Vehicle notification device

Abstract

To provide a vehicle notification device capable of appropriately alerting a passenger in a vehicle interior by determining a possibility that the vehicle interior is filled with carbon monoxide.SOLUTION: A vehicle notification device 1 comprises: an obstacle detection unit 10 which is installed on a rear section of a vehicle and detects an obstacle located anterior to the vehicle using reflection waves; a detection control section 21 which activates the obstacle detection unit 10 when a shift position is set to a P-range; a determination section 22 which determines whether the obstacle detection unit 10, with the activation thereof controlled by the detection control section 21, detects the existence of the obstacle in the vicinity of muffler outlet 41 connected to an exhaust pipe of the internal combustion engine when the vehicle is stationary and an internal combustion engine of the vehicle is in an idling state; and a notification control section 23 which causes a notification unit 30 to alert a passenger of the vehicle when the determination section 22 determines the detection of the obstacle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an alarm device for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a technique for performing a warning process when the carbon monoxide concentration in the vehicle cabin is high. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a device that provides a vehicle cabin concentration detection means that is disposed near the driver's seat or near the air conditioner outlet to detect the concentration of carbon monoxide in the vehicle cabin, and controls the engine operating state so that the concentration of carbon monoxide in the exhaust gas is reduced when the detection value from the concentration detection means is higher than a reference value and the vehicle is located in a place that is considered to be an enclosed space according to the surrounding conditions of the vehicle, and executes a warning process after the engine is stopped. In this device, for example, a space such as a garage that is surrounded by walls on the rear, left and right sides, and above the vehicle is determined to be a defective enclosed space when exhaust gas fills up, and is determined to be an environment where carbon monoxide may fill up the vehicle cabin. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-183568 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The device of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 detects a space such as a garage surrounded by walls on the rear, left and right sides, and above the vehicle, and judges the possibility of carbon monoxide filling the vehicle cabin. However, the environment in which carbon monoxide may fill the vehicle cabin is not limited to an enclosed space formed by an immovable object such as a wall that exists before the vehicle is stopped. For example, while the vehicle is stopped in an idling state, an environment in which carbon monoxide may fill the vehicle cabin may be formed due to a cause that did not exist at the time of stopping, such as a flying object or snow falling from the roof blocking the vicinity of the muffler outlet. Even in such a case, it is desired to judge the possibility of carbon monoxide filling and reliably notify the occupants in the vehicle cabin.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has an object to determine the possibility of carbon monoxide filling the vehicle cabin and to provide an appropriate alert to occupants in the vehicle cabin. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle alarm device includes an obstacle detection device provided at the rear of the vehicle and detecting an obstacle behind the vehicle using reflected waves; a detection control unit that activates the obstacle detection device when the shift position is set to P range; a determination unit that determines whether the obstacle detection device, whose operation is controlled by the detection control unit, has detected an obstacle present in the vicinity of an outlet of a muffler connected to an exhaust pipe of the internal combustion engine when the vehicle is stopped and the internal combustion engine of the vehicle is in an idling state; and an alarm control unit that, when it is determined by the determination unit that the obstacle has been detected, issues an alarm to an occupant of the vehicle via the alarm device. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to determine the possibility that carbon monoxide will fill the vehicle interior, and to provide an appropriate warning to occupants in the vehicle interior. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle notification device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a schematic diagram of a vehicle on which a vehicle notification device according to one embodiment is mounted. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the vehicle alarm device in one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, a vehicle notification device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle notification device in this embodiment, and Fig. 2 is a plan view showing a vehicle equipped with the vehicle notification device in this embodiment. In Fig. 2, the front side of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow F, and the rear side of the vehicle is indicated by an arrow B.

[0010] 1, the vehicle notification device 1 in this embodiment includes an obstacle detection device 10, a controller 20, and a notification device 30. The vehicle notification device 1 also optionally includes a shift position sensor 11, a wheel speed sensor 12, and a parking brake 13.

[0011] The obstacle detection device 10 is provided at the rear of the vehicle and is configured to detect objects present at the rear of the vehicle, i.e., obstacles to the vehicle, by transmitting laser light, ultrasonic waves, millimeter waves, etc. and receiving reflected waves from the objects. Here, an obstacle is an object that is present near the outlet of a muffler connected to an exhaust pipe of the vehicle's internal combustion engine and that may block the muffler outlet and cause carbon monoxide to fill the vehicle cabin.

[0012] In this embodiment, the obstacle detection device 10 can be configured with a plurality of sonar sensors (ultrasonic sensors) that detect obstacles by emitting ultrasonic waves and receiving ultrasonic waves reflected from the object. Sonar sensors are generally used for short-distance object detection. Sonar sensors are usually capable of detecting the presence or absence of an object located at a distance of a preset minimum detection distance (e.g., about 10 to 20 centimeters) or more and the distance to the object, and are configured to be capable of detecting only the presence or absence of an object within a range less than the minimum detection distance.

[0013] For example, in a vehicle to which a collision damage reduction technology for reversing is applied, which automatically applies the brakes when the possibility of a collision with an object behind increases, in order to avoid a collision or reduce damage in the event of a collision, a plurality of sonar sensors for detecting objects behind are mounted. In this embodiment, such existing sonar sensors are used to determine the possibility that carbon monoxide will fill the vehicle cabin.

[0014] The obstacle detection device 10 has, for example, first to fourth sonar sensors 10a to 10d that detect obstacles in the rear area of ​​the vehicle as shown in Fig. 2. The first to fourth sonar sensors 10a to 10d are arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction. The first sonar sensor 10a is arranged on one side of the rear of the vehicle, and the fourth sonar sensor 10d is arranged on the other side of the rear of the vehicle. The second sonar sensor 10b is arranged in the center of the rear of the vehicle toward one side, and the third sonar sensor 10c is arranged in the center toward the other side.

[0015] A muffler outlet 41 connected to an exhaust pipe of an internal combustion engine of the vehicle is disposed between the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b in the vehicle width direction. In this embodiment, the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b disposed on either side of the muffler outlet 41 in the vehicle width direction can be used to detect an obstacle present in the vicinity of the muffler outlet 41. Information on the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection device 10 is input to the controller 20.

[0016] The controller 20 is configured to receive detection signals from a shift position sensor 11 that detects the shift position of a shift lever (not shown) and a wheel speed sensor 12 that detects the wheel speed of each wheel of the vehicle, as well as an actuation signal from a parking brake 13. The shift positions detected by the shift position sensor 11 include, for example, a forward driving range (D range), a reverse driving range (R range), a stopping range (N range), and a parking range (P range).

[0017] The controller 20 is configured, for example, by a computer including a ROM that stores programs and data, a CPU that performs arithmetic processing, a RAM that stores dynamic data and arithmetic processing results, an input / output interface, etc. The controller 20 is configured to execute the functions of a detection control unit 21, a determination unit 22, and a notification control unit 23, and to control the entire vehicle notification device 1.

[0018] The detection control unit 21 is configured to control the operation of the obstacle detection device 10. As described above, in this embodiment, an obstacle present near the muffler outlet 41 is detected using a plurality of existing sonar sensors. The plurality of existing sonar sensors 10a to 10d are normally configured to operate when the shift position is set to the R range and not to operate in other shift positions in order to detect obstacles behind the vehicle when reversing.

[0019] Therefore, in this embodiment, when the shift position is set to the P range, the detection control unit 21 controls the operation of the obstacle detection device 10 so as to activate at least the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b of the obstacle detection device 10. In other words, based on the detection signal from the shift position sensor 11, the detection control unit 21 can switch the operation mode of the obstacle detection device 10 between a first mode in which the obstacle detection device 10 is activated when the shift position is set to the R range and a second mode in which the obstacle detection device 10 is activated when the shift position is set to the P range.

[0020] When the vehicle is stopped and the internal combustion engine of the vehicle is in an idling state, the determination unit 22 determines the possibility of carbon monoxide filling the vehicle cabin based on the situation around the vehicle. Specifically, the determination unit 22 determines whether or not an obstacle present near the outlet 41 of the muffler connected to the exhaust pipe of the internal combustion engine has been detected by the obstacle detection device 10. If an obstacle is present near the outlet 41 of the muffler, it can be determined that there is a possibility that the muffler outlet 41 is blocked by the obstacle, causing exhaust gas containing carbon monoxide to enter the vehicle cabin and filling the vehicle cabin with carbon monoxide.

[0021] Whether the vehicle is stopped and the internal combustion engine is in an idling state can be determined based on, for example, the detection value of the wheel speed sensor 12. The determination unit 22 can determine that the vehicle is in an idling state when the detection value of the wheel speed sensor 12 is 0, the vehicle is stopped, and the internal combustion engine is operating without load. The determination unit 22 can also determine the operation state of the parking brake 13 based on an operation signal input from the parking brake 13.

[0022] The notification control unit 23 is configured to issue a notification (warning, warning) to the vehicle occupants via the notification device 30 when the judgment unit 22 determines that an obstacle has been detected, i.e., when it determines that there is a possibility that carbon monoxide will fill the vehicle cabin.

[0023] The notification device 30 is configured to issue a notification in response to a command from the controller 20. The notification device 30 may have, for example, a display, an indicator light, a speaker, etc. arranged on an instrument panel at the front of the vehicle, and may provide information to the occupant visually and / or aurally. The notification device 30 may also be configured to issue a notification via, for example, a tactile sense.

[0024] The vehicle alarm device 1 according to this embodiment has the above-described configuration and is configured to alert occupants in the vehicle cabin when it is determined, based on the conditions around the vehicle, that the vehicle is in an environment where carbon monoxide may fill the vehicle cabin.

[0025] Here, it is important to notify the occupants of the possibility that carbon monoxide will fill the cabin, but for example, if the driver intends to stop the vehicle for only a short time, the possibility of carbon monoxide filling the cabin is low, and if the notification is made immediately in such a case, the notification may be unintended and annoying for the driver. On the other hand, while the vehicle is stopped for a long time, an obstacle may appear near the muffler outlet, blocking the muffler outlet without the occupants noticing, and carbon monoxide may fill the cabin, and in such a case, it is desirable to reliably notify the occupants.

[0026] Therefore, in the vehicle warning device 1 of this embodiment, when the driver intends to leave the vehicle idling for a long period of time, the device detects an obstacle near the muffler outlet at the rear of the vehicle, determines the possibility of carbon monoxide filling the passenger compartment, and provides an appropriate warning to the occupants in the passenger compartment.

[0027] The determination unit 22 of the controller 20 can determine that the driver intends to stop the vehicle for a long time when, for example, the internal combustion engine is idling and the shift position is set to the P range. In addition, when the parking brake 13 is applied, it may be determined that the driver intends to stop the vehicle for a long time.

[0028] When the driver intends to stop the vehicle for a long time, the determination unit 22 of the controller 20 determines whether or not an obstacle present near the muffler outlet 41 has been detected by the obstacle detection device 10. Obstacles that may appear near the muffler outlet 41 while the vehicle is stopped for a long time include, for example, flying objects, snow falling from a roof, or gradually accumulating snow.

[0029] In addition, the determination unit 22 of the controller 20 periodically determines whether an obstacle has been detected at regular intervals. Even if the possibility of carbon monoxide filling the cabin is low when the vehicle is stopped, a case may be considered in which an environment in which carbon monoxide may fill the cabin is gradually formed. For example, if snow falls while the vehicle is stopped, the muffler outlet 41 may be gradually blocked by accumulated snow. Therefore, the determination unit 22 may be configured to record the movement (change over time) of the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection device 10 in a memory (not shown) or the like, and determine that an obstacle present near the muffler outlet 41 has been detected when the obstacle is gradually rising.

[0030] Each sonar sensor of the obstacle detection device 10 used to detect an obstacle has excellent short-distance detection performance. However, since the muffler outlet 41 is disposed between the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b of the obstacle detection device 10 in the vehicle width direction, there is a possibility that an object that does not block the muffler outlet 41 may be mistakenly detected as an obstacle near the muffler outlet 41 by only one of the sonar sensors. Therefore, using two sonar sensors, the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b, the determination unit 22 determines that an obstacle exists near the muffler outlet 41 when an obstacle is detected by both the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b.

[0031] The determination unit 22 is provided to determine whether or not there is an obstacle that may block the muffler outlet 41, and does not need to detect the distance to the obstacle. Therefore, when the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b are configured to be able to detect only the presence or absence of an object within a range less than a preset minimum detection distance, the determination unit 22 may determine that an obstacle exists near the muffler outlet 41 when both the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b detect the presence of an obstacle within a range less than the minimum detection distance. This makes it possible to detect an obstacle that exists very close to the muffler outlet 41.

[0032] A flow of notification control by the vehicle notification device 1 in this embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 3. The controller 20 periodically executes the notification control process shown in Fig. 3 at regular intervals.

[0033] First, in step S101, it is determined whether or not the vehicle equipped with the vehicle notification device 1 is idling and stopped. When the vehicle is stopped based on a detection signal from the wheel speed sensor 12 and the internal combustion engine is operating without load, the determination unit 22 determines that the vehicle is idling and stopped, and proceeds to step S102. When the vehicle is not idling and stopped, this process is terminated.

[0034] In step S102, the determination unit 22 determines whether or not the shift position is set to the P range based on the detection signal from the shift position sensor 11. If the shift position is set to the P range, the process proceeds to step S103, and if the shift position is set to a range other than the P range, the process returns to step S101.

[0035] In step S103, the determination unit 22 determines whether or not the parking brake 13 is activated based on the activation signal from the parking brake 13. If the parking brake 13 is activated, the process proceeds to step S104, and if the parking brake 13 is not activated, the process returns to step S101.

[0036] In step S104, the detection control unit 21 activates (starts) the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b of the obstacle detection device 10 in order to detect an obstacle behind the vehicle when the driver intends to stop the vehicle for a long period of time. As a result, the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b are switched from the normal first mode, which operates when the shift position is set to the R range, to the second mode, which operates when the shift position is set to the P range.

[0037] In step S105, the determination unit 22 determines whether or not an obstacle present near the muffler outlet 41 has been detected by both the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b of the obstacle detection device 10. If it is determined that an obstacle present near the muffler outlet 41 has been detected, the process proceeds to step S106, and if it is determined that an obstacle has not been detected, the process returns to step S101.

[0038] In step S106, the determination unit 22 increments an obstacle detection counter (not shown) that indicates the elapsed time since an obstacle present in the vicinity of the muffler outlet 41 was detected while the vehicle was idling and stopped.

[0039] In step S107, the determination unit 22 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since an obstacle present near the muffler outlet 41 was detected while the vehicle was idling and stopped, based on the value of the obstacle detection counter. Here, the predetermined time is set to an appropriate value in advance to prevent erroneous detection of an obstacle and unnecessary notification to a driver who does not intend to stop the vehicle for a long time. If it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed since an obstacle was detected while the vehicle is idling, the process proceeds to step S108, and if the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S105.

[0040] In step S108, the notification control unit 23 controls the notification device 30 to notify the occupant. In step S109, the obstacle detection counter is reset, and this process ends.

[0041] The above-described vehicle alarm device 1 according to the present embodiment can provide the following advantageous effects.

[0042] (1) The vehicle alarm device 1 comprises an obstacle detection device 10 provided at the rear of the vehicle for detecting obstacles behind the vehicle using reflected waves, a detection control unit 21 for activating the obstacle detection device 10 when the shift position is set to P range, a determination unit 22 for determining whether an obstacle present in the vicinity of a muffler outlet 41 connected to the exhaust pipe of the internal combustion engine has been detected by the obstacle detection device 10 under operation control of the detection control unit 21 when the vehicle is stopped and the internal combustion engine of the vehicle is in an idling state, and an alarm control unit 23 for alerting vehicle occupants via the alarm device 30 when the determination unit 22 determines that an obstacle has been detected.

[0043] When the vehicle is stopped in an idling state and the shift position is set to the P range, it is considered that the driver intends to stop the vehicle for a long time. Even if the possibility of carbon monoxide filling the vehicle is low when the vehicle is stopped, an environment in which carbon monoxide may fill the vehicle cabin may be gradually formed during the long stop due to, for example, snow accumulation. Therefore, when it is considered that the vehicle will be stopped for a long time, an appropriate notification can be given to the occupants in the vehicle cabin when there is a possibility that carbon monoxide may fill the vehicle cabin by detecting and notifying an obstacle present near the muffler outlet 41. In addition, it is possible to prevent unnecessary notification from being given to a driver who does not intend to stop the vehicle for a long time and intends to start the vehicle immediately after stopping. By activating the obstacle detection device 10, which detects an obstacle behind the vehicle when the shift position is set to the P range, by the detection control unit 21, the obstacle detection device 10 is activated only when it is considered that the vehicle intends to stop for a long time, so that the power consumption by the obstacle detection device 10 can be suppressed.

[0044] (2) The determination unit 22 determines whether an obstacle has been detected near the muffler outlet 41 by the obstacle detection device 10, whose operation is controlled by the detection control unit 21, when the internal combustion engine is idling and the parking brake 13 is applied. By taking into account the operation state of the parking brake 13, it is possible to more reliably determine whether the driver intends to park the vehicle for a long period of time, and to provide an appropriate warning to occupants in the vehicle cabin when there is a possibility that carbon monoxide may fill the vehicle cabin.

[0045] (3) The determination unit 22 periodically determines whether an obstacle has been detected at regular time intervals. This makes it possible to reliably determine the possibility of carbon monoxide filling the vehicle cabin even if the possibility of carbon monoxide filling the vehicle cabin is low when the vehicle is stopped, for example, when snow accumulation or the like gradually creates an environment in which carbon monoxide may fill the vehicle cabin.

[0046] (4) The obstacle detection device 10 has a plurality of sonar sensors, and each sonar sensor is configured to detect an obstacle by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves. The plurality of sonar sensors are arranged in the vehicle width direction such that the muffler outlet 41 is located between a first sonar sensor 10a and a second sonar sensor 10b among the plurality of sonar sensors. The determination unit 22 determines whether an obstacle has been detected based on the detection results of the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b. By using the two sonar sensors 10a and 10b, an obstacle covering the muffler outlet 41 in the vicinity of the muffler outlet 41 can be reliably determined. In addition, since the plurality of sonar sensors provided in advance for a collision damage reduction system during reverse driving can be used to detect an obstacle in the vicinity of the muffler outlet 41, for example, there is no need to add a special member for detecting an obstacle in the vicinity of the muffler outlet 41. The sonar sensor for the collision damage reduction system during reverse driving is usually configured to operate when reverse driving, that is, when the shift position is set to the R range (operation in the first mode). In this embodiment, unlike the normal first mode, the sonar sensor is activated when the shift position is set to the P range (second mode), so that the existing sonar sensor can be used effectively.

[0047] -Variations- (1) In the above-described embodiment, when a predetermined time has elapsed since an obstacle was detected near the muffler outlet 41 while the vehicle was stopped and idling, the notification device 30 notified the occupants. In addition to this, the engine (internal combustion engine) may be stopped. Alternatively, the engine may be stopped if the driver does not take measures such as voluntarily stopping the engine or moving the vehicle to change the environment, even after the notification device 30 has been issued.

[0048] (2) The above-mentioned predetermined time for determining whether or not to issue a notification by the notification device 30 can also be variably set according to, for example, the catalyst temperature of a catalyst provided in the exhaust pipe. Normally, the lower the catalyst temperature, the lower the purification efficiency of the catalyst is, and the more carbon monoxide is emitted. Therefore, by shortening the above-mentioned predetermined time as the catalyst temperature decreases, it is possible to provide an appropriate notification to the occupants when there is a possibility that carbon monoxide will fill the vehicle cabin.

[0049] (3) In the above-described embodiment, the determination unit 22 periodically determines whether an obstacle has been detected at regular intervals. In accordance with this, the time interval (activation interval) for emitting ultrasonic waves by the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b can also be adjusted. For example, the detection control unit 21 may set the emission time interval of the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b operating in the second mode longer than the emission time interval in the first mode. This is expected to reduce the power consumption of the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b for detecting an obstacle near the muffler outlet 41.

[0050] (4) In the embodiment described above, the obstacle detection device 10 is configured to include four sonar sensors, the first to fourth sonar sensors 10a to 10d. However, this is not limited to this, and the obstacle detection device 10 may include at least two sonar sensors, i.e., the first sonar sensor 10a and the second sonar sensor 10b arranged on either side of the muffler outlet 41.

[0051] (5) In the above embodiment, the actuation state of the parking brake 13 is determined to determine the driver's intention to stop the vehicle for a long period of time. However, the process of determining the actuation state of the parking brake 13 (step S103) may be omitted.

[0052] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1 Vehicle warning device 10 Obstacle detection device, 10a First sonar sensor, 10b Second sonar sensor 13 Parking brake 20 controller, 21 detection control unit, 22 determination unit, 23 notification control unit 30. Notification device 41 Muffler outlet

Claims

1. an obstacle detection device provided at a rear portion of the vehicle and configured to detect an obstacle behind the vehicle using reflected waves; a detection control unit that activates the obstacle detection device when the shift position is set to the P range; a determination unit that determines whether the obstacle present in the vicinity of an outlet of a muffler connected to an exhaust pipe of the internal combustion engine has been detected by the obstacle detection device, the operation of which is controlled by the detection control unit, when the vehicle is stopped and the internal combustion engine of the vehicle is in an idling state; a notification control unit that notifies an occupant of the vehicle by a notification device when the determination unit determines that the obstacle is detected; A vehicle alarm device comprising:

2. 2. The vehicle warning device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether the obstacle has been detected near the outlet of the muffler by the obstacle detection device, whose operation is controlled by the detection control unit, when the internal combustion engine is in an idling state and a parking brake is applied.

3. The vehicle warning device according to claim 1 , wherein the determination unit periodically determines whether the obstacle has been detected at regular intervals.

4. the obstacle detection device has a plurality of sonar sensors, each sonar sensor being configured to detect an obstacle by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves; the plurality of sonar sensors are arranged in a vehicle width direction such that the outlet of the muffler is located between a first sonar sensor and a second sonar sensor among the plurality of sonar sensors, The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1 , wherein the determination unit determines whether the obstacle has been detected based on detection results of the first sonar sensor and the second sonar sensor.

Images