JPH0962999A - On-vehicle obstacle detecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an obstacle detecting device for a vehicle whereby a driver obtains obstacle approach information without looking at a place where a display equipment exists. SOLUTION: The device is provided with an alarm sound and voice generating circuit 15 synthesizing a voice signal for alarm, a modulation transmitting circuit 16 for modulating the synthesized voice signal so as to transmit it as radio wave and an antenna 17 transmitting radio wave in addition to sensors 10-13 arranged at the respective corners of a vehicle and a control circuit controlling the sensors. The control circuit 14 synthesizes voice in the alarm sound and voice generating circuit based on information obtained from the sensors 10-13 and transmits it as radio wave. The control circuit 14 also transmits a tuning signal to an in-vehicle radio 19 with a control line 21, receives radio wave transmitted from the antenna 17 by the antenna 18 of the invehicle radio 19 and outputs alarm voice from a speaker 20.

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 the approach of an obstacle based on a measurement result of a distance measuring sensor provided in each part of a vehicle and issues a warning to a driver.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An obstacle detecting device for a vehicle detects an obstacle at a corner of a vehicle or at the rear of the vehicle by using an ultrasonic sensor, and measures a distance between the sensor and the obstacle and a distance between the obstacle and the obstacle. It is also known as a corner clearance sonar or back sonar that informs the driver of the position of a corner with an indicator light and a buzzer.

By using such a sonar,
It is possible to improve the operability of the vehicle when turning back, entering a garage, or moving backward in a narrow space. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a conventional vehicle obstacle detection device.

The sensors denoted by reference numerals 50 to 53 are generally ultrasonic distance measuring devices, and include ultrasonic transducers that emit ultrasonic waves and receive reflected waves reflected by obstacles. I'm out. These sensors 50 to 53 are installed at the corners of the vehicle and perform measurements for detecting obstacles and calculating the distance from each corner to the obstacle. For example, the sensor 50 is the left front corner (FL) of the vehicle, and the sensor 51 is the right front corner (F) of the vehicle.
R), the sensor 52 is the left rear (RL) of the vehicle, the sensor 53
Are provided on the right rear (RR) of the vehicle.

The control circuit 54 starts measuring time from the time when each sensor emits an ultrasonic wave, and measures the time until the reflected wave is detected by the corresponding sensor. The distance to the obstacle is calculated from the measured time and the velocity of ultrasonic waves transmitted in the air.

The control circuit 54 further includes sensors 50-5.
The distance is measured every 3 points, the corner closest to the obstacle, the speed of approaching the obstacle, and the like are specified, and the display 55
And a warning sound is emitted by the buzzer 56.

The display 55 is, for example, a display device provided on an instrument panel in a vehicle. As shown in FIG. 5, there is a picture of an automobile at the center and the sensor 5
Display lamps 57-1 to 57-4 are provided corresponding to the corners at which 0 to 53 are provided.

That is, the lamp 57-1 blinks or lights when the sensor 50 detects an obstacle, the lamp 57-2 when the sensor 51 detects, and the lamp 57-3 when the sensor 52 detects. The lamp 57-4 is configured to blink or turn on when detected by the sensor 53.

The blinking method of the lamps 57-1 to 57-4 has been variously devised. For example, the blinking cycle is changed according to the distance to the obstacle. . That is, when the obstacle is far away, the lamps 57-1 to 57-4 slowly blink, and when the obstacle approaches a predetermined distance, the lamps are continuously turned on.

The buzzer 56 emits a warning sound (for example, a beep sound) in response to the blinking of the lamp at the corner of the four corners that is closest to the obstacle.

[0011]

However, since the indicator 55 is provided at a fixed position such as an instrument panel in front of the driver's seat, the driver can operate the vehicle while looking around the vehicle in a garage or the like. In this case, it is difficult to use the instrument panel or the like in order to obtain the approach information for each obstacle.

When the vehicle obstacle detection device is installed as an option after the vehicle is purchased, the display 5
Since No. 5 is not provided, the alarm is given only by the sound of the buzzer 56, and there is a possibility that sufficient information on the approach status of the obstacle cannot be obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a structure capable of obtaining the approach information of an obstacle without the driver having to look to the place where the display is located. .

[0014]

According to the present invention, instead of providing a buzzer or a display device, an alarm sound / voice generating circuit, a modulation transmitting circuit for modulating a generated signal and transmitting it as a radio wave, and a radio wave are transmitted. An antenna is provided, and the alarm signal generated by the control circuit is converted into a voice signal and transmitted as a radio wave.

Then, the radio wave is received by a receiver such as an in-vehicle radio to generate a voice. Further, the control circuit is configured to automatically tune the in-vehicle radio, and the alarm sound and voice sent from the antenna are configured to flow from the in-vehicle radio.

Further, according to another aspect of the present invention, a speaker for transmitting an alarm sound or voice synthesized by an alarm sound / voice generating circuit is provided at an appropriate place in the vehicle compartment, and an obstacle approaches from the speaker. It is configured to send the information of.

[0017]

Since the information about the approach of the obstacle can be notified to the driver as a voice, the driver does not have to move his or her eyes to obtain the information.

Further, by transmitting this voice as a radio wave and outputting the voice from a radio installed in the vehicle, the obstacle detecting device is attached to the automobile without a display or the like after purchase of the vehicle. However, the driver can get enough information about the approach of the obstacle.

Further, by providing a speaker at each corner in the passenger compartment and outputting an alarm sound or voice from these, the driver can know the corner where the obstacle is approaching depending on the direction in which the voice flows. Therefore, the operability of the vehicle is further improved.

[0020]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
In the present embodiment, the control circuit 14 that controls the sensors 10 to 13 provided at each corner of the vehicle, processes the data obtained from the sensors 10 to 13 and generates an alarm sound or a signal for notifying the approach of an obstacle. Warning sound / voice generation circuit 1 for synthesizing a warning sound or voice by a signal from the circuit 14
5. Modulation transmission circuit 16 that modulates the signal from the alarm sound / voice generation circuit 15 to transmit by radio waves, modulation transmission circuit 1
Antenna 17 for transmitting the signal generated in 6 as a radio wave
The control circuit 14 also includes a control line 21 for tuning the in-vehicle radio 19.

Further, an in-vehicle radio 19 for outputting an alarm sound and a voice and an antenna 1 attached to the radio 19
8 and the speaker 20 are comprised as a structure. Sensors 10-1
Reference numeral 3 is the same as a conventional sensor, for example, a distance measuring device using ultrasonic waves.

As will be described in detail later, the control circuit 14 performs data processing based on the data obtained from these sensors 10 to 13 to determine whether or not to give an alarm notification. A signal for that purpose is sent to the alarm sound / voice generation circuit 15.

The alarm / sound generation circuit 15 is the control circuit 1
Based on the signal supplied from No. 4, the warning sound and the voice are synthesized. Speech synthesis reproduces a sound wave waveform of a human voice, and since a speech synthesis IC has recently been provided, it may be used. Alternatively, the alarm sound / voice generation circuit 15 may not be provided as a separate circuit, and the voice synthesis software may be executed by the control circuit 14 to synthesize the voice.

The modulation transmission circuit may be a signal modulation circuit which is generally used, and recently, a mobile phone or the like which transmits voice as a radio wave to a relay station is actually used, and such a device is used. The modulation and transmission circuit incorporated in the device may be used.

The radio wave output from the modulation transmission circuit 16 is
Although it is transmitted from the antenna 17, since the transmission destination is the radio 19 in the same vehicle, a very large output is not required.

The radio wave transmitted from the antenna 17 is transmitted at a specific frequency and is received by the antenna 18 of the in-vehicle radio 19. However, in order for the voice to be emitted from the speaker 20, the in-vehicle radio 19 is tuned. There is a need.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a control line 21 for sending a signal from the control circuit 14 to the in-vehicle radio 19 is connected. The control circuit 14 tunes the in-vehicle radio 19 through the control line 21. For this purpose, the in-vehicle radio 19 needs to be provided with a terminal for receiving a signal for tuning.

This tuning method does not have to be the one in the embodiment of FIG. That is, when the obstacle detection device is optionally attached to the vehicle, such a terminal is not always provided on the vehicle radio. In such a case, the user may manually tune the in-vehicle radio. In addition, recently, there are radios that can be tuned to a desired frequency simply by pressing a button. Therefore, it is preferable to provide the radio with a button set to the frequency transmitted by the obstacle detection device. Alternatively, if the radio can be tuned by remote control, a tuning signal of the radio may be sent from the control circuit 14 to perform automatic tuning by remote control. As described above, the tuning method is arbitrary and may be used properly depending on the type of radio. In particular, in these cases the control line 21 is not needed.

If the vehicle is equipped with an audio amplifier, it may be possible to input a warning sound or voice to the amplifier by wire and obtain a voice output. In this case, it is not particularly necessary to transmit the radio wave from the antenna 17. Even in such a case, the obstacle detecting device may be properly attached according to the equipment such as a radio or an audio stereo mounted on each vehicle. However, since extra wiring is required, it is desirable to reduce the number of wirings as much as possible from the viewpoint of easy mounting.

2 and 3 are flowcharts showing the control flow of the control circuit. In the figure, L11 to L
14 is a distance to the obstacle measured by each of the sensors 10 to 13 at a certain time t1. Also, L21
~ L24 is a time t that is a predetermined time after the time t1.
2 is the distance to the obstacle measured by each of the sensors 10 to 13.

First, in step S1, a timer is started. The time is measured by the timer by setting the time between each processing so that the time required for the first measurement and its processing and the time required for the next measurement and its processing are constant. This is because the notification of measurement and alarm is regularly performed.

In step S2, the sensors 10 to 10 are connected.
13 is operated to measure the distance between each corner and the obstacle. This distance can be obtained by multiplying the time required for the emitted ultrasonic wave to be reflected by an obstacle and returning and the speed of the ultrasonic wave, and divide by two.

Distance L11 between each corner of the vehicle and the obstacle
When the measurement of L14 is completed, it is determined in step S3 whether or not the timer has counted a predetermined time. If the predetermined time has not yet passed, while repeating step S3,
Wait for a predetermined time.

When the predetermined time has elapsed, the timer is cleared and the timer is started again in step S4. In step S5, similarly to step S2, each of the sensors 10 to 13 is actuated, and the distances L21 to L to the obstacle are set.
24 is measured. When all have been measured, step S6
At this measurement value and the distance L measured in step S2
The following calculations are performed using 11 to L14.

ΔL1 = L21-L11, ΔL2 = L22
-L12, ΔL3 = L23-L13, ΔL4 = L24-
L14 Here, for example, L11 and L21 are sensors at the front left corner of the vehicle, L12 and L22 are sensors at the front right corner of the vehicle,
L13 and L23 are sensors at the rear left corner of the vehicle, L14
And L24 are the distances to the obstacle measured by the sensors at the right rear corners of the vehicle.

Since L21 to L24 are the distances to the obstacles when a predetermined time elapses after L11 to L14 are measured, ΔL1 to ΔL4 indicate whether or not the obstacles have approached during the predetermined time. It becomes the numerical value which shows. For example, when the value of L21 is smaller than that of L11, it indicates that an obstacle is approaching. That is, if ΔL1 is a negative value, ΔL1 is based on the distance measured by the sensor at the vehicle front left corner, and therefore indicates that an obstacle is approaching the vehicle left front corner.

In step S7, among L21 to L24,
The smallest one is LA and the second smallest one is LB. In step S8, it is determined whether or not ΔL corresponding to LA is negative. That is, when LA is, for example, L21, it means that the obstacle approaching the front left corner of the vehicle is closest to the corner of other vehicles, and ΔL corresponding to this, that is, ΔL1 is A negative value indicates that an obstacle is approaching the corner to the left front of the vehicle.

Therefore, when ΔL corresponding to LA is negative, in step S9, a voice is synthesized to warn that the corner where the obstacle is most approaching is approaching the obstacle, and Radio waves are sent to the in-vehicle radio for voice output, and the process proceeds to step S10.

As an example of the voice output, "beep, left front 2
It is 0 cm. , Etc., the position of the corner corresponding to LA and the value of LA are notified. Or, in order to call the driver more attention, "... approaching.",
It is also possible to output a voice such as "Please look at ... and slowly back."

If ΔL is not negative in step S8, the obstacle is not approaching, so the process does not issue a voice warning and proceeds to step S10. In step S10, for LB, that is, for the corner where the second obstacle is approaching,
It is determined whether the corresponding ΔL is negative. If the result of determination is negative, it means that an obstacle is approaching this corner as well, so step S11
Gives a voice alarm.

In step S11, step S9
Since the corner where the obstacle is closer is slightly away from the obstacle, it is appropriate that the content of the alarm sound is slightly weak. For example, the contents such as "please be careful about the left front" are output. However, the content of the voice to be output does not necessarily have to be weak, and the position of the corner, the value of LB, and the like may be similarly output as in step S11.

When voice output is performed in step S11, the process proceeds to step S12. Further, if ΔL corresponding to LB is not negative in step S10, the process proceeds to step S12 in the same meaning as in step S8.

In step S12, L21 is set to L11,
L22 to L12, L23 to L13, L24 to L14
To prepare for the next measurement. In step S13,
In step S4, it is determined whether or not the timer, which has started measuring the time, has counted a predetermined time, and if the timer has not finished counting, step S13 is repeated. When the counting of the predetermined time is completed, the process returns to step S4 to perform the next measurement.

In steps S8 and S10,
Although the alarm is issued only when an obstacle is approaching the corner, the alarm may be issued for a corner having a short distance regardless of whether the obstacle is approaching or not. Alternatively, the time when L11 to L14 are measured and L2
1 to L24 are stored in advance and ΔL1 to
It is also possible to provide a step of calculating the approach speed to the obstacle by dividing each of ΔL4 by the stored time difference, and output the warning content.

Further, in the flow shown in FIGS. 2 and 3,
Although the alarm information is output for two corners that are close to the obstacle, the alarm information may be output for only the corners that are closest to the obstacle or for all corners. Good. In addition, it is possible to output various alarm information.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the vehicle obstacle detection device of the present invention. In the figure, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment,
Instead of transmitting the warning sound by radio wave and outputting the sound from the in-vehicle radio, dedicated speakers 41 to 44 are installed in each corner.
And a signal switching circuit 40 for switching the speakers 41 to 44 by a control signal from the control circuit 14.
Is provided.

The speakers 41 to 44 are provided at the four corners inside the vehicle. For example, the speaker 41 is installed in the front left part of the vehicle interior, and the sensor 1 is installed in the front left corner of the vehicle.
The alarm information obtained by measuring 0 is output. Similarly, the speaker 42 outputs alarm information corresponding to the sensor 11, the speaker 43 outputs to the sensor 12, and the speaker 44 outputs alarm information corresponding to the sensor 13.

The control circuit 1 is used to switch the speakers 41 to 44.
The signal switching circuit 40 performs the operation according to the signal output from the circuit 4. For example, when LA is a numerical value obtained from the sensor 10 at the front left of the vehicle in step S8 of FIG. 3, the control circuit 14 sends a signal for alarm sound generation and at the same time sends a signal to the signal switching circuit 40. Then, the speaker 41 is selected. As in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the alarm notification sound is voice-synthesized by the alarm sound / voice generation circuit 15, modulated by the modulation transmission circuit 16, and sent to the signal switching circuit 40.

The signal-modulated voice signal is sent to the control circuit 14
The signal is output from the speaker 41 selected by the signal switching circuit 40 based on the signal from. Similarly, when LA is obtained from the sensor 11 in the front right of the vehicle, the speaker 4
2 to the speaker 4 in the case of the sensor 12 at the rear left of the vehicle.
3 to the speaker 4 in the case of the sensor 13 on the right rear side of the vehicle.
Voice is emitted from 4.

By doing so, the driver can hear the warning sound from the speaker located in the direction in which the obstacle is approaching, and thus can intuitively recognize the approaching direction of the obstacle. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the operability of the vehicle when turning back in a narrow place, entering a garage, and moving backward.

In this embodiment, a dedicated speaker for outputting a warning sound and a switching circuit for these are provided. With this, it is possible to operate the four speakers independently and receive a voice warning from the approaching direction of the obstacle. For example, if the vehicle is equipped with a stereo, it also serves as a stereo speaker. You may. In this case, although it is not possible to control each speaker independently, it is possible to obtain an effect close to that of the present embodiment by synthesizing stereo-type voices. Similarly, also in the embodiment of FIG. 1, it is possible to obtain an effect similar to that of the embodiment of FIG. 4 by generating stereo-type sound and outputting the sound from the in-vehicle stereo.

[0052]

According to the present invention, instead of providing a buzzer or a display device, an alarm sound or a sound notifying an alarm is synthesized and transmitted as a radio wave, and received by a radio mounted on a vehicle to output a sound. By so doing, the driver does not have to shift his or her line of sight to the display in order to obtain information when turning back in a narrow place, entering a garage, or retreating, thus improving the operability of the vehicle. it can.

Further, since the radio installed in the vehicle is used as the alarm sound output device, the display and the buzzer are not required, the number of parts can be reduced, and the cost for installing the vehicle obstacle detection device can be reduced. Can be down.

Furthermore, by configuring the control circuit to automatically tune the radio in the vehicle, the voice output can be obtained from the radio together with the activation of the obstacle detection device for the vehicle. This saves time and effort and improves operability.

Alternatively, by providing a speaker for outputting an alarm sound or a voice at each corner in the vehicle compartment, the information about the approach of the obstacle can be heard from the direction in which the obstacle is approaching. Intuitively easy to receive,
This leads to improved operability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart (No. 1) of the control circuit in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart (No. 2) of the control circuit in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a conventional vehicle obstacle detection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 11, 12, 13, 50, 51, 52, 53
Sensor 14, 54 Control circuit 15 Alarm sound / voice generation circuit 16 Modulation transmission circuit 17, 18 Antenna 19 In-vehicle radio 20, 41, 42, 43, 44 Speaker 21 Control line 40 Signal switching circuit 55 Indicator 56 Buzzer 57-1 , 57-2, 57-3, 57-4 lamp

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display area G08G 1/09 G01S 15/93

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An obstacle detection device for a vehicle, which notifies a driver of an approaching obstacle, and an obstacle detection means for detecting an obstacle, and an obstacle based on a detection result of the obstacle detection means. An obstacle detection device for a vehicle, comprising: an alarm generation control means for synthesizing a voice signal indicating an approaching state, modulating the voice signal, and transmitting the modulated voice signal as a radio wave. 2. The alarm notification is provided by further comprising receiving means for receiving the radio wave and outputting a voice, and outputting a voice for notifying an approaching state of an obstacle from the receiving means. Item 1. The vehicle obstacle detection device according to item 1. 3. The receiving means is a radio mounted on a vehicle, and the radio is tuned by a signal output by the alarm generation control means and outputs a sound transmitted by the radio wave. The vehicle obstacle detection device according to claim 2. 4. The vehicle obstacle detection device according to claim 1, wherein the obstacle detection means is a sensor that uses ultrasonic waves. 5. The voice signal is synthesized by a voice synthesizing IC.
The vehicle obstacle detection device according to item 1. 6. The vehicle obstacle detection device according to claim 1, wherein the voice signals are synthesized by voice synthesis software. 7. An obstacle detection device for a vehicle, which notifies a driver of an approaching obstacle, and an obstacle detection means for detecting an obstacle, and an obstacle based on a detection result of the obstacle detection means. An obstacle detection device for a vehicle, comprising: an alarm generation control means for synthesizing an audio signal notifying an approaching state; and an audio output means for outputting the audio signal synthesized by the alarm generation control means as a sound. 8. The vehicle obstacle detection device according to claim 7, wherein the obstacle detection means is a sensor using ultrasonic waves. 9. The vehicle obstacle detection device according to claim 7, wherein the voice signal is synthesized by a voice synthesis IC. 10. The vehicle obstacle detection device according to claim 7, wherein the voice signal is synthesized by voice synthesis software. 11. The vehicle according to claim 7, wherein the voice output means allows the driver to hear the voice from a direction in which an obstacle approaches. Obstacle detection device. 12. The voice output means has a speaker that corresponds to the obstacle detection means in a one-to-one correspondence, and the speaker is installed at a position corresponding to the installation position of the obstacle detection means and corresponds to each of them. The vehicle obstacle detection device according to claim 7, wherein the synthesized voice is output based on the detection result of the obstacle detection means.