JP2007156727A - Receiver for road traffic information - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a receiver capable of operating a LSC (Load Speed Canceler) function even when a solar battery is driven, and stopping a warning when a speed is a limited speed or less to prevent it from being noisy. <P>SOLUTION: The receiver of road traffic information is provided with: a GPS module for performing the location detection and speed calculation of an automobile; a location registration data memory; a CPU for performing control; a notification part for audibly or visually notifying a driver of road traffic information; a low speed canceler for stopping the notification of the road traffic information by the notification part when the speed is a limited speed or less; and a solar battery for operating the GPS module. In the receiver, a power is supplied from the solar battery to the GPS module by an on/off intermittent operation in a cycle of several seconds. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a function of notifying the driver of the vehicle of the approach of various monitoring points and reception of monitoring radio waves for monitoring the overspeed limit of the vehicle, and the above reception when the vehicle is traveling below the speed limit. The present invention relates to a device for receiving road traffic information having a “low speed canceller” (hereinafter abbreviated as LOC) function that does not notify the driver even if there is.

  Some conventional road traffic information receiving devices have a function of notifying the driver of an automobile of the approach of various monitoring points for monitoring overspeed limit of the automobile (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .

JP-A-9-318371

  According to the device described in Patent Document 1, the driver does not notice that the speed limit set for each travel point has changed during the travel, and the vehicle is not allowed to remain over the speed limit. There are cases where the vehicle keeps running, and in such a case, unfortunately an unexpected accident is often caused, but it is effective in preventing the occurrence of such an accident.

The various monitoring points described above are generally referred to as orbis (commonly known as mouse traps), and include a fixed type and a mobile type. The fixed type includes a radar type and a type equipped with a speed measuring machine (measuring camera) and a speed warning plate. There is also a loop coil type measuring sensor equipped with a camera and a loop sensor. As a next-generation type, what is called an “NH system” that determines the vehicle speed from blurring of photographic images when a traveling vehicle is photographed with a digital camera is being studied. The radar type includes a so-called stealth type that emits a radar wave (radar wave) only for an instant. In addition, there is a device that uses a photoelectric tube type or infrared type measurement sensor to measure the time for a vehicle to pass through a certain section to determine the vehicle speed.
In addition, the mobile type includes a radar type enforcement machine mounted on the patrol car roof. Road traffic information refers to information indicating these signals and installation positions.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a conventional road traffic information receiving apparatus.
In the figure, 300 is a conventional receiving device, 310 is a solar battery, 311 is a power supply control unit, and 312 is a rechargeable battery that charges electric energy generated by rotating a generator with an automobile engine. A GPS module 320 includes a GPS receiver 321 and a position detection / velocity calculation unit 322. A reception signal of the GPS receiver 321 is processed by the position detection / velocity calculation unit 322, and the result is converted into distance / position / speed data. The data is transmitted to the receiving unit 340.

  Reference numeral 330 denotes a main control unit (CPU). The distance / position / speed data receiving unit 340 and the calculation unit and position / registered data memory 350 exchange signals. The location / registration data memory 350 can be built in the main control unit (CPU) 330.

A received signal from a high frequency receiver 361 as the X / K band radar receiver 360 is processed by a signal processor 361 a and input to the main controller 330.
In addition, as the wireless reception unit 370, the reception signal from the 350 MHz high frequency receiver 371 is sent to the signal level detector / detector 371 a, the signal having a predetermined signal level is detected and input to the main control unit 330.
Further, the signal received by the 407 MHz high frequency receiver 372 is detected by the signal level detector 372 a, and a signal having a predetermined signal level or higher is input to the main controller 330.
Similarly, the signal received by the 160 MHz band high frequency receiver 373 is detected by the signal level detector 73a, and a signal having a predetermined signal level or higher is input to the main controller 330.

Further, an infrared receiving unit 381 is provided as the infrared detecting unit 380, and the received infrared signal is input to the main control unit 30.
The main control unit 330 outputs an audible alarm signal to the announcement / speech output unit 391 and notifies it by the speaker 392. Further, a visual warning signal is output to the warning lamp / setting state LED display unit 394. 399 is an LSC.
The main control unit 330 obtains the speed limit of the current position based on the position data from the GPS module 320, the position, and the data in the registered data memory 350, and outputs to the LSC 399 that the current vehicle speed is within the speed limit.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the LSC.
In the figure, when the LSC operation starts, the LSC 399 first receives vehicle speed data (step 21), then the speed limit data (step 22), and when a speed control radio wave (target radio wave) is received in step 23 (control). Only when the vehicle speed exceeds the speed limit (step 24), the alarm is issued (step 25), and if the vehicle speed is less than the speed limit, the process returns to step 21 to issue the alarm. I am trying not to. If the vehicle speed is below the speed limit, the LSC 399 blocks the operation of the announcement / sound output unit 391 and the warning lamp / setting state LED display unit 394, stops the alarm, and makes noisy. It is a function to prevent it.
Also, since the radio wave emitted from the automatic opening / closing door of the convenience store is in the same frequency band as the radio wave for measuring the speed, the radar detector installed in the car erroneously receives the radio wave from the convenience store and issues a warning in the same way. However, as a side effect of LSC, when the vehicle speed is below the speed limit, it is possible to prevent the LSC from issuing an alarm.

However, since the GPS receiver 321 consumes a large amount of energy, there is no problem even if the GPS receiver 321 is operated continuously by the rechargeable battery 312 that is charged from the automobile side. When operating with a small solar battery 310, measures to prevent wear were necessary.
In the conventional apparatus, as a solution, the CPU 330 does not operate the GPS receiver 321 when it is found that there is no enforcement device nearby. That is, from the position data and speed data from the GPS module 320 and the traffic control position information stored in the data memory 350, the CPU 330 identifies the nearest traffic control position and calculates the time required to approach the traffic control position. The GPS receiver 321 is turned off until it approaches, and in this case, the power off may take several minutes if the power is off.
As a result, energy consumption by the GPS receiver 321 can be significantly suppressed.

However, in this case, the GPS module 320 does not operate during the power-off period (several minutes) of the GPS receiver 21, so the CPU 330 cannot receive speed data from the GPS module 320. Therefore, in the flowchart of FIG. 2, since the speed data cannot be obtained in step 21, the LSC 399 cannot perform its function in a timely manner.
For this reason, even if the target radio wave or convenience store radio wave is received, it is desired not to issue an alarm when the speed of the car is below the speed limit, but the conventional device could not operate the function of LSC 399, so it was running at low speed It also happened to sound an alarm.
As described above, in the conventional device, the function of the LSC 399 can be activated only when the GPS receiver 321 is operated by the rechargeable battery. However, when the solar battery 310 is used, the function of the LSC 399 can be activated. There was a drawback that it was impossible.

  The present invention has been made to solve these problems, so that the function of the LSC can be made to work even when a solar battery is used. It is an object of the present invention to provide an easy-to-use road traffic information receiving apparatus capable of preventing a warning from being received.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention relates to a road traffic information receiving device, wherein road traffic information is received by a vehicle, and a driver is provided according to the received contents and reception status of the reception. A road traffic information receiving device for informing a vehicle, a GPS module for calculating the position of the automobile and calculating the speed of the automobile, a location registration data memory for registering road traffic information corresponding to the location, and the GPS A CPU that receives position and speed data from the module, obtains and controls road traffic information corresponding to the current position from the position registration data memory, and an informing unit that notifies the driver of the road traffic information audibly or visually And a low speed canceller (LSC) that stops the notification of the road traffic information by the notification unit when the speed of the automobile is equal to or less than a speed limit, A road traffic information receiving apparatus comprising at least a solar battery for operating the GPS module, wherein power supply from the solar battery to the GPS module is performed by an on / off intermittent operation with a cycle of several seconds. .
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the road traffic information receiving apparatus according to the first aspect, the on period of the period is 100 ms to 500 ms, and the off period is 3 s to 6 s.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the road traffic information receiving device according to the first or second aspect, the road traffic information includes a microwave for speed measurement using infrared waves in the X band and the K band, infrared rays, And any one or more of road traffic information using a wireless device.

  By adopting the above-described configuration, the road traffic information receiving apparatus according to the present invention can continuously operate the LSC function even when using a solar battery (although there is an off-period of several seconds strictly). Therefore, when the vehicle speed is less than the speed limit, the alarm can be prevented from sounding even if the target radio wave or the convenience store radio wave is received.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for receiving road traffic information according to the present invention.
In the figure, 100 is a receiving device according to the present invention, 110 is a solar battery, 111 is a power control unit, and 112 is a rechargeable battery that charges electric energy generated by rotating a generator in an automobile engine. Reference numeral 120 denotes a GPS module, which includes a GPS receiver 121 and a position detection / speed calculation unit 122. A received signal of the GPS receiver 121 is processed by the position detection / speed calculation unit 122, and the result is converted into distance / position / speed data. Transmit to the receiver 130. When power is supplied from the solar battery 110 to the GPS module 120, according to the present invention, the supplied power is intermittently operated on and off.

Such intermittent operation is performed by the CPU 130 determining an appropriate intermittent time internally and transmitting a command to the GPS module 120.
For example, when it is desired to perform an intermittent operation in 3 seconds, if the CPU 130 sends a command to the GPS module 120 to perform an intermittent operation in 3 seconds, the GPS side performs an intermittent operation for 3 seconds until the next command is transmitted. By using the CPU 130 in this way for intermittent operation, it is not particularly necessary to provide a switching circuit or the like.
As a specific numerical value, if the on period is 100 ms to 500 ms and the off period is in the range of 3 s to 6 s, there is no problem in practical use (apparently).
In this way, the electric energy of the solar battery 110 is given to the GPS module 120 in an intermittent operation, so that energy consumption can be prevented.

  Therefore, in the flowchart of FIG. 2, since new speed data can be obtained at intervals of several seconds in step 21, the subsequent flowchart functions and the functions of the LSC 399 can be operated in a timely manner. Even if the radio wave is received, an alarm is not given when the speed of the car is below the speed limit.

  Returning to FIG. 1, reference numeral 130 denotes a main control unit (CPU), and the distance / position / speed data receiving unit 130 and the calculation unit and the position / registered data memory 150 exchange signals. The location / registration data memory 150 may be built in the main control unit (CPU) 130.

  A received signal from a high frequency receiver 161 serving as an X / K band radar receiver 160 is processed by a signal processor 161 a and input to the main controller 130.

Further, as the wireless receiving unit 170, a reception signal from the 350 MHz high frequency receiver 171 is sent to the signal level detector / detector 171a, and a signal having a predetermined signal level is detected and input to the main control unit 130.
Further, the signal received by the 307 MHz high frequency receiver 172 is detected by the signal level detector 172a, and a signal having a predetermined signal level or higher is input to the main controller 130.
Similarly, the signal received by the 160 MHz band high frequency receiver 173 is detected by the signal level detector 73a, and the signal having a predetermined signal level or higher is input to the main controller 130.

  Further, an infrared receiving unit 181 is provided as the infrared detecting unit 180, and the received infrared signal is input to the main control unit 30.

  The main control unit 130 outputs an audible alarm signal to the announcement / speech output unit 191 and notifies the speaker 192 of it. In addition, a visual warning signal is output to the warning lamp / setting state LED display unit 193.

  The main control unit 130 obtains the speed limit of the current position based on the position data from the GPS module 120, the position, and the data in the registered data memory 150, and outputs to the LSC 199 that the current vehicle speed is within the speed limit (strictly In other words, since there is an off period of several seconds, it is output to the LSC 199 every few seconds). The LSC 199 receives the vehicle speed data and the speed limit data, and when the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the speed limit, the operation of the announcement / audio output unit 191 and the operation of the warning lamp / setting state LED display unit are blocked.

As described above, according to the present invention, even when the solar battery is driven, the LSC 199 can obtain the vehicle speed data every few seconds. Therefore, even if the radar detector mounted on the vehicle receives the speed violation control radio wave, it is timely. The vehicle speed can be compared with the speed limit, and the function of stopping the alarm so that it is not noisy can be maintained.
As a side effect of LSC, radio waves emitted from the automatic opening / closing door of a convenience store can also prevent false alarms from being issued by LSC when the speed of the automobile is below the speed limit.

In addition, when GPS cannot be performed due to surrounding conditions, it is preferable to perform this function using a vibration sensor.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 198 denotes a vibration detection unit using a vibration sensor, which is built in the receiver 100 in advance. The vibration detection value from the vibration detection unit 198 is sent to the CPU 130. In the CPU 130, mainly based on the frequency of vibration (the speed is low if the frequency is low, and the speed is high if the frequency is high), and further the strength of vibration (voltage coming out of the sensor), etc. The speed is calculated in a complex manner including
As described above, since the vehicle speed can be calculated from the detection value of the vibration sensor, the function of the LSC 199 can be executed even when GPS cannot be performed by using the vehicle speed data.

It is a block diagram of the receiving device of road traffic information concerning the present invention. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of LSC. It is a block diagram of the receiving apparatus of the road traffic information of the conventional apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

100 Receiving Device 110 Solar Battery 111 Power Supply Control Unit 112 Rechargeable Battery 120 GPS Module 121 GPS Receiver 122 Position Detection / Speed Calculation Unit 130 Main Control Unit (CPU)
130 Distance / Position / Speed Data Receiving Unit 150 Position / Registered Data Memory 160 X / K Band Radar Receiving Unit 161 High Frequency Receiver 161a Signal Processing Unit 170 Wireless Reception Unit 171 350MHz High Frequency Receiver 171a Signal Level Detection / Detector 172 307MHz High-frequency receiver 172a Signal level detector 173 160MHz band high-frequency receiver 173a Signal level detector 180 Infrared detector 181 Infrared receiver 191 Announcement / sound output unit 192 Speaker 193 Warning lamp / setting status LED display unit 198 Vibration detection unit 199 Low・ Speed canceller (LSC)

Claims (3)

A road traffic information receiving device for receiving road traffic information in a vehicle and notifying a driver according to the received contents and reception status of the received vehicle, wherein the GPS module detects the position of the vehicle and calculates the speed of the vehicle A position registration data memory in which road traffic information corresponding to the position is registered, and position and speed data received from the GPS module, and road traffic information corresponding to the current position is obtained from the position registration data memory for control. A CPU for performing, a notifying unit for notifying the driver of the road traffic information audibly or visually, and a low speed for stopping the notification of the road traffic information by the notifying unit when the speed of the automobile is equal to or lower than a speed limit. -Reception of road traffic information comprising a canceller (LSC) and a solar battery that operates at least the GPS module. In the device,
An apparatus for receiving road traffic information, wherein power is supplied from the solar battery to the GPS module by intermittent on / off operation with a period of several seconds.   2. The road traffic information receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an on period of the cycle is 100 ms to 500 ms and an off period is 3 s to 6 s.   The road traffic information is any one or more of speed measurement microwaves using the Doppler effect with X-band and K-band radio waves, infrared rays, and road traffic information using radio equipment. Item 3. A traffic traffic information receiving apparatus according to Item 1 or 2.

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