JPS61253238A - Speed warning device utilizing speech synthesis - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a driver to drive a devotedly even on a low speed limit zone by configurating a device in such a way that the difference between signals from a speed sensor and a speed limit is computed so as to arrive at a warning speed, which is not only sounded by a speaker but also displayed on an indicator. CONSTITUTION:A micro-computer 1 includes a standard pulse generator and an arithmatic unit. The arrangement is such that a running speed is computed based on a signal from a speed sensor 2 by both the standard pulse generator and the arithmatic unit in the micro-computer 1, and then after a set speed is computed based on a signal from a speed limit setting switch 4, the difference between the running speed and the set speed is computed as a warning speed. The warning speed computed described above is not only sounded by a speaker 8 through a speech synthesis circuit 6 and an amplifier 7 but also displayed numerically on an indicator 10 simultaneously. Accordingly, this configuration provides a driver directly with actual information on a road, on which a car is running at present, having the driver engage in driving devotedly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a speedometer or a speed warning device that is attached to a vehicle such as a two-wheeled vehicle or a four-wheeled vehicle.

[Prior Art] Conventional speedometers for vehicles, regardless of whether they are numerical display type or pointer type, all display the traveling speed of the vehicle, that is, the speed relative to the road surface, and all of them are based on visual observation. In addition, the speed alarm device will alert you when the speed exceeds the value set in advance in the device.
The excess is simply notified by a buzzer or chime, but the extent of the excess is not displayed. However, when actually operating a vehicle, the method of operation is in accordance with legal standards, and drivers usually pay attention to the speed limit set by law. As a result, the driver must look at the direction of travel, read the speedometer scale, and mentally calculate the relative speed.
Not only is it necessary to drive while repeatedly subtracting, which causes problems in terms of safe driving as the level of attention is dispersed, but speed warning devices also have a problem with driving as the excessive warning value is fixed at the legal maximum speed. There is a problem in that the person cannot freely change the set value and cannot warn of excessive speed in areas with a lower speed limit, which may lead to violations of laws and regulations or accidents.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention 1] The present invention solves the problems with the conventional speedometer in terms of safe driving due to attention dispersion, and the fact that the setting value of the alarm device is fixed at the legal maximum speed and cannot be changed. This is an attempt to solve the problem of legal violations in low-speed areas.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides specific means for solving the above-mentioned problems.
A speed sensor is connected via a waveform shaping circuit to the input side of a microcomputer having at least a standard pulse generation section and an arithmetic section, and a speed limit setting switch is connected via an encoding circuit. A display is connected to the output side via a code conversion circuit, and an amplifier and a speaker are connected via a voice synthesis circuit, and the difference between the signals from the speed sensor and the speed limit setting switch is output to the microcomputer. The present invention provides a speed warning device, characterized in that the reported speed is calculated by the above-mentioned speaker and displayed on the display, and the reported speed is notified by the speaker and displayed on the display, wherein the speed limit setting switch The driver can arbitrarily operate the system to change the set value, which allows the system to issue a warning even in areas with low speed limits, allowing the driver to drive without having to pay attention.

[Example] Next, the present invention will be described in detail based on an example shown in FIG. In the drawings, functional parts and circuits are labeled with numbers, and signal lines are labeled with lowercase letters to make it easier to understand. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a microcomputer, which is provided with at least the functions of a standard pulse generator and an arithmetic unit. A vehicle speed sensor 2 is connected to the input side of the microcomputer via a waveform shaping circuit 3.

The speed sensor 2 includes, for example, a reed switch 2a and a magnet 2b.
The magnet 2b is arranged in close proximity to each other, and the magnet 2b is attached so as to be driven by the transmission or axle of the vehicle.

With this configuration, the magnet 2b rotates in proportion to the number of rotations of the transmission and axle, that is, the vehicle speed, thereby causing the reed switch 2a to repeatedly turn on and off, thereby obtaining a predetermined signal.

As is clear from the above explanation, the cycle T of this repetition is inversely proportional to the vehicle speed. The signal from the vehicle speed sensor 2 is sent to the waveform shaping circuit 3 via the signal line a.

The waveform shaping circuit 3 is configured to remove the distorted part in order to prevent the signal obtained by the vehicle speed sensor 2 from having a distorted part due to contact ringing etc., which causes inaccuracy in subsequent results. The effect of this waveform shaping circuit, which is a circuit of You can also choose whether or not to use it.

The shaped signal is input to the microcomputer 1 via a signal line.

The function of the standard pulse generator provided inside the microcomputer 1 is to generate pulses that serve as measurement standards. If the period is T1, and the number of pulses generated by the standard pulse generator within this period is N1, then the number of standard pulses during the period Tx of the signal of the speed sensor when the vehicle is running at an arbitrary speed. By measuring Nx, the calculation formula of traveling speed=T1/Tx-N1/Nx is established.

The traveling speed is determined by calculating the above calculation formula in the calculation section of the microcomputer.

As in the case of the speed sensor 2, the speed limit setting switch 4 is connected to the input side of the microcomputer 1 via the encoding circuit 5. This speed limit setting switch 4
is an input means for an operator, for example, a driver, and the speed limit based on the above-mentioned laws and regulations is mainly selected and input. This switch may be a normal circuit selection switch (commonly known as a rotary switch), and the selected signal is sent to the encoding circuit 5 via the signal line C.

The encoding circuit 5 is for encoding the signal sent from the speed limit selection switch into a binary code that can be handled by the microcomputer 1. Specifically, for example, if the speed limit is 100/la/ h may be directly encoded as 110010, or the position of the switch may be encoded. In this case, if there are eight selected positions as shown in the figure, the maximum value will be 111. This encoding circuit can also be selected for use or not for the same reason as the waveform shaping circuit described above. This encoded signal is input to the input side of the microcomputer 1 in parallel with the signal from the vehicle speed sensor 2 via the signal line d.

The desired warning speed can be obtained by calculating the warning speed=(traveling speed)-(speed limit) using the input signals of both in the calculation section built into the microcomputer 1.

Next, the output side of the microcomputer 1 for displaying the obtained alarm speed will be explained. The signal line e is connected to an output terminal for audio output of the microcomputer 1, and is connected to the audio synthesis circuit 6.

This speech synthesis circuit 6 is provided with a storage section and a selection section, and the storage section stores speech information for each numerical unit, for example, "1".
.

"Two", 'San', ..., "Shu", 'Nijuu', "Sanshu", ..., "Hiyaku",
There is also a method of memorizing all the numbers in the range, such as "Nihyaku" (in this case, "Hyaku Nijuusan"), but since the storage capacity would be huge, it would be better to , 10th, and 100th, and the selection unit outputs the combinations. An example of the signal from the microcomputer 1 in the case of this combination is shown in Table 1 below.
Shown below.

Table 1 The upper two digits of the six-digit binary code in Table 1 above represent the digits, and the following four digits represent the binary coded numbers 1 to 9. Specifically speaking about the case where the number 123 is to be pronounced by this, the microcomputer 1 causes the speech synthesis circuit 6 to output 110001.100010,010011.
3rd place number is sent, this 3rd place number is decoded by the selection section,
Audio information for pronouncing "Hyakunijuusan" is sent from the storage section to a vocal device consisting of an amplifier 7 and a speaker 8 via a signal line f. In addition, the reason why the signal line e is marked with an arrow indicating bidirectionality in Fig. 1 is because it takes a relatively long time to process the audio output, including pronunciation. is input, thereby the speech synthesis circuit 6
This shows that a signal indicating that processing is in progress is output from the speech synthesis circuit 6 to the microcomputer 1 in order to prevent the speech from becoming unclear as a result of confusing the operation of the speech synthesis circuit 6. The signal line 9 corresponds to visual display, and is connected from the output side of the microcomputer 1 to the code conversion circuit 9. This code conversion circuit 9
t converts the output signal of the microcomputer 1 into a signal suitable for display, and the converted signal t is input to the display 10 via a signal line. In the embodiment, the microcomputer 1 outputs a binary number, and the display 10 shows 7.
- Since this is an example of a segment display, the code conversion circuit 9 may be similar to what is widely known as (BCD to 7-segment).

Further, the conversion can of course be performed inside the microcomputer 1.

The signal line i is a signal line connected to the output terminal of the microcomputer 1 and the display 10 for specifying the digit on the display 10, and is synchronized with the signal mQ, and the signal line i specifies the 100th digit. When specified, the signal of the 100th digit is output to the signal line q.

Therefore, display! ! ! The display is scanned and displayed one digit at a time on ten display surfaces.

As another embodiment, a display hold switch 11 indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 1 is provided on the input side of the microcomputer 1, and a temporary storage section for holding the display is provided in the microcomputer 1. It is also possible to hold the display at the time when the display hold switch 11 is turned on during the period when the display hold switch 11 is turned on.

[Function] In the speed alarm device of the present invention, a microcomputer is provided with at least the functions of a standard pulse generation section and an arithmetic section, and a speed sensor via a waveform shaping circuit and an encoding circuit are provided on the input side of the microcomputer. The speed limit setting switch is connected through the speed sensor, and a speaker is connected to the output side of the switch through a voice synthesis circuit and an amplifier, and a display is connected through a code conversion circuit. The driving speed is determined by the signal, a standard pulse generator in the microcomputer, and a calculation unit, and after the set speed is obtained from the signal of the speed limit setting switch, the difference between the two speeds is determined by the calculation unit as an alarm speed. The obtained warning speed is audibly announced through the voice synthesis circuit and the speaker via the amplifier, and is also displayed numerically on the display.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the speed warning device according to the present invention is provided with a speed limit setting switch, which is an input means, in addition to a speed sensor on the input side of a microcomputer. Unlike conventional fixed systems, the driver is equipped with a means to visually and audibly display the difference between the set speed and the traveling speed, allowing the driver to be aware of the actual road conditions on which he/she is currently driving. Since the driver can directly obtain accurate information without the need for calculations or other procedures, the driver can concentrate on driving.Furthermore, the vocal warning system allows the driver to know the driving speed through the auditory senses, making it easier for the driver to focus on the driver's line of sight. Since it can be exclusively used to collect only the information necessary for driving, it can have a remarkable effect on safe driving.

Furthermore, if a violation such as driving over the speed limit is committed, conventional devices only issue a warning of the violation, whereas the device of the present invention can detect the extent of the violation. This system provides both visual and auditory warnings to encourage safe driving, as well as requiring drivers to input the speed limit of the area they are driving in each time. Therefore, it can be expected to have the effect of making the driver reconfirm the speed limit at the time of input.

Holding the display as shown in yet another example
By adding lifl, the device of the present invention can also be used as a speeding enforcement device. In this case, the enforcement officer can confirm the exact violation value while tracking the violating vehicle, and the violation value is also displayed on the display on the violator's side, so it is not possible to do so in the past. When the enforcement officer calculates the displayed value and reports the violation value, there is a feeling of laxity.
It will eliminate ambiguity such as harshness and enable fair enforcement of laws and regulations.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a speed warning device according to the present invention. 1... Microcomputer 2... Vehicle speed sensor 3... Waveform shaping circuit 4...
・Speed limit setting switch

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A speed sensor is connected via a waveform shaping circuit to the input side of a microcomputer having at least a standard pulse generation section and a calculation section, and a speed limit setting switch is connected via an encoding circuit; A display device is connected to the output side of the microcomputer via a code conversion circuit, and an amplifier and a speaker are connected via a voice synthesis circuit, and the difference between the signals of the speed sensor and the speed limit setting switch is detected. A speed warning device, characterized in that the microcomputer calculates a warning speed, the warning speed is announced by the speaker, and is displayed on the display. (2) The speed warning device according to claim 1, wherein the microcomputer is provided with a temporary storage section, and a display hold switch is connected to the input side of the microcomputer.