JPH10236227A - Vehicle alarm system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To issue a first warning to be issued only to a driving vehicle according to whether a traveling state of a vehicle is in a primary warning range or a secondary warning range, and to perform both a driving vehicle and a passenger. In the vehicular warning device that generates the second warning, the state in which the first warning is frequently given is also determined to be high in danger, and a warning is given to the fellow passenger. If the number of alarms per unit time exceeds a threshold value even when the running state of the vehicle is within a primary alarm range, it is determined that the vehicle is in a high-risk state equivalent to a secondary alarm range and Also give alerts.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an alarm device for a vehicle, and more particularly, to an alarm device which issues an alarm when the danger of a running state of a vehicle is high.

[0001]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a conventional vehicular alarm system will be described with reference to FIG. In this example, the driver A is driving the vehicle C1, and the driver B has a bed 7 provided behind the driver A.
Is taking a break. The vehicle C1 confirms the presence of the front vehicle C2 and measures the inter-vehicle distance by receiving the reflected light of the electromagnetic waves emitted from the transmitter / receiver 1 such as a radar toward the front vehicle C2 by the transmitter / receiver 1. .

Along with the inter-vehicle distance, a signal processing unit 2 which is an arithmetic unit using a microcomputer or the like
A signal processing (for example, A / D conversion) is performed on the own vehicle speed signal detected by the own vehicle speed detecting unit 3 provided to detect the rotation of an output shaft of a transmission (not shown), and a determination unit 4 is provided.
Give to. The judging section 4 obtains the danger level of the current vehicle running state from these input signals, and gives an alarm corresponding to the danger level to the driver A by the alarm section 5.

[0003] However, in such a conventional example, there is a problem that if the alarm is given by means of hearing such as a sound, the driver B will not take a break.

[0004] In order to solve such a problem, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-69785, there has been proposed an alarm device for a vehicle which gives an alarm in two stages.

That is, at the stage of low danger, the first alarm is given only to the driver via tactile means, and at the stage of high danger, the second alarm is given to the driver and all passengers by audio. It is an alarm device to give.

In this case, the degree of danger is composed of a primary warning range (caution warning range) and a secondary warning range (danger warning range) as shown in FIG. Is determined. The risk increases as the relative speed with respect to the preceding vehicle increases and as the inter-vehicle distance decreases.

[0007] The first alarm is issued in the primary alarm range having a low degree of danger, when the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle C2 is larger than the emergency inter-vehicle distance and smaller than the caution inter-vehicle distance. On the other hand, the second warning is given in the secondary warning range where the degree of danger is high. The condition is that the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle C2 is smaller than the emergency inter-vehicle distance.

Here, the emergency inter-vehicle distance is a limit inter-vehicle distance that can prevent a rear-end collision with a preceding vehicle by a sudden braking operation of the vehicle C1 when it is assumed that both the own vehicle C1 and the preceding vehicle C2 travel as they are. Further, the inter-vehicle caution distance is a limit inter-vehicle distance at which the rear-end collision can be prevented by the sudden braking operation of the vehicle C1 from that point in time, assuming that the preceding vehicle C2 has decelerated.

FIG. 6 shows a specific example of a vehicle-mounted structure for giving the two-stage alarm described above. The degree of danger is determined by the alarm switching determination unit 8 disposed under the seat where the driver A is sitting.
When the first warning is given to the driver A only from the speaker 9 embedded in the headrest of the driver's seat and is in the secondary warning range with a high risk, , The second alarm is the speaker 10
This is given to the driver A and the fellow passenger (also a driver) B.

[0010]

However, in the case of using the above-described vehicular alarm device, the danger cannot be avoided because a passenger is not given an alarm until the secondary alarm range is high. There are cases. For example, there is a case where the driver is in a state in which he cannot grasp the driving state such as his drowsy driving and the fellow passenger is also taking a break.

In such a case, in the initial stage, the vehicle fluctuates, and a small change is seen in the relative speed with respect to the vehicle ahead and in the distance between the vehicles. At this time, since the vehicle repeatedly enters and exits the low-risk primary warning range, the first warning is frequently given to the driver. Then, even if the passenger enters the high-risk second warning range and the second warning is given to the passenger, the response time is too short to avoid the danger and may lead to an accident. Very high.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a vehicle alarm device for generating a first or second alarm depending on whether the running state of a vehicle is in a primary alarm range or a secondary alarm range. An object of the present invention is to improve reliability by determining that the danger level is high even when a warning is given and giving a warning to a fellow passenger.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicular alarm system according to the present invention comprises a detector for detecting a running state of a vehicle, and a first alarm in a primary alarm range only for a driver. A second alarm unit for giving a second alarm of a secondary alarm range to a driver and a passenger, and determining whether the traveling state is the primary alarm range or the secondary alarm range. And a determination unit that imitates the secondary alarm range when the number of alarms per unit time exceeds the threshold even when the first alarm unit is activated and the primary alarm range is exceeded. , Is provided.

That is, in the present invention, when the traveling state of the vehicle is detected, the determining unit determines whether the traveling state is the primary alarm range or the secondary alarm range. One alarm is activated to give the first alarm only to the driver, and in the case of the secondary alarm range, the second alarm is activated to give both the driver and the passenger a second alarm. Give a second alarm.

If the number of alarms per unit time exceeds the threshold even in the primary alarm range, the secondary alarm range is simulated, and the second alarm is activated to activate the driver and the passenger. Give a second alarm to both.

In this way, when the driving state is gradually increasing the degree of danger, it is possible to give a warning to the fellow passengers to encourage safe driving, and to take a break or change driving.

In the above case, there is provided a detecting unit for detecting whether or not the passenger is taking a break at a predetermined place of the vehicle, and when the detecting unit detects that the passenger is not taking a break, the determining unit is provided. May be assumed to be the primary warning range or the secondary warning range.

Further, as the traveling state of the vehicle, an inter-vehicle distance or a steering angle can be used.

[0019]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a vehicle alarm system according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a control system diagram of a vehicle alarm device according to the present invention, and particularly functions as an alarm device for an obstacle ahead of a vehicle.

That is, 1 is a transmitter / receiver such as a radar (laser) for measuring the distance between the own vehicle and an obstacle, 2 is a signal processing unit which is an arithmetic unit such as a microcomputer for A / D converting an input signal, Reference numeral 3 denotes a host vehicle speed detecting unit for detecting the host vehicle speed as shown in FIG. 4, and reference numeral 4 denotes a reception signal (inter-vehicle distance signal) from the transducer 1 processed in the signal processing unit 2.
A determination unit which receives the own vehicle speed signal as a signal indicating the traveling state of the vehicle and determines what kind of alarm should be generated;
1 and 52 are first and second alarm units respectively driven by the determination unit 4 to generate first and second alarms in the primary and secondary alarm ranges, and 6 is a break for detecting a rest state of the passenger. It is a state detection unit.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment when the first and second alarm units 51 and 52 in the control system shown in FIG. 1 are mounted on a vehicle. A vibration generator 51a that vibrates the steering ST is used as one alarm unit, and a speaker 52a provided in front of the driver A and a bed 7 on which the passenger B rests are used as a second alarm unit. Speaker 5 provided on the pillow
2b and the vibration generator 52c are used. Also,
The bed 7 is provided with a bed sensor as a rest state detecting unit 6.

As in the conventional example shown in FIG. 6, a speaker 51b embedded in the headrest of the driver A's seat may be used as the first alarm unit 51, and a second alarm unit 52 may be used.
Alternatively, only the speaker 52a provided in front of the driver A may be used.

Next, the determination procedure of the determination section 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, the signal processing unit 2 receives the output signal of the transducer 1 and the output signal of the own vehicle speed detection unit 3, performs predetermined signal processing, and sends it to the determination unit 4. It is determined whether or not. This is based on the inter-vehicle distance measured by the transducer 1 and the own vehicle speed measured by the own vehicle speed detection unit 3,
It is determined based on whether or not it is in the primary alarm range shown in FIG. 5 (step S1).

If it is determined that the alarm is not in the primary alarm range, it is determined whether or not the alarm is in a secondary alarm range indicating a high risk state (step S2). As a result, when it is determined that the vehicle is within the secondary alarm range, a secondary alarm is output to the driver A and the driver B (step S3).

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the loudspeakers 52a and 52b and the vibration generator 52c as first and second alarm units are driven by the determination unit 4, and the driver A receives both voice and vibration. In addition, a warning is given to the passenger B.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S1 that the vehicle is within the primary warning range (when the degree of danger is low), the output signal of the bed sensor 6 further determines whether or not the passenger B other than the driver A is taking a break. (Step S4).

As a result, when it is determined that the passenger B is not taking a break, the process proceeds to step S3, and a secondary alarm is given to the drivers A and B in the same manner as described above. This is because the passenger B is not taking a break, so it is safe to give a secondary alarm by sound.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the passenger B is resting on the bed 7 as shown in FIG.
Determines the number of alarms per unit time, and determines whether the number of alarms exceeds a threshold (step S5).
In this embodiment, it is determined whether or not the number of alarms has been 20 or more in 30 minutes.

When the number of warnings is 20 or more, the risk is determined to be high even in the primary warning range, so that the secondary warning is given to both the driver A and the driver B ( Step S3).

On the other hand, if the number of alarms is 20 or less, it is determined that the degree of danger is low, so that only the driver A is given a primary alarm (step S6). In this embodiment, FIG.
As shown in (1), only the driver A is warned by the vibration generator 51a using steering vibration.

In addition to the above embodiments, in the present invention, the first alarm unit may be a portable wireless vibrator or a light as long as it is not transmitted to anyone other than the driver.
Further, the passenger resting state detecting unit may be provided with a bed sensor in the rear seat as in the present invention, or may be provided with a seat sensor on the passenger seat side and may use an automatic switching unit to detect the presence of the passenger. Alternatively, it may be performed manually by providing a changeover switch.

Further, the secondary alarm may be generated according to the number of times of the primary alarm per unit time without providing the passenger's rest state detecting unit (without performing the determination in step S4).

Further, as the running state of the vehicle, an output signal thereof may be used for determining the primary / secondary warning range using a steering angle sensor in addition to the inter-vehicle distance as described above.

[0034]

As described above, according to the alarm device according to the present invention, if the number of alarms per unit time exceeds the threshold even if the running state of the vehicle is within the primary alarm range, the secondary alarm range will be set. Since it is determined that the state of danger is equivalent to a high risk state and a warning is given to the fellow passenger, a warning is issued earlier and an accident can be prevented beforehand.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control system of an alarm device for a vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing a vehicle mounted state of a warning unit used in the vehicle warning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing algorithm of a determination unit in the vehicle alarm device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view schematically showing a vehicle-mounted state of a conventionally known vehicle alarm device.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a warning range for a traveling state of a conventionally known vehicle.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a vehicle mounting state of a warning unit used in a vehicle warning device according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transceiver 2 Signal processing part 3 Signal processing part 4 Judgment part 51 First alarm part (vibration generation part) 52 Second alarm part 52a, 52b Speaker 52c Vibration generation part 6 Passenger rest state detection part (bed Sensor) 7 Bed In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI B60R 21/00 620 B60R 21/00 620Z

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A detection unit for detecting a running state of a vehicle, a first alarm unit for giving a first alarm in a primary alarm range only to a driver, and a second alarm unit in a second alarm range for a driver and a passenger. A second alarm unit for giving an alarm of the following; and determining whether the traveling state is the primary alarm range or the secondary alarm range, thereby energizing the first and second alarm units, respectively, and simultaneously setting the primary alarm range. And a determining unit that simulates the secondary alarm range when the number of alarms per unit time exceeds a threshold value. 2. A vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a detection unit for detecting whether or not the fellow passenger is taking a break at a predetermined place in the vehicle, wherein the detecting unit detects that the fellow passenger is not taking a break. The alarm device for a vehicle, wherein the determination unit simulates the secondary alarm range even if the primary alarm range is present. 3. The vehicular alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the traveling state is an inter-vehicle distance or a steering angle.