Vehicular alarm system and apparatus

• US 6,844,826 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2001
• Issued: 01/18/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nunokawa, Katsuhiko, Sasaki, Makoto, Okajima, Hiroaki, Yurimoto, Masayuki, Shinada, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phung
• Application Number:
  US10/027,173
• Publication Number:
  US 20020105418A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,125 Days
• Field of Search: 340/988, 340/901, 340/902, 340/903, 340/904, 340/435, 340/436, 340/444, 340/460, 701/23, 701/301, 701/117, 180/274
• US Class Current: 340/988
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication

Abstract

A vehicle driver inputs an alarm signal from an operating unit. A control unit adds a current position of the vehicle detected by a navigation unit to the alarm signal and transmits the alarm signal with the current position from a transmitting and receiving unit to another vehicle. The transmitting and receiving unit receives a signal from another vehicle and supplies the signal to the control unit. The control unit calculates an intervehicular distance from current position data of the other vehicle included in the received signal and current position data of its own vehicle and outputs the alarm signal from speakers only when the intervehicular distance is within a predetermined value.

Claims

1. An intervehicular alarm system for transmitting and receiving alarm information between a transmitting vehicle and a receiving vehicle,

wherein said transmitting vehicle includes:

detecting means for detecting position information of said transmitting vehicle;

an operating unit for operation by a user of the transmitting vehicle for specifying from a plurality of types of alarms a type of alarm information; and

transmitting means for transmitting said position information and said type of alarm information; and

said receiving vehicle includes;

receiving means for receiving said position information and said type of alarm information transmitted from said transmitting vehicle;

means for determining a current position of the receiving vehicle;

output means for outputting one of a plurality of alarm types to a user of the receiving vehicle; and

control means for performing control of outputting said alarm information including means for calculating a distance between the receiving vehicle and the transmitting vehicle based on the current position of the receiving vehicle and said transmitted position information and for determining that said transmitting vehicle is within a predetermined distance less than an effective range of said transmitting means from said receiving vehicle based on said calculated distance,

wherein said receiving means receives said type of said alarm information; and

said control means selects one of said plurality of alarm types of said output means according to said type of said alarm information specified by said operating unit of said transmitting vehicle.

2. The intervehicular alarm system as claimed in claim 1,

wherein when said control means determines that said transmitting vehicle is present within said predetermined distance said control means changes a direction of output of said alarm information from said output means according to a direction of said transmitting vehicle with respect to said receiving vehicle.

3. An intervehicular alarm system as claimed in claim 1,

wherein when said control means determines that said transmitting vehicle is present within said predetermined distance said control means changes output level of said alarm information from said output means according to a distance between said receiving vehicle and said transmitting vehicle.

4. The intervehicular alarm system as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said plurality of types of alarm information specifying said type of alarm includes a horn signal and a voice sound.

5. The intervehicular alarm system as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said receiving vehicle further includes changing means for changing said predetermined distance according to said information specifying said alarm information.

6. The intervehicular alarm system as claimed in claim 5,

wherein said changing means changes said predetermined distance according to a type of a road where said receiving vehicle is located.

7. The intervehicular alarm system as claimed in claim 1,

wherein said transmitting means further transmits a vehicle speed of said transmitting vehicle;

said receiving means receives said vehicle speed from said transmitting means; and

said control means changes an output level of said alarm information according to said vehicle speed.

8. An alarm apparatus for use in an intervehicular alarm system, said apparatus comprising:

inputting means for operation by a user of a first vehicle and for selecting an alarm type from a plurality of different alarm types and producing alarm type information;

position detecting means for detecting a current position of said first vehicle of said apparatus;

transmitting means for adding said current position to said alarm type information and transmitting resulting current position and alarm type information;

receiving means arranged in a second vehicle for receiving a signal including said current position information and said alarm type information from said first vehicle;

position detecting means for detecting a current position of said second vehicle;

calculating means for calculating a distance between said first vehicle of said apparatus and said second vehicle based on said current position of said second vehicle and said position information corresponding to said current position of said first vehicle;

means for sounding an alarm arranged in said second vehicle, in which a type of the alarm is selected from different types of alarms based on the alarm type information, and

output control means for outputting said alarm type information to said means for sounding an alarm where said output control means determines that said calculated distance is within a predetermined distance less than an effective range of said transmitting means,

wherein said output control means changes the type of alarm from said alarm sounding means based on said alarm type information from said first vehicle.

9. The alarm apparatus as claimed in claim 8,

wherein said calculating means calculates a direction of said second vehicle with respect to said first vehicle of said apparatus;

and

said output control means changes a direction of output of said alarm information according to said calculated direction.

10. The alarm apparatus as claimed in claim 8,

wherein said output control means changes an output level of said alarm information according to said distance.

11. The alarm apparatus as claimed in claim 8,

wherein said different types of alarms include a horn signal and a voice sound.

12. The alarm apparatus as claimed in claim 8,

wherein said output control means changes said predetermined distance for determining according to said type of said alarm information.

13. The alarm apparatus as claimd in claim 8,

wherein said output control means changes said predetermined distance for determining according to a type of a road where said first vehicle of said apparatus is located.

14. The alarm apparatus as claimed in claim 8,

wherein said transmitting means adds a vehicle speed of said first vehicle of said apparatus to said alarm information and transmits resulting alarm information;

said receiving means receives a signal including said vehicle speed from said second vehicle; and

said output control means changes said predetermined distance for determining according to said vehicle speed.