Fault notification system

Abstract

A failure notification system is mounted in a vehicle and includes an imaging device, a processing device, and a transmitter. The processing device acquires data of an image of a preceding vehicle captured by the imaging device. The processing device performs failure determination on the basis of the acquired image data. The processing device causes the transmitter to transmit, to the receiver of the preceding vehicle, information informing that the brake lamp has failed when the fault of the brake lamp of the preceding vehicle has been detected as a result of the fault determination by the processing device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a fault notification system. Background Art

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-200456 discloses a fault reporting device that reports a burnout of a brake light to a driver.

[0003] The brake lights installed on the vehicle can inform the following vehicles that the vehicle is slowing down, so that safe driving can be achieved. Therefore, the driver must perform vehicle maintenance so that the brake lights always function properly. However, it is difficult for the driver to notice the failure of the brake lights of the vehicle he is driving. Summary of the invention

[0004] Means for solving the above-mentioned problems and their effects are described below.

[0005] The fault notification system for solving the above-mentioned problem is mounted on a vehicle and includes a camera, a processing device, and a transmitter. In the fault notification system, the processing device performs the following processing: the processing device determines the image of the front vehicle captured by the camera to detect the fault of the brake light of the front vehicle; and when the processing device detects the fault of the brake light of the front vehicle, the transmitter sends information notifying that the brake light has failed to a receiver of the front vehicle.

[0006] The failure notification system can notify the driver of the vehicle ahead of the failure of the brake light. Then, the driver of the vehicle ahead of the failure can easily notice the failure of the brake light. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Hereinafter, features, advantages, technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like components, wherein:

[0008] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a fault notification system according to one embodiment.

[0009] Figure 2 It is a diagram showing an example of an image captured by the imaging device of the fault notification system according to the embodiment.

[0010] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of the flow of processing executed by the processing device in the fault notification system according to the embodiment when the processing device acquires data of an image of a leading vehicle.

[0011] Figure 4This is a flowchart showing the flow of processing executed by a processing device when a receiver in the fault notification system according to the embodiment receives information notifying a fault.

[0012] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a fault notification system according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] Below, refer to Figure 1 to Figure 4 An implementation of the fault notification system will be described.

[0014] <Configuration of Fault Notification System 100>

[0015] like Figure 1 As shown, the fault notification system 100 is mounted on each of the plurality of vehicles 10. The fault notification system 100 includes an imaging device 110, a processing device 120, a transceiver 130, and a notification device 140.

[0016] Figure 2 2 shows an example of an image captured by the camera 110. Figure 2 As shown, the camera 110 captures an image in front of the vehicle 10 .

[0017] The image capturing device 110 and the processing device 120 are connected to each other so as to be able to exchange image data. The processing device 120 can obtain the image data captured by the image capturing device 110 .

[0018] The transceiver 130 is connected to the processing device 120 so as to be able to exchange information. The transceiver 130 performs inter-vehicle communication for exchanging information with surrounding vehicles 10 .

[0019] The notification device 140 is connected to the processing device 120 so as to be able to exchange information. The notification device 140 notifies the driver through sound, display, etc. The processing device 120 sends a signal to the notification device 140 to cause the notification device 140 to perform the notification.

[0020] <Processing Executed by Processing Device 120 in Fault Notification System 100>

[0021] Figure 3 1 shows a flow of a series of processes performed in inter-vehicle communication. The series of processes are performed by the processing device 120 of the vehicle 10. Figure 2 As shown, the series of processes is executed when the image capturing device 110 captures an image of the front vehicle 11. The front vehicle 11 is a vehicle among the plurality of vehicles 10 that is traveling in front of the vehicle 10 on which the processing device 120 executing the series of processes is mounted.

[0022] like Figure 3As shown, when the series of processes is started, the processing device 120 first acquires data of the image of the leading vehicle 11 captured by the imaging device 110 in the process of step S100 .

[0023] Next, in the process of step S110, the processing device 120 performs a fault determination based on the acquired image data of the front vehicle 11. Specifically, the processing device 120 uses image recognition to perform a fault determination on the brake light 150 of the front vehicle 11. In the fault determination, the processing device 120 first recognizes the brake light 150 of the front vehicle 11 from the image of the front vehicle 11 captured by the camera 110 through image recognition. Figure 2 In FIG. 1 , the position of the brake light 150 of the identified front vehicle 11 is enclosed by a solid line. When only one of the identified left brake light 150 and the identified right brake light 150 is lit, the processing device 120 determines that the brake light 150 of the front vehicle 11 is malfunctioning. Figure 2 , a state in which only the right brake light 150 is lit is shown.

[0024] In the process of step S120, the processing device 120 determines whether a failure of the brake lamp 150 of the leading vehicle 11 is detected by the failure determination. When a failure is detected (step S120: Yes), the process proceeds to step S130.

[0025] In the process of step S130, the processing device 120 causes the transceiver 130 to transmit information notifying the failure. Specifically, the processing device 120 causes the transceiver 130 to transmit information notifying the failure to the transceiver 130 of the vehicle 11 ahead.

[0026] In this way, the transceiver 130 transmits information notifying the failure to the transceiver 130 of the preceding vehicle 11 , whereby the series of processing ends.

[0027] In the process of step S120, when the processing device 120 determines that the failure of the brake light 150 of the front vehicle 11 is not detected (step S120: No), the processing device 120 does not perform the process of step S130 and ends the series of processes. In other words, when no failure is detected, the processing device 120 does not cause the transceiver 130 to transmit information to the transceiver 130 of the front vehicle 11 and ends the series of processes.

[0028] <Processing performed by the processing device 120 when receiving information notifying a failure>

[0029] Figure 4The flow of a series of processes executed by the processing device 120 when receiving information notifying a failure is shown. The series of processes is executed by the processing device 120 of the vehicle 10 when the transceiver 130 receives information notifying a failure.

[0030] like Figure 4 As shown, when the series of processes are started, the processing device 120 first determines whether the switch of the vehicle 10 is turned off in the process of step S200. When the switch of the vehicle 10 is turned on (step S200: No), the process of step S200 is repeated. When the switch of the vehicle 10 is turned off (step S200: Yes), the process proceeds to step S210.

[0031] In the process of step S210, the processing device 120 sends a signal to the notification device 140. The notification device 140 which has received the signal performs notification that the brake light 150 has failed.

[0032] In this way, the processing device 120 causes the notification device 140 to execute notification to the driver that the brake lamp 150 has failed, whereby the series of processing ends.

[0033] <Function of this embodiment>

[0034] In the fault notification system 100 , the imaging device 110 captures an image of the leading vehicle 11 .

[0035] Next, the processing device 120 refers to Figure 3 The series of processing described above causes the transceiver 130 to transmit information notifying of a failure to the transceiver 130 of the preceding vehicle 11 .

[0036] Then, the transceiver 130 of the preceding vehicle 11 receives the transmitted information notifying the failure.

[0037] Furthermore, the processing device 120 of the front vehicle 11 refers to Figure 4 The series of processes described above causes the notification device 140 to perform notification that the brake lamp 150 has failed.

[0038] <Effects of the present embodiment>

[0039] (1) The processing device 120 of the fault notification system 100 acquires data of an image of the front vehicle 11 captured by the camera 110 during driving. The processing device 120 determines whether a fault has occurred in the brake light 150 of the front vehicle 11 shown in the image based on the acquired image data. When a fault is detected, the transceiver 130 transmits information notifying that the brake light 150 has failed to the transceiver 130 of the front vehicle 11. Thus, the fault notification system 100 can notify the driver of the front vehicle 11 of the fault of the brake light 150. As a result, the driver of the front vehicle 11 can easily notice the fault of the brake light 150.

[0040] (2) The fault notification system 100 includes a notification device 140. When the transceiver 130 receives information that notifies that a fault has occurred in the brake light 150, the processing device 120 causes the notification device 140 to perform a notification that a fault has occurred in the brake light 150. This notification makes it easier for the driver to notice the fault of the brake light 150 of the vehicle 10 that the driver is driving. That is, through the fault notification system 100, the driver can notify the front vehicle 11 whose brake light 150 has failed of the fault of the brake light 150. In addition, through the fault notification system 100, the driver can also be notified by other vehicles 10 that the brake light 150 of the vehicle 10 that the driver is driving has failed.

[0041] (3) The processing device 120 of the fault notification system 100 determines whether the switch of the vehicle 10 is turned off. Even if the processing device 120 receives information notifying that the brake light 150 has failed, the processing device 120 does not cause the notification device 140 to execute the notification that the brake light 150 has failed while the switch of the vehicle 10 is turned on. When the processing device 120 receives information notifying that the brake light 150 has failed and determines that the switch of the vehicle 10 is turned off, the processing device 120 causes the notification device 140 to execute the notification that the brake light 150 has failed. The driver is concentrating on driving. Therefore, even if the notification is made by the notification device 140 while driving, the driver may miss the notification. The above-mentioned fault notification system 100 notifies when the switch of the vehicle 10 is turned off. That is, the fault notification system 100 notifies when driving is finished and the driver is not driving. Therefore, the possibility of the driver missing the notification can be reduced.

[0042] (4) The processing device 120 of the fault notification system 100 recognizes the right brake light 150 and the left brake light 150 of the front vehicle 11 from the image of the front vehicle 11 captured by the camera 110 through image recognition. When only the right brake light 150 is lit or only the left brake light 150 is lit, the processing device 120 detects a fault in the brake light 150 of the front vehicle 11. If the brake light 150 is not faulty, the left and right brake lights 150 are lit at the same time. If the brake light 150 is faulty, only the right brake light 150 is lit or only the left brake light 150 is lit. According to the above configuration, the fault notification system 100 can detect such a fault in the brake light 150 from the image.

[0043] <Change Example>

[0044] This embodiment can be implemented by being modified as follows. This embodiment and the following modified examples can be implemented in combination with each other within the range that there is no technical contradiction.

[0045] The above-mentioned fault notification system 100 includes the transceiver 130 having the functions of a transmitter and a receiver. On the other hand, the transmitter and the receiver may be independent devices.

[0046] The above-mentioned fault notification system 100 includes the imaging device 110, the processing device 120, the transceiver 130, and the notification device 140. In contrast, the fault notification system 100 may include the processing device 120, the transmitter, and the notification device 140 and may only transmit information notifying the fault.

[0047] The above-mentioned notification device 140 performs notification when the switch of the vehicle 10 is turned off. In addition, the notification device 140 may also perform notification when the transceiver 130 receives information notifying a failure.

[0048] The notification device 140 may make a notification only when the transceiver 130 receives information notifying a failure, and may not make a notification when a switch of the vehicle 10 is turned off.

[0049] In the above-mentioned fault notification system 100, the imaging device 110, the processing device 120, the transceiver 130 and the notification device 140 are respectively mounted on the vehicle. Figure 5As shown, the fault notification system 100 is configured as a drive recorder 200 including a camera 210, a processing device 220, a transceiver 230, and a notification device 240. According to the fault notification system 100 configured as the drive recorder 200, a fault notification can be performed simply by introducing the drive recorder 200. Furthermore, even an old vehicle that does not have the fault notification system 100 can utilize the fault notification system 100 by introducing the drive recorder 200.

Claims

1. A fault notification system, wherein: The fault notification system is mounted on a vehicle and includes a camera, a processing device, and a transmitter. The processing device performs the following processing: The processing device determines the image of the front vehicle captured by the camera to detect a malfunction of the brake light of the front vehicle; and When the processing device detects a failure of the brake light of the leading vehicle, the processing device causes the transmitter to transmit information notifying that the brake light has failed to the receiver of the leading vehicle.

2. The fault notification system according to claim 1, wherein: Having a receiver and a notification device, When the receiver receives information transmitted to the receiver notifying that the brake light has failed, the processing device causes the notification device to execute notification notifying that the brake light has failed.

3. The fault notification system according to claim 2, wherein: The processing device determines whether the switch of the vehicle is turned off. Even if the information notifying that the brake light has failed is received, the processing device does not cause the notifying device to perform the notification that the brake light has failed while the switch of the vehicle is turned on. When receiving information notifying that the brake light has failed and determining that the switch of the vehicle is turned off, the processing device causes the notifying device to execute notification notifying that the brake light has failed.

4. The fault notification system according to claim 2, wherein: The failure notification system is configured as a drive recorder including the imaging device, the processing device, the transmitter, the receiver, and the notification device.

5. The fault notification system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The processing device identifies the right brake light and the left brake light of the front vehicle from the image of the front vehicle captured by the camera through image recognition, and detects a failure of the brake light of the front vehicle when only the right brake light is lit or when only the left brake light is lit.

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