Vehicle and tax procedures thereof

Abstract

Vehicle (10), comprising: Detection means (14) for detecting an obstacle that enters a predetermined area (R) in front of an ego-vehicle (10); and determination means (11a) for determining whether an alarm to the obstacle is unnecessary in a case where the obstacle is detected by the detection means (14), output control means (11b) for issuing the alarm to the detected obstacle in a case where the determination means (11a) determine that the alarm to the detected obstacle is necessary, characterized in that, while the ego-vehicle (10) is driving on a curve, in a case where an obstacle is detected by the detection means (14) which penetrates from an inner side of the curve, the determination means (11a) determine that the alarm is unnecessary, and in a case where an obstacle is detected by the detection means (14) which penetrates from an outer side of the curve, the determination means (11a) determine that the alarm is necessary.

Description

Background of the inventionField of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle and a control method thereof. Description of the related art

[0002] Japanese Patent Publication JP H07-57181 A discloses taking risk avoidance measures when a scanning-type radar device detects an obstacle appearing (penetrating) in front of a vehicle. Examples of risk avoidance measures include automatic braking, an alarm, and the illumination of a lamp.

[0003] Even if an obstacle appearing in front of the ego vehicle is detected, issuing an alarm to the obstacle may be inappropriate depending on the situation.

[0004] Furthermore, reference is made to DE 10 2005 060 722 A1, which discloses a vehicle with detection means for detecting obstacles in a predetermined area in front of the vehicle. Output control means are also provided, which ensure that, if an obstacle is determined, an alarm is output to the detected obstacle. Similar vehicle configurations are also known from US 2019 / 0 100 198 A1 and DE 10 2007 053 274 A1. Summary of the invention

[0005] For example, the present invention provides a technique of appropriately issuing an alarm to an obstacle that intrudes in front of an ego vehicle.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle characterized by comprising: detection means for detecting an obstacle appearing in a predetermined area ahead of an ego vehicle; and output control means for controlling output of an alarm to the obstacle in a case where the obstacle is detected by the detection means.

[0007] Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Brief description of the drawings Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the arrangement of a vehicle; Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing processing of an alarm output control; and Fig. 3 is a view showing a predetermined area for detecting an obstacle. Description of the embodiments

[0008] In the following, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, and no limitation of the invention is intended to require all combinations of features described in the embodiments. Two or more of the plurality of features described in the embodiments may be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same or similar configurations, and redundant description thereof will be omitted. <Erste Ausführungsform>

[0009] The first embodiment of the present invention will be described. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of a straddle-type vehicle 10. In this embodiment, a motorcycle will be exemplified as the straddle-type vehicle 10. However, the present invention can also be applied to a four-wheeled vehicle or a straddle-type vehicle of another type, such as a three-wheeled vehicle. Note that the straddle-type vehicle 10 will sometimes be referred to simply as the "vehicle 10" hereinafter.

[0010] The vehicle 10 includes, for example, a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, an alarm output unit 13, an intrusion detection unit 14, and a situation detection unit 15, which are communicatively connected to each other via a system bus 16. The control unit 11 is, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) and includes a processor represented by a CPU, a storage device such as a semiconductor memory, an interface to an external device, and the like, and controls each unit of the vehicle 10. The storage unit 12 stores programs, data, and the like used to control the vehicle 10, and the control unit 11 (processor) can read the programs stored in the storage unit to the storage device such as a memory and execute them.

[0011] Also, the control unit 11 according to this embodiment is provided with a determination unit 11a and an output control unit 11b. When the intrusion determination unit 14 detects an obstacle, the determination unit 11a determines whether an alarm about the obstacle is unnecessary or not. The output control unit 11b controls the output of an alarm (alarm sound) by the alarm output unit 13 based on the determination result of the determination unit 11a. For example, if the intrusion detection unit 14 detects an obstacle, but the determination unit 11a determines that an alarm output is unnecessary, the output control unit 11b does not output an alarm.

[0012] The alarm output unit 13 outputs an alarm by generating an alarm sound to the surroundings of the vehicle or illuminating a lamp. In this embodiment, the alarm output unit 13 is a horn device (horn) and outputs an alarm sound to the surroundings of the vehicle. The intrusion detection unit 14 is provided in the front portion of the vehicle 10 and detects an obstacle (for example, a cutting-in vehicle) that intrudes into a predetermined area in front of the host vehicle. In this embodiment, an ultrasonic sensor can be used as the intrusion detection unit 14. However, the sensor is not limited to this, and other sensors such as a camera, a millimeter-wave radar, or a laser radar can be used.

[0013] The situation detection unit 15 detects the situation of at least one of the vehicle 10 (ego vehicle) and the obstacle detected by the intrusion detection unit 14. In this embodiment, the situation detection unit 15 may include a speed sensor 15a, a position sensor 15b, a steering angle sensor 15c, a tilt sensor 15d, a camera 15e, and a microphone 15f. The speed sensor 15a detects the speed of the vehicle 10. The position sensor 15b includes, for example, a GPS sensor and detects the current position of the vehicle 10. The steering angle sensor 15c detects the steering angle of the vehicle 10. The tilt sensor 15d detects the inclination (bank angle) of the vehicle 10. The camera 15e records the surroundings (for example, the front) of the vehicle 10. The microphone 15f records sounds outside the vehicle.

[0014] An alarm output control of the vehicle 10 according to this embodiment will be described next. Each step of the Fig. 2 can be executed by the control unit 11.

[0015] In step S11, the control unit 11 determines whether the intrusion detection unit 14 detects an obstacle entering a predetermined area R in front of the vehicle 10. For example, when a change occurs from a state in which the intrusion detection device 14 detects no obstacle to a state in which the intrusion detection unit 14 detects an obstacle, the control unit 11 may determine that an obstacle has entered the predetermined area R. If the intrusion detection unit 14 detects an obstacle, the process proceeds to step S12. If the intrusion detection unit 14 detects no obstacle, the process proceeds to step S16.

[0016] The predetermined area R configured to detect an obstacle will now be described. The predetermined area R is an area in which an obstacle intruding (cutting in) in front of the ego vehicle is detected by the intrusion detection unit 14. For example, the closer the obstacle is to the ego vehicle, the higher the degree of influence of an obstacle cutting in on the ego vehicle tends to be. For this reason, an alarm is preferably actively triggered when an obstacle cutting in occurs near the ego vehicle. Therefore, in this embodiment, as in Fig. 3, the predetermined range R can be set such that the circumference (the width W) in the vehicle width direction becomes narrower as the distance from the vehicle 10 increases (as the distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 increases). When the predetermined range R is set in this way, the closer the position of an obstacle cutting in is to the ego vehicle, the more actively an alarm can be issued. It should be noted that in Fig. 3 FR denotes the front of the vehicle 10 and RR denotes the right side of the vehicle 10.

[0017] In step S12, the control unit 11 (determination unit 11a) determines whether the speed of the host vehicle (vehicle 10) is equal to or less than a predetermined value. For example, when the host vehicle is stopped or traveling at a low speed (e.g., 10 km / h or less), the degree of risk is relatively low even if the obstacle cuts in front of the host vehicle. For this reason, it is often unnecessary to issue an alarm to the cutting-in vehicle (obstacle). Therefore, based on the speed of the host vehicle detected by the speed sensor 15a, when the speed of the host vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined value (e.g., 10 km / h or less), the determination unit 11a determines that an alarm is unnecessary, and the process returns to step S11.On the other hand, if the speed of the ego vehicle is greater than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S13.

[0018] In step S13, the control unit (determination unit 11a) determines whether the host vehicle is traveling on a curve. For example, when the host vehicle is traveling on a curve, an object other than an intruding vehicle, such as a road surface, a road sign, or a guardrail, enters the predetermined area R, and the intrusion detection unit 14 may cause a detection error. For this reason, if the host vehicle is traveling on a curve, the determination unit 11a determines that an alarm is unnecessary, and the process returns to step S11. On the other hand, if the host vehicle is not traveling on a curve, the process proceeds to step S14.

[0019] Here, it can be determined whether the vehicle is traveling on a curve based on, for example, the detection result of the steering angle sensor 15c and / or the tilt sensor 15d. Specifically, if the steering angle of the ego vehicle detected by the steering angle sensor 15c is greater than a predetermined angle, and / or the inclination (bank angle) of the ego vehicle determined by the tilt sensor 15d is greater than a predetermined angle, the determination unit 11a can determine that the ego vehicle is traveling on a curve. Alternatively, it can be determined whether the ego vehicle is traveling on a curve based on the detection result of the position sensor. In this case, the determination unit 11a can determine whether the ego vehicle is traveling on a curve by comparing the current position of the ego vehicle detected by the position sensor 15b with map information.

[0020] In step S14, the control unit 11 (determination unit 11a) determines whether the obstacle (interfering vehicle) detected by the intrusion detection unit 14 is an emergency vehicle. This is because issuing an alarm is not preferable when the interfering vehicle is an emergency vehicle. For example, the determination unit 11a uses a known image processing technique for an image obtained by capturing the surroundings (front) of the ego vehicle with the camera 15e, thereby determining whether the obstacle detected by the intrusion detection unit 14 is an emergency vehicle. Alternatively, the determination unit 11a may determine whether the obstacle detected by the intrusion detection unit 14 is an emergency vehicle based on a sound outside the vehicle picked up by the microphone 15f.Specifically, if a siren of an emergency vehicle is picked up by the microphone 15f when the intrusion detection unit 14 detects an obstacle, the determination unit 11a may determine that the obstacle is an emergency vehicle. Upon determining that the obstacle detected by the intrusion detection unit 14 is an emergency vehicle, it is determined that an alarm is unnecessary, and the process returns to step S11. On the other hand, upon determining that the obstacle detected by the intrusion detection unit 14 is not an emergency vehicle, the process proceeds to step S15.

[0021] In step S15, the control unit 11 (output control unit 11b) causes the alarm output unit 13 to output an alarm (an alarm sound). Here, the output control unit 11b may change the output form (output method) of the alarm from the alarm output unit 13 according to the distance between the intercepting vehicle and the host vehicle. For example, the output control unit 11b may change the output of the alarm from the alarm output unit 13 such that the shorter the distance between the intercepting vehicle and the host vehicle, the louder the volume of the alarm sound (that is, the greater the distance, the lower the volume of the alarm sound).In addition, the output control unit 11b can control the output of the alarm from the alarm output unit 13 such that the shorter the distance between the intercepting vehicle and the host vehicle, the longer the output time of the alarm sound (that is, the greater the distance, the shorter the output time of the alarm sound). The output time of an alarm sound is the time (period) of generation of an alarm sound. During this time, the alarm sound can be output intermittently or continuously.

[0022] In step S16, the control unit 11 determines whether the alarm output control should be terminated. For example, if the driver turns off the ignition switch, the control unit 11 may determine that the alarm output control should be terminated. If the alarm output control should not be terminated, the process returns to step S11.

[0023] As described above, when an obstacle intruding into the predetermined area R in front of the host vehicle is detected by the intrusion detection unit 14, the vehicle 10 (the control unit 11) according to this embodiment determines whether an alarm about the obstacle is unnecessary and controls output of an alarm based on the determination result. Since this can prevent an alarm from being automatically output even when an alarm is unnecessary, an alarm can be appropriately output according to the situation of the host vehicle and / or the situation of the obstacle intruding in front of the host vehicle. Here, in this embodiment, an example has been described in which, when the intrusion detection unit 14 detects an obstacle intruding into the predetermined area R, the determination unit 11a determines whether an alarm about the obstacle is unnecessary.However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the determination by the determination unit 11a may also be omitted. For example, the determination unit 11a may not determine whether an alarm is unnecessary, and when an obstacle intruding into the predetermined area R is detected by the intrusion detection unit 14, an alarm may be output to the target. <Zweite Ausführungsform>

[0024] The second embodiment of the present invention will now be described. In this embodiment, another example in which alarm output control is performed in a case where an ego vehicle (vehicle 10) is traveling on a curve will be described. This embodiment essentially adopts the first embodiment, and alarm output control according to this embodiment can be implemented according to the Fig. 2. However, in the process of step S13 of the flowchart shown in Fig. 2, processing as described below can be carried out.

[0025] When a vehicle is traveling on a curve, cutting in generally tends to occur more easily from the outer side of the curve than from the inner side of the curve. In a predetermined range R in which an intrusion detection unit 14 detects an obstacle, a detection error tends to occur less on the outer side of the curve than on the inner side of the curve. For this reason, when a control unit 11 (determination unit 11a) according to this embodiment determines in step S13 that the ego vehicle is traveling on a curve, and an obstacle intruding into the predetermined range R from the inner side of the curve is detected by the intrusion detection unit 14, it is determined that an alarm is unnecessary, and the process returns to step S11.On the other hand, when an obstacle intruding into the predetermined area R from the outer side of the curve is detected by the intrusion detection unit 14, it is determined that an alarm is necessary, and the process proceeds to step S14.

[0026] A detailed example of this embodiment will be described here. For example, the predetermined range R in which the intrusion detection unit 14 detects an obstacle may be set to be a range R right on a right side in which an obstacle is detected which penetrates from the right side of the vehicle, and an area R ıeft on a left side, in which an obstacle is detected which penetrates from the left side of the vehicle, as in Fig.3. In this case, the determination unit 11a determines, based on the detection result of a steering angle sensor 15c, a tilt sensor 15d, a position sensor 15b, or the like, in which of the left and right directions the curve on which the vehicle 10 is traveling runs. Upon determining that the vehicle 10 is traveling on a curve running in the left direction, the determination unit 11a determines if an obstacle is detected that falls within the range R left on the left side that an alarm is unnecessary. If an obstacle is detected that enters the area R righton the right side, which is the outer side of the curve, the determination unit 11a determines that an alarm is necessary. On the other hand, upon determining that the vehicle 10 is traveling on a curve extending in the right direction, the determination unit 11a determines that an obstacle is detected that enters the range R. right on the right side, which is the inner side of the curve, that an alarm is unnecessary. If an obstacle is detected that enters the area R left on the left side, which is the outer side of the curve, the determination unit 11a determines that an alarm is necessary.

[0027] As described above, when an obstacle intruding from the inside of a curve is detected by the intrusion detection unit 14, the vehicle 10 (the control unit 11) according to this embodiment determines that an alarm is unnecessary. When an obstacle intruding from the outside of a curve is detected by the intrusion detection unit 14, the vehicle 10 (the control unit 11) determines that an alarm is necessary. Therefore, with respect to the inside of a curve, it is possible to prevent an alarm from being output due to a detection error. For the outside of a curve, where cutting in is likely to occur compared to the inside of the curve, an alarm can be actively output. <Abriss der Ausführungsform>

[0028] 1. A vehicle (10) according to the above-described embodiment comprises detection means (14) for detecting an obstacle which enters a predetermined area (R) in front of an ego vehicle, and output control means (11b) for controlling output of an alarm to the obstacle in a case where the obstacle is detected by the detection means.

[0029] According to this embodiment, the predetermined area configured to detect an obstacle as a target of alarm output is provided in front of the ego vehicle, whereby the alarm is appropriately output to the obstacle intruding in front of the ego vehicle.

[0030] 2. In the above-described embodiment, the vehicle further comprises determining means (11a) for determining whether an alarm to the obstacle is unnecessary in a case where the obstacle is detected by the detecting means, wherein the output control means controls the output of the alarm based on a determination result of the determining means.

[0031] According to this embodiment, in a case where an obstacle is detected that enters the predetermined area in front of the host vehicle, it is possible to prevent an alarm from being automatically issued even if an alarm is unnecessary. That is, it is possible to issue an alarm appropriately according to the situation of the host vehicle and / or the situation of the obstacle that enters in front of the host vehicle.

[0032] 3. In the above-described embodiment, in a case where the obstacle is detected by the detecting means, but the determining means determines that the alarm is unnecessary, the output control means does not output the alarm.

[0033] According to this embodiment, in a case where an obstacle is detected that enters the predetermined area in front of the ego vehicle, it is possible to prevent an alarm from being automatically issued even if an alarm is unnecessary.

[0034] 4. In the above-described embodiment, in a case where a speed of the ego vehicle is not greater than a predetermined value, the determining means determines that the alarm is unnecessary.

[0035] According to this embodiment, when the host vehicle is stopped or traveling at a low speed, an alarm is unnecessary in many cases. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an alarm from being automatically issued in this case.

[0036] 5. In the above-described embodiment, in a case where the ego vehicle is traveling on a curve, the determining means determines that the alarm is unnecessary.

[0037] According to this embodiment, a detection error of an obstacle in the predetermined area in front of the ego vehicle may occur during cornering. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an alarm from being automatically issued in this case.

[0038] 6. In the above-described embodiment, while the ego vehicle is traveling on a curve, in a case where an obstacle is detected by the detection means which intrudes from an inner side of the curve, the determination means determines that the alarm is unnecessary, and in a case where an obstacle is detected by the detection means which intrudes from an outer side of the curve, the determination means determines that the alarm is necessary.

[0039] According to this embodiment, during cornering, it is possible to prevent an alarm from being issued due to an obstacle detection error on the inside of the corner. An alarm can be actively issued on the outside of the corner, where cutting in is more likely than on the inside of the corner.

[0040] 7. In the above-described embodiment, in a case where the obstacle detected by the detecting means is an emergency vehicle, the determining means determines that the alarm is unnecessary.

[0041] According to this embodiment, when an obstacle intruding in front of the ego vehicle is an emergency vehicle, it is possible to prevent an alarm from being issued to the emergency vehicle.

[0042] 8. In the above-described embodiment, the predetermined range is a range in which the obstacle intruding in front of the ego vehicle is detected by the detecting means, and a perimeter of the predetermined range in a vehicle width direction is set to become narrow as a distance from the vehicle increases.

[0043] According to this embodiment, the closer the position of an obstacle cut-in is to the ego vehicle, the more actively an alarm can be issued.

[0044] 9. In the above-described embodiment, the output control means changes an output form of the alarm according to a distance between the ego vehicle and an obstacle detected by the detection means.

[0045] According to this embodiment, since the degree of interference of the ego vehicle changes depending on the distance between the ego vehicle and the obstacle detected by the detection means, it is possible to appropriately issue an alarm according to the degree of interference.

[0046] 10. In the embodiment described above, the vehicle is a straddle type vehicle.

[0047] According to this embodiment, in a straddle type vehicle for which cutting in occurs easily compared with a four-wheeled vehicle, the advantage of issuing an alarm to a cutting-in vehicle is high.

[0048] 11. A control method of a vehicle according to the above-described embodiment includes detecting an obstacle intruding into a predetermined area in front of an ego vehicle (S11) and controlling output of an alarm to the obstacle in a case where the obstacle is detected in the detection (S15).

[0049] According to this embodiment, the predetermined area configured to detect an obstacle as a target of alarm output is provided in front of the ego vehicle, whereby the alarm is appropriately output to the obstacle intruding in front of the ego vehicle.

[0050] The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and various variations / modifications are possible within the spirit of the invention.

[0051] The present invention provides a vehicle characterized by comprising: detection means for detecting an obstacle intruding into a predetermined area in front of an ego vehicle; and output control means for controlling output of an alarm to the obstacle in a case where the obstacle is detected by the detection means.

Claims

[1] Vehicle (10), comprising: Detection means (14) for detecting an obstacle that enters a predetermined area (R) in front of an ego vehicle (10); and determination means (11a) for determining whether an alarm to the obstacle is unnecessary in a case where the obstacle is detected by the detection means (14); output control means (11b) for outputting the alarm to the detected obstacle in a case where the determination means (11a) determines that the alarm to the detected obstacle is necessary, characterized bythat while the ego vehicle (10) is traveling on a curve, in a case where an obstacle is detected by the detection means (14) which enters from an inner side of the curve, the determination means (11a) determines that the alarm is unnecessary, and in a case where an obstacle is detected by the detection means (14) which enters from an outer side of the curve, the determination means (11a) determines that the alarm is necessary. [2] Vehicle (10) according to claim 1, characterized by in a case where the obstacle is detected by the detection means (14), but the determination means (11a) determines that the alarm is unnecessary, the output control means (11b) does not output the alarm. [3] Vehicle (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized bythat in a case where a speed of the ego vehicle (10) is not greater than a predetermined value, the determining means (11a) determines that the alarm is unnecessary. [4] Vehicle (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that in a case where the obstacle detected by the detection means (14) is an emergency vehicle, the determining means (11a) determine that the alarm is unnecessary. [5] Vehicle (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the predetermined area is an area in which the obstacle intruding in front of the ego vehicle (10) is detected by the detection means (14), and a perimeter of the predetermined area in a vehicle width direction is set to become narrower as a distance from the vehicle (10) increases. [6] Vehicle (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the output control means (11b) changes an output form of the alarm according to a distance between the ego vehicle (10) and an obstacle detected by the detection means (14). [7] Vehicle (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the vehicle (10) is a straddle seat type vehicle. [8] Control method of a vehicle (10), characterized by that it includes: Detecting an obstacle that enters a predetermined area in front of an ego vehicle (10); determining whether an alarm to the detected obstacle is necessary or unnecessary in a case where the obstacle is detected during the detection; and Outputting the alarm to the detected obstacle in a case where it is determined in the determination that the alarm to the detected obstacle is necessary, characterized by that while the ego vehicle (10) is driving on a curve, in a case where, in the detecting, an obstacle is detected which enters from an inner side of the curve, in the determining, it is determined that the alarm to the detected obstacle is unnecessary, and in a case where, in the detecting, an obstacle is detected which enters from an outer side of the curve, in the determining, it is determined that the alarm to the detected obstacle is necessary.

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