Emergency notification device

Abstract

To provide an emergency notification device which can make emergency notification outside a vehicle even when an on-vehicle communication is interrupted due to drop of the power voltage at a collision.SOLUTION: An emergency notification device comprises: a collision detection part which outputs a collision detection signal when detecting collision of a vehicle on the basis of a detection signal from a collision detection sensor located on a vehicle front side of a front chamber of the vehicle; and an emergency notification part which makes emergency notification outside the vehicle when emergency notification is necessary on the basis of the collision detection signal from the collision detection part. The emergency notification part comprises: a power source abnormality detection part 42 which detects abnormality of a power source located on a vehicle rear side in the front chamber of the vehicle with respect to the collision detection sensor; a determination part 44 which determines necessity of emergency notification on the basis of whether or not abnormality of the power source is detected by the abnormality detection part 42 within a prescribed time after the collision detection signal is input; and a notification part 46 which makes emergency notification outside the vehicle when the determination part 44 determines that the emergency notification is needed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an emergency notification device. [Background technology]

[0002] A vehicle emergency notification device has been proposed that, when a vehicle collides, detects the collision with an airbag control unit (SAS) and outputs a collision detection signal to a data communication module (DCM), which then transmits an emergency notification signal to an emergency response center outside the vehicle and notifies the vehicle's location (see Patent Document 1). This vehicle emergency notification device not only connects the SAS and DCM with an in-vehicle bus (CAN), but also provides a dedicated wire harness for directly receiving the collision detection signal, making it possible to transmit an emergency notification even if the CAN is disconnected during a vehicle collision.

[0003] On the other hand, in a configuration in which the airbag ECU outputs an airbag activation signal when the detection signals of a front acceleration sensor installed near the vehicle's front bumper (front end) and a floor acceleration sensor arranged on the floor of the vehicle's passenger compartment exceed a threshold value, there is a configuration in which this airbag activation signal is output from the airbag ECU to the DCM as a collision detection signal, and the DCM sends an emergency call to an emergency response center outside the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2015 / 194109 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In a vehicle configured to issue an emergency call using an airbag activation signal as described above, an on-board (ignition) battery is disposed between the front acceleration sensor and the floor acceleration sensor in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Therefore, when an underride collision occurs in which the vehicle slides under a large vehicle, the collision load is not transmitted to the passenger compartment floor via the front side members of the vehicle, and the timing at which the detection signal from the floor acceleration sensor exceeds the threshold (detects the collision) is delayed from the timing at which the detection signal from the front acceleration sensor exceeds the threshold.

[0006] During this time, if the vehicle's onboard (ignition) battery were to be damaged (for example, broken), communication between the airbag ECU and the DCM would be cut off before the airbag ECU output a collision detection signal to the DCM, and there was a risk that the DCM would not be able to send an emergency call to the outside.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE In consideration of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an emergency call device that can make an emergency call outside the vehicle even if on-board communication is interrupted due to a power supply abnormality during an underride collision of the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] An emergency call device in one embodiment includes a collision detection unit that outputs a collision detection signal when a vehicle collision is detected based on a detection signal from a collision detection sensor arranged on the front side of the vehicle in the front compartment of the vehicle, and an emergency call unit that makes an emergency call to the outside of the vehicle when an emergency call is necessary based on the collision detection signal from the collision detection unit and has a backup power source that can be used in the event of a power supply abnormality.The emergency call unit includes a power supply abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality in a power supply arranged in the front compartment of the vehicle rearward of the collision detection sensor, a determination unit that determines the necessity of the emergency call based on whether or not the power supply abnormality is detected by the power supply abnormality detection unit within a predetermined time after the collision detection signal is input, and a call unit that makes an emergency call to the outside of the vehicle when the determination unit determines that an emergency call is necessary.

[0009] This emergency notification device has a collision detection unit and an emergency notification unit. When the collision detection unit detects a vehicle collision and outputs a collision detection signal to the emergency notification unit, the emergency notification unit determines whether an emergency notification is necessary based on the collision detection signal, and if necessary, makes an emergency notification to outside the vehicle.

[0010] In detail, a detection signal from a collision detection sensor disposed on the front side of the vehicle front compartment is input to a collision detection unit of the emergency notification device. When the collision detection unit detects a vehicle collision based on the detection signal from the collision detection sensor, the collision detection unit outputs a collision detection signal to the emergency notification unit.

[0011] In the emergency notification unit, the power supply abnormality detection unit detects a power supply abnormality based on the voltage of a power supply arranged rearward of the vehicle relative to the collision detection sensor.

[0012] The determination unit determines that an emergency call is necessary when the power supply abnormality detection unit detects a power supply abnormality within a predetermined time after the collision detection signal is input from the collision detection unit. When the determination unit recognizes the need for an emergency call, the call unit makes an emergency call to the outside of the vehicle using the standby power supply.

[0013] When the vehicle has an underride collision, the deformation of the front of the vehicle causes the collision detection unit to detect the vehicle collision based on the detection signal of the collision detection sensor disposed on the front side of the vehicle in the front room of the vehicle. Then, the deformation of the front of the vehicle affects the power supply disposed on the rear side of the collision detection sensor, and communication between the collision detection unit and the emergency notification unit is interrupted due to a disconnection of the power supply or the like.

[0014] However, in the emergency notification device, before a power supply disconnection or the like occurs, the collision detection unit detects a vehicle collision based on a detection signal from a collision detection sensor disposed forward of the power supply, and the collision detection signal is transmitted from the collision detection unit to the emergency notification unit. Therefore, when the vehicle experiences an underride collision, it is possible to reliably prevent the collision detection signal from not being transmitted from the collision detection unit to the emergency notification unit due to a power supply disconnection or the like. In other words, even if the vehicle experiences an underride collision, it is possible to reliably transmit an emergency notification from the emergency notification unit to the outside of the vehicle.

[0015] In addition, the judgment unit can accurately detect a vehicle collision by adding the detection of a power supply abnormality within a specified time from the input of the collision detection signal to the conditions for determining the need for an emergency call, thereby avoiding erroneous detection by the collision detection sensor.

[0016] The collision detection sensor may be one that detects an actual collision and outputs a detection signal, or one that predicts a collision and outputs a detection signal. In the case of a collision prediction sensor, the collision detection unit detects a prediction of a collision based on the detection signal of the collision prediction sensor and outputs a collision prediction signal to the emergency notification unit, and if the emergency notification unit detects a power supply abnormality within a predetermined time after the input of the collision prediction signal, it makes an emergency notification to the outside of the vehicle. Effect of the Invention

[0017] To reliably make an emergency call outside a vehicle even if in-vehicle communication is interrupted due to a power supply abnormality during an underride collision of a vehicle. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an emergency notification device according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram showing a vehicle equipped with an emergency call device according to an embodiment; [Diagram 3] 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an airbag ECU according to the embodiment; FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an emergency call ECU according to the embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 5] 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an emergency call ECU according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing flow in the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an emergency notification device according to another example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] [Embodiment]

[0020] An emergency notification device 10 according to an embodiment and a vehicle 30 to which the emergency notification device 10 is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0021] 1, the emergency call device 10 includes an airbag ECU 12 that controls the inflation and deployment of an airbag (not shown), and an emergency call ECU 14 that makes an emergency call to an external emergency response center in the event of a vehicle collision, etc. The airbag ECU 12 and the emergency call ECU 14 are connected to each other via an in-vehicle bus (CAN) 16 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0022] The airbag ECU 12 corresponds to a "collision detection unit," and the emergency call ECU 14 corresponds to an "emergency call unit."

[0023] The airbag ECU 12 is connected to a front acceleration sensor 20 and a floor acceleration sensor 22, and receives detection signals from the front acceleration sensor 20 and the floor acceleration sensor 22. The airbag ECU 12 outputs an airbag activation signal to an airbag (not shown) provided in the vehicle 30 when the detection signals (detection values) of the front acceleration sensor 20 and the floor acceleration sensor 22 exceed their respective threshold values.

[0024] The front acceleration sensor 20 corresponds to a "collision detection sensor."

[0025] In addition, the emergency call ECU 14 is connected to a battery 24 .

[0026] 2, in a vehicle 30, a front acceleration sensor 20 is disposed on the vehicle front side of a front compartment 34 located on the vehicle front side of a passenger compartment 32. Also, in the front compartment 34, a battery 24 is disposed on the vehicle rear side of the front acceleration sensor 20.

[0027] Furthermore, a floor acceleration sensor 22 is disposed on the floor side of the vehicle interior 32 .

[0028] In the vehicle 30, the part indicated by the two-dot chain line and given the reference number 36 is a front side member 36.

[0029] Next, the hardware configuration of the airbag ECU 12 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0030] The airbag ECU 12 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit: processor) 12A, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12B, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12C, a storage 12D, a communication interface (communication I / F) 12E, and an input / output interface (input / output I / F) 12F. Each component is connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a bus 12G.

[0031] The CPU 12A is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each part. That is, the CPU 12A reads out the programs from the ROM 12B or the storage 12D, and executes the programs using the RAM 12C as a working area. The CPU 12A controls each of the above components and performs various arithmetic processing according to the programs recorded in the ROM 12B or the storage 12D.

[0032] The ROM 12B stores various programs and various data. The RAM 12C temporarily stores programs or data as a working area. The storage 12D is configured with an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) and stores various programs including an operating system and various data.

[0033] The communication interface 12E is an interface for communicating with other devices, and uses standards such as Ethernet (registered trademark), LTE, FDDI, and Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0034] The input / output interface 12F is connected to a front acceleration sensor 20 and a floor acceleration sensor 22. Other sensors and actuators are also connected to the input / output interface 12F, but are not shown in the present embodiment.

[0035] Next, the hardware configuration of the emergency call ECU 14 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Components similar to those in the hardware configuration of the airbag ECU 12 will be given the same reference numerals after the reference numeral 14, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0036] That is, the emergency call ECU 14 includes a CPU 14A, a ROM 14B, a RAM 14C, a storage 14D, a communication interface (communication I / F) 14E, and an input / output interface (input / output I / F) 14F. Each component is connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a bus 14G.

[0037] The input / output interface 14F is connected to a battery 24. The battery 24 corresponds to a "power source."

[0038] The emergency call ECU 14 has a backup power supply, so that if the power supply from the battery 24 is interrupted, the emergency call ECU 14 can transmit an emergency call (described later) using the backup power supply.

[0039] Next, the functional configuration of the emergency call ECU 14 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 5, the emergency call ECU 14 includes a signal detection unit 40, a power supply abnormality detection unit 42, a determination unit 44, and an emergency call transmission unit 46.

[0041] The emergency report transmitting unit 46 corresponds to the "reporting unit."

[0042] The signal detection unit 40 has a function of detecting the reception of a collision detection signal from the airbag ECU 12 .

[0043] The power supply abnormality detection unit 42 constantly detects the voltage (power supply voltage) of the battery 24, and has a function of detecting an abnormality in the power supply based on whether or not the power supply voltage falls below a threshold value.

[0044] The judgment unit 44 has the function of judging whether or not an emergency call is necessary based on whether or not a power supply abnormality is detected by the power supply abnormality detection unit 42 within a predetermined time (several tens of ms (e.g., 20 ms)) after a collision detection signal is input from the airbag ECU 12 to the emergency call ECU 14.

[0045] The emergency call transmission unit 46 has a function of transmitting an emergency call to an external emergency response center when the determination unit 44 determines that an emergency call is necessary.

[0046] (action)

[0047] The operation of the emergency notification device 10 thus configured will now be described.

[0048] First, as shown in FIG. 2, a case will be described in which a vehicle 30 equipped with an emergency notification device 10 collides into the underside of a large truck 50, which is a large vehicle located in front of the vehicle 30, causing an underride collision.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 2, the large truck 50 has a rear bumper 54 disposed below a loading platform 52 at the rear end of the vehicle.

[0050] When an underride collision occurs and the front side of the vehicle 30 enters under the bed 52 of the large truck 50, the rear bumper 54 of the large truck 50 collides with the front end of the vehicle 30, causing deformation starting from the front end of the vehicle 30. The deformation of the front of the vehicle 30 reaches the front acceleration sensor 20, which immediately detects the change in acceleration.

[0051] The detection signal of the front acceleration sensor 20 is immediately output to the airbag ECU 12, which determines whether or not a vehicle collision has occurred based on whether or not the detection signal (detection value) is equal to or greater than a threshold value. If the detection value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the airbag ECU 12 determines that a collision of the vehicle 30 has occurred, and outputs a collision detection signal to the emergency call ECU 14.

[0052] In addition, if the deformation of the front part of the vehicle in an underride collision affects the battery 24, the battery 24 may be damaged (disconnected, etc.) several tens of milliseconds after the front acceleration sensor 20 detects the collision.

[0053] The process performed by the emergency call ECU 14 during such an underride collision will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0054] As described above, when the vehicle 30 experiences an underride collision, the airbag ECU 12 detects the collision based on the detection signal of the front acceleration sensor 20, and the collision detection signal output from the airbag ECU 12 is transmitted to the emergency call ECU 14 via the in-vehicle bus (CAN) 16.

[0055] In step S100 of FIG. 6, the CPU 14A of the emergency call ECU 14 determines, by the function of the signal detection unit 40, whether or not a collision detection signal has been received.

[0056] If a negative determination is made in step S100, the process waits until a collision detection signal is received.

[0057] If the determination in step S100 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S102.

[0058] In step S102, the CPU 14A of the emergency call ECU 14 initializes a timer (T=0) by the function of the determination unit 44, and measures the time from when the collision detection signal is received.

[0059] In step S104, the CPU 14A of the emergency call ECU 14 determines, by the function of the determination unit 44, whether or not the time since the collision detection signal was received is less than a predetermined time, here 20 ms (T<20 ms).

[0060] If the determination in step S104 is negative, the control ends.

[0061] If the determination in step S104 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S106.

[0062] In step S106, the emergency call ECU 14 determines whether the CPU 14A has detected a power supply abnormality by the function of the power supply abnormality detection unit 42.

[0063] That is, a power supply abnormality (damage or disconnection of the battery 24, etc.) is detected based on whether or not the power supply voltage of the battery 24 is equal to or lower than a threshold value.

[0064] If a negative determination is made in step S106, the process returns to step S104.

[0065] On the other hand, if the determination in step S106 is affirmative, that is, if a power supply abnormality is detected within 20 ms after the collision detection signal is input, the process proceeds to step S108.

[0066] In step S108, the CPU 14A of the emergency call ECU 14 uses the function of the emergency call transmission unit 46 to transmit an emergency call including the position information of the vehicle 30 to the emergency response center using the power of the standby power supply.

[0067] (effect)

[0068] In this manner, in the emergency call device 10 according to this embodiment, the airbag ECU 12 detects a collision of the vehicle 30 based only on the detection signal of the front acceleration sensor 20, which is disposed in the front compartment 34 of the vehicle 30, further forward than the battery 24, and transmits the collision detection signal to the emergency call ECU 14.

[0069] Here, if the collision detection signal is used as the airbag activation signal for the airbag ECU 12, in the event of an underride collision, before the airbag ECU 12 judges whether the vehicle has collided based on the detection signal from the floor acceleration sensor 22 provided on the floor of the passenger compartment 32, there is a risk that the airbag ECU 12 will not be able to transmit the collision detection signal to the emergency call ECU 14 due to a power supply abnormality (damage or disconnection of the battery 24) causing a disruption of in-vehicle communication.

[0070] However, in the emergency call device 10, the airbag ECU 12 determines whether the vehicle has crashed based only on the detection signal from the front acceleration sensor 20, so that the airbag ECU 12 can transmit a collision detection signal to the emergency call ECU 14 via the in-vehicle bus (CAN) 16 before the power supply abnormality occurs. In other words, even in the event of an underride collision, an emergency call can be reliably transmitted from the vehicle 30 to an external emergency response center.

[0071] In addition, if the emergency call ECU 14 detects a power supply abnormality based on the voltage of the battery 24 becoming below a threshold within a predetermined time, for example, 20 ms, after the collision detection signal is input (received), it determines that a collision has occurred with the vehicle 30 and sends an emergency call to an external emergency response center.

[0072] This prevents erroneous emergency calls when there is no vehicle collision by adding a power supply abnormality, i.e., vehicle deformation extending to the position of the battery 24, to the criteria for making an emergency call when a collision detection signal is transmitted due to a malfunction of the front acceleration sensor 20, noise, flying stones, or the like.

[0073] Furthermore, by setting a limit of a predetermined time (for example, 20 ms) after the emergency call ECU 14 receives a collision detection signal, it is possible to limit the power supply abnormality to an abnormality in the battery 24 caused by deformation of the vehicle body due to a vehicle collision.

[0074] In this way, by setting the detection of a power supply abnormality within a predetermined time (several ms, for example, 20 ms) after a collision detection signal is input to the emergency call ECU 14 as the condition for determining whether or not an emergency call is necessary, a collision of the vehicle 30 can be accurately detected, and the necessity of an emergency call can also be accurately determined.

[0075] In other words, the airbag ECU 12 performs collision judgment based only on the detection signal from the front acceleration sensor 20 and outputs a collision detection signal to the emergency call ECU 14, thereby avoiding the effects of in-vehicle communication interruption due to a power supply abnormality, and by adding the detection of a power supply abnormality within a predetermined time from the input of the collision detection signal to the judgment conditions in the judgment unit 44, the collision detection accuracy, which has been reduced based only on the detection signal from the front acceleration sensor 20, can be improved, and an emergency call can be made with high accuracy.

[0076] (others)

[0077] If the emergency call device 10 is configured as in this embodiment, the airbag ECU 12 and the emergency call ECU 14 can be connected via the gateway ECU 60 using the CAN 26 wired inside the vehicle 30, as shown in Fig. 7. This eliminates the need to connect the airbag ECU 12 and the emergency call ECU 14 with a dedicated line, making the connection easier.

[0078] In this embodiment, the front acceleration sensor 20 corresponding to the collision detection sensor is a sensor that outputs a detection signal based on an actual collision, but a collision prediction sensor that predicts a collision using a millimeter wave radar or the like and outputs a detection signal may be used as the collision detection sensor. This collision detection sensor may be attached to the front side member via a bracket or the like, or may be attached to the front bumper, radiator support upper, or the like.

[0079] Although the emergency call device and the like according to the embodiment have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0080] Moreover, the display process that the CPU reads the software (program) and executes in the above embodiment may be executed by various processors other than the CPU. In this case, examples of the processor include a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) whose circuit configuration can be changed after manufacture, and a dedicated electric circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) which is a processor having a circuit configuration designed exclusively for executing a specific process. Moreover, the process may be executed by one of these various processors, or may be executed by a combination of two or more processors of the same or different types (for example, a plurality of FPGAs, and a combination of a CPU and an FPGA). Moreover, the hardware structure of these various processors is, more specifically, an electric circuit that combines circuit elements such as semiconductor elements.

[0081] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, various data are stored in the storage, but this is not limiting. For example, a recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disk), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory may be used as the storage unit. In this case, various programs and data are stored in these recording media. [Explanation of symbols]

[0082] 10 Emergency call device 12 Airbag ECU (collision detection unit) 14 Emergency call ECU (emergency call department) 20 Front acceleration sensor (collision detection sensor) 24 Battery (power source) 30 Vehicles 42 Power supply abnormality detection unit 44 Judgment section 46 Emergency Call Notification Department (Report Department)

Claims

[Claim 1] a collision detection unit that outputs a collision detection signal when a vehicle collision is detected based on a detection signal from a collision detection sensor disposed on the front side of the vehicle in a front compartment of the vehicle; an emergency call unit that makes an emergency call to an outside of the vehicle when it is determined that an emergency call is necessary based on a collision detection signal from the collision detection unit, and that has a standby power source that can be used in the event of a power supply abnormality; Equipped with The emergency call unit includes: a power supply abnormality detection unit that detects an abnormality in a power supply and is disposed in a front room of the vehicle rearward of the collision detection sensor; a determination unit that determines that the emergency call is necessary when the power supply abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality in the power supply within a predetermined time after the collision detection signal is input; a notification unit that issues an emergency call to an outside of the vehicle when the determination unit determines that an emergency call is necessary; An emergency reporting device having:

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