JP4675395B2 - Vehicle alarm device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular alarm device that is mounted on a vehicle and issues an alarm when, for example, an object such as a pedestrian existing in the vicinity of the host vehicle is detected to be dangerous. The present invention relates to a vehicular alarm device that can reliably notify the driver of the presence of a pedestrian when the person is detected and can also notify the pedestrian that the danger is imminent.

  In general, this type of vehicle alarm device detects a person such as a pedestrian and informs the driver using sound or video when there is a possibility of collision. In order to reduce traffic accidents, in recent years, methods for notifying people such as pedestrians who are notification targets have been studied. Conventionally, as a device that is mounted on a vehicle and recognizes a moving body and a person as a notification object and outputs an alarm (including light distribution control of a headlight) toward the driver and the notification object, For example, there are apparatuses disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3.

  The conventional device disclosed in Patent Document 1 blinks an LED mounted on a vehicle for alarming an object when a predicted collision time is determined to be a predetermined value or less from the distance to the object and relative speed. It is what I did.

  The conventional device disclosed in Patent Document 2 projects visible light by the same mechanism as the laser radar when it is judged dangerous based on the distance and direction from the obstacle detected by the laser radar. Is.

  In the conventional apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 3, when an obstacle (human) is detected by an infrared light camera, the degree of danger of the obstacle with respect to the host vehicle is determined, and the obstacle in front of the most dangerous obstacle is detected. The light distribution is increased by directing the optical axis of the lamp, and an image is displayed on the display.

JP 2006-209325 A JP 2006-252264 A JP 2001-091618 A

  According to the conventional devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, when there is a person who has a possibility of collision, by notifying the driver and the pedestrian of the danger, the collision accident can be more reliably performed. It is thought that it can contribute to reduction. However, in these conventional apparatuses, the illumination by the headlamps is blinked toward a specific object or the specific object is illuminated, which is in a state different from that during normal operation. Therefore, in addition to making the driver and surrounding vehicles feel uncomfortable, if the system causes a malfunction or if there are multiple targets, it will fall into a dangerous situation such as the presence of a truly dangerous target cannot be detected. Can be considered. Moreover, even if it does not fall into a dangerous situation, there is a concern that the reliability of the user's system is lowered and that the system is bothersome.

  There are two types of actions that the driver tries to avoid a collision with the object: steering wheel avoidance and braking avoidance, and which one is preferable depends on the situation at that time. For example, if there are no other obstacles in the vicinity of the avoidance target or the own vehicle and there is a following vehicle, it is considered that avoidance of the steering wheel is desirable, and there are other obstacles in the vicinity of the avoidance target or the own vehicle. If it exists and there is no following vehicle, it is considered desirable to avoid braking. However, since the conventional devices described in Patent Document 2 or Patent Document 3 illuminate toward the avoidance target, it is not possible to sufficiently check the avoidance target or other obstacles around the vehicle, or the driver However, there is a possibility that a better avoidance method cannot be taken due to being distracted by the avoidance target.

  In general, when the avoidance operation by emergency braking is performed, the vehicle body sinks. For this reason, there may be a case where the headlamp cannot sufficiently illuminate the avoidance target during the braking avoidance operation, and it becomes difficult for the driver to move to the next avoidance operation. Furthermore, the conventional device described in Patent Document 1 blinks the LEDs installed at the four corners of the vehicle, and may not be noticed when the object to be notified of the danger is not paying attention to the approaching vehicle. Sex is conceivable.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the conventional apparatus, and by calling attention to a driver or a pedestrian, a collision accident, particularly a collision between a pedestrian and a vehicle. It aims at providing the alarm device for vehicles which can contribute to reduction of an accident.

An alarm device for a vehicle according to the present invention includes an object detection unit that is mounted on a vehicle and detects an object ahead of the vehicle, a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires a driving state of the vehicle, and the object is a pedestrian. A pedestrian determination means for determining; a collision determination means for determining the possibility of a collision between the vehicle and the pedestrian; and the pedestrian determination means determines that the object is a pedestrian and the collision determination means An alarm device control means for controlling an alarm means for issuing an alarm when it is determined that there is a possibility of collision, wherein the alarm means is provided by a headlamp provided in the vehicle. The alarm device control means is constituted by headlight control means for controlling the headlamp, and the headlight control means is determined by the pedestrian determination means that the object is a pedestrian. And Wherein from the time when the period from when it is determined there is a possibility of a collision by the collision determination unit until the time of starting the braking, at least spread in front than in the normal traveling irradiation range of the headlamp, and initiates the braking Until the vehicle stops or the danger of the collision is avoided, the irradiation range of the headlamp is kept at a distance corresponding to the stop distance according to the vehicle speed of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle information acquisition means. It is intended to be controlled.

According to the vehicle alarm device of the present invention, the alarm means is constituted by a headlamp provided in the vehicle, and the alarm device control means is constituted by a headlamp control means for controlling the headlamp. The headlight control means is from the time when the pedestrian determination means determines that the object is a pedestrian and the collision determination means determines that there is a possibility of collision until the time when braking is started. The headlamp illumination range is widened at least forward than during normal driving, and from the time when the braking is started until the vehicle stops or the danger of the collision is avoided. Since the control is performed so as to maintain the distance corresponding to the stop distance according to the vehicle speed of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle information acquisition means, the headlamp is used when there is a pedestrian that may collide. The Rather than irradiating toward a fixed target, the irradiation range of the headlamps is controlled so as to keep the distance corresponding to the stop distance according to the vehicle speed, and even if there are multiple pedestrians, the driver does not overlook Can be drawn to safety confirmation in a natural way, and the possibility of inducing a danger such as a collision can be made extremely low.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Hereinafter, an alarm device for a vehicle according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the vehicle alarm device 100 includes a millimeter wave radar 110, a CPU 120, a headlamp 130 that also operates as an alarm device, and a vehicle speed sensor 140. The CPU 120 includes vehicle information acquisition means 121, object detection means 122, pedestrian determination means 123, collision determination means 124, and headlamp control means 125 as alarm device control means. The millimeter wave radar 110 is attached to the front end of the vehicle and acquires reflected waves from objects around the front of the vehicle.

  The vehicle information acquisition unit 121 acquires vehicle speed information as information from the vehicle speed sensor 140. Note that the vehicle information to be acquired is not limited to the vehicle speed. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a detection state by the object detection means 122 in the first embodiment. In FIG. 2, the object detection unit 122 receives data including information on a reflection point from an object ahead of the host vehicle received by the millimeter wave radar 110. Based on the input reflection point information, the object detection means 122, as shown in FIG. 2, for each detected object Tn, the relative position Pn = (Xn, Yn) with the host vehicle M, and the distance direction The relative speed Vyn is calculated. n is an integer “0” to “n” assigned to each object. Here, the distance direction is the traveling direction of the vehicle. In the horizontal axis x, the left side of the center of the vehicle M is negative, and the right side is positive. The result detected by the object detection unit 122 is output to the pedestrian determination unit 123.

  The pedestrian determination unit 123 detects an object Tn such as a crossing pedestrian approaching the host vehicle M from the output of the object detection unit 122. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the pedestrian determination means 123. In FIG. 3, in step S31, the relative position and relative speed of the object T0 to Tn detected by the object detection means 122 are compared with those of the object detected last time, and the object detected last time is determined. Judging.

  As a result of the determination in step S31, if it is determined that the object was detected last time, the process proceeds to step S32, and the same target time series data is stored in the memory. If it is not determined in step S31 that the object was detected last time, the process proceeds to step S33, and data is newly stored in the memory as a new target. When the process proceeds from step S32 to step S34, it is determined whether or not the number of time series data of the target including the data held in step S32 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. As a result of the determination in step S34, if it is determined that the number of data is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S35, and the lateral movement speed of the target is estimated using the data already held. This estimated data is held in a memory.

  As a result of the determination in step S34, if the number of data is not determined to be greater than or equal to the predetermined value, nothing is done and the process proceeds to the next target. In step S36, the moving speed is the speed of the pedestrian on the object approaching the own vehicle M from the lateral movement direction and the relative speed estimated in step S35 (for example, about 0 to 3.0 [m / step S]). If it is, it will determine with a crossing pedestrian. The pedestrian determination result in step S36 is output to the collision determination means 124 shown in FIG.

  In this example, the detection of crossing pedestrians is used, but a camera or the like may be used together to detect other pedestrians. Moreover, although the crossing pedestrian determination method is the estimation of the lateral movement speed, the movement direction of the pedestrian and the movement trajectory estimation may be used.

  The collision determination unit 124 determines a collision between the own vehicle and the crossing pedestrian from the output of the pedestrian detection unit 123. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the collision determination unit 124. In FIG. 4, in step S41, a flag with a collision target is initialized. Next, it progresses to step S42 and it is confirmed with respect to the object of 0-n detected by the object detection means 122 whether the object judged by the pedestrian detection means 123 is a crossing pedestrian.

  If it is determined in step S42 that the person is a crossing pedestrian, the process proceeds to step S43, and the possibility of collision “Yes” or “No” is determined based on the lateral movement speed, relative speed and relative position of the vehicle M and the crossing pedestrian. to decide. Specifically, the collision prediction time until the collision is calculated from the relative distance Y and the relative speed shown in FIG. 2, and the relative between the pedestrian and the vehicle after the collision prediction time is calculated from the lateral movement speed of the crossing pedestrian. Calculate the lateral position and determine if there is a possibility of collision. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S42 that the person is not a crossing pedestrian, the process proceeds to step S44, and the collision possibility is set to “unknown”.

  In step S45, it is confirmed whether the result of determination in step S43 described above is the possibility of collision “present” or “none”. If it is confirmed that the possibility of collision is “present”, the process proceeds to step S46. Check if the flag with collision target has been set so far. As a result, if the collision target flag is not set, the process proceeds to step S47, and the collision target flag is set. If the collision target flag is set in step S46, nothing is done and the process proceeds to the next target. The collision determination result in the collision determination unit 124 is output to the headlamp control unit 125.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the headlamp control means 125. In FIG. 5, in step S51, the collision determination means 124 confirms whether the collision target flag is set. As a result of the confirmation in step S51, if the collision target flag is set, the process proceeds to step S52, and a flag for instructing headlamp control is set. On the other hand, if the collision target flag is not set in step S51, the process proceeds to step S53, and the flag for instructing the headlamp control is cleared.

If it progresses to step S54 from step S52, the distance (henceforth a stop distance) required for the own vehicle to decelerate and stop based on vehicle information is calculated. For the calculation of the stop distance, for example, a deceleration of 5.0 [m / sec ² ] assuming a sudden brake is used. The flag information instructing the headlamp control from the headlamp control means 125 and the information on the stop distance by the above operation are output to the headlamp 130.

  The headlamp control means 125 may be modified so as to operate as follows. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a modified example of the operation of the headlamp control means 125. In FIG. 6, in step S51, it is confirmed by the collision determination means 124 whether or not the collision target flag is set. If it is confirmed in step S51 that the collision target flag is not set, the process proceeds to step S53, the flag instructing the headlamp control is cleared, and the process ends. On the other hand, if it is confirmed in step S51 that the collision target flag is set, the process proceeds to step S99, and it is confirmed whether the headlamp control is being performed.

If it is confirmed in step S99 that the headlamp is under control, the process ends without doing anything. On the other hand, if it is confirmed in step S99 that the headlamp is not under control, the process proceeds to step S52, a flag for instructing headlamp control is set, and the process proceeds to step S54. In step S54, the stop distance required until the host vehicle decelerates and stops based on the vehicle information is calculated. For the calculation of the stop distance, for example, a deceleration of 5.0 [m / sec ² ] assuming a sudden brake is used. The flag information instructing the headlamp control from the headlamp control means 125 and the information on the stop distance by the above operation are output to the headlamp 130.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the headlamp 130 is configured so that the headlamp control flag is set based on the output of the headlamp controller 125 so that the irradiation range is extended to the stop distance if the headlamp control flag is set. Control the optical axis of the lamp. The headlamp control is performed by, for example, controlling the headlamp irradiation range by setting the headlight irradiation angle based on a map that records the headlight irradiation angle with respect to a preset stop distance. .

  In the above description, the control of the headlamp has been described only for the control of the traveling direction of the host vehicle. However, when the target is outside the traveling direction of the host vehicle, the headlamp is controlled simultaneously with the traveling direction according to the stop distance. Control in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the traveling direction may be performed. For the internal / external determination with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle, it is conceivable to use steering information.

  In the above description, it is assumed that the irradiation method of the headlamp is always irradiation. However, intermittent irradiation (passing) may be used to more accurately notify the danger.

  In the above description, it is assumed that there is no restriction on the irradiation range of the headlamp. However, if the irradiation range of the headlamp is narrower than the irradiation range of the low beam, the low beam irradiation range is set. You may restrict.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the control of the headlamp of the vehicle warning device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The irradiation angle θ formed by the optical axis of the headlamp and the road surface, and the optical axis of the headlamp. The operation angle σ is shown. The optical axis of the headlamp before control is horizontal to the road surface, and FIG. 7 shows the optical axis of the headlamp before control. The operation angle σ is an angle based on the optical axis of the headlamp before control. FIG. 8 is an explanatory view for explaining the operation of the headlamp control means 125 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 8A shows the operation of the headlamp control means 125 shown in the flowchart of FIG. (B) shows a case where the headlamp control means 125 is operated as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8A and 8B, (a) is a waveform diagram showing a temporal change in the vehicle speed V, (b) is a waveform diagram showing a temporal change in the irradiation angle θ, and (c) is a waveform diagram showing the temporal change in the irradiation angle θ. It is a wave form diagram which shows the time change of the operation angle (sigma).

  In (A) and (B) of FIG. 8, Ta is the time when a pedestrian that may collide with the vehicle M is detected, Tb is the time when the driver starts braking to avoid the collision, Tc Is the time when the host vehicle M stops or avoids a collision with a pedestrian. When the operation of the headlight control means 125 is the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, as shown in FIG. 8A, at the time Ta when a pedestrian who may collide with the own vehicle M is detected. Then, the operating angle σ of the optical axis of the headlamp is increased so that the irradiation range of the headlamp is once more extended forward than during normal running, and this state is maintained until time Tb when braking is started. Then, from the time Tb when braking is started to the time Tc when the host vehicle M stops or a collision with a pedestrian is avoided, the operation angle σ is sequentially changed with the passage of time T, and the optical axis of the headlamp is changed. The irradiation angle θ formed by the road surface is sequentially decreased so that the irradiation range of the headlamp reaches at least the peripheral part including the position of the pedestrian.

  On the other hand, when the operation of the headlamp control means 125 is the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the pedestrian who may collide with the own vehicle M is detected, Ta In this case, the operating angle σ of the optical axis of the headlamp is increased so that the irradiation range of the headlamp is widened forward than during normal running, and this state is maintained until time Tb when braking is started. Then, from the time point Tb at which braking is started until the time point Tc at which the vehicle M stops or a collision with a pedestrian is avoided, the operation angle σ is held at a constant value, and the irradiation angle θ of the headlamp is kept at a constant value. So that the irradiation range of the headlamp reaches at least the peripheral part including the position of the pedestrian.

  In FIGS. 8A and 8B, Bp indicates fluctuations in the irradiation angle caused by the vehicle sinking due to braking of the host vehicle M.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the effect of the vehicular alarm device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 9 (A) shows a case where a device that warns the driver and the pedestrian of the danger of collision is not installed. The headlamp illumination range La is shown, and (B) shows the headlamp illumination range La when a conventional device that detects a pedestrian and warns the driver and the pedestrian of the danger of a collision is installed. , (C) show the irradiation range La of the headlamp when the vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is mounted. In FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C, Pa and Pb indicate crossing pedestrians that may collide with the own vehicle M, and Ca indicates a parked vehicle.

  9 (A), (B), and (C), parking is performed on the left side of the crossing pedestrians Pa and Pb that may collide with the left and right sides of the traveling direction of the host vehicle M and the traveling direction. Since the vehicle Ca exists, the method of avoiding the collision with the crossing pedestrians Pa and Pb by the driver is not avoiding the steering wheel but desirably avoiding braking. However, normally, when the irradiation distance of the low beam of the headlamp is short and the vehicle speed is high, it is unlikely that collision can be avoided even if a braking operation is performed when a pedestrian enters the irradiation range.

  In the case of (A) in FIG. 9, in such a state, the crossing pedestrians Pa and Pb and the parked vehicle Ca are not included in the irradiation range of the headlamp, and the crossing pedestrians Pa and Pb enter the irradiation range. Even if a braking operation is performed, the possibility of avoiding a collision is low. Further, if the driver avoids the steering wheel when the driver can confirm the crossing pedestrian Pa, there is a risk of colliding with the crossing pedestrian Pb or the parked vehicle Ca.

  In FIG. 9B, since the conventional device for detecting the pedestrian and warning the driver and the pedestrian of the danger of the collision is provided, the crossing pedestrians Pb and Pb are detected, and the most dangerous crossing walk is performed. The light distribution is controlled to the person Pa. For this reason, the driver can confirm the crossing pedestrian Pa and can take early avoidance action. In addition, there is a possibility that the crossing pedestrian Pa notices the existence of the own vehicle and temporarily stops the crossing. However, the presence of the crossing pedestrian Pb and the parked vehicle Ca is difficult to confirm. For this reason, when the driver makes a wrong decision to avoid the crossing pedestrian Pa and selects steering avoidance, there is a risk of collision with the parked vehicle Ca or the crossing pedestrian Pb.

  On the other hand, in the case of FIG. 9C, the vehicle alarm device according to the first embodiment of the present invention that detects a pedestrian and warns the driver and the pedestrian of the danger of a collision is mounted. The crossing pedestrians Pb and Pb are detected, and the irradiation range of the headlamp is expanded to at least the stop distance of the own vehicle M. For this reason, the driver can confirm not only the crossing pedestrian Pa but also the crossing pedestrian Pb that exists in the stop distance range of the own vehicle M and may collide with the crossing pedestrian Pa and the parked vehicle Ca. . For this reason, the driver can take an early avoidance action after selecting a better avoidance action for this case. Further, there is a possibility that the crossing pedestrians Pa and Pb notice the existence of the own vehicle M and temporarily stop the crossing.

  According to the vehicle alarm device according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above, when there is a pedestrian that may collide, rather than irradiating the headlamp toward a specific target, It is controlled so that the illumination range of the lantern is widened, and even if there are multiple pedestrians, it can draw the driver's attention without overlooking it, can be guided to safety confirmation in a natural way, and can induce dangers such as collisions Can be made extremely low.

  Also, the irradiation range of the headlamp controlled by the headlamp control means is not significantly different from a normal high beam, and the driver is alerted in a natural manner without giving a sense of incongruity to the driver and surrounding vehicles. be able to. Furthermore, when the headlamp illumination range controlled by the headlamp control means is set to the range up to the stopping distance of the vehicle, it is not possible to inadvertently call attention to a subject that is unlikely to collide. Absent.

  Furthermore, since the driver and the surrounding vehicles are not given a sense of incongruity, it is possible to suppress a decrease in reliability and annoyance to the system. In addition, since the surroundings of the vehicle can be visually recognized in a wider range than usual, it is possible to prompt the driver to make an avoidance determination such as steering avoidance and braking avoidance in a better direction.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, a vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 10, the vehicle alarm device 100 includes a millimeter wave radar 110, a CPU 120, a headlight 130, a vehicle speed sensor 140, a brake 150, and automatic braking means 160. The CPU 120 includes vehicle information acquisition means 121, object detection means 122, pedestrian determination means 123, collision determination means 124, headlamp control means 125, and risk level determination means 126.

  In this second embodiment, vehicle information acquisition means 121 receives vehicle speed information from vehicle speed sensor 140 and brake investigation information from brake 150. The risk determination means 126 receives the signal from the collision determination means 124 and determines the risk such as a collision. The headlamp control means 125 and the automatic braking means 160 operate as described later based on the determination result of the danger level determination means 126.

  The collision determination unit 124 determines the possibility of a collision between the own vehicle and the crossing pedestrian from the output of the pedestrian determination unit 123 and holds the predicted collision time with the target having the highest possibility of a collision. FIG. 11 is a follow chart for explaining the operation of the collision determination means 124 of the vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 11, in step S41, a flag with a collision target is initialized. In step S48, data (hereinafter simply referred to as collision prediction holding data) TTC held as the collision prediction time with the most dangerous target is initialized. In step S42, for the objects 0 to n detected by the object detection means 122, the pedestrian detection means 123 checks whether or not these objects are crossing pedestrians. When there are a plurality of objects detected by the object detection means 122, the following processing is performed on each object.

  If it is determined in step S42 that the object detected by the object detection means 122 is a crossing pedestrian, the process proceeds to step S43, where the determination of the possibility of collision “Yes” or “No” is made. It is determined from the lateral movement speed, relative speed and relative position of the person. Here, the lateral movement speed is a movement speed in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the host vehicle. Specifically, the collision prediction time until the collision is calculated from the relative distance Y and the relative speed, and the relative lateral position between the pedestrian and the vehicle after the collision prediction time is calculated from the lateral movement speed of the crossing pedestrian. Then, it is determined whether there is a possibility of collision. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S42 that the person is not a crossing pedestrian, the process proceeds to step S44, where the possibility of collision is “unknown”, and the process ends.

  In step S45, it is confirmed whether or not the result of the determination in step S43 is the possibility of collision “yes”. If the result of the determination in step S43 is not “possible”, the process ends. On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S43 is “possible”, the process proceeds to step S46. In step S46, it is confirmed whether or not the collision target flag has been set so far. If it is confirmed in step S46 that the collision target flag is not set, the process proceeds to step S47, and the collision target flag is set.

  If it is confirmed in step S46 that the collision target flag is set, the process proceeds to step S49, and it is determined whether or not the collision prediction time calculated in step S43 is smaller than the collision prediction holding data TTC. In step S49, when it is determined that the collision prediction time calculated in step S43 is equal to or longer than the collision prediction holding data TTC, the process proceeds to step S50, and the value of the collision prediction holding data TTC is calculated in step S43. Update on time. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S49 that the predicted collision time calculated in step S43 is shorter than the predicted collision holding data TTC, the process ends, and the process proceeds to the next target. The result of the collision determination by the collision determination unit 124 is output to the risk determination unit 126.

  The risk determination means 126 determines a risk by setting a predetermined threshold for the predicted collision time with the highest possibility of collision among the objects determined to be likely to collide by the collision determination means 124. To do. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the risk determination means 126 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 12, in step S61, as a result of determination by the collision determination means 124, it is confirmed whether or not a flag indicating that there is a collision target is set.

  As a result of the confirmation in step S61, if it is confirmed that the collision target flag is set, the process proceeds to step S62, and it is confirmed whether or not the collision prediction holding data TTC is larger than a predetermined threshold value. If it is confirmed in step S61 that the collision target flag is not set, the process is terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S62 that the collision prediction holding data TTC is larger than the predetermined threshold value, the process proceeds to step S63, and the collision risk is set to “low”. If it is determined in step S62 that the collision prediction data TTC is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold value, the process proceeds to step S64, and the risk of collision is set to “high”.

  The risk determined by the risk determination means 126 is output to the automatic braking means 160 and the headlamp control means 125. In the above description, the collision prediction time is used to determine the collision risk, but the relative distance between the vehicle and the object may be used to determine the collision risk.

  The automatic braking means 160 activates automatic braking or assistance of the driver's braking operation (brake assist) when the output of the risk determination means 126 is “high”.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the headlamp control means 125 of the vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 13, in step S <b> 51, the collision determination unit 124 confirms whether or not a flag with a collision target is set. If it is confirmed in step S51 that the collision target flag is set, the process proceeds to step S55 to determine the risk of collision. On the other hand, if it is confirmed in step S51 that the collision target flag is not set, the process proceeds to step S53, the headlamp control flag instructing the control of the headlamp is cleared, the process proceeds to step S56, and the vehicle body sinks. Clears the headlamp correction flag for instructing correction of the optical axis of the headlamp during installation.

  If it is determined in step S55 that the risk of collision is “low”, the process proceeds to step S58, where the headlamp correction flag for instructing correction of the optical axis of the headlamp when the vehicle body is depressed is cleared, and step S52 is performed. Then, the headlamp control flag for instructing the control of the headlamp is set. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S55 that the risk of collision is “high”, the process proceeds to step S98, and the optical axis of the headlamp is eliminated so as to eliminate the decrease in the headlamp irradiation area due to the sinking of the vehicle body. Confirm whether or not is corrected. As a result, if the optical axis of the headlamp has been corrected, the headlamp correction flag is not set, and the process proceeds to step S58. If the headlamp is not corrected, the process proceeds to step S57, the headlamp correction flag is set, and the process proceeds to step S52.

In step S52, a flag for instructing headlamp control is set, and the process proceeds to step S54. In step S54, a stop distance which is a distance required for the host vehicle to decelerate and stop based on the vehicle information is calculated. For the calculation of the stop distance, for example, a deceleration of 5.0 [m / sec ² ] assuming a sudden brake is used.

  The flag information instructing the headlamp control by the headlamp control means 125, the stop distance, and the headlamp correction flag information are output to the headlamp 130.

  Returning to FIG. 10, in the headlamp 130, if the headlamp control flag is set based on the output from the headlamp controller 125, the headlamp is extended so as to extend the irradiation range to the stop distance. Control the optical axis of the lamp. If the headlamp correction flag is set, the irradiation angle is corrected so as to mitigate the decrease in the irradiation range due to the sinking of the vehicle body. Specifically, the portion indicated by Bp in FIG. 8 described above is eliminated, and control is performed so that the irradiation range in the distance direction of the headlamp is maintained within the stop distance range. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the headlamp control means 125 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The headlamp is adapted to correct the irradiation angle so as to mitigate the decrease in the irradiation range due to the sinking of the vehicle body. The operation of the lamp control means 125 is shown. FIG. 14A corresponds to the operation of the headlamp control unit 125 corresponding to the flowchart of FIG. 5 described above, and FIG. 14B corresponds to the flowchart of FIG. Each case is shown as an operation. 14 (A) and 14 (B), (a) is a waveform diagram showing the temporal change of the vehicle speed V, (b) is a waveform diagram showing the temporal change of the irradiation angle θ, and (c) is It is a wave form diagram which shows the time change of the operation angle (sigma).

  As shown in FIG. 14, at the time point Tb at which deceleration is started, the operation angle σ is offset by an irradiation angle θo set in advance according to the deceleration of automatic braking. As a result, the irradiation range of the angle θ formed with the road surface of the optical axis of the all-illumination lamp does not decrease due to the sinking due to the deceleration.

  In the above description, the control of the optical axis of the headlamp is limited to the control in the distance direction of the traveling direction of the own vehicle. However, if the object is outside the traveling direction of the own vehicle, the control is stopped. Depending on the distance, control in the horizontal direction, which is a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction, may be performed simultaneously with the distance in the traveling direction. Steering information may be used for internal / external determination with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle.

  In the above description, the headlamp control method is changed in accordance with the risk level of a target that is likely to collide. However, when there is a target that is likely to collide, the braking operation is performed. Means for determining whether the light has been broken may be provided, and the method for correcting the irradiation angle of the headlamp may be changed according to the result.

  FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of a conventional device for comparison with the effect of the vehicular alarm device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which a pedestrian Pa is detected and a collision with the pedestrian Pa is detected. The irradiation range of the headlamp when a conventional device that activates automatic braking when the danger is high is shown. FIG. 15A shows a state before the automatic braking operation, and FIG. 15B shows a state after the automatic braking is started. In the state (A) before the automatic braking, the pedestrian Pa exists in the irradiation range La of the headlamp. However, in the case (B) after the automatic braking is activated, the vehicle body sinks and the headlamp The irradiation range La becomes narrow, the irradiation range La deviates from the pedestrian Pa, and it becomes difficult for the driver to confirm safety and to move to the next avoidance action.

  FIG. 16 is an explanatory view for explaining the effect of the vehicular alarm device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the irradiation angle is not corrected, (A) is the state before the automatic braking operation, (B ) Shows the state after the start of automatic braking. Since the vehicular alarm device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is mounted, when there is a pedestrian Pa with a possibility of collision, the normal irradiation range at the time before the start of automatic movement Irradiation is performed in a wider irradiation range La. For this reason, as shown in (B), when the automatic braking is activated, even if the vehicle body sinks, the driver can move to the safety confirmation and the next avoidance action without the irradiation range La deviating from the pedestrian Pa. it can.

  FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the effect of the vehicular alarm device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This is a case where the irradiation angle is corrected. FIG. The irradiation range La is shown when the automatic braking is activated when the existence of the irradiation range is confirmed and the irradiation range is wider than the normal irradiation range. (B) shows the irradiation range La when automatic braking is started when the pedestrian Pa jumps out when the headlamp is not controlled. As shown in (A), after the automatic braking is activated, it is easier to confirm the safety by further correcting the irradiation range La of the headlamp so as to reduce the influence of the sinking of the vehicle body. Further, as shown in (B), even when the headlamp is not controlled, after the automatic braking is activated when the pedestrian Pa jumps out, the irradiation range La of the headlamp is set to the vehicle body. By correcting so as to alleviate the influence of the sinking, the driver can move to the safety confirmation and the next avoidance action without the irradiation range La deviating from the pedestrian Pa.

  In the second embodiment described above, the case where the automatic braking means is used has been described. However, a brake assist for assisting the driver's braking operation may be used.

  According to the vehicle alarm device according to the second embodiment of the present invention described above, in addition to the effects of the vehicle alarm device according to the first embodiment described above, the system for avoiding the collision before the driver performs the braking avoidance operation and the collision In the situation where the avoidance of collision is relatively urgent before the operation of automatic braking or brake assist, etc., the next driver's braking avoidance operation is performed by extending the irradiation range of the headlamp to the stop distance. In the event of a collision or a system that avoids collisions, it is possible to prepare for the reduction of the irradiation range due to the sinking of the vehicle that occurs during the operation of automatic braking or brake assist, etc. When operating automatic braking or brake assist, etc., by the system that avoids the vehicle, the irradiation range of the vehicle is reduced by correcting the headlamp's irradiation range to be the stop distance. You can mitigate the reduction of. Thereby, the safety of the surrounding situation can be confirmed, and the next avoidance action can be promptly passed.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
Next, a vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The third embodiment is obtained by changing the first or second embodiment as described below. In the following description, a case where the first embodiment is changed will be described as an example.

  In FIG. 18, the vehicle alarm device 100 includes a millimeter wave radar 110, a CPU 120, a headlamp 130, a vehicle speed sensor 140, and an illuminance sensor 170. The CPU 120 includes vehicle information acquisition means 121, object detection means 122, pedestrian determination means 123, collision determination means 124, headlamp control means 125, and illuminance determination means 127.

  In the third embodiment, the illuminance sensor 170 and the illuminance determination unit 127 are added to the first embodiment, and the vehicle information acquisition unit 121 and the headlamp control unit 125 are changed as follows. Since other processes are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  The vehicle information acquisition unit 121 acquires information about the headlamp 130 and outputs a signal based on the acquired information to the headlamp control unit 125. The illuminance determination unit 127 acquires information of the illuminance sensor 170 and outputs a signal based on the acquired information to the headlamp control unit 125. The illuminance sensor 170 is installed, for example, on the upper surface of a dashboard in the passenger compartment.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the operation of the headlamp control means 125 in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In FIG. 19, it is determined from the information of the headlamp 130 acquired from the vehicle information acquisition means 121 in step S58 whether or not the headlamp 130 is a high beam. As a result of the determination in step S58, when it is determined that the headlamp 130 is a high beam, the process proceeds to step S53, the headlamp control flag is cleared, and the process ends. That is, for the reason described later, if the headlamp 130 is a high beam, the headlamp 130 described below is not controlled.

  As a result of the determination in step S58, when it is determined that the headlamp 130 is not a high beam, the process proceeds to step S59, and it is determined whether or not the headlamp 130 is off. If it is determined in step S59 that the headlamp 130 is off, the process proceeds to step S60, and whether or not the illuminance around the vehicle obtained by the illuminance determination means 127 is smaller (darker) than a predetermined threshold value. judge. If it is determined in step S60 that the illuminance around the vehicle is smaller than the predetermined threshold, the process proceeds to step S51.

  If it is determined in step S60 that the illuminance around the vehicle is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, the process proceeds to step S53, the headlamp control flag is cleared, and control of the headlamp 130 is not necessary, and the control is performed. Absent. If it is determined in step S59 that the headlamp 130 is on, the process proceeds to step S51. In step S51, the collision determination means 124 confirms whether or not a collision target lug is set. If it is confirmed in step S51 that the collision target flag is set, the process proceeds to step S52, and a flag for instructing headlamp control is set.

As a result of the determination in step S51, if the flag with the collision target is not set, the process proceeds to step S53, the flag instructing the headlamp control is cleared, and the control of the headlamp 130 is not necessary, so that control is performed. Does not. On the other hand, when the process proceeds from step S52 to step S54, in step S54, a distance required for the host vehicle to decelerate and stop based on the vehicle information, that is, a stop distance is calculated. For the calculation of the stop distance, for example, a deceleration assuming a sudden brake such as 5.0 [m / S ² ] is used. The headlamp 13 is controlled based on flag information instructing the headlamp control of the headlamp control means 125 and information on the stop distance by the above-described calculation.

  When the headlamp 130 is a high beam, the irradiation distance in the distance direction is about 100 [m]. The stop distance exceeds 100 [m] when the host vehicle speed is 100 [km / h] or more, and when the vehicle speed is 100 [km / h] or less, the stop distance is less than that.

  FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the irradiation range of the headlamp of the vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, and shows a case where the vehicle starts braking. FIG. 20A shows a case where deceleration by automatic braking is started in a state where the irradiation range is not a high beam, and FIG. 20B shows a case where deceleration by automatic braking is started in a state where the irradiation range is a high beam. Yes. As shown in (A), when deceleration by automatic braking is started in a state where the irradiation range is not a high beam, the irradiation range of the headlamp 130 is controlled to a stop distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle M. The driver is less likely to see the pedestrian Pa than when deceleration by automatic braking is started in the high beam state shown in B). Accordingly, when the high beam is not used, the above-described headlamp control is performed during braking.

  In many cases, the driver is willing to check the surrounding situation well during high beam. Therefore, when the high beam is set, the headlamp is not controlled. When the headlamp is turned off, it is often daytime or day / night switching such as at dusk. In the daytime, the surroundings are bright and there is no need to turn on the headlights. However, there are cases where the headlamps are not lit at dusk, even though the surroundings are somewhat dark. For this reason, when the headlamp is off, it is desirable to control the headlamp after confirming the illuminance around the vehicle.

  As described above, according to the vehicle alarm device of the third embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the vehicle alarm devices of the first and second embodiments described above, the driver actively checks the surrounding safety. When the high beam is considered to be used, or when the headlamp is off and the surroundings are bright and illumination is unnecessary, unnecessary control does not occur, and control in consideration of the driver's will can be performed. And even if the headlamp is off, if it is judged that it is desirable for safety confirmation that there was lighting at twilight etc., it is easy to confirm the surrounding safety by controlling the headlamp, In addition, the driver can be alerted.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
Next, a vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. The fourth embodiment is a modification of the first or second embodiment as described below. In the following description, a case where the second embodiment is changed will be described as an example.

  In FIG. 21, the vehicle alarm device 100 includes a millimeter wave radar 110, a CPU 120, a headlamp 130, a vehicle speed sensor 140, a brake 150, automatic braking means 160, and a yaw rate sensor 180. The CPU 120 includes vehicle information acquisition means 121, object detection means 122, pedestrian determination means 123, collision determination means 124, headlamp control means 125, risk level determination means 126, and own vehicle traveling path estimation means 128.

  In the fourth embodiment, the yaw rate sensor 180 and the own vehicle traveling path estimation means 128 are added to the second embodiment, and the collision determination means 124 and the headlamp control means 125 are changed as follows. . Since other processes are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

  The vehicle information acquisition unit 121 acquires information of the yaw rate sensor 180 and outputs a signal based on the acquired information to the own vehicle traveling path estimation unit 128. Although not shown in the figure, the collision determination means 124 also holds the relative position with the target at the same time as the predicted collision time TTC of the most dangerous target.

In FIG. 21, the own vehicle traveling path estimating means 128 estimates the own vehicle center position Rc (coordinates: X, Y) of the own vehicle M according to the following equation (1). FIG. 22 is an explanatory view for explaining the operation of the own vehicle traveling path estimating means 128 of the vehicle alarm device according to the fourth embodiment. The traveling path of the own vehicle M shown in FIG. This is a range surrounded by the left end RL and the right end Rr in consideration of the vehicle width. The traveling path of the host vehicle M estimated by the following equation (1) is output to the headlamp control means 125. Although the vehicle width is taken into consideration here, the lane width may be taken into consideration.

X = Y ² / (2 × ω / V) Formula (1)

Where ω: yaw rate, V: own vehicle speed

  FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the operation of the headlamp control means 125 in the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 23, in step S51, the collision determination means 124 confirms whether or not the collision target flag is set. As a result of the confirmation in step S51, if the flag with the collision target is not set, the process proceeds to step S53, the headlamp control flag instructing the control of the headlamp is cleared, and the process proceeds to step S56. In step S56, the headlamp correction flag for instructing correction of the headlamp when the vehicle body is depressed is cleared. That is, in this case, the optical axis of the headlamp is not corrected.

  As a result of the confirmation in step S51, if the collision target flag is set, the process proceeds to step S55, and the risk of collision is confirmed. As a result of the confirmation in step S55, if it is determined that the degree of risk is “low”, the process proceeds to step S71, where information on the estimated value of the own vehicle traveling path estimated by the aforementioned own vehicle traveling path estimating means 128 is used. Next, it is determined whether the collision target is inside or outside the own vehicle traveling path. As a result of the determination in step S71, if it is determined that the collision target is in the own vehicle traveling path, the process proceeds to step S72, where the irradiation method of the headlamp is always irradiated. As a result of the determination in step S71, if it is determined that the collision target is outside the own vehicle traveling path, the process proceeds to step S73, and the irradiation method of the headlamp is set to intermittent irradiation.

Next, proceeding to step S52, the headlamp control flag for instructing control of the headlamp 130 is set, and proceeding to step S56, the headlamp correction flag for instructing correction of the headlamp when the vehicle body is depressed. clear. In step S54, a stop distance which is a distance required for the host vehicle to decelerate and stop based on the vehicle information is calculated. For the calculation of the stop distance, for example, a deceleration assuming a sudden brake such as 5.0 m / S ² is used.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S55 that the degree of risk is “high”, the process proceeds to step S72, the irradiation method is set to the constant irradiation, and the process proceeds to step S57, where the heading when the vehicle body sinks is reached. Set the headlamp correction flag to instruct lamp correction.

  With the above operation of the headlamp control means 125, the flag information, stop distance information, and headlamp correction flag information instructing the control of the headlamp 130 output from the headlamp control means 125 are 130 is output. The headlamp 130 is controlled based on the information.

  As described above, according to the vehicle alarm device of Embodiment 4 of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the vehicle alarm devices of Embodiments 1 and 2 described above, obstacles such as pedestrians are By changing the headlamp illumination method depending on whether it is on the inside or outside of the route, it is easy to understand the range of pedestrians and inform the driver of the presence of pedestrians. . In addition, when there are crossing pedestrians, etc. that may collide with your vehicle outside the traveling path of your vehicle, you will be able to convey the approach of the vehicle to the pedestrian more easily by intermittent irradiation. If the vehicle is present, the pedestrian can be surely visually recognized by the driver by always irradiating.

Embodiment 5. FIG.
Next, a vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention. In the fifth embodiment, the first or second embodiment is changed as follows. Here, a case where the first embodiment is changed will be described as an example.

  In FIG. 24, the vehicle alarm device 100 includes a millimeter wave radar 110, a CPU 120, a headlamp 130, a vehicle speed sensor 140, and a horn 190. The CPU 120 includes vehicle information acquisition means 121, object detection means 122, pedestrian determination means 123, collision determination means 124, and headlamp control means 125. In the fifth embodiment, a horn 190 is added to the first embodiment. Since other processes are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

  The horn 180 is provided to generate a sound outside the host vehicle. When the headlamp control flag is set by the headlamp control unit 125, the horn 180 is dangerous to vehicles and pedestrians around the host vehicle. An alarm sound is generated at the same time as the control of the headlamps to ensure that it is informed.

  As described above, according to the vehicle alarm device of the fifth embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the vehicle alarm devices of the first and second embodiments described above, It is possible to notify danger to pedestrians and pedestrians.

Embodiment 6 FIG.
Next, a vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. In the sixth embodiment, the first or second embodiment is changed as follows. Here, a case where the first embodiment is changed will be described as an example.

  In FIG. 25, the vehicle alarm device 100 includes a millimeter wave radar 110, a CPU 120, a headlamp 130, a vehicle speed sensor 140, an illuminance sensor 170, and a horn 190. The CPU 120 includes vehicle information acquisition means 121, object detection means 122, pedestrian determination means 123, collision determination means 124, headlamp control means 125, and day / night determination means 129. In the sixth embodiment, the illuminance sensor 170, the horn 190, and the day / night determination means 129 are added to the first embodiment, and the headlamp control means 125 is changed as follows. Since other processes are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

  The illuminance determination means 129 acquires information of the illuminance sensor 170 and determines whether it is day or night from the illuminance value. The determined result is output to the headlamp control means 125. The illuminance sensor 170 is installed, for example, on the upper surface of a dashboard in the vehicle interior.

  FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing the operation of the headlamp control means 125 in Embodiment 6 of the present invention. In FIG. 26, in step S51, the collision determination means 124 confirms whether or not the flag indicating that there is a collision target is set. As a result of the confirmation in step S51, if the flag with the collision target is set, the process proceeds to step S81, and the alarm device control flag is set. If the collision target flag is not set in step S51, the process proceeds to step S82, and the alarm device control flag is cleared.

In step S81, it is confirmed whether the determination result by the day / night determination means 129 is “daytime” or “night”. If it is determined as “night” as a result of the confirmation in step S83, the process proceeds to step S84, the alarm device to be controlled uses the headlamp 130, and the process proceeds to step S54. In step S54, a stop distance which is a distance required for the host vehicle to decelerate and stop based on the vehicle information is calculated. For the calculation of the stop distance, for example, a deceleration assuming a sudden brake such as 5.0 m / S ² is used.

  On the other hand, if “daytime” is determined in step S83, the process proceeds to step S85, and the alarm device to be controlled uses a horn that generates sound outside the vehicle.

    With the above operation of the headlamp control means 125, the flag information, stop distance information, and headlamp correction flag information instructing the control of the headlamp 130 output from the headlamp control means 125 are 130 or horn 190. The headlamp 130 and the horn 190 are controlled based on the information.

  According to the vehicle alarm device according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention described above, in addition to the effects of the vehicle alarm device of Embodiment 1 or 2 described above, even in the daytime, the vicinity of the vehicle and pedestrians Can effectively inform the danger.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the alarm device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the object detection state by the object detection means of the alarm device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the pedestrian determination means of the alarm device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the collision determination means of the alarm device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the headlamp control means which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the modification of operation | movement of the headlamp control apparatus of the vehicle alarm device which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining control of the headlamp of the vehicle alarm device by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining operation | movement of the headlamp control means in the alarm device for vehicles by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the effect by the alarm device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the alarm device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a follow chart explaining operation | movement of the collision determination means of the alarm device for vehicles by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the risk determination means 126 by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the headlamp control means 125 of the vehicle alarm device by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining operation | movement of the headlamp control means by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining operation | movement of the conventional apparatus for comparing with the effect by the vehicle alarm device which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the effect by the alarm device for vehicles by Embodiment 2 of this invention, and the case where irradiation angle correction is not performed is shown. It is explanatory drawing explaining the effect by the alarm device for vehicles by Embodiment 2 of this invention, and the case where the correction of an irradiation angle is shown. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the alarm device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the headlamp control means in Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the irradiation range of the headlamp by Embodiment 3 of this invention, and has shown the case where the vehicle of a vehicle alarm device starts braking. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the alarm device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining operation | movement of the own vehicle advancing route estimation means of the alarm device for vehicles by Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the headlamp control means of the alarm device for vehicles by Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the alarm device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 5 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the alarm device for vehicles which concerns on Embodiment 6 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the headlamp control means of the alarm device for vehicles by Embodiment 6 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Vehicle warning device 110 Millimeter wave radar 120 CPU
121 Vehicle Information Acquisition Unit 122 Object Detection Unit 123 Pedestrian Determination Unit 124 Collision Determination Unit 125 Headlight Control Unit 126 Risk Level Determination Unit 127 Illuminance Determination Unit 128 Own Vehicle Travel Path Estimation Unit 129 Day / Night Determination Unit 130 Headlamp 140 Vehicle Speed Sensor 150 Brake 160 Automatic braking means 170 Illuminance sensor 180 Yaw rate sensor 190 Horn

Claims (13)

An object detection means for detecting an object in front of the vehicle mounted on a vehicle; a vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring a driving state of the vehicle; a pedestrian determination means for determining that the object is a pedestrian; A collision determination unit that determines the possibility of a collision between a vehicle and the pedestrian, and the pedestrian determination unit determines that the object is a pedestrian and the collision determination unit determines that there is a possibility of a collision. An alarm device for a vehicle comprising alarm device control means for controlling alarm means for issuing an alarm at times,
The warning means is constituted by a headlamp provided in the vehicle,
The alarm device control means includes headlight control means for controlling the headlamp,
The headlamp control means includes
The irradiation range of the headlamp is normally set between the time when the object is determined to be a pedestrian by the pedestrian determination means and the time when braking is started from the time when the collision determination means determines that the object may collide. Spread at least forward than when driving,
The stop distance corresponding to the vehicle speed of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle information acquisition means from the time when the braking is started until the vehicle stops or the danger of the collision is avoided. It controls to keep a distance corresponding to,
An alarm device for a vehicle.   When the stop distance according to the vehicle speed when it is determined that there is a possibility of the collision is narrower than the irradiation range of the headlight when the headlamp is in a normal low beam, the headlamp control means The vehicular alarm device according to claim 1, wherein an illumination range of the lamp is an irradiation range of the low beam.   The vehicle warning device according to claim 1, wherein the collision determination unit performs the determination of the possibility of the collision a plurality of times as the vehicle travels.   The headlamp control means controls an irradiation range of the headlamp so as to maintain a distance corresponding to the stop distance that changes as the vehicle approaches the pedestrian. The vehicle alarm device according to claim 3.   The headlamp control means at least determines the irradiation range of the headlamp from the time when it is determined that there is a risk of collision until the vehicle stops or the risk of collision is avoided. 2. The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle alarm device is controlled so as to always maintain a distance corresponding to a stop distance corresponding to a vehicle speed of the vehicle at the time point.   A risk determination means for determining a risk of collision between the vehicle and the pedestrian, and an automatic braking means for braking the vehicle when the risk determined by the risk determination means satisfies a predetermined condition. A collision avoidance means for activating or activating a function for assisting braking of the vehicle by a driver of the vehicle, wherein the collision avoidance means activates the automatic braking or activates a function for assisting braking of the vehicle. The headlamp control means controls the irradiation range by correcting a change in the irradiation range of the headlamp based on the sinking of the vehicle due to the braking. The vehicle alarm device according to any one of 1 to 5.   The vehicle warning device according to claim 6, wherein the determination of the degree of risk is performed based on a predicted collision time for predicting a time when the vehicle collides with the pedestrian.   8. The headlamp control means according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the headlamp is not controlled when a driver of the vehicle sets the headlamp to a high beam in advance. The vehicle alarm device according to one item.   Illuminance detection means for detecting the illuminance around the vehicle, and the headlamp control means detects the ambient illuminance based on the output from the illuminance detection means when the headlamp is off. The headlamp is controlled when it is below a predetermined illuminance, and the headlamp is not controlled when the ambient illuminance is higher than the predetermined illuminance. The alarm device for vehicles as described in any one of thru | or 5.   The headlamp control means controls the headlamp to be intermittently irradiated from the time when it is determined that there is a possibility of the collision until the vehicle stops or the danger of the collision is avoided. The vehicular alarm device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein:   A vehicle traveling path estimation unit that estimates a traveling path of the vehicle, wherein the headlight control unit is configured to determine that the pedestrian determined to have a possibility of collision by the collision determination unit is the estimated pedestrian; It is determined whether the pedestrian is inside or outside the traveling path, and when the pedestrian is outside the traveling path, the headlight is controlled to be intermittently irradiated, and at least the pedestrian is The vehicle alarm according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when a part of the vehicle is in the traveling path, the headlamp is controlled so as to be constantly irradiated. apparatus.   The said warning device is provided with the horn which emits a sound outside a vehicle, The said headlamp control means controls the said horn with the control of the said headlamp, The one of Claim 1 thru | or 5 characterized by the above-mentioned. The vehicle alarm device described.   A day / night determination means for determining day and night, wherein the headlamp control means generates the horn when the day / night determination means determines that it is daytime, and that the day / night determination means is night The vehicle warning device according to claim 12, wherein when it is determined, the headlamp is controlled.

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