Blind Spot Detection System

A blind spot detection system comprises an alarm, capable of generating an alarm signal; a plurality of sensors, each for emitting a radio signal and receiving a reflecting signal of the emitted radio signal, to detect whether an object exists within a specific range and generate a detection result accordingly; and a control module, for receiving at least one vehicle information from the OBD system and controlling the alarm to generate the alarm signal according to the at least one vehicle information and a plurality of detection results generated by the plurality of sensors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Please refer toFIG. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a blind spot detection (BSD) system10according to an embodiment of the present invention. The BSD system10is deployed in a vehicle such as a car, a bus or a truck, used for detecting whether there is an obstacle, such as another vehicle or a person, within a specific blind spot area, and emitting an alarm signal accordingly to avoid a traffic accident due to driver's careless or blind side of vision. The vehicle equips with an on-board diagnostics (OBD) system12, which is utilized for obtaining vehicle information of the vehicle corresponding to an external environment, such as a velocity, an acceleration value, and degree of inclination (corresponding to a plumb line). The BSD system10can increase determination accuracy according vehicle information provided from the OBD system12.

In detail, the BSD system10comprises alarms ALM_1-ALM_m, sensors SR_1-SR_n, a transmission line100, a control module102and signal transceivers104,106,108. The sensors SR_1-SR_n are equipped in rear and/or front bumpers of the vehicle, each for detecting whether an object exists in a blind spot area of the driver via the radar sensor technique. That is, the sensors SR_1-SR_n emit radio signals and receive the corresponding reflecting signals, to detect whether objects exist within the specific range, and generate detection results DET_1-DET_n. In addition, a connecting interface between the transmission line100and the OBD system12preferably conforms to a standard interface of OBD II, but is not limited thereto. The signal transceivers104,106, and108are connected between the transmission line100and the control module102for receiving vehicle information from the OBD system12through the transmission line100, converting the vehicle information to a format which is readable by the control module102, and transmitting the converted vehicle information to the control module102. More specifically, the signal transceiver104is capable of transmitting and receiving signals conforming to a communication standard of international organization for standardization 9143-2 or keyword protocol 2000; the signal transceiver106is capable of transmitting and receiving signals conforming to a communication standard of society of automotive engineers J1850, pulse width modulation (PWM), or variable pulse width (VPW); and the signal transceiver108is capable of transmitting and receiving signals conforming to a communication standard of international organization for standardization 15756 or control area network. Besides, the signal transceivers104,106, and108do not need to operate simultaneously but only receive and transmit signals when the corresponding communication protocol is applied. Finally, the control module102controls operations of the alarms ALM_1-ALM_m according to the vehicle information and the detection results DET_1-DET_n sent back from the sensors SR_1-SR_n. The alarms ALM_1-ALM_m can be light emitting diodes, horns, etc., for generating alarm signals of light or sounds, so as to remind the driver whether a vehicle or a passenger approaches. The number m of the alarms ALM_1-ALM_m is not ruled, as long as greater than 1.

In short, in the BSD system10, the vehicle information needed by the control module102when the control module102performs BSD is provided by the OBD system12originally installed in the vehicle. In other words, the control module102does not acquire the vehicle information such as velocity and angle deviation from an electric control unit inside the vehicle, thereby decreasing the deployment of wires inside the vehicle, and avoiding the vehicle information being interfered during transmission.

Please note that, the BSD system10shown inFIG. 1is an embodiment of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can make modifications accordingly, which is not limited thereto. For example, according to different OBD systems in the vehicle, the connecting interface between the transmission line100and the OBD system12can be any of standard interfaces of OBD system such as OBD I, OBD-1.5, EOBD, EOBD II, etc., and is not limited to OBD II. As long as the BSD system10comprises signal transceivers corresponding to the standard interfaces, the signal transceivers are capable of converting signals to formats which are readable by the control module102. Besides, the communication protocols corresponding to the signal transceivers104,106, and108are examples for description, and those skilled in the art can choose different transceivers according to different communication protocols, which is not limited thereto. On the other hand, according to the communication protocol followed by the signal transceiver104and specification of the standard interface of OBD II, the signal transceiver104must connect to the seventh and fifteenth pins of the transmission line100. In the same way, the transceivers106and108must connect to the second, tenth, and sixth, fourteenth pins of the transmission line100respectively for receiving signals conforming to the communication protocols corresponding to the signal transceivers106and108. As can be seen, a connection between the transceivers and the transmission line100must be modified according to different communication protocols corresponding to the transceivers. Those skilled in the art can make modifications accordingly, which is not limited thereto.

The operation of the BSD system10can be summarized to a process20as shown inFIG. 2. The process20includes the following steps:

Step202: The control module102detects OBD II communication protocols supporting by the OBD system12, and choose one of the OBD II communication protocols as a communication protocol between the control module102and the OBD system12.

Step204: Activate a signal transceiver corresponding to the communication protocol.

Step206: The control module102receives vehicle information provided by the OBD system12through the transmission line100and the signal transceiver corresponding to the communication protocol.

Step208: The control module102receives detection results DET_1-DET_n sent back from the sensors SR_1-SR_n.

Step210: The control module102controls operations of the alarms ALM_1-ALM_m according to the vehicle information and the detection results DET_1-DET_n sent back from the sensors SR_1-SR_n.

As mentioned in the above, the conventional BSD system obtains vehicle related information such as velocity and angle deviation from the electric control unit inside the vehicle, which increases the difficulty of deployment and decreases the convenience. In comparison, in the BSD system10of the present invention, the vehicle information required by the control module102for performing BSD is provided by the OBD system12which is built in the vehicle, thereby decreasing the deployment of wires inside the vehicle, simplifying entire structure, reducing costs, and avoiding the vehicle information being interfered during transmission.

In sum, the BSD system of the present invention is capable of simplifying a structure of obtaining vehicle related information, and reducing costs.