JPH09257932A - Obstacle detection device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure accurate detection of an obstacle positioned forward for informing it with the sound of buzzer by providing informing area adjustment means increasing the threshold of a distance to the obstacle. SOLUTION: When only one of sensors 1, 1 detects an obstacle 9 an informing area to actuate a buzzer becomes An while the informing area to actuate the buzzer becomes Am when the right and left sensors 1, 1 detect the obstacle simultaneously, and even the existence of obstacle positioned far away can be informed. Accordingly even if there is a distance in the forward and rearward directions of vehicle body 2 between the widthwise central part of vehicle body 2 and the sensors 1, 1, informing the existence of obstacle 9 can be made at a position where the distance M between the obstacle 9 and the widthwise center of the body 2 does not become too short when the widthwise center of body 2 approaches straightly to the obstacle 9 such as a wall.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an obstacle detecting device for a vehicle which detects an obstacle by an obstacle sensor installed at a corner of a vehicle body of an automobile or the like and outputs an alarm.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When an obstacle detecting device utilizing ultrasonic waves or the like is provided on a vehicle body of an automobile, obstacle sensors 1 and 1 are installed at a corner portion of a vehicle body 2 which is likely to be a blind spot for a driver, as shown in FIG. To do. Then, the distance from the corner of the vehicle body 2 to the obstacle is measured by the obstacle sensor 1, and when the measured distance is equal to or less than the set value x, an alarm is issued to alert the driver.

[0003]

By the way, in recent years, many automobiles have a front portion squeezed in order to reduce air resistance during traveling. In this case, as shown in FIG.
The distance L in the front-rear direction between the tip of the widthwise central portion of the vehicle body 2 and the installation positions of the obstacle sensors 1, 1 at the left and right corners is considerably large.

Therefore, when the vehicle body 2 approaches the obstacle 9 on the front side in the traveling direction such as a wall or another vehicle, the obstacle sensors 1 and 1 detect the obstacle 9 and give an alarm. It is output when the distance from the tip of the center of the vehicle body 2 in the width direction to the obstacle 9 is m (m = x−L). Therefore, a slight distance m is output after the alarm is output. You will hit the obstacle 9 just by moving forward,
Compared with the case where the obstacle 9 exists near the corner, the difference in distance from the warning being output to the collision (=
L) is so large that the driver loses the sense of distance to the obstacle, and the driver loses confidence in the obstacle detection device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is a vehicle in which an obstacle sensor arranged at a corner portion of a vehicle body can appropriately notify and detect an obstacle ahead. An obstacle detection device is provided.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention, however, includes an obstacle sensor arranged at each of left and right corners of a vehicle body,
In an obstacle detection device for a vehicle, comprising an informing means for informing of this by detecting an obstacle by the obstacle sensor,
It has a first feature in that it has a notification area adjusting means for increasing the threshold value of the distance to the obstacle for operating the notification means in response to the simultaneous detection outputs of the obstacles by both the left and right obstacle sensors. In addition to the simultaneous detection output of the obstacles by the left and right obstacle sensors, the notification means that changes the output according to the distance to the obstacle is operated with the output corresponding to the distance shorter than the actual detection distance. The second feature is that the adjusting means is provided.

In either case, it is preferable that the notifying means changes the notification sound by an obstacle sensor that has detected an obstacle. According to the above-mentioned first feature, the obstacle sensor arranged at the corner portion outputs an alarm even for a front obstacle when the distance from the central portion in the width direction of the vehicle body is not too short.

According to the second feature, an alarm is output according to the distance from the front end of the vehicle body to the front obstacle. If the notification means changes the notification sound by the obstacle sensor that detects the obstacle, the driver can recognize where the obstacle is even when the driver cannot see the obstacle.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described. This vehicle obstacle detection device is an ultrasonic wave transmitter / receiver installed in front and rear corners of a vehicle 2 as shown in FIG. An obstacle sensor 1, 1 consisting of a control circuit 3 for controlling the pair of left and right obstacle sensors 1, 1.
The control circuit 3 in this case comprises a buzzer 4 as an informing means, and as shown in FIG. 1, an integrating circuit 30, a switching circuit 31, and a monostable multivibrator 32.
a, 32b, an oscillating circuit 33, and a transmitting section 3a including a driver 34, an amplifying circuit 35, a detecting circuit 36, and a receiving section 3b including a level detecting circuit 37, and the left and right obstacle sensors 1 , 1 is provided for each of the receiving sections 3b, 3b, and a drive circuit 3c for the buzzer 4 including an OR circuit 38 for extracting the logical sum output of the level detection circuit 37 and a switching circuit 39. Further, the control circuit 3 includes an AND circuit 40 for taking out the logical product output of the level detection circuits 37, 37 of the receiving section, a switching circuit 41, and a gate circuit 42 for switching the gate time according to the output of the AND circuit 40. The adjusting unit 3d is provided.

The ultrasonic wave transmission signal having the drive time ta determined by the monostable multivibrator 32b is transmitted at the transmission signal interval tb determined by the monostable multivibrator 32a and the switching circuit 31, and the obstacle sensor 1, 1, the ultrasonic signal is output, the reflected wave from the obstacle 9 is received by the obstacle sensors 1 and 1 and the receiving section 3b, and the reception time of the reflected wave of a predetermined level or higher is received by the gate circuit
If the time t3 is open, the buzzer 4 is driven to notify the driver of the presence of the obstacle 9.

Here, the notification area adjusting unit 3d
The gate circuit 42 in FIG.
As described above, after the lapse of c, the predetermined time t3 is opened. However, when the detection outputs of the obstacle 9 are simultaneously output (t1 = t2) by the left and right obstacle sensors 1 and 1, As shown in FIG. 3, the gate circuit 42 receives the output of the AND circuit 40 and makes the gate opening time longer than usual (t4> t3). That is, when each obstacle sensor 1 independently detects the obstacle 9, the notification area that activates the buzzer 4 is An shown in FIG. 4, while the left and right obstacle sensors 1 and 1 simultaneously. Obstacle 9
When the alarm is detected, the notification area that activates the buzzer 4 becomes Aw shown in FIG. 4, and the obstacle 9 located farther away is detected.
The presence is also notified to.

Therefore, even if the center of the vehicle body 2 in the width direction and the obstacle sensors 1, 1 are separated by the distance L in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 2, the center portion of the vehicle body 2 in the width direction is an obstacle 9 such as a wall. When the vehicle is approaching straight to the vehicle, it is possible to give a notification where the distance M between the obstacle 9 and the center of the vehicle body 2 in the width direction does not become too short. The object 9 does not collide with the object 9.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment. Here, the counter 43 that counts the time from the transmission to the reception of the reflected wave by the obstacle 9 is provided, and the drive circuit 3c for the buzzer 4 intermittently drives the buzzer 4 according to the count value (time) by the counter 43. An oscillation circuit 45 that changes the interval (driving duty) is provided. Obstacle 9
Since the notification output by the buzzer 4 changes according to the distance to, the driver can know the approximate distance to the obstacle 9 by the notification sound of the buzzer 4.

In this case, when the left and right obstacle sensors 1 and 1 simultaneously detect the obstacle 9, the counter 43 subtracts a predetermined number from the count value in response to the output of the AND circuit 40. As a result, the oscillation circuit 45 is activated. The oscillation circuit 45 is operated with a drive duty corresponding to a distance shorter than the original detection distance.
Now, the distance between the center of the vehicle body 2 in the width direction and the obstacle sensor 1 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body 2 is L, and the obstacle sensors when the left and right obstacle sensors 1 and 1 simultaneously detect the obstacle 9. If the distance from 1 to the obstacle 9 is L + M, the buzzer 4 is not caused to perform the notification output corresponding to the distance L + M, but the buzzer 4 is caused to perform the notification output according to the value of the distance L + ML-M. . The buzzer 4 operates only after the widthwise central portion of the vehicle body 2 is very close to the obstacle 9, but the distance L from the obstacle sensor 1 at the corner is L.
Since not the + M but the notification output according to the distance M from the widthwise center of the vehicle body 2, the driver can accurately grasp the distance to the obstacle.

By the way, when the driver cannot see the obstacle 9 from the driver's seat due to the short height of the obstacle 9, even if the buzzer 4 sounds, it is impossible to know where the obstacle 9 is, and it is necessary to go down and check it. In some cases, it may not be possible. Therefore, the tone color and the frequency of the buzzer 4 may be changed according to the obstacle sensor 1 that has detected the obstacle 9 so that it can be known which obstacle sensor 1 has detected the obstacle 9. When a single buzzer 4 is associated with all the obstacle sensors 1, a buzzer drive circuit (not shown) that receives the output of the obstacle sensor 1 that has detected the obstacle 9 and changes the tone color and frequency
It is possible to respond by providing. Of course, each obstacle sensor 1 may be provided with a buzzer 4 having a different timbre or the like. It is also possible to give a notification such as left front or right rear by voice.

[0016]

As described above, according to the first feature of the present invention, the distance to the obstacle for activating the notification means with respect to the simultaneous detection output of the obstacle by both the left and right obstacle sensors. Since the alarm area adjusting means for increasing the threshold value of the vehicle is provided, it is possible to output an alarm even for a front obstacle even when the distance from the center portion in the width direction of the vehicle body is not too short, by the obstacle sensor arranged at the corner portion. Since the distance to the obstacle at which the notification means is activated can be made almost the same regardless of the position of the obstacle, the sense of distance will cause the vehicle body to collide with the obstacle. You can get rid of things.

Further, in the second feature,
For the simultaneous detection output of the obstacles by both the left and right obstacle sensors, a notification distance adjusting means for operating the notification means for changing the output according to the distance to the obstacle with an output corresponding to a distance shorter than the actual detection distance is provided. Since it is equipped with an obstacle sensor at the corner of the vehicle body, an alarm is output according to the distance from the center of the vehicle body in the width direction to the obstacle ahead of the vehicle. The driver can accurately know the distance to the obstacle, and therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the vehicle body collides with the obstacle.

If the notification means changes the notification sound by the obstacle sensor that detects the obstacle, the driver can recognize where the obstacle is, even if the driver cannot see the obstacle. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block circuit diagram of an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the above.

FIG. 3 is a time chart showing the operation of the above.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view of the above.

FIG. 5 is a block circuit diagram of an example of another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Obstacle Sensor 2 Car Body 3 Control Circuit 3d Notification Area Adjuster 9 Obstacle

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An obstacle detection device for a vehicle, comprising: obstacle sensors arranged respectively at left and right corners of a vehicle body; and an informing means for informing of the obstacle detection by the obstacle sensor. An obstacle detection device for a vehicle, comprising: notification area adjustment means for increasing a threshold value of a distance to the obstacle for operating the notification means, in response to simultaneous detection outputs of the obstacle sensors. . 2. An obstacle detection device for a vehicle, comprising an obstacle sensor arranged at each of right and left corners of a vehicle body, and an informing means for informing of the obstacle detection by the obstacle sensor. For the simultaneous detection output of the obstacles by both obstacle sensors, the notification means for changing the output according to the distance to the obstacle is provided with the notification distance adjusting means for operating with the output corresponding to the distance shorter than the actual detection distance. An obstacle detection device for a vehicle characterized by being provided. 3. The obstacle detecting device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the notifying means changes an alarm sound by an obstacle sensor detecting an obstacle.