JP3170972B2 - Automatic vehicle accident reporting device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in an automatic vehicle accident reporting system using a car telephone.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the event of a vehicle accident, accident information such as the current position of the vehicle and vehicle identification information is reported to a third party using a wireless device of a car telephone to rescue the occupants. 2. Description of the Related Art A vehicular accident automatic notification device for the purpose of facilitation is known. As such a conventional vehicle accident automatic notification device, for example, there is one as shown in FIG. 7 disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-147530.

This device includes a shock sensor 101 for detecting a collision of a vehicle, a radio device 103 for a car telephone connected to a base station through a radio line, an accident information judging device to generate an accident information, and a radio device 103. It comprises a control device 102 for controlling and an antenna 104.
When a collision occurs in a running automobile, the impact sensor 101 detects the collision, the control device 102 automatically reads the dial number, and the wireless device 103 sends accident information to the wireless base station. ing.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional automatic vehicle alarm system, there is only one system for transmitting the accident information, and the collision accident is detected by an impact sensor using an impact sensor. The configuration was performed only by the presence or absence. Therefore, when damage to the antenna of the vehicle occurs due to the impact of the accident, communication of the accident information by the automobile telephone becomes impossible. In addition, there was a problem that the degree of the accident and the degree of damage to the vehicle could not be grasped on the base side. The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and one of the windshield and the rear glass is damaged by the impact of the accident, and the sensitivity of the antenna installed on the glass is significantly reduced. Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic vehicle accident reporting device capable of reliably transmitting accident information.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for automatically calling a shock detecting means 1 for detecting a shock generated in a vehicle, a car telephone 6, and a radio device 6a of the car telephone, thereby causing an accident. A control means 5 for notifying information to a third party, a front antenna 7a mounted on the windshield of the vehicle, and two antennas of a rear antenna 7b mounted on the rear windshield; Reception level monitoring means 3 for constantly monitoring each reception level of the two antennas; switching means 8 for selectively switching and connecting the front side antenna 7a or the rear side antenna 7b to the wireless device 6a of the car telephone; The control means 5 includes a vehicle speed detecting means 2 for detecting when the shock detecting means 1 is activated or based on an output of the reception level monitoring means 3. Alternatively, when the reception level is reduced by a predetermined level or more at one of the rear antennas 7b and the speed of the vehicle is reduced to zero, the switching means 8 is controlled so that the wireless device 6a of the car telephone is connected to the front antenna. Alternatively, the accident information is transmitted by switching to the antenna having the higher reception level of the rear antenna and connecting.

[0006]

When either the windshield or the rear glass is damaged by an accident and the antenna attached to the glass is damaged, the antenna 7a or 7 on the undamaged side is damaged.
The accident information is transmitted using b. Therefore, accident information can be reliably transmitted, and information that the damaged glass on the antenna side is broken can be transmitted. Further, the control means 5 may be provided with a position detecting means 4 for detecting a current position of the vehicle, and the accident information may include the current position of the vehicle.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment. The vehicle has
An impact sensor 11 for detecting an impact at the time of a collision is provided. Further, a vehicle location for detecting the current position of the vehicle from an output signal from a vehicle speed sensor 12 for detecting the speed of the vehicle and a direction sensor 13 such as a geomagnetic sensor or a gyro for detecting the direction of the vehicle, and a built-in map database. An apparatus 14 is provided. Further, the transmission control unit 1
A control device 15 having a built-in 5a and a monitoring unit 15b is provided, and the transmission control unit 15a determines occurrence of an accident, and stores unique vehicle information stored in advance, a current position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle location device 14, Also, control is performed to automatically transmit accident information data including the degree of the accident to the base station.

When a collision accident occurs in a running vehicle, G
The shock sensor 11 constituted by a sensor or the like operates to generate an output signal, and the output signal is input to the control device 15. As shown in FIG. 3, the windshield 20 of the vehicle 10
The front side antenna 7a of the mobile phone radio frequency band is installed on the surface of the mobile phone. Similarly, the rear side antenna 7b of the mobile phone radio frequency band is installed on the surface of the rear glass 21. And the wireless device 6a of the car telephone 6
Is connected by a command from the transmission control unit 15a of the control unit 15 to the base station and the radio line, and is selectively switched by the antenna switching unit 18; the front antenna 7a or the rear antenna 7b is damaged by the impact of an accident. The accident information is transmitted from the antenna having the higher reception level, which is not the antenna whose sensitivity has been lowered.

Although not shown, the radio device 6a of the automobile telephone includes a front antenna 7a and a rear antenna 7b.
, The reception level of the radio wave is constantly monitored, and a normal call is switched to the antenna having the higher reception level. Inputs from the two antennas 7a and 7b are further captured by a monitoring unit 15b incorporated in the control device 15 and constantly monitored. When a sudden change in vehicle speed occurs as in a collision accident, the vehicle speed is changed. The control device 15 is configured so that the relationship between the change and the decrease in the reception level can be determined by the control device 15. Further, the vehicle location device 14 normally detects the current position of the vehicle at all times using the vehicle speed sensor 12 and the direction sensor 13 and, if necessary, an absolute position detecting means such as a beacon or GPS (not shown).

FIG. 4 shows a flow of a control operation in the control device 15. First, in step 101, the transmission control unit 15a checks whether the impact sensor 11 is operating to determine whether an accident has occurred. If the shock sensor 11 is operating, the process proceeds to step 102, and if not, the process proceeds to step 103.

In step 102, it is checked whether the reception level of the front antenna 7a is higher than the reception level of the rear antenna 7b.
The process proceeds to step 06, and if not large, the process proceeds to step 107. If the damage caused by the accident is severe, the windshield or the rear glass may be damaged. Since the front-side antenna 7a and the rear-side antenna 7b are formed of silver paste or the like on each glass surface, if the glass is broken, the antenna pattern of the mobile phone is cut at the same time, and the sensitivity is reduced. Therefore, a usable antenna is determined by comparing the radio wave levels of the front antenna 7a and the rear antenna 7b. At the same time, it is determined that the vehicle body on the antenna side where the sensitivity has significantly decreased has been damaged by the accident.

In step 103, it is checked whether the reception level of the front antenna 7a or the rear antenna 7b is abnormally low, that is, whether or not the reception level is sharply reduced and becomes zero. If not, the process returns to step 101. In step 104, it is checked whether or not the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 2 has abnormally decreased to zero or near zero. Then, when it is abnormally lowered, the process proceeds to step 105, and when it is not abnormally reduced, the process returns to step 101.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the output S of the impact sensor 11 is transmitted and the vehicle speed sharply drops at the same time, it is natural that an accident has occurred. As shown in (b), when the reception level of the front-side antenna 7a (or the rear-side antenna 7b) suddenly decreases and the vehicle speed suddenly decreases to zero, the shock sensor operates. At least, it can be determined that the antenna pattern was simultaneously damaged due to the breakage of the glass due to the occurrence of the accident. That is, the antennas 7a, 7b
Is actively used as a glass breakage sensor in the event of an accident.

In step 105, it is checked whether the reception level of the lower antenna is the front antenna 7a or the rear antenna 7b. If the reception level of the rear antenna 7b is lower, the process proceeds to step 106. If the reception level of the front-side antenna 7a has decreased, the process proceeds to step 107. In step 106, the antenna switching device 18 is controlled to connect the transmission output terminal of the wireless device 6a to the front antenna 7a, and the process proceeds to step 108. The state of step 106 is a state in which the impact sensor 11 for detecting the collision of the vehicle is operated, and the antenna reception level is higher in the front antenna 7a, or
Although the impact sensor 11 is not operating, the vehicle speed is rapidly reduced to zero and the reception level of the rear antenna 7b is rapidly reduced. Therefore, due to a vehicle accident,
It is determined that the rear glass 21 has been damaged.

In step 107, the antenna switching device 1
8, the transmission output terminal of the wireless device 6a is connected to the rear antenna 7b, and the routine proceeds to step 108. In the state of step 107, the shock sensor 11 is operated, and the reception level of the antenna on the rear side antenna 7b is higher than that of the rear side antenna 7b. 7a is in a state where the reception level is rapidly reduced. Thereby, it is determined that the windshield 20 has been damaged due to a head-on collision or the like.

In step 108, the transmission control unit 15a of the control unit 15 automatically transmits the dial number of a base station such as a service center in case of an accident stored in the internal memory to the wireless device 6a. Connect the car phone line. Next, at step 109, the vehicle location device 14 detects the vehicle identification data such as the registration number, the owner name, and the vehicle type stored in the internal memory in advance. The current position data of the vehicle and the emergency notification data including the accident situation such as glass breakage are transmitted from the selected front antenna 7a or rear antenna 7b.

As described above, even if one of the windshield 20 and the rear glass 21 is damaged due to the impact of the accident and the antenna mounted on the glass is damaged and the sensitivity is remarkably reduced, it is mounted on the undamaged glass. The accident information can be reported to the base station using the antenna. As shown in FIG. 5 (c), even if the impact sensor 11 is activated due to the occurrence of an accident and the vehicle speed is rapidly reduced to zero, the glass may not be damaged. At this time, since the two antennas attached to the glass are not damaged, the accident information can be transmitted without any trouble.

Further, there may be a case where an antenna failure such as a disconnection of the antenna and a contact failure of the connector is caused by a collision accident. At this time, as shown in FIG.
1 does not operate and the vehicle speed does not drop sharply. Therefore, even if the reception sensitivity of the antenna is significantly reduced, the control device 15 determines whether or not there is an accident based on the relationship with the simultaneous reduction of the vehicle speed. No malfunction of the accident report occurs.

The embodiment is constructed as described above. The control device 5 includes an impact sensor 1, a vehicle location device 4, a front antenna 7a, a rear antenna 7b installed on the front and rear glass surfaces, and a vehicle speed. Sensors are connected and the control unit monitors the reception level of the antenna, and the occurrence of an accident is judged not only by the impact sensor but also by the decrease in the reception level of the antenna and the decrease in vehicle speed. The accident information including the current position of the vehicle is automatically transmitted to the base station via the wireless device of the car telephone using the antenna with the larger antenna, so that the accident information can be transmitted reliably and the front and rear parts of the vehicle can be transmitted. The information including the type of the accident which has been damaged can be notified accurately.

In the illustrated embodiment, the antenna reception level is monitored by connecting each antenna directly to the control device and monitoring the monitoring level by the monitoring unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The configuration of the monitoring unit can be simplified by taking in the monitoring result of each antenna reception level by the wireless device 6a having the configuration.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, the antenna of the car telephone is installed on both the windshield and the rear glass of the vehicle, and when one of the glasses is damaged by the impact of an accident and the antenna sensitivity is significantly reduced, the antenna is damaged. By switching the connection of the wireless device of the car phone to the antenna on the glass side not to ensure communication, it is possible to prevent accident reportability due to antenna damage in the event of an accident and to promptly rescue passengers Can be. Further, even when the impact sensor does not operate, the antenna is used as a glass breakage, that is, a collision sensor, and the occurrence of an accident is determined in conjunction with the vehicle speed, so that an accurate accident report can be made.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a mounted state of the antenna.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a control operation.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a change in an output of an impact sensor and a vehicle speed sensor and a change in an antenna reception level when an accident occurs.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of changes in an output of an impact sensor and a vehicle speed sensor and a change in an antenna reception level when an antenna fails.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Shock detecting means 2 Vehicle speed detecting means 3 Reception level monitoring means 4 Position detecting means 5 Control means 6 Car telephone 6a Wireless device 7a Front side antenna 7b Rear side antenna 8 Switching means 10 Vehicle 11 Impact sensor 12 Vehicle speed sensor 13 Direction sensor 14 Vehicle Location device 15 Control device 15a Transmission control unit 15b Monitoring unit 18 Antenna switching device 101 Shock sensor 102 Control device 103 Wireless device for car telephone 104 Antenna

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60R 21/00 610 B60R 27/00 G08G 1/00 B62D 41/00 H04B 7/24-7/26 H04Q 7 / 00-7/38

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A shock detecting means for detecting a shock generated in a vehicle, a car telephone, and a control means for automatically calling a radio device of the car telephone and reporting accident information to a third party. A front antenna mounted on a windshield of a vehicle, a rear antenna installed on a rear glass surface, and a reception level monitoring means for constantly monitoring each reception level of the two antennas Switching means for selectively switching and connecting the front-side antenna or the rear-side antenna to a wireless device of a mobile phone; and vehicle speed detection means for detecting a speed of a vehicle, wherein the control means includes:
When the impact detection means is activated, or when the reception level is reduced by a predetermined level or more on one of the front antenna and the rear antenna based on the output of the reception level monitoring means, and the speed of the vehicle is reduced to zero. ,
Controlling the switching means to switch and connect the wireless device of the car telephone to the antenna having the higher reception level of the front antenna or the rear antenna and transmitting the accident information, wherein the accident information is transmitted. apparatus. 2. The vehicle accident automatic notification according to claim 1, wherein said control means includes a position detecting means for detecting a current position of the vehicle, and said accident information includes a current position of the vehicle. apparatus.