Patent Publication Number: US-6335687-B1

Title: Locked-in person saving apparatus

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is based upon Japanese Patent Application Nos. Hei. 11-245942 filed on Aug. 31, 1999, and Hei. 11-245943 filed on Aug. 31, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to locked-in person saving apparatuses, and particular to a locked-in person saving apparatus for saving a person who is locked in a vehicular trunk. 
     2. Related Art 
     Conventionally, when a person is accidentally locked in a vehicular trunk, the person may not be able to escape from the trunk. Therefore, a countermeasure in which a lever linked with a latch mechanism of the trunk is provided to release a latch condition from inside of the trunk has been proposed. 
     However, in the latch mechanism having the lever in the above, a little child or an infant cannot operate this lever. Moreover, when a person is locked in the trunk, the person may panic so that he/she may not be able to calmly operate the lever. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention has been conceived in view of the background thus far described and its first object is to provide a locked-in person saving apparatus for saving a person who is locked in a closed space. 
     Its second object is to provide a locked-in person saving apparatus for saving a person who is locked in a vehicular trunk without using a mechanical lever. 
     According to a first aspect of the present invention, a detector detects whether a person is locked in a closed space. A closed-space controller outputs a lock release signal when the detector detects that a person is locked in the closed space. A lock releaser releases a lock condition of the closed space in response to the lock release signal from the closed-space controller. According to this structure, since the lock releaser releases the lock condition of the closed space (trunk) by being controlled by the closed-space controller (trunk controller), a person who is locked in a closed space can be saved without using a mechanical lever. 
     According to a second aspect of the present invention, an operation controller outputs a signal for saving a person locked in a trunk of a vehicle. A trunk open/close switch connected between a power source and the operation controller, the trunk open/close switch being turned on when the trunk is closed and being turned off when the trunk is opened. A power supply unit supplies a power from the power source to the operation controller through the trunk open/close switch only for a predetermined time after the trunk is closed. According to this structure, the saving process to be executed by the control circuit is started or stopped in response to the start or stop of the power supply to the control circuit, instead of using a trunk open/close signal from a trunk lighting lamp. Therefore, it does not need a harness for transmitting the trunk open/close signal from the trunk lighting lamp, and it can reduce the number of the harnesses. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and another objects, features and characteristics of the present invention will be appreciated from a study of the following detailed description, the appended claims, and drawings, all of which form parts of this application. In the drawings, same portions or corresponding portions are put the same numerals each other to eliminate redundant explanation. In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is an electric block diagram illustrating a trunk locked-in person saving apparatus of a first embodiment according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a position of a pyroelectric sensor in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a detection apparatus in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a failure detection step S 200  in FIG. 3 in detail; 
     FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation condition detection step S 210  in FIG. 3 in detail; 
     FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an operation of the pyroelectric sensor; 
     FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a detection apparatus of a second embodiment according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a modified operation of the detection apparatus of the second embodiment; 
     FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a detection apparatus of a third embodiment according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 10 is an electric block diagram illustrating a trunk locked-in person saving apparatus of a fourth embodiment according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a detection apparatus of the fourth embodiment; 
     FIG. 12 is an electric block diagram illustrating a trunk locked-in person saving apparatus of a fifth embodiment according to the present invention; 
     FIGS. 13A,  13 B and  13 C are schematic diagrams illustrating an operation of a cancel switch  130  shown in FIG. 12; 
     FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a detection apparatus of the fifth embodiment; 
     FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a modified operation of the detection apparatus of the fifth embodiment; 
     FIG. 16 is an electric block diagram illustrating a trunk locked-in person saving apparatus of a sixth embodiment according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a detection apparatus of the sixth embodiment; and 
     FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a failure detection step S 100  in FIG. 17 in detail. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     (First embodiment) 
     FIGS. 1 and 2 shows a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a trunk locked-in person saving apparatus. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram illustrating an electric circuit structure of the trunk locked-in saving apparatus; and FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a mounting position of the trunk locked-in person saving apparatus. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the trunk locked-in person saving apparatus is provided with a speed sensor  10 , a truck open/close switch  20 , a pyroelectric sensor  30 , a detection apparatus  40 , a warning lamp  50 , a guidance lamp  60 , an alarm unit  70  and a trunk opener  80 . 
     The speed sensor  10  outputs a vehicle speed signal to the detection apparatus  40  based on a speed of the vehicle. 
     The trunk open/close switch  20  is connected between a battery (+B)  90  and a ground. The trunk open/close switch  20  is turned on when a trunk is opened, and is turned off when the trunk is closed. As a result, a trunk open/close switch signal is outputted from a one terminal (at a side of battery  90 ) of the trunk open/close switch in response to an opening or a closing of the trunk (trunk lid). 
     Here, a trunk lighting lamp  100  for lighting an inside of the trunk is connected between the battery  90  and the trunk open/close switch  20 . The trunk lighting lamp  100  is turned on to light inside of the trunk when the trunk is opened, and is turned off when the trunk is closed. The trunk lighting lamp  100  is arranged near the pyroelectric sensor  30 , and is used for a failure detection of the pyroelectric sensor  30  as described later. 
     The pyroelectric sensor  30  outputs a detection signal in response to temperature changes per unit time (an amount of change of received infrared radiation) in the trunk. As a result, the pyroelectric sensor  30  detects movements of object having a predetermined temperature in the trunk, and outputs the detection signal to the detection apparatus  40 . In other words, the pyroelectric sensor  30  senses the behavior of a person who is locked in the trunk. 
     Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the pyroelectric sensor  30  is contained in the trunk (hereinafter, called as “trunk  110 ”) with the detection apparatus  40 , and is positioned on a upper wall  112  in the front of a trunk lid  111 . 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the detection apparatus (ECU)  40  is provided with a failure diagnosis portion  41 , an operation detection portion  42 , a locked-in detection portion  43 , a body detection portion  44 , a guidance signal output portion  45  and a locked-in detection signal output portion  46 . The detection apparatus  40  executes a locked-in person saving process for saving the person who is locked in the trunk  110 . 
     The failure diagnosis portion  41  detects a failure of the pyroelectric sensor  30 . The operation detection portion  42  judges whether a locked-in prevention process for the person in the trunk  110  is executed or not. The locked-in detection portion  43  judges whether a person is locked in the trunk  110  or not. The body detection portion  44  detects an existence of a person in the trunk  110 . 
     The guidance signal output portion  45  turns on the guidance lamp  60  in response to decisions of the failure diagnosis portion  41  and the operation detection portion  42 . The locked-in detection signal output portion  46  controls the warning lamp  50 , the alarm unit  70  and the trunk opener  80  in response to the decisions of the failure diagnosis portion  41  and the locked-in detection portion  43 . The detection apparatus  40  is made up of a microcomputer or the like. Operation of the detection apparatus  40  will be described later. 
     The warning lamp  50  is a display panel provided near an instrument panel of the vehicle, and is controlled by the detection apparatus  40 . The warning lamp  50  is for alarming the fact that a person is locked in the trunk  110 . 
     The guidance lamp  60  is made up of a light emitting diode provided near the pyroelectric sensor  30 , and is controlled by the detection apparatus  40 , so that the guidance lamp  60  guides the person locked in the trunk toward the pyroelectric sensor  30 . Here, the guidance lamp  60  has an infrared ray shield filter. As a result, the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is not influenced by emitting light from the guidance lamp  60 . 
     Here, the trunk lighting lamp  100  may be used as the guidance light without using additional guidance lamp  60 . In this case, it is preferable to provide the trunk lighting lamp  100  near the pyroelectric sensor  30 ; and it is preferable that the detection apparatus  40  turns on the trunk lighting lamp  100  to guide the person locked in the trunk toward the pyroelectric sensor  30 . Here, the trunk lighting lamp  100  may be integrated with the pyroelectric sensor  30  and the detection apparatus. 
     The alarm unit  70  is controlled by the detection apparatus  40 , and outputs an alarm by way of sound. The trunk opener (latch release mechanism)  80  is actuated by the detection apparatus  40  to release a latch condition of the trunk  110 . 
     Hereinafter, processes of the detection apparatus  40  (process for saving the person locked in the trunk  110 ) will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to  6 . The detection apparatus  40  performs these processes based on a flowchart shown in FIG.  3 . 
     At first, as step S 200 , the detection apparatus  40  judges whether the pyroelectric sensor is in a failure condition (out of order) or not. In detail, as shown in FIG. 4, the detection apparatus  40  judges whether the trunk  10  is opened or not in response to the trunk open/close switch signal from the trunk open/close switch  20  (step S 201 ). When the trunk  110  is opened, the detection apparatus  40  continues judging for a predetermined time whether the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is changed or not (steps S 202  and S 203 ). 
     Here, when the trunk  110  is opened, the trunk lighting lamp  100  is turned on. Therefore, when the pyroelectric sensor  30  is normal, the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is changed depending on a turning on of the trunk lighting lamp  100 . As a result, the detection apparatus  40  can detect whether the pyroelectric sensor  30  is in the failure condition (in other words, the pyroelectric sensor is broken down or not) by detecting whether the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  has been changed or not. 
     Next, when the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  has not been changed within the predetermined time at steps S 202  and S 203 , the detection apparatus  40  determines that the pyroelectric sensor  30  is in the failure condition (broken down), and then outputs a failure detection signal to the trunk opener  80  (step S 204 ). 
     Therefore, the trunk opener  80  receives the failure detection signal, and holds the latch release condition of the trunk  110 . Thus, it can prohibit the trunk  110  from becoming the latch condition by manual operation. 
     When the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  has been changed at step  202 , the detection apparatus  40  determines that the pyroelectric sensor  30  is in a normal condition. In this case, the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 210  shown in FIG. 3 to judge whether an operation condition for operating a body detection in the trunk  110  is met or not. 
     In detail, as shown in FIG. 5, the detection apparatus  40  judges whether the trunk  110  is opened or not (step S 211 ). When the trunk  110  is closed, the detection apparatus  40  moves to step  212  to judge whether a predetermined time has passed after the trunk  110  is closed (step S 212 ). When the predetermined time has passed after the trunk  110  is closed, the operation condition meets. 
     Here, when the predetermined time has not passed after the trunk  110  is closed at step S 212 , the operation condition does not meet. Furthermore, when the trunk  110  is opened at step S 211 , the operation condition also does not meet. 
     Next, when the operation condition meets in the judgment in the above, the detection apparatus  40  turns on the guidance lamp  60  (step S 220 ). Thus, when the person is locked in the trunk  110 , as shown in FIG. 6, the guidance lamp  60  attracts the attention of the person, and then the person moves a part of his/her body (FIG. 6 shows a hand) to the guidance lamp  60  and the pyroelectric sensor  30 . As a result, the person&#39;s movement is partly detected by the pyroelectric sensor  30 . 
     Next, the detection apparatus  40  compares the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  with a threshold value (step S 230 ). When the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is equal to or more than the threshold value (detection signal≧threshold value), the detection apparatus moves to step S 240  to detect whether a condition, in which the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is larger than the threshold value, continues for a predetermined time or not. Here, when the condition continues for the predetermined time, the detection apparatus  40  determines that a person is locked in the trunk  110 , and the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 250  to outputs a locked-in detection signal to the warning lamp  50 , the alarm unit  70  and the trunk opener  80 . 
     Therefore, the warning lamp  50  is turned on when it receives the locked-in detection signal. The alarm unit  70  outputs alarm by way of sound when it receives the locked-in detection signal. The trunk opener releases the latch condition of the trunk  110  when it receives the locked-in detection signal. 
     Next, the detection apparatus  40  judges whether the trunk  110  is opened or not based on the trunk open/close switch signal from the trunk open/close switch  20  (step S 260 ). When the trunk  110  is opened, the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 270  to terminate the output of the locked-in detection signal. As a result, the warning lamp  50  is turned off, and the alarm unit  70  terminates the alarm. Here, when the pyroelectric sensor  30  is detected as failure at step S 200 , the detection apparatus  40  turns on the warning lamp  50  (step S 280 ), and turns off the guidance lamp (step S 290 ). 
     According to the structure in the above, when the detection apparatus  40  detects that a person is locked in the trunk  40  based on the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30 , the detection apparatus  40  makes the trunk opener  80  release the latch condition of the trunk  110 . Thus, even if a person is accidentally locked in the trunk, the person can be saved from the trunk. 
     Here, when the detection apparatus  40  detects that a person is locked in the trunk  40  based on the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30 , the detection apparatus  40  makes the alarm unit  70  output the alarm. Thus, this system can also be used as part of a trunk anti-thief device. 
     Furthermore, in order to judge whether a person is locked in the trunk  110  or not, the detection apparatus  40  judges whether the condition, in which the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is larger than the threshold value, continues for a predetermined time or not. As a result, the detection apparatus can precisely detect whether a person is locked in the trunk  110  or not. 
     The detection apparatus guides the person who is locked in the trunk  110  so that he/she can approaches a part of his/her body the pyroelectric sensor  30  by turning on the guidance lamp  60 , the person in the trunk can approach the pyroelectric sensor  30  without fail. As a result, a person locked in the trunk can be saved without fail. 
     The detection apparatus  40  judges whether the pyroelectric sensor  30  is in the failure condition or not when the trunk  110  is opened. Therefore, the locked-in of a person can be prevented in advance even when the trunk locked-in person saving apparatus is out of order. 
     Here, the detection apparatus  40  utilizes light from the trunk lighting lamp  100 , when it detects whether the pyroelectric sensor  30  is in the failure condition or not. Therefore, the trunk locked-in person saving apparatus does not need additional parts. 
     Since the pyroelectric sensor  30  is contained in the trunk  110  and is positioned on the upper wall  112  in the front of the trunk lid  111 , it can prevent the pyroelectric sensor  30  from being influenced by light (solar light) from outside. 
     Here, since the pyroelectric sensor  30  is positioned on the upper wall  112  in the front of the trunk lid  111  with the detection apparatus  40 , it can prevent the pyroelectric sensor  30  from being influenced by vibration due to opening or closing the trunk  110 . 
     Since the lock-in of the person in the trunk  110  occurs after the trunk  110  is closed from its opening condition, the detection apparatus  40  of this embodiment performs a body detection process only during a predetermined period after the trunk  110  is closed. As a result, it can reduce a chance of failure of the detection apparatus  40  and can reduce power consumption of the detection apparatus. Here, the detection apparatus  40  may start the body detection process in the trunk  110  when illumination in the trunk  110  is changed from a bright condition to a dark condition, instead of the trunk open/close switch signal from the trunk open/close switch  20 . Furthermore, the detection apparatus  40  may perform the body detection process only within a predetermined period from a time when an engine or an ignition switch is turned off. 
     In the embodiment in the above, the pyroelectric sensor  30  is used to detect the person&#39;s body in the trunk  110 . However, an infrared ray image sensor or the like may be used to detect the person&#39;s body in the trunk  110 . Since the infrared ray image sensor can detect temperature of body, the detection apparatus  40  can detect the existence of the person in the trunk  110  based on the detected temperature. 
     Moreover, a touch sensor such as a touch switch, a membrane switch, an electrostatic sensor or the like may be used. In this case, the existence of the body in the trunk  110  can be detected when a part of the body contacts with the touch sensor in the trunk  110 . Furthermore, a ultrasonic waves sensor or a photoelectric switch may be used to detect the movement of the person in the trunk  110  to detect the existence of the person in the trunk  110 . 
     In addition, a gas sensor such as an oxygen (O 2 ) sensor may be used to detect a concentration of gas such as oxygen in the trunk  110 . In this case, the existence of the person in the trunk  110  can be detected by detecting changes of the concentration of the gas (oxygen). A combination of two or more of the pyroelectric sensor  30 , the infrared ray image sensor, the touch switch, the membrane switch, the photoelectric sensor, and the oxygen sensor may be used to detect the existence of the person in the trunk  110 . 
     In this embodiment, the fact that a person is locked in the trunk  110  is sounded externally by outputting sound from the alarm unit  70 . However, Klaxon (or buzzer, chime), or radio communication means such as handy phone, personal handy phone and a May Day system may also be used. Here, the May Day system is a system for, when a vehicle is in an “abnormal condition”, informing the “abnormal condition” to a base station via radio communication to call for help. 
     The alarm unit  70  may use alarm by way of light instead of the sound. In this case, one of lamps which has originally provided to a vehicle such as headlamps, position lamps, small lights, fog lamps, tail lamps or stop lamps may be turned on (be flashed). 
     In this embodiment, the trunk lighting lamp  100  is used to detect the failure condition of the pyroelectric sensor  30 ; however, a solar radiation or the guidance lamp  60  may be used instead. Here, when the guidance lamp  60  is used, the guidance lamp  60  is controlled so that it is turned on when the trunk  110  is opened. 
     In this embodiment, the failure detection of the pyroelectric sensor  30  is performed when the trunk  110  is opened; however, the failure detection thereof may be performed when an ignition switch is turned on. In this case, the trunk lighting lamp  100  is controlled so that it is turned on when the ignition switch is turned on. Furthermore, the failure detection may be performed when the ignition switch is turned off. 
     (Second embodiment) 
     In the first embodiment, when the detection apparatus  40  detects the fact that a person is locked in the trunk  110 , the detection apparatus  40  detects whether the condition, in which the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is larger than the threshold value, continues for the predetermined time or not. However, this locked-in detection may be performed by comparing two different threshold values (hereinafter, called as threshold value a, b) and the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30 . 
     Here, the sensor threshold a is set to a level that is lower than the threshold b and the level of the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  increases as an amount of temperature changes of the target object per unit time increases. Therefore, the threshold a is used for detecting a small amount of temperature changes compared to that of the threshold b. In other words, the threshold a is determined so that the sensor sensibility becomes more sensitive compared to the threshold b. 
     In this second embodiment, steps S 230 -S 260  shown in FIG. 3 are replaced with steps S 231 -S 234  shown in FIG.  7 . The detection apparatus  40  shown in FIG. 1 executes several processes based on flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 and 7 (steps S 230  and S 240  in FIG. 3 are replaced with steps in FIG.  7 ). 
     Hereinafter, the operation of the detection apparatus  40  of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG.  7 . 
     At first, the detection apparatus  40  detects whether a detection signal th from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is larger than the threshold a (step S 231 ). When the detection signal th is larger than the threshold a (detection signal th≧threshold a), the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 232 . At step S 232 , the detection apparatus  40  controls the alarm unit  70  to output the alarm by way of sound for a predetermined time. Here, the alarm output (loudness of the sound) changes in proportion to the detection signal th from the pyroelectric sensor  30  (alarm output V=detection signal th×K; Here, K is a positive constant value). 
     Next, the detection apparatus  40  detects whether the detection signal th from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is larger than the threshold b (step S 233 ). When the detection signal th is larger than the threshold b (detection signal th≧threshold b), the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 234  to output the locked-in detection signal to the trunk opener  80 . As a result, the trunk opener  80  releases the latch condition of the trunk  110  in response to the locked-in detection signal. In this time, the warning lamp  50  may be turned on. 
     Here, the detection apparatus  40  controls the alarm unit  70  to output the alarm by way of sound when the When the detection signal th is larger than the threshold a. As a result, the alarm unit  70  outputs the alarm by way of sound in advance to control the trunk opener  80  with the detection apparatus  40 . Therefore, when trunk  110  is opened by irregular operation, the alarm unit  70  can be activated. Hence, it can effectively prevent baggage or luggage in the trunk  110  from being stolen. 
     In this embodiment, the detection apparatus  40  detects whether the latch condition of the trunk  110  is to be released or not based on the comparison of the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  and the threshold voltages a and b. However, two different pyroelectric sensors (pyroelectric sensors  31  and  32 ) each of which has a different sensitivity may be used, and the detection apparatus  40  may detect whether the latch condition of the trunk  110  is to be released or not based on the detection result of the pyroelectric sensors  31  and  32 , as shown in FIG.  8 . 
     Here, in FIG. 8, steps S 231  and S 233  in FIG. 7 are replaced with step S 231   a  and S 233   a . At step S 231   a , the detection apparatus  40  detects whether the pyroelectric sensor  31  detects the temperature changes in the trunk  110  or not. At step S 233   a , the detection apparatus  40  detects whether the pyroelectric sensor  32  detects the temperature changes in the trunk  110  or not. Here, the sensitivity of the pyroelectric sensor  31  is set high compared to that of the pyroelectric sensor  32 . 
     (Third embodiment) 
     In the first embodiment, the guidance lamp  60  is simply turned on when the detection apparatus  40  detects that operation condition, in which the locked-in detection in the trunk  110  is to be performed or not, is met. However, when the operation condition is met, the guidance lamp  60  may flash with a pattern which changes in response to the detection signal (detection sensor th) from the pyroelectric sensor  30 . Operation of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG.  9 . 
     In this embodiment, the step  220  in the flowchart in FIG. 3 is replaced with steps S 222  to S 227  in FIG.  9 . The detection apparatus  40  performs a flashing process of the guidance lamp  60  in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG.  9 . Here, three thresholds a 1 , b 1 , c 1  are used in the flashing process of the guidance lamp. The thresholds a 1 , b 1 , c 1  are determined so that the sensitivity of the pyroelectric sensor  30  decreases in the order of threshold a 1 , b 1 , c 1  (a 1 &lt;b 1 &lt;c 1 ). 
     Hereinafter, operation of the detection apparatus  40  will be explained with reference to FIG.  9 . 
     At first, the detection apparatus  40  judges whether the detection signal th from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is equal to or more than the threshold a 1  or not (step S 222 ). When the detection signal th from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is equal to or more than the threshold a 1 , the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 223  to control the guidance lamp  60  to flash at a flashing cycle t 1 . 
     Next, the detection apparatus  40  judges whether the detection signal th from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is equal to or more than the threshold b 1  or not (step S 224 ). When the detection signal th from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is equal to or more than the threshold b 1 , the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 225  to control the guidance lamp  60  to flash at a flashing cycle t 2  which is shorter than the flashing cycle t 1 . 
     Next, the detection apparatus  40  judges whether the detection signal th from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is equal to or more than the threshold c 1  or not (step S 226 ). When the, detection signal th from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is equal to or more than the threshold c 1 , the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 227  to control the guidance lamp  60  to flash at a flashing cycle t 3  which is shorter than the flashing cycle t 2 . 
     According to this structure, the sensitivity of the pyroelectric sensor  30  is changed in three steps, so that the flashing cycle of the guidance lamp  60  is changed in proportion to the sensitivity. Since the flashing cycle of the guidance lamp  60  is shortened as a distance between the guidance lamp  60  and the person&#39;s body is shortened, it can attract the attention of the person locked in the trunk  110  to the guidance lamp  60  without fail. Therefore, even when the person locked in the trunk  110  does not know an existence of the trunk locked-in person saving apparatus, this apparatus can guide a part of the person&#39;s body (e.g., hand) to the guidance lamp  60 . 
     Here, similar to the first embodiment, the pyroelectric sensor  30  is arranged near the guidance lamp  60 . Therefore, when the person locked in the trunk  110  approaches his/her body to the guidance lamp  60 , he/she can approach the pyroelectric sensor  30 . Hence, it can detect the person in the trunk  110  with the pyroelectric sensor  30 . 
     In this embodiment, the flashing pattern of the guidance lamp  60  is changed in three steps depending on the detection signal th from the pyroelectric sensor  30 . However, the flashing pattern may be changed in two, four or more steps. Furthermore, the flashing pattern of the guidance lamp  60  may be changed depending on a predetermined mathematical function. 
     In this embodiment, the guidance lamp  60  is used to guide the person locked in the trunk  110  to the pyroelectric sensor  30 ; however, a sound generator may be used instead. In this case, the sound generator is provided to the pyroelectric sensor  30  or near the pyroelectric sensor  30 . The sound generator periodically generates sound, so that the period of the sound can be changed in proportion to the detection signal th from the pyroelectric sensor  30 . Furthermore, loudness (or frequency) of the sound to be outputted from the sound generator may be changed depending on the detection signal th from the pyroelectric sensor  30 . 
     (Fourth embodiment) 
     In the first embodiment, the latch condition of the trunk  110  is released when the detection apparatus  40  detects the person in the trunk  110 . However, when the latch condition of the trunk  110  is released while the vehicle travels, it might be dangerous for the person in the trunk  110 . 
     Therefore, when the detection apparatus  40  detects the person in the trunk  110  while the vehicle travels, the detection apparatus  40  turns on the warning lamp  50 . It is preferable to air-condition the trunk  110  until the trunk  110  is opened by a driver or a passenger to minimize the hardship of the person locked in the trunk  110 . A block diagram of an electric configuration of this case is shown in FIG.  10 . 
     FIG. 10 shows a structure in which an air-conditioner (A/C)  120  is added to an electric circuit structure shown in FIG.  3 . The air-conditioner  120  is controlled by the detection apparatus  40  to perform the air-conditioning in the trunk  110 . In this embodiment, a flowchart shown in FIG. 11 is employed instead of the flowchart shown in FIG.  3 . Steps S 200  to S 290  in FIG. 11 are substantially the same as steps S 200  to S 290  in FIG.  3 . The detection apparatus  40  performs processes based on the flowchart shown in FIG.  11 . 
     Here, operation of the detection apparatus  40  will be explained with reference to FIG.  11 . 
     At first, the detection apparatus  40  executes the processes of steps S 200  to S 240 . After that, the detection apparatus  40  judges whether the vehicle is traveling or not based on detection signal from the vehicle speed sensor  10  (step S 300 ). When the vehicle is traveling, the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 280  to output a warning output signal to the warning lamp  50  (step S 280 ). Thus, the warning lamp  50  is turned on in response to the warning output signal. As a result, the detection apparatus  40  can inform the driver or passenger of the fact that a person is locked in the trunk  110 . 
     Next, the detection apparatus  40  starts up and controls the air-conditioner  120  (step S 310 ) to air-condition the trunk  110 . After that, the detection apparatus  40  detects whether the trunk  110  is opened or not (step S 260 ). When the trunk  110  is opened, the detection apparatus  40  terminates the operation of the air-conditioner  120  (step S 270 ). 
     Thus, the trunk  110  can be air-conditioned by the air-conditioner  120  from a time the detection apparatus  40  detects that a person is locked in the trunk  110  to a time the trunk  110  is externally opened. 
     (Fifth embodiment) 
     In the first embodiment, when a pet (e.g., dog, cat) is loaded in the trunk  110 , the detection apparatus  40  may detect the pet and may mistakenly open the trunk  110 . Furthermore, it needs to prevent the detection apparatus  40  from falsely detecting when valuables are stored in the trunk  110 . 
     In the first embodiment, when a pet (e.g., dog, cat) is loaded in the trunk  110 , the detection apparatus  40  may detect the pet and may mistakenly open the trunk  110 . Furthermore, it needs to prevent the detection apparatus  40  from falsely detecting when valuable thing is loaded in the trunk  110 . 
     In this fifth embodiment, a cancel switch  130  for prohibiting an execution of the saving process that saves the person locked in the trunk  110  is added. FIG. 12 shows a block diagram illustrating a structure including the cancel switch  130 . FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating the cancel switch  130 . 
     The cancel switch  130  is operated by an operator, and outputs cancel signal for prohibiting the executing of the saving process to the detection apparatus  40 . As shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, the cancel switch  130  is operated by an operation of a lock cylinder  140  with a key  150 . 
     In detail, while the trunk  110  is closed, when the key  150  is rotated to a left direction as shown by an arrow  161  from a vertical position to a horizontal position, as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, the cancel switch  130  is turned on and outputs the cancel signal to the detection apparatus  40 . Here, while the trunk  110  is closed, when the key  150  is rotated to a right direction as shown by an arrow  160  from a vertical position to a horizontal position, as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13C, the latch release condition is activated. 
     Hereinafter, the operation of the detection apparatus  40  will be explained with reference to FIG.  14 . The detection apparatus  40  executes processes based on a flowchart shown in FIG.  14 . 
     At first, the detection apparatus  40  detects whether the trunk  110  is opened in response to the trunk open/close switch signal from the trunk open/close switch  20  or not (step S 320 ). When the trunk  110  is opened, the detection apparatus moves to step S 330 . 
     Next, the detection apparatus  40  detects whether the cancel signal is outputted from the cancel switch  130  (step S 330 ). When the cancel signal is outputted from the cancel switch  130 , the detection apparatus  40  prohibits the execution of the saving process. Here, when the trunk  110  is opened at step S 320 , the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 350  to permit the execution of the saving process, and further executes the process described in FIG.  3 . 
     In this embodiment, the cancel switch  130  is operated as a result of external key operation for the lock cylinder  140  of the trunk  110 . However, the cancel signal  130  can be operated in response to the operation via a keyless entry system (electric key system). 
     Furthermore, the cancel switch  130  may be provided in a passenger component, so that the passenger (driver) can operate the cancel switch  130 . 
     In this embodiment, the cancel switch  130  is operated while the trunk  110  is closed. However, the cancel switch  130  may be operated while the trunk  110  is opened. 
     In detail, the cancel switch  130  is designed so that the cancel switch  130  outputs the cancel switch to the detection apparatus  40  when the trunk  110  is opened and after that the trunk  110  is closed with pulling a knob of the trunk  110 . 
     Referring to FIG. 15, at first, the detection apparatus  40  detects whether the trunk  110  is opened or not (step S 320 ). When the trunk  110  is opened, the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 330 . At step S 330 , the detection apparatus  40  detects whether the cancel signal is outputted from the cancel switch  130  or not (step S 330 ). 
     When the cancel signal is outputted from the cancel switch  130  at step S 330 , the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 360 . At step S 360 , the detection apparatus  40  detects whether the trunk  110  is closed or not. When the trunk  110  is opened, the detection apparatus  40  prohibits execution of the saving process. On the contrary, when the cancel switch is not outputted from the cancel switch  130  at step S 330 , the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 350  to permit the execution of the saving process, and performs the processes shown in FIG.  3 . 
     Furthermore, the cancel switch  130  to be operated while the trunk  110  is closed may be operated in response to a turning-on operation of the ignition switch. Moreover, the cancel switch  130  may be provided in the trunk  110 . 
     (Sixth embodiment) 
     As shown in FIG. 16, the trunk locked-in person saving apparatus is provided with a truck open/close switch  20 , a pyroelectric sensor  30 , a detection apparatus (ECU)  40 , a warning lamp  50 , a guidance lamp  60 , an alarm unit  70  and a trunk opener  80 . The trunk open/close switch  20  is connected between the detection device  40  and a battery (+B)  90 . The trunk open/close switch is turned on when a trunk (trunk lid) is closed, and is turned off when the trunk is open. 
     The detection apparatus  40  is provided with a power supply circuit  401 , a power-cut circuit  402 , a timer circuit  403  and a control circuit  400 . The power supply circuit  401  is connected between the trunk open/close switch  20  and the control circuit  400 , and outputs regulated voltage to the timer circuit  403  and the control circuit  400 . Here, the regulated voltage is supplied from the battery  90  via the trunk open/close switch  20 . 
     The power-cut circuit  402  is connected between the power supply circuit  401  and the control circuit  400  to connect or disconnect between the power supply circuit  401  and the control circuit  400 . The timer circuit  403  controls the power-cut circuit  402  to connect between the power supply circuit  401  and the control circuit  400  only for a predetermined time after the timer receives the regulated voltage from the power supply circuit  401 . As a result, the control circuit  400  can receive the regulated voltage only for the predetermined time after the timer receives the regulated voltage from the power supply circuit  401 . 
     The control circuit  400  is provided with a failure diagnosis portion  41 , a locked-in detection portion  43 , a body detection portion  44 , a guidance signal output portion  45  and a locked-in detection signal output portion  46 . The detection apparatus  40  executes a locked-in person saving process for saving the person who is locked in the trunk  110 . Here, the failure diagnosis portion  41  detects a failure of the pyroelectric sensor  30 . The locked-in detection portion  43  judges whether a person is locked in the trunk  110  or not. The body detection portion  44  detects an existence of a person in the trunk  110 . The guidance signal output portion  45  turns on the guidance lamp  60  in response to decisions of the failure diagnosis portion  41  and the operation detection portion  42 . The locked-in detection signal output portion  46  controls the warning lamp  50 , the alarm unit  70  and the trunk opener  80  in response to the decisions of the failure diagnosis portion  41  and the locked-in detection portion  43 . The control circuit  400  is made up of a microcomputer or the like. Operation of the control circuit  400  will be described later. 
     The pyroelectric sensor  30  outputs a detection signal in response to temperature changes per a unit time (an amount of change of received infrared ray) in the trunk. As a result, the pyroelectric sensor  30  detects movements of object having a predetermined temperature in the trunk, and outputs the detection signal to the control circuit  400 . In other words, the pyroelectric sensor  30  senses behavior of a person who is locked in the trunk. The warning lamp  50  is a display panel provided near an instrument panel of the vehicle, and is controlled by the detection apparatus  40 . The warning lamp  50  is for alarming the fact that a person is locked in the trunk  110 . 
     The guidance lamp  60  is made up of a light emitting diode provided near the pyroelectric sensor  30 , and is controlled by the detection apparatus  40 , so that the guidance lamp  60  guides the person locked in the trunk toward the pyroelectric sensor  30 . Here, the guidance lamp  60  has an infrared ray shield filter. As a result, the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is not influenced by emitting light from the guidance lamp  60 . 
     The alarm unit  70  is controlled by the detection apparatus  40 , and outputs an alarm by way of sound. The trunk opener (latch release mechanism)  80  is actuated by the detection apparatus  40  to release a latch condition of the trunk  110 . The trunk lighting lamp  100  is positioned near the pyroelectric sensor  30 , and is used for a failure detection of the pyroelectric sensor  30 , as described later. Here, the warning lamp  50 , the alarm unit  70  and the trunk opener  80  are operated for saving the person in the trunk  110 . 
     Hereinafter, processes of the detection apparatus  40  (process for saving the person locked in the trunk  110 ) will be explained with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. The detection apparatus  40  performs these processes based on a flowchart shown in FIG.  17 . 
     At first, the detection apparatus  40  judges whether the pyroelectric sensor  30  is in a failure condition (out of order) or not (step S 100 ). In detail, as shown in FIG. 18, the detection apparatus  40  turns on the trunk lighting lamp  100  for a predetermined time (step S 101 ), and detects whether outputs of the pyroelectric sensor  30  has changed or not (step S 102 ). Here, when the trunk lighting lamp  100  is turned on, and when the pyroelectric sensor  30  is normal, the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  changes in response to the turning on of the trunk lighting lamp  100 . The detection apparatus  40  can detect whether the pyroelectric sensor is in the failure condition or not by detecting whether the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor has changed or not. 
     Next, the detection apparatus  40  detects whether a predetermined time has passed or not (step S 103 ). When the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  has not changed within the predetermined time, the detection apparatus  40  determines that the pyroelectric sensor  30  is in the failure condition, and outputs a failure detection signal to the trunk opener  80 , as shown in FIG. 17 (step S 160 ). 
     Therefore, the trunk opener  80  releases the latch release condition when the failure detection signal is received. After that, the guidance lamp  60  is turned off (step S 170 ). 
     Incidentally, when the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  has changed at step S 100 , the detection apparatus  40  determines that the pyroelectric sensor  30  is normal. Then, the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 110  to turn on the guidance lamp  60  (step S 110 ). Thus, when the person is locked in the trunk  110 , a shown in FIG. 6, the guidance lamp  60  attracts attention of the person, and then the person approaches a part of his/her body (e.g., a hand) to the guidance lamp  60  and the pyroelectric sensor  30 . As a result, person&#39;s movement is partly detected by the pyroelectric sensor  30 . 
     Next, the detection apparatus  40  compares the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  with a threshold value (step S 120 ). When the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is equal to or more than the threshold value (detection signal&gt;threshold value), the detection apparatus moves to step S 130  to detect whether a condition, in which the detection signal from the pyroelectric sensor  30  is larger than the threshold value, continues for a predetermined time or not. Here, when the condition continues for the predetermined time, the detection apparatus  40  determines that a person is locked in the trunk  110 , and the detection apparatus  40  moves to step S 140  to output a locked-in detection signal to the warning lamp  50 , the alarm unit  70  and the trunk opener  80 . 
     Therefore, the warning lamp  50  is turned on when it receives the locked-in detection signal. The alarm unit  70  outputs alarm by way of sound when it receives the locked-in detection signal. The trunk opener releases the latch condition of the trunk  110  when it receives the locked-in detection signal. After the latch condition of the trunk  110  is released, the power supply from the battery is opened (being cut), and this routine is terminated. When the latch of the trunk  110  is not released, the detection apparatus  40  returns to step S 140  after a predetermined time, for example, two seconds has passed. 
     Next, supply of the power to the control circuit  400  in the detection apparatus  40  will be explained. At first, when the trunk  110  is opened, the trunk open/close switch  20  is turned on, and the power is supplied to the detection apparatus  40  from the battery  80  via the trunk open/close switch  20 . 
     Here, the power supply circuit  401  is powered by the battery  90  via the trunk open/close switch  20 , and outputs the regulated voltage to the power-cut circuit  402  and the timer circuit  403 . Therefore, the timer circuit  403  keeps on connecting between the power supply circuit  401  and the control circuit  400  for only a predetermined time after the timer receives the regulated voltage by using the power-cut circuit  402 . 
     Therefore, the control circuit  400  receives the regulated voltage from the power supply circuit  401  only for the predetermined time after the regulated voltage from the power supply circuit  401  is received. As a result, the control circuit  400  starts the saving process for saving a person who is accidentally locked in the trunk by receiving the regulated voltage from the power supply  401 , and terminates the saving process after a predetermined time has passed. 
     According to the structure in the above, the saving process to be executed by the control circuit  400  is started or stopped in response to the start or stop of the power supply to the control circuit  400 , instead of the structure shown in FIG. 4 in which the saving process is controlled based on the trunk open/close signal from the trunk lighting lamp. Therefore, it does not need a harness for transmitting the trunk open/close signal from the trunk lighting lamp  100 , and it can reduce the number of the harnesses. 
     Here, the detection apparatus  40  may be made up of a microcomputer having a sleep function. In this case, the microcomputer may perform the saving process only for a predetermined time after the trunk is closed by using this sleep function. For example, the microcomputer contains a built-in processing circuit. The built-in processing circuit is powered for only the predetermined period by the timer operation of the built-in timer of the microcomputer. After that, power supply to the built-in processing circuit is terminated.