JP2013069034A - Vehicular warning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular warning device capable of urging a countermeasure before a situation gets so worse to negate an immediate countermeasure by reissuing a warning appropriately.SOLUTION: A vehicular warning device 10, for use in warning a passenger of a vehicle when detecting occurrence of a failure or a cause leading to the failure, or detecting occurrence of an abnormal condition such as incompletely closed door and unfastened seat belt, includes a status discrimination ECU 110 that, when an on-vehicle ETC unit 200 communicates with an ETC gate installed at an entrance to a vehicular travel road such as an expressway, detects an event of selecting a road to enter the vehicular travel road, confirms the presence/absence of detection of a failure, and the like, of an ECU (engine) 101 and the like and reissues a warning.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular warning device, and more particularly, to a device for notifying warning information to be dealt with by an occupant.

  For vehicles that run with a drive source such as an internal combustion engine or an electric motor, such as abnormal cooling water temperature of the engine (internal combustion engine), malfunctions that cause malfunctions and factors that lead to such malfunctions. When an occurrence is detected, or when an abnormal situation that is out of the proper state is detected, such as when the seat belt is not worn, a half door, or a small amount of fuel, etc. A warning sound is output to the occupant (driver) by voice output.

  However, as a warning of this kind, in the case of a malfunction or abnormality that does not require prohibition of traveling, the timing of the treatment is left to the occupant, and the occupant who notices the lighting / flashing of the indicator and the warning sound The treatment can be postponed as needed. For this reason, a measure for the warning may be forgotten, and the vehicle may enter a high-speed automobile national road or an automobile exclusive road as it is. In such a case, even if you remember that there was a warning during driving, it is difficult to stop immediately, and if you continue to drive, the degree of failure will increase and you will have to make an emergency stop There is a possibility.

  Here, it has been proposed to provide notification of a vehicle failure to a remote third party such as a service center (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). It is possible to automatically notify and deal with accidents. However, even the one described in this document is not considered to notify the passenger, and an emergency stop due to a failure or the like cannot be prevented in advance.

JP-A-6-28590 JP 2006-23851 A

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular warning device that can promptly perform a treatment before it becomes impossible to immediately perform the treatment so that a re-warning can be performed as appropriate.

  According to a first aspect of the invention relating to a vehicle warning device that solves the above-described problem, a failure detection unit that detects a failure that has occurred in a function of the vehicle and a factor that leads to the failure, and the vehicle is in an appropriate state. An abnormality detection unit that detects the occurrence of an abnormal situation that has come off, and a vehicle warning device that warns an occupant of the vehicle upon detection of one or both of the failure detection unit and the abnormality detection unit, A road detection unit for detecting that a road selection for entering a vehicular driving road where it is difficult to arbitrarily stop the vehicle, and one of the failure detection unit and the abnormality detection unit at the time of detection by the road detection unit or And a warning control unit that confirms the presence or absence of both detections and issues a warning.

  According to a second aspect of the invention relating to a warning device for a vehicle that solves the above problem, in addition to the specific matter of the first aspect, the road detection unit is configured to communicate with the ETC gate side of the ETC on-vehicle device by establishing communication with the vehicle. It is detected that the vehicular travel road is selected as the travel route.

  According to a third aspect of the invention relating to a vehicle warning device that solves the above problems, in addition to the specific matter of the first or second aspect, the warning control unit is one of the failure detection unit and the abnormality detection unit. Alternatively, one or both of the warning at the time of detection of both and the voice output of a message prepared in advance are executed.

  Here, the vehicular travel road can be exemplified as a high-speed automobile national road, an automobile exclusive road, and the like, for example, in which the vehicle cannot be freely stopped on the road shoulder. It is preferable to be able to detect the approach of the vehicle. For example, a dedicated transmitter may be installed in front of the entrance of the vehicle traveling road, and an approach to the vehicle road may be detected when a signal from the transmitter is received. In addition, as described above, it can also be detected by communication with an existing ETC gate, and when a navigation system is installed, it is possible to detect entry into a vehicular road in cooperation with the navigation system. You can also

  As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is detected that the vehicle road has been selected as the vehicle travel route in a state in which a malfunction related to the travel function or an abnormal condition of the vehicle is detected. When it does, that is, before entering the vehicular traveling road, it can warn again. Therefore, it is possible to take necessary measures before entering the vehicular road, and it is possible to continue running on the vehicular road.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when an ETC on-board device is mounted, it is possible to easily detect the road selection of the vehicle driving road when communication with the ETC gate side is established without mounting a special function. can do.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the re-warning similar to that at the time of detecting the road selection of the vehicular driving road, it is possible to easily re-recognize the detection of the fault related to the driving function and the abnormal situation of the vehicle. In addition, in the voice output of the message, it is possible to grasp that it is necessary to deal with the failure related to the driving function and the abnormal situation of the vehicle more reliably and clearly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows one Embodiment of the warning device for vehicles which concerns on this invention, and is a block diagram which shows the schematic whole structure. It is a flowchart explaining the control processing. It is a figure which shows another aspect, and is a block diagram which shows the schematic whole structure.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are diagrams showing an embodiment of a vehicle warning device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a vehicle warning device 10 is installed in a driving source that generates driving force for traveling, for example, a vehicle (automobile) equipped with an engine (internal combustion engine), and sends various warning information to an occupant (driver). The system is configured to notify (warn), and is constructed by an ECU (electronic control unit) 100 constituting the vehicle and an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System) vehicle-mounted device 200 mounted on the vehicle. In the present embodiment, an example of a vehicle that travels with the driving force of the engine will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an electric vehicle with an engine, so-called HEV (Hybrid Electric
Vehicle) can also be suitably applied, and can also be suitably applied to an EV (Electric Vehicle) that is not equipped with an internal combustion engine.

  Here, the vehicle controls the various functions of the entire vehicle based on various detection information according to a control program prepared in advance, various parameters, and the like, so that the vehicle cooperates with the entire vehicle. It has become. The ECU 100 detects, for example, an ECU (engine) 101 that detects and collects various pieces of information of components that realize a running function such as an engine and performs overall control, and detects various pieces of information of components that detect the use state of the vehicle. ECU (body) 102 that collects and executes overall control, ECU (meter) 103 that detects and collects various types of information related to the display panel and executes overall control, and detects and collects various types of information on components of the airbag function ECU (airbag) 104 that executes overall control, ECU (ABS) 105 that detects and collects various information of components of the anti-lock brake system (ABS) and executes overall control, and this ABS and traction control mechanism Components in the ESP (Electronic Stability Program) function that executes integrated control to control running It functions as various ECUs including an ECU (ESP) 106 that detects and collects various information in the input / output signals and executes overall control. The ECU 100 detects a failure state in each part or a state before failure in which a factor leading to the failure is generated at an appropriate timing including an initial check and notifies the occupant, and the vehicle can normally travel A function for notifying an occupant even when the occurrence of an abnormal condition that is not present is detected, and both a failure detection unit and an abnormality detection unit are configured to implement a warning. The ECUs may be separately manufactured and mounted on the board, or may be manufactured as a comprehensive control unit and function individually by each control program. .

  Specifically, the ECU (engine) 101 detects various kinds of driving-related information such as the number of revolutions of the engine and executes drive control. When various types of maintenance-related information are detected and a failure state that requires immediate action or a semi-failure state that causes failure if left unattended is detected, failure information and caution information (semi-failure information) are not shown. The corresponding indicator in the vehicle panel is turned on or blinked to notify the passenger and request maintenance.

  The ECU (body) 102 detects various types of information as to whether or not the vehicle is in an appropriate state when the vehicle travels, such as a half-door state in which the vehicle door is not completely closed or a passenger does not have a seat belt. Then, when the occurrence of an abnormal situation in the vehicle state is detected, similarly, the abnormal situation information is notified by lighting or blinking the corresponding indicator in the instrument panel, and a treatment is requested from the occupant.

  The ECU (airbag) 104 detects various information for confirming whether or not the airbag is in a healthy state in which it can operate normally, and detects before failure or a failure state that requires maintenance to ensure normal operation. Also, the failure information or the caution information is notified by turning on or blinking the corresponding indicator in the instrument panel, and a maintenance treatment is requested from the occupant.

  The ECU (ABS) 105 detects various types of information for confirming whether or not the ABS is in a healthy state that allows normal operation, and detects a pre-failure or failure state that requires maintenance to ensure normal operation. In addition, failure information or caution information is notified by lighting or blinking the corresponding indicator in the instrument panel, and a maintenance treatment is requested from the occupant.

  The ECU (ESP) 106 detects various information for confirming whether or not the ESP function is in a healthy state in which the ESP function can be normally operated, and detects a pre-failure or failure state that requires maintenance to ensure normal operation. Sometimes, failure information or caution information is notified by turning on or blinking a corresponding indicator in the instrument panel, and a maintenance procedure is requested from the passenger.

  Here, in this embodiment, the case where the ECU (engine) 101, the ECU (body) 102, the ECU (meter) 103, the ECU (airbag) 104, the ECU (ABS) 105, and the ECU (ESP) 106 are provided is taken as an example. However, the instrument panel also provides failure information, caution information, or abnormal situation information in the same way when a failure or abnormal situation occurs that interferes with driving. It goes without saying that the corresponding indicator is turned on or blinked to notify the passenger and to take action. However, the necessity for the notification may be given light weight.

  In addition, the ETC on-board device 200 collects automatic charges by performing wireless communication with the ETC gate side installed on the entrance / exit side of a vehicle driving road such as a high-speed automobile national road or an automobile exclusive road through the antenna 201, for example. This is a general-purpose product that can be identified, and is set up to be identifiable for each vehicle, and includes a speaker 202 for outputting a notification message to the occupant when performing automatic fee collection processing.

  The ECU 100 cooperates with an ECU (engine) 101, an ECU (body) 102, an ECU (meter) 103, an ECU (airbag) 104, an ECU (ABS) 105, an ECU (ESP) 106, and the like. Accordingly, a state determination ECU 110 for determining whether or not a vehicle failure state or abnormal situation has occurred is also provided. This state determination ECU 110 also exchanges various types of information with the ETC on-board unit 200, thereby driving the vehicle road. When the selection of the route to enter the road is detected, the warning information, warning information, and abnormal situation information that have already been warned are re-notified (re-warning) and treated before entering a high-speed automobile national road or automobile road. A re-warning process is executed to grasp the maintenance to be performed and request the occupant to take the necessary action. That is, the state determination ECU 110 constitutes a road detection unit and a warning control unit.

  Specifically, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2, the state determination ECU 110, after the vehicle ignition is turned on and various information stored in the memory is reset, at an appropriate timing including the initial check in each part, Each ECU 101-106 confirms whether or not failure information, caution information, and abnormal situation information is detected (step S11), and if detected, performs a notification process by lighting / flashing the corresponding indicator, The failure information during the notification process is stored and updated in the memory (step S12).

  Thereafter, the ETC on-board unit 200 monitors whether or not communication for executing the wireless communication process with the ETC gate is established (step S13), and if the execution of the wireless communication process is not confirmed, the next process is performed. While skipping and returning to step S11, the update processing of the stored information in the memory is repeated according to the increase / decrease of the notification information. On the other hand, when the execution of the wireless communication processing is confirmed, the speaker 202 displays a warning during notification. A re-warning message prompting the maintenance action to be dealt with is output as a voice (step S14).

  Thus, the vehicle warning device 10 can notify the occupant who has forgotten that there is a warning and enters the vehicle traveling road again while the warning is displayed, It is possible to give the occupant an opportunity to appropriately perform maintenance and other measures before entering the vehicle.

  Therefore, for example, after entering a high-speed automobile national highway, etc., it is stopped on the shoulder of the road so that the trouble has deteriorated to the extent that it will interfere with driving, or in order to eliminate an abnormal situation such as a seat belt not being worn or a half-door condition Unreasonable actions such as the above can be made unnecessary, and it can be ensured that the vehicle travels on the road.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the need for maintenance treatment or the like can be notified (warned) before entering the vehicle traveling road, and there is a possibility of engine failure or an abnormal situation such as a half door. It is possible to avoid entering into the vehicle road and having to stop at the shoulder, etc., and travel on the vehicle road and arrive at the destination in a short time. Can be realized. In addition, road selection for a vehicle road can be detected by diverting the communication of the ETC on-vehicle device, and it is not necessary to install a new antenna or the like, and can be realized inexpensively and easily. In addition, since the warning is issued again by the voice output of the message, the state can be notified to the occupant more reliably, and the occupant can be determined accurately.

  As another aspect of the present embodiment, sound is output from the speaker 202 included in the ETC on-board device 200 in the present embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. Needless to say, the sound may be output from the sound source.

  Although illustration is omitted, it is not limited to a voice message, and an existing warning display or a re-warning by a buzzer sound may be used. In a normal warning, only lighting or one buzzer sound power is used. On the other hand, it may be easy to notice by blinking or buzzing multiple times.

  Further, the state determination ECU 110 stores and holds the failure detected by the ECU (engine) 101 or the like and uses it when detecting entry into the vehicular traveling road, but is not limited thereto. For example, warning information held by the ECU (engine) 101 side or the like may be read out and used when detecting an approach to the vehicular road, and a failure or the like may occur on the ECU (engine) 101 side or the like each time. You may make it check the presence or absence. Further, the case where a failure or the like is detected for each part such as the ECU (engine) 101 will be described as an example. However, the ECU (engine) 101 or the like is devoted to steady control, and the state determination ECU 110 is connected to each part. You may comprise so that it may check. Further, the state determination ECU 110 may be omitted by giving the same function to each ECU (engine) 101, or may be provided on the ETC on-board unit 200 side.

  If the navigation system is installed instead of determining the approach to the vehicle road due to the establishment of communication with the ETC gate of the ETC vehicle-mounted device 200, the vehicle is linked with the navigation system and It may be possible to detect the approach to the vehicular traveling road earlier from the current position information, map information, route information, and the like. In addition, if it is detected that the vehicle has traveled to a position where it is impossible to avoid entering the vehicle road, such as passing through an ETC gate, as a message at the time of a re-warning, maintenance in the next parking area is encouraged. It may be. In addition, instead of or in addition to messages related to measures such as malfunctions, a message that calls attention to driving on a vehicle road, for example, driving at a reduced speed or using a child seat May be output by voice.

  The scope of the present invention is not limited to the illustrated and described exemplary embodiments, but includes all embodiments that provide the same effects as those intended by the present invention. Further, the scope of the invention is not limited to the combinations of features of the invention defined by the claims, but may be defined by any desired combination of particular features among all the disclosed features. .

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described so far, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be implemented in various forms within the scope of the technical idea.

10. Vehicle warning device 100 ECU
101 ECU (Engine)
102 ECU (body)
103 ECU (meter)
104 ECU (Airbag)
105 ECU (ABS)
106 ECU (ESP)
109, 202 Speaker 110 State determination ECU
200 ETC on-board unit 201 Antenna

Claims (3)

A failure detection unit that detects a failure that has occurred in the function of the vehicle and a factor that leads to the failure, and an abnormality detection unit that detects the occurrence of an abnormal situation in which the vehicle is out of an appropriate state, A vehicle warning device that warns an occupant of the vehicle upon detection of one or both of the failure detection unit and the abnormality detection unit,
A road detection unit for detecting that a road selection for entering a vehicular driving road where it is difficult to arbitrarily stop the vehicle, and one of the failure detection unit and the abnormality detection unit at the time of detection by the road detection unit or A warning device for a vehicle, comprising: a warning control unit that checks whether or not both are detected and warns.   The vehicle road according to claim 1, wherein the road detection unit detects that the vehicle travel road is selected as a travel route of the vehicle when communication with the ETC gate side of the ETC on-vehicle device is established. Warning device.   The warning control unit executes one or both of the warning at the time of detection of one or both of the failure detection unit and the abnormality detection unit and voice output of a message prepared in advance. Item 3. The vehicle warning device according to Item 1 or 2.

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