JP2007002911A - Vehicle start controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the safety of a vehicle by preventing the vehicle from starting erroneously in the opposite direction against driver's will. <P>SOLUTION: In the case of a vehicle speed below a given speed, when a direction of a switching position of a speed change stage at an AT 17 and a facing direction of a driver DR doesn't coincide with each other, a gear shift of the AT 17 to the switching position is prohibited. After the gear shift of the AT 17 to the switching position has been permitted, the facing direction of the driver DR is estimated again. Then, when the facing direction estimated doesn't coincide with the direction of the switching position, a restraint on a vehicle start is put on an EPKB. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle start control device, and more particularly, to a vehicle start control device that prevents a vehicle from starting against a driver's intention and enables the vehicle to start safely.

  Conventionally, various devices for preventing a vehicle from starting or traveling against the intention of the driver have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a device that prevents an accidental start of a vehicle due to an erroneous operation of the accelerator pedal by instantaneously stopping the movement of the accelerator pedal when the accelerator pedal is mistaken for a brake pedal and suddenly depressed. In this device, a base portion of an accelerator pedal lever is pivotally attached to an accelerator arm, and a permanent magnet that is separated when a certain downward impact force is applied to a facing portion between the accelerator arm and the accelerator pedal lever is attached. When the accelerator pedal is depressed slowly, the permanent magnet is kept attracted, and the accelerator pedal and the accelerator arm are integrated to perform the accelerator operation. When the accelerator pedal is stepped on rapidly, the permanent magnet is separated so that the movement of the accelerator pedal is not transmitted to the accelerator arm.

In addition, the face orientation determination device determines the face orientation of the driver while driving, and when the face orientation is abnormal, the alarm device is activated to issue an alarm, and the vehicle engine is stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed. Patent Document 2 discloses a device that allows a driver to drive more safely.
JP-A-6-156111 JP 2004-330979 A

  While driving the vehicle, the gear position of the transmission may not match the driver's intention due to the driver's misunderstanding (the gear stage is in the reverse position despite the driver's intention to move forward, Despite the driver's intention to reverse, the gear position is in the forward position). Such a situation may occur during continuous driving operations such as turning over, and there is a risk that the vehicle will erroneously start in a direction contrary to the driver's intention. Conventionally, when the gear position of the transmission is in the reverse position, a device that emits an alarm sound or prevents an erroneous shift from the forward position to the reverse position (shifting to the reverse position with the intention of the driver) Equipment), but not enough during continuous operation. The devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 prevent the vehicle from erroneously starting and driving when the accelerator pedal is mistakenly depressed with the brake pedal. It is impossible to prevent the vehicle from starting in the wrong direction.

  Therefore, this invention makes it the technical subject to prevent that a vehicle starts wrongly in the direction contrary to a driver | operator's intention, and to improve the safety | security of a vehicle.

  The technical means taken in the present invention to solve the above technical problem includes vehicle speed detecting means for detecting a vehicle speed and a forward position of a gear position of a transmission of the vehicle, as described in claim 1. Shift position detecting means for detecting switching from the neutral position to the reverse position, or switching from the reverse position or the neutral position to the forward position, and whether the driver's face direction when seated in the driver's seat is the forward direction of the vehicle A face direction estimating means for estimating whether the vehicle is in a reverse direction, and a shift position direction detected by the gear position detecting means and the face direction estimating means when the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting means is less than a predetermined speed. Vehicle start control means comprising start control means for prohibiting the shift of the transmission to the switching position when the direction does not match the estimated direction and permitting the shift of the transmission to the switching position when the direction matches Equipment Form was, is that.

  The vehicle start control device according to claim 1, further comprising start restriction means for restricting start of the vehicle, as defined in claim 2, wherein the start control means shifts the transmission to the switching position. If the direction estimated by the face direction estimating means after permitting the direction and the direction of the switching position do not coincide with each other, the start of the vehicle may be restricted by the start restricting means.

  Further, other technical means taken in the present invention in order to solve the above technical problem are as described in claim 3, vehicle speed detecting means for detecting the vehicle speed, and gear position of the transmission of the vehicle. The shift position detecting means for detecting the switching from the forward position or the neutral position to the reverse position, or the switching from the reverse position or the neutral position to the forward position, and the direction of the driver's face when seated in the driver's seat The gear position detecting means detects when the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting means is less than a predetermined speed, a face direction estimating means for estimating whether the vehicle is moving forward or backward, a start restricting means for restricting start of the vehicle, A vehicle start control device comprising start control means for restricting start of the vehicle by the start restricting means when the direction of the shift position of the shifted gear and the direction estimated by the face direction estimating means do not coincide with each other Was, is that.

  4. The vehicle start control device according to claim 3, wherein the start control means detects the shift stage position when the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detection means is less than a predetermined speed as described in claim 4. If the direction of the shift position detected by the means does not match the direction estimated by the face direction estimating means, the shift of the transmission to the switch position is prohibited, and if the direction matches, the shift to the switch position is prohibited. It is good also as permitting the gear shift of a machine.

  According to the present invention, when the vehicle speed is less than the predetermined speed, the shift of the transmission to the switching position is prohibited if the direction of the shift position of the transmission does not match the direction estimated by the face direction estimating means. Or, when the vehicle speed is less than the predetermined speed, if the direction of the shift position of the transmission does not match the direction estimated by the face direction estimation means, the start restriction means restricts the start of the vehicle. Thus, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from being started in the wrong direction against the driver's intention.

  A specific aspect of the vehicle start control device of the present invention having the above-described configuration will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a vehicle equipped with automatic transmissions (AT-ECU, AT) 16, 17 as transmissions and electric parking brakes (EPKB-ECU, EPKB-ACT) 18, 19 as start limiting means. . The AT-ECU 16 and the EPKB-ECU 18 respectively control the AT 17 and the EPKB-ACT 19 according to output signals from the start control means 15 as will be described later. The start control means 15 estimates the face direction of the driver DR based on the image input by the image input means 13 that is located in front of the driver DR in the state of sitting in the driver's seat 11 and that inputs an image including the face. Output signal from the face direction estimating means 14, the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting means (vehicle speed sensor) 20, and the detection signal of the shift lever switch 12 for detecting the shift position of the shift lever of the automatic transmission, respectively. Entered. Reference numeral 21 denotes an alarm device that is actuated by the start control means to alert the driver as will be described later.

  The image input means 13 includes an image pickup means. For example, a CCD camera (hereinafter simply referred to as a camera) 10 is fixed to the steering column, and a face image of the driver DR is continuously picked up. The camera 10 is not limited to the steering column, and may be located at a position where the face image of the driver DR can be continuously captured. For example, the camera 10 may be disposed in an instrument panel (not shown). . The face direction estimating means 14 estimates the positions of the eyes, nose, and mouth quickly by estimating the edges of the facial parts on the face of the driver DR by black and white shading. Estimate the center position of the face by estimating the location of the eyes, nose, and mouth. From the angle formed by the center position of the face (center line of the nose and mouth) and the center position of the image (face position at the reference position), the driver DR Face orientation is estimated.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a specific configuration of each of the above means. The video signal of the camera 10 is A / D converted through the video input buffer circuit VB and the sync separation circuit SY and stored in the frame memory FM. The image data stored in the frame memory FM is processed by the image processing unit VC. The image processing unit VC of the present embodiment includes an image data control unit VP, an edge detection unit EP, and a face direction estimation unit DP. The output of the face direction estimation unit DP is supplied to the system control unit SC (computer), and is output to the start control unit 15 in FIG. 1 via the output interface circuit OU. Note that CL, PW, and IN in FIG. 2 are a clock circuit, a power supply circuit, and an input interface circuit, respectively.

  FIG. 3 shows a main routine of the start control apparatus having the above-described configuration. First, it is initialized at step 101 and whether or not the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting means 20 at step 102 is less than a predetermined speed. This is determined by the start control means 15. If the speed is not less than the predetermined speed, the main routine is terminated. If the speed is less than the predetermined speed, it is determined in step 103 whether or not a speed change operation has been performed. Specifically, the shift position switch (shift position) signal from the shift lever switch 12 switches from the forward position or the neutral position to the reverse position (1, 2, D → N → R or N → R) or reverse. The start control means 15 determines whether or not switching from the position or neutral position to the forward position (R → N → 1, 2, D or N → 1, 2, D) has been performed. If the speed change operation has not been performed, the process returns to step 102, and if the speed change operation has been performed, the face orientation of the driver DR is estimated at step 104.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the face direction estimation, first, a differentiation process is performed on the input image of the driver DR in step 201, and the face position at the reference position is estimated in step 202. Next, in step 203, the edge of the face part is estimated by black and white shading, etc., and in step 204, the positions of the eyes, nose and mouth are estimated as shown in FIG. The center position of the face is estimated in step 205 from the average of the eye center line and the nose center line shown in FIG. 5 (for example, as shown in FIG. 6 when the driver DR is not facing forward in the forward direction). In step 206, as shown in FIG. 7, the face direction of the driver DR is estimated from the angle formed by the center position of the face and the face position at the reference position. As shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, when the angle formed by the center position of the face and the face position at the reference position is less than 45 °, the face direction of the driver DR is 45 ° In the above case, it is estimated that the vehicle is in the rear direction.

  When the face direction of the driver DR is estimated, the start control means 15 determines whether or not to permit the shift in step 105. The shift permission is determined according to the chart of FIG. 8, and when the direction of the switching position in step 103 matches the direction of the driver's face in step 104, the shift is permitted, and in step 106 the start control means 15 outputs a shift permission signal to the AT-ECU 16, and a shift operation is performed at the AT 17 by the AT-ECU 16. When the direction of the switching position in step 103 and the direction of the face of the driver DR in step 104 coincide with each other, the shift is not permitted and the start control means 15 does not output a shift permission signal to the AT-ECU 16 and proceeds to step 104. At the same time, the warning device 21 issues a warning to the driver DR by the start control means 15.

  When the shift is permitted, the driver DR is again estimated in step 107 according to the steps shown in FIG. In step 108, it is determined by the start control means 15 whether or not the start is permitted. The start permission is determined according to the chart of FIG. 9, and when the direction of the AT shift position matches the direction of the face of the driver DR in step 107, the start permission is made and the start control means 15 in step 110 performs the EPKB. -The ECU 18 does not output a signal for operating the EPKB-ACT 19 (outputs a release signal), and returns to Step 102. When the direction of the AT shift position does not coincide with the direction of the face of the driver DR in Step 107, the start is not permitted and the start control means 15 sends an EPKB-ACT19 activation signal to the EPKB-ECU 18 in Step 109. At the same time, the warning device 21 warns the driver DR and returns to step 107. In this embodiment, the EPKB is activated in step 109 when the start is not permitted in step 108. However, the EPKB is activated when it is determined in step 103 that a shift operation has been performed. Thus, when it is determined in step 108 that the start is not permitted, the process may return to step 107 as it is.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the vehicle speed is less than the predetermined speed, if the direction of the switching position of the AT gear position does not match the face direction of the driver DR, the shifting of the AT to the switching position is performed. Since it is prohibited, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from starting in the wrong direction against the driver's intention. Further, after permitting the AT shift to the switching position, the driver's face direction is estimated again, and if the estimated face direction does not match the direction of the switching position, the start of the vehicle is restricted by EPKB. Further, it is possible to further improve the safety when the vehicle starts.

  In the present embodiment, EPKB is used as the start limiting means. However, instead of EPKB, for example, a brake actuator that can be operated independently of the operation of the brake pedal or an electronically controlled throttle actuator can be used.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a vehicle start control device according to the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the main structures of the image processing means in one embodiment of the vehicle start control apparatus which concerns on this invention, and a face direction estimation means. It is a flowchart which shows the main routine in one Embodiment of the vehicle start control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the face direction estimation process in one Embodiment of the vehicle start control apparatus which concerns on this invention. In one Embodiment of this invention, it is explanatory drawing which shows the face screen in a face direction estimation process. In one Embodiment of this invention, it is explanatory drawing which shows the face screen in a face direction estimation process. In one Embodiment of this invention, it is explanatory drawing which shows the estimation result in a face direction estimation process. In one embodiment of the present invention, it is a chart showing conditions of shift permission judging. In one Embodiment of this invention, it is a graph which shows the conditions of start permission determination.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Camera 12 Shift lever switch 14 Face direction estimation means 15 Start control means 17 AT (transmission)
19 EPKB-ACT (start limiter)
20 Vehicle speed detection means

Claims (4)

Vehicle speed detection means for detecting the vehicle speed, and gear position detection for detecting switching of the shift position of the vehicle transmission from the forward position or neutral position to the reverse position, or switching from the reverse position or neutral position to the forward position. Means, a face direction estimating means for estimating whether the driver's face direction in the state of sitting in the driver's seat is the forward direction or the reverse direction of the vehicle, and when the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting means is less than a predetermined speed, If the direction of the shift position detected by the shift position detecting means does not match the direction estimated by the face direction estimating means, the shift of the transmission to the switch position is prohibited, and if the direction matches, A start control device for a vehicle, comprising start control means for permitting shifting of the transmission to the switching position. The vehicle is further provided with a start restricting means for restricting start of the vehicle, and the start control means does not match the direction estimated by the face direction estimating means after allowing the transmission to shift to the switching position and the direction of the switching position. 2. The vehicle start control device according to claim 1, wherein the start restriction unit restricts the start of the vehicle. Vehicle speed detection means for detecting the vehicle speed, and gear position detection for detecting switching of the shift position of the vehicle transmission from the forward position or neutral position to the reverse position, or switching from the reverse position or neutral position to the forward position. Means, a face direction estimating means for estimating whether the driver's face is in the forward or backward direction of the vehicle when seated in the driver's seat, a start limiting means for limiting the start of the vehicle, and the vehicle speed detecting means When the vehicle speed is less than a predetermined speed and the direction of the shift position detected by the gear position detecting means does not match the direction estimated by the face direction estimating means, the start restricting means starts the vehicle. A start control device for a vehicle comprising start control means for restricting the vehicle. When the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting means is less than a predetermined speed, the start control means has a direction of a shift position detected by the gear position detecting means and a direction estimated by the face direction estimating means. 4. The vehicle start control device according to claim 3, wherein, if they do not coincide with each other, shifting of the transmission to the switching position is prohibited, and if they coincide, shifting of the transmission to the switching position is permitted.

Images