JPH07262499A - Obstacle alarm device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the obstacle alarm device of a vehicle where the alarm in an unnecessary status is reduced as much as possible, the alarm is surely enabled in a truly necessary status and an alarm effect is improved. CONSTITUTION:The radius Re of the relative estimated running curve of a present vehicle is calculated by defining an obstacle as a reference, a prescribed alarm area WA 1 is set based on the radius Re and the vehicle width data of the present vehicle, and when the obstacle exists in the alarm area WA 1 for prescribed time, an alarm processing is performed. Because a steering sensor and a yaw rate sensor are unnecessitated for judging whether the present vehicle rotates or not, a system where the constitution is simple and cost is reduced can be constructed. When the curve radius Re is estimated, also the error caused by each of the horizontal direction resolution of the sensors, reflection dispersion and a scanning area can be appropriately canceled, the proper alarm area WA 1 can be set, an erroneous alarm is eliminated as a result and they contribute to the realizing of the sure alarm in a truly necessary status.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention suitably issues an alarm, for example, when it is expected that there is a risk of a rear-end collision, based on the positional relationship between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle or other obstacles and the approaching state. The present invention relates to an obstacle warning device for a vehicle for preventing accidents.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when it is expected that there is a danger of a rear-end collision, the distance between vehicles is detected by irradiating laser light or radio waves and detecting the time until the reflected light or reflected wave from the preceding vehicle returns. There is known an alarm device for issuing an alarm to.

[0003] When an alarm is required, the object is a stopped object such as a vehicle approaching in front of the vehicle lane, or a vehicle in front of the vehicle lane decelerates or approaches the vehicle. There are two ways, one is for a moving object such as when a low-speed vehicle cuts into its own lane.
Hereinafter, the alarms for them will be referred to as a stationary object alarm and a moving object alarm as necessary.

As described above, when the alarm is required for the moving object alarm, it is considered that a vehicle ahead of the own lane decelerates and approaches, or a vehicle slower than the own vehicle enters the own lane. To be Then, (1) For a vehicle in front of the own lane, an alarm may be given to a vehicle that continues in front of the own lane as shown in FIG. 20A. There is no need to give an alarm to those going out to other lanes because they will not collide. (2) For an interrupting vehicle, as shown in FIG. 20 (c), it suffices to give an alarm to a vehicle that comes in immediately before the own vehicle, and as shown in FIG. 20 (d), it interrupts at a distance from the own vehicle. It is not necessary to immediately give an alarm to an object.

As described above, there is a characteristic as an alarm for an obstacle, but in order to realize such an alarm, it is necessary to know the position of the obstacle including the preceding vehicle and its relative speed. Examples of the method for estimating the position and the relative speed include JP-A-5-180933 and JP-A-5-180934. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-180934, the moving direction and the moving amount are calculated based on the previous data and the current data of the position data of the obstacle detected by the distance measuring unit, and the relative speed calculated from the moving amount. And a method for calculating the relative velocity thereof are disclosed, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
No. 180933 discloses a method of estimating the position of an obstacle after a predetermined time based on the relative velocity and the relative velocity vector determined from the relative velocity and the moving direction.

[0006]

However, if the relative position and relative speed of the obstacle are simply known, the accurate judgment cannot be made when the obstacle alarm for avoiding the collision is used. Especially when the vehicle is turning, it is difficult to determine whether there is a risk of collision or not. For example, in the case where both the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle are traveling straight ahead, if the relative position and relative speed of the obstacle are known, the straight-line inter-vehicle distance is used as a reference, or as in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-180933. If the position of the obstacle after a predetermined time is estimated based on the velocity and the relative velocity vector, it is present in front of the own vehicle, so it is possible to judge whether or not there is a risk of a rear-end collision. Effects may occur.

On the other hand, for example, when the vehicle is traveling on a curved road, it is not possible to make an accurate determination based on the straight inter-vehicle distance even if the relative position of the obstacle is known. In particular,
On roads with multiple lanes, even if they are relatively close in a straight distance, they will not collide with vehicles running in the adjacent lane, and conversely, if there are stopped vehicles on the same lane even if they are relatively far, It is in a high probability of collision. Therefore, even if the position of the obstacle after a predetermined time is simply estimated as in JP-A-5-180933, it is not possible to determine whether or not the estimated position is on the travel line of the host vehicle.

Therefore, an erroneous alarm is inevitably given, that is, an alarm is often issued although it is not necessary originally. Therefore, the present invention sets an alarm area in consideration of the relative movement state between the obstacle and the own vehicle based on the relative position data of the obstacle, so that the alarm can be surely issued in a truly necessary situation and in an unnecessary situation. It is an object of the present invention to provide an obstacle warning device for a vehicle, in which the number of warnings is reduced as much as possible and the warning effect in a truly necessary situation is further improved.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 scans and irradiates a transmission wave or laser light in a predetermined angle range in the vehicle width direction, and reflects from an obstacle. Distance measuring means capable of detecting the distance (L) between the own vehicle and the obstacle corresponding to the scan angle (θ) based on the waves or the reflected light, and the distance (L) detected by the distance measuring means and Relative position calculation means for calculating the relative position (X, Y) of the obstacle with respect to the host vehicle based on the corresponding scan angle (θ), and at least for the same obstacle calculated by the relative position calculation means. Based on the relative position data (X, Y) of two points, the radius (Re) of the estimated traveling curve of the own vehicle relative to the obstacle
Radius calculating means for calculating the radius, the alarm area setting means for setting a predetermined alarm area (WA1) based on the radius (Re) calculated by the radius calculating means and the vehicle width data of the own vehicle, and the alarm area. An obstacle warning device for a vehicle, comprising: (WA1) an alarm processing unit that performs a predetermined alarm process when the obstacle exists for a predetermined time.

The obstacles include vehicles running ahead, stopped vehicles and roadside guardrails.
An object such as an electric pole that is an obstacle in the traveling destination of the own vehicle is applicable. Further, the invention according to claim 2 is the obstacle warning device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the radius calculating means obtains relative position data (X, Y) of three or more points for the same obstacle, For example, the radius (Re) of the relative estimated travel curve of the own vehicle is calculated based on the two points corrected by the least square method or the like.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the obstacle warning device for a vehicle according to the first aspect, relative position data (X, X, at least two points for the same obstacle calculated by the relative position calculating means is used. Based on Y), if the obstacle is present in a predetermined front area of the host vehicle and the relative movement amount of the obstacle in the vehicle width direction of the host vehicle is less than or equal to a predetermined value, go straight ahead. A straight-line state quasi-means that quasi-states,
In the case where the straight traveling state is assumed to be in a straight traveling state, the radius calculating means estimates the radius (Re) to be infinite without performing a normal radius calculating process, and the alarm area setting means A predetermined warning area (WA1) based on the estimated infinite radius (Re) and the vehicle width data of the vehicle.
It is characterized by setting.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the obstacle warning device for a vehicle according to the first aspect, even a part of the obstacle is moved from within a predetermined angle range scannable by the distance measuring means to outside the predetermined angle range. When moving relative to each other, the relative position (X, Y) of the obstacle in the relative position calculating means is set to the end on the side closer to the own vehicle in the obstacle before moving out of the predetermined angle range. It is characterized in that it is calculated as position data corresponding to a copy.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the obstacle warning device for a vehicle according to the first aspect, the width of the obstacle recognized based on the relative position data corresponds to a predetermined vehicle width, Further, in the case where it is equivalent to one side width of the reflector arranged in the vehicle, the radius calculation method of the estimated travel curve is changed according to the occupancy ratio of the data corresponding to the one side width of the reflector to all data. According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the obstacle warning device for a vehicle according to the first aspect, the vehicle speed detection means for detecting the traveling speed (V) of the vehicle and the relative position calculated by the relative position calculation means. Based on the relative speed calculation means for calculating the relative speed (Vr) of the obstacle to the own vehicle based on the position data, and the traveling speed (V) of the own vehicle and the relative speed (Vr) of the obstacle. , A movement determination means for determining whether or not the obstacle is in a moving state, and the alarm processing based on the alarm area (WA1) when the movement determination means determines that the obstacle is in a moving state. Even when the predetermined warning process by the means is not performed, the predetermined warning process is performed when the same obstacle exists for a predetermined time in the predetermined warning auxiliary area (WA2) set with the own vehicle as a reference. And a second alarm processing means for performing.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the obstacle warning device for a vehicle according to the sixth aspect, the predetermined alarm auxiliary area is assumed to be based on the host vehicle and also in consideration of the road shape. It is characterized in that it is variably set based on the standard vehicle speed.

[0015]

According to the vehicle obstacle warning device of the present invention having the above structure, the distance measuring means has the transmitted wave or laser light (hereinafter referred to as "laser light or the like") within a predetermined angular range in the vehicle width direction. Scan and irradiate, and based on the reflected wave or reflected light (hereinafter referred to as "reflected light") from the obstacle,
The distance (L) between the host vehicle and the obstacle is detected in correspondence with the scan angle (θ), and the relative position calculation means, based on the detected distance (L) and the corresponding scan angle (θ), The relative position (X, Y) of the obstacle with respect to the host vehicle is calculated.

Then, based on the relative position data (X, Y) of at least two points for the same obstacle calculated by the relative position calculating means, the radius calculating means makes the relative position of the own vehicle with respect to the obstacle. The radius (Re) of the estimated running curve is calculated, and the warning area setting means sets a predetermined warning area (WA1) based on the radius (Re) calculated by the radius calculating means and the vehicle width data of the own vehicle. To do. Then, when an obstacle exists in the alarm area (WA1) for a predetermined time, the alarm processing means performs a predetermined alarm process.

The distance measuring means of the present invention can detect the distance (L) between the host vehicle and the obstacle in a predetermined angle range in the vehicle width direction in correspondence with the scan angle (θ). By using the scanning method in this way, it is possible to capture a wide range of objects and reduce the loss of sight on the curve.
Since the lateral movement of the object can be grasped, false alarms can be reduced together with the alarm processing described below, and the alarm performance can be improved.

Particularly in a curve, an appropriate alarm can be given by calculating a radius (Re) of a relative estimated running curve of the own vehicle based on the obstacle and calculating the radius (Re) and the vehicle of the own vehicle. Predetermined alarm area (WA1) based on width data
Is set so that a predetermined warning process is performed when an obstacle exists in the warning area (WA1) for a predetermined time.

The calculated radius (Re) is, for example, the radius of the estimated traveling curve of the own vehicle when the obstacle is a stationary object, and is the moving object when the obstacle is a moving object.
It is the radius of the relative estimated traveling curve of the own vehicle when considering the moving obstacle as a reference. Therefore, even when the host vehicle is traveling straight ahead, the estimated travel curve is generated when, for example, a low-speed preceding vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane cuts in front of the host vehicle.

Here, the radius (Re) calculation will be described taking the case where the obstacle is a stationary object as an example. At the curve, the stationary object approaches the vehicle along a circular path. Since the stationary object itself does not move, the estimated traveling curve radius (Re) of the own vehicle can be obtained only from the relative position to the own vehicle.
In FIG. 21 (a), the vehicle position is the origin and the vehicle width direction is X.
The relative position of the stationary object is shown on the X and Y coordinates with the axis and the front-back direction as the Y axis. Since the points A and B, which are relative positions of the stationary object, are concentric with the curve radius (Re) and the curve center point C is on the X axis, the triangle ABC is AC =
It becomes an isosceles triangle that is BC. Therefore, 2 of points A and B
This curve radius (Re) can be determined from the point data.

The alarm area (WA1) is the radius (R
Although it is set based on e) and the vehicle width data of the own vehicle, it is necessary to set a region having a width equal to at least the vehicle width. However, if the width is equal to the vehicle width, contact may occur in reality, so it is desirable to set with a predetermined margin.
In addition, in the case of straight traveling, if radius (Re) = infinity, the same can be applied. FIG. 21B shows a case of a roadside body that does not collide, and FIG. 21C shows a case of a stopped vehicle that collides. In the case of FIG. 21B, the roadside body is outside the warning area (WA1), so that the warning process is not performed because it does not collide. On the other hand, in the case of FIG. 21 (c), the stopped vehicle is in the warning area (WA1), and therefore the warning process is performed assuming that the vehicle collides.

Also, when the obstacle is a moving object, the curve radius calculation method applied to the stationary object can be applied as it is. The meaning of the curve radius (Re) in this case is the radius of the relative estimated traveling curve of the host vehicle when considering the obstacle as a reference. FIG. 22A shows the behaviors a and b of the vehicle ahead of the own lane, and FIG. 22B shows the estimated curve in that case. Similarly, FIG.
Indicates the behavior c, d, e, f of the interrupting vehicle, and (d)
Indicates an estimated curve in that case. In this way, even when the obstacle is a moving object, the curve radius is estimated, the alarm area (WA1) is calculated as in the case of the stationary object, and the obstacle exists in the alarm area (WA1) for a predetermined time. By determining whether or not to do so, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not there is a risk of collision with the obstacle.

In particular, on a road having a plurality of lanes, a vehicle running in an adjacent lane does not collide even if it is relatively close, and conversely, a stopped vehicle exists in the same lane even if it is relatively far. For example, there is a high possibility of collision, but if the judgment is made only by the straight line distance or simply by the estimated moving position of the obstacle after a predetermined time as in the conventional case, they cannot be distinguished. Therefore, in consideration of safety, it is necessary to set the worst state within the conceivable range so that an alarm is always issued in a dangerous state. Will be executed. This is likely to dilute the warning effect in truly needed situations.

On the other hand, as described above, in the case of the present invention, the warning area (WA1) is set based on the relative estimated traveling area of the own vehicle when considering the obstacle as a reference. If the alarm process is performed only when the alarm area (WA1) is present for a moment, the number of alarms in a situation that is not originally necessary increases. Therefore, by performing the alarm process only when the alarm exists for a predetermined time, In addition to being able to reliably issue alarms in truly necessary situations, it is possible to reduce alarms in unnecessary situations as much as possible.

Further, whether or not the host vehicle is turning can be detected by a steering sensor or a yaw rate sensor, but the present invention does not require these steering sensor or yaw rate sensor, so that the structure is simple. In addition, a low cost system can be constructed.

Further, as described in claim 2, the radius calculating means, based on the two points obtained by correcting the relative position data (X, Y) of three or more points for the same obstacle by the least square method or the like, Radius of estimated relative running curve of own vehicle (R
By calculating e), the error can be reduced and more accurate radius calculation can be performed.

In principle, the curve radius (Re) can be estimated based on the two relative positions of the obstacle. However, there is a possibility that the calculated relative position may include an error due to a change in reflection from an obstacle such that the reflector at the rear of the preceding vehicle can be seen on both the left and right sides, or only one side is visible, which causes variations. . Therefore, by correcting the relative position data of three or more points by the method of least squares or the like, the above variations are absorbed and a more accurate radius (Re) is obtained.
That is, the calculation, that is, the more appropriate alarm area (WA1) can be set.

On the other hand, the obstacle warning device according to the third aspect of the present invention pretends that the vehicle is in a straight-ahead state in a certain predetermined situation, so that the warning is not issued even though the situation should be warned. From a point of view, the feature is that it avoids fatal misjudgment. That is, the straight traveling state quasi-means has the relative position data (X, Y) of at least two points for the same obstacle calculated by the relative position calculating means.
Based on the above, if an obstacle is present in a predetermined front area of the host vehicle and the relative amount of movement of the obstacle in the vehicle width direction of the host vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined value, it is assumed to be a straight traveling state. . Then, when it is assumed that the vehicle is in the straight traveling state, the radius calculation means does not perform the normal radius calculation processing, and the radius (Re)
Is assumed to be infinity, and the warning area setting means sets a predetermined warning area (WA1) based on the estimated infinite radius (Re) and the vehicle width data of the host vehicle.

The above-mentioned situation example of "not warning even though there should be a warning" will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 23 (a). The distance measuring unit scans and irradiates a laser beam or the like in the vehicle width direction, and based on the reflected light or the like from the obstacle, the distance (L) between the own vehicle and the obstacle is scanned by the scan angle (θ).
It has been described that the detection is performed corresponding to and the relative position (X, Y) of the obstacle based on them is calculated. An error occurs due to the resolution in the vehicle width direction.

For example, in FIG. 23 (a), the four broken lines are the beam boundaries of the laser light (beam), and the solid lines at the center of each are the positions after the beam is quantized.
Then, in reality, even if there is a stopping object that approaches the vehicle almost linearly and collides with it as it is, it will be detected as the next beam quantized position because it just crossed the beam boundary a little. Therefore, there is a possibility that the curve will not collide with the own vehicle if estimated from the relative position data. The solution to this problem is to increase the resolution to a very high level, but in addition to the complicated structure and high cost, there are many cases in which accurate alarms can be issued without requiring such high resolution. Since the relative position data of is taken in, the calculation becomes complicated and the determination itself is delayed.

Therefore, as a countermeasure against this, as shown in FIG. 23B, when an obstacle is present in a predetermined front area of the vehicle and the relative amount of movement in the vehicle width direction is small. Assumed that he was going straight without calculating the curve radius. By doing so, it is possible to avoid a fatal misjudgment from a safety point of view that the alarm is not issued even though the alarm should be issued. It should be noted that the determination as to whether or not the vehicle is present in a predetermined front area of the vehicle is, for example, in FIG.
If it is within a predetermined front step (three steps in this case) of the laser beam or the like to be scanned, it may be determined as the front area.

Further, the obstacle warning device according to the fourth aspect eliminates an error caused by the scanning area of the distance measuring means, and gives an erroneous warning mainly to an obstacle which should not normally collide. It is the one that tries to cancel the thing. That is, when a part of the obstacle is relatively moved from within the predetermined angle range that can be scanned by the distance measuring means to outside the range, before moving out of the predetermined angle range, the obstacle in the relative position calculating means is moved. The relative position (X, Y) is calculated as position data corresponding to the end of the obstacle on the side closer to the host vehicle.

In order to understand the problem caused by the error caused by the above scanning area and its countermeasure more concretely,
The following description will proceed with reference to FIG. For example, in the case of detecting a front vehicle as an obstacle, it is often the case that the light reflected from a reflector arranged at the rear of the front vehicle is used.

When a forward vehicle goes out of the scanning region SR such as when passing a stopped vehicle or a slow vehicle, the state in which the left and right reflectors are visible changes to the state in which only one reflector is visible. Therefore, FIG.
As shown in (a), the actual center of the forward vehicle moves in parallel with the host vehicle as indicated by the black circle (●) in the figure, but the center detected by the distance measuring means is As indicated by the white circle (○), it is erroneously estimated that the curve is toward your vehicle, and if you set an alarm area from that data, it is determined that a collision will occur with a vehicle in front of you, which is an obstacle. It does.

However, when the forward vehicle, which is an obstacle, goes out of the scanning area SR, the inside reflector (the reflector near the own vehicle) is kept until all of the outside of the area.
Is still visible. Therefore, as a countermeasure, in order to keep looking at the inner reflector (as shown in FIG. 24B, based on the relative position data of the end portion closer to the own vehicle rather than the object center, that is, the inner edge portion, It is possible to prevent the false estimation of the curve radius and prevent false alarms.

The invention as set forth in claim 5 is intended to eliminate an error caused by, for example, a reflector provided at a rear portion of a vehicle being dirty, and the width of the recognized obstacle. Is a predetermined vehicle width and one side width of the reflector disposed on the vehicle, the radius of the estimated travel curve is calculated by the occupancy ratio of the data corresponding to the one side width of the reflector to all the data. Change it.

To supplement the error caused by the dirt on the reflector, there is a case where the reflector of the front vehicle is dirty and only one side of the left and right reflectors can be seen. Even in such a case, the estimation of the curve radius is erroneous. There is a risk of false alarm. Therefore, for example, when the occupation ratio of the data corresponding to one side width of the reflector to all the data is small, the curve radius is estimated without using the data, and when the occupation ratio is large, the curve radius is estimated from the edge of the object. Conceivable.

On the other hand, according to the obstacle warning device of the sixth aspect, the own vehicle speed detecting means detects the traveling speed (V) of the own vehicle, and the relative speed calculating means calculates the relative position calculating means. The relative speed (Vr) of the obstacle with respect to the own vehicle is calculated based on the relative position data. Then, the movement determination means determines whether or not the obstacle is in the moving state based on the traveling speed (V) of the host vehicle and the relative speed (Vr) of the obstacle, and determines that the obstacle is in the moving state. In this case, even if the second warning processing means does not perform the predetermined warning processing by the warning processing means based on the warning area (WA1), the predetermined warning set based on the host vehicle is set. When the same obstacle exists within the warning auxiliary area (WA2) for a predetermined time, a predetermined warning process is performed.

In the above claim 1, it has been stated that the same alarm processing can be applied to a stationary object and a moving object. However, in the case of a moving object, as shown in FIG. 20 (c), for example, it may interrupt immediately before the host vehicle, and in that case, it is necessary to quickly perform an alarm process.
For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-180933 shown in the related art, the position of an obstacle after a predetermined time is estimated based on the relative velocity of the obstacle and the relative velocity vector based on a plurality of position data. It takes time to calculate the relative velocity and the relative velocity vector. Then, the collision determination may be delayed, and it may not be possible to avoid the collision.

On the other hand, in the case of the sixth aspect, even if the alarm processing based on the alarm area (WA1) set after the calculation of the curve radius described in the first aspect is not performed, When the same obstacle exists within a predetermined warning auxiliary area (WA2) set based on the host vehicle for a predetermined time, a predetermined warning process is performed. In this way, it is not necessary to perform a complicated calculation such as calculation of a direction vector or the like related to a change in relative position data or setting an alarm area each time based on the data, and it is simply the same as the preset alarm auxiliary area (WA2). Since it is only necessary to judge whether or not an obstacle is present for a predetermined time, quick alarm processing can be performed, and collision avoidance can be made more reliable.

With respect to the setting of the warning auxiliary area (WA2), a standard assumed in consideration of the road shape is set as described in claim 7 so as not to give a false warning to a vehicle traveling in another lane. It is advisable to variably set based on the vehicle speed. The road shape is, for example, the lane width or the curve radius of the road. To be specific, in the case of an expressway, the lane width is relatively wide and the curve is gentle relative to an ordinary road (the radius of the steepest curve is set to about 300 m). And for general roads, or even for general roads according to the situation. In other words, the standard speed assumed in consideration of the road shape is generally high on highways and low on sharp curves on general roads. It is possible to set a more appropriate alarm auxiliary area without giving a false alarm to the traveling vehicle.

Even when the alarm assistance area is changed by the standard speed assumed in consideration of the road shape in this way, if the numerical values for the area setting for each standard speed are stored, those values are stored. You can easily set the area just by reading it.

[0043]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an obstacle warning device for a vehicle which is an embodiment of the present invention will be described. This obstacle warning device 1
It is a device that is mounted on a vehicle and that captures an object in front of the vehicle and outputs an alarm and notifies the driver when an obstacle exists in a region to be alarmed in a predetermined situation.

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram thereof.
The obstacle warning device 1 is mainly composed of a controller 3. The controller 3 mainly includes a microcomputer and includes an input / output interface (I / O) and various drive circuits and detection circuits. Since these hardware configurations are general ones, detailed description will be omitted.

The controller 3 inputs predetermined detection data from the scanning range finder 5, the vehicle speed sensor 7, the brake switch 9, and the throttle opening sensor 11. Further, the controller 3 outputs a predetermined drive signal to the alarm sound generator 13, the distance indicator 15, the sensor abnormality indicator 17, the brake driver 19, the throttle driver 21, and the automatic transmission controller 23.

Further, the controller 3 is provided with an alarm sensitivity setting device 25 and an alarm volume setting device 27, and reflects the settings in the alarm volume and the processing described later. Further, the controller 3 includes a power switch 29, and when it is turned “on”, a predetermined process is started. Here, the scanning range finder 5 includes a transmission / reception unit 31 and a distance / angle calculation unit 33.
From the front to the front of the vehicle by scanning the laser light in the range of a predetermined angle within a predetermined range to output and detect the reflected light, and based on the time until the reflected light is captured by the distance / angle calculation unit 33. Is a device for detecting the distance of. Since such a device is already well known, detailed description thereof will be omitted. Further, instead of using laser light, radio waves such as microwaves or ultrasonic waves may be used.

The controller 3 thus configured has a function of issuing an alarm when an obstacle is present in a predetermined alarm area described later for a predetermined time. As the obstacle, a front vehicle traveling in front of the own vehicle, a front vehicle stopped, or an object on the roadside (guardrail, pillar, etc.), or the like is applicable.

Further, the brake driver 19, the throttle driver 21 and the automatic transmission controller 23 of FIG. 1 may be omitted, but in the present embodiment, these are provided to adjust the vehicle speed according to the situation of the preceding vehicle. At the same time, so-called cruise control for controlling is performed. FIG. 2 shows a control block diagram of the controller 3. Distance / angle calculation unit 3 of scanning rangefinder 5
The data of the distance L and the scan angle θ output from 3 is set to the origin (0, 0) of the own vehicle by the coordinate conversion block 41.
Is converted into XY Cartesian coordinates. If the value of the conversion result indicates an abnormal range, the sensor abnormality detection block 43 displays a message to that effect on the sensor abnormality display 17.

The XY Cartesian coordinates are the object recognition block 45.
Recognition type, object width W, object center position coordinates (X, Y)
Is required. The recognition type is for recognizing whether the object is a stationary object or a moving object. Based on the center position of the object, the distance display object selection block 47 selects an object that affects traveling, and the distance is displayed by the distance display 15.

The vehicle speed (own vehicle speed) V output from the vehicle speed calculation block 49 based on the detected value of the vehicle speed sensor 7
Then, based on the center position of the object, the relative speed calculation block 51 obtains the relative speed Vr of the obstacle such as the preceding vehicle with reference to the own vehicle position. Furthermore, based on the vehicle speed and the center position of the object, the acceleration of the preceding vehicle is calculated in the preceding vehicle acceleration calculation block 53 with reference to the own vehicle position.

Then, the alarm determination and cruise determination block 55 determines the vehicle speed, front vehicle relative speed, front vehicle acceleration, object center position, object width, recognition type, brake switch 9 output, throttle opening sensor 11 output. Based on the opening degree and the sensitivity setting value by the alarm sensitivity setting device 25, it is determined whether or not to issue an alarm if the determination is an alarm, and the content of vehicle speed control is determined if the determination is a cruise. If an alarm is required, the result is output to the alarm sound generator 13 via the volume adjusting block 57 as an alarm generation signal. The volume adjustment block 57 is based on the set value of the alarm volume setting device 27 and outputs the alarm sound generator 1.
The output volume of 3 is controlled. If the cruise determination is made, a control signal is output to the automatic transmission controller 23, the brake driver 19 and the throttle driver 21 to carry out necessary control.

Next, of the warning judgment and cruise judgment blocks 55, warning judgment / warning will be mainly described based on a flowchart. Incidentally, the cruise determination is not directly related to the present invention, and therefore its explanation is omitted. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the alarm process. This process is the power switch 2
When 9 is turned on, the process is repeated. First, object recognition is performed and the result is determined (step 1000; hereinafter, the step is simply referred to as S). This object recognition is to determine whether the object in front is a stationary object or a moving object based on the result of scanning the object in front.

Specifically, the object recognition block 45 determines them based on the vehicle speed and the relative speed. Then, based on this result, if the object is a stationary object, the process proceeds to a stationary object warning process (S2000), and if the object is a moving object, the process proceeds to a moving object alarm process (S3000). First, the stationary object warning process (S2000) will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, stop object warning distance calculation (S2100)
Is done. A supplementary note about this stationary object warning distance.

It is basically desirable to give a warning to the stopped object warning distance with a margin to stop the stopped object, but there is a restriction on the detection capability of the sensor and the judgment of the collision, so that the stopped object is stopped. Even if the object alarm distance is lengthened uniformly, it may not be practically useful. Therefore, in the low-speed traveling range (for example, 60 km / h or less), the distance that can be normally braked and stopped is defined as the stopped object warning distance, and in the high-speed alarm range higher than 60 km / h, the distance that can be strongly braked and stopped is stopped. It is set as the object alarm distance.

The stop object warning distance is determined in consideration of two items, that is, the reaction time when the driver of the own vehicle applies the brake and the strength when the driver of the own vehicle applies the brake. With respect to the above, a predetermined reaction time is required from when the driver intends to apply the brake to when the driver actually presses the brake, and the running distance traveled during this time depends on the reaction time and the vehicle speed. In addition, with regard to, the distance traveled from when the driver brakes until when the driver actually stops depends on the strength when the driver brakes and the vehicle speed.

There are individual differences in stopping distance depending on the driver. In order to consider such a sense of danger peculiar to the driver, the driver himself / herself can set the sensitivity through the alarm sensitivity setting device 25 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) as to how far the alarm should be issued. There is.

Subsequently, the distance between the host vehicle and the obstacle (inter-vehicle distance) is compared with the stopped object warning distance calculated in S2100 (S2200). Then, when the inter-vehicle distance is less than or equal to the stationary object warning distance, collision determination is performed (S230).
0). Here, the collision determination process will be described with reference to FIG. First, the curve radius is estimated (S2310), the alarm area is set based on the curve radius (S2330),
A collision determination is made (2350), and this processing ends.
Depending on the result of this determination, that is, "collision" or "no collision", false alarm countermeasure 1 or S in S2400 in FIG.
The process shifts to the false alarm countermeasure 2 of 2600.

First, the details of the curve radius estimation process of S2310 of the collision determination process of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG. In this curve radius estimation processing, three types of error countermeasures are performed based on the data of the lateral position of the recognition object (corresponding to the vehicle width direction → X coordinate).

The first measure against the error is against the error caused by the lateral resolution of the sensor. The problem is that the relative position data including the error, as described in the above "Operation" with reference to FIG. According to the estimation, there is a possibility that even if there is a stationary object that approaches the own vehicle in a nearly straight line and collides with it as it is, it is a curve that does not collide with the own vehicle. . As a measure for compensating for this, as shown in FIG. 23 (b), when an obstacle is present in a predetermined front area of the vehicle and the relative movement amount in the vehicle width direction is small, the curve It assumes that the vehicle is going straight without calculating the radius.

Specifically, when the calculated starting point of the position data is within 3 steps of the beam in front of the laser beam to be scanned and the moving amount from the starting point to the ending point is within 1 step of the beam, the process proceeds to S2321. Go straight without estimating the curve radius (ie infinite curve radius)
This is the end of the process.

Next, the second measure against the error is to deal with the error caused by the reflection variation. The problem is that, for example, the reflectors at the rear of the preceding vehicle can be seen on both the left and right sides, as described in the above "Operation" section. It is possible that the calculated relative position may include an error due to changes in reflection such that one or only one side is visible. As a countermeasure against this, in this embodiment, in S2315, the relative position data of the five points is linearly approximated by the least squares method, and the two points of the start point and the end point of the five points are corrected. The position change between the five points can be estimated by linear approximation. In addition, this correction is
In S2313, it is executed when the data of the lateral position of the recognition object is near the center of the own vehicle.

The lateral position of the correction point by the correction in S2315 is as shown in the following equation, and a diagram for explaining the equation is shown in FIG.

[0063]

[Equation 1]

Next, the third countermeasure against the error is against the error caused by the scanning region, and the problem is the one explained in the above-mentioned "Operation" with reference to FIG. That is, when the front vehicle goes out of the scanning area SR, such as when passing a stopped vehicle or a slow vehicle, the state in which the reflectors on the left and right sides are visible is changed to the state in which only the one side reflector is visible. Although the actual center of the vehicle moves in parallel with the host vehicle, it is erroneously estimated that the center detected by the scanning range finder 5 is a curve toward the host vehicle.

As a countermeasure, in this embodiment, S2319 is used.
At, the lateral correction is performed by the inner edge of the object. This correction is performed when the data of the lateral position of the recognized object is far from the vehicle center in S2313, for example, the object center is ± 2 in the lateral direction at both the start point and the end point of the five relative positions.
When the distance is more than m, the data of the five inner edges are used. Also in this case, the curve radius calculation of S2317 is performed using the two points of the start point and the end point of the five points where the relative position data of the five points of the inner edge are linearly approximated by the least square method. Here, the curve radius calculation of S2317 will be described. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the relationship between the corrected start point A (Xe1, Y1) and the end point B (Xe5, Y5) and the curve radius Re. In addition, We in FIG. 13 is a margin between the own vehicle and the obstacle. The distances from the curve center C to the starting point A and the ending point B are equal (Re + We). And X between points AC
The axial distance is (Re-Xe1), and the X-axis distance between the points BC is (Re-Xe5). Therefore, from Pythagorean theorem, the following relational expression holds.

[0066]

[Equation 2]

When the curve radius Re is calculated from these two equations, the following equation is obtained.

[0068]

[Equation 3]

In this way, S2315 and S2319
When the process of step S2317 is executed, the curve radius calculation of step S2317 is performed, and in the case of step S2321, as described above,
Go straight without calculating the curve radius (infinite curve radius)
And end this process,
The processing moves to the alarm area setting processing of 2330.

Now, the alarm area setting in S2330 will be described with reference to FIG. An alarm area WA1 of about the vehicle width is set around the curve having the curve radius Re estimated by the processing of FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, a vehicle width of ± 1 m is taken in the lateral direction from a point on the curve whose front-rear position is equal to the correction points (Xe1, Y1) and (Xe5, Y5).
The alarm area W is the parallelogram that is connected by linear approximation.
It was set to A1. It should be noted that the calculation of each vertex coordinate of the parallelogram forming the alarm area WA1 is set by the following formula by parabolic approximation in order to suppress the calculation amount.

[0071]

[Equation 4]

When the alarm area is set in S2330,
Subsequently, a collision determination is made (S2350). This collision determination process will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 15, and S of FIG.
In 2351, it is determined whether or not a part of the object width exists in the alarm area WA1 for a certain period of time, and if it exists in the alarm area WA1 for a certain period of time, it is determined to collide (S2353), If not, it is determined that no collision occurs (S2355), and this processing ends.

In this way, it is determined whether or not a collision occurs, and returning to FIG. 4, if it is determined that a collision occurs based on the determination result, the false alarm countermeasure 1 of S2400 is executed and it is determined that no collision occurs. If so, the false alarm countermeasure 2 in S2600 is executed. First, the false alarm countermeasure 1 process will be described with reference to FIG.

This process is performed to reduce false alarms by limiting the operating conditions of alarms.
Three determinations, that is, alarm establishment (S2450), alarm suspension (S2460), and determination suspension (S2470) are performed according to the determination results of S2410 to S2440.

It is S2 that the alarm is established (S2450).
In 410, it is determined that the recognized object is a moving object or a stationary object that approaches, in S2420 it is determined that the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the alarm-permitted vehicle speed, in S2430 it is determined that braking is not being performed, and further in S2440, they are for a certain time. Only when continued above. Further, although the determinations up to S2430 are the same, if it is determined in S2440 that it has not continued for a certain time or longer, the alarm is suspended in S2460. In other cases, the determination in S2470 is suspended.

Explaining the implications of these judgments, if it is judged in S2410 that the vehicle is not approaching, it means that the distance from the vehicle is unchanged or the vehicle is moving away. Judgment is suspended. The warning permission speed in S2420 is, for example, 20K.
About m / h is possible. For example, in a parking lot, the vehicle often changes directions, so if no guard is put on it, it will warn other parked vehicles, walls, and pillars. Therefore, in order to avoid those false alarms, for example, 20 km
At low speeds below / h, the judgment is suspended and no alarm is issued. In addition, when it becomes 20 Km / h once, it is preferable to give an alarm until it becomes less than 15 Km / h.

Further, in S2430, it is considered that the driver is trying to decelerate when the brake pedal is stepped on, so the alarm is not issued in this case. Then, the fixed time in the determination of S2440 is set to a relatively short time such as 0.3 seconds. This is to prevent an erroneous alarm due to noise or the like, and in a state where an alarm is truly necessary, for example, it continues for 0.3 seconds or more, so that an erroneous judgment due to noise can be preferably avoided.
There is no mistake in making judgments when necessary.

The alarm established by the above processing is established (S2
450), alarm suspension (S2460), judgment suspension (S24)
According to the three judgments of 70), returning to FIG. 4, if the alarm is established, the alarm is started in S2500, and if the alarm is held, the alarm is ended without doing anything.
The process shifts to the process 2600 of false alarm countermeasures.

Next, the false alarm countermeasure 2 process will be described with reference to FIG.
Will be described with reference to. This process, as shown in FIG.
If the inter-vehicle distance is larger than the stop alarm distance in S2200, if it is determined that the collision does not occur in the collision determination in S2300, and if the determination is suspended in S2400, that is performed in S2610 as shown in FIG. The continuation state is judged and the alarm is not established only when the continuation is continued for a certain period of time (S2620). In other cases, the alarm is suspended (S2620).
2630). Then, returning to FIG. 4, when the alarm is not established, the alarm is stopped (S2700), and when the alarm is held, the process is ended as it is.

In other words, even if the conditions are such that the alarms are not issued, the alarms are not stopped for a moment and the alarms are issued only when the conditions that the alarms are not issued continue for a certain time. To stop. The above is the contents of the stationary object warning process of S2000 in FIG. Next, the moving object warning process of S300 will be described. As shown in FIG. 10, this process is basically similar to the stationary object warning process of FIG. 4, and the calculation of the warning distance in S3100 of FIG. 10 is for the moving object, and accordingly, the inter-vehicle distance in S3200 is calculated. The object of comparison is the moving object warning distance, and the collision assistance determination process of S3600 is only different when the collision determination of S3300 determines that the collision does not occur. Therefore, the differences will be described in detail, but the similar processing will be briefly described.

First, the calculation is performed in S3100, and S3200 is calculated.
Regarding the moving object warning distance used for comparison in the above, there are two items in the above-mentioned stopped object warning distance, that is, the reaction time when the driver of the own vehicle brakes and the strength when the driver of the own vehicle brakes. In addition, the inter-vehicle distance at which the driver feels anxious and the strength at which the driver of the preceding vehicle (which the driver of the own vehicle feels) brakes are taken into consideration.

The additional points to consider are that when the vehicle distance is shortened and the inter-vehicle distance becomes short, the driver feels anxiety and tries to adjust the inter-vehicle distance by the brake operation. Dependent. The point to consider is that the driver applies the brake immediately after the vehicle decelerates during follow-up driving, but even if the vehicle begins to decelerate, it takes some time before the speed difference occurs, so This is because the alarm timing is delayed if only the speed difference is observed.

Next, the collision assistance determination processing in S3600 will be described with reference to FIG. This process
This is executed when it is determined in the collision determination processing in S3300 that no collision occurs, and when it is determined that a collision occurs in this collision assistance determination, the same as in the case where it is determined that a collision occurs in the collision determination processing of S3300
Transition to 3400.

The reason for determining such assistance is, as described in the above-mentioned "action", in the case of a moving object, as shown in FIG. 20 (c), it interrupts immediately before the host vehicle. In some cases, it is necessary to perform a warning process quickly. Therefore, rather than performing a process of relatively long calculation time for estimating the curve radius as in the collision determination shown in FIG. 5, a simple process such as the process of FIG. 11 described below should be executed. Then, the response is swiftly carried out and a quick warning process is carried out so that collision avoidance can be made more reliable.

As a concrete process, as shown in FIG. 11, first, an alarm auxiliary area (WA2) is set, and if a part of the object width is within the alarm auxiliary area WA2 for a certain time or more, a collision occurs (S3630). ), And in other cases, it is determined that no collision occurs (S3630). And S
Since the setting of the alarm auxiliary area (WA2) in 3610 is simple, the processing time is shortened as a result.

The setting of the alarm auxiliary area (WA2) will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
(A) shows an example of the warning auxiliary area WA2 on the expressway. This area is a pentagonal area having a width of 2 m centering on the host vehicle, a center of 30 m in the front-rear direction, and an end of 20 m. And when setting this area, the curve radius is 300 m or more, and the lane width is 3.5 m.
Standard of the highway itself of m and legal speed 100 km / h
Considering this point, the collision is avoided even at that speed, and the vehicle in the other lane is set not to give a false alarm. Here, briefly explaining the reason why the pentagon is set, as shown in FIG. 16B, it can be shared by both the right curve RC and the left curve LC, and the area is set as long as possible in the central portion. This is because it was taken into consideration.

In the case of an expressway, the process of S3610 is completed simply by setting the predetermined area without performing complicated calculations for setting the alarm auxiliary area WA2 each time. Collision judgment can be done quickly. Although the warning auxiliary area for the highway is shown in FIG. 16A, since there are steeper curves on general roads, if the warning auxiliary area is used as it is, erroneous determinations increase. Therefore, it is desirable to set an alarm auxiliary area for general roads. Since the lane width of an ordinary road is narrower than that of an expressway and the vehicle runs at a low speed, it is easy to drive closer to the shoulders. Therefore, the estimated curve radius and the estimated lane width are as shown in Figs. 17 (a) and (b). Change by. Then, the alarm auxiliary area WA2 is shown in FIG.
Set as shown in (c).

Thus, depending on the vehicle speed, the alarm auxiliary area W
Even when A2 is changed, the setting can be easily performed by storing a map as shown in FIG. 17C and reading the area center distance and the area edge distance corresponding to the vehicle speed. As described above, according to the vehicle obstacle warning device of the present embodiment, the warning area (W is calculated based on the relative estimated traveling area of the own vehicle when the obstacle is considered as a reference.
A1) is set, and if the alarm processing is performed only for a moment when the alarm area (WA1) is present, the number of alarms in the situation that is not originally necessary increases, so only when the alarm exists for a predetermined time. By performing alarm processing, it is possible to reliably warn in a truly necessary situation, and
It is possible to reduce alarms in unnecessary situations as much as possible. Further, since the steering sensor and the yaw rate sensor are not necessary for determining whether the host vehicle is turning, it is possible to construct a system having a simple configuration and low cost.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the curve radius is estimated, the error due to the lateral resolution of the sensor, the error due to the reflection variation, and the error due to the scanning area are preferably eliminated. It is possible to set an appropriate warning area WA1. This contributes to the elimination of false alarms and the ability to reliably alarm in truly needed situations.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, limiting the operating conditions of the alarm also contributes to the reduction of false alarms. On the other hand, when the obstacle is a moving object, for example, a vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane may interrupt just before the own vehicle, and in that case, it is necessary to quickly perform an alarm process. In that case, in the present embodiment, the processing for estimating the curve radius, which is relatively long as in the collision determination shown in FIG. 5, is not performed, but the simple processing shown in FIG. 11 is used. Therefore, quick warning processing is performed, and collision avoidance becomes more reliable.

Although the measures against the three errors have been described with reference to FIG. 6, the other examples of the measures against the errors will be described with reference to FIGS. This is a countermeasure against the error caused by the reflector stain, and if it is applied in the above-described embodiment, the processing of FIG. 18 is performed instead of S2315 of FIG. To supplement the error caused by the dirt on the reflector, there is a case where the reflector of the front vehicle is dirty and only one side of the left and right reflectors can be seen, and even in such a case, the estimation of the curve radius is erroneously falsely alarmed. There is a fear. As a countermeasure for this, it is possible to estimate the curve radius without using the data when only one side reflector is visible, and to estimate the curve radius from the edge of the object.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18, first, there is a width corresponding to the vehicle width (for example, 1 m or more) among the widths of the five relative position data of the recognition object, and a width corresponding to one side of the reflector (for example, 0.6 m). It is determined whether or not there is the following (S4010), and if there is, the method of estimating the curve is changed according to the number of data corresponding to one side width of the reflector (S4).
020). When the data corresponding to the width of one side of the reflector is small (1 point or less), the data is excluded and the lateral position is corrected by the data of the object center (S4030).
In this correction, similar to the processing in S2315 of FIG. 6, the relative position data of three or more points are linearly approximated by the least square method to correct the two points of the start point and the end point. FIG. 19A shows this case.

On the other hand, when there is a large amount of data corresponding to the width of one side of the reflector in the determination of S4020 (two or more points), the edge of the object is calculated (S4040), and between the left and right edge data, between the five points. Compare the amount of change (sum of absolute values) (S
4050), the lateral position is corrected by the edge data having the smaller variation (S4060, S407).
0). Also in this case, linear approximation by the least square method is performed. FIG. 19B shows this case.

If it is determined in S4010 that the result is other than that, the process proceeds to S4080, and the lateral position is corrected using the data of the object center. This process is the same as in FIG.
The process is exactly the same as the process of S2315 described above.

[0095]

According to the obstacle warning device for a vehicle of the present invention, it is possible to surely give a warning in a truly necessary situation and to reduce the warning in an unnecessary situation as much as possible. Further, as described in claims 2 to 5, when estimating the curve radius, an error due to the lateral resolution of the sensor, an error due to the reflection variation, an error due to the scanning area, and a reflector stain on the front vehicle are caused. These errors can be eliminated appropriately, and an appropriate warning area WA1 can be set. This results in eliminating false alarms,
It contributes to being able to reliably give an alarm in a truly necessary situation.

When the obstacle is a moving object, for example, a vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane may interrupt immediately before the host vehicle. In that case, it is necessary to perform a quick alarm process. However, according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is not necessary to perform a complicated calculation such as calculation of a direction vector or the like according to a change in relative position data or setting an alarm area on the basis of the data, and to simply set a preset alarm. Auxiliary area (WA
Since it is only necessary to judge whether or not the same obstacle exists in 2) for a predetermined period of time, quick warning processing can be performed, and collision avoidance becomes more reliable.

Further, as in the seventh aspect, if the variable speed is set on the basis of the standard speed assumed in consideration of the road shape, for example, the difference between the highway and the general road can be dealt with, No false alarms will be issued to vehicles running in the lane,
It is possible to set a more appropriate alarm auxiliary area.
Even in that case, for example, if the numerical values for the area setting for each standard speed are stored, the area setting can be easily performed only by reading them.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of an obstacle warning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of a controller in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an alarm process of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a stopped object warning process according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a collision determination process of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a curve radius estimation process of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a collision determination process of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a false alarm countermeasure 1 process of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing false alarm countermeasure 2 processing according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a moving object warning process according to the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a collision assistance determination process of the embodiment.

12 is an explanatory diagram related to the correction in S2315 of FIG.

13 is an explanatory diagram related to a curve radius calculation in S2317 of FIG.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram related to the alarm area setting in S2330 of FIG.

15 is an explanatory diagram related to the collision determination in S2350 of FIG.

16 is an explanatory diagram of an alarm auxiliary area on an expressway, which is related to the alarm auxiliary area setting in S3610 of FIG.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram for setting an alarm auxiliary area when applied to a general road.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an error countermeasure process caused by reflector stains.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram to help understand an error countermeasure process caused by reflector stains.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a case where an alarm is required in a moving object alarm.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of a radius calculation and an alarm area which are basic in the alarm of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of an estimation curve when an obstacle is a moving object.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing a situation where “alert is not issued even though the alarm should be issued”.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a problem caused by an error caused by a scanning area and a countermeasure therefor.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Obstacle warning device, 3 ... Controller, 5 ...
Scanning range finder, 7 ... vehicle speed sensor, 13 ... alarm sound generator, 25 ... alarm sensitivity setting device, 27 ... alarm volume setting device, 31 ... transmission / reception unit, 33 ... distance / angle calculation unit, 41 ... coordinate conversion block, 43 ... Sensor abnormality detection block, 45 ... Object recognition block, 47
... Distance display object selection block, 49 ... Vehicle speed calculation block, 51 ... Relative speed calculation block, 53 ... Front vehicle acceleration calculation block, 55 ... Warning determination and cruise determination block, 57 ... Volume adjustment block, Re ... Curve radius, WA1 ... Warning area, WA2 ... Alarm area

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location G01S 13/93 17/93 G08B 21/00 U

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A scanning wave is radiated with a transmission wave or a laser beam in a predetermined angle range in the vehicle width direction, and the distance between the host vehicle and the obstacle is corresponded to the scanning angle based on the reflected wave or the reflected light from the obstacle. And a relative position calculating means for calculating the relative position of the obstacle with respect to the own vehicle based on the distance detected by the distance measuring means and the corresponding scan angle, and the relative position calculating means. Radius calculating means for calculating the radius of the relative estimated traveling curve of the own vehicle based on the obstacle based on the relative position data of at least two points for the same obstacle calculated by Based on the radius calculated by and the vehicle width data of the own vehicle, an alarm area setting means for setting a predetermined alarm area, and when the obstacle exists in the alarm area for a predetermined time,
An obstacle warning device for a vehicle, comprising: a warning processing unit that performs a predetermined warning process. 2. The obstacle warning device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the radius calculation means calculates the radius of the host vehicle based on two points corrected from relative position data of three points or more for the same obstacle. An obstacle warning device for a vehicle, which calculates a radius of a relative estimated traveling curve. 3. The obstacle warning device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the obstacle is the own vehicle based on the relative position data of at least two points for the same obstacle calculated by the relative position calculating means. If the vehicle is present in a predetermined front area and the relative amount of movement of the obstacle in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle is less than or equal to a predetermined value, a straight-line state quasi-means for simulating a straight-line state and the straight-line state are provided. When it is assumed that the vehicle is in a straight traveling state by the state impersonation means, the radius calculation means estimates the radius as infinity without performing the normal radius calculation processing, and the alarm area setting means makes the estimated infinity. An obstacle warning device for a vehicle, wherein a predetermined warning area is set based on the radius of the vehicle and the vehicle width data of the vehicle. 4. The obstacle warning device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a part of the obstacle is relatively moved from within a predetermined angle range scannable by the distance measuring means to outside the predetermined angle range. Is characterized in that, before moving out of the predetermined angle range, the relative position of the obstacle in the relative position calculating means is calculated as position data corresponding to the end of the obstacle on the side closer to the own vehicle. Obstacle warning device for vehicles. 5. The obstacle warning device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a width of the obstacle recognized based on the relative position data corresponds to a predetermined vehicle width and is arranged on the vehicle. An obstacle warning device for a vehicle, characterized in that, when the width is equivalent to one side width of the reflector, the radius calculation method of the estimated travel curve is changed depending on the occupancy ratio of the data corresponding to the one side width of the reflector to all data. 6. The obstacle warning device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the own vehicle speed detecting means for detecting a traveling speed of the own vehicle, and the relative position data calculated by the relative position calculating means, Relative speed calculation means for calculating the relative speed of the obstacle with respect to the own vehicle, and movement determination means for judging whether or not the obstacle is in the moving state based on the traveling speed of the own vehicle and the relative speed of the obstacle. And when the movement determination means determines that the obstacle is in a moving state, even if the predetermined warning processing by the warning processing means based on the warning area is not performed, An obstacle warning for a vehicle, comprising: a second warning processing unit that performs a predetermined warning process when the same obstacle exists within a predetermined warning auxiliary area set as a reference for a predetermined time. Dress . 7. The obstacle warning device for a vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined warning assistance area is based on the own vehicle and is based on a standard vehicle speed assumed in consideration of a road shape,
An obstacle warning device for a vehicle, which is variably set.