Vehicle Horn Control for Abnormal Driver State Notification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle horn systems fail to continuously notify surrounding people of a driver's abnormal state due to heat generation, leading to delayed rescue situations, especially when the vehicle is stopped on quiet roads.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle warning control apparatus that intermittently sounds the horn, adjusting the ratio of sounding time to unit time based on elapsed time since horn activation, to prevent heat-related failures and ensure prolonged notification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the horn is sounded continuously to notify surrounding people of the driver's abnormal state, then the notification effectiveness is improved, but the horn may melt due to heat generation and become incapable of sounding
Solution Approach 1:
The horn is controlled to sound intermittently rather than continuously. The control unit activates the horn for specific time intervals and then deactivates it, creating a periodic on-off pattern. This allows the horn to notify surrounding people while providing cooling periods that prevent excessive heat accumulation and potential melting of internal parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The horn sounding control is made dynamic by adjusting the sounding duration and intervals based on elapsed time. The control unit increases the sounding interval or decreases the sounding duration as time progresses, adapting the notification pattern to balance effectiveness with heat management requirements.
2Reliability
If the horn sounding interval is increased to prevent heat generation, then the horn reliability is improved, but the notification timing to surrounding people is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary notification actions by sounding the horn early in the abnormal state sequence. When the abnormal state is first detected, the horn is activated immediately with appropriate intervals, ensuring that notification occurs as early as possible before heat accumulation becomes problematic.
Solution Approach 2:
The horn notification is maintained continuously over an extended period through the intermittent sounding pattern. By cycling between on and off states, the system ensures that notification persists throughout the abnormal state duration, preventing both early cessation and excessive heat buildup.
3Loss of time
If the horn is sounded for a long period to ensure notification when the vehicle stops on a quiet road, then the rescue timing is improved, but the horn may fail due to heat generation
Solution Approach 1:
The intermittent sounding pattern enables the horn to operate for extended periods without continuous activation. The periodic on-off cycles allow the horn to provide prolonged notification during vehicle stops while the off periods enable cooling, preventing heat-related failures even during extended abnormal states.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit monitors the abnormal state duration and adjusts the horn sounding pattern accordingly. As the abnormal state persists, the control unit modifies the sounding intervals and durations to maintain notification effectiveness while preventing heat accumulation that would lead to horn failure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus effectively prolongs the notification period, reducing the risk of horn failure and enhancing driver rescue efficiency by managing heat generation and maintaining horn functionality.
Implementation Method 1
a horn sounding control means (10, 90, 92) for intermittently sounding a horn which is an alarm of the vehicle
Implementation Method 2
when a general horn used for vehicles are sounded for a long period of time, there is a possibility that the horn melts due to heat generation of internal parts
Data Source
AI summary
When a driving support electronic control unit (DSECU) determines that a driver of a vehicle is in an abnormal state where the driver loses an ability to drive the vehicle, the DSECU starts driving control under the abnormal state to decelerate the vehicle until the vehicle stops and to sound a horn. In this case, the DSECU measures an elapsed time since the horn starts sounding with a horn timer th, and sets a sounding pattern corresponding to the elapsed time measured. This sounding pattern is set in such a manner that a ratio of a sounding time of the horn per unit time decreases as the elapsed time since the horn starts sounding become longer. Thereby, it becomes possible to properly notify that the driver is in the abnormal state using the horn.