JP3227110B2 - In-vehicle microwave detector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microwave detector for a vehicle which is mounted on a general automobile and generates an alarm to a driver when a predetermined microwave arriving from outside is detected. The present invention relates to a technique for appropriately changing an alarm generation mode according to a situation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A microwave detector of this type detects a microwave generated by a Doppler radar for speed control and notifies the driver of the detected microwave. The alarm is mainly by the sound of the electronic buzzer and the blinking of the LED lamp,
Some also issue message-type alarms with synthesized speech.

[0003] Even if a microwave from a Doppler radar is detected, it is not necessary to generate a very alarming alarm while there is a large distance to the radar installation location. It is desirable to improve the alarm notification ability as the vehicle approaches the radar installation location. Therefore, conventionally, an in-vehicle microwave detection device has been known which utilizes the fact that the intensity of microwave reception increases as the vehicle approaches the radar installation location, and changes the alarm generation mode according to the reception intensity. .

When a car is running at a low speed,
Detecting microwaves from Doppler radar for speed enforcement does not require a loud alarm. When traveling at high speed on a highway or the like, it is desirable to detect the presence of the Doppler radar from the near side as much as possible and to notify the driver with an alarm. Therefore, conventionally, a technique of changing the sensitivity of the microwave detection device or changing the alarm generation mode according to the traveling speed of the automobile has been known.

[0005]

In the prior art in which the mode of alarm generation is changed according to the intensity of microwave reception, for example, when driving at low speed in an urban area and passing near a Doppler radar, a loud alarm is generated for a long time. There was a problem that it continued to ring.

Further, in the prior art in which the receiving sensitivity is changed according to the running speed of the automobile, a large antenna, a low-noise amplifier, and the like are required for higher sensitivity.
Microwaves have a high frequency and require high technology and high-performance components, and the antenna directivity becomes too sharp, the equipment becomes large, and it becomes difficult to attach it to automobiles. Has many problems to overcome.

Further, even if the sensitivity is increased in accordance with the speed, there is an upper limit. If the maximum sensitivity of the apparatus is reached, the detectable distances are equal. From the actual Doppler radar installation position is shortened. This means that the notification time is shortened, and the sensitivity is substantially reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problem and to appropriately generate an alarm based on both a microwave reception condition and a running speed of an automobile. It is an object of the present invention to provide an on-vehicle microwave detection device that changes the generation mode.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a microwave detecting device for a vehicle according to the present invention comprises a receiving circuit means for receiving a microwave arriving from the outside by aiding it with an antenna; Signal discriminating means for discriminating whether the received signal is a predetermined microwave signal, alarm means for generating an alarm output when the predetermined microwave signal is discriminated by this means, and microwave receiving means for receiving the microwave signal by the receiving circuit means. Receiving intensity discriminating means for discriminating the signal intensity of the wave, vehicle speed signal interface means for receiving an output from a vehicle speed sensor and generating a vehicle speed signal corresponding to the traveling speed of the vehicle, output of the receiving intensity discriminating means and the vehicle speed and alarm mode control means for variably controlling the alarm mode by the alarm means outputs the signal interface means as a parameter It is assumed that was example.

[0010] In the above basic configuration, the alarm mode control means controls so as to generate an alarm in a mode having a greater notification capability when the reception intensity is high, and further increases when the traveling speed is high. It configured to control so as to generate an alarm in a large aspect of broadcast capability.

[0011] The variable control, when traveling at least the traveling speed is the reference speed or higher, it can operate. Furthermore, the sensitivity for receiving the microwaves you to be constant.

[0012] The fact that the reception intensity increases during traveling often means that the vehicle is approaching the source of microwaves. Therefore, by changing the notification capability according to the reception intensity (normally, the higher the intensity, the higher the notification capability), the driver is notified of the approximate distance to the Doppler radar or the like to be detected. Should respond slowly because he has the time,
If you are approaching, take immediate action.

Further, according to the present invention, the speed information used to switch the notification mode and the sensitivity has been conventionally changed, and the present invention variably controls the alarm generation mode (reporting capability). That is, conventionally, low-speed running at a certain reference speed (for example, 40 km / h or 60 km / h) or lower and high-speed running at higher speeds are divided into two modes. The mode of notification is only a lamp or the sound is reduced so that the driver is informed of the presence of the microwave to the extent that it does not cause harsh screams. In other words, the two-stage discrimination switching by threshold control is performed. The conventional technical idea is that at the time of high-speed running when the user wants information that the target microwave actually exists (during low-speed running, the target is temporarily set to the target. However, the speed information is used to determine whether or not the vehicle is traveling at high speed, with the aim of correctly informing the user of the problem.

On the other hand, in the present invention, the urgency can be increased by changing the alarm generation mode in accordance with the speed change, for example, by increasing the notification capability when the speed is high. This allows
Even if the time of notification at a constant sensitivity is constant, for example, as shown in the embodiment, by shortening the buzzer occurrence interval, the same effect as that of the one with substantially increased sensitivity can be exhibited. Can be.

As described above, according to the present invention, the switching of the notification capability based on the speed can exhibit the same function as substantially increasing the sensitivity, or can be performed at a high speed while running at or above a certain reference speed. The more urgent the microwaves are detected, the more it is based on the purpose and technical idea of being able to respond to them. Accordingly, the present invention does not include a conventional switching of the notification mode depending on whether the speed is higher than a certain reference speed or not.

* Explanation of terms and the like The term "variable alarm generation mode" described in claim 1 is a concept that does not necessarily need to be changed continuously, but may include a plurality of changes in steps.

The "vehicle speed sensor" according to the first aspect is, for example, a vehicle speed sensor which is directly output from a vehicle so as to be referred to as a vehicle speed pulse or the like as described in the embodiment, and can accurately measure and detect the speed. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to this, and a device capable of measuring the speed relatively roughly may be used. As an example, the output of the vibration sensor is based on the fact that the vibration generated in the vehicle body is small during low-speed running and increases as the speed increases.
A rough speed discrimination such as a high speed may be performed. As described above, a vehicle speed sensor according to the present invention includes any sensor that detects an object that changes according to the speed even if the speed cannot be directly detected.

The “reference speed” is, for example, a reference speed (any one of a range of about 40 to 60 km / h) for discriminating whether or not the vehicle is traveling at high speed, which has been a reference when switching the conventional notification mode. (Speed), which is a predetermined speed that is higher than the speed at which the detection of the target microwave is required. In other words, it means that the alarm occurrence mode changes at least once at or above the speed.

The “constant sensitivity” may be, for example, constant at the maximum sensitivity or constant at a predetermined sensitivity equal to or lower than the maximum sensitivity. In any case, the same effect as changing the sensitivity can be obtained without changing the sensitivity. Therefore, for example, with an increase in speed as in the past, the sensitivity is increased up to a certain range, and when the sensitivity reaches a predetermined sensitivity such as the maximum sensitivity, the alarm generation mode defined by the present invention is further exceeded. Variable (increase in notification capability)
By doing so, it is possible to obtain the same effect as substantially increasing the sensitivity. As described above, it is preferable to use the apparatus in combination with the conventional technique because the convenience is further improved.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an on-vehicle microwave detecting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The input from the horn antenna 1 and the output of the local oscillator 2 are frequency-mixed by the mixer 3, and the mixed output is input to the detector 5 via the intermediate frequency amplifier 4. The detection output is monitored by the signal discrimination circuit 6, and when a predetermined microwave signal is discriminated by the signal discrimination circuit 6, the discrimination signal is transmitted to the microcomputer 7.

The microcomputer 7 controls the entire apparatus in a unified manner, and performs data processing and the like as the alarm mode control means of the present invention. The microcomputer 7 is a local oscillator 2
Is controlled to sweep a predetermined frequency band. A signal corresponding to the intensity of the received signal is extracted from the intermediate frequency amplifier 4, digitized by an A / D converter 8, and a microcomputer 7 captures a digital signal indicating the intensity of the received signal.

A vehicle speed sensor 9 provided in the vehicle
Is taken out and connected to the interface circuit 10,
The microcomputer 7 receives a vehicle speed signal corresponding to the traveling speed of the vehicle from the interface circuit 10.

The microcomputer 7 controls an alarm circuit 11 including an electronic buzzer and an LED lamp. The control algorithm is as follows. Basically, when the signal discrimination circuit 6 discriminates a predetermined microwave in response to the output of the detector 5, the alarm circuit 11 is operated in response to the discrimination signal. The operation mode (alarm generation mode) is as follows. The reception intensity data input from the A / D converter 8 and the vehicle speed data input from the interface circuit 10 are changed as parameters as follows.

The chart of FIG. 2 shows how the reception intensity of the microwave signal (the voltage of the S-meter output of the intermediate frequency amplifier 4 is higher, the reception intensity is higher) and the running speed of the automobile as parameters. Alarm circuit 11
Is operated. "Silent" means
This is an alarm mode in which the LED lamp blinks but the electronic buzzer does not sound, and the notification capability is the smallest.
“Continuous” is an alarm mode in which the electronic buzzer is continuously sounded, and has the largest notification capability.
“1”, “2”, and “3” are alarm modes in which a short buzzer sounds intermittently.
Sounds at one tempo, "2" sounds at two tempos per second, and "4" sounds at four tempos per second. The notification ability increases in this order.

That is, the alarm mode control means realized by the microcomputer 7 controls the alarm so as to generate an alarm in a mode of greater notification capability when the reception intensity of the microwave is high, and reduces the running speed of the automobile. When it is large, control is performed so that an alarm is generated in a mode with a greater notification capability.

The change of the alarm generation mode (increase or decrease of the notification capability) is not limited to the adjustment of the time when the buzzer is turned on and off as described above. For example, the volume, frequency (pitch), type of sound, and recorded Needless to say, various modes such as switching of words (voices) can be adopted.

[0027]

As described in detail above, the microwave detecting device for a vehicle according to the present invention controls the alarm so as to generate an alarm with a larger notification capability when the microwave receiving intensity is high. At the same time, when the traveling speed of the automobile is high, the alarm is controlled to generate an alarm in a mode with a higher notification capability. When there is no audibility, an alarm is generated in a mode of appropriate notification capability, which is extremely reasonable and practical.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration block diagram of an on-vehicle microwave detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a control table defining an alarm generation mode in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Horn antenna 2 Local oscillator 3 Mixer 4 Intermediate frequency amplifier 5 Detector 6 Signal discrimination circuit 7 Microcomputer 8 A / D converter 9 Vehicle speed sensor 10 Interface circuit 11 Alarm circuit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01S ⁷ /00-7/42 G01S 13/00-13/95

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A receiving circuit means for receiving a microwave arriving from the outside through an antenna, and a signal discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the received signal is a predetermined microwave signal. Alarm means for generating an alarm output when the microwave signal is discriminated, reception intensity discriminating means for discriminating the signal strength of the microwave received by the receiving circuit means, Vehicle speed signal interface means for generating a vehicle speed signal corresponding to a traveling speed; alarm mode control means for variably controlling an alarm generation mode by the alarm means using an output of the reception intensity discriminating means and an output of the vehicle speed signal interface means as parameters. The alarm mode control means has a greater notification capability when the reception strength is high. An in-vehicle microwave detection device, which controls so as to generate an alarm in a suitable manner and controls so as to generate an alarm in a mode having a greater notification capability when the traveling speed is high. 2. The on-vehicle microwave detection device according to claim 1, wherein the variable control is operable at least when the vehicle is traveling at a traveling speed equal to or higher than a reference speed. 3. The on-vehicle microwave detection device according to claim 1, wherein the sensitivity for receiving microwaves is constant.