it is determined whether or not the parking brake is turned off based on a signal output from the parking brake detector 3. If the shift lever is not in the D or R position, or if the parking brake is on, the vehicle is stopped, so the determination in either step 101 or 102 is NO, and the process proceeds to step 105. Thus, no alarm sound is generated, that is, no alarm sound signal is output to the audio amplifier 7.

  If the shift lever is in the D or R position and the parking brake is off, the process proceeds to step 104 to check whether or not the foot brake is off by the signal output from the foot brake detector 4. judge. Here, when the foot brake is on, the routine proceeds to step 105, where it is determined whether or not the vehicle is stopped. This determination can be made by calculating the vehicle speed based on the vehicle speed pulse output from the vehicle speed sensor 1 and determining whether the vehicle speed is 0 km / h or less or a predetermined speed in the vicinity thereof. When the vehicle is stopped, it is not necessary to generate an alarm sound. Therefore, the determination in step 105 is NO, and the process proceeds to step 103 so that no alarm sound is generated.

  Thereafter, when the foot brake is turned off to start the vehicle, when the determination at step 104 is reached, the determination becomes NO and the process proceeds to step 106 to determine whether or not it is the start of starting. This is because when the shift lever is in the D or R position, the parking brake is turned off, and the foot brake is turned off, either when the vehicle starts or when the vehicle is running. Is determined in step 106. This determination can be made, for example, when the determination at step 104 changes to YES and arrives at step 106 first. That is, since the start condition is that the shift lever is in the D or R position, the parking brake is turned off, and the foot brake is turned off, it is possible to determine the start time by first determining the state. it can. Therefore, when the first arrival at step 106, the determination is YES as the start of starting, but when the second arrival or later, the determination is NO.

  When the determination in step 106 is YES, it is determined in step 107 whether or not a predetermined time (for example, a time of 5 seconds) has elapsed since that time. The time can be measured using a timer in the computer 5, for example. If the time of 5 seconds has not elapsed and the determination in step 107 is NO, the routine proceeds to step 108, where an alarm sound is generated with a loud sound. Specifically, alarm sound data is taken from the alarm sound data memory 6, an alarm sound signal for generating an alarm sound with a large sound pressure (for example, about 70 dB to 80 dB) is generated from the alarm sound data, and the audio amplifier 7 Output to. Thus, the audio amplifier 7 amplifies the warning sound signal and generates a warning sound from the speaker 8 outside the vehicle. The generation of such an alarm sound continues until it is determined in step 107 that the time of 5 seconds has elapsed, that is, for 5 seconds. Therefore, since the alarm sound is generated with a loud sound for 5 seconds, the alarm sound can be surely notified to pedestrians around the vehicle. In addition, as an alarm sound, it can be set as the repeated sound of "Pyropyropiron ...", for example. In this case, when the shift lever is at the position R and the vehicle moves backward, an alarm sound different from that at the time of forward movement such as “PPP ...” may be generated.

  Thereafter, when the time of 5 seconds elapses and the determination in step 107 is YES, the process proceeds to step 109, and an alarm sound is generated with a small sound. More specifically, the alarm sound data is taken from the alarm sound data memory 6 and the alarm sound is generated from the alarm sound data with a small sound pressure (for example, a sound pressure reduced by about −10 dB to −20 dB with respect to the alarm sound). Are generated and output to the audio amplifier 7. As a result, the alarm sound generated from the speaker 8 changes to a sound with a low sound pressure.

  After step 109, the process returns to step 101. At this time, if the shift lever is in the D or R position, the parking brake is off, and the foot brake is off, the process proceeds from step 101 to step 106 through steps 102 and 104. Therefore, the determination is no and the process proceeds to step 110. In step 110, the vehicle speed is calculated based on the vehicle speed pulse output from the vehicle speed sensor 1, and it is determined whether or not the vehicle speed is 10 km / h or less. When the vehicle is traveling at a low speed of 10 km / h or less, the determination is YES, the process proceeds to step 109, the process is executed, and the process returns to step 101. By repeating such processing, a small warning sound is generated from the speaker 8. Therefore, since the warning sound is changed to a small sound, it is possible to prevent the warning sound from being considered loud by pedestrians around the vehicle.

  Thereafter, when the vehicle speed exceeds 10 km / h and the determination in step 110 is NO, the process proceeds to step 103 to stop the generation of the alarm sound.

  Also, if the brake operation is performed to stop the vehicle, the determination becomes NO when the operation reaches step 104, and the process proceeds to step 105, but the determination becomes NO when the vehicle has not stopped yet. In Step 110, it is determined whether or not the vehicle speed has become 10 km / h or less. When the vehicle speed does not become 10 km / h or less, the determination at step 110 is NO, and the process proceeds to step 103 and the generation of the alarm sound is stopped, but when the vehicle speed becomes 10 km / h or less, the process proceeds to step 109. Instead, a warning sound is generated from the speaker 8 with a small sound. Therefore, when the vehicle travels at a low speed until the vehicle stops, a small warning sound is generated from the speaker 8, and a pedestrian around the vehicle can be alerted.

  As described above in detail, according to the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, when the vehicle starts to start, an alarm sound is generated from the speaker 8, and the magnitude of the alarm sound is first determined. For 5 seconds, and then change to decrease. A small alarm sound is continued until the vehicle speed exceeds 10 km / h. Further, even when the vehicle speed becomes 10 km / h or less when the vehicle is stopped, an alarm sound is generated with a small sound from the speaker 8 until the vehicle stops.

(Other embodiments)
In the first embodiment described above, the alarm sound is changed in two steps. As shown in FIG. 3B, the alarm sound is gradually decreased with time. It may be changed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4, when the computer 5 determines that the time of 5 seconds has elapsed in step 107, the computer 5 then proceeds to step 111, and gradually increases the sound pressure of the alarm sound as time elapses. The lowered warning sound signal is generated and output to the audio amplifier 7 to gradually reduce the volume of the warning sound generated from the speaker 8, and then the process proceeds to step 109, where the warning sound having a low sound pressure is output from the speaker 8. Is generated. The flowchart shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to FIG. 2, and is the same as that shown in FIG. 2 except that step 111 is added.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3 (c), as a loud alarm sound generated after the start of starting, the sound pressure may be changed alternately in magnitude.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3D, the magnitude of the alarm sound may be changed not with the passage of time but with a change in the vehicle speed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, when the determination in step 106 is YES, the computer 5 determines whether or not the vehicle speed is 10 km / h or less in step 112, and the vehicle speed is 10 km / h or less. In the meantime, an alarm sound with a large sound pressure is generated in step 108. When the vehicle speed exceeds 10 km / h, the routine proceeds from step 112 to step 113 to determine whether the vehicle speed is 20 km / h or less. Is less than 20 km / h, a warning sound with a small sound pressure is generated in step 114. The flowchart shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to FIG. 2, and is the same as that shown in FIG. 2 except that step 112 is provided instead of step 107 in FIG. 2, and steps 113 and 114 are added. .

  Further, when the alarm sound is generated, the alarm sound may be generated only when an object such as a person exists around the vehicle. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, an object detector (for example, a pyroelectric sensor, an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, etc.) 9 is provided in front of and behind the vehicle, and the object exists within a predetermined distance (several meters) from the vehicle. An alarm sound will be generated only when an error is detected. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, when the determination in step 106 (or step 110) is YES, the computer 5 uses the signal from the object detection device 9 to perform object processing before performing the process for generating the alarm sound. In step 115 (or step 116), if no object is detected, the process proceeds to step 103 so as not to generate an alarm sound. That is, in this embodiment, the generation of an alarm sound is permitted when it is determined that an object is present around the vehicle, and the generation of an alarm sound is prohibited when the presence of an object is not determined. The flowchart shown in FIG. 7 corresponds to FIG. 2, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5. FIG. 2 except that steps 115 and 116 are added after steps 106 and 110 in FIG. 4 and 5 are the same as those shown in FIG.

  Also, if the alarm sound generated from the speaker 8 is a single frequency sound, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), the cancellation effect due to the interference of the reflected sound reflected by the walls around the vehicle is great. Whereas the direction of sound generation is difficult to understand, if the sound is composed of multiple frequencies, the cancellation effect due to the interference of the reflected sound reflected by the walls around the vehicle is small. It can be easy to understand. Therefore, if the alarm sound generated from the speaker 8 is a sound composed of a plurality of frequencies, a pedestrian or the like can be surely notified in which direction the vehicle is present.

  In the various embodiments described above, the shift lever is in the D or R position, the parking brake is turned off, and the foot brake is turned off. When the lever is in the D or R position, or when the shift lever is in the D or R position and the parking brake is turned off, it may be determined that the vehicle starts to start. That is, not the time when the vehicle starts, but the state immediately before starting may be determined as the start time of the vehicle. Further, based on the vehicle speed pulse from the vehicle speed sensor 1, it may be determined that the vehicle starts to start when the vehicle speed changes from 0 to a predetermined time or more.

  Further, the alarm sound may be a sound using sound other than the alarm sound and the melody sound. For example, the voice “car starts to move” is generated together with the melody sounds before and after the voice.

  In addition, when the surroundings of the vehicle are quiet, such as at night, it is preferable to generate a warning sound by lowering the sound pressure of the warning sound by a certain level. In this case, for example, when the noise level around the vehicle is measured by a microphone and it is determined that the vehicle surrounding is quiet, or when the night is determined by day / night determination means (for example, a light sensor, a headlamp switch, etc.) The alarm sound may be issued by lowering the sound pressure of the alarm sound by a certain level.

  In the above-described embodiment, the processing in steps 101, 102, 104, and 106 constitutes a means for determining when the vehicle starts, and the processing in steps 107 to 109 generates an alarm sound and the alarm. Control means is configured to change the loudness of the sound so that it is initially large and then small. Further, the process of step 107 constitutes a means for determining whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed, and the process of step 111 constitutes a means for gradually decreasing the volume of the alarm sound with the passage of time. The process of step 112 constitutes means for determining whether or not the vehicle speed has reached a predetermined value or more. Further, the processing of steps 115 and 116 constitutes a means for determining whether or not an object exists around the vehicle.

It is a figure which shows the circuit structure of the alarm device for low noise vehicles in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the alarm sound generation process of the computer 5 in FIG. It is a figure which shows the generation pattern of an alarm sound. It is a flowchart which shows the other alarm sound generation process of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the other alarm sound generation process of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating other embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the other alarm sound generation process of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the difference in the effect in the case where it is a single frequency sound and the case where it is comprised with a some frequency.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle speed sensor, 2 ... Shift lever position sensor, 3 ... Parking brake detector, 4 ... Foot brake detector, 5 ... Computer, 6 ... Alarm sound data memory, 7 ... Audio amplifier, 8 ... Speaker

Claims (7)

In a low-noise vehicle alarm device that is applied to a low-noise vehicle and generates an alarm sound from the alarm means to the outside of the vehicle to notify the presence of the vehicle,
Means for determining a start time of starting of the low noise vehicle;
Control means for generating the warning sound from the warning means when the start time is determined and changing the magnitude of the warning sound to be initially large and then small. A low-noise alarm device for vehicles. The control means includes means for determining whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed after starting the generation of the alarm sound from the alarm means, and when it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed, 2. The low noise vehicle alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the volume of the alarm sound is reduced. 3. The low control unit according to claim 2, wherein when it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed, the control unit includes a unit that gradually decreases the size of the alarm sound with the passage of time. Alarm device for noise vehicles. The control means includes means for determining whether or not the speed of the low-noise vehicle has become a predetermined value or more after starting the generation of the warning sound from the warning means, and the speed of the low-noise vehicle is 2. The low noise vehicle alarm device according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the size of the alarm sound is reduced. The control means includes means for determining whether or not the speed of the low noise vehicle has become a predetermined value or less after stopping the generation of the warning sound at the start of starting of the low noise vehicle, The low noise vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when it is determined that the speed of the noise vehicle has become a predetermined value or less, an alarm sound is generated again from the alarm means. Alarm device. Means for determining whether or not an object is present around the low-noise vehicle, and when the presence of the object is determined, the control means is allowed to generate the warning sound, and the presence of the object 6. The low noise vehicle alarm device according to claim 1, wherein when the determination is not made, generation of the alarm sound by the control means is prohibited. The low-noise vehicle alarm device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control unit generates an alarm sound composed of a plurality of frequencies from the alarm unit.

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