Alarming system for vehicle and alarm generating method for vehicle

• US 7,042,344 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2004
• Issued: 05/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Suzuki Motor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Suzuki Motor Corporation
• Inventors: Chiba, Hisashi, Gotoh, Masashi, Itoh, Kazutomo, Okada, Tohru
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tai T.
• Application Number:
  US10/834,160
• Publication Number:
  US 20040239490A1
• Time in Patent Office: 740 Days
• Field of Search: 340/435, 340/540, 340/541, 340/436, 340/691.1, 340/686.6, 340/903, 340/904, 701/96, 701/301
• US Class Current: 340/435
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/008 for anti-collision purposes
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/029 Steering assistants using warnings or proposing actions to the driver without influencing the steering system
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/66 Radar-tracking systems; Analogous systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 in the front of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93274 on the side of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/165 for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

An obstacle detecting means for detecting data related to the position of an obstacle existing on the side of a vehicle or in front thereof, a computer for computing the detected data, and an alarming means are mounted in the vehicle. The computer includes: a function of setting an alarming area having a certain distance from the side part of the vehicle and a forwardly extended line of the side part, in an outward direction lateral to the side part; a function of tracking the obstacle based on the obstacle data; a function of calculating a traveling locus of the obstacle relative to the vehicle and predicting the traveling locus thereafter; a function of determining whether the traveling locus enters into the alarming area; and a function of generating an alarm to the occupants by the alarming means when the traveling locus is determined to enter into the alarming area.

Claims

1. An alarming system for vehicle comprising:

obstacle detecting means for detecting obstacle data which is data related to a position of an obstacle existing on a side of a vehicle and in front thereof;

a computer for computing the obstacle data output from the obstacle detecting means; and

alarming means for alarming occupants of the vehicle based on an instruction from the computer;

which are mounted in the vehicle, wherein

the computer includes;

an alarming area setting function which sets, as an alarming area, a range having a certain distance from a side part of the vehicle and an extended line of the side part in a forward direction of the vehicle, in an outward direction lateral to the side part of the vehicle;

an obstacle tracking function which tracks the obstacle based on the obstacle data detected by the obstacle detecting means;

a traveling locus calculating function which calculates a traveling locus, relative to the vehicle, of the obstacle tracked by the obstacle tracking function, and predicts the traveling locus of the obstacle;

a traveling locus determining function which determines whether the traveling locus of the obstacle predicted by the traveling locus calculating function enters into the alarming area; and

an alarm generating function which gives an alarm to the occupants by the alarming means when the traveling locus determining function determines that the traveling locus of the obstacle enters into the alarming area.

2. The alarming system for vehicle, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the obstacle detecting means is mounted on a predetermined part at a rear of the side part of the vehicle, and detects data related to a position of an obstacle existing on the side of the vehicle and in front thereof.

3. The alarming system for vehicle, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer further includes a preliminary area setting function which sets a preliminary alarming area having a range larger than that of the alarming area, and

the computer detects, by the obstacle tracking function thereof, an obstacle existing within the preliminary alarming area and tracks the obstacle.

4. The alarming system for vehicle, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising, traveling state detecting means for detecting data related to a traveling state of the vehicle, which means is mounted in the vehicle, wherein

the computer sets, by the alarming area setting function thereof, the alarming area based on traveling state data of the vehicle which unit is output from the traveling state detecting means.

5. The alarming system for vehicle, as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a manipulation unit for changing the alarming area, which is mounted in the vehicle and is manipulated by an occupant of the vehicle so as to change the alarming area, wherein

the computer sets, by the alarming area setting function thereof, the alarming area according to a manipulated state of the manipulation unit for changing the alarming area.

6. The alarming system for vehicle, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer further includes a function of recording obstacle detecting state data, which function records data related to a detected state of the obstacle during traveling of the vehicle, and

the computer sets, by the alarming area setting function thereof, the alarming area based on the obstacle detecting state data which is stored by the function of recording the obstacle detecting state data.

7. The alarming system for vehicle, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer determines, by the traveling locus determining function thereof, whether the traveling locus of the obstacle contacts the vehicle, and

if the traveling locus of the obstacle is determined by the traveling locus determining function not to contact the vehicle, the computer stops, by the alarm generating function, the alarm which has been generated by the alarming means.

8. The alarming system for vehicle, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer further includes a detecting range limiting function which, if a length of the obstacle in a back and forth direction of the vehicle detected at almost a same time has a predetermined length or more, limits a detecting range of the obstacle by the obstacle detecting means to a predetermined range provided on the side of the vehicle and in front thereof, and

the computer tracks, by the obstacle tracking function, a middle point of the length of the obstacle when the detecting range of the obstacle is limited by the detecting range limiting function.

9. The alarming system for vehicle, as claimed in claim 8, wherein if the detecting range of the obstacle is limited by the detecting range limiting function, the computer sets, by the alarming area setting function thereof, the alarming area to have a distance shorter than a distance from the side part of the vehicle to the obstacle.

10. The alarming system for vehicle, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer calculates, by the obstacle tracking function thereof, a traveling speed of each obstacle from the obstacle data of each obstacle detected before and after in time within a certain range, and through comparing respective traveling speeds, tracks those having the traveling speeds which fall within a predetermined acceptable range as a same obstacle.

11. An alarm generating method for vehicle, comprising the steps of:

tracking an obstacle, in which an obstacle existing on a side of a vehicle or in front thereof is tracked based on obstacle data detected by an obstacle detecting means mounted in a vehicle;

calculating a traveling locus, in which a traveling locus, relative to the vehicle, of the obstacle tracked in the step of tracking the obstacle is calculated, and also the traveling locus thereafter is predicted;

setting an alarming area, following the step of calculating the traveling locus at a latest, in which a range having a certain distance from a side part of the vehicle and an extended line of the side part in a forward direction of the vehicle, in an outward direction lateral to the side part of the vehicle, is set as an alarming area;

determining the traveling locus, in which the traveling locus of the obstacle is determined whether it enters into the alarming area; and

generating an alarm, in which an alarm is given to occupants of the vehicle by an alarming means when the traveling locus is determined to enter into the alarming area.

12. An alarming system for vehicle comprising:

obstacle detecting means for detecting obstacle data which is data related to a position of an obstacle existing on a side of a vehicle or in front thereof;

a computer for computing the obstacle data detected; and

alarming means for alarming occupants of the vehicle;

which are mounted in the vehicle, wherein

the computer includes;

an obstacle tracking function which tracks the obstacle based on the obstacle data detected by the obstacle detecting means;

a traveling locus calculating function which calculates a traveling locus, relative to the vehicle, of the obstacle tracked by the obstacle tracking function, and predicts the traveling locus thereafter;

a traveling locus determining function which determines whether the traveling locus of the obstacle predicted by the traveling locus calculating function contacts the vehicle; and

an alarm generating function which gives an alarm to the occupants of the vehicle by the alarming means when the traveling locus is determined by the traveling locus determining function to contact the vehicle.

13. An alarm generating method for vehicle comprising the steps of:

tracking an obstacle, in which an obstacle is tracked based on obstacle data detected by an obstacle detecting means;

calculating a traveling locus, in which a traveling locus, relative to the vehicle, of the obstacle tracked in the step of tracking the obstacle is calculated, and the traveling locus thereafter is predicted;

determining the traveling locus, in which the traveling locus of the obstacle predicted in the step of calculating the traveling locus is determined whether it contacts the vehicle; and

generating an alarm, in which an alarm is given to occupants of the vehicle by the alarming means when the traveling locus is determined in the step of determining the traveling locus to contact the vehicle.