Alarm device for a vehicle including priority control for plural alarm conditions

• US 4,401,971 A
• Filed: 03/10/1981
• Issued: 08/30/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/1980
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Asada, Akihiro, Tanaka, Yasunari, Saito, Tadashi, Ohta, Yoshihiro, Higuchi, Shigemitsu, Sampei, Tohru, Ozawa, Hiroshi, Iwasaki, Syunji
• Primary Examiner(s): Swann, III, Glen R.
• Application Number:
  US06/242,187
• Time in Patent Office: 903 Days
• Field of Search: 340/52 F, 340/519, 340/692, 179/1 SM, 179/1 SG
• US Class Current: 340/460
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0373 Voice control in general G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0833 using audio means

Abstract

An alarm device for a vehicle comprises sensors for detecting abnormal states of the vehicle, a logic circuit for receiving the outputs of the sensors and producing one or more alarm speech designation signals and an alarm speech generator responsive to the alarm designation signal. The logic circuit includes a priority circuit for determining the order of precedence of the abnormal states represented by the detection signals on the basis of the degree of emergency, so that the alarm speech is concerned with the most emergent alarm when two or more abnormal states are detected simultaneously. The logic circuit may further include a switch circuit for disabling at least one of the detection signals so that a vehicle driver having taken notice of particular alarms is not disturbed by excessive alarming.

Claims

1. An alarm device for a vehicle, comprising:

a plurality of sensors each for detecting a different abnormal state of the vehicle to produce an abnormal state detection signal;

means for producing alarm speeches corresponding to said abnormal states of the vehicle detected by said sensors; and

a logic circuit interposed between said plurality of sensors and said alarm speech producing means and responsive to a detection by any of said sensors to generate at least one alarm speech designation signal, said logic circuit including a priority circuit for receiving abnormal state detection signals produced by said sensors and determining the order of precedence of said received detection signals to generate said at least one alarm speech designation signal in accordance with said determined order of precedence for application to said alarm speech producing means, in which said priority circuit includes means for determining said order of precedence and means for temporarily disabling said received detection signals sequentially in said order of precedence so that plural alarm designation signals are generated sequentially in said order of precedence and such generation of alarm designation signals are automatically repeated.

2. An alarm device according to claim 1, in which said alarm speech producing means comprises a speech synthesis device including a memory array having a plurality of memory units storing alarm data and being arranged so as to be controlled by said priority circuit for providing their stored data responsive to said alarm speech designation signal, the alarm data in each of said memory units corresponding to a different one of said abnormal states of the vehicle.

4. An alarm device according to claim 1 or 3, in which the device further comprises another logic circuit interposed between said sensors and the first-mentioned logic circuit, said another logic circuit including means for preventing reception of at least one of said detection signals by the first-mentioned logic circuit.

5. An alarm device according to claim 4, in which said another logic circuit further includes means for recovering the reception of said at least one prevented detection signal by the first-mentioned logic circuit.

6. An alarm device according to claim 1 or 3, in which said logic circuit is constituted with a microcomputer.

3. An alarm device for a vehicle, comprising:

a plurality of sensors each for detecting a different abnormal state of the vehicle to produce an abnormal state detection signal;

means for producing alarm speeches corresponding to said abnormal states of the vehicle detected by said sensors; and

a logic circuit interposed between said plurality of sensors and said alarm speech producing means and responsive to a detection by any of said sensors to generate at least one alarm speech designation signal, said logic circuit including a priority circuit for receiving abnormal state detection signals produced by said sensors and determining the order of precedence of said received detection signals to generate said at least one alarm speech designation signal in accordance with said determined order of precedence for application to said alarm speech producing means;

said alarm speech producing means including a memory array having a plurality of memory units storing alarm data and being arranged so as to be controlled by said priority circuit for providing their storing data responsive to said alarm speech designation signal, the alarm data in each of said memory units corresponding to different ones of said abnormal states of the vehicle, and a plurality of memory blocks each consisting of said memory units, said alarm data in the respective memory blocks being in different languages, and the device further comprises switch means connected with said memory array for enabling only one of said memory blocks.