JP2012149974A - Obstacle detection device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an obstacle detection device for a vehicle which notifies a driver of an incorrect operation of a change lever.SOLUTION: An obstacle detection device 1 for a vehicle comprises: a plurality of ultrasonic sensors 10 (obstacle detection sensors, a calculation means) disposed at different peripheral parts of a vehicle; buzzers 31, 32 (audio notification means) which output sounds in different blowing modes in accordance with the distance to an obstacle; a loudspeaker 33 (a guide voice notification means) capable of announcing with a voice the direction in which the obstacle is located; and a control circuit 28 (a control means). At a time when a change lever is shifted from the parking position to a shift position other than the parking position, if the distance to an obstacle in the direction towards which the vehicle starts to move in accordance with the shift position after the shifting is smaller than a preset value, the control means 28 performs guide voice notification indicating the direction towards which the vehicle starts to moves via the loudspeaker 33 before performing voice notification via the buzzers 31, 32.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle obstacle detection device, and more particularly to a vehicle obstacle detection device capable of notifying a driver of an erroneous operation of a change lever.

  As an obstacle detection device for a vehicle, a plurality of ultrasonic sensors (obstacle detection sensors) that are arranged in different peripheral parts of the vehicle, transmit ultrasonic waves (emission waves) and receive reflected waves reflected by the obstacles, An operation control unit (calculation means) that calculates the distance to the obstacle based on transmission / reception of the ultrasonic sensor, and an obstacle when the distance to the obstacle is less than a set value based on the distance calculated by the operation control unit There has been known one provided with a notifying unit for notifying a direction in which an object is located by a voice message and a control means for controlling the notifying unit (for example, see Patent Document 1 below). In the vehicle obstacle detection device described in Patent Document 1, when only the right front sensor of the vehicle detects an obstacle among the plurality of ultrasonic sensors, for example, a voice message “right front” is notified. To output. And the number of ultrasonic sensors that detect obstacles increases. For example, when the rear right sensor of the vehicle detects an obstacle and detects obstacles at two places on the right and left of the vehicle, it is wider than “front right”. A voice message indicating that an obstacle exists in the range, for example, “It is on the right side”, is output by the notification unit.

Japanese Patent No. 3550322

  According to the vehicle obstacle detection device described in Patent Document 1, when the number of ultrasonic sensors that detect obstacles increases, the driver has obstacles over a wide range from the voice message to the periphery of the vehicle. I can know that. However, in the conventional vehicle obstacle detection device, for example, the driver accidentally puts the change lever into the forward position with the intention of moving the vehicle backward while the obstacle is located near the front of the vehicle. In some cases, the driver receives a voice message from the obstacle detection device that there is an obstacle in front of the vehicle, but the driver is too willing to move the vehicle back, so be careful with the voice message. It is common to only pay. For this reason, even if a voice message indicating the presence of an obstacle is given by the obstacle detection device, there is a high risk of collision with the obstacle as a result of an erroneous operation of the change lever.

  The present invention has been made to cope with the above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle obstacle detection device that allows a driver to notice an erroneous operation of a change lever.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plurality of obstacle detection sensors that are arranged at different peripheral parts of a vehicle and that transmit reflected waves reflected by obstacles, and transmission / reception of each obstacle detection sensor. Calculating means for calculating the distance to the obstacle based on the above, and different sounding modes depending on the distance to the obstacle when the distance to the obstacle is less than the set value based on the distance calculated by the calculating means A voice notification means for outputting the voice of the voice, a guidance voice notification means capable of announcing the direction in which the obstacle is located when the distance to the obstacle is equal to or less than a set value, a voice notification means, and a guidance voice notification means. The obstacle detection sensor is set to operate on the condition that the shift position of the change lever is other than the parking position. When the lever is switched from the parking position to a shift position other than the parking position and the distance to the obstacle is less than the set value in the direction in which the vehicle starts to move corresponding to the shifted shift position, the voice notification means is used. Before performing the voice notification, the guidance voice notification indicating the direction in which the vehicle starts moving is performed through the guidance voice notification means. In this case, for example, when the change lever is switched from the parking position to the forward position and the distance to the obstacle is not more than a set value in the forward direction of the vehicle, the control means advances the vehicle as a guidance voice notification. When the change lever is switched from the parking position to the reverse position, and the distance to the obstacle is less than the set value when the change lever is switched from the parking position to the reverse position, the vehicle moves backward as a guidance voice notification It is preferable that notification is made to that effect.

  In the vehicle obstacle detection device of the present invention, when the change lever is switched from the parking position to the shift position other than the parking position, the distance to the obstacle in the direction in which the vehicle starts to move corresponding to the shifted shift position. Is less than or equal to the set value, the control means performs guidance voice notification indicating the direction in which the vehicle starts moving through the guidance voice notification means before performing voice notification through the voice notification means.

  The driver switches the change lever to the forward position while there is an obstacle near the front of the vehicle, or the driver switches the change lever to the backward position while there is an obstacle near the rear of the vehicle. Because it is clear that it collides with Therefore, in such a case, it is presumed that the driver misoperated the change lever due to misunderstanding, and a guidance voice was notified to alert the driver. As a result, it is possible to reduce erroneous operation of the change lever.

  Specifically, when there is an obstacle near the front of the vehicle when the driver accidentally puts the change lever into the forward position with the intention of moving the vehicle backward, guidance indicating the direction in which the vehicle begins to move By making the guidance voice notification means announce the voice notification, for example, “I will move forward”, it is possible to make the driver notice that the operation intention (reverse) and the actual operation status (forward) are different. Or, for example, when the driver accidentally puts the change lever into the reverse position in order to move the vehicle forward and there is an obstacle near the rear of the vehicle, a guidance voice notification indicating the direction in which the vehicle starts moving, For example, by making the guidance voice notification means announce “go backward”, the driver can be made aware that the intention to operate (forward) and the actual operation status (reverse) are different.

  The control means may be configured not to perform guidance voice notification when an obstacle is detected in accordance with the operation of the vehicle from a state in which no obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor. .

  When an obstacle is detected by the operation of the vehicle from the state where no obstacle is detected by the obstacle detection sensor, that is, when the distance to the obstacle becomes less than the set value due to the movement of the vehicle Informing the driver of the presence of an object is the normal function of the obstacle detection device. Therefore, in this case, the effect of the guidance voice can be enhanced by not performing the guidance voice notification through the guidance voice notification means.

  The control means may be configured to control blinking of an indicator lamp that displays the shift position provided on the meter in accordance with the change of the shift position by operating the change lever. This makes it possible to visually alert the driver.

The block diagram of the obstacle detection device for vehicles concerning the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing an arrangement mode of the ultrasonic sensor shown in FIG. 1 in a vehicle and a sensing range of each ultrasonic sensor. The flowchart which shows the alerting | reporting process (voice alerting | reporting and guidance alerting | reporting) performed by the control circuit of FIG. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows an example of voice guidance. (B) is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the alerting | reporting pattern at the time of carrying out voice guidance. Explanatory drawing which shows a part of Fig.4 (a) typically. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the control aspect in the indicator lamp which displays the shift position provided in the meter.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle obstacle detection device 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as an obstacle detection device 1) according to the present invention. The obstacle detection apparatus 1 includes an ultrasonic sensor unit (hereinafter simply referred to as an ultrasonic sensor) 10 and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 20 as obstacle detection sensors.

  The ultrasonic sensor 10 is a well-known transmission / reception type that, for example, emits ultrasonic waves by vibrating a piezoelectric ceramic vibrator by a piezoelectric effect, and converts ultrasonic vibrations incident on the piezoelectric ceramic vibrator into an electric signal. And includes an ultrasonic microphone, a control board, and the like. The control board is a well-known one, and includes a transmission circuit, a reception circuit, a waveform shaping circuit, a distance calculation circuit, and a communication circuit. The distance calculation circuit (calculation means) measures the time until the launch wave is reflected and returned based on the waveform of the reflected wave obtained by the waveform shaping circuit, and calculates the distance to the object based on that time To do. The communication circuit transmits a detection signal (for example, a serial signal) indicating the distance calculated by the distance calculation circuit to the ECU 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ultrasonic sensor 10 described above is disposed at each corner position of the bumper BP provided at the front and rear of the vehicle and at the center position (two places on the left and right sides) of each bumper BP. Specifically, the ultrasonic sensor 10 includes an FL corner sensor 10a at the left front position, an FR corner sensor 10b at the right front position, an RL corner sensor 10c at the left rear position, an RR corner sensor 10d at the right rear position, and a front left shift. The center position FLC center sensor 10e, the front right center position FRC center sensor 10f, the rear left center position RLC center sensor 10g, and the rear right center position RHC center sensor 10h are provided. In this case, the sensing range of each sensor 10a to 10d is a range indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2, and the sensing range of each sensor 10e to 10h is a range indicated by a chain line in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 1, each of the sensors 10 a to 10 h is provided with terminals (for example, six terminals) for connecting signal lines (in and out) for power supply, GND, and communication. Each terminal of the FL corner sensor 10a is connected to a corresponding terminal of the ECU 20 via a signal line, and is connected to a corresponding terminal of the FLC center sensor 10e via a signal line. Sequentially, each terminal of the FLC center sensor 10e is connected to a corresponding terminal of the FRC center sensor 10f, and each terminal of the FRC center sensor 10f is connected to a corresponding terminal of the FR corner sensor 10b.

  Similarly, each terminal of the RL corner sensor 10c is connected to a corresponding terminal of the ECU 20 via a signal line, and is connected to a corresponding terminal of the RLC center sensor 10g via a signal line. Sequentially, each terminal of the RLC center sensor 10g is connected to a corresponding terminal of the RRC center sensor 10h, and each terminal of the RRC center sensor 10h is connected to a corresponding terminal of the RR corner sensor 10d.

  The ECU 20 includes communication circuits 21F and 21R, a power supply circuit 22, buzzer drive circuits 23F and 23R, an audio drive circuit 24A, a display drive circuit 24B, various interface (I / F) circuits 25 to 27, and a control circuit to which these are connected. 28.

  The communication circuit 21F inputs detection signals representing distances from the FL corner sensor 10a, the FR corner sensor 10b, the FLC center sensor 10e, and the FRC center sensor 10f to the control circuit 28, respectively. The communication circuit 21R inputs detection signals representing distances from the RL corner sensor 10c, the RR corner sensor 10d, the RLC center sensor 10g, and the RRC center sensor 10h to the control circuit 28, respectively.

  The power supply circuit 22 has a function of changing the voltage (12V) of the battery B to a constant voltage (5V), and is connected to the battery B via the main switch MA and the ignition switch IG. The buzzer drive circuits 23F and 23R are connected to a buzzer sound (for example, an intermittent sound such as “beep” as the distance from the buzzer 31 and 32 (voice notification means) provided at the front and rear of the passenger compartment approaches the obstacle, for example. Through a fast intermittent sound such as “,” and a continuous sound such as “pea” is output.

  The voice drive circuit 24A outputs a guidance voice (for example, “retreats”, “moves forward”, etc.) from a speaker 33 (guidance voice notification means) provided in the passenger compartment. The display drive circuit 24B blinks the indicator lamp 34a (see FIG. 6) corresponding to the shift position of the change lever. The indicator lamp 34 a is provided on the meter 34.

  When the change lever is switched to “R” (reverse position), the interface (I / F) circuit 25 inputs a detection signal indicating the switching to the control circuit 28. When the change lever is switched to “P” (parking position), the interface (I / F) circuit 26 inputs a detection signal indicating the switching to the control circuit 28. The interface (I / F) circuit 27 inputs a detection signal indicating the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 35 to the control circuit 28. Since a parking signal may not be obtained depending on the vehicle, an on signal of the parking brake switch PKB may be substituted.

  The control circuit 28 (control means) includes a CPU 28a, ROM 28b, RAM 28c (storage means), I / O 28d and the like as main components, and is stored in the ROM 28b every predetermined time after the main switch MA and the ignition switch IG are turned on. 3 is repeatedly executed, and drive signals corresponding to the execution are output to the buzzer drive circuits 23F and 23R, the sound drive circuit 24A, and the display drive circuit 24B, respectively.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment configured as described above will be described. When the driver turns on the main switch MA and the ignition switch IG, the control circuit 28 starts executing the notification processing program of FIG.

  In the execution of the notification processing program, the control circuit 28 performs an initialization process (S1), and determines whether or not the operating condition of the ultrasonic sensor 10 is satisfied. Specifically, when the change lever is switched from “P” (parking position) to a forward position such as “D” or “L” or a neutral position of “N”, each corner sensor 10a to 10d and each Detection signals from the center sensors 10e and 10f are input.

  On the other hand, when the change lever is switched from “P” (parking position) to the “R” reverse position, each center sensor 10g in addition to the detection signals of the corner sensors 10a to 10d and the center sensors 10e and 10f. , 10h detection signal is input. In addition, about each sensor 10a-10f, it is set as an operating condition that the vehicle speed exists in the predetermined low speed state, for example, less than 15 km / h.

  When determining that each of the sensors 10a to 10h is operating normally, the control circuit 28 determines that the distance to the obstacle is a set value (of each corner sensor 10a to 10d) based on the detection signal from each of the sensors 10a to 10h. (In the case of each center sensor 10e-10h, it is about 1.5m) or less (S2).

  If the distance to the obstacle is equal to or less than the set value at the timing when the change lever is switched to a shift position other than “P” (immediately after the switch) (S3: YES), the control circuit 28 will be described later in S7, S11, On the condition that the guidance voice corresponding to the switching of the shift position has not yet been output by executing the process of S15 or S17 (S4: NO), if the shift position is “R”, the process of S6 to S8 When the shift position is set to the forward position such as “D” or “L”, the processes of S10, S11, S8 are executed, and when the shift position is set to “N”, S12 to S17, S8 are executed. Execute the process.

  First, a case where the shift position is “R” will be described. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 5A, the obstacle O is detected behind the vehicle, that is, the obstacle moves in the direction in which the vehicle starts moving (reverse direction) corresponding to the shift position “R”. If the distance to O is equal to or less than the set value (S6: YES), the control circuit 28 controls the voice drive circuit 24A to indicate the direction in which the vehicle starts to move (reverse direction). Is output from the speaker 33 (S7).

  According to this, if the driver accidentally puts the change lever into “R” with the intention of moving the vehicle forward, and there is an obstacle O near the rear of the vehicle, ”Is announced to the driver that the intention to operate (forward) and the actual operation status (reverse) are different.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 5B, the obstacle O is in a direction (forward direction) opposite to the direction in which the vehicle starts moving (reverse direction) corresponding to the shift position “R”. Even if the distance to is less than or equal to the set value, the control circuit 28 does not perform guidance voice notification through the speaker 33 (S6: NO). This is because the vehicle collides with the obstacle O if there is no obstacle O in the direction in which the vehicle starts moving (reverse direction) even when the driver intends to move the vehicle forward and put the shift position in “R”. This is because it is considered undesirable to notify the guidance voice even in such a case because it may lead to confusion for the driver.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the control circuit 28 controls the display drive circuit 24 </ b> B to blink “R” of the indicator lamp 34 a provided in the meter 34. This makes it possible to visually alert the driver.

  After executing the process of S7, the control circuit 28 determines the sounding mode (intermittent sound, fast intermittent sound, continuous sound) of the buzzers 31 and 32 according to the distance to the obstacle O, and the buzzer driving circuit 23F, 23R is driven and controlled, and the determined buzzer sound is output from the buzzers 31 and 32 (S8).

  As long as the distance to the obstacle O remains below the set value (S2: YES), the control circuit 28 repeatedly executes the processes of S3, S4, and S8. The control circuit 28 associates with the sensors 10a to 10h that detect the obstacle O at the timing when the change lever is switched to a shift position other than “P”, and calculates the distance to the obstacle calculated by the sensor. Is stored in the RAM 28c. For this reason, it is determined as YES in the processes of S3 and S4 after the next time after the process of S7 is executed, and the process of S8 is repeatedly executed.

  Next, a case where the shift position is set to a forward position such as “D” or “L” will be described. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 5 (c), the obstacle O is detected in front of the vehicle, that is, in the direction in which the vehicle starts moving (forward direction) corresponding to the shift position “D” or the like. If the distance to the object O is less than or equal to the set value (S10: YES), the control circuit 28 drives and controls the voice drive circuit 24A to indicate the direction in which the vehicle starts moving (forward direction). Audio is output from the speaker 33 (S11).

  According to this, there was an obstacle O in the vicinity of the front part of the vehicle when the driver accidentally put the change lever in the forward position such as “D” or “L” in order to move the vehicle backward. In such a case, it is possible to inform the driver that the intention to operate (reverse) is different from the actual operation status (forward) by announcing the guidance voice “I will move forward”.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 5 (d), an obstacle in a direction (reverse direction) opposite to the direction in which the vehicle starts moving (forward direction) corresponding to the shift position “D” or the like. Even if the distance to O is equal to or less than the set value, the control circuit 28 does not perform the guidance voice notification through the speaker 33 (S10: NO). Similar to the above case where the driver puts the shift position in “R” with the intention of moving the vehicle forward, even if the driver puts the shift position into “D” etc. with the intention of moving the vehicle backward, the vehicle starts to move. If there is no obstacle O in the direction (forward direction), there is no possibility that the vehicle will collide with the obstacle O, and the abuse of the guidance voice that leads to confusion for the driver is prevented.

  Further, the control circuit 28 controls the display drive circuit 24B to blink “D” or the like of the indicator lamp 34a provided in the meter 34 (see FIG. 6). After the process of S11 is performed, the control circuit 28 performs sound notification through the buzzers 31 and 32 in a sounding manner according to the distance to the obstacle, similar to the above (S8). Then, as long as the distance to the obstacle O remains below the set value (S2: YES), the control circuit 28 repeatedly executes the processes of S3, S4, and S8.

  Next, a case where the shift position is “N” will be described. In this case, when the control circuit 28 determines that the vehicle has started to move based on the detection signal indicating the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 35 (S12: YES), the control circuit 28 performs guidance voice notification through the speaker 33. Do.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the vehicle is moving backward (S13: YES), the distance to the obstacle O is less than or equal to the set value in the moving direction (reverse direction) of the vehicle. If there is (S14: YES), the control circuit 28 drives and controls the voice drive circuit 24A to output from the speaker 33 a guidance voice “retreat” indicating the vehicle movement start direction (reverse direction) (S15). .

  On the other hand, when the vehicle is moving forward (S13: NO), if the distance to the obstacle O is less than or equal to the set value in the moving direction (forward direction) of the vehicle (S16: YES), the control circuit 28 The voice drive circuit 24A is driven and controlled, and a guidance voice “moves forward” indicating the direction of movement of the vehicle (forward direction) is output from the speaker 33 (S17).

  Further, when executing the process of S15 or S17, the control circuit 28 controls the display drive circuit 24B to blink “N” of the indicator lamp 34a provided in the meter 34 (see FIG. 6). After the execution of the processing of S15 or S17, the control circuit 28 performs sound notification through the buzzers 31 and 32 in a sounding manner according to the distance to the obstacle as described above (S8). Then, as long as the distance to the obstacle O remains below the set value (S2: YES), the control circuit 28 repeatedly executes the processes of S3, S4, and S8.

  For example, the driver himself states that the change lever is accidentally set to “N” with the intention of moving the vehicle forward or backward from a state where it is parked on a hill (uphill, downhill), and that the vehicle has started moving due to this erroneous operation. You may not notice it. In the first embodiment, when the distance to the obstacle is less than or equal to the set value in the direction in which the vehicle has moved when the change lever is switched from “P” (parking position) to the neutral position, the direction in which the vehicle has started to move. It is set so as to perform guidance voice notification indicating. According to this, the driver can be alerted to a wider range of erroneous operations of the change lever.

  At the timing when the change lever is switched to a shift position other than “P”, the obstacle O is not detected, that is, the distance to the obstacle O exceeds the set value (S2: NO). When the obstacle O is detected along with the operation (forward, backward) (S3: NO), the control circuit 28 performs the process of S8 without executing the process of S7, S11, S15 or S17. Execute. Then, as long as the distance to the obstacle O remains below the set value (S2: YES), the processes of S3 and S8 are repeated.

  In other words, when the vehicle starts to move and the normal function of the obstacle detection device 1 is exhibited, such as informing the driver of the presence of the obstacle O when the distance to the obstacle O becomes less than the set value. Since the control circuit 28 is configured not to perform the guidance voice notification through the speaker 33, the effect of the guidance voice notification is enhanced.

(Modification)
In the first embodiment, in order to call the driver's attention, the voice driving circuit 24A is configured to output a guidance voice (for example, “move forward” and “move backward”) through the speaker 33. However, in addition to this, as shown in FIG. 4B, for example, a warning sound (for example, an electronic sound such as “pawn”, “tilin”) may be output before the guidance voice is output. . According to this, attention can be more effectively urged to the driver.

  In the first embodiment, the buzzers 31 and 32 as the voice notification means and the speaker 32 as the guidance voice notification means are configured separately, but the voice notification means and the guidance voice notification means are the same notification means ( For example, a speaker can be used.

  Further, the obstacle detection sensor is not limited to the ultrasonic wave as a detection wave, and may use, for example, an electromagnetic wave as the detection wave.

1 Obstacle detection device (vehicle obstacle detection device)
10 (10a to 10f) Ultrasonic sensor (obstacle detection sensor, calculation means)
20 ECU
28 Control circuit (control means)
31, 32 buzzer (voice notification means)
33 Speaker (Guiding voice notification means)

Claims (4)

A plurality of obstacle detection sensors that are arranged in different peripheral parts of the vehicle and that emit reflected waves and receive reflected waves reflected by the obstacles, and calculate the distance to the obstacles based on the transmission and reception of each obstacle detection sensor And a voice notification means for outputting a sound of a different blowing mode according to the distance to the obstacle when the distance to the obstacle is equal to or less than a set value based on the distance calculated by the calculation means A guidance voice notification means that can announce the direction in which the obstacle is located by voice when the distance to the obstacle is equal to or less than a set value; and a control means that can control the voice notification means and the guidance voice notification means, respectively. With
The obstacle detection sensor is set to operate on the condition that the shift position of the change lever is other than the parking position,
The control means is configured such that at a timing when the change lever is switched from the parking position to a shift position other than the parking position, a distance to an obstacle is less than a set value in a direction in which the vehicle starts to move corresponding to the shifted shift position. In this case, the vehicle obstacle detection device is configured to perform guidance voice notification indicating a direction in which the vehicle starts moving through the guidance voice notification unit before performing the voice notification through the voice notification unit.   When the distance to the obstacle is not more than a set value in the forward direction of the vehicle when the change lever is switched from the parking position to the forward position, the control means advances the vehicle as the guidance voice notification. On the other hand, if the distance to the obstacle is less than or equal to a set value in the vehicle reverse direction when the change lever is switched from the parking position to the reverse position, the vehicle is used as the guide voice notification. The vehicle obstacle detection device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is informed that the vehicle is moving backward.   The said control means does not perform the said guidance audio | voice alert | report, when an obstruction is detected with the operation | movement of a vehicle from the state in which an obstruction is not detected by the said obstruction detection sensor. Vehicle obstacle detection device.   4. The vehicle fault according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls blinking of an indicator lamp that displays a shift position provided on the meter in accordance with a change of the shift position by the operation of the change lever. Object detection device.

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