JPH10157536A - Inter-vehicle rear-end collision alarm device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a regulation mode switch in which operability is excellent and no input is made by a mistaken recognition by providing the regulation mode switch to check the fitting position of a light emission/reception part from/to a vehicle at the position operable through a small hole opened in a finisher of a controller. SOLUTION: A regulation mode switch 28 to check the mounted position of a light emission/reception part on a vehicle is provided at the position operable through a small hole 28a opened in a finisher 20f of the controller 20. The information from a vehicle speed sensor is inputted in the controller 20 by the regulation mode switch 28, and when the vehicle speed becomes not less than 1km/h, inter-vehicle alarm and rear-end collision alarm are carried out, and these alarms are prevented from operating when the vehicle speed is below the prescribed value. The information from a steering gear angular sensor of the vehicle is inputted to the controller 20, and the travelling direction of the vehicle is recognized to select the effective azimuth of the scanning light.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inter-vehicle collision warning device for measuring a distance between vehicles, displaying and warning the distance between the vehicles, thereby maintaining a safe distance between vehicles and preventing a collision or collision. More particularly, the present invention relates to an inter-vehicle collision warning device with improved operability and safety of an adjustment mode switch for checking a mounting state of a light emitting and receiving unit on a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art This type of inter-vehicle collision warning device measures a distance between a vehicle and a vehicle in front by irradiating a laser beam in front of the vehicle and receiving light reflected by the vehicle in front. This inter-vehicle distance is displayed to drive the vehicle while maintaining a safe inter-vehicle distance, and is used for predicting the risk of rear-end collision or collision to prevent accidents.

In the conventional inter-vehicle rear-end collision warning device, one laser beam is emitted only in one direction. Therefore, it is impossible to detect a vehicle ahead of the vehicle even if the vehicle is slightly out of the detection area. It has been pointed out that a sign, a signboard or the like or an oncoming vehicle is detected and a false alarm is likely to occur.

[0004] For this purpose, a laser beam from a laser diode is applied to a mirror, and the mirror is reciprocally rotated at a predetermined angle in the horizontal direction, thereby increasing the irradiation area of the laser beam to be applied forward. Alarm devices have also been proposed. According to such a multi-beam scan type inter-vehicle rear-end collision warning device, not only the detection area of the preceding vehicle is widened, but also on a curved road, the information of the reflected light is processed to change the direction of the detection area. Can be selected according to

[0005]

A light emitting / receiving section (radar section) for emitting laser light and receiving reflected light is mounted on the front of the vehicle, for example, between a front grill and a front bumper. It is necessary to stop the vehicle at the time of mounting and subsequent readjustment, set the optical axis accurately, and check the operation.

[0006] However, the conventional inter-vehicle collision warning device is a system that does not operate unless the vehicle speed exceeds a certain speed due to safety and other demands. Therefore, an existing button is diverted, and for example, a certain button is used for several seconds. By pressing the button continuously, the mode is set to the adjustment mode, and the system is operated by irradiating the laser beam for a certain period of time even when the vehicle is stopped.

However, in such a conventional inter-vehicle collision warning device, since an existing button is used as an adjustment mode switch, there is a problem that it is difficult for an adjustment operator to find the button. It had been. However, since adjustment work is performed using laser light,
As an adjustment operator, a person who is aware of ensuring safety should be in charge, and if a dedicated switch is used, the adjustment mode is set when a general user accidentally presses the switch, so that it was necessary to prevent this.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and provides an inter-vehicle collision warning device having an adjustment mode switch which has good operability and is not input by erroneous recognition. Aim.

[0009]

To achieve the above object, a headway collision warning device according to the present invention illuminates a target with scanning light from a light emitting unit, and receives reflected light from the target with a light receiving unit. An inter-vehicle collision warning device having a light emitting and receiving unit that measures a distance to the object and a controller that outputs warning information based on the distance obtained by the light emitting and receiving unit,
An adjustment mode switch for confirming a mounting position of the light emitting and receiving unit on the vehicle is inside the controller,
It is provided at a position operable through a small hole opened in a finisher of the controller.

In the head-on rear-end collision warning device of the present invention, the adjustment mode switch is provided inside the controller at a position operable through the small hole formed in the finisher of the controller. For example, since the switch is configured with a dedicated switch, the adjustment operator can easily find the switch. In addition, since the switch is constituted by a behind switch, it cannot be input unless a tool or the like is used, and a general user other than the adjustment operator, for example, does not input the adjustment mode switch by mistake. Furthermore, because it is configured with a behind switch, it does not violate the space of the finisher of the controller,
In addition, it does not impair the appearance.

In the headway collision warning device according to the present invention, when the adjustment mode switch is input, the scanning light is emitted from the light emitting portion for a predetermined time regardless of the traveling speed of the own vehicle, and the reflected light is received by the light receiving device. It is preferable that the distance from the object is measured by receiving light at the section.

By inputting the adjustment mode switch, even when the vehicle is stopped, scanning light is emitted from the light emitting section for a predetermined time, and the reflected light is received by the light receiving section to measure the distance to the target. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the optical axis of the light emitting and receiving unit and confirm the operation within the predetermined time. In addition, since the operation is performed only for a predetermined time, there is no problem in terms of safety.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a horizontal sectional view showing an embodiment of a light emitting / receiving section of the headway collision warning device according to the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an inter-vehicle collision warning device of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an operation of a stepping motor and operations of a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit in the embodiment of the inter-vehicle collision alarm device of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, a light emitting and receiving unit 10 according to the present embodiment has a first casing 11 and a second casing 12, and these first and second casings 11, 12 are provided. A light emitting unit 1, a light receiving unit 2, a mirror 3, and a stepping motor 4 are built therein.

Light emitting unit 1 composed of a laser diode or the like
Is mounted on a printed circuit board 1a on which a control circuit of the laser diode 1 is formed, and when a light emission signal from a controller 20 described later is received, the vertical light transmission angle of the scanning light SB is about 2 ° and the horizontal Light transmission angle of direction is about 2 °
The mirror 3 is irradiated with the laser spot light LS so that

The mirror 3 is mounted directly on the output shaft 4a of the stepping motor 4 while being mounted on the mirror holder 3a, and reflects the laser spot light LS from the light emitting section 1 toward the light emitting port 13.

The stepping motor 4 used in the present embodiment is of a so-called hybrid type, and detailed description is omitted. A stepper motor 4 includes a rotor consisting of a permanent magnet and a rotor core, and a stator consisting of a coil and a stator core. Small teeth are formed on both the rotor core and the stator core, and the rotor core is further divided into two. The hybrid type stepping motor 4 has a higher torque than other types of PM type and VR type, and has extremely excellent positioning accuracy, and thus is suitable for the stepping operation of the mirror 3 according to the present embodiment. However, it is also possible to use a PM type or VR type stepping motor other than the HB type in the head-on collision warning device of the present invention.

The operation signal to the stepping motor 4 is transmitted from the controller 20 via a harness (not shown). In order to detect the current rotational position of the stepping motor 4, the photo interrupter 5 as position detecting means is used. Is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the photo interrupter 5 has a concave portion 5a through which a light shielding portion 3b formed integrally with the mirror holder 3a can pass.
A slit 5b is formed in each of the horizontal planes a, and a light shielding portion 3b is formed by an infrared LED embedded in one slit 5b and a photo IC embedded in the other slit 5b.
Is detected. Photo interrupter 5 of the present embodiment
Outputs a high-level signal to the controller 20 when the light-shielding portion 3b is detected, that is, when light is shielded.

A light receiving port 14 is formed in the second casing 12 of the light emitting / receiving section 10 adjacent to the light emitting port 13 described above, and is adapted to receive the reflected light RB reflected by the object. . Here, the light receiving unit 2 includes a photodiode, a PIN photodiode, a phototransistor, and the like. The light receiving element 2 is mounted on a printed circuit board 2a on which a control circuit for the light receiving element is formed. It is attached to the third casing 15.

In this embodiment, the printed circuit board 2a
Is attached to the third casing 15, a member 8 made of a light-impermeable material such as urethane rubber is interposed between the printed board 2 a and the third casing 15. Scanning light SB
This prevents the light from entering the gap between the printed board 2 a and the third casing 15 and being detected by the light receiving unit 2.

The third casing 15 also has a function of holding a protective glass and a condenser lens between the third casing 15 and the second casing 12. That is, the light-emitting port 13 is provided with the protective glass 6a via an O-ring, and the light-receiving port 14 is provided with
A protective glass 6b is provided on the outside and an Fresnel lens 7 is provided on the inside via an O-ring.
And the third casing 15.

In this embodiment, the Fresnel lens is used as the condenser lens 7. However, the protective glass 6b can be omitted by arranging the flat surface 7a side of the Fresnel lens 7 on the outside. By doing so, there is no decrease in transmittance as much as the reflected light passes through the protective glass 6b.
The detection accuracy is improved, and the cost can be reduced by omitting the protective lens 6b.

On the front surface of the controller 20 shown in FIG.
A main power button 21, a digital display unit 22 for displaying the distance L from the object detected by the light emitting and receiving unit 10, a speaker 23 for emitting an alarm sound such as a rear-end collision alarm or an inter-vehicle alarm, for adjusting the volume of the alarm sound. Volume lamp 24, a warning lamp 25 for displaying warnings such as a rear-end collision warning and a vehicle-to-vehicle warning with three-color lamps, a user setting button 26 for setting warning timing and canceling the vehicle-to-vehicle warning sound,
a, 6b and a lens dirt warning lamp 27 for warning dirt on the condenser lens 7, and an adjustment mode switch 28 for executing an adjustment mode when the light emitting and receiving unit 10 of the head-to-head collision warning device is mounted on a vehicle. ing.

The digital display unit 22 displays the distance L to the object in meters as it is. Based on the measured distance L, a warning sound and a warning lamp alert the driver to danger. I also do.

In the present embodiment, when the safe distance L between the preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle is maintained, the warning sound is not emitted and the warning lamp 25 is not lit or lights up in green or orange. When the distance L from the vehicle in front is shorter than the safe inter-vehicle distance, an intermittent warning sound is emitted and the warning lamp 25 lights up in red. Further, when the distance L between the vehicle and the vehicle in front is extremely short and there is a possibility of collision, a continuous warning sound is sounded and all the red, orange and green warning lamps 25 are used and these are blinked. .

The user setting button 26 is a button for setting respective alarm timings of an inter-vehicle alarm and a rear-end collision alarm. For example, when a mode button 26a is pressed, an alarm timing setting mode of the inter-vehicle alarm is set, and UP and DOW are set.
Using the N button 26b, the range of the warning timing (the reference value of the inter-vehicle distance to be warned) can be switched by the numerical values of 1 to 20 displayed on the digital display unit 22. When the mode button 26a is further pressed, the mode for setting the alarm timing of the rear-end collision alarm is set, and the UP and DOWN buttons 26
1 to 20 displayed on the digital display unit 22 using
The range of the warning timing (the reference value of the rear-end collision distance to be warned) can be switched by the numerical value of. Further, the ON / OFF of the alarm is switched by these buttons 26a and 26b.

Particularly, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
An adjustment mode switch 28 for confirming the mounting position of the light emitting / receiving unit 10 on the vehicle is located inside the controller 20 at a position operable through a small hole 28a opened in the finisher 20f of the controller 20. Is provided. In other words, it is a behind switch (hidden switch). As described above, by setting the adjustment mode switch to a dedicated switch, an adjustment operator such as a dealer can easily find the switch 28. Moreover,
Since it is configured as a behind switch, the tool T
If the user does not use the switch or the like, the switch cannot be input, and a general user other than the adjustment operator does not input the adjustment mode switch 28 by mistake. Furthermore, since it is constituted by a behind switch, it does not impair the space of the finisher 20f of the controller 20 and does not impair the appearance.

Information from the vehicle speed sensor 30 of the vehicle is input to the controller 20, and when the vehicle speed becomes 1 km / h or more, an inter-vehicle alarm and a rear-end collision alarm are executed, and these alarms do not operate below this speed. It has become. Further, information from the steering wheel angle sensor 40 of the vehicle is input to the controller 20, and the microcomputer or the electronic circuit of the controller 20 selects the effective direction of the scanning light by recognizing the traveling direction of the own vehicle. It is processed. The details will be described later.

In the rear-end collision warning device of the present embodiment, the mirror 3 is reciprocally rotated by the stepping motor 4,
As shown in the upper right diagram of FIG. 4, the scanning light SB is
That is, scanning is performed in the order of →→→→→. At this time, the output shaft 4a of the stepping motor 4 is not reciprocated continuously, but is temporarily stopped for a very short time, and at the time of the stop, the laser beam LS from the laser diode 1 is applied to the mirror 3.

The upper part of FIG. 4 shows the scanning direction of the scanning light as a step of the stepping motor 4, the middle part shows the light emission timing of the laser diode 1, and the lower part shows the light reception timing of the reflected light, that is, the light receiving condition of the photodiode 2. ing. The steps of the stepping motor 4 are (Step 1) → (Step 2) → (Step 3) → (Step 4) → (Step 5).

As described above, while the stepping motor 4 is rotating, light emission from the laser diode 1 is not performed.
The laser diode 1 emits light when the rotation of the motor stops in each step. In the present embodiment, four phases,
The stepping motor 4 having a step angle of 0.9 deg was used, and the stop hold time of the mirror 3 was set to 10 μsec.

The operation timing of the stepping motor 4 and the light emission timing of the laser diode 1 are controlled by a microcomputer or an electronic circuit of the controller 20, and are controlled by the motor 4 detected by the photo interrupter 5.
Is used.

In the inter-vehicle collision warning device of this embodiment, when the mirror 3 is reciprocally rotated, the mirror 3 is temporarily stopped for a predetermined time, and when the mirror 3 is stopped, the laser beam LS is applied to the mirror 3. In comparison with irradiating a laser beam while rotating, there is no rotational vibration error, and the scanning light SB
Becomes significantly more accurate.

The light emitting and receiving unit 10 of the headway collision warning device according to the present invention.
Is mounted, for example, between the front grill and the front bumper of the vehicle, but adjusts the optical axis of the laser beam when mounted,
Operation must be checked. Further, even after mounting, optical axis correction and operation confirmation may be performed. In such a case, with the vehicle stopped, the small holes 28 opened in the finisher 20f of the controller 20 as shown in FIG.
A tool T such as a screwdriver is inserted into a, and the adjustment mode switch 28 is pressed. Then, normally, as described above, the vehicle does not operate unless the vehicle speed becomes 1 km / h or more. However, by pressing the adjustment mode switch 28, the adjustment mode is set for 30 seconds, and laser light is emitted from the laser diode 1,
This reflected light is received by the light receiving unit 2, and a normal operation of measuring the distance to the target is performed. During this 30 seconds, a reference reflector is installed at a known distance in front of the host vehicle, the optical axis of the laser beam is adjusted, and the mounting state of the light emitting and receiving unit 10 is checked. Also check if it works properly. When 30 seconds have elapsed, the timer operates and the adjustment mode is automatically canceled.

As described above, in the present embodiment, by inputting the adjustment mode switch 28, laser light is emitted from the laser diode 1 for a predetermined time even when the vehicle is stopped, and this reflected light is Since the distance to the target object can be measured by receiving the light, the optical axis of the light emitting / receiving unit 10 can be adjusted and the operation can be confirmed within the predetermined time. In addition, since the operation is automatically canceled after operating for a predetermined time, there is no problem in terms of safety. Note that the maintenance time of the adjustment mode is not limited to 30 seconds described above.

The head-on collision warning device of the present invention can be used as follows. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a usage pattern of the inter-vehicle collision warning device of the present invention on a curved road, and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a usage pattern in a case where there is a sudden interruption vehicle.

On a curved road as shown in FIG. 5, there may be a central divider and an oncoming vehicle V3 in front of the center. If the measurement distance of the central scanning light among the three scanning lights is increased, These reflectors and oncoming vehicle V3
Will be detected. Therefore, when the steering wheel angle sensor 40 recognizes that the vehicle is on a curved road, the measuring distance of the scanning light (scanning beam in the illustrated case) in the curve direction is increased, and the measuring distance of the other scanning light is reduced. . As a result, only the preceding vehicle V2 in the curve direction is detected, and it is possible to extract and measure the inter-vehicle distance and the distance L to only the target related to the rear-end collision warning.

In this case, the inter-vehicle collision warning device according to the present embodiment temporarily stops the mirror 3 for a predetermined time when the mirror 3 is reciprocally rotated by using the stepping motor 4, and when the mirror 3 stops, the laser beam LS is turned off. By irradiating No. 3, the rotational vibration error is suppressed and the azimuth angle of the scanning light SB is extremely accurate, so that the accuracy in the curve direction is high,
False alarms can be prevented.

On the other hand, on a straight road as shown in FIG. 6, the forward vehicle V2 normally exists in the traveling direction.
The measurement distance of the central scanning light of one scanning light is set to be large, and the measurement distance of the other scanning light is set to be small. As a result, since the reflector or the oncoming vehicle existing on the front side is not detected, it is possible to appropriately recognize only the required front vehicle V2, and as shown in FIG. Even if there is, it can be detected by the scanning light on both sides.

The embodiments described above are described for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and are not described for limiting the present invention. Therefore, each element disclosed in the above embodiment is intended to include all design changes and equivalents belonging to the technical scope of the present invention.

[0042]

As described above, according to the headway collision warning device of the present invention, since the adjustment mode switch is constituted by the dedicated switch, the adjustment operator can easily find the switch. In addition, since the switch is constituted by a behind switch, it cannot be input unless a tool or the like is used, and a general user other than the adjustment operator, for example, does not input the adjustment mode switch by mistake. Furthermore, since it is constituted by a behind switch, it does not impair the space of the finisher of the controller and does not impair the aesthetic appearance.

In the head-on collision warning device of the present invention, when the adjustment mode switch is input, the scanning light is emitted from the light emitting portion for a predetermined time regardless of the traveling speed of the own vehicle, and the reflected light is received by the light receiving portion. Since the distance to the target object is measured, the optical axis of the light emitting / receiving unit can be adjusted and the operation can be confirmed within the predetermined time. In addition, since the operation is performed only for a predetermined time, there is no problem in terms of safety.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a horizontal sectional view showing an embodiment of a light emitting / receiving section of an inter-vehicle collision warning device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion A in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an inter-vehicle collision warning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a time chart showing the relationship between the operation of a stepping motor and the operations of a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit in the embodiment of the headway collision warning device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a use form of the headway collision warning device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing another mode of use of the headway collision warning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Laser diode (light emitting part) 1a ... Printed circuit board 2 ... Photodiode (light receiving part) 2a ... Printed circuit board 3 ... Mirror 3a ... Mirror holder 3b ... Shielding part 4: Stepping motor 4b ... Output shaft 5 ... Photo interrupter 6a, 6b ... Protective glass 7 ... Fresnel lens 10 ... Light emitting and receiving unit 20 ... Controller 20f ... Finisher 28 ... Adjustment mode switch 28a ... Small hole 30 ... Vehicle speed sensor 40 ... Handle angle sensor SB ... Scanning light RB ... Reflection light L ... Target object Distance V1: own vehicle V2: forward vehicle (target) V3: oncoming vehicle V4: interrupting vehicle (target) T: tool

Claims (2)

[Claims] An object (V) is irradiated with scanning light (SB) from a light emitting section (1), and reflected light (RB) thereof is received by a light receiving section (2).
And a controller (20) for outputting a warning information based on the distance obtained by the light emitting and receiving unit by measuring a distance (L) from the object by receiving the light.
And an adjustment mode switch (28) for confirming a mounting position of the light emitting and receiving unit (10) to the vehicle (V1), wherein the adjustment mode switch (28) is provided inside the controller, and a finisher of the controller is provided. An inter-vehicle collision warning device provided at a position operable through a small hole (28a) opened in (20f). 2. When the adjustment mode switch (28) is turned on, scanning light is emitted from the light emitting section for a predetermined time regardless of the traveling speed of the vehicle, and the reflected light is received by the light receiving section. The inter-vehicle rear-end collision warning device according to claim 1, wherein a distance from the target object is measured.