JPH11208367A - Informative device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To rouse a driver's attention to the direction of an object at the outside of a car even in low sight driving surroundings at night or the like by detecting the presence of this object, judging the existential direction, and altering a lighting state in the traveling direction of a vehicle according to the existential direction of the object. SOLUTION: Each detection signal of objects out of three infrared ray sensors 1, 3 and 5 is read in, analyzing and judging either of front right side, left side, center and both sides in the existential direction of the object by the setup of a detection objective area, and then an auxiliary lamp in the direction is flickered for information. This flickeredness is made so judgeable as the actuation of a direction indicator and a passing operation, looking from another car. In time of the informative operation of two auxiliary lamps 15 and 19, they are lighted with the alteration of light colors different from other illuminations such as flickering operations, the change of lights and darks, a headlight or the like, and lighting other than these auxiliary lamps 15 and 19 adjust a quantity of light so as to be easily sight the change of this illuminatedness. When there is an object in the traveling direction, a driver is able to sight the information without transferring his line of sight from the front, and thus he is able to rouse his attention toward the object at the outside of the car even in low sight driving surroundings at night or the like.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a notifying device for changing a lighting state according to the presence of a pedestrian or the like outside a vehicle to notify a driver of the presence.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A driver of a vehicle obtains most of the information visually in order to recognize a situation outside the vehicle required for driving. However, in a low-visibility driving environment such as at night, a part of the vehicle that is difficult to directly view, which does not reach the illumination light of the vehicle, remains uneasy for the driver.

For this reason, as a first prior art, for example, an object such as a pedestrian in a place where illumination light does not reach is detected by an infrared sensor, and a pedestrian is provided to an annunciation device provided near a driver's seat according to the detection result. There is a technique for presenting the existence of the information.

Further, as a second prior art, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 61-185631, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-29074.
No. 0 discloses a technique of irradiating the position direction of an obstacle detected by an ultrasonic sonar or a radar with an auxiliary light with reduced light.

Further, as a third prior art, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-137574 discloses a technique in which an irradiation range of a light is extended to an existing range of a detected obstacle based on an image taken by a TV camera. There is disclosed a technology that prompts a driver to recognize the presence of an obstacle.

[0006]

However, the notification device using the above-mentioned conventional technique has the following unsolved problems.

First, in the first prior art, since the driver's line of sight is directed to an alarm device provided near the driver's seat, the driver's line of sight directed to the alarm device must be moved to an object outside the vehicle and checked. Therefore, there is a problem that a delay time from detection of the object to confirmation is generated.

Further, in the second prior art, the more distant the object, the more powerful irradiation light is required. However, it is extremely difficult to accurately irradiate the object from the swaying vehicle body while traveling. However, there is a problem that if the strong irradiation light is erroneously applied to the preceding vehicle or the oncoming vehicle, the preceding vehicle or the oncoming vehicle may cause dazzling.

Furthermore, in the third prior art, since irradiation is performed over a wide area using a headlamp, it is difficult to determine a change in the irradiation range due to the vibration of the host vehicle even if the irradiation range is slightly changed. . In addition, when there is a pedestrian in front of the preceding or oncoming vehicle, a particularly large change in the irradiation range is required to expand the irradiation range to the pedestrian, which may cause dazzling of other vehicles. There was a problem.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of the above,
An object of the present invention is to provide a notification device that can alert a driver to an object outside a vehicle even in a low visibility driving environment such as at night.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In order to solve the above-described problem, a notification device that is installed in a vehicle and monitors an object present in a traveling direction of the vehicle to notify the presence thereof, and an object detection unit that detects the presence of the object, Based on a detection signal from the object detection means, direction determining means for determining the direction of the object,
The gist of the present invention is to provide an illumination unit for illuminating the traveling direction of the vehicle, and an illumination control unit for changing an illumination state of the illumination unit according to the direction of the object determined by the direction determination unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above problem, the illumination control means returns the changed illumination state to the pre-change illumination state when the object cannot be detected. The gist of the present invention is to provide an illumination state returning means for causing the illumination state to return.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the illumination state return means includes illumination state storage means for storing an illumination state before changing the illumination state, and the object can be detected. In the case where the lighting condition has disappeared, the gist is to return to the lighting condition before the change by referring to the storage contents of the lighting condition storage means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the lighting control means is provided between an operation content corresponding to an on / off operation of the lighting means and an output content from the lighting control means. The gist of the present invention is to calculate an exclusive OR and control the lighting means according to the calculation result.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the area in the traveling direction in which the illumination state is changed is:
The gist is to use an area outside the vehicle that can be referred to from the driver's field of view, and that is close to a portion where the lighting means is provided, in which a change in the lighting state illuminated by the lighting means can be easily recognized.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the illumination means includes illumination equipment capable of changing illuminance and / or illumination light color, and the illumination control means includes an illuminance of the illumination means. And / or controlling to change the illumination light color.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the change of the lighting state by the change of the illuminance is performed by changing the lighting state by the operation of a turn signal provided on the vehicle or the passing operation of the driver. On the other hand, the point is to change to the discrimination visible state.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the change of the lighting state is such that the lighting period is longer than the light-off period and continuous lighting as a temporal ratio of the light-on and the light-off. The gist should be a ratio that can be easily determined.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the illumination control means includes: an output of a luminous intensity at the time of full lighting;
The gist of the present invention is to change the illumination state so as to alternately output an output having a lower luminous intensity than that of all the lights.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a speed detecting means for detecting a running speed of the vehicle is provided, and the lighting control means is adapted to detect that the own vehicle is being decelerated by the speed detecting means or a predetermined speed. When it is detected that the vehicle is traveling at a vehicle speed or lower, the gist of the present invention is to perform control so as to reduce the degree of change in the lighting state.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the gist of the invention is that the illumination means comprises at least various headlights and / or auxiliary lights.

[0022]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the presence of an object is detected, the direction of the object is determined based on the detection signal, and the direction of the vehicle is determined according to the direction of the object. By changing the illumination state of the traveling direction, the target existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle is monitored and the presence of the object is notified.If the target is present in the traveling direction, The driver can visually recognize this notification without changing his eyes from the scenery outside the vehicle. Moreover, the light beam necessary for detecting the object does not hinder the driving of the driver. As a result, the driver can be alerted to the direction of an object outside the vehicle even in a low visibility driving environment such as at night.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first aspect is provided.
In the notification device described above, when the object can no longer be detected, by returning the changed lighting state to the lighting state before the change, even when the object no longer exists in the traveling direction, the driver can It is possible to have the person return to the original lighting state without changing their eyes from the scenery outside the vehicle.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a second aspect is provided.
In the notification device described above, the lighting state before changing the lighting state is stored, and when the object cannot be detected, by referring to the stored content, the lighting state is returned to the state before the change. Even when the object no longer exists in the traveling direction, the driver can automatically return to the original lighting state without moving his / her eyes from the scenery outside the vehicle.

According to the present invention described in claim 4, according to claim 1,
In the notification device described above, an exclusive OR is calculated between the operation content corresponding to the lighting / extinguishing operation and the control output content, and the lighting is controlled in accordance with the calculation result. Such an existing auxiliary light can be used for the notification, and the lateral function of reading the operation switch of the auxiliary light can be omitted in the CPU (central processing unit) as described later. In addition, it is not necessary to investigate and save the lighting state of the auxiliary light even in the operation flow. As a result, both hardware and software are simplified, and costs can be reduced.

According to the present invention as set forth in claim 5, claim 1 is provided.
In the alerting device according to any one of Items 4 to 4, the area in the traveling direction in which the lighting state is changed is an area outside the vehicle that can be referred to from the driver's view, and the lighting state that the lighting illuminates can be easily changed. By using an area close to the recognizable lighting arrangement portion, the driver can visually recognize the notification accurately without shifting his / her eyes from the scenery outside the vehicle, and can easily cope with the notification.

According to the present invention as set forth in claim 6, claim 1 is provided.
(5) The notification device according to any one of (5) to (5), further comprising: a lighting device capable of changing the illuminance and / or the illumination light color, and controlling to change the illuminance and / or the illumination light color of the lighting device. Thus, the driver can visually recognize the notification without moving his / her eyes from the scenery outside the vehicle, and can cope with the notification. Further, even if an unnecessary false alarm due to a detection error or a false detection occurs, the driver is less troublesome like an acoustic warning.

According to the present invention described in claim 7, according to claim 6,
In the notifying device described above, the change in the lighting state due to the change in the illuminance is performed by changing the lighting state due to the operation of the direction indicator provided in the vehicle or the change in the lighting state due to the driver's passing operation. It is possible to reduce the possibility that other vehicles around the vehicle while observing the lighting condition while the notification function is operating will be confused with the operation of the turn signal indicator, the passing operation, etc., and the situation will be such that the driving judgment is lost. be able to.

According to the present invention described in claim 8, according to claim 7,
In the notifying device described above, the change in the lighting state is performed by setting the lighting period to be longer than the lighting period and a ratio that can be easily distinguished from continuous lighting as the temporal ratio of lighting and turning off. Prevents other vehicles around the vehicle from observing the lighting condition while the notification function is operating, confusing this with the operation of the turn signal indicator, the passing operation, etc., and falling into a situation in which the driver's decision is lost. be able to.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, a first aspect is provided.
In the alerting device according to any one of Items 1 to 8, the driving state is changed by changing the illumination state so that the output of the luminous intensity at the time of full lighting and the output having the luminous intensity lower than the full lighting are alternately output. The person can surely visually recognize the notification without moving his / her eyes from the scenery outside the vehicle, and can cope with the notification. Also,
It does not hinder the operation of other vehicles.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, in the notification device according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, when the own vehicle detects that the own vehicle is decelerating or traveling at a predetermined vehicle speed or less. Is controlled so as to reduce the degree of change in lighting conditions, so that when the vehicle is decelerating or traveling at a speed lower than a predetermined speed, the driver can visually recognize the vehicle under lighting changes close to normal lighting conditions. can do.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the annunciation device according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, at least various headlights and / or auxiliary lights are provided so that these various light sources are provided. The notification device can be effectively constructed by combining the characteristics. Further, the light source is not limited to the existing light source, and can be newly provided and used. In addition, special light sources such as fog lamps can be used.

[0033]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a notification device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The alarm device according to the present embodiment is used by being mounted on a vehicle. Infrared sensors are installed at left and right portions and a central portion at the front end of the vehicle so as to set directivity, respectively. You.

In FIG. 1, an informing device includes an infrared sensor 1 installed at a right portion in front of a vehicle for detecting the presence of a pedestrian in front of the vehicle, and a vehicle for detecting the presence of a pedestrian in front of the vehicle. An infrared sensor 3 installed at a central part in front of the vehicle, an infrared sensor 5 installed at a left part in front of the vehicle to detect the presence of a pedestrian in front of the vehicle, and a vehicle speed sensor 7 for detecting the vehicle speed of the host vehicle. The driver manually turns on the lighting equipment (specifically, headlights and auxiliary lights).
Illumination switch 9 for turning off / off, and a CPU that reads the detection signals of 1 to 9 above and outputs an operation signal to the large capacity relays 13 and 17 described below after performing appropriate judgment processing.
(Central Processing Unit) 11, large-capacity relays 13 and 17 provided separately on the left and right to control the power for turning on the auxiliary light according to the output signal from CPU 11, and operation on the road surface ahead of the bonnet Auxiliary lights 15 and 19 are provided at left and right portions in front of the vehicle to illuminate a place that can be referred to by a user and to change the lighting state.

The auxiliary lights 15 and 19 change the illumination state during the operation for notification, ie, change the blinking operation and / or change the brightness and / or change the light color different from other lights such as headlights. It is lit with.
In addition, for lighting other than the auxiliary light, such as a headlight, the amount of light of the auxiliary light irradiating portion is adjusted within a range that does not impair the intended purpose of the illumination so that the change in the lighting state is easily recognized. Do.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the notification device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the operation of the notification device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and a flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step S211, the operation state of the lighting switch 9 of the headlight is read.

Next, in step S213, the on / off state of the headlight is determined. If the headlight is off, a series of processing operations from step S211 are repeated. On the other hand, when the headlight is on, the process proceeds to the next processing step S215.

Next, in step S215, it is determined whether or not the auxiliary lamps 15 and 19 are blinking to notify the driver by checking the notification operation flag. Auxiliary light 1
If the blinking of steps 5 and 19 is performed, step S219 is performed.
Proceed to. On the other hand, when the auxiliary lights 15 and 19 are not blinking, the process proceeds to the next step S217.

Next, in step S217, the operation state of the lighting switch 9 of the auxiliary light is read. Next, in step S219, the current vehicle speed V (0) is obtained from the vehicle speed sensor 7.
Read. At the same time, the reading time T (0) is recorded in the internal RAM of the CPU 11.

Next, in step S221, a deceleration α (0) is obtained based on the read vehicle speed V (0). Previous reading vehicle speed V (1), reading time T
Using (1) together, for example, it is obtained by the following formula.

Α (0) = (V (0) −V (1)) / (T
(0) -T (1)) Further, by performing a moving average process per predetermined time on the deceleration α (0), a calculation result with less variation is obtained. In this case, data used for the moving average processing is, for example, data for the past 5 seconds. This time is obtained from the response time from the time when the deceleration operation performed by the driver's foot brake or downshift is started to the time when it is reflected on the vehicle speed.

Next, in step S223, the current vehicle speed V (0) is compared with a predetermined judgment reference value V (s).

Here, if V (0) <V (s), the process proceeds to step S231. On the other hand, if V (0) ≧ V (s), the process proceeds to the next step S225.

It should be noted that the reference value V (s) is set such that when a traverser is present ahead of the irradiation range of the headlight in front of the own vehicle, the traverser suddenly changes the irradiation range according to the progress of the own vehicle. Even when the vehicle is visually recognized inside the vehicle, the speed is such that the vehicle can stop with the brake operation or perform the avoidance action by operating the steering wheel with a margin. This speed may be, for example, a slow speed.

Next, in step S225, the current deceleration α (0) is compared with a predetermined judgment reference value α (s).

If α (0)> α (s), the flow advances to step S231. On the other hand, if α (0) ≦ α (s), the process proceeds to the next step S227.

As the reference value α (s), for example, the deceleration when a red signal is visually recognized during normal operation is determined in advance by CP.
What is necessary is just to register in the internal RAM of U11, and to refer to this value.

Next, in step S227, the detection signal of the object output from the infrared sensors 1, 3, and 5 is read. Next, in step S229, based on the arrangement of the detection target areas of the three infrared sensors, it is analyzed and determined whether the target object exists in the front right side, the front left side, the front center, or both the front sides. Branch to That is, if there is no target, the process proceeds to step S231. If the target exists on the front right, the process proceeds to step S233. If the target exists on the front left, the process proceeds to step S235.
If there is an object at the front center, step S237
If the target exists on both sides in front, the process proceeds to step S239.

Next, in step S231, step S231
Using the operation state of the auxiliary light read in 217, the illumination state of the auxiliary light is returned to the state before blinking for notification is performed. However, if the lighting has been performed by the driver before the lighting for the notification, the continuous lighting state is returned. Next, in step S241, the notification operation flag is cleared, and the state is returned to a state where notification is not performed. Thereafter, the process returns to step S211 to repeat a series of processing operations.

In step S233, the auxiliary light is turned on and off only on the right side. The blinking state is determined so as to be recognized as an operation of the turn signal or a passing operation by the driver when viewed from another vehicle. For example, the time ratio between lighting and extinguishing is obviously longer in the lighting period than in the extinguishing period, and can be easily distinguished from continuous lighting. Next, in step S243, the notification operation flag is turned on to change to a state in which notification is performed. Then, step S2
Returning to step 11, the series of processing operations from step S211 are repeated.

In step S235, only the left side of the auxiliary light is turned on and off, and then the process proceeds to step S243. The blinking state is the same as the state described in step S233. Next, in step S237, the auxiliary lights are turned on and off both right and left parts. At this time, the blinking timing of the left and right parts is synchronized. About the above blinking state,
This is the same as the state described in step S233. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S243.

In step S239, the auxiliary lights are turned on and off both right and left parts. The blinking timing of the left and right parts is alternately turned on. The blinking state is the same as the state described in step S233. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S243.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an illumination state in front of the host vehicle when the notification operation is performed using the auxiliary light in the notification device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. .

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 3, a description will be given of an illumination state in front of the host vehicle when the notification operation is performed using the auxiliary light in the notification device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. .

3 (a) to 3 (c), reference numeral 31 denotes a vehicle body of the host vehicle, 33 denotes a driver driving the vehicle body 31, 3
5 is an area where the change of the lighting state is not visible to the driver due to the obstruction of the vehicle body of the own vehicle in the irradiation area on the road surface,
311 is a front view range from the driver 33, 313 is an irradiation range of a road surface in front of the vehicle by an irradiation beam of the left auxiliary light,
319 is an irradiation range of the road surface in front of the vehicle by the irradiation beam of the right auxiliary light, 315 is a portion where the illumination state is changed by the illumination of the auxiliary light, and 317 is an irradiation of the road surface in front of the vehicle by the irradiation beam of the headlight. A range 321 indicates an example of a pedestrian on the road shoulder existing outside the irradiation area of the headlight.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the relationship between the illumination range of the auxiliary light and the headlight in front of the host vehicle and the driver's field of view from the side of the vehicle. By illuminating the road surface immediately before the vehicle within the driver's field of view with the auxiliary light, the driver is notified that the location is a place to be watched.

FIG. 3B is a view showing a scene viewed from above the vehicle. A state in which irradiation by the auxiliary lamp is performed in a region ahead of the region 35 is shown.

FIG. 3 (c) is a view showing the state of illumination in the front, also viewed from inside the vehicle. Infrared sensor 1
According to the detection states of No. to No. 5, either one of the irradiation ranges 313 and 319 of the auxiliary lights in the left and right portions, or a combination of both is indicated.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the headlights and the operation of the corresponding auxiliary lights in the notification device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, referring to FIGS. 4A to 4C,
The operation of the headlight and the operation of the auxiliary light corresponding thereto in the notification device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 4A is a diagram for explaining the operation state of the headlight by the driver and the operation of informing the corresponding auxiliary light.

First, in the period 41, a pedestrian is detected. However, since the illuminance environment is not such that the headlights are illuminated, no notification is made by the auxiliary lights. In the period 43, in an environment where the headlights are lit,
Since a pedestrian has been detected, a notification is made by blinking the auxiliary light. Thereafter, when there are no pedestrians, the auxiliary light also returns to the extinguished state. Further, in the period 45, a pedestrian was detected in an environment where the headlights were turned on,
A notification is made by blinking the auxiliary light. Prior to the flashing notification, the auxiliary light was in a lighting state. Therefore, when there is no pedestrian, the auxiliary light returns to a continuous lighting state.

Next, FIG. 4B is a diagram for explaining the notification state of the auxiliary light according to the detection direction of the pedestrian for the left and right separately.

In the figure, 421 is a pedestrian, 423 is a host vehicle, and 425 is an oncoming vehicle.

In the period 411, since a pedestrian is detected in front of the left side of the host vehicle, only the left auxiliary light blinks. In the period 413, since a pedestrian is detected in front of the right side of the host vehicle, only the right auxiliary light is blinked. Furthermore, in the period 415, since a pedestrian is detected in the front center of the own vehicle, the auxiliary lights on both sides are blinked. The timing of turning on / off is synchronized right and left. Furthermore, in the period 417, the pedestrians are detected on both sides in front of the host vehicle, and the auxiliary lights on both sides are blinked. The timing of turning on / off is alternately left and right.

FIG. 4C is a diagram showing a temporal ratio of turning on / off the auxiliary light when the auxiliary light is used for notification by blinking.

When notifying from the other vehicle that the above-mentioned auxiliary light is informing, the time ratio of lighting and extinguishing is set so that the operation of the turn signal and the passing operation are not mistaken.
Clearly, the lighting period (= T (on)) is longer during the light-off period (=
T (off)), and the ratio is set so that continuous lighting can be easily determined.

In the present embodiment, the above distribution is, for example, T (on): T (off) = 2: 1, T (on) = 1
Seconds.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of a notification device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 5, an annunciator includes an infrared sensor 51 installed on the right side in front of the vehicle for detecting the presence of a pedestrian in front of the vehicle, and a vehicle for detecting the presence of a pedestrian in front of the vehicle. An infrared sensor 53 installed at a central portion in front of the vehicle, an infrared sensor 55 installed on the left side in front of the vehicle to detect the presence of a pedestrian in front of the vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 57 for detecting the speed of the vehicle, An illumination switch 59 for the driver to manually operate the on / off of the auxiliary light; an illumination switch 511 for the driver to manually operate the on / off of the headlight;
The CPU 513 reads out the detection signal of the following, performs an appropriate determination process, and then outputs a control signal to the AND circuits 521 and 537 described below, and the exclusive OR circuits 515 and 53 described below
The large-capacity relays 517 provided separately on the left and right sides to control the power for turning on the auxiliary light by the output signal of
533, auxiliary lights 519, 535 provided at left and right portions in front of the vehicle to illuminate a place on the road surface ahead of the hood where the driver can refer to and change the lighting state;
Exclusive OR circuits 515 and 531 for performing exclusive OR processing between input signals and AND circuits 521 and 537 for performing AND processing between two input signals Is done.

Hereinafter, differences between the notification device according to the present embodiment and the notification device according to the above-described first embodiment will be described.

The first embodiment is characterized in that, in the first embodiment, the operation of returning to the on / off state before the notification when the notification by the auxiliary light is completed is simply stored in the CPU 11 in the state before the notification. In contrast to this, in the present embodiment, the output by the driver's operation of turning on / off the auxiliary light and the output of the instruction to turn on the auxiliary light based on the detection result of the obstacle are realized. Between them, exclusive OR circuits 515 and 531 for calculating exclusive OR are provided. The AND circuits 521 and 537 for the AND are for receiving a timing instruction for control from the CPU 513.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the notification device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the operation of the notification device according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 with reference to FIG.

First, in step S611, the operation state of the headlight lighting switch 9 is read.

Next, in step S613, the on / off state of the headlight is determined. When the headlight is off, a series of processing operations from step S611 are repeated. On the other hand, when the headlight is on, the process proceeds to the next processing step S619.

Next, in step S619, the current vehicle speed V (0) is read from the vehicle speed sensor 7. At the same time, the reading time T (0) is recorded in the internal RAM of the CPU 513.

Next, in step S621, a deceleration α (0) is obtained based on the read vehicle speed V (0). Previous reading vehicle speed V (1), reading time T
By using (1) together, for example, it is obtained by the above-mentioned formula.

Next, in step S623, the current vehicle speed V (0) is compared with a predetermined judgment reference value V (s).

Here, if V (0) <V (s), the flow advances to step S631. On the other hand, if V (0) ≧ V (s), the process proceeds to the next step S625.

The reference value V (s) is set such that when a traverser is present ahead of the irradiation range of the headlight in front of the own vehicle, the traverser suddenly changes the irradiation range according to the progress of the own vehicle. Even when the vehicle is visually recognized inside the vehicle, the speed is such that the vehicle can stop with the brake operation or perform the avoidance action by operating the steering wheel with a margin. This speed may be, for example, a slow speed.

Next, in step S625, the current deceleration α (0) is compared with a predetermined judgment reference value α (s).

If α (0)> α (s), the flow advances to step S631. On the other hand, if α (0) ≦ α (s), the process proceeds to the next step S627.

As the reference value α (s), for example, the deceleration when a red signal is visually recognized during normal driving may be registered in advance, and this value may be referred to.

Next, in step S627, the detection signal of the object output from the infrared sensors 1, 3, and 5 is read. Next, in step S629, based on the arrangement of the detection target areas of the three infrared sensors, it is analyzed and determined whether the direction of the target object is right front, front left, front center, and both front sides. Branch to That is, if there is no object, the process proceeds to step S631, if there is an object on the front right side, the process proceeds to step S633, and if there is an object on the front left, the process proceeds to step S635.
If there is an object at the front center, step S637
If the object exists on both sides in front, the process proceeds to step S639.

In step S631, the instruction to blink the auxiliary light is stopped.

In step S633, the auxiliary light is turned on and off only on the right side.

Note that the blinking state can be distinguished from the operation of the direction indicator and the driver's passing operation when viewed from another vehicle. For example, the time ratio between lighting and extinguishing is obviously longer in the lighting period than in the extinguishing period, and can be easily distinguished from continuous lighting. Next, step S
Returning to 611, a series of processing operations from step S611 are repeated.

In step S635, only the left side of the auxiliary light blinks, and thereafter, the flow proceeds to step S611. The blinking state is the same as the state described in step S633. Next, in step S637, the auxiliary lights are turned on and off at both left and right portions. At this time, the blinking timing of the left and right parts is synchronized. About the above blinking state,
This is the same as the state described in step S633. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S611.

In step S639, the auxiliary lights are turned on and off at both left and right portions. The blinking timing of the left and right parts is alternately turned on. The blinking state is the same as the state described in step S633. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S611.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the headlights and the operation of the corresponding auxiliary lights in the alarm device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

In the period 71, a pedestrian is detected, but the illuminance is not so high as to irradiate the headlight, so that the notification by the auxiliary light is not performed. Period 7
In 3, the pedestrian is detected in an environment in which the headlights are lit, so that a notification is made by blinking the auxiliary light. Since the lighting operation of the auxiliary light is not performed by the driver, as a result of the exclusive OR calculation, the blinking output for notifying the pedestrian is directly reflected in the blinking state of the auxiliary light. Thereafter, when there are no pedestrians, the auxiliary light also returns to the extinguished state.

Further, in the period 75, a pedestrian is detected in an environment in which the headlights are lit, so that a notification is made by blinking the auxiliary light. Since the lighting operation of the auxiliary light is performed by the driver, as a result of the exclusive OR calculation, the inverted output of the flashing output for notifying the pedestrian is reflected in the flashing state of the auxiliary light. Prior to the flashing notification, the auxiliary light was in a lighting state. Therefore, when there is no pedestrian, the auxiliary light returns to a continuous lighting state.

The first embodiment and the second embodiment
The notification device according to the embodiment is realized by detecting a lighting operation of the headlight by a driver when determining a difference in illuminance in a driving environment, but the present invention is limited to such a case. Instead, an illuminance sensor may be provided in another discriminating unit, and the detection result may be compared with a predetermined threshold value. A method of setting the illuminance sensor and the threshold value in this discriminating unit is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-016722. May be used.

In the first and second embodiments, a plurality of infrared sensors are provided to detect an object. However, one infrared sensor is scanned to detect the position and direction of the object. Is also good. Further, not only infrared rays but also radio waves, ultrasonic waves, sound waves, and the like may be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a notification device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the notification device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an illumination state in front of a host vehicle when a notification operation is performed using the auxiliary light in the notification device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining operation of a headlight and operation of an auxiliary light corresponding thereto in the notification device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration of a notification device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of the notification device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an operation of a headlight and an operation of an auxiliary light corresponding thereto in a notification device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,51 Infrared sensor 3,53 Infrared sensor 5,55 Infrared sensor 7,57 Vehicle speed sensor 9,59,511 Lighting switch 11,513 CPU 13,17,517,533 Large capacity relay 15,19,519,535 Auxiliary light 515,531 Exclusive OR circuit 521,537 AND circuit

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A notifying device that is installed in a vehicle and monitors an object existing in a traveling direction of the vehicle to notify the presence of the object, and an object detecting unit that detects the presence of the object; Direction determining means for determining the direction of the object based on a detection signal from the object detecting means; illuminating means for illuminating the traveling direction of the vehicle; and And a lighting control means for changing a lighting state of the lighting means. 2. The illumination control unit according to claim 1, further comprising: an illumination state return unit configured to return the changed illumination state to the pre-change illumination state when the object cannot be detected. Item 2. The notification device according to Item 1. 3. The illumination state return means includes an illumination state storage means for storing an illumination state before changing the illumination state, and when the object can no longer be detected, the illumination state storage means stores the illumination state. The notification device according to claim 2, wherein the notification state is returned to the illumination state before the change with reference to the content. 4. The lighting control unit includes: an operation content corresponding to an on / off operation of the lighting unit;
2. The notification device according to claim 1, wherein an exclusive OR is calculated with the output content from the lighting control means, and the lighting means is controlled according to a result of the calculation. 5. The area in the traveling direction in which the lighting state is changed is an area outside the vehicle that can be referred to from the driver's field of view, and the change in the lighting state illuminated by the lighting means can be easily recognized. The notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an area close to a portion where the means is provided is used. 6. The illumination means includes illumination equipment capable of changing illuminance and / or illumination light color, and the illumination control means controls to change the illuminance and / or illumination light color of the illumination means. The notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: 7. The change of the lighting state by the change of the illuminance may be performed such that the change of the lighting state by the operation of a turn indicator provided on the vehicle or the change of the lighting state by the driver's passing operation can be visually recognized. The notification device according to claim 6. 8. The change of the lighting state is characterized in that the lighting period is longer than the lighting period and the continuous lighting can be easily determined as the temporal ratio of lighting and turning off. The notification device according to claim 7. 9. The illumination control means changes the illumination state so as to alternately output a luminous intensity output at full lighting and an output having a lower luminous intensity than at full lighting. The notification device according to claim 1. 10. A vehicle comprising a speed detecting means for detecting a running speed of the vehicle, wherein the lighting control means is adapted to detect when the speed detecting means detects that the own vehicle is decelerating or running at a predetermined vehicle speed or less. The notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein control is performed such that a degree of change of the lighting state is reduced. 11. The notification device according to claim 1, wherein the illumination unit includes at least various headlights and / or auxiliary lamps.