CN110576866B

CN110576866B - Driving support device for vehicle

Info

Publication number: CN110576866B
Application number: CN201910490205.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 长嶋太良
Original assignee: Suzuki Motor Corp
Current assignee: Suzuki Motor Corp
Priority date: 2018-06-08
Filing date: 2019-06-06
Publication date: 2023-04-25
Anticipated expiration: 2039-06-06
Also published as: JP7124472B2; FR3082348B1; JP2019212189A; CN110576866A; CN210149316U; DE102019208191A1; FR3082348A1

Abstract

The invention provides a driving support device for a vehicle, which can inform a driver of only a required target object. The driving support device for a vehicle includes: an imaging unit (2) that images the front of the vehicle (1); a notification unit (3) that notifies the driver of various information; and a control unit (6) that identifies the target object from the image captured by the imaging unit (2) and notifies the driver via the notification unit (3), wherein the control unit (6) divides the image in front of the vehicle (1) into at least two areas, and at least one of the identified target object and the method of identifying the target object is made different in each area.

Description

Driving support device for vehicle

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a driving support device for a vehicle.

Background

Patent document 1 describes a technique of switching whether or not to display information of a road traffic sign recognized from a front image on an identification information display device according to a traveling state of a front vehicle traveling in the same direction as the host vehicle.

Prior art literature

Patent literature

Patent document 1: japanese patent No. 6084598

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in the device described in patent document 1, if there is no preceding vehicle, it is not possible to accurately determine the presence of the preceding vehicle, and unnecessary road traffic sign information is displayed on the identification information display device.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a driving support device for a vehicle capable of notifying a driver of only a required target object.

Solution for solving the problem

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a driving support device for a vehicle, including: an imaging unit that captures an image of the front of the vehicle; a notification unit that notifies a driver of a target object; and a control unit that identifies the target object from the image and notifies the driver by the notification unit, wherein the control unit divides the image into at least two areas, and at least one of the identified target object and the method of identifying the target object is different in each of the areas.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

Thus, according to the present invention, only the required target can be notified to the driver.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a driving support device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a method of changing the boundary threshold value of the driving support device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a vehicle stop driving flag notification process of the driving support device for a vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing steps of a speed limit sign notification process of the driving support device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a road map showing an example of a vehicle stop-drive-in flag notification process for describing a driving support device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a view showing an example of an image of the front side of the vehicle for explaining the vehicle stop driving-in flag notification processing of the driving support device for a vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a road map showing an example of a speed limit sign notification process of a driving support device for a vehicle for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a view showing an example of an image of the front of a vehicle for explaining the speed limit sign notification process of the driving support device for a vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the reference numerals

1. A vehicle; 2. an imaging unit; 3. a notification unit; 6. a control unit; 53. a GNSS receiving device; 64. an identification processing unit; 65. an output processing unit; 101. a steering angle sensor; 102. an accelerator opening sensor; 103. a vehicle speed sensor.

Detailed Description

A driving support device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: an imaging unit that captures an image of the front of the vehicle; a notification unit that notifies a driver of a target object; and a control unit that recognizes the target object from the image and notifies the driver by the notification unit, wherein the control unit is configured to divide the image into at least two areas, and at least one of the recognized target object and the method of recognizing the target object is made different in each area.

Thus, the vehicle driving support device according to the embodiment of the present invention can notify the driver of only the required target object.

[ example ]

Next, a driving support device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In fig. 1, a vehicle 1 on which a driving support device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted is configured to include an imaging unit 2, a notification unit 3, a communication unit 4, a map information management unit 5, and a control unit 6.

The imaging unit 2 is constituted by, for example, a camera or the like, and is used for imaging the front of the vehicle 1. The image pickup unit 2 outputs the picked-up image to the control unit 6.

The notification unit 3 is configured by, for example, a monitor, a speaker, a lamp, a meter, a buzzer, and the like, and notifies the driver of various information by visual sense, auditory sense, and the like.

The communication unit 4 communicates with a server device outside the vehicle, a roadside communication device provided near the road, and the like, and transmits and receives information.

The map information management unit 5 is composed of computer units including a CPU (Central Processing Unit: central processing unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory: random access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash Memory, a hard disk device, an input port, and an output port.

Various control constants, various maps, and the like are stored in the ROM of the map information management section 5, and a program for causing the computer unit to function as the map information management section 5 is stored. That is, the computer unit functions as the map information management unit 5 by executing the program stored in the ROM by the CPU.

An input port of the map information management unit 5 is connected to a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System: global navigation satellite system) receiver 53 and various sensor members including an acceleration sensor (not shown).

The GNSS receiver 53 receives radio waves from GNSS satellites via a GNSS antenna, not shown, and obtains latitude, longitude, and the like of the current position from information included in the received radio waves. The acceleration sensor detects the acceleration of the vehicle 1.

The map information management unit 5 and the control unit 6 transmit and receive signals such as control signals to and from each other via an in-vehicle LAN (Local Area Network: local area network) based on a specification such as CAN (Controller Area Network: controller area network).

The map information management unit 5 functions as a static information storage unit 51, and the static information storage unit 51 manages static map information including information on road traffic signs, information on traffic lights, information on lanes of roads, and the like stored in, for example, a hard disk device.

The map information management unit 5 functions as a dynamic information acquisition unit 52, and the dynamic information acquisition unit 52 acquires dynamic information such as road traffic information, road restriction information, road construction information, congestion information, accident information, ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems: intelligent transportation system) information, weather information, and the like from a server device, a road side communication device, and the like via the communication unit 4.

The map information management unit 5 can detect the current position of the vehicle by the GNSS receiver 53, the acceleration sensor, and the like, and transmit map information such as road traffic sign information, traffic light information, traffic information such as congestion information and accident information, and weather information around the current position of the vehicle to the control unit 6.

The control unit 6 is composed of a computer unit including CPU, RAM, ROM, a flash memory, an input port, and an output port.

The ROM of the control unit 6 stores various control constants, various maps, and the like, and also stores a program for causing the computer unit to function as the control unit 6. That is, the computer unit functions as the control unit 6 by executing the program stored in the ROM by the CPU.

Various sensor-based components including an imaging unit 2, a steering angle sensor 101, an accelerator opening sensor 102, and a vehicle speed sensor 103 are connected to an input port of the control unit 6. Various control object members including the notification unit 3 are connected to the output port of the control unit 6.

The steering angle sensor 101 detects a steering angle of a steering wheel, not shown, operated by a driver. The accelerator opening sensor 102 detects an accelerator opening, which is an opening of an accelerator pedal operated by a driver and not shown. The vehicle speed sensor 103 detects the speed of the vehicle 1.

The control unit 6 functions as an image reading unit 61 that reads the image data captured by the imaging unit 2. The control unit 6 functions as an image processing unit 62 that performs predetermined image processing on the image data read by the image reading unit 61.

The control unit 6 functions as a detection processing unit 63, and the detection processing unit 63 performs setting or the like for a target object to be identified when predetermined identification processing is performed based on the image data subjected to the image processing by the image processing unit 62.

The control unit 6 functions as an identification processing unit 64, and the identification processing unit 64 identifies road traffic signs, characters, signs, persons, automobiles, traffic lights for automobiles, pedestrian traffic lights, entrances and exits of toll stations, lanes of roads, and the like from the image data according to the setting of the detection processing unit 63.

The control unit 6 functions as an output processing unit 65, and the output processing unit 65 notifies the driver of the recognized target object by the notification unit 3 based on the recognition result of the recognition processing unit 64.

The control unit 6 divides the display image of the image data image-processed by the image processing unit 62 into at least two areas, and sets weights for the respective areas.

The control unit 6 performs processing using only information identified in a region where the set weight value is high.

For example, the control unit 6 recognizes the same kind of object such as the speed limit sign in at least two of the divided areas, and when the contents of the same kind of object are different, for example, the speed limit sign is different, the contents of the area having a high weight value are validated.

The same type means that the types of restriction marks are identical to each other in units of restriction mark types such as speed restriction marks and vehicle stop entrance marks. The difference in content means that the speed limit is different when the speed limit flag is set, and whether the auxiliary flag is set when the vehicle drive-in prohibition flag is set.

The control unit 6 may make the object identified in each region, the identification method of the object, the processing in the case of identification, and the like different according to the set weight value.

The control unit 6 divides the display image of the image data into, for example, left and right regions, and makes the weight value of the left region high and the weight value of the right region low.

The control unit 6 performs processing using only road traffic signs identified in the left area having a high weight value, for example.

For example, the control unit 6 recognizes a road traffic sign in a left region having a high weight value, and does not recognize a road traffic sign in a right region having a low weight value.

The setting standard of the road traffic sign is different depending on the country, but basically, the principle is to set the road traffic sign on the side of the auxiliary road.

Thus, by providing this, the road traffic sign provided on the left side auxiliary road side can be recognized, and the driver can be notified of the required road traffic sign.

In addition, the identification of the road traffic sign on the right side where the road traffic sign unrelated to the own vehicle is provided is suppressed, and thus the notification of the unnecessary road traffic sign to the driver can be suppressed.

Since the recognition of the right road traffic sign is suppressed, the load of the recognition processing by the control unit 6 can be reduced.

The control unit 6 determines the driving lane (right-hand traffic or left-hand traffic) of the vehicle 1 at the current position based on the position information obtained by the GNSS receiver 53, for example, and changes the weight value of the divided region by the driving lane.

By setting in this way, the weight value is changed according to the driving lane (right-hand traffic or left-hand traffic) changed by country, and the driver can be notified of the required road traffic sign. In addition, it is possible to suppress notification of unnecessary road traffic signs to the driver.

The division of the region need not be performed at the left and right centers, but may be performed at a predetermined ratio. Instead of the left-right division, the vertical division may be performed.

For example, when dividing the display image into two left and right regions, the control unit 6 stores the number of pixels from the left end of the pixels at the dividing position of the display image as the boundary threshold. The control unit 6 may change the boundary threshold value according to the driving state of the vehicle 1.

For example, as shown in fig. 2, the control unit 6 changes the lateral boundary threshold value for dividing the display image into two left and right regions according to the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor 101.

As shown in fig. 2, when the steering angle is turned to the left direction, the control unit 6 changes the lateral boundary threshold value to the direction of the arrow indicated as "left" in the figure so that the left area increases. When the steering angle is shown to be turned in the right direction, the control unit 6 changes the lateral boundary threshold value to the direction of the arrow indicated as "right" in the figure so that the right area becomes larger.

By providing this, when the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 is changed, the road traffic sign in the traveling direction can be recognized well. In addition, when the steering angle is shown to be steering in the right direction, the recognition of the road traffic sign in the left region may be stopped, and only the road traffic sign in the right region may be recognized.

For example, as shown in fig. 2, the control unit 6 changes the vertical boundary threshold value for dividing the display image into two upper and lower regions according to the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 103.

As shown in fig. 2, when the vehicle speed is low, the control unit 6 changes the vertical boundary threshold value in the direction of an arrow indicated as "low vehicle speed" in the figure so that the lower region is increased. When the vehicle speed increases, the control unit 6 changes the vertical boundary threshold value in the direction of an arrow indicated as "high vehicle speed" in the figure so that the upper region increases.

By providing this, when the vehicle speed is changed, the road traffic sign in the traveling direction can be recognized well.

Since the upper region is larger as the vehicle speed is higher, the road traffic sign displayed by the electronic bulletin board provided above the road can be not recognized by making the weight value of the upper region lower. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the notification of traffic information such as wide area information as current information.

The vehicle stop drive-in flag notification process based on the driving support device for a vehicle according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to fig. 3. The vehicle stop entrance flag notification process described below is started when the control unit 6 starts the process.

In step S1, the control unit 6 reads an image of the front of the vehicle 1 from the imaging unit 2, and performs a process of recognizing the vehicle stop entrance flag.

In step S2, the control unit 6 refers to the weight of the divided area of the front image of the vehicle 1 captured by the imaging unit 2.

In step S3, the control unit 6 determines whether or not the vehicle stop entrance flag has been passed based on the recognition result. Here, if the vehicle no-drive-in flag is not recognized, it is determined that the vehicle no-drive-in flag is not passed.

When it is determined that the vehicle-entry-prohibition flag has been passed, the control unit 6 determines in step S4 whether or not the passed vehicle-entry-prohibition flag is a traffic flag valid for the own vehicle, based on the weight of the divided areas of the image. That is, it is determined whether or not the passing vehicle stop entrance flag is recognized in the region where the weight value is high.

When it is determined that the passing vehicle stop entrance flag is a traffic flag valid for the own vehicle, the control unit 6 causes the notification unit 3 to display a warning in step S5.

In step S6, the control unit 6 determines whether or not a predetermined end condition is satisfied. The end condition includes a case where a stop of the warning display, a stop of the vehicle 1, or the like is selected by an operation of the driver.

When it is determined in step S6 that the predetermined end condition is not satisfied, the control unit 6 returns the process to step S5 and repeats the process.

If it is determined in step S4 that the passing vehicle stop entrance flag is not a traffic flag valid for the own vehicle or if it is determined in step S6 that the predetermined end condition is satisfied, in step S7, the control unit 6 causes the notification unit 3 to end the warning display and ends the processing.

If it is determined in step S3 that the vehicle stop entry flag has not been passed, the control unit 6 determines in step S8 whether or not a predetermined end condition is satisfied. The end condition includes a case where the vehicle stop drive-in flag, the vehicle 1 stop, and the like cannot be recognized.

When it is determined in step S8 that the predetermined end condition is not satisfied, the control unit 6 returns the process to step S1 and repeats the process.

When it is determined in step S8 that the predetermined end condition is satisfied, in step S7, the control unit 6 causes the notification unit 3 to end the warning display and ends the processing.

The speed limit sign notification process of the driving assistance device for a vehicle according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 4. The speed limit sign notification process described below is performed when the speed limit sign is recognized in both areas of the image divided into two parts by the recognition process of the control unit 6.

In step S11, the control unit 6 refers to the weight of the divided area of the front image of the vehicle 1 captured by the imaging unit 2.

In step S12, the control unit 6 determines whether or not the limiting speeds of the speed limit signs recognized from the front image of the vehicle 1 are the same in the left and right regions. When it is determined that the limiting speed is the same in both the left and right regions, the control unit 6 displays the recognized speed limit flag by the notification unit 3 in step S13.

If it is determined in step S12 that the limiting speed is different in the left and right regions, in step S14, the control unit 6 displays only the speed limit flag in the region having the higher weight value by the notification unit 3.

In step S15, when a predetermined end condition is satisfied, the control unit 6 ends the display by the notification unit 3, and ends the process. The end condition includes that the speed limit flag cannot be recognized, the vehicle 1 is stopped, or the like.

An operation based on such a vehicle stop drive-in flag notification process will be described with reference to fig. 5 and 6.

An image of the front of the vehicle 1 captured by the image capturing unit 2 of the vehicle 1 traveling on the road as shown in fig. 5 is shown in fig. 6.

In fig. 6, a vehicle stop-driving-in flag appearing on the right side is a flag for prohibiting the driving of a vehicle into a lane facing the right side, and when the vehicle stop-driving-in flag is recognized and processed, an unnecessary road traffic flag is notified to the driver.

In the present embodiment, in fig. 6, the image in front of the vehicle 1 is divided left and right by a one-dot chain line, and the weight value of the left region is made high. Therefore, by performing the processing using only the vehicle stop entrance flag identified in the left region, it is possible to suppress the notification of the unnecessary road traffic sign to the driver in such a case.

When the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor 101 indicates steering in the right direction, the control unit 6 increases the right weight value. In this way, when the steering wheel is operated to the right to drive into the right-side opposite lane, the vehicle stop drive-in flag can be notified to the driver, and the driver can be notified of the required road traffic flag.

The operation of the speed limit sign notification process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 7 and 8.

An image of the front of the vehicle 1 captured by the image capturing unit 2 of the vehicle 1 traveling on the road as shown in fig. 7 is shown in fig. 8.

In fig. 8, the speed limit sign appearing on the right side is a sign of the road on the right side, and when the speed limit sign is recognized and processed, the driver is notified of an unnecessary road traffic sign.

In the present embodiment, in fig. 8, the image in front of the vehicle 1 is divided left and right by a one-dot chain line, and the weight value of the left region is made high. Therefore, even when the same type of restriction information target object is identified, the speed limit flag identified in the left area alone can be used for processing, and therefore, in such a case, it is possible to notify the driver of the required road traffic flag in the left area and suppress the notification of the unnecessary road traffic flag in the right area.

In the present embodiment, the case of recognizing and notifying the road traffic sign is shown, but the present invention is also applicable to the case of recognizing and notifying a sign, a person, an automobile, a traffic light for a pedestrian, or the like as a target object to a driver.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 6 has been described as an example of performing various determinations and calculations based on various sensor information, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various determinations and calculations may be performed based on the detection information of various sensors transmitted from the communication unit 4 by using an off-board device, and the determination results and calculation results may be received by the communication unit 4, and various controls may be performed using the received determination results and calculation results.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. And all such modifications and equivalents are intended to be included in the claims.

Claims

1. A driving support device for a vehicle, the driving support device comprising:

an imaging unit that captures an image of the front of the vehicle;

a notification unit that notifies a driver of a target object; and

a control unit that recognizes the target object from the image and notifies the driver of the target object through the notification unit,

it is characterized in that the method comprises the steps of,

the control unit divides the image into at least two regions, weights the divided regions, and has a first condition that the same kind of the target object is recognized in at least two regions and a second condition that the content of the same kind of the target object is different,

and when the first condition and the second condition are both satisfied, enabling the content of the target object of the area with higher weight to be effective.

2. The driving assistance device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein,

the control unit has a boundary threshold value at the time of dividing the image, and changes the boundary threshold value according to a driving state of the vehicle.

3. The driving assistance device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that,

the control unit performs processing using only the target object identified in the region having the higher weight value.

4. The driving support device for a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein,

the control portion changes the weight of the region according to the current position of the vehicle.