JPH1125398A - Contact accident prevention supporting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for preventing a contact accident with a road side wall in which the real time measurement of the posture of a vehicle, a distance between the vehicle and the side wall, and an approaching speed to the side wall can be attained. SOLUTION: The angle of a vehicle axis 105 with a side wall 103 is calculated by using two distance meters 11 and 12 capable of high speed distance measurement using a light for measuring a distance to a side wall 103 at the front and back parts of a vehicle 106, and the shortest distance 107 between the vehicle and the side wall is calculated from both the distance data and the angle data, thus speed at which the vehicle 106 approaches the side wall 103 is calculated according to the change of the shortest distance data. The danger of a contact accident with the side wall 103 is determined based on the shortest distance data and the approaching speed data, and communicated to a driver.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the prevention of a contact accident of a vehicle, and more particularly to a contact accident prevention support device for preventing a contact accident with a side wall of a road.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device for controlling a vehicle to prevent a collision, a distance between the vehicle and a preceding vehicle is measured, and an alarm is issued or a speed is reduced when a distance between the vehicles reaches a dangerous interval. 2. Description of the Related Art In-vehicle rear-end collision prevention devices that control the vehicle to prevent rear-end collisions or maintain a constant distance between vehicles are known.

[0003] Further, in a vehicle that automatically travels on a road, a control device is known in which a magnet or the like is embedded in the road and a vehicle-mounted sensor detects the magnet or the like to perform steering control of the vehicle. .

Further, there is known a contact prevention sensor in which an ultrasonic sensor is embedded in a rear bumper or the like to measure a distance between a vehicle and a wall and inform a driver of approach to the wall when entering a garage to prevent a contact accident. I have.

[0005]

In a vehicle that works while approaching a road side wall, a median strip, a guard rail, or other vehicles, it is not possible to ensure safety against a collision accident on the vehicle side or the like. is important. But,
It is difficult to apply the conventional technology as described above as a support device in such a situation. That is, in the method of fixing the distance meter to the vehicle and simply measuring the distance between the vehicle and the side wall as in the rear-end collision prevention device, the posture of the vehicle, that is,
A measurement error occurs depending on whether the axis of the vehicle and the side wall are parallel or not, and it is impossible to obtain real-time, high-speed, and accurate information for preventing a contact accident. In addition, the method of embedding a magnet or the like on the road side to automatically control the steering of the vehicle is a large-scale comprehensive system including the road and the vehicle, and lacks versatility, and the application range is extremely limited. Furthermore,
Although the sensor based on the contact prevention sensor has an advantage of cost reduction, it has a measurable distance and cannot be measured at high speed, and is not realistic. It is.

(Object of the Invention) It is an object of the present invention to provide a support device for effectively preventing a collision accident of a vehicle.

Another object of the present invention is to determine the degree of danger of the posture of the vehicle and to transmit the same to a driver in order to prevent a collision accident with the vehicle.

It is another object of the present invention to automatically control the operation of a vehicle when the risk of a contact accident increases, thereby preventing the contact accident.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a contact accident prevention support apparatus comprising: two high-speed ranging type distance meters provided on a vehicle side;
Vehicle axis angle calculating means for calculating angle data between a vehicle axis and a straight line passing between the measured distance points based on the distance data from the distance meter and the installation interval of the distance meter, and a vehicle based on the distance data and the angle data. A shortest distance calculating means (side wall shortest distance calculating means 3) for obtaining shortest distance data from the straight line; an approach speed calculating means for obtaining approach speed data for a vehicle approaching the straight line from a change in the shortest distance data; A danger determining unit that determines a danger of a contact accident based on the distance data and the approach speed data, and a driver transmitting unit that notifies the driver of the danger are provided.

[0010] The contact accident prevention support device of the present invention comprises:
In place of the driver transmission means, a vehicle control means for controlling a steering wheel and a brake so as to avoid a contact accident based on angle data, shortest distance data and approach speed data is provided. Alternatively, the vehicle further includes a vehicle status display unit that displays a distance between the vehicle and the straight line, an approach speed of the vehicle to the straight line, and a direction of the vehicle with respect to the straight line in real time to support a driver's driving operation.

Further, in the contact accident prevention support device, the two high-speed distance-measuring distance meters are light-based distance meters, and the change in the reception intensity of each output data over time is compared. Measurement time difference calculation means for calculating a time delay at the time of measurement, and speed calculation means for calculating the speed of the vehicle with respect to the measured point based on the time calculated by the measurement time difference calculation means and the installation interval of the two distance meters. Is provided.

(Operation) The distance between the vehicle front and rear of the vehicle and the side wall and the like is measured to calculate the angle of the vehicle axis with respect to the side wall and the like. It accurately measures and calculates the shortest distance of the vehicle and the speed of approach to the side wall, etc., and transmits it to the driver. The driver can know the danger when the driver approaches too close to the side wall or the like due to poor visibility or carelessness, so that an accident can be avoided.

Further, the vehicle control device controls the steering wheel and the brake based on the shortest distance data and the approach speed data so as to avoid a contact accident with a side wall or the like. It is possible to automatically avoid an accident even if the driver cannot recognize the danger.

Further, the current running condition, that is, the distance between the vehicle and the side wall, the approach speed to the side wall of the vehicle, the direction of the vehicle with respect to the side wall, and the like are displayed on the vehicle condition display device in real time. This makes it possible to support the driver's driving operation.

[0015] Furthermore, a time change of the reception intensity of data from a rangefinder capable of high-speed ranging using two lights is compared, and a time delay at the time of measurement at the same point is calculated. The vehicle speed is calculated from the calculated time difference and the installation interval of the two distance meters.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of a contact accident prevention support system according to the present invention for preventing a contact accident on a straight side wall of a road will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention.

The basic configuration of the on-vehicle device for assisting in preventing a contact accident includes two rangefinders 1 ₁ , 1 ₂ on the vehicle side in the axle direction.
, Axle angle calculation device 2 and side wall shortest distance calculation device 3
And an approach speed calculating device 4. In the present embodiment, a risk determining device 5 and a driver transmitting device 6 are further provided.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the operation of the contact accident prevention support device for a side wall having the configuration of the present embodiment shown in FIG.

The two distance meters 1 ₁ and 1 ₂ use a laser light distance measuring device so as to irradiate measurement light toward the vehicle side at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the axle from the front and rear of the vehicle. Installed,
The distances (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle-side wall distances") 102 ₁ , 102 ₂ between each distance meter and the road side wall are measured at high speed.

The axle angle calculator 2 calculates two vehicle-sidewall distance data 10 from _two distance meters 11 ₁ and 12.
Enter 2 ₁ , 102 _2, and install 108 between two rangefinders.
To calculate the angle (hereinafter, referred to as “axle angle”) 104 between the axle and the side wall.

The side wall shortest distance calculating device 3 includes two vehicles
The values of the distance data between the side walls 102 ₁ and 102 ₂ are compared, and the smaller value is selected and output as information indicating the degree of contact danger. If the axle 105 is not parallel to the side wall,
That is, when the axle angle 104 is not 0 degrees, the two vehicle-sidewall distance data 102 ₁ and 102 ₂ and the axle angle 10
4, the shortest distance 107 (hereinafter, referred to as “the shortest distance between the vehicle and the side wall”) 107 between the distance meter on the traveling direction side of the vehicle and the side wall is calculated and output as information indicating the degree of contact danger. In the example of FIG. 5, the axle 105 of the vehicle 106 crosses (contacts) the side wall in the traveling direction, and the shortest distance 107 between the vehicle and the side wall on the front distance meter ₁₁ side is calculated.

Next, the approach speed calculation device 4 calculates the speed at which the vehicle approaches the side wall by calculating the temporal change of the shortest distance 107 between the vehicle and the side wall. In the risk determination device 5, the vehicle-sidewall distance or the vehicle-sidewall shortest distance 107 selected and calculated by the sidewall shortest distance calculation device 3 and the approach speed to the sidewall calculated by the approach speed calculation device 4 are used. Then, the risk of a contact accident with the side wall is determined by comparing these with a threshold value or the like. The driver transmission device 6 informs the driver of the danger of a contact accident with the side wall by an alarm or the like.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, a collision accident is reported to a driver by judging that the vehicle has approached a road side wall or the like too much based on the shortest distance between the vehicle and the side wall and the approach speed, and communicating the degree of danger to the driver. However, in the present embodiment, the vehicle operation is controlled by providing the vehicle control device 7 so as to automatically avoid a collision accident when the degree of danger increases. Make up.

The rangefinder 1 _1, 1 ₂ of the basic configuration of the signal processing of the output is the same as described above, the vehicle control device 7, the axle angle 104 calculated in the axle angle calculating device 2, side walls shortest distance calculator The shortest distance 107 between the vehicle and the side wall calculated in 3;
Based on the approach speed to the side wall calculated by the approach speed calculation device 4, the steering wheel and the brake are controlled so as to avoid a contact accident with the side wall.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a vehicle status display device is provided to display information for assisting or assisting the driving operation.

The vehicle status display device 8 includes an axle angle 104 calculated by the axle angle calculation device 2 and a vehicle calculated by the shortest side wall distance calculation device 3 so that the driver can grasp at a glance and assist or assist the driving operation. A shortest distance 107 between the side walls;
The approach speed to the side wall calculated by the approach speed calculation device 4 is displayed in real time.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The present embodiment is provided with a vehicle speed calculation device that can be used for the above-described determination of the degree of risk, transmission to a driver, driving control for preventing a vehicle collision accident, display of a vehicle status, and the like.

The measurement time difference calculating device 9 according to the present embodiment
In the same manner as the calculation of other measurement information, the speed of the vehicle is calculated from the measurement outputs of the _two rangefinders 11 and ₁₂ , and is used as one of information for contact accident prevention support.

FIG. 6 is a distance meter 1 _1, 1 graph showing the received intensity vs. time by the reflected light of the resultant light ranging from _2.
As can be seen from the graph, the measurement output from the distance meter installed before and after the vehicle has a waveform of substantially the same reception signal level according to the distance between the vehicle and the side wall, although the time is shifted by the distance meter installation interval. . The time lag of the waveform is inversely proportional to the speed of the vehicle.

The measurement time difference calculation device 9 compares the change over time of the reception intensity of the two distance meters 1 and calculates the time difference. For example, the measurement time difference 101 at the time of measurement at the same point is calculated using reflected light such as a characteristic change in the shape of the side wall or the like, such as a pulse-like change in the reception intensity in FIG. The vehicle speed calculation device 10 calculates the speed of the vehicle based on the measurement time difference 101 and the installation interval 108 between the two distance meters. The obtained vehicle speed is one of the factors indicating the degree of danger in driving the vehicle, and can be used as, for example, control information for safe steering control.

In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the object to be measured by the distance meter is a side wall. However, the present invention is also applicable to a guard rail, a median strip, a protective wall, or another vehicle instead of the side wall. Clearly what you can do. In the above-described embodiment, the object to be measured is regarded as a straight line, and the vehicle angle and the shortest distance obtained by actual measurement and calculation are assumed to correspond to the straight line passing through the point to be measured and the side wall. Although the prevention support device is configured, if the object to be measured draws a curve like a side wall of a road curve, contact of the axle angle calculation device or risk determination device etc. based on the progress of the distance measurement result Needless to say, it is sufficient to configure each of them so that the predicted value can be calculated.

[0032]

As described above, according to the side wall accident prevention support system of the present invention, the state of the vehicle can be grasped in real time and with high accuracy by performing high-speed measurement of the distance between the vehicle and the side wall and measurement of the axle angle. The driver can quickly know the danger when the driver approaches too close to the side wall or the like due to poor visibility or carelessness, and can avoid an accident.

Further, the steering wheel and the brake are controlled based on the shortest distance data and the approach speed data so as to avoid a collision with the side wall, so that the driver may drive too close to the side wall due to poor visibility or carelessness. Even if the hand cannot recognize the danger, the accident can be automatically avoided.

Further, the current driving condition, that is, the distance between the vehicle and the side wall, the approach speed to the side wall of the vehicle, and the direction of the vehicle with respect to the side wall are displayed in real time to assist the driver's driving operation. There is an effect that can be.

The vehicle speed relative to the side wall or the like is calculated in real time by a range finder capable of high-speed ranging using two lights, so that the vehicle speed with respect to the side wall or the relative speed with respect to another vehicle is calculated. Since the calculation can be performed, it is possible to obtain information suitable for the determination of the degree of risk and the control information of the steering wheel and the brake.

In particular, there is a remarkable effect on ensuring the safety of a vehicle that performs work while traveling very close to a side wall, a guardrail, and other vehicles.

[0037]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a measurement method according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing reception intensity versus time obtained from a range finder used in the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ₁ and 1 ₂ distance meter 2 Axle angle calculation device 3 Side wall shortest distance calculation device 4 Approach speed calculation device 5 Danger degree judgment device 6 Driver transmission device 7 Vehicle control device 8 Vehicle situation display device 9 Measurement time difference calculation device 10 Vehicle speed Calculation device 101 Measurement time difference 102 ₁ , 102 ₂ Distance between vehicle and side wall 103 Side wall of road 104 Axle angle 105 Axle 106 Vehicle 107 Minimum distance between vehicle and side wall 108 Installation interval

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A high-speed ranging type distance meter provided on the vehicle side of a vehicle, a straight line passing between distance measurement points based on distance data from the distance meter and an installation interval of the distance meter, and a vehicle. Vehicle axis angle calculation means for calculating angle data with respect to an axis; shortest distance calculation means for obtaining shortest distance data between the vehicle and the straight line from the distance data and the angle data; and Approach speed calculation means for obtaining approach speed data approaching, danger degree determination means for determining the danger of a contact accident from the shortest distance data and approach speed data, and driver transmission means for notifying the driver of the danger. A contact accident prevention support device characterized by having: 2. A vehicle control means for controlling a steering wheel and a brake so as to avoid a contact accident based on angle data, shortest distance data and approach speed data, in place of the driver transmitting means. The described contact accident prevention support device. 3. A driver's driving operation is supported by displaying, in real time, a distance between a vehicle and the straight line, an approach speed of the vehicle to the straight line, and a direction of the vehicle with respect to the straight line, instead of the driver transmitting means. The contact accident prevention support device according to claim 1, further comprising a vehicle status display means. 4. The contact accident prevention support device according to claim 1, wherein the object to be measured is a road side wall, a guardrail, or a median strip. 5. The two high-speed rangefinders are rangefinders that use light, and compare the change over time of the reception intensity of each output data to calculate the time delay at the time of measurement at the same point. Measuring time difference calculating means, and speed calculating means for calculating a speed of the vehicle with respect to the measured point based on the time calculated by the measuring time difference calculating means and an installation interval of the two distance meters. Item 5. A contact accident prevention support device according to any one of Items 1, 2, 3, and 4.