JPH11342808A - Direction indicator for vehicle with voice input function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically release directional indication established by reacting to a voice input. SOLUTION: A voice command spoken by a caller 20 is recognized by a voice recognition ECU 12. A switch controller 14 turns on turn signals 16, 18. A navigation ECU 22 determines whether directional indication is to be released or not, namely, whether crossing passing or lane change has been completed or not based on the present position detected by a GPS device 24 and vehicular behavior detected by yaw rate sensor 26. A signal indicating release permission is sent to the switch controller 14 to turn of the turn signals. The result eliminates the need for cumbersome work for continuously speaking a command for turning on and off the directional indication. Especially, application to a vehicle for a physically handicapped person entails a high effect.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicular turning indicator, and more particularly to an improvement in a turn indicator having a voice input function for giving a direction in response to a voice input.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional vehicular turning indicator has a lever or switch manually operated by a driver. On the other hand, a direction indicator operable by voice input has been proposed for the purpose of improving operability. For example, when the driver utters “turn on”, the voice command is input and recognized, and the turn signal blinks according to the recognition result. The provision of a voice input function in an accessory device of a vehicle is described, for example, in JP-A-62-251256.

[0003]

In a conventional manual type turn signal, the turn signal is automatically canceled (canceled) when the steering wheel is rotated back. To cancel the direction indication,
This is realized by a mechanical structure including a cam and the like attached to the operation lever. However, some direction indicators with a voice input function do not have such a mechanical cancellation mechanism. Further, even if the canceling mechanism is provided, the direction instruction is not released by the steering operation for changing the lane. In these cases, the driver must also input a voice command such as "turn off" when releasing the direction instruction. A voice command for setting and canceling the direction instruction must be uttered continuously in a short time, which is a complicated and burdensome operation for the driver.

A turn signal device with a voice input function has attracted attention as a technique suitable for a special vehicle for a physically handicapped person. For example, vehicles for the lower limb disabled are designed to perform all driving operations by hand. In order to reduce the burden on the driver, it is desired that the hand be used only for the main driving operation. Voice technology using voice recognition is a promising technique to meet such demands.

In this kind of special vehicle, it may not be preferable to release the direction instruction in conjunction with the return rotation of the steering wheel as in a normal vehicle. This is because, in response to the steering angle adjustment during the passage of the intersection, the direction instruction may be canceled early against the driver's will.
When the wrong early release is performed, the driver must again utter and input a voice command for turning on the direction. From such a viewpoint, the above-mentioned special vehicles are often not provided with a direction instruction canceling mechanism that is interlocked with the steering return rotation. The driver must continuously input voice commands for turning on and off the direction instruction, and this cumbersome utterance operation may burden the driver.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular turning indicator having an improved voice recognition function, which eliminates the need for a voice input for canceling a turning direction. Is to do.

[0007]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicular turning indicator for giving a direction indication in response to a voice input. Means, and determination means for determining whether release of the direction instruction should be permitted based on the detected current position, wherein the direction instruction is released in accordance with the determination result of the determination means. I do.

Another aspect of the present invention is a vehicle direction indicator for giving a direction in response to a voice input, comprising: vehicle behavior detecting means for detecting the behavior of the vehicle; Determining means for determining whether release of the direction instruction should be permitted, wherein the direction instruction is released according to the determination result of the determination means.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicular turning indicator for giving a direction in response to a voice input, a current position detecting means for detecting a current position of the vehicle, and a vehicle behavior detecting a behavior of the vehicle. Detecting means for determining whether release of the direction instruction should be permitted based on the detected vehicle behavior and the current position, and releasing the direction instruction according to the determination result of the determining means It is characterized by the following.

According to the present invention, after the direction instruction is set in response to the voice input, it is determined whether or not release of the direction instruction should be permitted based on the current position or the vehicle behavior. By using the current position or the vehicle behavior, it is possible to determine whether or not the direction instruction may be canceled, that is, whether or not the intersection or the lane change has been completed. Then, the direction instruction is released according to the result of this determination. Therefore, after the direction instruction is set by voice input, the direction instruction is automatically canceled even if the voice input for canceling the direction instruction is not performed continuously. The direction instruction is released at an appropriate timing more reliably than in the system linked to the steering return rotation. Thereby, the operability of the direction indicator having the voice input function is improved.

The current position detecting means is, for example, a GPS.
Device. The vehicle behavior detecting means is, for example, a yaw rate sensor or a lateral G (acceleration) sensor. It is possible to determine the cancellation of the direction instruction from one of the information of the current position and the vehicle behavior. However, preferably, a more reliable determination is made by using both pieces of information.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as embodiments) will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, the direction indicator of the present embodiment includes a microphone 10, a voice recognition ECU 12, a switch controller 14, a left turn signal 16 and a right turn signal 18. Turn signal 16, 18
Are respectively provided at a plurality of locations outside the vehicle, and are also provided on the instrument panel in the vehicle in the form of indicators.

The speaker 20 issues a voice command for turning on a turn signal when approaching an intersection or changing lanes. "Turn right""Turnleft"
Are predetermined. The voice is input to the microphone 10 as input means,
The signal is converted into an electric signal and sent to the voice recognition ECU 12. The voice recognition ECU 12 has a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), analyzes voice data,
Recognize what he said. A known recognition process may be performed, and a dynamic programming method (dynamic programming method, DP method), a stochastic method using a hidden Markov model (hidden Markov model, HMM), or the like can be applied. Schematically, for example, window function processing, Fourier transform processing, and the like are performed on an input signal, and a cepstrum of audio data is obtained (acoustic processing). Pattern matching is performed between the signal after the acoustic processing and a prepared word template (standard data of a recognition target word). Here, “turn right” and “turn left” templates are prepared. A word with a good matching result is determined to be a spoken word.

The voice recognition ECU 12 sends a recognition result to the switch controller 14. Switch controller 14
The switch includes a switch for turning on and off the left turn signal 16 and a switch for turning on and off the right turn signal 18. For example, when a recognition result of “turn right” is input, the switch controller 1
4 turns on the corresponding switch, whereby the right turn signal 18 starts blinking. Left turn signal 16
The same applies to. Power is supplied to both signals 16 and 18 from a vehicle-mounted battery (not shown).

In this embodiment, the navigation ECU 2
2 functions as a part of the direction indicator. The navigation ECU 22 is connected with a GPS device 24 as a current position detecting means and a gyro-type yaw rate sensor 26 as a vehicle behavior detecting means. GPS
(Global Positioning System) The device 24 detects the current position of the vehicle based on radio waves transmitted from artificial satellites, and sends the current position to the navigation ECU 22. For more accurate determination, it is preferable to provide a D-GPS (Differential-Global Positioning System) device. Note that a different current position sensor may be provided, and any type of current position sensor of satellite navigation, radio navigation, autonomous navigation, or an appropriate combination of these can be applied. A current position sensor using the output of the above yaw rate sensor 26 is also applicable. In addition, as the vehicle behavior detecting means, any type that can perform the same determination as described later can be applied. For example, a lateral G sensor may be applied.

The navigation ECU 22 is notified from the switch controller 14 that the direction instruction has been started (set). Navigation ECU that received this notification
22 monitors the current position and the behavior of the vehicle, and determines whether or not to cancel the direction instruction based on the information. In the present embodiment, “completion of intersection passage” and “completion of lane change” are states in which the direction instruction should be released.

(1) Judgment Based on Current Position When turning around an intersection, the vehicle moves as shown in FIG. 2 (a). Therefore, it is determined that the vehicle has passed the intersection when the current position changes from A to C on the map with reference to the map data and the current position. Here, the map data stored for navigation is used as it is. Alternatively, it is also preferable to determine the trajectory of the current position and determine that the vehicle has passed the intersection when the trajectory becomes a straight line. Further, the determination using both the position on the map and the trajectory may be performed (the same applies hereinafter).

When making a lane change, the vehicle must
Move as shown in (b). Therefore, when the current position moves from a to e, it is determined that the lane change has been completed. Specifically, it is determined whether the current position has moved to a different lane on the map. Alternatively, it is determined whether the current position has changed by the width of the lane. Here, it may be determined that the lane change has been completed when the trajectory of the current position becomes a straight line.

(2) Judgment Based on Vehicle Behavior Here, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is cornering.
When turning around the intersection shown in FIG.
6 changes as shown in FIG. Accordingly, when the once increased yaw rate decreases and becomes stable, it is determined that the passage through the intersection has been completed.

When changing lanes as shown in FIG. 2B,
The output of the yaw rate sensor 26 follows a change as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is determined that the lane change has been completed when the yaw rate rises and then rises and then falls and stabilizes.

It is needless to say that the yaw rate changes when turning right and when changing lanes to the left.

(3) Comprehensive Evaluation The navigation ECU 22 determines that "the direction instruction is released".
Any of the above-described current position and vehicle behavior may be used for the determination. It is also preferable to use the current position to determine the passage of an intersection and to use the vehicle behavior to determine the lane change. In order to make a more reliable and accurate determination, it is preferable to make a comprehensive determination using the current position and the vehicle behavior. For example, when it is determined from both the current position and the vehicle behavior that "the direction instruction should be released", the release permission is finally determined.

When the navigation ECU 22 determines that the direction instruction should be released, it sends a “cancel signal” to the switch controller 14. In response to this signal, the switch controller 14 turns off the blinking turn signal. If the right turn signal 18 is blinking, the corresponding switch is turned off. The same applies to the left turn signal 16.

FIG. 4 shows the operation of the above-mentioned direction indicator. After the turn signal starts blinking in accordance with the voice command of the speaker 20, the state of the vehicle (current position and vehicle behavior) is detected (S10). Based on the information detected in S10, the navigation ECU 22 makes a comprehensive judgment to determine whether or not the turn signal cancel timing has come, that is, whether or not to cancel the direction instruction (S12). If S12 is NO, the process returns to S10. This is the case when the vehicle is still in an intersection or is changing lanes. If S12 is YES, a cancel signal is output (S14), and the direction instruction is released (S1).
6).

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above. As described above, according to the present embodiment, even if the voice input for turning off the direction is not performed continuously after turning on the direction, the appropriate timing can be determined based on the determination using the current position and the vehicle behavior. , The direction indication is automatically released, so that the operation of the direction indicator with the voice recognition function becomes easy.

In particular, in vehicles for the physically handicapped, speech recognition technology is expected as a means for reducing the burden on the driver. In this type of vehicle, direction cancellation is often not performed by a mechanical mechanism that is interlocked with the return rotation of the steering. There is an advantage of the present invention in that the direction indication can be automatically released even in such a vehicle.

It is well known that a navigation device displays an enlarged map of an intersection when the vehicle approaches an intersection where the vehicle should make a right or left turn. The enlarged map is replaced with the original wide-area map as the intersection passes. The timing of withdrawing the enlarged map and the timing of canceling the direction instruction may be synchronized. Thereby, the direction indicator of the present invention can be easily realized by utilizing the function of the conventional navigation device.

Further, in this embodiment, the navigation device functions as a part of the direction indicator, but the navigation device may not be provided. What is necessary is just to provide the alternative structure which implement | achieves a similar function. That is,
The present position sensor, the vehicle behavior sensor, and a determination unit that determines cancellation of the direction instruction. This determination means may be incorporated in the voice recognition ECU 12 or the switch controller 14.

Preferably, a voice command (for example, "turn off") for canceling the direction instruction is prepared in advance. The "turn-off" template is stored in the voice recognition ECU 12 so that it can be used for recognition processing. Since an automatic release function is provided, voice commands for release are usually unnecessary. However, when it becomes necessary to consciously release the turn signal in any event, the driver can say "turn off"
The turn signal can be turned off without manual operation.

The voice command is not limited to "turn right", "turn left", and "turn off", and may be any other command. Multiple types of commands may be set for one operation (for example, "turn right").
"Turn light" and "right turn" are set.) A template corresponding to each command is prepared in the voice recognition ECU 12.

In addition, the present embodiment can be similarly applied to a direction indicator that outputs the traveling direction by voice.
In this case, the output of the direction instruction sound is automatically stopped.

Further, the microphone, the voice recognition ECU, and the like may also be used for operating other on-vehicle equipment (accessory equipment, navigation equipment, and the like).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicular turning indicator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a change in the current position of the vehicle when turning around an intersection and when changing lanes.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an output of a yaw rate sensor corresponding to the movement of the vehicle in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the direction indicating device of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

10 microphone, 12 voice recognition ECU, 14 switch controller, 16 left turn signal, 18
Right turn signal, 20 speakers, 22 navigation ECU, 24 GPS device, 26 yaw rate sensor.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vehicular turning indicator for giving a direction indication in response to a voice input, wherein a current position detecting means for detecting a current position of the vehicle, and release of the direction indication based on the detected current position is permitted. Determining means for determining whether or not to perform the direction instruction, wherein the direction instruction is released in accordance with the determination result of the determining means. 2. A vehicle direction indicator for giving a direction indication in response to a voice input, comprising: a vehicle behavior detecting means for detecting a behavior of the vehicle; and a release of the direction instruction is permitted based on the detected vehicle behavior. And a determining means for determining whether or not the vehicle should be turned on, wherein the direction instruction is released in accordance with the determination result of the determining means. 3. A vehicular turning indicator for giving a direction in response to a voice input, comprising: a current position detecting means for detecting a current position of the vehicle; a vehicle behavior detecting means for detecting a behavior of the vehicle; Determining means for determining whether release of the direction instruction should be permitted based on the vehicle behavior and the current position; and releasing the direction instruction according to the determination result of the determination means. Direction indicator.