WO2023214532A1

WO2023214532A1 - Vehicular warning device

Info

Publication number: WO2023214532A1
Application number: PCT/JP2023/016630
Authority: WO
Inventors: 裕介仲田
Original assignee: 株式会社小糸製作所
Priority date: 2022-05-02
Filing date: 2023-04-27
Publication date: 2023-11-09

Abstract

Provided is a vehicular warning device that warns a driver when there is an obstacle in the traveling direction of the vehicle.　A vehicular warning device 1 according to the present disclosure comprises: a road surface drawing light 2 for projecting a drawing pattern P on a road surface; an obstacle sensor 3 for detecting an obstacle X in the vicinity of a vehicle V; a vehicle speed sensor 4; and a control unit 5 for controlling the turning-on/off of each of a plurality of LEDs 21 of the road surface drawing light 2. The control unit 5 calculates a time t until collision on the basis of a distance d up to the obstacle X measured by the obstacle sensor 3 and a vehicle speed v measured by the vehicle speed sensor 4. The road surface drawing light 2 projects a predetermined drawing pattern P on a road surface on the basis of the time t and warns a driver.

Description

Vehicle warning device

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle warning device that warns a driver of the approach of an obstacle or the like.

Conventionally, there is a known technology that notifies the driver by displaying a drawn pattern on the road surface. Patent Document 1 proposes a driving support device that displays a drawing pattern on a road surface such as a point where a car is traveling, and enables a driver to appropriately drive his/her own vehicle.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-153868

Incidentally, in recent years, attention has been focused on alerting drivers to prevent accidents as part of driving support. For example, in order to prevent collisions, there has been a desire to accurately warn the driver in a high-impact manner when there is an obstacle in the direction of travel of the vehicle.

Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle warning device that projects a drawn pattern to warn the driver when an obstacle exists in the direction of travel of the vehicle.

In order to solve the above problems, a vehicle warning device of the present disclosure includes a road surface drawing light that projects a drawing pattern indicating a warning to the driver onto the road surface, and an obstacle sensor that detects obstacles around the vehicle. The road surface drawing light is characterized in that when an obstacle sensor detects an obstacle, a drawing pattern is projected from the distal side of the vehicle toward the proximal side of the vehicle.

The drawing pattern may have a configuration in which the projected image increases from the distal side of the vehicle toward the proximal side, or a configuration in which the position of the projected image moves from the distal side toward the proximal side of the vehicle. In this case, by varying the drawing pattern, it is possible to effectively appeal to the driver's vision.

It can be configured to include a plurality of road surface drawing lights and to select the road surface drawing light to be projected based on the relative position of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle. In this case, the driver can be notified of the location of the obstacle in more detail.

a vehicle speed sensor; and a calculation means for calculating the time until the obstacle collides with the vehicle based on the detection result of the obstacle sensor and the measurement result of the vehicle speed sensor, and the drawing is performed based on the time until the obstacle collides with the vehicle. Can be configured to change patterns. In this case, the driver can be notified of the risk of collision in more detail.

According to the vehicle warning device of the present disclosure, a drawing pattern that goes from the distal side to the proximal side of the vehicle is projected instead of the conventional drawing pattern that goes from the proximal side to the distal side of the vehicle. This has the effect that it is possible to easily distinguish between the two, and quickly notice that an obstacle is approaching.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a vehicle warning device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is used. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of a vehicle warning device. FIG. 3 is an overhead view showing the positional relationship between an obstacle and a vehicle. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an illumination pattern. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an illumination pattern. It is a schematic diagram which shows the modification of an illumination pattern. It is a schematic diagram which shows the modification of an illumination pattern.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present disclosure is embodied in a vehicle warning device 1 will be described based on the drawings.

The vehicle warning device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a pair of left and right road surface drawing lights 2 (2R, 2L) that project a drawing pattern P indicating a warning to the driver onto the road surface, and a pair of road surface drawing lights 2 (2R, 2L) that project a drawing pattern P that indicates a warning to the driver, and an obstacle X in the vicinity of a vehicle V. It includes an obstacle sensor 3 for detecting an obstacle, a vehicle speed sensor 4, and a control unit 5 for controlling turning on and off of a plurality of LEDs 21 included in the road surface drawing light 2, respectively.

The road surface drawing light 2 includes a light body 24 attached to the vehicle body, a transparent cover 25 made of a transparent resin material, and a light chamber 26 formed inside both. The light chamber 26 includes LEDs 21 (21-1, 21-2, 21-3) that are light sources, a circuit board 22 on which the LEDs 21 are mounted, a projection lens 23 that projects the light L of the LEDs 21 onto the road surface, and internal components. An extension (not shown) or the like is provided to shield the structure from the outside. The road surface drawing light 2 can also be mounted in the light chamber of another light device such as a vehicle headlamp. The control unit 5 can also be mounted on the road surface drawing light 2.

It is also possible to use the road surface drawing light 2 as a side turn signal lamp by setting the color of the LED 21 to amber color. For example, when used as a vehicle warning device 1, the control unit 5 lights up the LED 21 in the order of "LED 21-1, LED 21-2, LED 21-3", and when used as a side turn signal lamp, They light up in the order of "LED21-3, LED21-2, LED21-1", that is, in the reverse order when used as the vehicle warning device 1.

The obstacle sensor 3 detects an obstacle X existing around the vehicle V, particularly in the direction of travel of the vehicle V, and measures the distance d between the vehicle V and the obstacle X. As the obstacle sensor 3, a sensor capable of measuring distance can be selected, such as LiDAR, millimeter wave radar, ultrasonic sensor, stereo camera, acceleration/gyro sensor, or the like. Note that the obstacle X includes a stopped vehicle, a person, other objects, and the like.

The control unit 5 includes a TTC calculation unit 51 that calculates the time until the vehicle V collides with the obstacle X (TTC(t): Time To Collision). The TTC calculation unit 51 calculates TTC(t) based on the measured value of the obstacle sensor 3 (distance d between the vehicle V and the obstacle X) and the vehicle speed v measured by the vehicle speed sensor 4.

The control unit 5 controls the lighting of the road surface drawing light 2 based on the TTC(t), and through this control, the road surface drawing light 2 projects a predetermined drawing pattern P onto the road surface according to the TTC(t). It is also possible for the control unit 5 to control the lighting of the LEDs 21 based on the distance d, and for the road surface drawing lamp 2 to project a predetermined drawing pattern P on the road surface according to the distance d.

Next, the correspondence between TTC(t) and the drawing pattern P will be explained based on FIGS. 3 to 5. In the following explanation, the cases of "t=t1", "t=t2", and "t=t3" will be explained separately. In this embodiment, 9 seconds≧t1>7 seconds, 7 seconds≧t2>5 seconds, and 5 seconds≧t3>3 seconds, but the ranges of t1, t2, and t3 can be changed as appropriate. Here, as typically shown in FIG. 4(a), the "projection image G" indicates each unit image drawn by one LED 21 of the road surface drawing light 2, and the "drawing pattern P" indicates a collective image of all projected images G projected onto the road surface by the vehicle warning device 1 at the same time.

As shown in FIG. 4(a), when t=t1, the road surface drawing light 2 repeatedly projects a drawing pattern P consisting of projection images G1, G2, and G3 at a predetermined period T1. At this time, the control unit 5 performs control to turn on the LEDs 21 all at once and then turn them off all at once in a cycle T1. Further, the control unit 5 performs so-called gradual lighting/extinguishing control, in which the LEDs 21 are turned on so as to gradually become brighter when the lights are turned on all at once, and the LEDs 21 are turned off so that they become gradually darker when the lights are turned off all at once. The projection interval i1 of the drawing pattern P when t=t1 is preferably about 1 second.

As shown in FIG. 4(b), when t=t2, the road surface drawing light 2 projects a drawing pattern P that increases the projection image G from the distal side of the vehicle V toward the proximal side at a period T2. Specifically, first, a drawing pattern P consisting of the projection image G1 is projected, a drawing pattern P consisting of the projection images G1 and G2 is projected, a drawing pattern P consisting of the projection images G1, G2, and G3 is projected, and finally Then, the drawing pattern P consisting of the projected images G1, G2, and G3 is turned off. At this time, the control unit 5 performs control in which the LEDs 21 are turned on one by one, and after all the LEDs 21 are turned on, the LEDs 21 are turned off all at once in a cycle T2. The projection interval i2 of the drawing pattern P when t=t2 is preferably about 0.5 seconds.

As shown in FIG. 4(c), when t=t3, the road surface drawing light 2 repeatedly projects the drawing pattern P consisting of the projection images G1, G2, and G3 at a period T3 shorter than T1. At this time, the control unit 5 performs control to turn on the LEDs 21 all at once and then turn them off all at once at a cycle T3. Further, the control unit 5 performs so-called flashing lighting control in which the lights are repeatedly turned on and off all at once. The projection interval i3 of the drawing pattern P when t=t3 is preferably about 0.2 seconds.

As shown in FIG. 5, the road surface drawing light 2 to be projected can be selected based on the relative position of the obstacle X' with respect to the vehicle V. That is, when the obstacle X' is detected on the side in the traveling direction of the vehicle V, the road surface drawing light 2 can select to project the projection image G only on the side where the obstacle X' is detected. "To the side of the traveling direction of the vehicle V" means, for example, if the obstacle X' is detected in the left lane or the right lane, or if it is detected outside the vehicle width W, This may be the case where the object is detected at a position where it does not intersect with the object X'. In the example of FIGS. 3 and 5, since an obstacle X' is detected in the left lane in the direction of travel of the vehicle V, only the road surface drawing light 2L on the left side of the vehicle V is displayed on the projected image G (G1-L, G2-L, G3 -L), and the road surface drawing light 2R on the right side of the vehicle V does not project the projection image G.

Next, a modification of the drawing pattern P will be described based on FIGS. 6 and 7. When t=t1 and t=t3, since the configuration is similar to the above configuration, the same reference numerals are given and the explanation will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 6(b) and 7(b), when t=t2, the road surface drawing light 2 has a drawing pattern P that moves the position of the projected image G from the distal side to the proximal side of the vehicle V. is projected at a predetermined period T2. Specifically, first, a drawing pattern P consisting of the projection image G1 is projected, a drawing pattern P consisting of the projection image G2 is projected, a drawing pattern P consisting of the projection image G3 is projected, and the projection image G3 is turned off. At this time, the control unit 5 performs control to turn on and off the LEDs 21 one by one at a cycle T2. The projection interval i2 of the drawing pattern P when t=t2 is preferably about 0.5 seconds.

Therefore, according to the vehicle warning device 1 of this embodiment, unlike the conventional drawing pattern P that projects from the proximal to the distal of the vehicle V, the drawing pattern P projects from the distal to the proximal of the vehicle V. This allows the driver to intuitively sense that a situation different from normal driving assistance has occurred, and quickly warns the driver of the approach of obstacle X. Furthermore, since different drawing patterns P are projected depending on the TTC(t), it is possible to notify the driver of the risk of collision. Furthermore, when the projection image G is projected only on the side where the obstacle X' is detected, it is possible to warn the driver of the position of the obstacle X' in more detail.

Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and the shape and configuration of each part may be changed without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure, such as increasing the number of projected images G by increasing the number of LEDs 21 to four or more. It is also possible to implement it with appropriate changes.

1 Vehicle warning device 2 Road surface drawing light 3 Obstacle sensor 4 Vehicle speed sensor 5 Control unit 21 LED
22 Circuit board 23 Projection lens 24 Light body 25 Transparent cover 26 Light chamber 51 TTC calculation unit V Vehicle X Obstacle P Drawing pattern G Projected image v Vehicle speed d Distance t TTC
T period

Claims

Equipped with a road surface drawing light that projects a drawing pattern on the road surface to warn the driver, and an obstacle sensor that detects obstacles around the vehicle,
The vehicle warning device is characterized in that the road drawing light projects the drawing pattern from the distal side of the vehicle toward the proximal side of the vehicle when the obstacle sensor detects an obstacle.
The vehicle warning device according to claim 1, wherein the drawing pattern includes a drawing pattern that increases the projected image from distal to proximal of the vehicle.
The vehicle warning device according to claim 1, wherein the drawing pattern includes a drawing pattern that moves the position of the projected image from distal to proximal of the vehicle.
comprising a plurality of the road surface drawing lights;
The vehicle warning device according to claim 1, wherein the road surface drawing light to be projected is selected based on the relative position of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle.
comprising a vehicle speed sensor, and a calculation means for calculating the time until the obstacle collides with the vehicle based on the detection result of the obstacle sensor and the measurement result of the vehicle speed sensor,
The vehicle warning device according to claim 1, wherein the drawing pattern is changed based on the time.