JP5042201B2 - Vehicle alarm device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle alarm device.

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

However, in the conventional vehicle alarm device, since the output intensity of the alarm is uniform when an object that can be an obstacle of the host vehicle is detected, the alarm may be annoying.
For example, the alarm output intensity is the same whether the alarm object is a stopped vehicle or the alarm object is an empty can, so that the passenger feels annoying the alarm at the time of the empty can.
Also, the output intensity of the alarm is the same when both the front vehicle and the subject vehicle that are the alarm target are going straight, or when the host vehicle is going straight but the front vehicle that is the target subject is turning right or left. For this reason, the passenger may feel troublesome when the vehicle ahead is turning right or left.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a vehicle alarm device that allows an occupant to recognize the intensity of an alarm by changing the output intensity of the alarm according to the degree of influence of the alarm object on the traveling of the host vehicle. is there.

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 an object detection unit that detects an object that is mounted on a vehicle and that exists in the traveling direction (for example, a radar device 2 in an embodiment described later), and an object detected by the object detection unit. An occupant based on an alarm object determination means (for example, an alarm object determination section 12 in an embodiment described later) that determines an object that affects the traveling of the vehicle as an alarm object, and the output of the alarm object determination means alarm means (for example, HUD 4 in the embodiment) for performing an alarm for a vehicle alarm system having a, a (e.g., a vehicle alarm system 1 in the embodiment), the object detecting means, the electromagnetic wave originated the senses said object by receiving the reflected waves from the object of the electromagnetic wave, the alarm object determination means, receiving the reflected wave detected by the object detecting means Said alarm object more strength is large is determined that a large fit shadow Hibikido give the traveling of the vehicle, said alarm means, influence on the running of the vehicle of the alarm object determined by said alarm object determining means as a large degree, a vehicle alarm system, characterized in that to increase the output intensity of the alarm.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a steering angle sensor that detects a steering angle of the host vehicle and a host vehicle that estimates a travel locus of the host vehicle based on a signal from the steering angle sensor. A trajectory estimation unit (for example, a vehicle trajectory estimation unit 11 in an embodiment described later), and the alarm object determination unit is estimated by the object determined as the alarm object and the vehicle trajectory estimation unit. It is determined that the greater the amount of lap with the own vehicle travel locus, the greater the influence degree of the alarm object on the travel of the own vehicle.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the invention of the first or second aspect , the alarm means displays a virtual image at a display position set in advance in the front field of view of the occupant (for example, described later). The display brightness of the virtual image is increased in accordance with an increase in the degree of influence of the alarm object on the travel of the vehicle.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the alarm means is constituted by an alarm sound output means provided in a passenger compartment, and the alarm object is provided. The volume of the alarm sound is increased in accordance with the increase in the degree of influence on the traveling of the own vehicle.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the object detection means transmits electromagnetic waves and receives reflected waves from a plurality of different directions. An object is detected, and the alarm object determination unit obtains the degree of influence of the alarm object on the travel of the vehicle based on reflected waves in a plurality of directions detected by the object detection unit.

According to the first aspect of the invention, it is determined that the greater the received intensity of the reflected wave detected by the object detection means, the greater the degree of influence of the alarm object on the traveling of the own vehicle. as the degree of influence on the running is large, it is possible to increase the output intensity of the alarm, it is possible to recognize the intensity of the alarm to the occupant, urging action appropriate to the intensity of the alarm.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the greater the amount of lap between the object determined as the alarm object and the own vehicle trajectory estimated by the own vehicle trajectory estimation unit, the greater the travel of the subject vehicle. The greater the degree of influence that the alarm object has on driving the vehicle, the greater the output intensity of the alarm, so that the passenger can recognize the intensity of the alarm and The response according to the strength can be promoted.

According to the invention of claim 3 , when the influence degree of the alarm object on the traveling of the own vehicle is large, the display brightness of the virtual image display can be increased to surely alert the occupant, and the alarm When the degree of influence of the object on the traveling of the host vehicle is small, the display brightness of the virtual image display is reduced, so that the passenger can be alerted without feeling annoyed.

According to the invention according to claim 4 , when the influence degree of the alarm object on the traveling of the own vehicle is large, the volume of the alarm sound can be increased to surely alert the occupant, and the alarm object When the degree of influence of the object on the traveling of the vehicle is small, the volume of the alarm sound is reduced, so that the passenger can be alerted without feeling annoyed.

According to the invention which concerns on Claim 5 , the influence degree with respect to driving | running | working of the own vehicle of an alarm target object can be calculated | required easily.

  Embodiments of a vehicle alarm device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings of FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicular alarm device 1. The vehicular alarm device 1 includes a radar device (object detection means) 2, a vehicle state sensor 3, and a head-up display device (virtual image display means, alarm means). 4 and a control device 10, both of which are mounted on a vehicle.
The radar device 2 detects an object by transmitting an electromagnetic wave such as a laser beam or a millimeter wave toward the front in the traveling direction of the own vehicle and receiving the reflected wave reflected by the object. And the relative speed between the object and the vehicle, the size of the object, and the like are detected, and the received intensity (decibel) is output to the control device 10 together with the detection results.
The vehicle state sensor 3 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects a vehicle speed of the host vehicle, a yaw rate sensor that detects a yaw rate generated in the host vehicle, a steering angle sensor that detects a steering angle of the host vehicle, and controls the output of each sensor. Output to the device 10.
The head-up display device (hereinafter abbreviated as HUD) 4 displays a virtual image by flash emission at a predetermined position in the driver's front field of view, and issues a warning that prompts the driver to watch forward.

The control device 10 includes a host vehicle trajectory estimation unit 11, an alarm object determination unit (alarm object determination unit) 12, and a luminance adjustment unit 13.
The own vehicle trajectory estimation unit 11 estimates the travel trajectory of the own vehicle based on the signal input from the vehicle state sensor 3 and outputs the estimated travel trajectory to the alarm object determination unit 12.

The alarm object determination unit 12 determines that the object detected by the radar device 2 based on the information about the object input from the radar device 2 and the estimated traveling locus of the own vehicle input from the own vehicle locus estimation unit 11 is the own vehicle. It is determined whether or not the vehicle exists on the estimated traveling locus of the vehicle within a predetermined distance from the vehicle. If the vehicle exists, the object is determined to be an alarm object that affects the traveling of the vehicle, and the alarm output signal is set to HUD4. Output to.
Further, the alarm object determination unit 12 detects the amount of lap between the alarm object and the estimated travel locus of the own vehicle based on the size of the object determined as the alarm object and the estimated travel locus of the own vehicle.
Furthermore, when the alarm object determination unit 12 determines that the object is an alarm object, the alarm object determination unit 12 determines the alarm object based on the reception intensity when the radar apparatus 2 receives the reflected wave from the object and the lap amount. The degree of influence of the object on the travel of the vehicle V is calculated, and an output signal corresponding to the calculated degree of influence is output to the luminance adjustment unit 13.

The luminance adjustment unit 13 determines the display luminance at the time of flash emission in the HUD 4 based on the degree of influence of the alarm target on the traveling of the host vehicle input from the alarm target determination unit 12, and outputs the display luminance to the HUD 4. The relationship between the degree of influence on the traveling of the host vehicle and the display brightness will be described in detail later.
The HUD 4 performs flash emission according to the display luminance input from the luminance adjustment unit 13 when an alarm output signal is input from the alarm object determination unit 12.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the passenger compartment when the front of the vehicle is viewed from the driver's seat, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the vehicle V.
This vehicle V is a right-hand drive vehicle, and a meter device 22 including a speedometer is installed in a portion of the instrument panel 20 that is located in front of the driver's seat 31. Thus, the meter device 22 can be visually recognized.

  In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, symbol F indicates a flash emission image displayed by the HUD 4, and the flash emission image F is a line of sight when the driver turns his / her line of sight toward the front of the vehicle as shown in FIG. , Which is referred to as a front line of sight), and is set to be displayed at a position substantially at the front end of the vehicle body as shown in FIG. That is, the driver recognizes the flash emission image F near the front end of the vehicle body through the windshield 24 slightly above the meter device 22.

Next, the relationship between the degree of influence of the alarm object on the traveling of the vehicle and the display brightness will be described.
When the electromagnetic wave transmitted from the radar apparatus 2 is reflected by an object and the reflected wave is received by the radar apparatus 2, the reception intensity at that time is related to the size of the object, and the larger the object, the higher the reception intensity.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4 (A), when the forward vehicle VT determined as the alarm object is stopped at the position of the distance L in front of the own vehicle V, and as shown in FIG. 4 (B). Compared with the case where a small empty can K determined as an alarm object is placed in front of the vehicle V at the same distance L, the reception intensity in the case of the front vehicle VT is the reception intensity in the case of the empty can K. Bigger than. And the influence degree to the driving | running | working of the own vehicle V is larger than the empty can K with the small magnitude | size of the front vehicle TV with a big magnitude | size.
Therefore, in this vehicle alarm device 1, it is determined that the greater the received intensity in the radar device 2 is, the greater the degree of influence on the traveling of the host vehicle is. Increase the alarm intensity.

Further, when the electromagnetic wave transmitted from the radar device 2 is reflected by an object existing in a plurality of different directions, and the reflected wave from the different direction reflected by each object is received by the radar device 2, the received intensity at that time is the electromagnetic wave. The reception intensity increases as the number of objects increases.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), when the forward vehicle VT determined as the alarm target is stopped at the position of the distance L in front of the own vehicle V, and as shown in FIG. 5 (B). Comparing the case where the front vehicle VT determined to be the alarm object and the pedestrian P exist in different directions in front of the vehicle V at the same distance L, the case where the front vehicle VT and the pedestrian P exist is compared. The reception intensity is larger than the reception intensity when only the forward vehicle VT exists. And the influence degree with respect to driving | running | working of the own vehicle V of a warning target object is larger when the front vehicle VT and the pedestrian P exist than when only the front vehicle VT exists.
Therefore, in this vehicular alarm device 1, it is determined that the degree of influence on the traveling of the own vehicle increases as the reception intensity in the radar device 2 increases, and the display luminance of the flash emission image F is increased as the degree of influence on the traveling of the own vehicle increases. Increase the intensity of the alarm.

That is, when the reception intensity is low and the degree of influence on the traveling of the host vehicle V is small, a warning for urging the driver to watch forward by reducing the display brightness of the flash emission image F as shown in FIG. Try not to feel it.
When the reception intensity is slightly increased and the degree of influence on the traveling of the host vehicle V is slightly large, as shown in FIG. 3 (B), the display luminance of the flash emission image F is slightly higher than that in FIG. 3 (A). Raise the height to ensure that the driver is alerted to an alarm prompting the driver to look ahead.
Further, when the reception intensity is extremely high and the degree of influence on the traveling of the host vehicle V is very large, as shown in FIG. Let them know that you need them.

Further, it is determined that the greater the amount of lap between the alarm object detected by the alarm object determination unit 12 and the estimated travel locus of the own vehicle, the greater the degree of influence of the alarm object on the travel of the own vehicle. It is also possible to increase the intensity of the alarm by increasing the display brightness of the flash emission image F as the degree of influence on the travel of the vehicle increases. In this way, when the host vehicle goes straight but the front vehicle, which is an alarm target, is turning right or left, the amount of lap is small, so it is determined that the degree of influence of the front vehicle on the travel of the host vehicle is small. Thus, since the display brightness of the flash emission image F is reduced, the driver does not have to feel bothered by the flash emission image.
Further, the degree of influence of the alarm object on the travel of the own vehicle may be obtained based on both the reception intensity of the radar device 2 and the lap amount between the alarm object and the estimated travel locus of the own vehicle. .

  As described above, in the vehicular alarm device 1, the display luminance of the flash emission image F is changed in accordance with the degree of influence of the alarm object on the traveling of the host vehicle, so that the driver can recognize the intensity of the alarm. Can do. And when the influence degree with respect to driving | running | working of the own vehicle is large, while increasing the display brightness | luminance of the flash light emission image F, while being able to urge the driver | operator to look forward ahead reliably, the response | compatibility (in other words, The driver can be urged to respond according to the degree of urgency. In addition, when the degree of influence on the traveling of the host vehicle is small, the display brightness of the flash emission image F is reduced, so that the driver can be alerted without feeling annoyed.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above.
For example, in the embodiment described above, the alarm means is composed of a virtual image display means composed of HUD, and the display brightness of the virtual image display is increased in accordance with the increase in the degree of influence of the alarm object on the traveling of the vehicle. The number of display times of virtual image display (for example, the number of flash emission times) may be increased in accordance with an increase in the degree of influence of the object on the travel of the vehicle. Furthermore, both the display luminance and the number of times of display may be changed according to an increase in the degree of influence of the alarm object on the traveling of the host vehicle.

Alternatively, the alarm means is constituted by an alarm sound output means such as a speaker provided in the passenger compartment of the own vehicle, and the volume or sound pressure of the alarm sound is increased in accordance with an increase in the degree of influence of the alarm object on the running of the own vehicle. It is also possible to make it. Also in this case, when the degree of influence of the alarm object on the traveling of the own vehicle is large, the volume of the alarm sound can be increased to surely alert the occupant, and the traveling of the alarm object on the own vehicle When the degree of influence on the vehicle is small, it is possible to alert the passenger without making the passenger feel annoyed by reducing the volume of the warning sound.
Further, the alarm means is configured by combining the virtual image display means and the alarm sound output means, and the display brightness of the virtual image display, the number of times of display, and the alarm sound are changed according to the degree of influence of the alarm object on the traveling of the vehicle. May be.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the description has been given in the form in which only one radar device as the object detection means is mounted on the vehicle. However, even when a plurality of radar devices having different scanning directions are mounted on the vehicle, The invention is valid. In that case, the degree of influence of the alarm object on the traveling of the host vehicle may be obtained based on the reception intensity obtained by adding the reception intensity of all the radar devices. Or you may make it obtain | require the influence degree with respect to driving | running | working of the own vehicle of a warning target object based on the number of the radar apparatuses determined as a warning target object, In that case, the number of radar apparatuses determined as a warning target object is It can be determined that the greater the number, the greater the degree of influence of the alarm object on the travel of the vehicle.

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 display position of the flash light emission image when it sees through a windshield from a driver's seat in an Example. It is a top view of a vehicle, and is a figure explaining a difference in display brightness at the time of flash emission. It is a figure which shows an example of the difference in receiving intensity. It is a figure which shows the other example of the difference in receiving intensity.

Explanation of symbols

1 Vehicle warning device 2 Radar device (object detection means)
4 HUD (virtual image display means, warning means)
12 Alarm object judgment part (alarm object judgment means)

Claims (5)

An object detection means for detecting an object mounted on the vehicle and existing in the traveling direction;
Alarm object determination means for determining an object that affects the traveling of the vehicle from among the objects detected by the object detection means as an alarm object;
Warning means for warning a passenger based on the output of the warning object determination means;
A vehicle alarm device comprising:
The object detection means detects an object by transmitting an electromagnetic wave and receiving a reflected wave from the object of the electromagnetic wave,
It said alarm object determination means, as the alarm object reception intensity is greater of the reflected wave detected by the object detecting means determines that fit Hibikido shadow gives the traveling of the vehicle is large,
The vehicle alarm device, wherein the alarm means increases the output intensity of the alarm as the influence degree of the alarm object on the traveling of the own vehicle determined by the alarm object determination means increases . A rudder angle sensor for detecting the rudder angle of the vehicle,
A vehicle trajectory estimation unit that estimates a travel trajectory of the vehicle based on a signal from the rudder angle sensor;
The warning object determination means determines the degree of influence of the warning object on the traveling of the vehicle as the lap amount between the object determined as the warning object and the vehicle traveling locus estimated by the own vehicle locus estimating unit increases. The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle alarm device is determined to be large . Said alarm means is constituted by a virtual image display means for displaying a virtual image at a preset display position in the passenger's forward field of view, said virtual image in accordance with an increase in the degree of influence with respect to the running of the vehicle of the alarm object vehicle alarm system according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that to increase the display brightness. The alarm means is constituted by an alarm sound output means provided in a vehicle interior, and increases the volume of the alarm sound according to an increase in the degree of influence of the alarm object on the traveling of the host vehicle. The vehicle alarm device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The object detection means detects an object by transmitting electromagnetic waves and receiving reflected waves from a plurality of different directions,
The said warning target object determination means calculates | requires the influence degree with respect to driving | running | working of the own vehicle of the said warning target object based on the reflected wave of the several direction detected by the said object detection means. 5. The vehicle alarm device according to any one of 4 above.

Images