Vehicle

Abstract

The invention provides a vehicle which can easily inform the outside of the vehicle by using sound in an emergency. A vehicle is provided with: a pedal on which the left foot of a driver is placed; a notification device that notifies the outside of the vehicle using sound; and a control device that controls the notification device so as to notify the outside of the vehicle using sound when the pedaling force by which the pedal is pedaled is equal to or greater than a predetermined pedaling force.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure pertains to vehicles. Background Technology

[0002] In the past, it was known that a horn switch was located on the left side of the brake pedal in the driver's seat, and the driver could easily sound a short horn sound by lightly touching the switch with the toe of his left foot (Patent Document 1).

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3099093

[0004] However, as in Patent Document 1, there is a problem: the driver's operation of touching the switch with the toe of his left foot is difficult to perform in emergency situations such as emergency braking, and therefore it is difficult to use sound to inform the outside of the vehicle in an emergency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This disclosure was made to address such a problem, and its main purpose is to make it easy to use sound to notify the outside of the vehicle in an emergency.

[0006] The following means are employed in this disclosure to achieve the aforementioned principal objectives.

[0007] The vehicles disclosed herein include:

[0008] Foot pedal, which is used to place the driver's left foot;

[0009] A notification device that uses sound to notify the outside of the vehicle; and

[0010] When the pedal is pressed with a force greater than or equal to a specified force, the control device controls the notification device to send the notification to the outside of the vehicle.

[0011] In the vehicle disclosed herein, when the pedal force applied to the footrest for the driver's left foot exceeds a predetermined force, the control reporting device uses sound to notify the outside of the vehicle. Since pressing the pedal with the driver's left foot is easier to perform in an emergency than touching a switch with the toes of the left foot, this vehicle facilitates the ability to notify the outside of the vehicle using sound in an emergency. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of vehicle 20.

[0013] Figure 2 This is a flowchart representing an example of the speaker operation processing routine.

[0014] Figure 3This is a flowchart representing an example of the speaker stop handling routine.

[0015] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0016] 20: Vehicle; 30: Drive wheel; 32: Vehicle speed sensor; 40: Brake pedal; 42: Brake light SW; 50: Foot pedal; 52: Pedal force sensor; 60: Horn; 62: Horn SW; 64: Steering wheel; 70: Horn ECU; 90: Driver. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The embodiments (implementations) for carrying out this disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a vehicle 20 according to an embodiment of this disclosure. As shown, the vehicle 20 of this embodiment includes drive wheels 30, a vehicle speed sensor 32, a brake pedal 40, a brake light switch (brake light SW) 42, a foot pedal 50, a pedal force sensor 52, a horn 60, a horn switch (horn SW) 62, and a horn electronic control unit (horn ECU) 70. The vehicle 20 includes, for example, a drive device (not shown) such as an internal combustion engine and / or a motor, and the drive wheels 30 are driven to rotate by the driving force from the drive device. In addition, the vehicle 20 also includes a vehicle electronic control unit (vehicle ECU) (not shown) that controls the overall operation of the vehicle 20.

[0018] Vehicle speed sensor 32 detects the vehicle speed V of vehicle 20. Brake pedal 40 is positioned to the left of the accelerator pedal (not shown) when observed by driver 90 of vehicle 20, and is operated by driver 90's right foot. Brake light SW42 is a switch that turns on when driver 90 depresses brake pedal 40 by a predetermined amount and turns off when the depressing amount is less than the predetermined amount. When brake light SW42 is on, the vehicle ECU illuminates the brake light (not shown) located at the rear of vehicle 20; when brake light SW42 is off, the brake light turns off. Furthermore, the vehicle ECU decelerates vehicle 20 by applying braking force to drive wheels 30 via a hydraulic braking device (not shown) based on the amount of brake pedal 40 depressed.

[0019] The foot pedal 50 is used to place the driver's left foot and is positioned to the left of the brake pedal 40 when viewed by the driver 90. A pedal force sensor 52 detects the pedal force Pf exerted by the driver 90's left foot on the foot pedal 50. The pedal force sensor 52 is configured, for example, as a pressure sensor that generates a voltage corresponding to the pedal force Pf. The pedal force sensor 52 can be disposed inside the foot pedal 50 or on the surface of the foot pedal 50 (the surface where the driver 90's left foot rests).

[0020] The horn 60 is a device that uses sound to inform the outside of the vehicle 20. The horn SW62 is mounted on the steering wheel 64 and is a switch that is activated when the driver 90 presses the horn SW62 to a predetermined amount or more and deactivated when the amount of pressure is less than the predetermined amount. When the horn SW62 is activated, the horn 60 operates (reports) and outputs a warning sound (horn blast) or other sound to inform the outside.

[0021] The horn ECU 70 is equipped with a microcomputer, which includes a CPU (not shown), ROM, RAM, non-volatile memory capable of rewriting information, input / output ports, etc. The horn ECU 70 receives inputs such as vehicle speed V from vehicle speed sensor 32, switch signals from brake light SW42, and pedal force Pf from pedal force sensor 52. The horn ECU 70 outputs control signals to the horn 60. The horn ECU 70 can operate the horn 60 even when the horn SW62 is off. The horn ECU 70 communicates with the vehicle's ECU.

[0022] Next, the operation of the vehicle 20 in the embodiment, especially the operation when the driver 90 presses the foot pedal 50, will be described. Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the horn operation processing routine executed by the horn ECU 70. This routine is repeatedly executed when the horn 60 stops.

[0023] When this routine is executed, the horn ECU 70 initially determines whether the pedal force Pf from the pedal force sensor 52 is above the threshold Pfref1 (step S100). The threshold Pfref1 is predetermined as the lower limit value of the pedal force Pf that makes the horn 60 work. The threshold Pfref1 can be a constant value, or it can be set to a value desired by the user, for example, based on an operation input by the user such as the driver 90. For example, the horn ECU 70 can also set the threshold Pfref1 by inputting the user's operation through at least one of the following: an operation panel (not shown) provided in the vehicle 20, a portable terminal (not shown) connected to the horn ECU 70 via wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), and an operation part (button, switch, etc.) (not shown) provided in the horn ECU 70.

[0024] In step S100, when the horn ECU 70 determines that the pedal force Pf is above the threshold Pfref1, it determines whether braking linkage is enabled (step S110). The presence or absence of braking linkage is preset based on the user's operation, for example, in the same way as the threshold Pfref1 setting mentioned above. When the horn ECU 70 determines in step S110 that braking linkage is enabled, it determines whether the brake light SW42 is in the on state (step S120).

[0025] When the horn ECU 70 determines in step S110 that the brake linkage is not set (set to none), or in step S120 that the brake light SW42 is on, it activates the horn 60 (step S130) and terminates the routine. This allows the vehicle 20 to use sound to inform the outside world. Furthermore, the driver 90's operation of pressing the pedal 50 with their left foot is easier to perform in an emergency than touching the switch with the toes of their left foot; therefore, in this embodiment of the vehicle 20, the horn 60 can be easily used to inform the outside world of the vehicle 20 in an emergency. On the other hand, when the horn ECU 70 determines in step S100 that the pedal force Pf does not reach the threshold Pfref1, or in step S120 that the brake light SW42 is not on (is off), it does not activate the horn 60 and terminates the routine directly. The horn ECU 70 then executes the routine again when the horn 60 is not activated, i.e., when the horn 60 is stopped.

[0026] Next, the operation of the horn ECU70 when it stops the working horn 60 will be explained. Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a horn stop procedure executed by the horn ECU 70. This procedure repeats itself after the horn 60 is activated in step S130 above (i.e., while the horn 60 is in operation) until the horn 60 stops.

[0027] When this routine is executed, the horn ECU 70 initially determines, in the same manner as in step S110, whether braking linkage is enabled (step S200). If the horn ECU 70 determines in step S200 that braking linkage is enabled, it determines whether the brake light SW42 is off (step S210). If the horn ECU 70 determines in step S200 that braking linkage is not enabled, or if it determines in step S210 that the brake light SW42 is not off, it determines whether the pedal force Pf from the pedal force sensor 52 is less than a threshold Pfref2 below a threshold Pfref1 (step S220). The threshold Pfref2 is predetermined as the lower limit of the pedal force Pf for continuous horn 60 operation. The threshold Pfref2 can be a constant value, or it can be set to a value desired by the user based on the user's operation, similar to the setting of the threshold Pfref1 described above. Alternatively, the threshold Pfref2 can also be set based on the threshold Pfref1 by subtracting a specified hysteresis (margin) from the threshold Pfref1 by the horn ECU70.

[0028] When the horn ECU 70 determines in step S210 that the brake light SW42 is off, or in step S220 that the pedal force Pf is less than the threshold Pfref2, it stops the horn 60 (step S230) and terminates the current routine. Conversely, when the horn ECU 70 determines in step S220 that the pedal force Pf is greater than the threshold Pfref2, it terminates the current routine without stopping the horn 60. If the horn ECU 70 terminates the current routine without stopping the horn 60, it executes the current routine again.

[0029] In the vehicle 20 described above, the horn ECU 70 controls the horn 60 to use sound to inform the outside of the vehicle 20 when the pedal force Pf of the pedal 50 for placing the driver's left foot is above a threshold Pfref1. The operation of the driver 90 pressing the pedal 50 with their left foot is easier to perform in an emergency than touching a switch with the toes of their left foot. Therefore, in the vehicle 20 described above, the horn 60 can be easily used to inform the outside of the vehicle 20 by sound in an emergency. Furthermore, during emergency braking, as an example of an emergency, the driver 90 can use deceleration (deceleration G) to press the pedal 50 with their left foot, thus allowing the driver 90 to easily use the horn 60 to inform the outside of the vehicle with less force. Furthermore, when the brake linkage is set, the horn ECU70 requires the horn 60 to operate only when the pedal force Pf is above the threshold Pfref1 and when the brake light SW42 is turned on. Therefore, it can suppress the horn 60 from operating when the brake pedal 40 is depressed to zero or low, i.e. when the possibility of an emergency is low.

[0030] In the above-described embodiment, the condition of turning on the brake light SW42 when the system is set to have braking linkage is one of the conditions for the horn 60 to operate. However, it is acceptable as long as the condition is to suppress the operation of the horn 60 when the possibility of the vehicle 20 braking state in an emergency is low. For example, the condition could be that the braking force Pb of the brake pedal 40 is above a predetermined threshold Pbref.

[0031] In the above embodiment, the pedal force sensor 52 detects the pedal force Pf of the foot pedal 50, but it can also be replaced by a switch that turns on when the pedal force Pf is above a specified pedal force.

[0032] In the above embodiments, the conditions for the operation and stopping of the horn 60 can be set to include or exclude braking linkage, but alternatively, they can be set to include or exclude vehicle speed linkage. For example, the horn ECU 70 can also be replaced by the following processing. Figure 2 Steps S110 and S120. That is, when the horn is used by ECU70 in Figure 2In step S100, if the pedal force Pf is determined to be above the threshold Pfref1, and the system is set to have no speed linkage, the process proceeds to step S130, the horn 60 is activated, and the horn operation processing routine ends. Conversely, if the system is set to have speed linkage, if the vehicle speed V meets the speed condition, the process proceeds to step S130, the horn 60 is activated, and the horn operation processing routine ends. If the vehicle speed V does not meet the speed condition, the horn 60 is not activated, and the horn operation processing routine ends. The speed condition can be, for example, a threshold value set based on the deceleration derived from the time variation of vehicle speed V, which is above the lower limit of a range considered to be a large deceleration. This suppresses the horn 60 from activating when the vehicle 20's deceleration is low, i.e., when the probability of an emergency is low. The speed condition (e.g., the aforementioned deceleration threshold) can be a constant value, or it can be set to a value desired by the user based on the user's operation, similar to the setting of the threshold Pfref1. The vehicle speed condition can also be set to when the vehicle speed V is included in a specified high-speed area, or when the vehicle speed V is included in a specified low-speed area (except for zero speed).

[0033] When it is possible to set whether or not there is speed-based linkage to replace whether or not there is braking linkage, the horn can also be replaced by the following processing using ECU70. Figure 3 Steps S200 and S210. That is, when the horn is used by ECU70 to execute... Figure 3 In the horn stop processing routine, when it is set to no vehicle speed linkage, or when it is set to have vehicle speed linkage and the above-mentioned vehicle speed conditions are met, the process proceeds to step S220 to determine the pedal force Pf. Alternatively, when the horn ECU 70 is set to have vehicle speed linkage but the above-mentioned vehicle speed conditions are not met, the process proceeds to step S230, stopping the horn 60 and ending the routine. In the horn stop processing routine, the vehicle speed conditions of the above-mentioned horn operation processing routine can be replaced with conditions that add a specified hysteresis amount to those vehicle speed conditions.

[0034] Furthermore, in addition to setting whether braking linkage is enabled or disabled, vehicle speed linkage can also be further set. For example, when both braking linkage and vehicle speed linkage are set to enabled, when the horn ECU 70 determines in the horn operation processing routine that the pedal force Pf is above the threshold Pfref1, the brake light SW42 is on, and the vehicle speed condition is met, it proceeds to step S130 to activate the horn. Alternatively, the horn ECU 70 can also proceed to step S230 to stop the horn 60 when, in the horn stop processing routine, it determines that the brake light SW42 is off, the vehicle speed condition is not met, or the pedal force Pf is less than the threshold Pfref2.

[0035] In the above embodiments, the braking linkage itself may not be present. In this case, the horn is omitted by ECU70. Figure 2 Steps S110 and S120 are performed. If, in step S100, it is determined that the pedal force Pf is above the threshold Pfref1, then step S130 is initiated to activate the horn 60. Additionally, the horn is omitted using ECU 70. Figure 3 Steps S200 and S210 are performed, and when it is determined in step S220 that the pedal force Pf is less than the threshold Pfref2, step S230 is entered to stop the horn 60.

[0036] In the above embodiments, it is possible to set whether or not there is braking linkage, but it is not limited to this. For example, it can also always be braking linkage. In this case, as long as it is from Figure 2 In the routine, the processing in step S110 can be removed. The presence or absence of vehicle speed linkage can also be considered in the same way.

[0037] In the above embodiment, the horn is controlled by ECU70. Figure 2 as well as Figure 3 The horn 60 can be controlled by a computer, but it can also be replaced by a microcomputer like ECU 70, which uses hardware circuitry without a program to function as the control device for the horn 60.

[0038] The correspondence between the main elements of the invention described in the "Summary of the Invention" section is explained. In the embodiments, foot pedal 50 is equivalent to "foot pedal", horn 60 is equivalent to "notification device", and horn ECU 70 is equivalent to "control device".

[0039] Furthermore, the correspondence of the main elements of the invention described in the "Summary of the Invention" section is merely an example of the method of invention described in the "Detailed Description of the Invention" section, and therefore does not limit the elements of the invention described in the "Summary of the Invention" section. That is, the explanation of the invention described in the "Summary of the Invention" section is based on the description in that section, and the implementation method is merely a specific example of the invention described in the "Detailed Description of the Invention" section.

[0040] The above describes the methods for implementing this disclosure using the embodiments, but this disclosure is not limited to such embodiments. Of course, it can be implemented in various ways without departing from the spirit of this disclosure.

[0041] Industrial availability

[0042] This disclosure can be applied to industries such as vehicle manufacturing.

Claims

1. A vehicle, wherein, have: Foot pedal, which is used to place the driver's left foot; A notification device that uses sound to notify the outside of the vehicle; and When the pedal is pressed with a force greater than a specified force, the control device controls the notification device to send the notification to the outside of the vehicle.

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