Warning system

• US 7,679,499 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2007
• Issued: 03/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Yamada, Yasufumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu; Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lu; Shirley
• Application Number:
  US11/826,840
• Publication Number:
  US 20080048850A1
• Time in Patent Office: 971 Days
• Field of Search: 340/439, 340/173, 340/352, 340/438, 345/173
• US Class Current: 340/439
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/16 Anti-collision systems road vehicle drive control systems for predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision otherwise than by control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/08

Abstract

A warning system warns a driver of a vehicle that a vehicle location in a record of previously detected drive operation that indicates a violation of a safety standard and a current position of the vehicle are determined to be within a predetermined distance from each other based on repeated detections of a current vehicle position by a detector and a detection of the drive operation that indicates the violation of the safety standard transmitted through an interface from a drive recorder. In this manner, the warning system for warning the driver lightens a process load of a unit that performs a position detection process and a unit that performs a record keeping process.

Claims

1. A warning system for use in a vehicle comprising:

a detector that detects, as unsafe driving, a driving operation exceeding a safety standard and outputs a detection signal that indicates the detection of the unsafe driving;

an interface unit that is connected to the detector; and

an acquisition unit, in connection to the interface unit, that repeatedly identifies a current position of the vehicle, acquires the detection signal output from the detector through the interface unit, and records as unsafe location information, position information of the vehicle at a time of the unsafe driving based on an acquisition of the detection signal, wherein

the detector acquires the current position identified by the acquisition unit through the interface unit,

the detector outputs the detection signal including the current position as position information of the vehicle at the time when the unsafe driving is detected,

the acquisition unit acquires and records the position information output by the detector through the interface unit as the unsafe location information,

the acquisition unit provides a warning for a user based on a predetermined degree of closeness of any identified current position of the vehicle to any position information previously recorded as unsafe location information, and

the acquisition unit prioritizes the identification of the current position of the vehicle higher than other processes including the recording of the unsafe location information.

2. The warning system of claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit records information of the identified current position on a memory medium,

the detector outputs a request signal to the interface unit for acquiring the information of the current position, and

the interface unit retrieves the information of the current position from the memory medium and outputs the retrieved information to the detector based on a reception of the request signal from the detector.

3. The warning system of claim 1, wherein the detector repeatedly acquires the information of the current position identified by the acquisition unit through the interface unit,

the detector repeatedly determines whether the unsafe driving is performed in synchronization with an acquisition of the information of the current position, and

the detector outputs the information of the current position that is acquired in synchronization with the determination of a performance of the unsafe driving operation when the performance of the unsafe driving is positively determined.

4. The warning system of claim 1, wherein

the detector records on the memory medium an image from a camera that captures surroundings of the vehicle at a time of a detection of an unsafe driving.

5. The warning system of claim 4, wherein

the detector outputs the image from the camera that captures surroundings of the vehicle at a time of a detection of the unsafe driving together with the unsafe location information,

the acquisition unit receives and records the image from the detector through the interface unit, and

the acquisition unit displays the image on an image display unit for warning the user based on a predetermined degree of closeness of the current position to a former record of the unsafe location information.

6. The warning system of claim 1, wherein

the acquisition unit warns the user based on a predetermined degree of closeness of the current position to the position indicated by the former record of the unsafe location information and based on the acquisition of at least a predetermined number of records of the position information indicative of the same position as the unsafe location information.

7. The warning system of claim 1, wherein

the acquisition unit performs plural kinds of processes by a time-sharing method, and

the record of the unsafe location information is performed after completion of other processes.

8. The warning system of claim 1, wherein

the acquisition unit is a navigation system that displays a route to a destination with a map on an image display unit.

9. The warning system of claim 1, wherein

the detector receives through the interface the identified current position of the vehicle;

the detector stores the identified current position of the vehicle;

the detector determines the unsafe location information based on the identified current position of the vehicle stored in the detector and the detection of unsafe driving; and

the detector outputs the unsafe location information to the acquisition unit.

10. The warning system of claim 9, wherein

the acquisition unit compares the unsafe location information with records of previously stored unsafe location information;

the acquisition unit determines whether the unsafe location information matches any records of previously stored unsafe location information based on the comparison;

when the acquisition unit determines that unsafe location information does match any records of previously stored unsafe location information, the acquisition unit increments a number value associated with a record of the previously stored unsafe location information that is associated with the identified current position; and

when the acquisition unit determines that unsafe location information does not match any records of previously stored unsafe location information, the acquisition unit stores a record of the unsafe location information and increments a number value associated with the record of the unsafe location information to one.

11. The warning system of claim 10, wherein

the acquisition unit warns the user based on a predetermined degree of closeness of the current position to the former record of the unsafe location information when a number value associated with the former record of the unsafe location information is above a predetermined valued.

12. A warning system for providing a warning in a vehicle comprising:

a detector for detecting an unsafe driving of the vehicle;

an acquisition unit for performing an identification process of a vehicle position and a recording process of an identified vehicle position as unsafe location information at a time of detection of the unsafe driving of the vehicle; and

an interface unit for information exchange between the detector and the acquisition unit, wherein

vehicle positions identified by the identification process are repeatedly output to the detector through the interface unit;

the detector acquires the vehicle positions identified by the identification process through the interface unit;

the detector unit outputs a detection signal including the identified vehicle position as the unsafe location information when the detector detects the unsafe driving;

the acquisition unit acquires and records the identified vehicle position output by the detector unit as the unsafe location information;

the acquisition unit further provides a warning to vehicle driver based on a predetermined degree of closeness of any vehicle position identified in the identification process to any identified vehicle position previously stored as unsafe location information; and

the identification process of the vehicle position is prioritized higher than the recording process of the vehicle position in the acquisition unit.