JP2006209478A - Person detecting device for vehicle and person detecting method for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a person detecting device for vehicle for detecting persons existing around the vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: Antennas 1 to 4 detect electric waves existing within electric wave detection areas T1 to T4. A receiver 5 selectively receives only electric waves in a transmission frequency band of a mobile phone among electric waves detected by the antennas 1 to 4. A controller 6 determines that a person talking over the mobile phone exists around the vehicle if the intensity of an electric wave of the mobile phone received by the receiver 5 is higher than a prescribed threshold and turns on a warning light 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle person detection device and a vehicle person detection method for detecting a person existing around a vehicle.

  If a transmitter that transmits weak radio waves is attached to a pedestrian or vehicle, and a weak radio wave transmitted from the transmitter is received by a receiver mounted on the vehicle, there are pedestrians or other vehicles near the vehicle. In addition, a vehicle collision warning device that warns a driver that there is a possibility of a collision with the host vehicle is known (see Patent Document 1). In this vehicle collision alarm device, a technique using Bluetooth for a transmitter and a receiver is also disclosed.

JP 2002-123896 A

  However, in the conventional vehicle collision warning device using Bluetooth, there is a problem that a warning is issued in response to the Bluetooth communication device in the vehicle.

  The vehicle person detection device and the vehicle person detection method according to the present invention selectively select radio waves in a predetermined frequency band from radio waves received by radio wave receiving means having radio wave directivity for receiving radio waves outside the vehicle. If the received intensity of the received radio wave is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that a person who owns radio wave transmitting means for transmitting a radio wave of a predetermined frequency band exists around the vehicle.

  According to the vehicle person detection device and the vehicle person detection method of the present invention, it is possible to determine that a person having radio wave transmission means for transmitting radio waves in a predetermined frequency band exists around the vehicle with a simple configuration. .

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration in an embodiment of a vehicle person detection device according to the present invention. The person detection device for a vehicle in one embodiment includes four antennas 1 to 4, a receiver 5, a control device 6, and a warning light 7, and is talking on a mobile phone that exists around the host vehicle. Detect pedestrians. Each of the antennas 1 to 4 is provided at the four corners of the vehicle and has radio wave directivity.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the location of the antennas 1 to 4 and the radio wave directivity. The antennas 1 and 2 are respectively installed at the right and left corners of the front portion of the vehicle 10, and the antennas 3 and 4 are respectively installed at the right and left corners of the rear portion of the vehicle 10. T1 to T4 indicate the radio wave detection areas of the antennas 1 to 4, that is, radio wave directivities, respectively. For example, the antenna 1 receives radio waves existing in the radio wave detection area 1. As shown in FIG. 2, each of the antennas 1 to 4 has radio wave directivity toward the outside of the vehicle. FIG. 2 also shows a situation where a pedestrian 30 talking on the mobile phone 20 approaches the vehicle 10.

  The receiver 5 has a frequency selective reception function for receiving only radio waves in the transmission frequency band of the mobile phone. As a result, only the radio waves transmitted / received by the mobile phone among the various radio waves such as TV broadcast radio waves, radio broadcast radio waves, radio waves from mobile phone base stations, transceiver radio waves, etc. received by the respective antennas 1 to 4 are received. It can be received selectively.

  The control device 6 detects the intensity of the radio wave received by the receiver 5 (hereinafter referred to as a signal level), compares the detected signal level with a predetermined threshold value, and the signal level has a predetermined threshold. If it is greater than or equal to the value, it is determined that there is a person talking on the mobile phone around the vehicle. When the signal level of the received radio wave is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value, the control device 6 turns on the warning lamp 7 to indicate to the driver that there is a person talking on the mobile phone around the host vehicle. Inform.

  As described above, the predetermined threshold value to be compared with the signal level is a threshold value for determining whether or not there is a person talking on the mobile phone around the own vehicle. If this threshold value is reduced, the warning light 7 will be lit even when a pedestrian who is talking on the mobile phone is located away from the host vehicle. If the threshold value is increased, a call will be made on the mobile phone. Only when the inside pedestrian exists near the own vehicle, the warning light 7 is turned on. Accordingly, the magnitude of the predetermined threshold value to be compared with the signal level is obtained by setting an appropriate value in advance through experiments or the like.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the contents of processing performed by the control device 6. When an ignition switch (not shown) of the vehicle is turned on, the control device 6 starts the process of step S10. In step S10, it is determined whether or not the receiver 5 has received a radio wave from the mobile phone. If it is determined that the radio wave of the mobile phone has not been received, the process stands by in step S10. If it is determined that the radio wave of the mobile phone has been received, the process proceeds to step S20.

  In step S20, the signal level of the received radio wave is detected. When the signal level of the received radio wave is detected, the process proceeds to step S30. In step S30, it is determined whether or not the signal level detected in step S20 is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value. If it is determined that the signal level is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value, the process proceeds to step S40. If it is determined that the signal level is lower than the predetermined threshold value, the process proceeds to step S50.

  In step S40, the warning lamp 7 is turned on and the process proceeds to step S50. In step S50, it is determined whether or not an ignition switch (not shown) is turned off. If it is determined that the ignition switch (not shown) is not turned off, the process returns to step S10. If it is determined that the ignition switch is turned off, the process of the flowchart shown in FIG.

  According to the vehicle person detection device in one embodiment, radio waves in the frequency band of a mobile phone are selected from radio waves received by antennas 1 to 4 having radio wave directivity that receive radio waves outside the vehicle, If the reception strength of the selected radio wave is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that a person talking on the mobile phone exists around the vehicle. A pedestrian who is talking on a mobile phone is generally focused on conversation and may not be aware of the presence of a car even when the car is approaching. Such pedestrians may suddenly stop or suddenly change direction, so it is difficult for the driver to predict the next action of the pedestrian. According to the vehicle person detection device in one embodiment, it is possible to prompt the driver to drive more cautiously by detecting a pedestrian talking on a mobile phone and notifying the driver.

  A conventional device that attaches a transmitter that transmits weak radio waves to a pedestrian, and determines that there is a pedestrian near the vehicle when a weak radio wave transmitted from the transmitter is received by a receiver mounted on the vehicle. However, since it is necessary to provide a dedicated transmitter and receiver, there is a problem that costs are increased. However, according to the vehicle human detection device in one embodiment, there is no need to attach a transmitter to a pedestrian, and the receiver also receives radio waves from a mobile phone, so the overall system cost is suppressed. can do.

  In the vehicle human detection device according to the embodiment, the antennas 1 to 4 having radio wave directivity for receiving radio waves outside the vehicle are provided, so that a call can be made with a mobile phone in the passenger seat or the rear seat of the own vehicle. Even when there is a person who does, the radio wave of the mobile phone is not received, and it is possible to prevent the warning light 7 from being turned on accidentally.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. For example, the example in which four antennas for receiving radio waves are arranged at the four corners of the vehicle has been described, but the number of antennas and the installation location are not limited to the above-described example. Further, for example, when the vehicle surrounding monitoring device detects that no person is present in a certain direction, it may be configured not to receive radio waves in that direction, or when the vehicle is moving. Alternatively, only radio waves in the moving direction of the vehicle may be received. Furthermore, when the surroundings of the vehicle are bright, such as in the daytime, pedestrians who are only talking in the direction that becomes the blind spot of the driver or in the direction that is difficult for the driver to check, The warning light 7 may be turned on when there is. In this case, it is set to detect radio waves in all directions around the vehicle (four directions in the above-described embodiment) when the surrounding becomes dark.

  The magnitude of the predetermined threshold value to be compared with the signal level of the received radio wave can be changed according to the brightness around the vehicle. For example, the predetermined threshold value may be increased when the surroundings of the vehicle are bright, such as during the daytime, and may be decreased when the surroundings of the vehicle are dark, such as at night. In this case, by reducing the predetermined threshold value at night, an area where it is determined that there is a pedestrian talking on the mobile phone is expanded, so that safety can be further improved. Moreover, it is possible to prevent the warning lamp 7 from being frequently turned on by increasing the predetermined threshold value in the daytime when the line of sight is good.

  In the above-described embodiment, when it is determined that there is a pedestrian talking on the mobile phone around the vehicle, the warning lamp 7 is turned on to notify the driver of the presence of the pedestrian. Notification can also be made by other means such as voice. For example, a screen showing the direction in which a pedestrian who is talking on a mobile phone is present can be displayed on an in-vehicle monitor (not shown), or the direction of the pedestrian can be notified by synthetic speech. In addition, a speaker may be arranged in the same direction as the antenna, and a warning sound may be emitted from the speaker in the direction where the pedestrian is present.

  The notification method to the driver can be changed according to the strength of the radio wave of the received mobile phone. For example, the distance to the pedestrian can be calculated based on the radio wave intensity, and the location of the pedestrian can be displayed on an in-vehicle monitor (not shown). Moreover, when alerting | reporting by a warning sound, a warning sound can also be enlarged, so that radio field intensity is strong.

  It is also possible to detect the moving direction of a pedestrian who is talking on a mobile phone and notify the driver. For example, when a pedestrian talking on a mobile phone is detected based on the radio wave received by the antenna 1, and then the radio wave received by the antenna 1 disappears and the radio wave is received by the antenna 2, It can be determined that the pedestrian is moving in the direction from the radio wave detection area T1 to T2. In this case, for example, the direction of movement of the pedestrian can be indicated by an arrow or the like on an in-vehicle monitor (not shown), and the direction of movement can be notified by synthetic speech. In addition, when adopting a method in which speakers are arranged in the same direction as the antenna, the speaker that emits the warning sound can be changed according to the detection direction of the pedestrian.

  In the above description, an example has been given in which radio waves in the transmission frequency band of a mobile phone are selectively received to detect pedestrians talking on the mobile phone. If there is a device that emits radio waves, radio waves in the transmission frequency band of the devices can be selectively received.

  The correspondence between the constituent elements of the claims and the constituent elements of the embodiment is as follows. That is, the antennas 1 to 4 constitute radio wave reception means, the receiver 5 constitutes radio wave selection means, the control device 6 constitutes radio wave intensity determination means, person detection means and threshold value change means, and the warning lamp 7 constitutes notification means. To do. In addition, the above description is an example to the last, and when interpreting invention, it is not limited to the correspondence of the component of said embodiment and the component of this invention at all.

The figure which shows the structure in one Embodiment of the vehicle person detection apparatus by this invention. Diagram showing the location of each antenna and radio wave directivity The flowchart which shows the processing content performed by a control apparatus

Explanation of symbols

1, 2, 3, 4 ... Antenna 5 ... Receiver 6 ... Control device 7 ... Warning light 10 ... Vehicle 20 ... Mobile phone 30 ... Pedestrian

Claims (7)

Radio wave receiving means having radio wave directivity to receive radio waves outside the vehicle;
Of the radio waves received by the radio wave reception means, radio wave selection means for selecting radio waves in a predetermined frequency band;
Radio wave intensity determining means for determining whether or not the reception intensity of the radio wave selected by the radio wave selecting means is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold;
When the reception strength of the received radio wave is determined to be equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold by the radio wave intensity determination unit, there is a person around the vehicle who owns the radio wave transmission unit that transmits the radio wave of the predetermined frequency band. A vehicle person detection device comprising: a person detection means for determining. The vehicle person detection device according to claim 1,
The vehicle human detection device, wherein the predetermined frequency band is a frequency band in which a mobile phone is used. The vehicle person detection device according to claim 1,
The vehicle person detection device according to claim 1, further comprising notification means for notifying a driver that a person is present around the vehicle when the person detection means determines that a person is present around the vehicle. The vehicle person detection device according to claim 2,
The vehicle further comprising a notifying means for notifying a driver that a person talking on a mobile phone exists around the vehicle when the person detecting means determines that there is a person around the vehicle. Human detection device. In the vehicle human detection device according to claim 3 or 4,
The vehicle detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification means changes a notification method to the driver according to the reception intensity of the radio wave selected by the radio wave selection means. In the vehicle person detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A vehicle person detecting device, further comprising threshold changing means for changing the predetermined threshold according to a situation around the vehicle. Of the radio waves received by an antenna having radio directivity that receives radio waves outside the vehicle, selectively receive radio waves in a predetermined frequency band,
Determine whether the received signal strength is above a certain threshold,
When it is determined that the reception intensity of the received radio wave is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that a person who owns the radio wave transmitting means for transmitting the radio wave of the predetermined frequency band exists around the vehicle. Vehicle detection method for vehicles.

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