WO2005092667A1

WO2005092667A1 - Alarm of vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2005092667A1
Application number: PCT/JP2005/006213
Authority: WO
Inventors: Osamu Fujimoto
Original assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
Priority date: 2004-03-25
Filing date: 2005-03-24
Publication date: 2005-10-06
Also published as: JP2005271756A

Abstract

An electronic controller mounted on a vehicle judges traffic jam on conditions that a vehicle speed detected by a vehicle speed sensor indicates stoppage or slow-down of the vehicle, and the existence of other vehicle in front of its own vehicle is detected by a signal from a peripheral monitor (millimetric wave radar, image sensor). When traffic jam of a road is judged, the electronic controller detects an object traversing in front or rear of its own vehicle by a signal from a peripheral monitor (clearance sonar). When approach of other vehicle traveling on other lane to its own vehicle is detected by the peripheral monitor (millimetric wave radar, image sensor), an alarm is actuated to alarm other vehicle. When an object, e.g. a bicycle or a pedestrian, exists in the vicinity of its own vehicle, other vehicle located in the vicinity of its own vehicle is alarmed thus preventing collision of other vehicle against the object, e.g. a bicycle or a pedestrian.

Description

Vehicle alarm system

The present invention relates to a vehicle alarm device that detects the presence of an object such as a bicycle or a pedestrian near a host vehicle and issues an alarm to another vehicle. Enlightenment technology

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an alarm device that detects the presence of an object such as a human or an obstacle located around a vehicle using a peripheral monitor and issues an alarm is well known (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 6-86600). See).

However, the warning by the above-mentioned conventional warning device is directed to the driver of the own vehicle, and no warning is issued to other vehicles even if the presence of an object around the own vehicle is detected. Disclosure of the invention

An object of the present invention is to issue an alarm to another vehicle located near the host vehicle when an object such as a bicycle or pedestrian is present near the host vehicle, thereby enabling other objects such as a bicycle or a pedestrian to enter. An object of the present invention is to provide an alarm device for a vehicle in which a collision of the vehicle is prevented.

In order to achieve the above object, the features of the present invention are: a peripheral monitor for detecting an object located around the vehicle; a vehicle speed sensor for detecting the vehicle speed; a warning device capable of alerting another vehicle; An electronic controller that determines a traveling state of the own vehicle and presence / absence of an object near the own vehicle including other vehicles based on signals from the monitor and the vehicle speed sensor, and activates an alarm device according to the determination; This is to alert other vehicles when there is an object near the own vehicle.

In this case, for example, the electronic control unit determines that the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor indicates that the vehicle is stopped or slows down, and that the electronic control unit receives a signal from the peripheral monitoring device. Determines the traffic congestion condition of the road on the condition that the presence of another vehicle ahead is detected, and detects an object that crosses in front of or behind the own vehicle based on a signal from the surrounding monitor when judging the traffic congestion condition of the road. In addition, when it is detected that another vehicle traveling in another lane different from the traveling lane of the own vehicle has approached the own vehicle, it is preferable to activate an alarm to warn the other vehicle. . Further, the electronic controller detects an object in front of or behind the host vehicle by a signal from the peripheral monitoring device, for example, at the time of determining the traffic congestion state of the road as described above, When detecting another vehicle trying to cross behind, an alarm may be activated to warn the other vehicle.

In addition, for example, a millimeter wave radar, an image sensor (CCD force camera), a clearance sonar, etc. can be used as the peripheral monitoring device. Further, as the alarm, for example, a horn, a win lamp, a headlight, a communication device, and the like can be used.

During traffic congestion, if another vehicle is traveling on a different lane than the lane on which the vehicle is located (ie, an opposite lane or another lane of two or more lanes), the driver of the other vehicle will not I can't check my surroundings enough. Also, if another vehicle is trying to cross the front or rear of the vehicle during traffic congestion on the road, the driver of the other vehicle cannot fully check the surroundings. Under such circumstances, in the present invention configured as described above, there are objects such as bicycles and pedestrians crossing in front of or behind the own vehicle, or bicycles or walking in front of or behind the own vehicle. When an object such as a driver is present, an alarm is issued to another vehicle. Therefore, according to the present invention, since the driver of another vehicle notices this warning and reflects it on the driving of the vehicle, it is possible to prevent the collision of another vehicle with an object such as a bicycle or a pedestrian beforehand. . Brief explanation of drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an alarm device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an overall schematic view of a vehicle for explaining a mounting position of the millimeter wave radar, the image sensor, and the clearance sonar of FIG.

Figure 3 shows the flow chart of the first alarm program executed by the electronic controller of Figure 1. I'm Jato.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the second alarm program executed by the electronic controller of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a state in which a bicycle is going to cross in front of the host vehicle.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a state in which a bicycle is about to cross the rear of the host vehicle.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a state in which a bicycle is present behind and behind the own vehicle. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an alarm device for a vehicle according to the embodiment. This vehicle alarm device includes a plurality of millimeter-wave radars 11, a plurality of image sensors 12, a plurality of clearance sonars 13, a vehicle speed sensor 14, and an electronic controller 15. These millimeter-wave radar 11, image sensor 12 and clearance sonar 13 constitute a peripheral monitor for detecting objects such as bicycles, pedestrians, and other vehicles located around the vehicle. It is a thing.

The millimeter-wave radar 11 radiates a millimeter-wave signal in a predetermined direction, receives the millimeter wave reflected by an object located in the radiation direction, and detects the presence of an object, the size of the object, and the distance to the object. The detection signal indicating the above is output to the electronic controller 15. As shown in Fig. 2, the plurality of millimeter-wave radars 11 are fixed to a vehicle grill, front and rear bumpers, and the like, and detect objects such as front, side front, rear, and side rear of the vehicle.

The image sensor 12 is an image pickup device such as a CCD camera, and outputs image data representing a picked-up image to the electronic controller 15, and in the image pickup direction in cooperation with the electronic controller 15. Recognize the existence of the object, the type of the object, etc. As shown in Fig. 2, the plurality of image sensors 12 are fixed to the front of the rear view mirror of the vehicle, the upper part of the inner panel, etc., and image an object located in front, side front, rear, side rear, etc. of the vehicle. . Clearance sonar 13 emits ultrasonic waves and reacts to objects located in the radiation direction. The emitted ultrasonic waves are incident, and a detection signal indicating the presence of the object, the distance to the object, and the like is output to the electronic controller 15. As shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of clearance sonars 13 are fixed to front and rear bumpers, respectively, and detect objects such as front, side front, rear, and side rear of the vehicle. However, the object detection range of the clearance sonar 13 is a range of a shorter distance than the millimeter wave radar 11 and the image sensor 12. The fixed positions of the millimeter-wave radar 11, the image sensor 12, and the clearance sonar 13 are not limited to the above-described parts, but may be any parts that can detect objects around the vehicle. Any part may be sufficient. The vehicle speed sensor 14 detects the vehicle speed and outputs a detection signal indicating the detected vehicle speed to the electronic controller 15.

The electronic controller 15 is composed of a microphone computer having CPU, ROM, RAM and the like as main components. The electronic controller 15 controls the operation of the alarm device 20 by executing the first and second alarm programs shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. The alarm 20 will be replaced by the existing horn 21, win light lamps 22 and headlights 23 on the vehicle. Alternatively, a communication device 24 that enables communication with another vehicle may be used.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described. The electronic controller 15 repeatedly executes the first alarm program of FIG. 3 every predetermined short time. The execution of the first alarm program is started in step S10, and the respective determination processes in steps S12 to S18 are executed.

In step S12, a detection signal is input from the vehicle speed sensor 14, and it is determined whether the vehicle speed represented by the detection signal is equal to or lower than a predetermined low vehicle speed, thereby determining whether the own vehicle is stopped or slowing down. Is determined. In step S14, signals from the millimeter-wave radar 11 and the image sensor 12 are input to determine whether or not another vehicle exists within a predetermined distance ahead of the own vehicle. In this case, if another vehicle exists within a very short distance, it is possible to detect the other vehicle ahead by the signal from the clearance sonar 13. The determination in steps S12 and S14 is processing for determining that the road is congested. For example, if there is a congestion state as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, both steps S12 and S14 determine that "Yes", that is, the road is congested, and step S16. Move to the subsequent determination process. Also, If not, it is determined as “No” in one of steps S 12 and S 14, and the execution of the first alarm program is terminated in step S 22.

In step S16, the presence of an object such as a bicycle or a pedestrian crossing in front of or behind the own vehicle is detected. In this case, a signal is input from the image sensor 12 and / or the clearance sonar 13 to detect an object that crosses in front of or behind the own vehicle within a short distance. The traversing operation of the object is determined by detecting a plurality of clearance sonars 13 one after another. Also, the crossing motion of the object can be detected by image analysis based on a signal from the image sensor 12. For example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, if the bicycle crosses within a short distance in front of or behind the own vehicle, "Yes" is determined in step S16, and the determination process in step S18 is performed. Move on to On the other hand, if there is no object that crosses within a short distance in front of or behind the own vehicle, it is determined as “No” in step S16, and the execution of this first alarm program is performed in step S22. finish.

In step S18, it is detected that another vehicle traveling in another lane different from the lane of the own vehicle is approaching the own vehicle. In this case, a signal from the millimeter wave radar 11 and / or the image sensor 12 is input to detect that another vehicle traveling in another lane is approaching the vehicle. For example, as shown in Fig. 5, another vehicle traveling in the oncoming lane is approaching the host vehicle from the front, or as shown in Fig. 6, another vehicle traveling in another lane of two or more lanes is seen from the rear. If the vehicle is approaching, the vehicle determines “Yes” in step S18, and proceeds to step S20. On the other hand, if another vehicle traveling in another lane is not approaching the own vehicle, “No” is determined in step S18, and the first alarm program is executed in step S22. To end.

In step S20, the alarm device 20 is operated to generate an alarm for the other vehicle detected by the determination processing in step S18. The following methods can be used to generate this alarm. For example, horn 21 is activated to generate an audible alarm. The blinker lamps 22 or the pair of left and right blinker lamps 22 located on the other vehicle side blink at a faster cycle than during the turning operation. Turn on or blink the headlight 23 located on the other vehicle side or the pair of left and right headlights 23 momentarily. The In addition, the communication device 24 is controlled to give an alarm to other vehicles by wireless transmission. In this case, it is valid only when another vehicle can receive the signal transmitted by radio.

As described above, according to the first warning program, when an object such as a bicycle or a pedestrian crosses in front of or behind the own vehicle during traffic congestion on the road, the vehicle is traveling in another lane. An alarm is issued to another vehicle. As a result, the driver of the other vehicle notices the warning and reflects it on the driving of the vehicle, so that the collision of the other vehicle with an object such as a bicycle or a pedestrian can be prevented.

Further, the electronic controller 15 repeatedly executes the second alarm program of FIG. 4 every predetermined short time. The execution of the second alarm program is started in step S30, and the respective determination processes in steps S32 to S38 are executed.

The determination processing in steps S32 and S34 is the same as the determination processing in steps S12 and S14 in Fig. 3 described above. By the determination processing in steps S32 and S34, the road is determined. It is determined that there is traffic. For example, if there is a congestion state as shown in FIG. 7, both steps S32 and S34 determine that "Yes", that is, that the road is congested, and the determination after step S36 is made. Move on to processing. If there is no traffic jam, “No” is determined in one of steps S32 and S34, and the execution of the second alarm program is terminated in step S42.

In step S36, the presence of an object, such as a bicycle or a pedestrian, in front of or behind the host vehicle is detected. In this case, a signal from the millimeter-wave radar 11 is input to detect an object located in front of or behind the host vehicle. Regarding the presence of the object, the presence of the object can be detected by image analysis based on a signal from the image sensor 12. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, if the bicycle is approaching the vehicle from the lateral rear, the determination is “Yes” in step S36, and the process proceeds to the determination process in step S38. In addition, also in the case where the bicycle is approaching from the side ahead, it is determined as “Yes” in step S36, and the process proceeds to the determination processing in step S38. On the other hand, if there is no bicycle in front of or behind the host vehicle, "No" is determined in step S36, and the execution of the second alarm program is terminated in step S42. . In step S38, another vehicle tries to cross the front or rear of the host vehicle. Is determined. In this case, millimeter-wave radar 11 and z or image sensor 1

The signal from 2 is input to detect that another vehicle traveling in another lane is approaching the own vehicle. When another vehicle is about to cross a short distance from the own vehicle, the other vehicle can be detected based on a signal from the clearance sonar 13. For example, when another vehicle is going to cross the front of the own vehicle as shown in FIG. 7 or when another vehicle is going to cross the rear of the own vehicle, it is determined as “Yes” in step S38. Then, the process proceeds to step S40. On the other hand, if there is no other vehicle that is going to cross the front or rear of the host vehicle, “No” is determined in step S38, and the second alarm program is executed in step S42. Terminates execution of.

The processing in step S40 is the same as the processing in step S20 in FIG. 3, and the processing in step S40 causes an alarm to be issued to the other vehicle. As described above, according to the second warning program, when an object such as a bicycle or a pedestrian is approaching from the side ahead or behind the host vehicle during traffic congestion on the road, the front or the host vehicle may be used. An alarm is issued to another vehicle trying to cross behind. As a result, the driver of the other vehicle notices this warning and reflects it on the driving of the vehicle, so that it is possible to prevent the collision of the other vehicle with objects such as bicycles and pedestrians.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above first and second embodiments and various modifications, and various modifications can be adopted within the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the millimeter-wave radar 11, the image sensor 12 and the clearance sonar 13 have been exemplified as the peripheral monitor, but the peripheral monitor can detect an object around the own vehicle. Any sensor may be used. As for the alarm 20, an alarm should be issued to the driver of another vehicle instead of or in addition to the horn 21, the WIN power lamp 22, the headlight 23 and the communication device 24 described above. If possible, any material may be used.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A perimeter monitor for detecting objects located around the vehicle,

A vehicle speed sensor for detecting a vehicle speed;

An alarm that can alert other vehicles,

Based on signals from the periphery monitor and the vehicle speed sensor, the traveling state of the own vehicle and the presence / absence of an object near the own vehicle including other vehicles are determined, and an electronic device for operating the alarm in response to the determination. With a controller,

An alarm device for a vehicle, wherein an alarm is issued to another vehicle when an object near the own vehicle is present.

2. The electronic controller comprises:

The congestion state of the road is determined on the condition that the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor indicates that the vehicle is stopped or slowing down, and that the presence of another vehicle ahead of the own vehicle is detected based on a signal from the peripheral monitor. And

When judging the traffic congestion state of the road, an object that crosses ahead or behind the own vehicle is detected by a signal from the surrounding monitor, and another vehicle traveling in another lane different from the traveling lane of the own vehicle is used. 2. The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1, wherein when detecting that the own vehicle is approaching, the alarm device is operated to warn the other vehicle.

3. The electronic controller is

At the time of the determination of the traffic congestion state of the road, an object was detected in front of or behind the own vehicle by a signal from the surrounding monitoring device, and another vehicle trying to cross the front or rear of the own vehicle was detected. 2. The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the alarm device is operated to warn the other vehicle.

4. The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral monitor is at least one of a millimeter wave radar, an image sensor, and a clearance sonar.

5. The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the alarm device is at least one of a horn, a win lamp, a headlight, and a communication device.