JP2013250735A - Monitoring notification system and inhibition cancellation method for abnormality notification - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inhibit the output of a monitoring result in an abnormality monitoring circuit, and to deteriorate the voltage of a power to be supplied from a power supply circuit to an object in a signal processing circuit just after the supply of a power from a power source to an object is started in a monitoring notification system.SOLUTION: A monitoring notification system outputs the monitoring result of a radar device including a high frequency circuit and a signal processing circuit. A monitoring circuit of the high frequency circuit outputs the monitoring result of the high frequency circuit as a situation monitoring result Ire to the signal processing circuit. When the initialization processing of the high frequency circuit is completed, a cancellation output part of the monitoring circuit sets a reset release signal Sre to a high level. A microcomputer of the signal processing circuit inhibits the output of the situation monitoring result Ire in a period in which specified conditions are satisfied, and when the period passes, outputs following situation monitoring results Ire to an external device. The specified conditions indicate that preliminarily specified time length has passed since the reset release signal Sre is set to a high level.

Description

  The present invention relates to a monitoring notification system that outputs a result of monitoring an object, and an abnormality notification prohibition canceling method that cancels prohibition of output of a monitoring result in the monitoring notification system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an in-vehicle system (monitoring notification system) that includes an object detection device that detects an object present in the vicinity of the host vehicle and a power supply circuit that supplies power of a specified voltage to the object detection device is known. Yes.

  As an object detection device constituting an in-vehicle system, a high-frequency circuit that transmits and receives millimeter-wave radio waves as radar waves, a signal processing circuit that detects an object based on a result of transmitting and receiving radar waves in the high-frequency circuit, and a high-frequency circuit There is known a radar apparatus including an abnormality monitoring circuit that repeatedly monitors the presence or absence of abnormality (see Patent Document 1). In a signal processing circuit included in a radar apparatus, generally, a monitoring result acquired from an abnormality monitoring circuit is output to another on-vehicle apparatus (for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit)).

  In the in-vehicle system, generally, as shown in FIG. 4, when the ignition switch is turned on (t1 in the figure), power IG is supplied from the in-vehicle battery to the power supply circuit. The voltage of the electric power IG (so-called battery voltage) rises with time in the period until it reaches the specified voltage Vst defined in advance, and it takes time to reach a steady state at the specified voltage Vst.

When the voltage of the power IG exceeds a predetermined threshold Th _V1 (in the figure: t2), the power supply circuit starts to supply negative voltage power (in the figure: supply negative voltage) to the object detection device. . When the negative voltage power falls below a predetermined threshold Th _V2 (in the figure: t3), the power supply circuit starts supplying positive voltage power (in the figure: supply positive voltage) to the object detection device.

  At this time, the voltage of the power supplied from the power supply circuit to the high-frequency circuit of the object detection device (that is, the negative voltage and the positive voltage) is in time progress until it reaches a steady state, similarly to the voltage of the power IG. It takes time to change along the line and reach a steady state.

  By the way, in the abnormality monitoring circuit, the presence or absence of abnormality in the high-frequency circuit is determined according to the result of comparing the voltage of the power supplied from the power supply circuit to the high-frequency circuit with a predetermined threshold or the result of comparing the temperature in the high-frequency circuit with the threshold. Is monitoring. During the period from when the ignition switch is turned on until the operation state of the power supply circuit is stabilized, the voltage of the power supplied from the power supply circuit to the high-frequency circuit is not in a steady state. In spite of the normal operation, there is a possibility that the monitoring result is an erroneous result that the high-frequency circuit is abnormal.

  For this reason, in the signal processing circuit, the abnormality monitoring circuit is arranged so that an erroneous monitoring result in the abnormality monitoring circuit is not output to other in-vehicle devices immediately after the power supply from the power supply circuit to the object detection device is started. The output of other monitoring results to other in-vehicle devices is prohibited.

In such a signal processing circuit, the period in which the output of the monitoring result in the abnormality monitoring circuit is prohibited is the period from the reference start timing until the specified time length (in FIG. 4, Th _t3 ) elapses (see FIG. 4, the period until the diagnosis mask release signal switches to the high level. The reference start timing is a timing (in FIG. 4, t2) when the negative voltage in the power supplied from the power supply circuit becomes equal to or lower than the threshold Th _v2 .

JP 2005-227030 A

  In a conventional in-vehicle system, a voltage value is generally input to a signal processing circuit via an A / D converter, and a negative voltage for determining whether or not a reference start timing is reached is also A The signal is input to the signal processing circuit via the / D converter.

  In an in-vehicle system, in general, a range of threshold values used for various determinations including determination of whether or not a reference start timing has been reached needs to be set widely in consideration of the possibility of disturbances superimposed on signals and power. At the same time, it is necessary to set so as not to overlap each other.

  On the other hand, in the monitoring notification system, reduction of power consumption is required. As a method for realizing a reduction in power consumption, it is conceivable to reduce the absolute value of the voltage of power supplied from the power supply circuit to the radar apparatus. However, A / D converters used in in-vehicle systems are required to be resistant to vibration and heat, and it is difficult to use ones with high detection accuracy. For this reason, in the method of reducing the voltage of the power supplied to the radar apparatus, it is difficult to set the threshold range used for various determinations, and there is a problem that the accuracy of various determinations is lowered.

  In other words, in the monitoring notification system, immediately after the power supply circuit starts supplying power to the object to be monitored by the monitoring circuit, the monitoring result in the abnormality monitoring circuit is sent to other in-vehicle devices in the signal processing circuit. There is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the voltage of the power supplied from the power supply circuit to the object while prohibiting the output.

  Therefore, in the monitoring notification system, immediately after the monitoring circuit starts supplying power from the power supply circuit to the object to be monitored, the signal processing circuit displays the monitoring result of the abnormality monitoring circuit in another on-vehicle system. The object is to reduce the voltage of the power supplied from the power supply circuit to the object while prohibiting output to the apparatus.

The monitoring notification system of the present invention made to achieve the above object includes power supply means, monitoring means, and control means.
The power supply means starts supplying power when a start command is input. When the supply of power from the power supply means is started, the monitoring means executes a monitoring process for repeatedly monitoring the presence or absence of an abnormality in the specified object and outputs the result of the monitoring process. The control means controls the object and the monitoring means, and outputs an abnormality notification to the outside when it indicates that an abnormality has occurred in the object as a result of the monitoring process in the monitoring means. Further, the control unit prohibits the output of the abnormality notification while the prescribed conditions are satisfied.

  In the monitoring means in the present invention, when a predetermined time length has elapsed from the supply start timing at which the power supply means starts supplying power, the release output means is in a state where the operation of the object and the monitoring means is stable. Is output to the control means.

  Furthermore, in the control means in the present invention, the period from when the reset release signal is input from the release output means until the specified time length elapses is set as the specified condition. For this reason, if the control means indicates that an abnormality has occurred in the object as a result of the monitoring process in the monitoring means after the time length has elapsed since the reset release signal was input, Output notifications to the outside.

According to the monitoring notification system of the present invention, unlike the conventional in-vehicle system, the trigger condition for canceling the prohibition of output of the abnormality notification can be that the reset cancellation signal is input.
Therefore, it is not necessary for the control means in the monitoring notification system to monitor the voltage of the power supplied from the power supply circuit immediately after starting the power supply from the power supply circuit to the object to be monitored by the monitoring circuit. As a result, according to the monitoring notification system of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the threshold used for determining whether or not the reference start timing has come in the control means.

Therefore, according to the monitoring notification system of the present invention, the voltage of the power supplied from the power supply circuit to the object can be reduced, and the power saving of the object can be realized.
In other words, according to the present invention, immediately after starting the power supply from the power supply unit to the object to be monitored by the monitoring unit, the control unit displays the monitoring result of the monitoring unit to other in-vehicle devices. While prohibiting output, the voltage of power supplied from the power supply means to the object can be reduced.

Further, the present invention may be implemented as a method for canceling prohibition of abnormality notification in the monitoring notification system.
When the present invention is used as a method for canceling the prohibition of abnormality notification, the monitoring notification system includes a power supply means, a monitoring means, and a control means, and the control means keeps the operation of the object and the monitoring means in a stable state. The specified condition may be a period from when the reset release signal indicating that there is a signal is input from the release output means until the specified time length elapses.

  According to such prohibition canceling method, the same effect as that of the monitoring notification system according to claim 1 can be obtained.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the monitoring notification system to which this invention was applied. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the radar apparatus in embodiment. It is a timing chart in the monitoring notification system of an embodiment. It is a timing chart in the conventional monitoring notification system.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
<Monitoring notification system>
As shown in FIG. 1, the monitoring notification system 1 is a system used by being mounted on a car. The monitoring notification system 1 includes a radar device 20 and a power supply I / F circuit 60. The monitoring notification system 1 monitors at least the operation status of the radar device 20 and is mounted on the vehicle other than the monitoring notification system 1. This system outputs to an external device.

  The radar apparatus 20 is a so-called millimeter wave radar apparatus of the FMCW system including the high frequency circuit 25, the signal processing circuit 50, and the temperature detection unit 58. The radar device 20 transmits a radar wave, receives a reflected wave (hereinafter also referred to as an incoming wave) generated by the reflection of the radar wave, and receives information (hereinafter referred to as a target) that reflects the radar wave. Iob is generated (target information). Then, the radar apparatus 20 outputs the generated target information Iob and the result of monitoring the operation status of the radar apparatus 20 (hereinafter referred to as the status monitoring result) Ire to an external device.

  A target in the present embodiment represents a point where an object reflects a radar wave. The radar apparatus 20 normally detects one object as one target. In addition, the target information Iob in the present embodiment includes the distance from the host vehicle to the detected target and the direction in which the target exists with respect to a predetermined reference axis (that is, the angle, hereinafter, the incoming direction). And a relative speed between the host vehicle and the target.

  The monitoring notification system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a travel support electronic control device (hereinafter referred to as a travel support ECU) 10, a brake electronic control device (brake ECU), an engine electronic control device (engine ECU), and a seat belt electronic control. A device (seat belt ECU) or the like is connected as an external device.

  The driving support ECU 10 is configured around a known microcomputer including at least a ROM, a RAM, and a CPU, and includes at least a bus controller for performing communication via a communication bus. Further, an alarm buzzer, a monitor, a cruise control switch, a target inter-vehicle setting switch, etc. (not shown) are connected to the travel support ECU 10.

That is, the travel support ECU 10 executes travel support control that supports the travel of the host vehicle based on the target information Iob from the radar device 20 and the situation monitoring result Ire. As the driving support control, for example, adaptive cruise control that holds the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle at a preset distance, or when the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle is equal to or less than the preset distance, There is a pre-crash safety control that outputs a warning and winds up the seat belt.
<Power I / F circuit>
The power supply I / F circuit 60 supplies power V1, V2, V3, and V4 obtained by converting the power IG supplied from the in-vehicle battery 5 to the radar device 20. Further, the power supply I / F circuit 60 outputs the target information Iob and the situation monitoring result Ire generated by the radar device 20 to at least the driving support ECU 10.

In order to realize them, the power supply I / F circuit 60 includes a vehicle connection connector (CNT) 62, a communication IC 64, a switching circuit 66, and an integrated power supply circuit 68.
The vehicle connection CNT 62 is a connector to which the driving support ECU 10 and the in-vehicle battery 5 are connected. The in-vehicle battery 5 is a well-known storage battery mounted on an automobile. When the ignition switch is turned on, the in-vehicle battery 5 starts supplying electric power IG to various devices mounted on the host vehicle. The voltage of the electric power IG increases with time until it reaches a predetermined voltage (for example, 12 [V]) defined in advance, and it takes time to reach a steady state at the predetermined voltage Vst (FIG. 3).

  The communication IC 64 outputs the target information Iob and the situation monitoring result Ire generated by the radar apparatus 20 to the travel support ECU 10 via the vehicle connection CNT62. The communication method performed by the communication IC 64 with an external device via the vehicle connection CNT 62 is a known communication method, and for example, a known CAN (Controller Area Network) is used.

The integrated power supply circuit 68 is a power supply circuit that converts the electric power IG supplied from the in-vehicle battery 5 into electric power V1, V2, V3, V4 required by the radar device 20 and supplies the electric power IG.
Among these, the electric power V <b> 1 is negative voltage electric power supplied to the high-frequency circuit 25 of the radar apparatus 20. The power V1 starts to be supplied to the high-frequency circuit 25 of the radar device 20 when the voltage of the power IG becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold Th _V1 (see FIG. 3). The voltage of the power V1 progresses over a period from when the supply to the high-frequency circuit 25 is started until the first set voltage vw1 (for example, −4.5 [V]) set as a steady-state voltage is reached. It takes time to reach the steady state at the first set voltage vw1 (see FIG. 3).

The power V2 is driving power for operating the radar apparatus 20, and when the voltage of the power V1 becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold Th _V2 , supply to the high frequency circuit 25 and the signal processing circuit 50 is started. This power V2 is a time period from when the supply to the high frequency circuit 25 and the signal processing circuit 50 is started until the second set voltage vw2 (for example, 5 [V]) set as a steady state voltage is reached. It takes time to rise as it progresses and to reach a steady state at the second set voltage vw2 (see FIG. 3).

The electric power V3 is a positive voltage electric power supplied to the high-frequency circuit 25 of the radar apparatus 20. When the voltage of the electric power V1 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined threshold Th _V2 , supply to the high-frequency circuit 25 is started. The electric power V3 rises with time in the period from when the supply to the high-frequency circuit 25 is started until the third set voltage vw3 (for example, 6 [V]) set as a steady-state voltage is reached. However, it takes time to reach a steady state at the third set voltage vw3 (see FIG. 3).

The power V4 is driving power for operating a part of the configuration of the signal processing circuit 50. The upper limit value of the voltage of the power V2 is set to 3.3 [V], for example.
The switching circuit 66 includes a switching element (for example, a transistor) that sets the signal Sop to the radar device 20 to a high level when turned on and sets the signal Sop to a low level when turned off.

That is, the power supply I / F circuit 60 supplies the radar device 20 with power V1, V2, V3, and V4 obtained by converting the power IG supplied from the in-vehicle battery 5 via the vehicle connection CNT62.
Further, the power I / F circuit 60 outputs the target information Iob and the situation monitoring result Ire generated by the radar device 20 to at least the driving support ECU 10.
<Radar device>
As described above, the radar apparatus 20 is a so-called millimeter wave radar apparatus of the FMCW system, and includes the high frequency circuit 25, the signal processing circuit 50, and the temperature detection unit 58.

The temperature detection unit 58 is a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the radar apparatus 20 and is, for example, a thermistor or a thermocouple.
The high-frequency circuit 25 is a circuit that transmits and receives millimeter-wave radio waves as radar waves. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, a monitoring circuit 27, an oscillator 31, an amplifier 33, a distributor 35, An amplifier 37 and a transmission antenna 39 are provided. Further, the high frequency circuit 25 includes a reception antenna 40, a mixer 44, an ASIC 46, and a multiplexer 48.

  The oscillator 31 has a high frequency in the millimeter wave band modulated so as to have, as one modulation period, an upstream section in which the frequency linearly increases (gradual increase) with respect to time and a downstream section in which the frequency linearly decreases (gradual decrease). Generate a signal. The amplifier 33 amplifies the high frequency signal generated by the oscillator 31.

  The distributor 35 distributes the power of the output of the amplifier 33 to the transmission signal Ss and the local signal Ls. The amplifier 37 amplifies the transmission signal Ss out of the output of the distributor 35. The transmission antenna 39 radiates a radar wave corresponding to the transmission signal Ss amplified by the amplifier 37.

The reception antenna 40 includes N (N is a natural number of 2 or more) antennas 42 _{1 to} 42 _N that receive radar waves. The antennas 42 _{1 to} 42 _N are arranged in an array, and channels CH _{1 to} CH _N are assigned to the antennas 42 _{1 to} 42 _N , respectively.

The mixer 44 mixes the local signal Ls with the reception signal Sr received by each of the antennas 42 _{1 to} 42 _N to generate a beat signal BT representing the frequency difference between the transmission signal Ss and the reception signal Sr. In addition, the mixer 44 of this embodiment is prepared for each of the channels CH _{1 to} CH _N.

  The ASIC 46 is an integrated circuit having at least a function as a filter for removing unnecessary signal components from the beat signal BT generated by each mixer 44 and a function as an amplifier for amplifying the beat signal BT that has passed through the filter. .

The multiplexer 48 outputs the input beat signal BT to the signal processing circuit 50.
The monitoring circuit 27 supplies driving power to each unit constituting the high-frequency circuit 25 and outputs a transmission command indicating the start of radar wave transmission to the oscillator 31. Specifically, the monitoring circuit 27 generates a negative voltage (for example, −3 [V]) power Vv1 based on the power V1 from the power supply I / F circuit 60. Furthermore, the monitoring circuit 27 generates power Vv3 of a positive voltage (for example, 5 [V]) based on the power V3 from the power supply I / F circuit 60. The monitoring circuit 27 supplies the generated power Vv1 and Vv3 to the oscillator 31, the amplifier 33, the amplifier 37, and the ASIC 46.

  At the same time, the monitoring circuit 27 generates an abnormality in the radar apparatus 20 based on the result of monitoring the voltage of each part constituting the high-frequency circuit 25 (hereinafter referred to as a monitoring voltage) and the result of communication with the signal processing circuit 50. A monitoring process is performed to determine whether or not This monitoring process is executed when the supply of the electric power V1 to the monitoring circuit 27 is started, and is repeatedly executed thereafter.

  In the monitoring circuit 27 of the present embodiment, the voltage monitored as the monitoring voltage is, for example, the power Vv1, power Vv3 applied to the oscillator 31, the amplifier 33, and the amplifier 37, the transmission power of the radar wave, and the like.

  In other words, in the monitoring process, the condition that the high frequency circuit 25 is abnormal is that the monitoring voltage is not within a predetermined range, or that communication abnormality occurs between the monitoring circuit 27 and the signal processing circuit 50. This is the case. As described above, when it is assumed that an abnormality has occurred in the high-frequency circuit 25 in the monitoring process, the monitoring circuit 27 uses the abnormality notification indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the high-frequency circuit 25 as the status monitoring result Ire. 50 is output.

  In addition, the monitoring circuit 27 includes a cancellation output unit 29 that outputs a reset cancellation signal Sre indicating the execution status of the initialization process of the high-frequency circuit 25 to the signal processing circuit 50. The cancellation output unit 29 sets the signal level of the reset cancellation signal Sre to a low level if the initialization process of the high-frequency circuit 25 is not completed, and sets the signal level to a high level when the initialization process is completed. The initialization process in the present embodiment is a process for confirming whether or not the state of the high-frequency circuit 25 is normal after the supply of the power V1 to the high-frequency circuit 25 is started. This process includes a monitoring process.

In the monitoring circuit 27 of the present embodiment, when the setting completion condition is satisfied after the activation completion signal Spr from the signal processing circuit 50 is switched to the high level, the signal level of the reset release signal Sre is set to the high level (FIG. 3). reference). The setting condition in the present embodiment represents that the result of the monitoring process indicates that no abnormality has occurred in the high-frequency circuit 25, and the specified time length Th _t2 is (for example, after the start completion signal Spr is switched to the high level (for example, 1 time).

Next, the signal processing circuit 50 includes an A / D converter 52, a memory 54, and a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) 56.
The A / D converter 52 converts the beat signal BT from the multiplexer 48 into digital data. The memory 54 is a known storage device, and stores a processing program executed by the microcomputer 56 and a situation monitoring result Ire from the monitoring circuit 27.

  The microcomputer 56 is a known computer including at least a ROM, a RAM, and a CPU, detects a target based on the beat signal BT converted by the A / D converter 52, and detects a target for each target. The mark information Iob is generated and output to the external device via the power I / F circuit 60.

  The microcomputer 56 is activated when the supply of the electric power V1 from the power supply I / F circuit 60 is started. When the microcomputer 56 is activated, it executes an initial process. In this initial process, an abnormality has occurred in the signal processing circuit 50 and, consequently, the radar apparatus 20 based on the result of monitoring the voltage of each prescribed part, the result of communication with the monitoring circuit 27, and the result of communication with an external device. It is determined whether or not. The voltage of each part monitored in the initial process is, for example, the voltage of the power IG, the supply voltage to the monitoring circuit 27, the voltage of the signal Sop input to the switching circuit 66, or the power V2 applied to the microcomputer 56. Voltage, voltages of electric power V1 and V2 applied to the monitoring circuit 27, and the like.

When the microcomputer 56 determines that the specified time length Tht1 has elapsed after the voltage of the power IG becomes equal to or higher than the threshold Th _V1 and that no abnormality has occurred in the radar device 20 in the initial process, The activation completion signal Spr is set to a high level. The specified time length Th _t1 in this embodiment is specified in advance as a sufficient time length required from the start of execution of the initial process to the completion of the microcomputer 56. That is, the activation completion signal Spr is a signal indicating the activation state of the microcomputer 56, and is set to a high level if no abnormality has occurred in the radar device 20 as a result of the initial processing.

  At the same time, the microcomputer 56 outputs the result of the monitoring process from the monitoring circuit 27 (that is, the status monitoring result Ire) to the external device via the power I / F circuit 60. Note that the microcomputer 56 is configured to prohibit the status monitoring result Ire from the monitoring circuit 27 from being output to an external device via the power I / F circuit 60 during a period that satisfies the specified condition.

  In other words, the microcomputer 56 does not output the status monitoring result Ire from the monitoring circuit 27 to the external device during the period that satisfies the specified condition, and after the period that satisfies the specified condition has elapsed, the status from the monitoring circuit 27 thereafter. The monitoring result Ire is output to the external device.

The specified condition in the present embodiment is that a predetermined time length Th _t3 elapses after the reset release signal Sre is set to a high level. In other words, the period satisfying the specified condition is a time length obtained by adding the time length Th _t3 to the period from when the power supply from the power supply I / F circuit 60 is started until the reset release signal Sre becomes high level. Yes (see FIG. 3).

The time length Th _t3 in this embodiment is set as a safety factor to the time length required for the monitoring circuit 27 to execute monitoring processing and to transmit the status monitoring result Ire from the monitoring circuit 27 to the microcomputer 56. This is the time length plus the length of time. The entire prescribed time length Th _t3 is, for example, about 1 [s].
<Operation of the monitoring notification system>
Next, the operation of the monitoring notification system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

The monitoring notification system 1 is activated when the ignition switch is turned on (in FIG. 3, t1).
At this time, the supply of the power IG from the in-vehicle battery 5 to the monitoring notification system 1 is started, and the voltage of the power IG rises with time until it reaches the specified voltage Vst, and reaches the steady state at the specified voltage Vst. It takes time to become. When the voltage of the power IG becomes equal to or higher than the threshold Th _V1 (in FIG. 3, t2), the power supply I / F circuit 60 in which the supply of the power IG has started supplies the power V1 according to the power IG supplied from the in-vehicle battery 5. Then, supply to the monitoring circuit 27 of the radar apparatus 20 is started.

Furthermore, when the voltage of the electric power V1 becomes equal to or lower than the threshold Th _V2 (in FIG. 3, t3), the power supply I / F circuit 60 generates electric power V2 and V3 according to the electric power IG supplied from the in-vehicle battery 5, and the radar apparatus Supply to 20 starts. When the microcomputer 56 determines that the specified time length Tht1 has elapsed after the voltage of the power IG becomes equal to or higher than the threshold Th _V1 and that no abnormality has occurred in the radar device 20 in the initial process, The activation completion signal Spr is set to a high level.

Then, in the monitoring circuit 27 to which the activation completion signal Spr having a high signal level is input, the result of the monitoring process indicates that no abnormality has occurred in the high-frequency circuit 25, and the activation completion signal Spr is set to the high level. When the specified time length Th _t2 elapses (for example, a time of about 1 [ms]) after switching, the release output unit 29 sets the signal level of the reset release signal Sre to a high level.

The microcomputer 56 to which the reset release signal Sre having a high signal level is input, when a predetermined time length Th _t3 elapses after the reset release signal Sre is switched from the low level to the high level, the monitoring circuit 27. Is permitted to output the status monitoring result Ire from the external device via the power supply I / F circuit 60. That is, the microcomputer 56 sets the diagnosis mask release signal in FIG. 3 to a high level (in FIG. 3, t6).
[Effect of the embodiment]
As described above, according to the monitoring notification system 1 of the present embodiment, the microcomputer 56 passes through the power I / F circuit 60 after the stipulated time length Tht2 has elapsed after the reset release signal Sre is input. The status monitoring result Ire from the monitoring circuit 27 is output to the external device.

  According to such a monitoring notification system 1, unlike the conventional monitoring notification system, the trigger condition for canceling the prohibition of the output of the situation monitoring result can be that the reset cancellation signal Sre is input.

  Therefore, the microcomputer 56 in the monitoring notification system 1 supplies power from the power I / F circuit 60 immediately after starting power supply from the power I / F circuit 60 to the object to be monitored by the monitoring circuit 27. There is no need to monitor the power voltage. As a result, according to the monitoring notification system 1, the microcomputer 56 can eliminate the threshold used for determining whether or not it is time to start outputting the status monitoring result Ire from the monitoring circuit 27 to the external device.

  Therefore, according to the monitoring notification system 1, the voltage of the electric power supplied from the power supply I / F circuit 60 to the radar apparatus 20 can be reduced, and the power saving of the radar apparatus 20 can be realized.

In other words, according to the monitoring notification system 1, immediately after the power supply I / F circuit 60 starts to supply power to the radar device 20 to be monitored by the monitoring circuit 27, the signal processing circuit 50 uses the monitoring circuit 27. It is possible to reduce the voltage of power supplied from the power supply I / F circuit 60 to the radar device 20 while prohibiting the output of the monitoring result to other in-vehicle devices.
[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, it is possible to implement in various aspects.

  In the monitoring notification system 1 of the above embodiment, the object to be monitored is the radar device 20 that transmits and receives radio waves as radar waves, but the object in the present invention is not limited to the radar device 20. The object in the present invention may be, for example, a radar device that transmits and receives laser light (a so-called laser radar device), an image sensor centered on an imaging device that captures an image, or other An in-vehicle device may be used. In other words, the target object may be any device that executes a monitoring process when power supply is started and outputs the result of the monitoring process to the signal processing circuit.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Monitoring notification system 5 ... Vehicle-mounted battery 10 ... Driving assistance ECU 20 ... Radar apparatus 25 ... High frequency circuit 27 ... Monitoring circuit 29 ... Release output part 31 ... Oscillator 33 ... Amplifier 35 ... Distributor 37 ... Amplifier 39 ... Transmitting antenna 40 ... Reception antenna 44 ... mixer 48 ... multiplexer 50 ... signal processing circuit 52 ... A / D converter 54 ... memory 56 ... microcomputer 58 ... temperature detector 60 ... power supply I / F circuit 64 ... communication IC 66 ... switching circuit 68 ... integrated power supply circuit

Claims (4)

Power supply means (60) for starting the supply of power when an activation command is input;
When the supply of power from the power supply means is started, the monitoring means (27, 29) that executes monitoring processing for repeatedly monitoring the presence or absence of abnormality in the specified object (25) and outputs the result of the monitoring processing. )When,
Control means for controlling the object and the monitoring means, and outputting an abnormality notification to the outside when the monitoring process in the monitoring means indicates that an abnormality has occurred in the object. And control means (50, 52) for prohibiting the output of the abnormality notification while satisfying the prescribed regulation condition,
The monitoring means includes
When a predetermined time length elapses from a supply start timing at which the power supply means starts supplying power, a reset release signal indicating that the operation of the object and the monitoring means is in a stable state is sent to the control means. Release output means (29) to output to
With
The control means includes
A monitoring notification system characterized in that a period from when a reset release signal is input from the release output means until a specified time length elapses is set as the specified condition. The supply start timing is
The monitoring notification system according to claim 1, wherein the voltage of the electric power supplied from the power supply means is a timing when the voltage falls within a predetermined voltage range. The object is
The monitoring notification system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the monitoring notification system is a high-frequency circuit (25) for transmitting and receiving millimeter-wave radio waves. Power supply means for starting the supply of power when a start command is input;
When the supply of power from the power supply means is started, the monitoring means for repeatedly monitoring the presence or absence of an abnormality in the specified target object, and outputting the result of the monitoring process;
Control means for controlling the object and the monitoring means, and outputting an abnormality notification to the outside when the monitoring process in the monitoring means indicates that an abnormality has occurred in the object. An abnormality notification prohibition canceling method in a monitoring notification system comprising a control means for prohibiting the output of the abnormality notification while satisfying a prescribed regulation condition,
The control means includes
The specified condition is a period from when the reset release signal indicating that the operation of the object and the monitoring unit is in a stable state is input from the monitoring unit until a specified time length elapses. A method for canceling prohibition of abnormality notifications characterized by

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