JPH09226404A - Voice guiding device for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To guide a controlling action by voice so as to inform the controlling action to a driver before automatic control is operated in a vehicle provided with an automatic control system. SOLUTION: An automobile is provided with a speed change controller 41, which selects a transmission ratio for an automatic transmission mechanism 12, and a shift down controller 40, which decides the transmission ratio so as to output a shift change signal to the transmission controller 41. Before the shift change signal is fed to the transmission controller 41, the guide information related to the shift change is outputted to a sound outputting device, and operation of the shift change is informed to a driver by voice prior to the shift change.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a voice notification device for an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device for displaying a gear change state of an automatic transmission switching device and an automatic transmission by means of a display and a voice, there is one described in JP-A-07-81449. In this technique, the display corresponding to the position of the shift lever is performed by voice, and when the shift lever is at the position of the drive "D", each time the gear is switched, the changed gear is displayed by voice. A configuration is disclosed.

[0003]

The voice uttered by the above display device informs each shift position by voice, but since it is uttered at the same time as or after the shift change, the driver is previously informed of the shift change. Can not be conscious of. In addition, especially when controlling each part of the vehicle by automatic control, since the driver has not been prepared, the driver feels uncomfortable if a vibration or a change in driving sensation occurs due to the control operation. I have a feeling.

It is an object of the present invention to carry out control actions before they occur.
An object of the present invention is to provide an audio notification device for an automobile that realizes traveling of the automobile without giving the driver a feeling of discomfort by being configured to give advance notification by voice that the control operation will be started.

[0005]

This and other objects are achieved by the present invention described below.

(1) Judging means for judging the state of each part of the vehicle, control means for performing a control operation according to the judgment of the judging means, and the judging means before outputting the judged contents to the control means. A voice guidance device for a vehicle, comprising: a voice output unit that outputs a voice according to the control content.

(2) The determination means is a shift-down control device for selecting a gear ratio of the automatic transmission mechanism, and the control means is responsive to a shift stage signal output from the shift-down control device. The shift down control device outputs the shift stage information to the voice output means before outputting the shift stage signal to the shift control device. Car voice guidance device.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
One will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle control device of the present invention. The vehicle control device 1 of the present invention includes a control device 4, an engine control device 42, an accelerator sensor 43, and a brake sensor 4.
4, a vehicle guide device 45, a shift lever position sensor 47 that detects an operation position of a shift lever, and a voice output device 5 that is a voice output unit.

The control device 4 is provided with a downshift control device 40 which is a determination means and a shift control device 41 which is a control means. The accelerator sensor 43 supplies the accelerator opening degree α to the engine control device 42, and the shift-down control device 40 is turned on / off indicating whether or not the accelerator pedal is depressed.
Supply an OFF signal. Further, the brake sensor 44 is
A brake ON / OFF signal indicating whether or not the brake pedal is depressed is supplied to the downshift control device 40, and the brake lamp 48 is turned on in the ON state.

The engine control unit 42 adjusts the throttle opening θ based on the supplied accelerator opening α to control the engine output and shifts the throttle opening θ determined based on the accelerator opening α. Supply to the control device 41. The shift lever position sensor 47 detects the operation position of the shift lever and supplies the lever position to the shift control device 41.

The shift control device 41 controls the shift speed of the automatic transmission mechanism 12. That is, when the shift lever is in the drive position by the signal from the shift lever position sensor 47, as shown in FIG. The automatic transmission mechanism determines the shift speed from the input throttle opening θ and the vehicle speed V input from a vehicle speed sensor that is a vehicle speed detection means built in the automatic transmission mechanism 12, and switches to the shift speed. Give a shift command to 12.

When the downshift command signal is supplied from the downshift control device 40, the automatic speed change mechanism 1 is operated to switch to the instructed shift speed based on the signal.
Give a shift command to 2. Further, the shift control device 41 supplies the vehicle speed V, the throttle opening θ, the shift lever position, and the current shift speed to the downshift control device 40.

The vehicle guidance device 45 is a storage device S1 which is map information storage means for storing map information, a specific position detection device S2 which is specific position detection means, a vehicle position recognition device S30, and a satellite communication device S31. And an arithmetic unit S4 which is a distance calculating means. The storage device S1 can be configured by a storage medium such as a magneto-optical storage medium, and in the case of the present embodiment, is configured by a CD-ROM or an IC card. The storage device S1 stores road information such as road shape, road width, slope, road surface state, curve radius, and the like, and the road information is stored in virtual nodes arranged on the road. It is configured and stored as a set, and each node is defined by absolute or relative coordinates.

The specific position detecting device S2 detects a specific position on the planned traveling route of the vehicle from the road information of the storage device S1 and specifies the coordinate point of the specific position. The specific position is a place where downshifting or deceleration is required during traveling, and includes, for example, intersections, T-shaped roads, points where the number of lanes decreases, curve entrances, railroad crossings, highway exit rampways, and highways. Road toll booths, narrow road widths, downhill roads, and uphill roads. Of these points, the place closest to the vehicle position is detected as the specific position.

Further, the planned traveling route is a route which has been set when the traveling route of the vehicle has already been set, and when the traveling route has not been set yet, for example, the vehicle should pass when going straight. Can be the expected route.

The vehicle position detecting means is a vehicle position recognizing device S.
The vehicle position recognizing device S30 includes the vehicle 30 and the satellite communication device S31, and recognizes the vehicle position based on the information indicating the absolute current position input from the satellite communication device S31.

The arithmetic unit S4 calculates the distance d between the specific position and the position of the vehicle. Further, the calculation device S4 can also calculate a route from the vehicle position to the destination as a traveling route detection means.

From the vehicle guide device 45 to the downshift control device 40, various road information stored in the storage device S1 and the distance d from the vehicle position to the specific position are stored.
Is supplied.

The shift-down control device 40 starts the shift-down determination at a point where the distance between the vehicle position and the specific position reaches a predetermined distance D (hereinafter referred to as "judgment point"), and the shift-down control shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, based on a map stored in advance, a shift-down command signal is issued to shift-down according to the distance d from the vehicle position to the specific position and the vehicle speed V. Output to.

The distance D for identifying the judgment point is set as a distance sufficient to decelerate by downshifting,
You may make it change according to the speed limit set on the road. For example, when the speed limit is high such as on an expressway, it may be long, and when the speed limit is low such as in an urban area, it may be shortened.

When the shift-down control device 40 determines the shift-down, it outputs a signal to the audio output device 5 before outputting the down-shift signal, and the audio output device 5 shifts down based on the signal. To let the driver know by voice. As described above, the downshift control device 40 is
First, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has passed the determination point. If the vehicle has passed the determination point, the vehicle is downshifted sequentially according to the map, and the vehicle is decelerated by the downshift until reaching the specific position.

The voice output device 5 includes a voice synthesizer 51,
The voice synthesizer 51 has a speaker 52, and based on the signal supplied from the downshift control device 40,
The voice notifying the shift down is synthesized and output as voice through the speaker 52.

The control operation of the downshift control device 40 will be described below in detail with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. 7 is a main flowchart of the downshift control device 40 of FIG. 6. First, the shift lever position sensor 47 determines whether or not the shift lever is in the drive position (step S10).
1). If the drive position has no shift lever, the following control operation is not performed. If it is in the drive position, the downshift determination routine shown in FIG. 7 is executed (step S102). Next, in the downshift determination routine (step S102), it is determined whether or not the downshift is determined (step S10).
3). If it is decided not to downshift,
The following control operations are not performed.

Downshift determination routine (step S1
In 02), if it is determined to shift down, a signal is output to the voice output device 5, and the driver is notified by voice based on the signal that the voice output device 5 will shift down (step). S104). By this notification, the driver can know that the vehicle is downshifted and can reduce the discomfort caused by the sudden deceleration, so that the driver can drive more safely.

Next, a downshift command signal is output to the shift control device 41. Accordingly, the shift control device 41
Changes the gear position of the automatic transmission mechanism 12. When downshifting, the brake lamp 48 is turned on (step S106) to notify the following vehicle that the vehicle will decelerate.

Next, the downshift determination routine will be described with reference to FIG. The distance d calculated by the computing device S4 is read (step S201), and it is determined whether or not the judgment point has been reached (step S202). Specifically, the distance d is compared with the distance D between the determination point and the specific position, and when d ≦ D, it is determined that the determination point has been reached. When the judgment point is reached, it is judged whether or not the accelerator is off (step S
203), if the accelerator is off,
It is determined whether or not the brake is depressed (step S20).
4).

When the brake is depressed, the gear to be changed is determined from the distance d and the vehicle speed V based on the second map shown in FIG. 4, and compared with the current gear. It is determined whether downshift is necessary (step S20).
5). On the other hand, when the brake is not depressed, it is determined whether the turn signal is turned on (step S20).
6). When the blinker is turned on, the gear to be changed is determined from the distance d and the vehicle speed V based on the third map shown in FIG. 5, and the downshift is required in comparison with the current gear. It is determined whether or not (step S207).

When the winker is not lit, the gear to be changed is determined from the distance d and the vehicle speed V based on the first map shown in FIG. 3, and compared with the current gear. It is determined whether downshift is necessary (step S
208). By the operations of steps S202 to S208, the vehicle is smoothly decelerated as the vehicle approaches the specific position, and the vehicle can safely pass the specific position at an appropriate speed.

Steps S205, S207, S20
After each of 8 ends, whether the traveling state of the vehicle is located within the area A shown in the first to third maps, that is, when the distance between the vehicle position and the specific position is d ₀ or less. Yes,
Further, it is determined whether or not the vehicle speed V is equal to or lower than V ₀ , in other words, whether or not the vehicle speed has decreased by approaching the specific position (step S210).

If it is not in the area A, the process returns to the main routine and the above steps S201 to S208 are repeated. If it is within the area A, the throttle opening θ after passing the specific position is predicted in consideration of the number of lanes, the width, the slope, etc. of the road after passing the specific position (step S210).

Next, the gear position is determined from the predicted throttle opening θ and the vehicle speed V based on the gear shift map shown in FIG. 2 during normal traveling (step S211). By the above steps S209 to S211, smooth running (acceleration) that matches the road condition is possible even after passing the specific position.

The change in vehicle speed due to the above control operation will be described with reference to FIG. 8 by taking a case of turning an intersection as an example. When the vehicle 2 passes a judgment point (point C) that is a predetermined distance before the intersection (point B) which is a specific position, steps S203 to S208 in the downshift judgment routine shown in FIG. 7 are executed. It is ready to be done. When the accelerator is turned off, the downshift is performed based on the first map until the turn signal is turned on, and the vehicle speed V decreases. Next, when the turn signal is turned on, the downshift is performed based on the third map until the brake is depressed, and the vehicle speed V decreases. And
When the brake is depressed, downshifting is performed based on the second map. Before the downshift is performed, the driver is informed by voice of the fact that the downshift is always performed, and the occurrence of discomfort due to the unexpected downshift is suppressed. Further, at the time when the vehicle has passed the judgment point, a voice guidance may be provided to the effect that deceleration is carried out by the gear shift control.

The speed is sufficiently reduced and the distance d ₀ from the specific position B is reduced.
When you pass the point of, enter the area A on the map,
The vehicle 2 makes a turn at the specific position B. By passing the specific position B, the vehicle 2 moves to a road having a wide width. Through steps S210 and S211, the throttle opening θ expected from the width of the road is calculated, and the gear shift stage is calculated from the throttle opening θ based on the shift map during normal traveling shown in FIG. It is determined. This shift speed is the most suitable shift speed for starting acceleration after the vehicle 2 has moved to a road with a wide width, and smooth acceleration can be achieved.

Further, since the downshift is performed in order,
It is possible to shift down to the 2nd speed, and the engine braking can be fully applied. Further, as another embodiment, a steering angle sensor may be provided so that the downshift is not performed when the vehicle is not traveling straight. By performing such control operation, safer traveling can be secured. Further, the range of the steering angle for determining whether to stop the downshift can be changed according to the vehicle speed V at that time and the condition of the road surface. For example, when the vehicle speed is low, the steering angle that allows downshifting is large, and when the vehicle speed is high, the steering angle that allows downshifting is small, and if the friction coefficient of the road surface is large,
If the steering angle that allows downshifting is large, and if it is small, the steering angle that allows downshifting is set to a small value.

On the other hand, in addition to the contents described in the above-mentioned embodiment, the voice output from the voice output device 5 includes the fact that the voice is output before downshifting even in the case of the normal running state before passing the judgment point. It may be configured to give a voice notification to that effect. For example, when the gear shift control device 41 automatically changes the gear stage, the voice corresponding to the control content when shifting up is, for example, "shift up to 3rd speed." For example, it is possible to make a sound such as "shift down to 2nd speed." In addition to this, as the audio information according to the control content, the following information can be given. It guides before the lock-up clutch of the automatic transmission mechanism 11 is activated.
For example, it can be announced by a voice such as "Lock-up clutch is activated."

As the audio information according to other control contents, when the headlight is automatically turned on, for example, "turn on the headlight" before turning on the headlight, Automatically turn off the headlights
In the case of F configuration, before turning off the headlight, for example, "turn off the headlight."
If the headlight is on when you get out of the car, for example, "Headlights are still on."
When starting the engine, if the shift lever is not in the "P" or "N" position, for example, "Please put the shift lever in P (or N)." When attempting to start with the parking brake ON For example, "The brake is operating." When switching the AUTO air conditioner, for example, "The temperature will be reduced from now." Before the antilock brake is activated, for example, "From now AB
Activate S. Before operating the traction control, for example, "Activate the traction control from now on." When switching to 4WD, for example, "Switching to 4WD." When switching 4WS, the same phase and reverse phase depending on the vehicle speed. When changing the phase, for example, "Switch to the opposite phase". For steering (power steering) control, for example, in the type where the steering assist force of the power steering changes depending on the vehicle speed, "The steering becomes heavy." When the driver tries to get off with the key attached, for example, "The key is still inserted." When the driver tries to get off with the key attached and the defogger is turned on, for example, " The defogger is turned on. "The driver tried to get off with the key on, Lamp ON
If the driver is trying to get off with the key still attached, for example, "The room lamp is still on." If the hazard or turn signal is ON, for example, "The turn signal (hazard) It remains lit. "

As described above, by giving voice guidance, the driver can appropriately shift to the next operation according to the content of the voice. It is possible to eliminate the state that causes the problem (such as when the key is inserted). In particular, when controlling each part of the vehicle by automatic control, the driver often does not recognize the control actions, and by voice guidance, the driver is made ready (recognized) for those control actions. It is possible to ensure comfortable driving and safer driving.

[0038]

As described above, according to the vehicle voice guidance apparatus of the present invention, the fact that the control operation is to be started is notified by voice before the control means causes the control operation. As a result, it is possible to realize traveling control of the vehicle without giving the driver a feeling of strangeness. In particular, when controlling the shift stage of the automatic transmission mechanism,
Before the shift speed is automatically changed, the voice notifies the shift speed change in advance, so the driver will recognize the change before shifting to maintain comfortable driving and appropriate vehicle speed. It is possible to secure the required running.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle control device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a shift map during normal traveling.

FIG. 3 is a first map for determining a shift speed after passing a determination point.

FIG. 4 is a second map for determining a shift speed after passing through a determination point.

FIG. 5 is a third map for determining a shift speed after passing through a determination point.

FIG. 6 is a main flowchart of a shift control device.

FIG. 7 is a shift-down determination routine of the shift control device.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship between a vehicle speed and a traveling position of a vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vehicle Control Device 2 Vehicle 4 Control Device 40 Downshift Control Device 41 Shift Control Device 45 Vehicle Guidance Device 5 Voice Output Device S1 Storage Device S2 Specific Position Detection Device S30 Own Vehicle Position Recognition Device S31 Satellite Communication Device S4 Computing Device

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] July 18, 1996

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG.

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 8

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Figure 8]

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor, Souzo Moroto, 2-19-12 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Equus Research Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A determination means for determining the state of each part of the vehicle, a control means for performing a control operation according to the determination of the determination means, and the determination means, prior to outputting the determined content to the control means, A voice guidance device for a vehicle, comprising: a voice output unit that outputs a voice according to control contents. 2. The determination means is a shift-down control device that selects a gear ratio of the automatic transmission mechanism, and the control means controls the automatic transmission mechanism according to a shift stage signal output from the shift-down control device. The shift control device for controlling a shift stage, wherein the downshift control device outputs shift stage information to the voice output means before outputting a shift stage signal to the shift control device. Voice guidance device.