JP2008224353A - Earthquake determination device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an earthquake determination device for a vehicle, capable of determining precisely and self-reliably occurrence of an earthquake by the vehicle itself. <P>SOLUTION: A CPU 20 of this earthquake determination device 12 for the vehicle compares a moving amount and an attitude of a vehicular body 16 obtained from an image picked up by a CCD camera 22, with a moving amount and an attitude of the vehicular body 16 obtained from outputs of a vehicle speed sensor 24, an acceleration sensor 26, an angular velocity sensor 28 and a stroke sensor 30, and determines the occurrence of the earthquake, based on a difference therebetween. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular earthquake determination apparatus that is mounted on a vehicle and determines the occurrence of an earthquake.

  While the vehicle is running, vibrations are generated in the passenger compartment. For this reason, even if an earthquake occurs while the vehicle is running, the driver and passengers are less likely to notice the occurrence of the earthquake. Therefore, an earthquake notification device has been developed that notifies a driver or a passenger that an earthquake has occurred during vehicle travel (see Patent Document 1).

  In patent document 1, two embodiment is described as an earthquake alarm device. That is, the earthquake notification device according to the first embodiment notifies the vehicle of the occurrence of an earthquake when a signal indicating the occurrence of the earthquake is wirelessly received (FIGS. 2 and 3 of Patent Document 1). In addition, the earthquake notification device according to the second embodiment notifies the inside of the vehicle of the occurrence of an earthquake when the azimuth sensor detects a geomagnetic disturbance associated with the occurrence of the earthquake (FIGS. 4 and 5 of Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-029447

  However, in 1st Embodiment of patent document 1, since the occurrence of an earthquake is determined with the signal from the outside, it cannot utilize in the area where the said signal does not reach. Further, in the second embodiment of Patent Document 1, it is possible to determine the occurrence of an earthquake only with an apparatus equipped on the vehicle, but the earthquake determination using geomagnetism is sufficient for the reason that there are many noise components in a running vehicle. Cannot be used effectively. Moreover, since a dedicated device for detecting geomagnetism is required, the cost is increased accordingly.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicular earthquake determination device that can determine the occurrence of an earthquake autonomously and with high accuracy. .

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular earthquake determination device that can determine the occurrence of an earthquake by itself using an existing device in the vehicle.

  The earthquake determination device for a vehicle according to the present invention is provided on a vehicle body supported by wheels via a suspension, and includes an imaging unit that captures an image around the vehicle, and the image captured by the imaging unit. Image vibration state quantity detecting means for analyzing and detecting an image vibration state quantity indicative of a vibration state of the image relative to the vehicle body, and vehicle body vibration state quantity detection for detecting a vibration state quantity indicative of the vibration state of the vehicle body An earthquake determination unit that determines the occurrence of an earthquake based on the image vibration state amount detected by the image vibration state amount detection unit and the vehicle body vibration state amount detected by the vehicle body vibration state amount detection unit; Is provided.

  According to this invention, the earthquake determination means determines the occurrence of an earthquake using the image vibration state quantity and the vehicle body vibration state quantity. That is, when there is no earthquake, the vehicle periphery is in a stationary state, and thus there is no deviation between the image vibration state quantity and the vehicle body vibration state quantity. However, when an earthquake occurs, shaking occurs around the vehicle. For this reason, it depends on the movement information (behavior information) of the vehicle body itself supported by the wheels via the suspension, and the vehicle body vibration state quantity that is relatively independent from the vibration around the vehicle and the relative relationship between the vehicle body and the vehicle periphery. Depending on the position information (imaging information), there is a deviation from the image vibration state quantity that is affected by the shaking around the vehicle. Therefore, the earthquake determination means can determine the occurrence of an earthquake by detecting the difference between the image vibration state quantity and the vehicle body vibration state quantity. The image vibration state quantity and the vehicle body vibration state quantity can be detected using image vibration state quantity detection means and vehicle body vibration state quantity detection means provided in the vehicle, respectively. Therefore, the occurrence of an earthquake can be determined autonomously and with high accuracy.

  Further, the image pickup means (CCD camera and the like) and the vehicle body vibration state detection means (acceleration sensor, angular velocity sensor and the like) used in the present invention have recently been increasingly mounted on vehicles. For this reason, the vehicle itself can independently determine the occurrence of an earthquake using an existing device provided in the vehicle for purposes other than earthquake detection.

As the vehicle body vibration state quantity detecting means, for example, at least one of a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, and a stroke sensor can be used. As the image vibration state quantity and the vehicle body vibration state quantity, for example, predetermined The amount of change in the position of the vehicle body and the amount of change in the posture of the vehicle body over time, and at least the speed, acceleration, pitching amount, rolling amount, yawing amount, pitching rate, rolling rate, and yaw rate of the vehicle body every predetermined time One can be used.

  A vehicle earthquake determination device according to the present invention is provided in a vehicle body supported by wheels via a suspension, and the vehicle body relative to the vehicle periphery is based on a relative positional relationship between the vehicle body and the vehicle periphery. Relative movement including at least one of relative movement amount, relative posture change amount, relative speed, relative posture change speed, relative acceleration, or relative posture change acceleration Relative movement information detection means for detecting information, based on the movement of the vehicle body itself, the absolute movement amount of the vehicle body, the absolute posture change amount, the absolute speed, the absolute posture change speed, Absolute movement information detecting means for detecting absolute movement information including at least one of absolute acceleration or absolute posture change acceleration, and comparing the relative movement information and the absolute movement information, In comparison result Zui comprising a seismic determination means for determining the occurrence of an earthquake, the by.

  According to this invention, the earthquake determination means determines the occurrence of the earthquake using the relative movement information and the absolute movement information. That is, when there is no earthquake, the surroundings of the vehicle are in a stationary state, so that there is no deviation between the relative movement information and the absolute movement information. However, when an earthquake occurs, shaking occurs around the vehicle. For this reason, it depends on the movement information of the vehicle body itself supported by the wheels via the suspension, and depends on the absolute movement information that is relatively independent from the shaking around the vehicle and the relative positional relationship between the vehicle body and the vehicle. However, there is a deviation from the relative movement information that is affected by the shaking around the vehicle. Therefore, the occurrence of an earthquake can be determined by detecting a shift between relative movement information and absolute movement information. In this configuration, the vehicle itself can independently determine the occurrence of an earthquake with high accuracy using new information other than geomagnetism.

  Here, the relative movement information detection means includes imaging means for picking up an image around the vehicle, and the absolute movement information detection means is at least one of a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, and a stroke sensor. It is preferable to have.

  Further, as the relative movement information and the absolute movement information, for example, the change amount of the position of the vehicle body and the change amount of the posture of the vehicle body within a predetermined time, and the speed, acceleration of the vehicle body at every predetermined time, At least one of a pitching amount, a rolling amount, a yawing amount, a pitching rate, a rolling rate, and a yaw rate can be used.

  In any one of the above-described vehicle earthquake determination devices, the vehicle further includes alarm means for issuing an alarm in the vehicle, and when the earthquake determination means determines that an earthquake has occurred, the occurrence of the earthquake is detected in the vehicle via the alarm means. It is preferable to report to.

  The vehicle earthquake determination device further includes a wireless communication unit, and when the earthquake determination unit determines that an earthquake has occurred, the occurrence of the earthquake is detected outside the vehicle via the wireless communication unit. You may report to.

  This makes it possible to report the occurrence of an earthquake to the outside of the vehicle. Accordingly, it is possible to take measures such as reporting to another vehicle via the facility that receives this report.

  According to this invention, the earthquake determination means determines the occurrence of an earthquake using the image vibration state quantity and the vehicle body vibration state quantity. That is, when there is no earthquake, the vehicle periphery is in a stationary state, and thus there is no deviation between the image vibration state quantity and the vehicle body vibration state quantity. However, when an earthquake occurs, shaking occurs around the vehicle. For this reason, depending on the movement information (behavior information) of the vehicle body earthquake supported on the wheels via the suspension, the vehicle body vibration state quantity that is relatively independent of the vibration around the vehicle and the relative between the vehicle body and the vehicle periphery. Depending on the position information (imaging information), there is a deviation from the image vibration state quantity that is affected by the shaking around the vehicle. Therefore, the earthquake determination means can determine the occurrence of an earthquake by detecting the difference between the image vibration state quantity and the vehicle body vibration state quantity. The image vibration state quantity and the vehicle body vibration state quantity can be detected using image vibration state quantity detection means and vehicle body vibration state quantity detection means provided in the vehicle, respectively. Therefore, the occurrence of an earthquake can be determined autonomously and with high accuracy.

  Further, the image pickup means (CCD camera and the like) and the vehicle body vibration state detection means (acceleration sensor, angular velocity sensor and the like) used in the present invention have recently been increasingly mounted on vehicles. For this reason, the vehicle itself can independently determine the occurrence of an earthquake using an existing device provided in the vehicle for purposes other than earthquake detection.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[1. Configuration of this embodiment]
FIG. 1 shows an earthquake determination device 12 for a vehicle 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The earthquake determination device 12 is provided on a vehicle body 16 supported by wheels 14 via a suspension (not shown), and includes a CPU 20, a CCD camera 22, a vehicle speed sensor 24, an acceleration sensor 26, an angular velocity sensor 28, and the like. The stroke sensor 30 and the speaker 32 are provided.

  The CPU 20 is connected to the CCD camera 22, the vehicle speed sensor 24, the acceleration sensor 26, the angular velocity sensor 28, the stroke sensor 30, and the speaker 32 to control these devices and based on the output from the CCD camera 22 and each sensor. Determine the occurrence of an earthquake.

  The CCD camera 22 is fixedly arranged inside the upper part of the front windshield, picks up an image of the surroundings of the front vehicle including the lane as an image, and outputs it to the CPU 20.

  The vehicle speed sensor 24 detects the vehicle speed V [km / hour] based on the rotation speed [rpm] of the wheel 14 and outputs it to the CPU 20.

The acceleration sensor 26 includes three acceleration sensor elements that detect accelerations G [m / s ² ] in the longitudinal direction, the lateral direction, and the vertical direction of the vehicle body 16, and outputs the detected accelerations G in the respective directions to the CPU 20. To do.

  The angular velocity sensor 28 is a sensor that detects the angular velocity [rad / s] of the vehicle body 16, and includes a pitching rate sensor that detects the pitching rate PR, a rolling sensor that detects the rolling rate RR of the vehicle body 16, and a yaw rate YR of the vehicle body 16. It consists of a yaw rate sensor to detect.

  The stroke sensor 30 is provided in the vicinity of a suspension damper (not shown), detects the amount of depression SD of the damper, and outputs it to the CPU 20.

  The speakers 32 are provided on both the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle body 16 and generate a warning sound indicating the occurrence of an earthquake in response to a command from the CPU 20.

  The CPU 20, the vehicle speed sensor 24, the acceleration sensor 26, and the angular velocity sensor 28 are arranged in the front panel in front of the steering handle 36 and constitute an ECU (electric control unit) 40.

[2. Earthquake detection processing]
FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an earthquake determination process using the earthquake determination device 12 of the present embodiment.

  In step S1, the CPU 20 determines whether or not the vehicle speed V obtained from the vehicle speed sensor 24 is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed A (for example, A = 5 [km / hour]). If the vehicle speed V is greater than or equal to the speed A, the process proceeds to step S2, and if the vehicle speed V is less than the speed A, step S1 is repeated.

  In step S <b> 2, the CCD camera 22 captures images around the vehicle at a predetermined interval I (for example, I = 1/60 [seconds]), and continuously outputs the images to the CPU 20.

  In subsequent step S3, the CPU 20 analyzes the image received from the CCD camera 22 and determines the movement amount M1 and posture A1 of the vehicle body 16 for each predetermined interval I.

  FIG. 3 shows a flowchart for determining the movement amount M1 and the posture A1 of the vehicle body 16.

  In step S31, the CPU 20 extracts a contour (for example, a contour of a lane, a road sign, or a part of a signboard) of the first image (hereinafter also referred to as “first image”) using a known contour extraction technique. To do.

  Next, in step S <b> 32, the CPU 20 first outlines the second image (hereinafter also referred to as “second image”) captured after the predetermined interval I (I = 1/60 [seconds]) has elapsed. Extract as with images.

  In step S33, the CPU 20 calculates the movement amount M1 and the posture A1 of the vehicle body 16 by comparing the contour of the first image with the contour of the second image. That is, using a known image processing technique, the three-dimensional movement amount and movement direction of the vehicle body 16 are calculated from the contours of the first image and the second image, and the three-dimensional movement of the vehicle body 16 is calculated from the calculation result. The inclination change amount is determined.

  This three-dimensional movement amount and inclination change amount are the change amounts of the position and inclination of the vehicle body 16 during the interval I (in this embodiment, 1/60 second) from the first image to the second image. is there. In other words, these amounts of change indicate image vibration state quantities indicating a state in which the image vibrates during the interval I. In other words, the change amount of the position and inclination of the vehicle body 16 based on the image can be said to be the change amount of the relative position and inclination based on the relative positional relationship between the vehicle body 16 and the periphery of the vehicle 10. By continuously analyzing the change amount of the position and the inclination, the movement amount M1 of the vehicle body 16 and the posture A1 of the vehicle body 16 at the present time can be determined.

  In step S4, the vehicle speed sensor 24 indicates the speed V of the vehicle body 16, the acceleration sensor 26 indicates the acceleration G in the longitudinal direction, the horizontal direction, and the vertical direction of the vehicle body 16, and the angular velocity sensor 28 indicates the pitching rate PR of the vehicle body 16. The stroke sensor 30 detects a rolling amount RR and a yaw rate YR (respectively the change speed of the posture of the vehicle body 16 with respect to a specific direction), and detects a sink amount SD of a damper (not shown) and continuously outputs it to the CPU 20.

  In step S5, the CPU 20 analyzes the outputs from the vehicle speed sensor 24, the acceleration sensor 26, the angular velocity sensor 28, and the stroke sensor 30, and determines the vehicle body 16 at every predetermined interval I (I = 1/60 [seconds]). The movement amount M2 and the posture A2 are determined. A known technique can be used to determine the movement amount M2 and posture A2 of the vehicle body 16 using the sensors.

  The determination of the movement amount M2 of the vehicle body 16 is based on, for example, the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 24 and the acceleration G in the longitudinal direction, the horizontal direction, and the vertical direction of the vehicle body 16 detected by the acceleration sensor 26. This can be done by continuously obtaining the amount of change.

  Further, the determination of the posture A2 of the vehicle body 16 is performed at predetermined intervals I based on, for example, the pitching rate PR, the rolling rate RR and the yaw rate YR detected by the angular velocity sensor 28, and the amount of sinking of the damper SD detected by the stroke sensor 30. By detecting the pitching amount PD, the rolling amount RD, and the yawing amount YD (the amount of change in the posture of the vehicle body 16 with respect to a specific direction), the amount of change in the posture A2 of the vehicle body 16 can be obtained continuously.

  The movement amount M2 and the posture A2 are vehicle body vibration state quantities indicating a state in which the vehicle body 16 vibrates during the interval I. In other words, the amount of change in the position and inclination of the vehicle body 16 based on the output of each sensor can be said to be the amount of change in the absolute position and inclination of the vehicle body 16 itself.

  In step S6, the CPU 20 determines the movement amount M1 and posture A1 (image vibration state amount) of the vehicle body 16 determined in step S3, and the movement amount M2 and posture A2 (vehicle body vibration state amount) of the vehicle body 16 determined in step S5. And the difference D (D1, D2) between them is calculated. That is, the difference D1 between the movement amounts M1 and M2 of the vehicle body 16 at the interval I is calculated as the difference between the amount of movement of the vehicle body 16 and the direction thereof. The difference D2 between the postures A1 and A2 of the vehicle body 16 is calculated as a difference in inclination of the vehicle body 16 in the XYZ space by setting a virtual XYZ space with the center of the vehicle body 16 as the origin.

  In step S <b> 6, the CPU 20 determines the occurrence of the earthquake by determining whether the difference D is within a predetermined threshold T. That is, when an earthquake has not occurred, the vehicle periphery is in a stationary state, and therefore the movement amount M1 and posture A1 obtained from the image information of the CCD camera 22, the vehicle speed sensor 24, the acceleration sensor 26, the angular velocity sensor 28, and the stroke sensor. No deviation occurs between the movement amount M2 and the posture A2 obtained from the movement information (behavior information) of the vehicle body 16 from 30. However, when an earthquake occurs, shaking occurs around the vehicle. For this reason, from the vehicle speed sensor 24, the acceleration sensor 26, the angular velocity sensor 28, and the stroke sensor 30 that depend on the movement information of the vehicle body 16 itself supported by the wheel 14 via the suspension and are relatively independent of the vibration around the vehicle. And the information from the CCD camera 22 affected by the shaking around the vehicle, depending on the relative positional relationship between the vehicle body 16 and the vehicle periphery. Therefore, the occurrence of an earthquake can be determined by detecting this shift.

  For example, the difference D1 between the movement amounts M1 and M2 is a predetermined threshold value T1 (the threshold value T1 is a difference in the amount of movement of the vehicle body 16, for example, 0.2 m in the vertical direction, and a difference in the direction of movement of the vehicle body 16 is, for example, It is defined as 20 ° or more.) If the difference D1 is less than the threshold T1, it is determined that no earthquake has occurred, and if the difference D1 is greater than or equal to the threshold T1, an earthquake has occurred. It is determined that

  Further, the difference D2 between the postures A1 and A2 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold T2 (the threshold T2 is defined as a difference between the pitching amount PD, the rolling amount RD, and the yawing amount YD of the vehicle body 16, for example, 15 °). If the difference D2 is less than the threshold T2, it is determined that no earthquake has occurred, and if the difference D2 is greater than or equal to the threshold T2, it is determined that an earthquake has occurred. In this embodiment, if any of the differences D1 and D2 is greater than or equal to the thresholds T1 and T2, it is determined that the difference D is greater than or equal to the threshold T, but may be changed as appropriate.

  If the CPU 20 determines in step S7 that no earthquake has occurred based on the analysis result in step S6, the process returns to step S1. If the CPU 20 determines that an earthquake has occurred in step S7, the CPU 20 generates a warning sound via the speaker 32 in step S8.

[3. Effects of this embodiment]
As described above, the earthquake determination device 12 according to the present embodiment analyzes the image around the vehicle captured by the CCD camera 22 by the CPU 20, and determines the movement amount M1 and posture A1 (image vibration state amount) of the vehicle body 16. To detect. In the earthquake determination device 12, the CPU 20 analyzes the outputs from the vehicle speed sensor 24, the acceleration sensor 26, the angular velocity sensor 28, and the stroke sensor 30 to detect the movement amount M <b> 2 and the posture A <b> 2 (vehicle vibration state amount) of the vehicle body 16. To do. Then, the CPU 20 determines the occurrence of the earthquake based on the detected movement amounts M1 and M2 and the postures A1 and A2. That is, when the earthquake does not occur, the vehicle periphery is in a stationary state, and therefore the movement amount M1 and posture A1 obtained from the image information of the CCD camera 22, the vehicle speed sensor 24, the acceleration sensor 26, the angular velocity sensor 28, and the stroke sensor. There is no deviation between the movement amount M2 obtained from the output of 30 and the posture A2. However, when an earthquake occurs, shaking occurs around the vehicle. Therefore, depending on the movement information of the vehicle body 16 itself supported by the wheel 14 via the suspension, the movement amount M2 and the posture A2 that are relatively independent from the vibration around the vehicle, and the relative relationship between the vehicle body 16 and the vehicle periphery. There is a deviation between the movement amount M1 and the posture A1 depending on the positional relationship. Therefore, the CPU 20 can determine the occurrence of the earthquake by detecting the shifts of the movement amounts M1, M2 and the postures A1, A2.

  In the above-described embodiment, the movement amounts M1 and M2 and the postures A1 and A2 are detected using the CPU 20, the CCD camera 22, the vehicle speed sensor 24, the acceleration sensor 26, the angular velocity sensor 28, and the stroke sensor 30 provided in the vehicle body 16, respectively. Can do. For this reason, the occurrence of an earthquake can be determined autonomously and with high accuracy by the vehicle itself.

  In addition, the CCD camera 22, the acceleration sensor 26, the angular velocity sensor 28, and the like used in the present embodiment have recently been increasingly mounted on vehicles. For this reason, the vehicle itself can independently determine the occurrence of an earthquake using an existing device provided in the vehicle for purposes other than earthquake detection.

[4. Application of the present invention]
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various configurations can be adopted based on the description in this specification. For example, the following configurations (1) to (4) can be adopted.

(1) Image pickup means, image vibration state quantity detection means, and relative movement information detection means In the above embodiment, the CCD camera 22 is used. However, any other image pickup means (e.g. Or a camera using a CMOS sensor). Moreover, although the image captured by the CCD camera 22 is analyzed by the CPU 20, it can be analyzed by another circuit. Further, from the relative positional relationship between the vehicle body 16 and the vehicle periphery, the relative movement amount of the vehicle body 16 relative to the vehicle periphery, the relative posture change amount, the relative speed, the relative posture change speed, the relative A configuration other than the imaging unit is also possible as long as it can detect a simple acceleration or a relative acceleration of change in posture.

(2) Vehicle body vibration state detection means and absolute movement information detection means In the above embodiment, the vehicle speed V, acceleration G, and pitching rate of the vehicle body 16 using the vehicle speed sensor 24, acceleration sensor 26, angular velocity sensor 28, and stroke sensor 30. The PR, the rolling rate RR, the yaw rate YR, and the sinking amount SD are detected, but at least one (for example, the vertical direction of the vehicle body 16) can be used as long as an earthquake can be detected by comparing with the image information from the CCD camera 22. (Only the movement distance) may be used, and other information may be used.

(3) Image vibration state quantity, vehicle body vibration state quantity, relative movement information, and absolute movement information In the above embodiment, the movement amounts M1, M2 and postures A1, A2 of the vehicle body 16 are compared to determine the occurrence of an earthquake. However, only one of the movement amounts M1, M2 or the postures A1, A2 may be compared. Moreover, it can also limit to only the numerical value of a specific direction among movement amount M1, M2 and attitude | position A1, A2. Furthermore, it is not a comparison of movement amount (movement distance) or posture change amount (pitching amount PD, rolling amount RD, yawing amount YD), but vehicle speed V, posture change speed (pitching rate PR, rolling rate RR, yaw rate YR). The occurrence of an earthquake can be determined even by comparing the acceleration G and the acceleration of change in posture (the amount of change in pitching rate PR, rolling rate RR, and yaw rate YR per unit time).

  In the above embodiment, the vehicle speed V of the vehicle body 16, the acceleration G applied to each of the longitudinal direction, the lateral direction, and the vertical direction of the vehicle body 16, the pitching rate PR, the rolling rate RR, the yaw rate YR, the pitching amount PD, the rolling amount RD of the vehicle body 16 Although the occurrence of an earthquake was determined using the yawing amount YD, at least one of these parameters may be used. Also, parameters other than those described above can be used as long as they can determine the difference between the relative positional relationship between the vehicle body 16 and the surroundings of the vehicle and the movement of the vehicle body 16 itself when an earthquake occurs.

(4) Aspect Mode In the above embodiment, an alarm is issued to the vehicle using the speaker 32, but the alarm may be issued to the vehicle by other methods. For example, a warning can be displayed on a monitor mounted in the vehicle. Moreover, not only an alarm but the structure which performs audio | voice guidance so that a driver | operator can stop safely is also possible. Furthermore, safety may be enhanced by performing vehicle body control such as braking and steering.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, earthquake information can also be transmitted outside. That is, in FIG. 4, a radio antenna (not shown) is provided in the earthquake determination device 12 of the vehicle 10, and when the earthquake determination device 12 determines the occurrence of an earthquake, an earthquake notification signal for notifying the occurrence of the earthquake is transmitted to the outside. Then, the base station 50 that has received the earthquake notification signal accompanies the occurrence of an earthquake, such as reporting the occurrence of an earthquake via radio broadcast to another vehicle 10a or mobile phone 52 that does not include the earthquake determination device 12. You can also take action.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicular earthquake determination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for making an earthquake determination using the vehicle earthquake determination apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a subroutine of image analysis in the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an application example of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vehicle 12 ... Earthquake determination apparatus 14 ... Wheel 16 ... Vehicle body 20 ... CPU (Image vibration state detection means, earthquake determination means)
22 CCD camera (imaging means, relative movement information detection means)
24 ... Vehicle speed sensor (body vibration state quantity detection means, absolute movement information detection means)
26 Acceleration sensor (body vibration state quantity detection means, absolute movement information detection means)
28. Angular velocity sensor (body vibration state quantity detection means, absolute movement information detection means)
30 ... Stroke sensor (body vibration state quantity detection means, absolute movement information detection means)

Claims (8)

A vehicle earthquake determination device provided on a vehicle body supported by wheels via a suspension,
An imaging means for capturing an image around the vehicle;
Image vibration state quantity detection means for analyzing the image picked up by the image pickup means and detecting an image vibration state quantity indicating a vibration state of the image with respect to the vehicle body;
Vehicle body vibration state quantity detecting means for detecting a vehicle body vibration state quantity indicating a vibration state of the vehicle body;
An earthquake determination unit that determines the occurrence of an earthquake based on the image vibration state amount detected by the image vibration state amount detection unit and the vehicle body vibration state amount detected by the vehicle body vibration state amount detection unit;
A vehicle earthquake determination apparatus comprising: The vehicle earthquake determination device according to claim 1,
The vehicle body vibration state quantity detection means includes at least one of a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, and a stroke sensor. In the vehicular earthquake judgment device according to claim 1 or 2,
The image vibration state amount and the vehicle body vibration state amount are the amount of change in the position of the vehicle body and the amount of change in the posture of the vehicle body within a predetermined time, and the speed, acceleration, pitching amount, and rolling amount of the vehicle body every predetermined time. And a yaw rate, a pitching rate, a rolling rate, and a yaw rate. A vehicle earthquake determination device provided on a vehicle body supported by wheels via a suspension,
Based on the relative positional relationship between the vehicle body and the vehicle periphery, the relative movement amount of the vehicle body relative to the vehicle periphery, the relative posture change amount, the relative speed, the relative posture change speed, and the relative Relative movement information detecting means for detecting relative movement information including at least one of a general acceleration or a relative posture change acceleration;
Based on the movement of the vehicle body itself, the absolute movement amount of the vehicle body, the absolute posture change amount, the absolute speed, the absolute posture change speed, the absolute acceleration, or the absolute posture change. Absolute movement information detecting means for detecting absolute movement information including at least one of accelerations;
An earthquake determination means for comparing the relative movement information with the absolute movement information and determining the occurrence of an earthquake based on the comparison result;
A vehicle earthquake determination apparatus comprising: The vehicle earthquake determination device according to claim 4,
The relative movement information detection means has an image pickup means for picking up an image around the vehicle,
The absolute movement information detecting means includes at least one of a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, and a stroke sensor. The vehicle earthquake determination device according to claim 4 or 5,
The relative movement information and the absolute movement information include the change amount of the position of the vehicle body and the change amount of the posture of the vehicle body within a predetermined time, and the speed, acceleration, pitching amount, and rolling amount of the vehicle body every predetermined time. And a yaw rate, a pitching rate, a rolling rate, and a yaw rate. In the vehicular earthquake judgment device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
Furthermore, an alarm means for issuing an alarm in the vehicle is provided,
When it is determined that an earthquake has occurred, the earthquake determination means notifies the vehicle of the occurrence of the earthquake via the warning means. In the earthquake determination apparatus for vehicles according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
Furthermore, a wireless communication means is provided,
When the earthquake determination means determines that an earthquake has occurred, the earthquake determination apparatus for vehicles is characterized in that the occurrence of the earthquake is reported to the outside of the vehicle via the wireless communication means.

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