JPH10119674A - Collision alarm system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To optimumly drive a vehicle safely and efficiently, by providing an optimum-speed recognizing and informing part for recognizing the optimum speed, needed to keep a safe distance between cars to a preceding vehicle, to inform the optimum speed to a driver. SOLUTION: An emitted laser beam is reflected by a preceding vehicle in the front of a driver's vehicle to be received by the beam receiving part of a laser emitting and receiving part 3. A distance between cars detection part 2 detects the propagated distance of a laser pulse, that is, a distance between cars to a preceding vehicle, from a requisite time for propagation, needed from emitting a laser pulse to receive the reflected pulse, by the laser emitting and receiving part 3. By a data processor 1, data, concerning the preceding vehicle such as a distance between cars or a direction detected by the distance between cars detection part 2, is received from the distance between cars detection part 2 to be stored in a data memory 5, and also informed to a display/alarm sounding part 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle collision warning system used as a vehicle safe driving support system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicle collision warning system using a radar device for transmitting and receiving a beam such as a laser beam, an electromagnetic wave or a sound wave has been developed. In this vehicle collision warning system, a beam such as a laser beam is emitted in front of the vehicle, is reflected by a preceding vehicle, receives a reflected beam that returns, and the radiation beam travels back and forth between the preceding vehicle. The distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle is detected from the required propagation time.

The detected inter-vehicle distance is displayed on a display panel of a driver's seat or the like. In parallel with the detection and display of the inter-vehicle distance, the safe inter-vehicle distance is calculated from the traveling environment such as the vehicle speed of the own vehicle. The driver is warned of the danger of a rear-end collision by an alarm such as a buzzer. When the warning is issued, the driver performs a deceleration operation, recognizes the displayed inter-vehicle distance as a safe inter-vehicle distance when the alarm is released, and then performs acceleration / deceleration operation to maintain the inter-vehicle distance constant. Do.

[0004] In the above-mentioned conventional collision warning system, a safety inter-vehicle distance calculated in the system may be displayed together with an actual inter-vehicle distance. The driver can perform safe and highly efficient optimal driving by continuing driving so as to maintain the safe inter-vehicle distance recognized through the generation and release of the alarm and the safe inter-vehicle distance displayed by the system.

[0005]

In the above conventional collision warning system, the driver performs acceleration / deceleration operation based on the safe inter-vehicle distance. However, it is difficult for many drivers to accurately determine how much acceleration / deceleration operation should be performed in order to maintain the safe inter-vehicle distance recognized or displayed. As a result, deceleration is not possible. There are problems such as being in a dangerous state due to being sufficient, and decelerating too much and the inter-vehicle distance is too empty. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a collision warning system capable of safe and efficient optimal driving.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An alarm generation system for a vehicle according to the present invention includes an optimum speed recognition / notification section for recognizing an optimum speed required for maintaining a safe inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle and notifying a driver of the optimum speed. Have.

[0007]

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the recognized optimum speed is displayed by switching from one or both of the detected following distance or the safe following distance, or by voice message. Notified.

[0008]

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle collision warning system according to one embodiment of the present invention, wherein 1 is a data processor, 2 is an inter-vehicle distance detecting section, 3 is a laser transmitting / receiving section, Is an input interface unit, 5 is a data memory,
6 is a display / alarm generator, 7 is a display, 8 is a speaker, 9
Is a key input unit.

The laser transmission / reception unit 3 is installed at an appropriate location such as behind the bumper of the vehicle or in the vehicle interior, and emits a pulsed laser beam from the light transmission unit toward the front of the vehicle. You. The emitted laser beam is reflected by a preceding vehicle existing in front of the host vehicle, and is transmitted to a laser transmitting / receiving unit 3.
Are received by the light receiving section. The transmission of the laser pulse is performed in several different directions in front of the host vehicle based on a mechanical operation of the light transmitting and receiving unit.

The inter-vehicle distance detecting unit 2 calculates the propagation distance of the laser pulse from the time required for the laser transmitting / receiving unit 3 to transmit the laser pulse and receive the reflected pulse, that is, the distance between the laser and the preceding vehicle. Detect distances. The inter-vehicle distance detection unit 2 is used for detecting the inter-vehicle distance in order to enhance detection accuracy such as elimination of interference by a laser beam emitted by another vehicle and removal of unnecessary reflected light from a reflector other than the preceding vehicle such as a corner reflector. Various processes are performed based on an appropriate algorithm. The inter-vehicle distance detection unit 2 detects the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle by performing information exchange with a navigation system (not shown) or an analysis system for capturing an image of a scene ahead of the vehicle using a camera, if necessary. Improve accuracy further.

The data processor 1 includes an inter-vehicle distance detector 2
Receives data from the inter-vehicle distance detecting unit 2 such as the inter-vehicle distance and direction detected by the
And notifies the display / alarm generation unit 6. The display / alarm generation unit 6 converts the inter-vehicle distance notified from the data processor 1 to digital display data, supplies the digital display data to the display 7 installed on the dashboard, and displays it on the display.

The data processor 1 stores various data indicating the running state of the vehicle such as vehicle speed, acceleration, steering angle, etc.
Light on / off signal to indicate night time zone,
Driving environment data, such as a wiper on / off signal indicating rainy weather, is input through the input interface unit 4.
The data is received from various corresponding sensors and devices and stored in the data memory 5.

Further, in parallel with the above-mentioned various processes, the data processor 1 reads the traveling speed of the own vehicle (the own vehicle speed V) and other traveling environments of the own vehicle at a constant cycle, and corresponds to the traveling state. The safety inter-vehicle distance Ls registered in the data memory 5 in advance is read. This safety inter-vehicle distance Ls is
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the vehicle speed V is determined from other traveling environments such as the current time zone (daytime / nighttime) and the weather (fine weather / rainfall). As the vehicle speed V increases, the brightness and the brightness increase. The safe inter-vehicle distance Ls is set to a larger value as the other driving environment such as the weather deteriorates.

The data processor 1 includes an inter-vehicle distance detector 2
Is compared with the safe inter-vehicle distance Ls read from the data memory 5, and when the actual inter-vehicle distance L becomes equal to or less than the safe inter-vehicle distance Ls, an alarm for rear-end collision with the preceding vehicle is displayed / The alarm generation unit 6 is notified. display/
The alarm generator 6 drives the speaker 8 to generate a voice message or a buzzer sound from the speaker 8 to warn of a collision with the preceding vehicle.

The data processor 1 calculates an own vehicle speed V as an optimum speed Vi such that the inter-vehicle distance L is set as a safe inter-vehicle distance, and stores the detected optimum speed Vi in the data memory 5 following the generation of the alarm. At the same time, the display / alarm generation unit 6 is notified. That is, the data processor 1 determines the point α corresponding to the actual inter-vehicle distance L in the graph of FIG.
Is set on the vertical axis, an intersection β between a straight line parallel to the horizontal axis passing through this point α and one of the curves selected according to the driving environment other than the own vehicle speed is detected, and a perpendicular line from the intersection β to the horizontal axis is detected. To determine the intersection γ, and the own vehicle speed V corresponding to the intersection γ is detected as the optimum speed Vi for matching the current inter-vehicle distance L to the safe inter-vehicle distance. This process is the reverse of the process for determining the intersection between one's own vehicle speed V and one of the curves from the other traveling environment and calculating a safe inter-vehicle distance Ls by drawing a straight line parallel to the horizontal axis from this intersection. It is performed according to.

Data processor 1 and display / alarm generator 6
Causes the speaker 8 to output a voice message saying that "the optimum speed is 〇〇 km." At the same time, FIG.
As illustrated by the two enlarged perspective views on the left and right inside, the display of the “inter-vehicle distance” previously displayed in the display field 7 a on the display 7 on the dashboard is changed to the “optimum” by the display / alarm generation unit 6. "Speed" is displayed. At the same time, the number “35” indicating the inter-vehicle distance displayed up to that point in the display field 7b indicates “6” indicating the optimum speed of 65 km / h.
5 ", and the symbol" m "indicating the unit of the inter-vehicle distance, which has been displayed in the display field 7c, is switched to the symbol" Km / h "indicating the unit of the optimum speed.

The driver performs an acceleration / deceleration operation so that the vehicle speed V displayed on the speedometer (not shown) matches the optimum speed Vi displayed on the display 7. When the inter-vehicle distance L changes due to the acceleration / deceleration operation, a new optimum speed Vi is displayed on the data processor 1 so that the inter-vehicle distance after the change becomes the safe inter-vehicle distance, and is displayed via the display / alarm generation unit 6. Is displayed on the display 7. The driver can keep the inter-vehicle distance at the safe inter-vehicle distance by maintaining the own vehicle speed V displayed on the speedometer at the optimum speed displayed on the display 7.

The driver, if necessary, presses the push button 7
By depressing d, the optimum speed displayed on the display 7 can be switched to the display of the following distance. In addition, before the driver is warned of a collision with the preceding vehicle,
By depressing the push button 7d again, the display on the display 7 can be changed from the following distance to the display of the optimum speed.

The configuration in which the safe inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle is calculated from the own vehicle speed V, the traveling environment such as the time zone and the weather, and registered is exemplified. However, if necessary, the safety inter-vehicle distance for the preceding vehicle may be changed as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H10-209, a method of calculating not only the own vehicle speed but also the traveling speed of the preceding vehicle itself can be used. Alternatively, the safe inter-vehicle distance may be determined by calculating the safe inter-vehicle distance in consideration of the relative speed with respect to the preceding vehicle and the speed of change thereof, or by reading out the safe inter-vehicle distance.

Further, the configuration in which the inter-vehicle distance and the optimum speed are switched and displayed has been exemplified. However, both can be displayed together or, if necessary, the optimum inter-vehicle distance can be displayed together. Alternatively, the driver may be notified only by a voice message, such as "the optimum speed is 〇〇 km" without displaying the optimum inter-vehicle distance.

When the driver's braking operation is detected, the displayed object is automatically switched from the inter-vehicle distance to the optimum speed, and the inter-vehicle distance to be displayed and the optimum speed are automatically switched according to the acceleration / deceleration operation by the driver. It can also be configured.

Further, the own vehicle speed V detected adjacent to the calculated optimum speed is displayed, or the optimum speed and the actual running speed (own vehicle speed) as shown in the enlarged perspective views on both the left and right sides of FIG. By alternately displaying V) at an appropriate period, the driver can move the line of sight between the display 7 and the speedometer alternately, thereby maintaining a safe speed. In the example of FIG. 4, the optimal speed for setting the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle as the optimal inter-vehicle distance is 65 km.
/ H, whereas the actual running speed is 65 Km / h, and the driver can easily determine that it is sufficient to reduce the excess by about 10 Km / h.

Further, the inter-vehicle distance actually detected by using a radar or the like is compared with the safe inter-vehicle distance recognized from the traveling state such as the own vehicle speed, and the detected inter-vehicle distance becomes smaller than the recognized safe inter-vehicle distance. In the case, the configuration in which the warning about the rear-end collision with the preceding vehicle is generated is illustrated. However, it recognizes the own vehicle speed necessary to make the inter-vehicle distance actually detected using radar etc. the safe inter-vehicle distance as the optimal speed, compares the actual own vehicle speed with this optimal speed, and determines that the own vehicle speed is the optimal speed. A configuration may be employed in which a warning is issued for a rear-end collision with a preceding vehicle, for example, when the vehicle exceeds the threshold.

Further, the configuration for detecting the inter-vehicle distance using a laser radar has been exemplified. However, if necessary, other types of radar devices using radio waves or ultrasonic waves, or triangulation may be applied to an image captured by a camera. By doing so, other appropriate inter-vehicle distance detecting device such as a device for detecting the inter-vehicle distance can be used.

[0025]

As described above in detail, the vehicle collision warning system according to the present invention recognizes the optimum speed necessary for maintaining the safe inter-vehicle distance with respect to the preceding vehicle and notifies the driver of the optimum speed. Even a driver who does not know an accurate acceleration / deceleration operation for maintaining a safe inter-vehicle distance can perform accurate acceleration / deceleration with the target of the optimum speed being displayed. As a result, it is possible to effectively solve problems such as falling into a dangerous state due to insufficient deceleration, and reducing the speed of use due to excessive inter-vehicle distance due to excessive deceleration.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an optimum speed and an inter-vehicle distance displayed on a display in a vehicle collision warning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle collision warning system of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram exemplifying a relationship between a safe inter-vehicle distance to a preceding vehicle, a host vehicle speed, and a traveling environment used in the processing of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an optimum speed and an actual traveling speed alternately displayed on a display in an appropriate cycle in the vehicle collision warning system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Data processor 2 Inter-vehicle distance detection part 3 Laser transmission / reception part 4 Input interface part 6 Display / alarm generation part 7 Display 8 Speaker

Claims (6)

[Claims] An inter-vehicle distance detecting unit for detecting an inter-vehicle distance to a preceding vehicle; a processing unit for recognizing a safe inter-vehicle distance to a preceding vehicle based on a vehicle speed of the own vehicle and other traveling states; And a warning generating unit that generates a warning regarding a collision with the preceding vehicle based on the recognized safe following distance, and a collision warning system for the vehicle, which is required to maintain a safe following distance from the preceding vehicle. A collision warning system for a vehicle, further comprising a recognition / notification unit that recognizes an optimum speed and notifies the driver of the speed. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the recognition / notification unit displays the recognized optimum speed by switching from one or both of the detected inter-vehicle distance or the safe inter-vehicle distance. Collision warning system. 3. The vehicle collision warning system according to claim 1, wherein the recognition / notification unit notifies the recognized optimum speed by a voice message. 4. An inter-vehicle distance detecting section for detecting an inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle, and a speed of the own vehicle for setting the inter-vehicle distance detected by the inter-vehicle distance detecting section as a safe inter-vehicle distance for rear-end collision with the preceding vehicle. A processing unit for recognizing an optimum speed based on weather and other driving environments, and an optimum speed notification unit for notifying a driver of the recognized optimum speed. 5. An inter-vehicle distance detecting section for detecting an inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle, and a speed of the host vehicle for setting the inter-vehicle distance detected by the inter-vehicle distance detecting section as a safe inter-vehicle distance for rear-end collision with the preceding vehicle. A processing unit that recognizes the optimum speed based on the traveling environment; an optimum speed notifying unit that notifies the driver of the recognized optimum speed; and a collision with the preceding vehicle based on the recognized optimum speed and the speed of the own vehicle. And a warning generation unit that generates a warning regarding the collision of the vehicle. 6. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the optimum speed notifying unit is configured to make the recognized optimum speed adjacent to the vehicle speed of the own vehicle or to alternate with the vehicle speed of the own vehicle,
A collision warning system for a vehicle, wherein the information is displayed on the same display.