Vehicle-purpose electronic control device, vehicle-purpose alarm control program, and vehicle-purpose alarm control method

Abstract

To provide a vehicle-purpose electronic control device, a vehicle-purpose alarm control program, and a vehicle-purpose alarm control method that can enhance an effect of preventing children from being left in a vehicle without installing expensive equipment.SOLUTION: A storage unit 11c stores in advance a location where a child is to be dropped off from a vehicle. A position specifying unit 11a specifies a present position. When an alarm control unit 11b detects that the vehicle is moving away from a point where the child is to be dropped off based on the present position information, the alarm control unit issues a warning that the child has been forgotten to be dropped off.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle electronic control device, a vehicle notification control program, and a vehicle notification control method. [Background technology]

[0002] Children, including newborns, infants, toddlers, young children, and boys and girls, need to be supervised by their parents when getting in and out of vehicles. However, in recent years, 20% of parents have left their children behind in their vehicles, meaning one in five people have experienced this. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that there are a certain number of parents who leave their children behind without even realizing that they have left them inside the vehicle.

[0003] The following are thought to be reasons why parents may not realize that they have left their children in the car. First, parents follow a fairly set routine every day, and if they deviate from their usual routine and this disrupts their routine, they are more likely to make mistakes. In other words, parents and drivers may drive with or without children in the vehicle. Therefore, if they usually drive without children and follow their daily routine, occasionally driving with a child in the vehicle can disrupt their routine and cause them to forget that they have a child in the vehicle. Second, they may be more likely to make mistakes due to high stress, impatience, or fatigue.

[0004] Conventionally, technologies have been proposed that use radio wave sensors or in-vehicle cameras to detect when a child has been left behind in a vehicle and warn the parent or guardian, such as those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2. However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 focuses on how to detect when a child has been left behind and how to notify an adult such as the driver, and does not focus on cases where the parent or guardian thought they had dropped the child off but the cause is the child.

[0005] Additionally, surveillance systems that use cameras such as dashcams, systems that use radio wave sensors or vibration sensors, and systems that use sound collection functions to detect whether a child has been left inside the vehicle can detect children inside the vehicle, but they require expensive equipment such as cameras and radio wave sensors to capture images inside the vehicle.

[0006] Furthermore, installing such cameras and sensors requires securing a mounting location in the vehicle and installing devices to secure them, which is time-consuming and costly.As this has become a familiar social issue experienced by one in five parents, there is a need for an inexpensive solution that does not require major changes to the vehicle or the addition of expensive equipment. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-119923 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-78159 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic control device for a vehicle, a vehicle notification control program, and a vehicle notification control method that can increase the effectiveness of preventing children from being left in a vehicle without the need for expensive equipment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] According to the invention of claim 1, the storage unit stores in advance the location where the child is to be dropped off from the vehicle. The location identification unit identifies the current location, and the notification control unit issues a warning to the driver not to forget to drop off the child when it detects that the vehicle is moving away from the location where the child is to be dropped off based on the current location information. This increases the effectiveness of preventing children from being left behind in the vehicle. Moreover, this system can be configured using equipment normally found in vehicles, eliminating the need for expensive equipment. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an electrical block diagram illustrating an electronic control device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the interior of a vehicle in an embodiment; [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of operations in one embodiment. [Figure 4] A first flowchart outlining the processing contents of the vehicle electronic control device in one embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of operations in one embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the interior of a vehicle in an embodiment; [Figure 7] Flowchart 2 showing the processing contents of the vehicle electronic control device in one embodiment [Figure 8] Flowchart 3 showing the processing contents of the vehicle electronic control device in one embodiment [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the flow of operations in a modified example of an embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process performed by a vehicle electronic control device according to a modified example of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An embodiment of a vehicle electronic control device, a vehicle notification control program, and a vehicle notification control method will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an in-vehicle system 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle system 10 is configured with a plurality of vehicle electronic control devices, such as an HCU 11 and a body ECU 21. The plurality of vehicle electronic control devices are connected via an in-vehicle network. HCU stands for Human Machine Interface Control Unit, and ECU stands for Electronic Control Unit.

[0012] 1 shows an HCU 11 and a body ECU 21 as vehicle electronic control devices mounted in the vehicle. The HCU 11 constitutes an HMI system together with a speaker 13, a display device 14, a microphone 15, and an operation input unit 16. The HMI system has an input interface function that accepts operations by vehicle occupants such as the driver Pd, and an output interface function that presents information to the occupants.

[0013] The body system ECU 21 shown here refers to an electronic control device that controls the interior and exterior equipment of the vehicle. The body system ECU 21 collectively refers to some or all of the components that control the interior equipment of the vehicle, such as a door ECU that detects the open / closed states of the left and right doors of the front driver's seat 31, front passenger seat 32, and rear seat 33 (see FIG. 2), a security ECU that performs functions such as keyless entry, and a safety control ECU that controls airbags.

[0014] The HCU 11 includes a microcomputer or SoC with a built-in processor and memory unit 11c. SoC stands for System On Chip. The body system ECU 21 also includes similar hardware, although only memory unit 21a is shown. The memory units 11c and 21a are composed of volatile memory and nonvolatile memory, and represent non-transitory tangible storage media that non-temporarily store computer-readable programs and data. The non-transitory tangible storage media are realized by semiconductor memory or the like. The HCU 11 realizes various functions by having the processor execute programs stored in the memory.

[0015] The HCU 11 is connected to a position detector 12, a speaker 13, a display device 14, an operation input unit 16, and a body system ECU 21. The position detector 12 detects the position with high precision using a well-known GNSS receiver such as a GPS, and an inertial sensor such as an acceleration sensor or a gyro sensor, although these are not shown. The position detector 12 may be configured by omitting some of these position detection elements.

[0016] The position detector 12 outputs a position detection signal to the HCU 11. The HCU 11 has a function as a position specifying unit 11a that sequentially performs highly accurate positioning based on map information input from a map data input device and the position detection signal from the position detector 12, and specifies the current position of the vehicle. The HCU 11 can execute so-called navigation processing based on the current position of the vehicle in which it is installed.

[0017] The HCU 11 also functions as a notification control unit 11b for transmitting various types of information to occupants such as the driver Pd. The notification control unit 11b also functions as a voice synthesis output unit 11ba for synthesizing voice and outputting it to the speaker 13, and a display information output unit 11bb for generating content and displaying it on the display device 14.

[0018] The speaker 13 is installed at least near the driver's seat 31 (D seat: driver's seat) as shown in Fig. 2. The installation position of the speaker 13 is not limited to the example shown in Fig. 2, and the speaker 13 may be installed anywhere in the vehicle.

[0019] The display device 14 is, for example, a center information display (CID) configured with a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, etc. The display device 14 is capable of displaying various contents under the control of the HCU 11.

[0020] A microphone 15 is installed in the vehicle interior, and the HCU 11 can acquire voices uttered by the driver Pd and passengers from the microphone 15. The HCU 11 recognizes the voices acquired from the microphone 15, and when it recognizes the content of an instruction from the driver Pd or passenger, it executes control based on the content of the instruction.

[0021] The operation input unit 16 is, for example, a touch panel configured on the display screen of the display device 14 or a mechanical switch provided beside the display screen, and receives operation input from the driver Pd or other passengers. When an operation input is received by the operation input unit 16, the HCU 11 executes control based on the operation input signal.

[0022] A vehicle state sensor 22 is connected to the body system ECU 21. The vehicle state sensor 22 includes at least a door state sensor and a seat belt fastening detection sensor. By using the door state sensor, the body system ECU 21 can detect whether the doors of the front seats and rear seats 33 are open / closed and whether they are locked / unlocked. By using the seat belt fastening detection sensor, the body system ECU 21 can detect whether the seat belts of the front seats and rear seats 33 are fastened / unfastened.

[0023] The body system ECU 21 has at least some of its electronic control units powered by the battery, detects the on / off state of the ignition switch for starting the vehicle, and inputs IG and ACC signals. Note that the equipment described so far is relatively inexpensive standard equipment that is installed in most vehicles, and no expensive options are used.

[0024] The body system ECU 21 executes the function of the rear seat reminder 21b based on detecting the open / closed state and locked / unlocked state of the doors of the front driver's seat 31, passenger seat 32, and rear seat 33. The rear seat reminder 21b basically functions to warn the driver not to leave anything on the seat.

[0025] For example, by using the basic function of the rear seat reminder 21b, the driver Pd can be warned about leaving something behind in the vehicle the moment he or she gets out of the vehicle. However, this type of warning technology may require the driver Pd to be warned every time he or she gets out of the vehicle, and even if the driver Pd is warned the moment he or she gets out of the vehicle, if the warning becomes a habit, it may not be effective. While leaving something behind is unlikely to lead to a serious accident, leaving a child Pr behind is a matter that should be given serious consideration and must be avoided at all costs. Therefore, it is desirable to warn the driver Pd about leaving a child Pr behind in the vehicle as described below.

[0026] <Baby / Child Safeguard Mode Overview> The following describes a baby / child abandonment prevention mode that is provided to particularly enhance the effectiveness of preventing children Pr from being left behind in the vehicle interior. In this embodiment, the body system ECU 21 and HCU 11 that constitute the in-vehicle system 10 are provided with a baby / child abandonment prevention mode, and by executing this mode, a warning is issued that a child Pr has been left behind. The memory unit 11c of the HCU 11 and the memory unit 21a of the body system ECU 21 are provided with areas for storing the on / off state of the child Pr abandonment prevention mode, and the memory state of the mode is synchronized via the in-vehicle network.

[0027] <<Pre-registration>> The following description is based on the assumption that, when a driver Pd drops off a child Pr at a nursery school, the driver places the child Pr in the rear seat 33 of the vehicle and takes the child Pr to the nursery school, as shown in FIG. 2. This may also be applied to taking the child Pr to and from facilities other than nursery schools, such as kindergartens and elementary schools. The driver Pd, who is the guardian of the child Pr, operates the operation input unit 16 in S1 of FIG. 3 to register the nursery school as a destination in advance. The HCU 11 stores the latitude and longitude information of the location of the nursery school in the memory unit 11c in a non-volatile manner as a candidate for a navigation stop or destination. As a result, the HCU 11 continues to store the locations of nurseries along routes that the driver Pd normally drives.

[0028] Here, the driver Pd voluntarily registers the location of the nursery school, but this registration method is not limited to this. For example, if the HCU 11 learns the vehicle's driving history information using navigation and confirms that the vehicle has been parked at a nursery school more frequently or for a certain number of days, the latitude and longitude information of the location of the nursery school may be registered as a candidate for a stopover or destination.

[0029] <Starting the engine and running the baby / child leaving prevention mode> In the initial state, the body system ECU 21 and HCU 11 normally have the baby / child abandonment prevention mode turned off, and the off state of these modes is stored in the memory unit 21a of the body system ECU 21 and the memory unit 11c of the HCU 11, respectively.

[0030] Even if the IG signal and ACC are turned off, battery power is supplied to at least some of the electronic control units of the body system ECU 21. Therefore, by operating at least some of the electronic control units of the body system ECU 21, the state of at least some of the sensors of the vehicle state sensor 22 can be obtained, and the body system ECU 21 can detect the open / closed state of at least the doors of the driver's seat 31, passenger seat 32, and rear seat 33.

[0031] When the ignition switch is turned on and the ACC is turned on, power is applied to the HCU 11 in S2 of FIG. 3. Before or after the engine start is turned on in S2 of FIG. 3, the parent or guardian opens the door of the right rear seat 33 in S3, moves the child Pr into the rear seat 33 and fastens the seat belt to the child Pr in S4, and closes the door of the right rear seat 33 in S5. Babies and young children Pr are often placed in a child seat that has been installed in the rear seat 33 beforehand. At this time, the child Pr is fastened with a seat belt to the child seat to prevent the child Pr from moving around inside the vehicle.

[0032] During this time, the body system ECU 21 detects the door opening / closing state and the seat belt fastening state of the rear seat 33 at T1 in Fig. 4, and determines whether the seat belt of the rear seat 33 is fastened. If the body system ECU 21 detects that the seat belt of the rear seat 33 is fastened, it transmits that information to the HCU 11.

[0033] At the time when the seat belt is fastened or a predetermined time later, the HCU11 creates a synthesized voice warning announcement saying, "If you are traveling with a child to be picked up or dropped off, please keep your luggage close to the child to help prevent them from being left behind," and plays the announcement through the speaker 13 (Sa in Figure 3: T2 in Figure 4).

[0034] That is, the HCU 11 issues a warning announcement to occupants such as the driver Pd at the time when it detects that the seat belts of the rear seats 33 are fastened. The HCU 11 may make the announcement not only through the speaker 13 installed near the driver's seat 31 but also through the speaker 13 if the speaker 13 is installed near the rear seats 33.

[0035] Thereafter, the driver Pd gets into the driver's seat 31. The driver Pd opens the door of the driver's seat 31 in S6 of FIG. 3, closes the door in S7, and then fastens the seat belt in S8. During this time, the body system ECU 21 determines whether the door of the driver's seat 31 changes from closed to open to closed, with the seat belt of the rear seat 33 of the vehicle fastened, and whether the seat belt of the driver's seat 31 is fastened (T3, T4 of FIG. 4). If these conditions are met, the body system ECU 21 transmits this information to the HCU 11. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the state of the interior of the vehicle after the child Pr and the driver Pd have gotten into the vehicle, with the driver Pd getting into the driver's seat 31 and the child Pr getting into the rear seat 33.

[0036] When the HCU 11 receives information that these conditions are met, it creates a synthesized voice for a pick-up / drop-off confirmation announcement, asking "Are you going to take your child to or from the nursery school today?", as shown in Sb of Fig. 3, and announces it through the speaker 13. That is, the HCU 11 issues a pick-up / drop-off confirmation announcement to confirm whether it is a routine to pick up or drop off the child Pr. Next, the HCU 11 causes the display information output unit 11bb to display options of "Yes" and "No" on the display device 14.

[0037] In response to this announcement, the HCU 11 recognizes the voice input from the microphone 15 and accepts instructions, as well as operation input from the operation input unit 16. In S9 of Fig. 3, the driver Pd responds by selecting "Yes" if the driver is being picked up or dropped off. When the HCU 11 receives the response "Yes" in T6 of Fig. 4, it turns on, that is, activates, the baby / child abandonment prevention mode (S10 of Fig. 3, T7 of Fig. 4).

[0038] Thereafter, in S11 of FIG. 3, the driver Pd drives to the nursery school and arrives at the nursery school in S12. FIG. 5 illustrates a continuation of the operations in FIG. 3. Upon arriving at the nursery school, the driver Pd performs a series of operations to drop off the child Pr at the nursery school, that is, S13 to S19 of FIG. 5. In the example of FIG. 5, the driver Pd unbuckles his seat belt in S13 of FIG. 5, opens the door of the driver's seat 31 in S14, and closes the door of the driver's seat 31 in S15. During this time, the body system ECU 21 detects that the seat belt of the driver's seat 31 has been unbuckled, and then detects a change in the state of the door of the driver's seat 31 from closed to open to closed.

[0039] 5, the driver Pd opens the door of the right rear seat 33, unbuckles the seat belt of the child Pr seated in the right rear seat 33 in S17, removes the child Pr from the door of the right rear seat 33, and closes the door in S18. During this time, the body system ECU 21 detects that the door of the right rear seat 33 has changed from a closed state to an open state, detects that the seat belt of the right rear seat 33 has been unbuckled, and detects that the door of the right rear seat 33 has changed from an open state to a closed state.

[0040] After the series of steps S13 to S18, the driver Pd turns off the ignition switch in S19 of Fig. 5. Note that the ignition switch may also be turned off before the series of steps S13 to S18. After that, the driver Pd drops off the child Pr at a nursery school.

[0041] When the body system ECU 21 detects that the ignition switch has been turned off and the IG signal has been turned off at S19 in FIG. 5 and T8 in FIG. 4, it transmits this information to the HCU 11. At S20 in FIG. 5 and T9 in FIG. 4, the HCU 11 creates a synthesized voice for a routine guidance announcement or a report recommendation announcement, such as "Please notify your wife or family members that you have completed dropping off and receiving your child," and announces this from the speaker 13. This can guide the driver to the routine of contacting a close relative. The content of this type of announcement, which is also shown at T14 in FIG. 8 (described later), can also be rephrased as a report recommendation announcement to encourage reporting.

[0042] In particular, the HCU 11 may volatilely store in the memory unit 11c whether or not there is a pick-up or drop-off request when the IG signal of the ignition switch is turned on (the memory unit 11c functions as a pick-up or drop-off memory unit).The HCU 11 may then refer to the information on whether or not there is a pick-up or drop-off request stored in the memory unit 11c when the IG signal of the vehicle is turned off, and, on the condition that it is determined at T6 in Fig. 4 that there is a pick-up or drop-off request for the child Pr, issue an announcement to guide the user to a routine for contacting others at T9 in Fig. 4.

[0043] <What to do when driving from where you dropped off your child to another destination> Next, we will explain the operation when driving from the point where the child Pr is dropped off to another destination, for example, the company where the driver works. Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of the state inside the car after the child Pr is dropped off. The driver Pd is in the driver's seat 31, but the child Pr is not in the back seat 33.

[0044] The driver Pd drops off the child Pr from the vehicle and drops him off at a nursery school, then drives again to another destination. Here, another destination may include, for example, the driver Pd's workplace, the nearest station he uses for commuting, or even the home where the driver Pd or the child Pr live. There may also be cases where multiple children Pr are dropped off. In such cases, the facilities where the second or subsequent children Pr are left, such as nursery schools, kindergartens, elementary schools, or cram schools, are also considered as another destination.

[0045] At this time, the driver Pd opens the door of the driver's seat 31 in S21 of FIG. 7, gets into the driver's seat 31, closes the door of the driver's seat 31 in S22, and then fastens the seat belt in S23. During this time, the body system ECU 21 detects that the door of the driver's seat 31 changes from a closed state to an open state and back to a closed state. After that, the driver Pd turns on the ignition switch to turn on the ACC in S24 of FIG. 7. The body system ECU 21 recognizes that the seat belt is fastened as on. Then, in S25, the driver Pd drives to another destination such as work or a train station.

[0046] When the vehicle starts moving, the HCU 11 determines whether it has detected that the vehicle is moving away from the point where the child Pr is to be dropped off, based on information about the current location, at T11 in FIG. 8 . The HCU 11 determines whether the vehicle has moved away, for example, by determining whether it has moved a predetermined distance away from the point where the child Pr was dropped off. If the HCU 11 detects that the vehicle has moved away, it issues a warning that the child Pr has been forgotten to be dropped off at T12 in FIG. 8 (function of the warning control unit 11b: see Sc in FIG. 7 ). Specifically, the HCU 11 may announce warning information such as "Did you forget to drop off your child?" At this time, the warning information is announced even if the fact that the child Pr has been dropped off is not physically detected, for example, by an in-vehicle camera, radio wave sensor, or vibration sensor. Therefore, the warning can be issued even inside a vehicle that is not equipped with a camera, radio wave sensor, or vibration sensor for capturing images of the interior of the vehicle.

[0047] In addition, if multiple locations such as nursery schools, kindergartens, and elementary schools are registered in advance in the memory unit 11c, it is advisable to make a warning announcement when it is detected that the vehicle has moved away from each of the registered locations.

[0048] In particular, it is desirable that the HCU 11 issues warning information that the child Pr has been forgotten to be dropped off when it detects that the vehicle is moving away from the last place where the vehicle should have stopped based on the current location information (function of the warning control unit 11b). This allows the driver Pd to be aware of this even after the driver Pd resumes driving from the last place where the vehicle should have stopped. In particular, in this case, even if multiple children Pr need to be left at different facilities such as nursery schools or cram schools, the HCU 11 issues warning information when it detects that the vehicle has moved away from the last facility, so it is possible to absolutely prevent the child Pr from being forgotten to be dropped off.

[0049] The driver Pd drives the vehicle and arrives at another destination at S25 in FIG. 7. When the HCU 11 detects that the driver has arrived at the other destination at T13 in FIG. 8, it makes a report recommendation announcement (Sd in FIG. 7: T14 in FIG. 8). When making the report recommendation announcement, the HCU 11 creates a synthesized voice message such as "Please notify your wife and other family members that you have completed dropping off and receiving your child" and announces it from the speaker 13. This type of report recommendation announcement can also be called a routine guidance announcement, because it is intended to announce a message indicating guidance to a routine, as shown in T9 in FIG. 4 and S20 in FIG. 5 above.

[0050] 7, opens the door of the driver's seat 31 in S28, gets out of the vehicle, and then closes the door of the driver's seat 31 in S29. During this time, the body system ECU 21 detects that the seat belt of the driver's seat 31 has been unfastened, that is, detects that the seat belt has been unfastened in T15 of FIG. 8, and detects that the door of the driver's seat 31 has changed from a closed state to an open state to a closed state in T16.

[0051] Then, the body system ECU 21 changes the baby / child abandonment prevention mode from ON to OFF at S30 in Fig. 7 and T17 in Fig. 8. This mode change information is synchronized between the body system ECU 21 and the HCU 11, and the OFF state of the mode is stored in the memory unit 21a of the body system ECU 21 and the memory unit 11c of the HCU 11. The driver Pd turns off the ignition switch to turn off the ACC at S31 in Fig. 7.

[0052] 8, after making a report recommendation announcement for the baby / child leaving prevention mode, when the body system ECU 21 detects at T15 that the seat belt of the driver's seat 31 is not fastened and at T16 that the door of the driver's seat 31 has changed from an open state to a closed state, the HCU 11 turns off the baby / child leaving prevention mode at T17. This allows the baby / child leaving prevention mode to be stopped.

[0053] <Modification> 9 and 10, a modified example will be shown in which the driver Pd retrieves baggage placed on the rear seat 33. The contents up to the report recommendation announcements S26 in FIG. 9 and T14 in FIG. 10 are the same as those explained above with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, and therefore will not be explained further.

[0054] When the announcement recommending reporting the baby / child abandonment prevention mode is made at Sd in Fig. 9, the driver Pd unfastens the seat belt at S27 in Fig. 9, opens the door of the driver's seat 31 at S28, gets out of the vehicle, and then closes the door of the driver's seat 31 at S29. During this time, the body system ECU 21 detects that the seat belt of the driver's seat 31 has been unfastened, that is, detects that the seat belt has been turned off at T15 in Fig. 10, and detects that the door of the driver's seat 31 has changed from a closed state to an open state to a closed state at T16.

[0055] 9, the driver Pd opens the door of the rear seat 33, picks up the baggage that was placed on the rear seat 33 in S33, and closes the door of the rear seat 33 in S34. During this time, the body system ECU 21 detects at T16a that the door of the rear seat 33 has changed from a closed state to an open state to a closed state.

[0056] Then, the body system ECU 21 changes the baby / child abandonment prevention mode from ON to OFF at S30 in Fig. 9 and T17 in Fig. 10. This mode change information is synchronized with the HCU 11, and the OFF state of the mode is stored in the memory unit 21a of the body system ECU 21 and the memory unit 11c of the HCU 11. The driver Pd turns off the ignition switch to turn off the ACC at S31 in Fig. 9.

[0057] That is, after the report recommendation announcement is made at T14, the body system ECU 21 detects at T15 that the seat belt of the driver's seat 31 is not fastened, and at T16 detects that the door of the driver's seat 31 has changed from an open state to a closed state. Furthermore, when the body system ECU 21 detects at T16a that the door of the rear seat 33 has changed from an open state to a closed state, it turns off the baby / child abandonment prevention mode at T17. This stops the baby / child abandonment prevention mode.

[0058] <Comparative Example> As explained in the Background Art section, a technology has been proposed that warns drivers (Pd) not to leave children (Pr) behind when they get out of the vehicle. However, this type of technology requires the driver (Pd) to listen to the warning multiple times when they get out of the vehicle, and even if the warning is given to the driver (Pd) the moment they get out of the vehicle, it is ineffective unless the driver (Pd) listens carefully. Furthermore, to realize this type of technology, it is necessary to prepare expensive equipment such as a camera that captures images inside the vehicle, a child (Pr) recognition device, or a radio wave sensor.

[0059] <Summary of this embodiment> According to this embodiment, when it is detected based on the current location information that the vehicle is moving away from the point where the child Pr is to be dropped off, the HCU 11 issues a warning message to alert the driver Pd that the child Pr has been left behind. Therefore, even if the driver Pd does not hear the warning message when getting off the vehicle, the driver Pd can be alerted when the vehicle leaves the location, thereby realizing an announcement function to reduce the risk of the child Pr being left behind in the vehicle.

[0060] This gives the driver Pd an opportunity to check and become aware of the situation, thereby increasing the effectiveness of preventing children Prematurely Leaving in the vehicle. Furthermore, it can also be used to alert drivers Pd who, even if warned when they get out of the vehicle, have become accustomed to receiving such warnings and believe that it is okay. Furthermore, it is possible to alert the driver Pd to the fact that a child Prematurely Leaving in the vehicle even if the driver Pd is not physically aware of the fact that a child Prematurely Leaving in the vehicle.

[0061] Furthermore, according to the in-vehicle system 10 of this embodiment, the problem of children Pr being left behind can be solved without having to be equipped with expensive equipment as in the past, using only the functions of the location identification unit 11a that identifies the current location using GPS, the voice synthesis output unit 11ba, and standard equipment, i.e., equipment that is installed in most vehicles and is relatively inexpensive and can be obtained.

[0062] (Other embodiments) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the following modifications or extensions are possible. The above describes an embodiment that does not use expensive sensors that can be installed inside the vehicle cabin, but it is also possible to use a seating sensor, an in-vehicle camera, etc. to redundantly detect whether a child Pr is left behind inside the vehicle cabin.

[0063] Although the embodiment has been described in which a voice synthesis output unit 11ba is provided in the HCU 11 and synthetic voice is output from the speaker 13, this is not limited to this. If the speaker 13 is connected to the body system ECU 21, the body system ECU 21 may directly control the speaker 13 to make the above announcement.

[0064] Although the embodiment has been described in which the HCU 11 and the body system ECU 21 are configured as separate entities, this is not limited to this, and some or all of the functions of the HCU 11 may be integrated into the body system ECU 21, or some or all of the functions of the body system ECU 21 may be integrated into the HCU 11.

[0065] In addition to the contents described in the claims, the present disclosure also includes the following contents. [1] a storage unit (11c) in which a location where a child is to be dropped off from a vehicle is stored in advance; a location identification unit (11a) for identifying a current location; and an alert control unit (11b) that alerts the driver of the vehicle to the fact that the child has been forgotten to be dropped off when it detects that the vehicle is moving away from the child drop-off point based on the current location information.

[0066] [2] The electronic control device for a vehicle described in [1], wherein the notification control unit issues a warning information that the child has been forgotten to be dropped off when it detects that the vehicle is moving away from the last place where it should stop based on the current location information.

[0067] [3] a pick-up / drop-off storage unit that stores whether or not the child needs to be picked up / dropped off; The notification control unit is configured to, when the pick-up / drop-off memory unit stores that the child is being picked up or dropped off and detects that the vehicle's IG signal has been turned off, issue an announcement to guide the user to a routine to contact others. [1] or [2] An electronic control device for a vehicle.

[0068] [4] The electronic control device for a vehicle described in any one of [1] to [3], wherein the notification control unit issues a warning announcement when picking up or dropping off the child when it detects that the seat belt in the rear seat is fastened.

[0069] [5] An electronic control device for a vehicle as described in any one of [1] to [4], wherein when the driver's door is closed and the driver's seat belt is fastened while the rear seat seat belt is fastened, the notification control unit issues a pick-up / drop-off confirmation announcement to confirm whether it is a routine to pick up or drop off the child.

[0070] [6] An electronic control device for a vehicle according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the child leaving prevention mode is started, and after the notification control unit makes an announcement to prevent the child being left behind, if it is detected that the driver's seat belt is not fastened and that the driver's seat door has changed from an open state to a closed state, the child leaving prevention mode is stopped.

[0071] [7] A vehicle notification control program to be executed by a vehicle electronic control device having a storage unit in which a location where a child is to be dropped off from a vehicle is stored in advance, a procedure in which a location specifying unit specifies a current location; a notification control unit that, when detecting that the vehicle is moving away from the child drop-off point based on the information on the current location, issues a warning that the child has been left behind; A vehicle notification control program that executes the above.

[0072] [8] A vehicle notification control method executed by a vehicle electronic control device having a storage unit that stores in advance a location where a child is to be dropped off from the vehicle, the method comprising: The location identification unit identifies the current location, When it is detected based on the current location information that the vehicle is moving away from the point where the child is to be dropped off, an alert control unit issues warning information that the child has been forgotten to be dropped off.

[0073] The techniques described in this disclosure may be implemented by a special purpose computer configured with a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied in a computer program. Alternatively, the techniques described in this disclosure may be implemented by a special purpose computer configured with a processor comprising one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the techniques described in this disclosure may be implemented by one or more special purpose computers configured with a processor comprising one or more hardware logic circuits in combination with a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions. Furthermore, a computer program may be stored as instructions executed by a computer on a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium.

[0074] Although the present disclosure has been described based on the above-described embodiment, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment or the structure described in the embodiment. The present disclosure also encompasses various modifications and modifications within the equivalent range. In addition, various combinations and forms, as well as other combinations and forms including only one element, more than one element, or less than one element, are also within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0075] In the drawing, 11 indicates an HCU (electronic control unit for vehicle), 11a indicates a position identification unit, 11b indicates a notification control unit, 11c indicates a memory unit (transportation memory unit), and 21 indicates a body system ECU (electronic control unit for vehicle).

Claims

1. a storage unit (11c) in which a location where a child is to be dropped off from a vehicle is stored in advance; a location identification unit (11a) for identifying a current location; and an alarm control unit (11b) that, when it detects that the vehicle is moving away from the child drop-off point based on the current location information, issues a warning that the child has been forgotten to be dropped off.

2. 2. The electronic control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the notification control unit issues a warning that the child has been left unattended on condition that it detects that the vehicle is moving away from a last stop based on the current location information.

3. a pick-up / drop-off storage unit (11c) for storing whether or not the child needs to be picked up / dropped off; 2. The electronic control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the notification control unit is configured to issue an announcement to guide the driver to a routine for contacting others when the pick-up / drop-off memory unit stores that the child is being picked up or dropped off and the vehicle's IG signal is detected to have been turned off.

4. 2. The electronic control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the notification control unit issues an announcement to call attention when picking up or dropping off the child when it is detected that the seat belt of the rear seat is fastened.

5. 2. The electronic control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when the driver's door is closed and the driver's seat belt is fastened while the rear seat seat is fastened, the notification control unit issues a pick-up / drop-off confirmation announcement to confirm whether this is a routine for picking up or dropping off the child.

6. 2. The electronic control device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the child leaving prevention mode is started, and after the notification control unit makes an announcement to prevent the child from being left behind, if it is detected that the driver's seat belt is not fastened and that the driver's seat door has changed from an open state to a closed state, the child leaving prevention mode is stopped.

7. A vehicle notification control program to be executed by a vehicle electronic control device having a storage unit in which a location where a child is to be dropped off from a vehicle is stored in advance, a procedure in which a location specifying unit specifies a current location; a notification control unit that, when detecting that the vehicle is moving away from the child drop-off point based on the information on the current location, issues a warning that the child has been left behind; A vehicle notification control program that executes the above.

8. A vehicle notification control method executed by a vehicle electronic control device having a storage unit that stores in advance a location where a child is to be dropped off from the vehicle, the method comprising: The location identification unit identifies the current location, When it is detected based on the current location information that the vehicle is moving away from the point where the child is to be dropped off, an alert control unit issues warning information that the child has been forgotten to be dropped off.

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