DRIVING ASSIST DEVICE FOR VEHICLE

• US 20100060441A1
• Filed: 06/22/2009
• Published: 03/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
• Inventors: IWAMOTO, Taro
• Granted Patent: US 8,212,659 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/435
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention

Abstract

An alarm sound according to the distance of a dangerous object exiting around a vehicle is created. A reference sound which enables a driver to recognize the distance of the dangerous object when the driver hears the alarm sound, comparing with the reference sound, is created. The alarm sound and the reference sound are generated at the same time or a different timing. It is preferable that the sound volume of the alarm sound be greater than that of the reference sound. Accordingly, the driver can be warned precisely of the distance of the dangerous object from the vehicle with the sound.

Claims

1. A driving assist device for a vehicle which is equipped with plural speakers for a driver, comprising:

an object detecting means to detect an object existing around the vehicle;

a danger-degree detecting means to detect a degree of danger of collision or contact of the object detected by said object detecting means with the vehicle;

a direction detecting means to detect a direction of the object which has a critical state in the degree of danger of collision or contact with the vehicle which is detected by said danger-degree detecting means;

a distance detecting means to detect a distance of the object existing around the vehicle from the vehicle;

an alarm-sound creating means to create an alarm sound according to the distance of the object which is detected by said distance detecting means and the direction of the object which is detected by said direction detecting means;

a reference sound creating means to create a reference sound which enables the driver to recognize the distance of the detected object from the vehicle when the driver hears the alarm sound created by said alarm-sound creating means, comparing with the reference sound; and

a sound generating means to generate the alarm sound created by said alarm-sound creating means and the reference sound created by said reference sound creating means at the same time or a different timing via the speakers for the driver.

2. The driving assist device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein said reference sound creating means creates the reference sound based on a sound of a sound source which is located between the driver and the object.

3. The driving assist device for a vehicle of claim 2, wherein said reference sound creating means creates a first reference sound based on the sound of the sound source which is located between the driver and the object, and a second reference sound based on a sound of another sound source which is located in the direction of the object and at a farther position than the object, and said sound generating means generates the alarm sound and the first and second reference sounds.

4. The driving assist device for a vehicle of claim 3, wherein the first reference sound and the second reference sound are generated by said sound generating means at a different timing from each other.

5. The driving assist device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein a sound volume of the reference sound changes according to at least one of the distance of the object from the vehicle and the alarm sound.

6. The driving assist device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the reference sound has directional information which shows the direction of the object.

7. The driving assist device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the reference sound is created as a road-ambience sound which is stored previously or obtained through a microphone.

8. The driving assist device for a vehicle of claim 7, wherein the reference sound is a composite sound which is obtained through combination of a specified reference sound and the road-ambience sound.

9. The driving assist device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein a sound volume of the reference sound is lower than that of the alarm sound.

10. The driving assist device for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein said plural speakers comprise a pair of right and left speakers and a pair of front and rear speakers, the pair of right and left speakers being disposed on the right and on the left symmetrically relative to a driver'"'"'s head with a forward-directed driver'"'"'s eyes in a plan view, the pair of front and rear speakers being disposed in front and in back symmetrically relative to the driver'"'"'s head with the forward-directed driver'"'"'s eyes in the plan view, and said sound generating means generates the alarm sound via said pairs of speakers so that a sound image of the object is positioned in said direction of the object detected by said direction detecting means.

11. The driving assist device for a vehicle of claim 10, further comprising a driver'"'"'s-eyes-direction detecting means to detect a direction of a driver'"'"'s eyes, wherein when the driver'"'"'s-eyes direction detected by said driver'"'"'s-eyes-direction detecting means is different from the direction of the object detected by said direction detecting means, said sound generating means generates the alarm sound via the pairs of speakers so that the sound image of the object is positioned in the driver'"'"'s-eyes direction first and then the sound image of the object is moved gradually so that the sound image of the object is positioned in the direction of the object detected by the direction detecting means.

12. The driving assist device for a vehicle of claim 10, further comprising a driver'"'"'s-eyes-direction detecting means to detect a direction of a driver'"'"'s eyes, wherein when the driver'"'"'s-eyes direction detected by said driver'"'"'s-eyes-direction detecting means is different from the direction of the object detected by said direction detecting means, said sound generating means generates the alarm sound via the pairs of speakers so that the sound image of the object is positioned in the direction of the object detected by the direction detecting means, while when the driver'"'"'s-eyes direction is the same as the direction of the object, the sound generating means stops generating the alarm sound or turns down the alarm sound generated.

13. The driving assist device for a vehicle of claim 10, further comprising a driver'"'"'s-head-direction detecting means to detect a direction of a driver'"'"'s head, and a rotating means to rotate said speakers around the driver'"'"'s head in the plan view, keeping relative positional relationships of the speakers, wherein the rotating means rotates the speakers so that said front speaker is positioned right in front of the driver'"'"'s head detected by said driver'"'"'s-head-direction detecting means.

14. The driving assist device for a vehicle of claim 10, wherein said plural speakers are a non-directional type of flat speaker which is provided at a roof of the vehicle.