JPH01122734A - Alarm device for preventing doze during drive of automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simply and surely prevent a drive in doze by mounting devices for recognizing white lines or the like indicating running lanes on a road surface, to a protrusion such as a door mirror or the like on an automobile, and by issuing an alarm when the white line or the like is recognized. CONSTITUTION:Devices 5 for recognizing white lines 1, 2 or the like indicating running lanes on a road surface are mounted to projections 4 such as door mirrors or the like on an automobile 3. Further, when one of the recognizing devices 5 recognizes a white line 1, 2, an electric control device 7 energizes an alarm 6 such as a buzzer or the like. With this arrangement, when the driver falls into a doze and accordingly the automobile 3 approaches one of the white lines 1, 2, extraordinarily, an alarm is at once issued so as to awake the driver and to urge him to drive safely.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention is intended to prevent accidents caused by drowsy driving on expressways when driving a car. This invention relates to a drowsiness accident prevention device that immediately issues an alarm if the driver deviates from the left or right lane markings in either direction, wakes the driver up from drowsiness, and returns to normal steering operation.

Current technology There is no good way to prevent dozing off with current technology, and future developments are considering methods such as detecting the brain waves of the human body to check whether the person is dozing off. Due to the high cost and the difficulty of attaching the device to the human body, it is considered impossible to implement it immediately.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention The present invention solves the problem that momentary drowsiness while driving can disrupt steering operation, and even on expressways, even a momentary drowsiness can cause a wide deviation in the direction of travel. If the car starts driving off to the side of the lane during this moment of drowsiness, before the car deviates from the lane. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a device that issues an alarm to wake the driver from sleep.

Means for Solving the Problem The present invention provides a recognition system that recognizes left and right white lines, including dotted lines indicating driving zone markings on roads, built into or attached to protruding objects such as fender mirrors and door mirrors protruding from the outer shell of the automobile. If the vehicle's position shifts to the right or left by more than a certain value, the device recognizes this and issues a warning to wake up the driver and allow him or her to return to normal driving. It is something.

This device can be fully effective when the white lines of traffic lanes are drawn regularly, such as on expressways. Regarding the types of white lines, there are continuous lines and dotted lines at regular intervals.Continuous lines are necessary for recognizing lines, but since cars are running at high speed, the lines between dotted lines are broken. However, the driving time during that time is extremely short, and during that time the car does not go off the line, and when the car comes to the next dotted line, it is recognized as a line again.
It has exactly the same effect as a continuous line and can issue a warning. Furthermore, in the case of the dotted line, even if a one-time alarm sounds, the alarm sound will be intermittent, but the awakening effect will be sufficient.

Furthermore, if an electric control is used to maintain the alarm when a one-way alarm sounds, it is possible to emit a continuous sound exactly the same as a continuous line.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is an image diagram of the driving state of a car on an expressway. It shows the state in which the vehicle is regularly traveling approximately in the center of the driving zone divided by continuous lines or dotted lines.
In this state, the alarm device will not operate.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the lane marking white line recognition device and warning device of the present invention when installed on an automobile, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view.

The white line recognition device consists of a light emitter that uses laser beams, infrared rays, or other light, and a light receiver for the reflected light. By incorporating it into the only protruding object, it can be installed in a location where it is easiest to recognize the white line, and it can be installed without damaging the appearance of current automobiles. In large vehicles such as trucks, as shown in Figure 4, the mirror mounting brackets extend very long, and the emitter and receiver are not built into the mirror, but instead are mounted with a suitable cover. It may be attached to this metal fitting in one piece.

The light emitter and the light receiver are usually commercially available as an integrated type, but they may be of a separate type. Also, these installations are
When the car reaches the optimal position to sound the alarm in relation to the white line,
It is necessary to determine the angle and install it so that the white line can be recognized.
The optimal position varies depending on the road conditions, the width of the vehicle, the width of the dividing strip, etc., so if possible, it is best to use an adjustable one. Equipped with a motor and controlled by remote control, it is easy to use.

An electric control device and an alarm device connected to the white line recognition device consisting of these light emitters and light receivers are installed in the driver's seat. The electric control device is provided with a power unit for operating the alarm, a remote switch for changing the angle of the white line recognition device, a power on/off switch for operating the device, etc.

As another embodiment, two white line recognition devices are installed on each side at the same time.
The first recognition device issues a first-stage warning with a small sound, and if the vehicle still does not return to its normal position, that is, if the vehicle moves further toward the white line, the second recognition device issues a first-stage warning with a small sound.
It is also possible to activate the recognition device and, as a second step, emit a loud and threatening alarm sound, increasing the arousal effect.

Furthermore, in this case, by installing two recognition devices on one side, there is also an effect of improving the reliability of white line recognition.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention provides an alarm when a vehicle traveling inside the white line indicating the driving zone suddenly starts to move toward either the left or right white line. By sounding, even if the driver momentarily falls asleep, he or she can be awakened immediately and returned to normal driving.
Helps prevent accidents caused by falling asleep on the expressway.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an image diagram showing the state of white lines on an expressway. FIG. 2 is a plan view of an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a sectional view thereof. FIG. 4 shows an installation state diagram of the recognition device when the mirror mounting bracket for a truck or the like is long. 1... Driving lane continuous line 2... Driving lane dotted line 3... Car in motion 4... Door mirror 5... White line recognition device 6... Alarm device 7... Electric control device 8... Bracket 9 for trucks etc. where the mirror mounting bracket is long ...Laser light or infrared light

Claims (1)

[Claims] A recognition device that can recognize the white lines that indicate driving zones drawn on motor vehicle roads will be installed in the fender mirrors of automobiles.
This white line recognition device can be attached to or built into a protrusion protruding from the outer shell of a car, such as a door mirror, and has an electric control device that activates an alarm such as a buzzer when it recognizes a white line. , an alarm device for preventing falling asleep while driving a car.