JP4825868B2 - Vehicle alarm device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an alarm device for a vehicle using virtual image display means.

As a vehicle alarm device, when an obstacle on a road is detected by an infrared camera, a virtual image of the obstacle is highlighted on a windshield surface by a head-up display device to alert the vehicle ( For example, see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-7-61257

  However, in this type of conventional vehicle alarm device, when a virtual image is alerted, the driver will focus on the virtual image displayed on the windshield until the event in front of the eyes is visually recognized. There is a problem that it takes a long time to complete. In particular, when attention is given by virtual image display when the driver is looking aside, the tendency becomes remarkable.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a vehicle alarm device that can promptly and promptly prompt gaze.

The vehicle alarm device according to the present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above problems.
The invention according to claim 1 is a virtual image display means (for example, a head-up display device 12 in an embodiment to be described later) for displaying a virtual image at a preset display position in the front visual field of the occupant, and an alarm for outputting an alarm sound. A vehicle alarm device (for example, a vehicle alarm device 1 in an embodiment to be described later) that uses a sound output means (for example, a speaker 11 in an embodiment to be described later) control means (e.g., forward alarm control unit 23 in the embodiment) for controlling the operation of the virtual image display means and said alarm sound output means when there is wherein the control means, the warning level alarm sound controls the alarm sound output means to output in the cycle is changed according performs first-time virtual image display after the output of the alarm sound, the from the output start of the alarm sound After the predetermined time has elapsed and after the second predetermined time has elapsed since the end of the first virtual image display, the second virtual image display is performed, and the display continuation time in each virtual image display is equal to or shorter than the third predetermined time. Controlling the virtual image display means ,
The first predetermined time is a time required for the occupant to turn his / her line of sight from the look-ahead state when the look-ahead angle from the sight line of the occupant is a preset maximum look-ahead angle. It is an alarm device for vehicles.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a front obstacle determination means for determining whether or not an object existing ahead of the vehicle is an obstacle of the vehicle (for example, described later) comprises a front obstacle determination unit 21) in the embodiment, the control means controls the said virtual image displaying means to perform a second round of the virtual image display from the output start of the warning sound within a fourth predetermined time , When the forward obstacle determination means determines the object as the obstacle, a collision prediction time until the obstacle comes into contact with the vehicle is calculated, and the fourth predetermined time is the collision prediction time. It is characterized by being shorter .

  According to a third aspect of the invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the second predetermined time is determined by a person distinguishing between the first virtual image display and the second virtual image display. The third predetermined time is a time during which a person cannot adjust the focus with respect to the virtual image display.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, the control means includes the first virtual image display start to the second virtual image display end. Control is performed so as to require a fifth predetermined time or more.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 4, wherein the fifth predetermined time is equal to or longer than a time required for one blink of a person.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the control means sets a period of an alarm sound output by the alarm sound output means to 5 to 8 Hz, and Control is performed so that the first virtual image display is displayed with a delay of 50 milliseconds or more from the start of output of the alarm sound.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, a display in a meter (for example, a meter 14 in an embodiment to be described later) installed in the vehicle is blinked. In-meter display means for providing information to the occupant (for example, in-meter display section 14a in the embodiment described later), when the alarm sound output by the alarm sound output means is performed or by the virtual image display means When the virtual image display is performed, the blinking of the display in the in-meter display means is stopped.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prompt the occupant to gaze at the front with an alarm sound, and further urge the occupant to gaze forward at the first virtual image display and the second virtual image display. In particular, when the occupant is looking aside, the first warning sound can be used to change the line of sight of the occupant from the state of looking aside, and the second time after the first predetermined time has elapsed since the output of the first warning sound. The first predetermined time when performing virtual image display is the time required for the occupant to turn his / her gaze from the look-ahead state when the look-ahead angle from the sight-line of the occupant is a preset maximum look-ahead angle. By doing so, at least the second virtual image display can be made visible to the occupant in the process of changing the line of sight.
Further, by changing the period of the alarm sound according to the alarm level, the occupant can easily recognize the alarm level.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the time from the alarm output to the second virtual image display is set within the fourth predetermined time shorter than the collision prediction time , so that the occupant can display the second virtual image display. It can be prevented that time passes from the alarm output and the user approaches the obstacle too much when visually recognized. In addition, since the time from the output of the alarm sound to the visual recognition of the virtual image display is not too long, the alarm output can be made without any sense of incongruity.

According to the invention of claim 3, by setting the third predetermined time as a time during which a person cannot adjust the focus with respect to the virtual image display, it is possible to prevent the occupant from focusing on the virtual image display. Since it can do, it can make it easy to make a passenger | crew grasp the event ahead of a vehicle.
Further, by setting the second predetermined time as a time during which a person can distinguish and visually recognize the first virtual image display and the second virtual image display, the first virtual image display and the second virtual image display are performed for the passenger. It is possible to prevent the second virtual image display from being seen in one, and to prevent the occupant from focusing on either of the two virtual image displays.

  According to the invention which concerns on Claim 4, at least one of the 1st virtual image display and the 2nd virtual image display can be made to visually recognize reliably.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent both the first virtual image display and the second virtual image display from being displayed while the occupant makes one blink. The virtual image display can be surely visualized.

  According to the invention which concerns on Claim 6, a passenger | crew can be made to recognize reliably that it is a warning by setting the period of a warning sound to 5-8 Hz. Further, by displaying the first virtual image display with a delay of 50 milliseconds or more from the start of alarm sound output, it is possible to make it easier for the occupant to visually see the second virtual image display.

According to the invention of claim 7 , when the alarm sound output by the alarm sound output means is performed or when the virtual image display by the virtual image display means is performed, the blinking of the display on the display means in the meter is stopped. It is possible to prevent the occupant from directing his / her line of sight to the in-meter display means, and to make sure that the virtual image display is visually observed and to prompt attention.

  Embodiments of a vehicle alarm device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings of FIGS. In addition, this Example demonstrates in the aspect applied to the vehicle of right-hand drive specification.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicular alarm device 1 according to an embodiment. The vehicular alarm device 1 includes a radar 2 that detects an obstacle ahead of the vehicle, and a night vision camera 3 that images the front of the vehicle at night. A front side camera 4 that images the front side of the vehicle, a rear side camera 5 that images the rear side of the vehicle, a vehicle state sensor 6, information acquisition means 7, and a speaker (alarm sound output means) 11. , A display unit for displaying information classified into four types in advance, that is, a head-up display device (hereinafter abbreviated as HUD) 12, left and right alarm display units (side display means) 13L and 13R, and an in-meter display unit ( Meter display means) 14a, a navigation display device (navigation screen) 15, and a control device (information providing means) 20 are provided. In this embodiment, the head-up display device 12 constitutes a virtual image display means.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the radar 2 transmits an electromagnetic wave such as a laser beam or a millimeter wave toward a scanning region R2 having a predetermined angle ahead of the traveling direction of the own vehicle, and receives a reflected wave reflected by the object. Thus, the object is detected, the relative distance between the object and the own vehicle, the relative speed between the object and the own vehicle, the size of the object, and the like are detected, and the detection results are output to the control device 20.

  The night vision camera 3 is composed of a pair of left and right infrared cameras that are installed at the lower part of the front bumper of the vehicle and are directed toward the front of the vehicle. The night vision camera 3 has a predetermined detection range (imaging range C3 in FIG. 2) in the forward direction of the vehicle. The outside world is photographed, and the photographed image data is output to the control device 20. 2, the imaging range C3 of the night vision camera 3 is larger than the scanning area R2 of the radar 2.

  The front side camera 4 is installed on both the left and right sides such as the lower part of the front bumper of the vehicle, and is composed of, for example, a CCD camera or a CMOS camera that can capture images in the visible light region or the infrared region. The outside of the predetermined detection range (imaging range C4 in FIG. 2) is photographed, and the photographed image data is output to the control device 20.

  The rear side camera 5 is installed below the left and right door mirrors of the vehicle, and is composed of, for example, a CCD camera or a CMOS camera that can capture images in the visible light region or the infrared region. The outside of the range (imaging range C5 in FIG. 2) is photographed, and the photographed image data is output to the control device 20.

  The vehicle state sensor 6 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, a yaw rate sensor that detects the yaw rate generated in the host vehicle, a steering angle sensor that detects the steering angle of the host vehicle, and controls the output of each sensor. Output to the device 20.

  The information acquisition means 7 includes a GPS receiver, a map data storage unit, a VICS receiver, and the like. The current position information of the own vehicle acquired by the GPS receiver, the map data acquired from the map data storage unit, the VICS receiver The traffic information and the like acquired in step 1 are output to the control device 20.

  The control device 20 includes a front obstacle determination unit 21, a night front obstacle determination unit 22, a forward warning control unit (control means) 23, a front side obstacle determination unit 24, and a rear side obstacle determination unit 25. A side alarm control unit 26, a driving support control unit 27, a meter display control unit 28, and a navigation processing unit 29.

  Based on the output of the radar 2, the forward obstacle determination unit 21 determines whether or not an object detected by the radar 2 exists on the estimated travel locus of the own vehicle within a predetermined distance from the own vehicle. When doing so, a signal indicating that there is a front obstacle is output to the front warning control unit 23. For example, when there is a stopped vehicle in front of the host vehicle, the front obstacle determination unit 21 recognizes the stopped vehicle as a front obstacle.

  The night front obstacle determination unit 22 detects the heat source object from the parallax of both images based on the left and right infrared images obtained by photographing with the night vision camera 3, and further, a pedestrian (biological object) from the heat source object. ) Is specified, a signal indicating that there is a front obstacle is output to the front warning control unit 23.

  The forward warning control unit 23 predicts the time until the vehicle contacts the front obstacle when a signal indicating that there is a front obstacle is input from at least one of the front obstacle judgment unit 21 and the night front obstacle judgment unit 22. (Hereinafter, referred to as a predicted collision time) is calculated, and a control signal is output to the speaker 11 and the HUD 12 based on the calculated predicted collision time to perform operation control. The operation control for the speaker 11 and the HUD 12 by the front warning control unit 23 will be described in detail later. In this embodiment, the information indicating that there is a front obstacle can be referred to as front external information.

  The front side obstacle determination unit 24 performs predetermined image processing on an image obtained by photographing with the front side camera 4, and further performs recognition processing for detecting a pedestrian, a vehicle, or the like, thereby recognizing walking. Detects the relative position, relative distance, moving speed, moving direction, etc. of the person's own vehicle, and determines whether it can be an obstacle of the own vehicle. A signal indicating that there is an obstacle on the right side or an obstacle on the right side is output to the side alarm control unit 26. For example, when the vehicle is approaching the intersection, if there are pedestrians near the intersection, or if there is a vehicle that is temporarily stopped before the intersection of the road that intersects with the traveling path of the vehicle, The front side obstacle determination unit 24 recognizes a pedestrian or vehicle as a front side obstacle.

  The rear side obstacle determination unit 25 performs predetermined image processing on the image obtained by photographing with the rear side camera 5, and further performs recognition processing for detecting pedestrians, vehicles, etc. Detects the relative position, relative distance, moving speed, moving direction, etc. of the pedestrian, etc., and determines whether it can be an obstacle of the own vehicle. A signal indicating that there is an obstacle or a right-side obstacle is output to the side alarm control unit 26. For example, when there is a vehicle running parallel to the right rear side of the vehicle when the vehicle is about to change to the right lane, or to the left rear side of the vehicle when the vehicle is about to turn left When a pedestrian exists, the rear side obstacle determination unit 25 recognizes the vehicle or the pedestrian as a rear side obstacle.

  The side alarm control unit 26 receives a signal indicating that there is a left side obstacle or a signal indicating that there is a right side obstacle from at least one of the front side obstacle determination unit 24 and the rear side obstacle determination unit 25. An alarm output instruction signal is output to the alarm display unit 13L or 13R on the side where the obstacle exists. In this embodiment, the information on the left side obstacle and the information on the right side obstacle can be referred to as side external information.

The driving support control unit 27 performs control for supporting driving of the host vehicle based on various signals input from the radar 2, the vehicle state sensor 6, and the like. For example, the distance between the driving vehicle and the preceding vehicle is kept constant. The active cruise control system that runs at a constant speed when there is no following vehicle, or detects the white line on the road surface in front of the traveling direction of the own vehicle, and the vehicle moves along the white line (lane). It is configured to include a control unit such as a lane keep assist system that controls steering so as to travel.
For example, the driving support control unit 27 becomes unable to detect the preceding vehicle because the receiving / transmitting unit of the radar 2 becomes dirty during execution of the follow-up driving control in the active cruise control system, or in the lane keeping assist system. When the lane keep assist control cannot be continued because there is no white line on the road during the control execution, a corresponding status signal is output to the meter display control unit 28. In this embodiment, these status information can be said to be state information of the own vehicle.
When the status display signal is input from the travel support control unit 27, the meter display control unit 28 outputs an alarm output instruction signal to the in-meter display unit 14a.

  The navigation processing unit 29 outputs information necessary for route guidance or the like to the navigation display device 15 based on various information input from the information acquisition means 7 and also navigates attention information around the current location of the vehicle and around the predicted route. The data is output to the display device 15. The caution information includes, for example, school and sharp curve presence information, traffic jam information, construction section information, and information on when a broken vehicle is stopped. These can be referred to as future external information.

The speaker 11 outputs an alarm sound in the vehicle based on the control signal input from the front alarm control unit 23 to prompt the passenger to be alerted.
Based on the control signal input from the front warning control unit 23, the HUD 12 displays a virtual image by flash light emission at a predetermined position in the driver's front visual field. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the flash emission image F displayed by the HUD 12 is on the line of sight (hereinafter referred to as the front line of sight) Gf when the driver turns his / her line of sight toward the front of the vehicle, and is substantially at the front end of the vehicle body. It is set to be displayed at the location located at. That is, the driver recognizes the flash emission image F near the front end of the vehicle body through the windshield 30 slightly above the meter 14. In this embodiment, the HUD 12 constitutes display means for displaying the front outside world information.
The speaker 11 and the HUD 12 are controlled in association with each other by the front warning control unit 23, and the warning sound output from the speaker 11 and the flash emission image F displayed by the HUD 12 cooperate to urge the driver to look forward. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the left and right alarm display portions 13L and 13R are respectively arranged near the roots of the left and right front pillars 31L and 31R so as to face the driver's seat. When the alarm output instruction signal is input from the side alarm control unit 26, the left and right alarm display units 13L and 13R blink the alarm display unit 13L or 13R on the side where the obstacle is present, to the side of the vehicle. Encourage attention. In this embodiment, the left and right alarm display portions 13L and 13R constitute display means for displaying side information on the outside.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the in-meter display unit 14a is provided at a predetermined portion in the meter 14 including a speedometer and the like. When an alarm output instruction signal is input from the meter display control unit 28, the in-meter display unit 14a blinks, for example, a symbol mark set in advance for each status information, and takes measures corresponding to each status information. Prompt. In this embodiment, the in-meter display unit 14a constitutes display means for displaying the state information of the own vehicle. In addition, the meter 14 is arrange | positioned in the position which a driver | operator can visually recognize through the handle | steering-wheel 32. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the navigation display device 15 is provided at the approximate center in the vehicle width direction of the instrument panel 33 of the vehicle. The navigation display device 15 displays a map, a predicted route, the current position of the host vehicle, and the like based on the control signal input from the navigation processing unit 29, and the above-described attention information (school presence information and When the construction section information etc. is input, the corresponding part on the map displayed on the screen is flashed to prepare for the caution information. In this embodiment, the navigation display device 15 constitutes display means for representing future external world information.

In this way, in this vehicle alarm device 1, the information that calls the driver's attention is classified into four categories: front outside world information, side outside world information, own vehicle state information, and future outside world information. Since the information is displayed on the corresponding display means, the driver can recognize which classification information is instantaneous by recognizing the displayed display means.
That is, when the driver recognizes the flash emission image F displayed by the HUD 12, the driver can instantly recognize that the caution information is the external environment information ahead, and recognizes the blinking of the left / right alarm display unit 13L or 13R. In this case, it is possible to instantly recognize that the caution information is the external information on the side. (Status information) can be instantly recognized, and when the blinking display of the navigation display device 15 is recognized, the attention information can be instantly recognized as future external information.

Moreover, the warning with respect to the external environment information ahead is set as the emergency warning with the highest degree of urgency, and this emergency warning is performed on the flash emission image F in front of the vehicle by the HUD 12 so that the driver can recognize it instantaneously.
Further, the emergency warning is not performed by other display means (that is, the left and right alarm display units 13L and 13R, the in-meter display unit 14a, and the navigation display device 15), so that the emergency alert is collected only in the flash emission image F.
When the alarm sound is output from the speaker 11 or when the flash emission image F is displayed by the HUD 12, the blinking of the display on the in-meter display unit 14a is stopped. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the driver from directing his / her line of sight to the in-meter display unit 14a, and it is possible to urge the driver to visually observe the flash emission image F and to urge forward gaze. Further, when the in-meter display unit 14a that stops the blinking of the display is a multi-information display, the blinking display may be continued as necessary for the display of the blinker or the like.

Next, the operation control of the speaker 11 and the HUD 12 executed in the front warning control unit 23 will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS.
As described above, the forward warning control unit 23 calculates the predicted collision time when a signal indicating that there is a front obstacle is input from the front obstacle determination unit 21 or the night front obstacle determination unit 22. Then, an alarm level is selected based on the calculated collision prediction time, and the operation of the speaker 11 and the HUD 12 is controlled according to the alarm level.
As shown in FIG. 5, the alarm level is set in three stages of levels 1, 2, and 3 in order from the lowest.

<Level 1>
Level 1 is intended for alerting purposes, and in this embodiment, it is applied to the range of 5 to 2.5 seconds in collision prediction time. At this level 1, only the display of the flash emission image F by the HUD 12 is executed, and the alarm sound by the speaker 11 is not output. The flash emission by the HUD 12 is one emission duration t1, and is emitted twice per second at a predetermined emission interval time t2.

  Here, the light emission duration t1 is set to 100 milliseconds or less. In order for the person to focus on the object, a time longer than 100 milliseconds is required. By setting the light emission duration t1 of the flash emission image F to 100 milliseconds or less, the driver focuses on the rush emission image F. Adjustment can be disabled. Thus, by making focus adjustment impossible with respect to the flash emission image F, it is possible to make the driver easily grasp the event ahead of the vehicle.

  The light emission interval time t2 is set so that the time interval t3 from the end of light emission of the first flash light emission image F to the start of light emission of the second flash light emission image F is 30 milliseconds or more. The required time t4 from the start of light emission of the first flash light emission image F to the end of light emission of the second flash light emission image F is set to be 200 milliseconds or more. The reason is as follows. If the time interval t3 from the end of light emission of the first flash light emission image F to the start of light emission of the second flash light emission image F is less than 30 milliseconds, two flash light emission images F are connected to a person and 1 It will be visually recognized as two flash emission images F. The time required for one blink of a person is statistically 100 to 200 milliseconds, and the time required from the start of light emission of the first flash light emission image F to the end of light emission of the second flash light emission image F. If t4 is less than 200 milliseconds, two flash emission may end within one blink, and neither the first flash emission image nor the second flash emission image F is visible to the driver. Cases can arise.

Accordingly, the time interval t3 from the end of light emission of the first flash light emission image F to the start of light emission of the second flash light emission image F is set to 30 milliseconds or more so that the driver can perform the first time. The flash emission image F and the second flash emission image F can be distinguished and visually recognized, and the emission of the second flash emission image F from the start of emission of the first flash emission image F is completed. By making the required time t4 to be 200 milliseconds or longer, at least one of the first flash emission image F and the second flash emission image F can be visually recognized even if the driver blinks. .
In this embodiment, the light emission duration time t1 at level 1 is set to 75 milliseconds, and the light emission interval time t2 is set to 200 milliseconds, so that all the above conditions are satisfied.

  At level 1, only the flash emission image F is displayed by the HUD 12, and no warning sound is output from the speaker 11, so that the passenger does not feel bothered by the generation of the warning sound. With this level 1 alerting, the driver runs the vehicle while paying attention to the front of the vehicle.

<Level 2>
Level 2 is intended for the original alarm, and in this embodiment, it is applied in the range of 2.5 to 1.5 seconds in collision prediction time. At level 2, an alarm sound is output from the speaker 11, and the flash emission image F is displayed by the HUD 12.
The alarm sound of the speaker 11 has a repetition frequency of 5 Hz or more, and the number of pulses of the alarm sound is 5 or more. This is based on an experimental result that many people feel that the alarm sounds when the repetition frequency of the alarm sound is 5 Hz or more and the number of pulses of the alarm sound is 5 or more. Note that the alarm sound at level 2 in this embodiment is output 5 times per second, with one output duration T1 being 100 milliseconds.
As the timbre of the alarm sound, for example, a timbre having a center frequency of 1.6 kHz can be used.

On the other hand, the flash emission by the HUD 12 is set to one emission duration t11, and is emitted twice per second at a predetermined emission interval time t12.
Here, the light emission duration time t11 is 100 milliseconds (third predetermined time) or less. The reason for this is the same as in the case of level 1 and is to make it impossible for the driver to adjust the focus with respect to the flash emission image F so that the driver can easily grasp the event ahead of the vehicle.

The light emission interval time t12 is 30 milliseconds (second predetermined time) or more from the end of light emission of the first flash light emission image F to the start of light emission of the second flash light emission image F. And the required time t14 from the start of light emission of the first flash light emission image F to the end of light emission of the second flash light emission image F is 200 milliseconds (fifth predetermined time) or more. Set.
The reason for this is the same as in the case of level 1, and the time interval 13 from the end of the first flash emission image F to the start of the second flash emission image F is set to 30 milliseconds or more. Thus, the driver can distinguish and visually recognize the first flash emission image F and the second flash emission image F. In addition, by making the required time t14 from the start of the first flash emission image F to the end of the second flash emission image F be 200 milliseconds or more, the driver blinks. In addition, at least one of the first flash emission image F and the second flash emission image F can be visualized.
In this embodiment, the light emission duration time t11 at level 2 is set to 75 milliseconds, and the light emission interval time t12 is set to 200 milliseconds to satisfy the above condition.

The first flash emission image F is emitted with a delay of a predetermined time or more from the start of the first warning sound output, and the second flash emission image F is emitted for the first warning sound output. This is performed after a predetermined time t16 has elapsed since the start.
This is due to the following reason. When driving the vehicle, the driver removes his / her line of sight from the front and checks the left and right door mirrors 8L and 8R (see FIG. 4), the Lumi mirror 9 (see FIG. 3), etc. There are cases where it must be directed. As described above, even when the level 2 warning is executed in the state of looking aside indispensable for driving, it is necessary to make the driver visually recognize the flash emission image F.

  By the way, it is said that the effective visual field of a person is 30 degrees to the left and right, including elderly people. Therefore, if the amount of deviation of the driver's line of sight from the front line of sight Gf (hereinafter referred to as a side look angle) is within 30 degrees, the flash emission image F displayed on the front side of the vehicle can be viewed. In other words, even if the flash emission image F is displayed on the front side of the vehicle when the look-ahead angle is 30 degrees or more, it cannot be visually observed.

  In a state of looking aside indispensable for driving, the driver frequently checks the safety of the left rear side of the vehicle through the door mirror 8L on the passenger seat side, and the front line of sight of the driver The amount of deviation from Gf (hereinafter referred to as a side-view angle) is also as large as about 60 degrees. Accordingly, in this embodiment, when the driver looks at the door mirror 8L on the passenger seat side and sets the look-ahead angle (60 degrees) as the maximum look-ahead angle, the level 2 warning is executed at the maximum look-ahead angle. Also, the warning sound output and the flash emission timing are set so that the driver can visually recognize the flash emission image F.

  When the warning sound is emitted, the driver knows that it is an alarm of the outside world information at that moment, so when the driver is in a state of looking aside, the driver starts changing his gaze to the front at the moment the alarm sound is recognized . Here, if the line of sight is changed 35 degrees from the side angle 60 degrees to the front side and the side angle is 25 degrees, the side angle is within 30 degrees, so the driver emits a flash emission image displayed at the front of the vehicle at that time. You should be able to see F reliably. Here, the time required for the person to rotate the eyeball by 35 degrees in order to change the line of sight by 35 degrees is 250 milliseconds even for a slow person.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the second flash emission image F is emitted after 250 milliseconds (first predetermined time) or more has elapsed from the start of the output of the first alarm sound. That is, the predetermined time t16 is set to 250 milliseconds or more. Note that the predetermined time t16 can be changed depending on the setting of the maximum look angle.

  However, if the time from the output of the first warning sound to the second virtual image display is too redundant, there is a problem that when the occupant visually recognizes the second virtual image display, the vehicle is too close to the obstacle. . Therefore, the second virtual image display is performed within a predetermined time t17 (fourth predetermined time) from the output start of the first warning sound. The predetermined time t17 is preferably set to 1 second or less, and preferably set to 500 milliseconds or less. By setting the predetermined time t17 in this way, it is possible to prevent the occupant from approaching the obstacle too much when visually recognizing the second virtual image display, and it is possible to provide an alarm output without a sense of incongruity.

  Further, even if the first flash emission image F is emitted simultaneously with the start of alarm sound output, the driver can visually recognize the second flash emission image F, but the look-ahead angle is more than 60 degrees. In the case of being small, the probability that the first flash emission image F is visually recognized is increased by delaying the emission of the first flash emission image F for a predetermined time from the start of output of the first warning sound. Therefore, the first flash emission image F is emitted with a delay of 50 milliseconds or more from the start of the output of the first alarm sound. However, if the delay time is too large, the timing at which the first flash emission image F is visually recognized will be delayed, so in this embodiment, the delay time t15 is set to 100 milliseconds. .

In level 2, by controlling the operation timing of the speaker 11 and the HUD 12 in this way, it is possible to prompt the driver to gaze forward with an alarm sound first, and further, the first flash emission image F and the second time Even in the flash emission image F, the driver can be urged to look ahead. In particular, when the driver is looking aside, the first warning sound can be used to change the driver's line of sight from the state of looking aside. F can be made visible.
By this level 2 warning, the driver performs a brake operation and steering for avoiding contact with the front obstacle.

<Level 3>
Level 3 is intended to reduce damage, and in this embodiment, the collision prediction time is applied in the range of 1.5 to 0 seconds. At level 3, an alarm sound is output from the speaker 11, and the flash emission image F is displayed by the HUD 12.
The alarm sound of the speaker 11 has a repetition frequency of 8 Hz and continues until the predicted collision time reaches 0 seconds or contact is avoided. In this embodiment, the output duration time T3 for one alarm sound at level 3 is set to 100 milliseconds as in the case of level 2. Further, the tone color of the warning sound may be the same as in the case of level 2 or may be different.

On the other hand, the flash emission by the HUD 12 is the same as that in the case of the level 2 for the emission duration t31 of 75 milliseconds, and the repetition frequency is 8 Hz and is synchronized with the alarm sound. Continue until
As described above, since the alarm sound output and the flash emission repetition frequency are changed to 5 Hz in level 2 and 8 Hz in level 3 in level 2 and level 3, the occupant can easily recognize the alarm level. .

[Other Examples]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above.
Further, the virtual image display means is not limited to HUD, and may be based on LED light emission.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the virtual image display means performs only the warning display regarding the front outside world information. However, for example, the vehicle speed display is usually used when displaying the vehicle speed or the like and displaying the warning regarding the front outside world information. Such a display may be stopped and a warning regarding the external information in the front may be displayed.

It is a block diagram in the Example of the alarm device for vehicles which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the scanning area | region of the radar in the alarm device for vehicles of an Example, and the imaging range of a camera. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of a display means in the alarm device for vehicles of an Example. It is a figure which shows a side look angle and a virtual image display position in the alarm device for vehicles of an Example. In the vehicle alarm device of an Example, it is a figure which shows the alarm level with respect to the external field information ahead, and the output pattern of an alarm sound and a virtual image display. It is a figure which shows the alarm sound of alarm level 2, and the output pattern of a virtual image display.

Explanation of symbols

1 Vehicle alarm device 11 Speaker (alarm sound output means)
12 HUD (virtual image display means)
13L, 13R Left and right alarm display (side display means)
14a In-meter display section (in-meter display means)
15 Navigation display device (navigation screen)
23 Forward warning control unit (control means)
20 Control device (information providing means)

Claims (7)

A vehicle alarm device that prompts a passenger to gaze forward using a virtual image display means for displaying a virtual image at a preset display position in a front view of the occupant and an alarm sound output means for outputting an alarm sound,
Control means for controlling the operation of the virtual image display means and the warning sound output means when an alarm output instruction is given,
The control means controls the alarm sound output means to output in the cycle is changed according to the warning sound the alarm level, performing a first round of the virtual image display after the output of the alarm sound, the output of the alarm sound A second virtual image is displayed after a lapse of a first predetermined time from the start and after a second predetermined time has elapsed since the end of the first virtual image display, and a display continuation time in each virtual image display is a third predetermined time. Controlling the virtual image display means to be less than or equal to the time ,
The first predetermined time is a time required for the occupant to turn his / her line of sight from the look-ahead state when the look-ahead angle from the sight line of the occupant is a preset maximum look-ahead angle. Vehicle warning device. Forward obstacle determination means for determining whether an object existing ahead of the vehicle is an obstacle of the vehicle;
The control means controls the virtual image display means so that the second virtual image display is performed within a fourth predetermined time from the start of output of the alarm sound , and the front obstacle determination means determines the object to be Calculate the collision prediction time until the vehicle comes into contact with the obstacle when it is determined as an obstacle,
The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the fourth predetermined time is shorter than the predicted collision time . The second predetermined time is a time during which a person can visually distinguish the first virtual image display from the second virtual image display,
3. The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the third predetermined time is a time during which a person cannot focus on the virtual image display. 4. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control so that a fifth predetermined time or more is required from the start of the first virtual image display to the end of the second virtual image display. The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1.   The vehicle alarm device according to claim 4, wherein the fifth predetermined time is equal to or longer than a time required for one blink of a person.   The control unit controls the alarm sound output by the alarm sound output unit to be 5 to 8 Hz, and displays the first virtual image display with a delay of 50 milliseconds or more from the start of the alarm sound output. The vehicle alarm device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: In-meter display means for providing information to passengers by blinking the display in the meter installed in the car,
2. The flashing of the display in the in-meter display means is stopped when an alarm sound output by the alarm sound output means is performed or when a virtual image display by the virtual image display means is performed. The vehicle alarm device according to claim 6.

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