JP2011183964A - Alarm sound generator of electric automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an alarm sound generator of an electric automobile capable of improving safety of the pedestrian by securely propagating an alarm sound to a pedestrian in the traveling direction of the automobile to be heard. <P>SOLUTION: The alarm sound generator is mounted on the electric automobile 1 comprised of an electric automobile or a hybrid automobile. The alarm sound generator includes a sensor for detecting a vehicle speed, an electronic control unit for receiving a detection signal from the sensor, and a plurality of speakers 10A, 10C receiving a drive signal from the electronic control unit and dispersedly installed at the front and rear and right and left sides of the automobile. The respective speakers 10A, 10C are made to be an existing on-vehicle article mounted on an outer surface of a vehicle body of a vehicle or an all-in-one type with the on-vehicle article attached to the existing on-vehicle article mounted on a position near the outer surface of the vehicle body, and the speakers 10A, 10C are mounted on the vehicle body by mounting the existing on-vehicle article on the vehicle body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an alarm sound generating device for an electric vehicle, and more particularly to an electric vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle that can notify a pedestrian in the traveling direction of the approach of the vehicle.

In this type of electric vehicle, there is no engine noise generated in the engine vehicle, so a pseudo sound similar to the traveling sound generated by the engine vehicle is generated as an alarm sound according to the vehicle speed, so that pedestrians notice the approach of the vehicle It is required to make it.
Various proposals have been made for this type of alarm sound generating device. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-27810, as shown in FIG. 6, an acceleration sensor 100 for detecting a running state, and the acceleration sensor 100 The vehicle is equipped with a controller 101 to which the running state is transmitted from the vehicle and a warning sound generator 102 composed of a speaker driven by the controller 101. A warning sound generator 102 comprising the speaker is mounted in the engine room, and a warning sound is emitted toward the front of the automobile.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-232689 also proposes a device for applying a running sound to a similar electric vehicle, and a running sound is generated forward from a warning sound generating device mounted in the engine room. .

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-27810 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-232689

As described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, an alarm sound generation device including a speaker or the like generates an alarm sound toward the front of the vehicle, and directivity forward in the traveling direction occurs in the propagation of the alarm sound. It has become difficult for pedestrians in all directions, including both sides and back of the car, to recognize.
In order for pedestrians in all directions to recognize the approach of a car, it is necessary to increase the volume generated by a warning sound generator such as a speaker. However, increasing the volume causes a problem of noise generation, and the volume There is a risk of threatening pedestrians when the size of the pedestrian increases.

  Therefore, it is preferable that the alarm sound during low-speed driving generated by the electric vehicle is a volume that is small enough to make the pedestrian notice the approach of the automobile, but as described above, the alarm sound generator mounted on the automobile is Since one alarm sound is generated in one direction such as forward, there is room for improvement in that it is difficult for pedestrians to notice.

  In order to solve the above problem, alarm sound generators such as speakers may be installed at a large number of locations such as front, rear, left and right of the automobile. There is a problem that takes. In particular, in order to make pedestrians in the traveling direction notice the approach of the vehicle without increasing the volume of the alarm sound, an alarm sound generating device is installed on the outer surface of the vehicle body instead of mounting the alarm sound generating device inside the vehicle body of the vehicle. Although it is preferable to install it, the attachment to the outer surface of the vehicle body may impair the appearance.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an electric vehicle that can easily disperse and arrange alarm sound generators at a large number of locations in an automobile and can make a pedestrian notice the approach of the automobile without increasing the volume. It is an object to provide an alarm sound generating device.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an alarm sound generating device mounted on an electric vehicle consisting of an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle,
A vehicle speed detection sensor, an electronic control unit that receives a detection signal from the sensor, and a plurality of speakers that receive a drive signal from the electronic control unit and that are distributed on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the automobile,
Each of the speakers is an existing vehicle-mounted product mounted on an outer surface of a vehicle body or an existing vehicle-mounted product attached to an existing vehicle-mounted product mounted at a position close to the outer surface of the vehicle body. There is provided an alarm sound generating device for an electric vehicle characterized in that a speaker is attached to a vehicle body.

As described above, when the speaker serving as the alarm sound generating means is integrated with the already mounted on-vehicle product at the position facing the outer surface of the vehicle body or close to the outer surface of the vehicle body, Since the means for attaching to the vehicle body already exists, no new member is required for attaching the alarm sound generating means, and no new attachment work is required. It can be distributed easily and inexpensively in the place.
The positions of the speakers are preferably at four locations on the left and right sides of the center of the front end of the vehicle body, the center of the rear end, and the middle position in the length direction. .
As described above, the speakers are arranged facing the outer surface of the vehicle body or close to the outer surface of the vehicle body, and distributed in the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle body to generate alarm sounds from the vehicle in all directions. There is no need to increase the volume of the alarm sound that makes the pedestrian notice the approach of the car, and there is no fear of causing noise problems.
In addition, the position close to the outer surface of the vehicle body is preferably 3 cm or less to a position away from 0 cm to 5 cm from the outer surface of the vehicle body.

When the vehicle speed received by the electronic control unit from the sensor when the vehicle is running is below a threshold value set in a range of 10 km to 30 km / h, a sound generation signal is transmitted from the electronic control unit to each speaker to generate an alarm sound. It is preferable that the alarm beep is stopped when the threshold is exceeded. The threshold is preferably about 20 km / hour.
In addition, not only when driving at low speed, it may be set so as to generate an alarm sound similar to the driving sound generated by the engine car according to the vehicle speed during medium speed driving and high speed driving.

  In the present invention, a speaker that can be reduced in size is used as the alarm sound generating means, so that it can be easily integrated with an existing vehicle-mounted product. Specifically, an existing vehicle-mounted product integrated with a speaker (specifically an enclosure) is made of a resin molded product, and the resin molded product and the speaker are integrally molded, and a speaker provided in advance is molded, Alternatively, the speaker is attached by being locked to the resin molded product.

  Examples of the on-vehicle products mounted on the front part of the vehicle body integrated with the speaker include a fog lamp, a lamp cover selected from a front lamp including a headlamp, and an emblem. Examples of the on-vehicle products mounted on the rear part of the vehicle body include a lamp cover selected from a rear lamp including a lamp for a license plate, a back lamp, and a brake lamp. Examples of the on-vehicle products mounted on the left and right sides in the center of the vehicle body include a door molding and a door trim.

The volume of the alarm sound generated from the speaker is set so that the volume of the speaker positioned in the vehicle traveling direction is larger than the set reference volume, and the speaker positioned outside the traveling direction is set as the reference volume.
Or it is good also as a structure which generates an alarm sound only from the speaker located in a vehicle advancing direction, and does not generate an alarm sound from the speaker located in directions other than a advancing direction.
For example, when the vehicle is moving forward, the volume of the alarm sound of a speaker arranged at the front of the vehicle body is set to be larger than the volume of the speaker at the rear of the vehicle body and the left and right side parts.
When reversing, the volume of the alarm sound of the speaker placed at the rear of the vehicle is higher than that of the other speakers. When turning right, the volume of the warning sound of the speaker placed on the right side of the center of the vehicle is higher than that of other speakers. It is preferable that the volume of the alarm sound of the speakers arranged in the speaker is larger than that of the other speakers.
In this way, increasing the warning sound that propagates in the direction of travel of the automobile can greatly contribute to the safety of pedestrians. On the other hand, if the volume of the speaker at a position that is not in the traveling direction of the automobile is reduced (set reference volume) or no alarm sound is generated, noise pollution caused by the alarm sound of the automobile can be eliminated.

  When the alarm sound generated from the speaker is equipped with an IC chip for storing an alarm sound as a sound source of the alarm sound in the electronic control unit, and the alarm sound is generated from the speaker by a signal received from the sensor, the IC chip The sound electric signal of the sound source of the alarm sound memorize | stored in (2) is transmitted to each speaker, and the required alarm sound is generated by transmitting the sound electric signal to the conductor of the voice coil in the enclosure of each speaker.

  Further, a human sensor for detecting a person in the vicinity of the car may be installed in the car, and an alarm sound may be generated from the speaker in the moving direction only when the human sensor in the moving direction of the car is detected by the human sensor. .

The alarm sound generated from the speaker is preferably a pseudo sound of a traveling sound generated when the engine car is traveling.
Thus, if it is a pseudo sound of the running sound of the engine car, it is possible to make the pedestrian notice the approach of the car without a sense of incongruity.

As described above, in the present invention, the alarm sound that informs the pedestrian of the approach of the electric vehicle is generated from the speakers that are dispersedly arranged on the outer surface of the vehicle body on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle or on the outer surface proximity position. It is possible to inform the pedestrians around the azimuth of the approach of the car, which can contribute to pedestrian safety. In addition, since the alarm sound is generated from the speaker in all directions, there is no need to increase the volume generated from each speaker, and there is an advantage that noise due to the alarm sound is not generated.
Furthermore, since the speakers are installed in an integrated manner with existing on-vehicle products, even if a large number of speakers are distributed, there is no problem of increasing the number of work steps for attaching the speakers, and the speakers can be easily mounted.

1A and 1B show a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view of an automobile, and FIG. (A)-(C) are schematic which shows the existing vehicle-mounted goods to which a speaker is attached. It is a block diagram of an alarm sound generator connected to a speaker. It is a schematic plan view of 2nd embodiment. It is principal part explanatory drawing of 3rd embodiment. It is drawing which shows a prior art example.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3 show a first embodiment.
The electric vehicle 1 including an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle includes speakers 10 (10A, 10A, 10A, 10A, 10A 10B, 10C, 10D) are distributed. These speakers 10 are provided in an integrated manner with existing in-vehicle products that are already installed in common with automobiles. Therefore, it is not necessary to attach the speaker 10 alone to the vehicle body.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the speaker 10A disposed on the front outer center of the vehicle body at the front end is integrally provided with a resin-molded portion of the emblem 2 that is already mounted on the vehicle, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2 (B), the speaker 10B disposed on the rear outer center of the vehicle body is integrally formed with a cover material 3 made of a resin molded product of a license plate lamp RR that is already mounted on the vehicle. Provided.
Speakers 10C and 10D arranged on the vehicle body outer surfaces on both the left and right sides are integrally provided as shown in FIG. 2C with door moldings 4 and 4 of side doors that are already mounted on the vehicle. .

As shown in FIGS. 2 (A) to 2 (C), the enclosure 10a (that is, the box 10a) of the speaker 10 is formed on the emblem 2, the license lamp cover 3, and the door molding 4 that are made of resin-molded products. And is integrally molded by fixing the resin to the outer peripheral surface of the enclosure.
The molded speaker 10 has a publicly known configuration, and the enclosure 10a has a front opening exposed to the outside, and a diaphragm is directly connected to a voice coil disposed at the rear (rear side), and a voice electrical signal is transmitted through a voice coil conductor. It is connected to an electric wire to generate a set volume and tone sound.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the four speakers 10 (10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) distributed in four locations on the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle body are electronic control units 5 (hereinafter referred to as speaker control units) mounted inside the vehicle body. ECU 5) and a wire harness 6 are connected to each other, and the electric wire group that constitutes the wire harness 6 includes an electric wire that transmits an audio electric signal of the speaker 10.

The ECU 5 is connected with a vehicle speed sensor 8 and a steering direction sensor 9 for detecting a vehicle body traveling direction (forward, backward, right turn, left turn) via a signal line.
The ECU 5 processes an input unit 5a that receives detection signals from the vehicle speed sensor 8 and the steering direction sensor 9, an output unit 5b connected to each speaker 10, and a circuit 5c that connects the input unit 5a and the output unit 5b. The part 5d is interposed. The processing unit 5d has an alarm sound recording IC chip 5d1 serving as an alarm sound source, a determination unit 5d2 that determines whether the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than a threshold value for generating an alarm sound, and an arithmetic unit 5d3 that adjusts the volume according to the traveling direction. Etc. are provided.

  In the processing unit 5d of the ECU 5, a threshold value is set within the range of 10 km to 30 km / h of the vehicle speed received from the vehicle speed sensor 8, and an alarm sound is generated from the speaker 10 when the vehicle speed is equal to or less than the threshold value during traveling. In this embodiment, an alarm sound is generated from the speaker 10 at a speed of 20 km / h or less, and the alarm sound is stopped when the speed exceeds 20 km / h.

Furthermore, the volume of the four speakers 10 is adjusted according to the traveling direction received from the steering direction sensor 9, and the volume of one speaker located in the traveling direction of the automobile is set larger than the set reference volume, and the other three speakers. Is set to the reference volume.
That is, when moving forward, only the volume of the alarm sound of the speaker 10A disposed at the center of the front end of the vehicle body is set to be larger than the set reference volume so as to make the pedestrian ahead notice the approach of the car.
When reversing, only the volume of the alarm sound of the speaker 10B arranged at the center of the rear end of the vehicle body is set larger than the set reference volume so that the pedestrian behind can notice the approach of the car.
Only the alarm sound volume of the speaker 10D disposed on the right side of the center of the vehicle body when turning right and the speaker 10C on the opposite side when turning left is made larger than the set reference volume so that the side pedestrian is aware of the approach of the car.
When turning left and right, the volume of the two speakers, left and right speakers 10C or 10D, and the front speaker 10A may be increased.
The louder volume of the speaker 10 may be the same level as the running sound when the engine car is running at a low speed. Therefore, the set reference volume smaller than the loudness can be very small, and noise pollution caused by the generation of an alarm sound. Is assumed not to occur. The alarm sound may be generated only from the speakers in the traveling direction, and the alarm sound may not be generated from the other three speakers.

  The timbre of the alarm sound is stored in an alarm sound storage IC chip 5d1 mounted on the ECU. The tone of the warning sound is a simulated running sound similar to the running sound of an engine automobile. It should be noted that other timbres and melodies may be used as long as the pedestrian recognizes that the sound is a sound recognizing the approach of the electric vehicle.

In the electric vehicle equipped with the alarm sound generation device having the above-described configuration, when the vehicle speed is less than or equal to a threshold value (20 km / h or less) during traveling, an alarm sound generation signal is transmitted from the ECU 5 to the four speakers 10 of the vehicle, Send a signal. Of the four speakers 10, the alarm sound of the speaker 10 </ b> A disposed at the front end is set to the same volume as the traveling sound of the engine car, and the other three speakers 10 </ b> B to 10 </ b> D are set to a very low volume.
As described above, the alarm sound is generated from the speaker 10 and the speaker 10 is attached to the outer surface of the vehicle body, so that a pedestrian located in the traveling direction of the automobile can notice the approach of the automobile. Safety can be achieved.

  In addition, since the speakers 10 are dispersedly arranged at four positions, front, rear, left and right, it is not necessary to increase the volume of the alarm sound generated from the speakers 10. Further, since these dispersedly arranged speakers 10 are integrated with existing vehicle-mounted products, it is not necessary to attach the speakers 10 to the vehicle body, and a large number of speakers can be easily attached to the outer surface of the vehicle body.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment.
In the second embodiment, the enclosure of the speaker 10 is molded integrally with the lamp covers of the headlamps 20 attached to the left and right sides at the front end of the vehicle body, and the speakers 10 are arranged on the left and right sides of the front end of the vehicle body. Further, the enclosure of the speaker 10 is molded integrally with the lamp covers of the brake lamps 21 on the left and right sides of the rear end of the vehicle body.
As described above, in this embodiment, the speakers 10 are distributed and arranged at the four positions on the left and right sides of the front end and the left and right sides of the rear end.
Each of these speakers 10 has been integrally molded with an on-vehicle product made of a lamp cover made of a resin molded product attached to an automobile. Therefore, the speaker 10 is attached simultaneously by the conventional operation | work which attaches these vehicle-mounted goods to a vehicle body.
Other configurations and operational effects are the same as those of the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  In the second embodiment, speakers may be arranged in the left and right regions in the middle of the length of the vehicle body. At that time, the speaker may be molded integrally by molding the speaker during resin molding of the mirror frame of the side mirror. In this case, a total of six speakers are distributed in the automobile.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment.
In the third embodiment, the speakers 10 arranged on the left and right sides of the middle part in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body are attached to the door trim 26 arranged on the side surface of the side door 25. A locking claw 10x is protruded from the enclosure 10a of the speaker 10, and the locking claw 10x is locked to a locking frame 26a formed on the door trim 26 to be locked. In the mounted state, the front opening of the speaker 10 faces the outer panel side of the side door.

  As described above, the speaker may not only be attached to and integrated with the in-vehicle product attached to the outer surface of the vehicle body, but may be integrated by being locked to the in-vehicle product arranged at a position close to the outer surface of the vehicle body.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, All the embodiments of the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention are included. For example, the volume of speakers distributed in a car may be the same. In this case, since it is not necessary to control only the loudness of the speaker facing the traveling direction of the automobile, the configuration of the ECU can be simplified.
Further, an alarm sound generation signal may be transmitted from the ECU only to a speaker facing the traveling direction of the automobile to generate an alarm sound.
Further, the speaker enclosure (box) itself may be integrally formed when the separate vehicle-mounted product is molded, and necessary parts such as a voice coil may be assembled into the molded enclosure to form the speaker.

1 Electric vehicle 2 Emblem (on-vehicle product)
3 license lamp cover (on-vehicle product)
4 Door molding (on-vehicle equipment)
5 Electronic control unit (ECU)
8 Vehicle speed sensor 10 Speaker

Claims (6)

An alarm sound generator mounted on an electric vehicle comprising an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle,
A vehicle speed detection sensor, an electronic control unit that receives a detection signal from the sensor, a drive signal from the electronic control unit, and a plurality of speakers that are distributed in the front, rear, left, and right of the automobile,
Each of the speakers is an existing vehicle-mounted product mounted on the outer surface of the vehicle body or a vehicle-mounted product integrated with the vehicle-mounted product mounted near the vehicle body outer surface, and the vehicle-mounted product is attached to the vehicle body. An alarm sound generating device for an electric vehicle, wherein the speaker is attached to a vehicle body.   When the vehicle speed received by the electronic control unit from the sensor is less than or equal to a threshold value set in the range of 10 km to 30 km per hour, the electronic control unit transmits a sound generation signal to the speaker to generate an alarm sound. The alarm sound generating device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein generation of an alarm sound is stopped when the threshold value is exceeded.   The on-vehicle product integrated with the speaker is made of a resin molded product, the resin molded product and the speaker are integrally molded, a pre-set speaker is molded, or the speaker is locked to the resin molded product. The alarm sound generating device for an electric vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the alarm sound generating device is attached in combination. The on-vehicle product mounted on the front part of the vehicle body integrated with the speaker comprises a fog lamp, a lamp cover selected from a front lamp including a headlamp, or an emblem, and the on-vehicle product mounted on the rear part of the vehicle body is for a license plate It consists of a lamp cover selected from rear lamps including lamps, back lamps, brake lamps,
The alarm sound generating device for an electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the on-vehicle products mounted on both the left and right sides of the center of the vehicle body include a door molding or a door trim. The volume of the alarm sound generated from the speaker is set so that the volume of the speaker positioned in the vehicle traveling direction is larger than the set reference volume, and the speaker positioned outside the traveling direction is set as the reference volume.
Alternatively, the electric motor according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an alarm sound is generated only from a speaker located in a traveling direction of the automobile and no alarm sound is generated from a speaker located in a direction other than the traveling direction. Automobile alarm sound generator.   The alarm sound generating apparatus for an electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the alarm sound generated from the speaker is a pseudo sound of a traveling sound generated when the engine automobile is traveling.

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