JP2000214256A - Display device of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the display accuracy by canceling information display when the position of a detection object after the passage of a specie time being estimated from the relative speed of the detection object and a vehicle is away from the vehicle at least by a specific distance. SOLUTION: The display device consists of a rear detection sensor 10, a controller 15, and a display part 31. The detection sensor 10 is provided with a pair of upper and lower multi-stage line-type CCD chips 11 and a lens 12 corresponding to it and captures an object image in a fixed angle range as brightness information via the lens 12. A range-finding circuit 16 in the controller 15 obtains a parallax being generated in the image of the CCD chip 11 and calculates the distance up to the object from the parallax. An object recognition part 20 recognizes the object based on a signal from the range-finding circuit 16 and outputs a display signal to a display part 31 based on the result. The distance information of the object is canceled when it is judged that the vehicle is driving on a curved road according to a vehicle speed and a handle steering angle, and the estimation position of the object after a specified time passes from the relative speed between the object and the vehicle is away from the vehicle at least by a specific distance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention detects an obstacle to a lane change from objects on the rear side of a vehicle (hereinafter, also referred to as "own vehicle"), and displays the distance to the vehicle. The present invention relates to a display device, and particularly to a technical field for optimizing the display.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of vehicle display device, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-206151, a large number of CCDs arranged in a fixed direction are multi-staged in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction. The vehicle is provided with a multi-stage line type CCD which is arranged in parallel to the vehicle, and recognizes a specific object from the two-dimensional distance data obtained based on the multi-stage line type CCD, so that the vehicle at the rear side of the vehicle, etc. An object (an other vehicle) is determined as an obstacle, and the existence of the obstacle is notified to an occupant such as a driver of the vehicle to assist lane change.

[0003]

However, when an object such as a vehicle on the rear side of the vehicle is detected as an obstacle by a sensor and the distance to the object is displayed on the display means, the following problem arises. There is a possibility of occurrence, and there is room for improvement. That is, in the above-described conventional apparatus, range detection is performed to exclude an unnecessary range in which the object cannot be originally located in detecting the object. For this reason, as shown by a virtual line in FIG. 48, for example, when the vehicle C is traveling on a curved lane r (traveling road), if a guardrail G is present outside the curve of the traveling lane r. Then, all the detection data of the guard rail G is included in the detection area after the range cut, and the data can be determined to be that of the guard rail G.

However, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 48, when the vehicle C is traveling on an inner lane r of a plurality of curved lanes r, r,. Since the guardrail G is located outside the other lane r adjacent to the vehicle, the detection range after the range cut includes only the data of the guardrail G located at a long distance,
As shown in FIG. 49, the guardrail G approaches the vehicle C immediately after the vehicle C starts traveling on a curve, keeps a certain distance from the vehicle C during the curve traveling, and moves away from the vehicle C at the end of the curve traveling. There is a problem that an object (other vehicle) moving erroneously is erroneously determined and displayed.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object thereof is to improve the processing method for detecting the object on the rear side of the vehicle and displaying the distance, for example, by An object of the present invention is to reliably prevent a guide rail when a vehicle is traveling on a curve from being erroneously determined to be an object and display the guide rail, and to enhance display accuracy.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the position of an object located on the rear side of a vehicle is estimated from the relative speed with respect to the vehicle (own vehicle), and the estimated position is determined. Is determined to be a guardrail, and data indicating that the data is over a predetermined distance, or data in a range outside the travel path determined from the estimated curvature by estimating the curvature of the travel path of the vehicle are all determined to be those of the guardrail, and displayed. Was not done.

Specifically, according to the first aspect of the present invention, FIG.
As shown in (a), an object detecting means 10 for detecting an object on the rear side of the vehicle, a relative speed calculating means 40 for calculating a relative speed of the object detected by the object detecting means 10 with respect to the vehicle, Based on the calculation result by the relative speed calculation means 40, a display control means 41 for displaying information on the distance of the detected object to the vehicle on the display means 31, and based on the calculation result by the relative speed calculation means 40, A position estimating means for estimating the position of the detected object after a predetermined time has elapsed, and a display estimating means for determining whether the position of the object estimated by the position estimating means is at least a predetermined distance from the vehicle. Display cancellation means 43 for canceling display of information on the distance to the object.

With the above arrangement, the object detecting means 10 detects an object at the rear side of the vehicle, and the relative speed of the detected object with respect to the vehicle is calculated by the relative speed calculating means 40. Based on the calculation result of the relative speed by the relative speed calculation means 40, information on the distance of the detected object from the vehicle is displayed on the display control means 41.
Is displayed on the display means 31. Further, the position estimating means 42 estimates the position of the detected object after a predetermined time has elapsed based on the calculation result of the relative speed by the relative speed calculating means 40, and the estimated position of the estimated object is obtained from the vehicle. When the distance is equal to or more than the predetermined distance, the display canceling unit 43 cancels the display of the information on the object distance by the display control unit 41.

[0009] Among the detected objects located on the rear side of the vehicle, those whose estimated position estimated from the relative speed with respect to the vehicle is separated from the vehicle by a predetermined distance or more are displayed by the display control means 41. Since this is not performed, for example, a guardrail on the outside of a curve of another adjacent traveling road in a curve running state of the vehicle is an object whose estimated position is separated by a predetermined distance or more, and the display of the guardrail is prevented. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the guardrail from being erroneously displayed as an object (another traveling vehicle), and to appropriately display the object.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a curve detecting means for detecting that the vehicle is traveling on a curve.
The display cancel unit 43 is configured to cancel the display of the information on the distance of the object by the display control unit 41 when the curve detecting unit 44 detects the curve traveling state. In this case,
It is possible to reliably prevent the guardrail outside the curve of another lane from being erroneously displayed as an object (other vehicle) while the vehicle is traveling on a curve.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a contact / separation determining means 45 for determining whether the object detected by the object detecting means 10 is in a state of approaching or separating from the vehicle. The display canceling means 43 is configured to stop the display control means 41 from canceling the display of information on the distance of the object for the object determined to be approaching the vehicle by the contact / separation determining means 45. It is assumed that As described above, for the object determined to be approaching the vehicle, the display control means 41 stops canceling the display of the information related to the distance of the object, and the information is displayed. (Other vehicles) can be more accurately identified, and the erroneous display can be more reliably prevented.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1B, an object detecting means 10 for detecting an object on the rear side of the vehicle.
And steering angle detecting means 14 for detecting a value related to the steering angle of the vehicle.
And an extracting means 46 for extracting an information providing object from the detected objects based on the detection results of the object detecting means 10 and the steering angle detecting means 14, and an information providing object extracted by the extracting means 46. A display control unit 41 for displaying information on the position with respect to the vehicle on the display unit 31 is provided. The extraction means 46 includes a curvature estimating section 47 for estimating the curvature of the traveling path on which the vehicle is traveling, based on the detection result of the steering angle detecting means 14, and a travel estimated by the curvature estimating section 47. An object extracting unit 48 that extracts an object existing in a range in the traveling road as the information providing target based on the estimated curvature of the road.

According to this configuration, the object on the rear side of the vehicle is detected by the object detecting means 10 and the value relating to the steering angle of the vehicle is detected by the steering angle detecting means 14, respectively.
The information providing target is extracted from the objects detected in 6 and the information on the position of the extracted information providing target with respect to the vehicle is displayed on the display means 31 by the display control means 41. In the extracting means 46, the curvature estimating unit 47 estimates the curvature of the traveling path of the vehicle from the value related to the steering angle of the vehicle, and the object extracting unit 48 calculates the curvature of the traveling path based on the estimated curvature of the traveling path. Objects existing within the range are extracted as the information providing targets. In this way, the range of the traveling path is obtained from the curvature of the traveling path of the vehicle,
Only the objects within the range of the travel path are extracted as information providing targets and displayed by the display control means 41, so that the vehicle travels in a curve on the other travel path as in the case of the first aspect. The guardrail outside the curve becomes an object outside the range of the travel path, and the guardrail can be reliably prevented from being erroneously displayed as an object (other vehicle).

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the extraction means 46
Is configured to change the extraction content of the object extraction unit 48 according to the traveling position of the vehicle. In this way, by changing the extraction content of the object extraction unit 48 according to the traveling position of the vehicle, even if the distance to the guardrail changes between the start and the middle of the curve traveling of the vehicle, for example, the traveling By changing the range of the road, erroneous display of the guardrail can be stably prevented.

[0015]

FIG. 2 shows a vehicle C (own vehicle) comprising a vehicle equipped with a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Object O such as another vehicle (shown in FIGS. 5, 11, and 12)
Is recognized and a warning is issued as a warning target.

That is, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle body of a vehicle C, 2 denotes a vehicle room formed at a substantially central portion in the front and rear direction of the vehicle body 1, 3 denotes an engine room formed at a front end of the vehicle body 1, and 4 denotes a vehicle room. An instrument panel 5 is provided at a front end of the vehicle 2, a package tray 5 is provided at a rear end of the cabin 2, and 6 and 6 are left and right door mirrors. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the display device receives the left and right rear side detection sensors 10 and 10 for measuring the distance to the object O, and the output signals of the respective detection sensors 10. Controller 15
And a display unit 31 (display means) for receiving information from the controller 15 and displaying information to the occupant of the vehicle C, for example, the presence of the object O and the degree of danger as an obstacle on a CRT or a liquid crystal display. I have.

The display section 31 displays the vehicle C of the object O detected by the rear side detection sensor 10 (object detection means).
As shown in FIG. 43, the vehicle rear view section 32 imagining the rear view of the vehicle C as a vehicle, and a lower side of the vehicle rear view section 32 as shown in FIG. Left and right segment rows 33, 33 arranged on the left and right sides so as to extend substantially vertically in a row corresponding to obstacles on the left rear side and the right rear side, respectively.
, And each segment row 33 is composed of, for example, eight substantially trapezoidal segments 34, 34,... Which are individually turned on and off. The two segment rows 33, 33 are arranged in an inclined manner so as to approach each other from the lower side far from the host vehicle rear view portion 32 to the upper side which is closer to the lower side, and the segments 34, 34 in each segment row 33. The width of the right and left sides is widened on the lower side far from the rear view portion 32 of the own vehicle, and narrows toward the upper side close to the rear view portion 32 of the own vehicle. That is, on the display screen 31a, when the host vehicle C is viewed from behind, the image of the rear obstacle is displayed in perspective.

As shown in FIG. 2, the two detection sensors 10,
Reference numeral 10 is attached and fixed to the inside of the left and right door mirrors 6 and 6 so as to face obliquely rearward. The controller 15 is provided in the vehicle cabin 2 and the display unit 31 is provided on the instrument panel 4.

Each of the detection sensors 10 constitutes an object detection means for detecting an object O in a predetermined range on the rear side of the vehicle C. As shown in FIG. A pair of upper and lower CCD chips 11, 11
Lens 1 arranged corresponding to CD chips 11, 11
2 and 12. Each of the CCD chips 11 has a number of CCs arranged along a vertical window direction.
The CCD chip 11 is a multi-stage line type CCD in which CCD lines are arranged in multiple stages in a line direction (horizontal direction) orthogonal to the window direction. )
Over the object O in the range of the angle θ1 in the vertical direction and the range of the angle θ2 in the horizontal left and right direction (see FIGS. 10 and 12).
Is captured as luminance information.

As shown in FIG. 4, each of the detection sensors 10 is connected to a distance measuring circuit 16 in a controller 15. Each of the distance measuring circuits 16 includes two CCD chips 11,
A parallax calculator 17 for calculating the parallax (phase difference) of the object image at 11 and a distance calculator 18 for calculating a distance to the object O based on a signal from the parallax calculator 17. Then, in each distance measuring circuit 16, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7,
The image captured as luminance by each CCD chip 11 is divided into n lines for each CCD line in the line direction (horizontal direction), and each line is divided into m windows in the window direction (vertical direction). , The substantially entire image is composed of m × n areas E, E,..., And the same area E,
The disparity between E is obtained, and the distance to the object O is calculated for each region E from this disparity.

That is, the images captured as luminance by both CCD chips 11, 11 are as shown in FIG. 6, but the images of both CCD chips 11, 11 have the same line position (line i in the illustrated example). In FIG. 8, as shown in FIG. 8, the two CCD chips 11, 11 are displaced by an amount corresponding to the vertical displacement to generate a parallax. This principle will be described with reference to FIG. 9 by referring to triangles P.O1.Q and O1 in FIG.
-Since P1 and Q1 and triangles P and O2 and Q and triangles O2 and P2 and Q2 are similar to each other,
Now, the distance from the detection sensor 10 (lens 12) to the object O is a, the distance between the centers of the two lenses 12, 12 is B (constant), the focal length of the lens 12 is f (constant), and both CCD chips 11, Assuming that the amounts of displacement of the object image from the lens center at 11 are x1 and x2, respectively, a · x1 / f = Ba−x2 / f, and from this equation, a = B · f / (x1 + x2) is obtained. Can be That is, the distance a to the object O can be measured by the parallax (phase difference) of the object image between the two CCD chips 11, 11.

G (white dots) in FIGS. 6 and 7 are:
The distance measuring points (ranging points) are arranged in a vertical and horizontal lattice so as to correspond to the CCD of the CCD chip 11, and the distance measuring points G are included in each area E. The window of each CCD line is divided so that a part of the window overlaps with the adjacent window, and the same distance measuring points G, G, G, and G are located in regions E and E adjacent in the vertical direction (window direction). …It is included. O 'is an image of the object.

Further, as shown in FIG.
The plurality of lines formed by dividing the image captured as the luminance by the chip 11 for each line are such that the line position for measuring a short distance outside the vehicle C has a smaller number, while the center position in the vehicle width direction is smaller. The line position for measuring the long distance on the side is set to a large number, and the number is sequentially increased from the outer line toward the center line in the vehicle width direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the controller 15 receives a specific two-dimensional distance data in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction obtained based on the detection sensor 10, that is, a specific signal based on a signal from each distance measuring circuit 16. Object recognition unit 20 for recognizing object O
And an object selection unit 21 for selecting whether or not the object O is a new object based on an output signal of the object recognition unit 20, and whether or not the object O selected by the object selection unit 21 is a dangerous object for the vehicle C (own vehicle). And a danger determining unit 22 for determining whether the object O has been detected. The object recognizing unit 20 outputs a display signal to the display unit 31 based on the recognition result of the object O.
And output it.

The controller 15 receives a vehicle speed sensor 13 for detecting a running speed V (vehicle speed) of the vehicle and an output signal of a steering angle sensor 14 for detecting a steering angle θ of a steering wheel (not shown) of the vehicle. Each has been entered.

Further, the controller 15 includes a range cut unit 24 for eliminating an unnecessary range where the object O cannot be originally located in recognizing the object O, a distance data for each of the measured distances, and a surrounding area. An eight-neighbor point processing unit 25 that performs comparison with eight adjacent regions (eight-neighbor point processing) to give the number of effective points, and a line-distance calculation unit 2 that calculates the distance for each line
6, a guardrail determination unit 27 for determining a guardrail, and a grouping unit 28 for grouping distance data for each object O.

FIG. 11 shows the range cut range Z1 in the vertical direction excluded by the range cut section 24, and FIG. 12 shows the range cut range Z2 in the horizontal direction. These range cut ranges Z1 and Z2 are shown. Is detected based on the angle of the line and the distance at that position. FIG.
2, F is the road surface of the vehicle C, M is a white line on the road surface F that sets the vehicle traveling lane on the road, F1 is a roadside zone installed on both sides of the road, and H is an implant.

Further, as described above, since each detection sensor 10 captures an image over the mirror (glass of a half mirror) of each door mirror 6, it becomes difficult to measure an accurate distance due to the distortion of the mirror and the like, and parallax is generated. It is necessary to correct the distance relationship according to the distance. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 41, one map indicating the relationship of the distance according to the parallax, which is set in advance with reference to the long distance side line, is stored, and the distance is corrected from this one map. .
That is, the distance measurement characteristics of the distance measurement circuit 16 are such that the other lines are complemented with reference to the long distance side line.

Further, the following processing is performed in this embodiment in order to correct the distance relationship according to the parallax due to the surrounding brightness, dirt on the mirror of the door mirror 6, and the like. That is, in the former case of determining the surrounding brightness, the number Ndat of the distance data measured
a (see FIGS. 36 and 37), and by dividing it by the number of all regions, a detection rate (distance measurement rate) is obtained. As shown in FIG. A certain time is determined as a “day” state, and a time lower than a predetermined value is determined as a “night” state.

On the other hand, in the latter case of determining whether the mirror of the door mirror 6 is dirty, the position of the white line on the road surface is detected by the detection sensor 10.
When the measured distance value of the white line changes with a variation rate using the fact that it is included in a fixed distance range in a fixed angle range, it is determined that rainwater or the like is attached to the mirror of the door mirror 6, On the other hand, when the measured distance value of the white line changes in absolute value, it is determined that the mirror of the door mirror 6 is dirty.

As shown in FIG. 13, the eight adjacent points processing operation of the eight adjacent points processing unit 25 is performed on distance data of a certain area E (i, j) with respect to eight adjacent areas R1 to R8 adjacent thereto. This is for determining the correlation of the distance data of R8, and is specifically performed as shown in FIG. That is, in the first step S1, distance data d (i, j) for each area E (i, j) divided into the number n of lines and the number m of windows is read, and in the next step S2, each area E (i, j) is read. The number of effective points P (i, j) of j) is initialized to P (i, j) = 0. The number of effective points P (i, j) is calculated for each area E (i, j).
j), the larger the value is, the higher the validity of the distance data of the area is, and it is determined that the distance data is reliable and credible. In the next step S3, the number of effective points to the area (lattice point) located at the left and right ends and the upper and lower ends of all the areas is increased, and the effective points P
(I, j) is set so as to be increased by +1 and the number of effective points P (i, j) is increased by +2 in the four corner areas. Thereafter, in step S4, it is determined whether or not to perform the adjacent point processing.
In the case of O, after setting the number of effective points P (i, j) to P (i, j) = 8 in step S11, the process proceeds to step S12, while if the determination is YES, the process proceeds to step S5.

The determination as to whether or not to perform the adjacent point processing in step S4 is specifically made as follows. (First Example) As shown in FIG. 26, it is determined whether or not a reference distance value di determined in advance for each line position is larger than a predetermined value L. When this determination is YES (di> L),
Neighboring point processing is not performed (proceed to step S11 in FIG. 15), while if di ≦ L is NO, adjacent point processing is performed (proceed to step S5).

The reference distance value di is, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 18A, as the position of the line increases (from the outer line of the vehicle body 1, that is, from the near line to the inner line, that is, the far line), the line position increases for each line position. ), As shown in FIG. 18 (c)
As shown in (1), each is set so as to increase stepwise as the position of the line increases.

(Second example) As shown in FIG. 27, it is determined whether or not the measured distance d (i, j) for each area is larger than a predetermined value L. This determination is made as d (i, j) If YES in> L, adjacent point processing is not performed (step S11 in FIG. 15).
On the other hand, if d (i, j) ≦ L, the adjacent point process is performed (proceed to step S5).

That is, the 8-neighboring point processing unit 25 performs the processing of assigning the number of effective points only when the distance is on the short distance side and the medium distance side, and performs the processing of assigning the effective point number when the distance is on the long distance side. Not configured.

In step S5 shown in FIG. 15, a distance threshold value d0 is set. The distance threshold value d0 is used to determine the number p of assigned points, and is set as follows. (First Example) As shown in FIG. 16, the distance threshold value d0 is a constant C.

(Second Example) As shown in FIG. 17, the distance threshold value d0 is the reference distance value d determined for each line.
i (see FIG. 18).

(Third Example) As shown in FIG. 19, it is determined whether or not the reference distance value di is greater than a predetermined value L. If the determination is YES, that is, if di> L, the distance threshold value d0
Is set to a large value, and when di ≦ L, the distance threshold value d0 is set to a small value.

(Fourth example) As shown in FIG. 20, an average value D of distance differences dx between a region E to be described later and adjacent regions R1 to R8.
(Limited to valid distance data), and it is determined whether or not the average value D is larger than a predetermined value DL.
When the determination is D> DL YES, the distance threshold d0 is set to d0 = Dlarge, and when the D ≦ DL is NO, the distance threshold d0 is set to Dsmall (<Dlarge) smaller than the above-mentioned Dlage. I do. More specifically, the distance threshold value d0 is calculated as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), it increases as the average value D increases,
When the average value D reaches the maximum range, the value becomes constant.
The value is determined so as to increase stepwise as the average value D increases as shown in FIG. 21B, or to increase proportionally as the average value D increases as shown in FIG.

After step S5 in the flow of FIG. 15, the process proceeds to step S6, in which the distance data d of the adjacent region Ri is set.
(Ri), and in the next step S7, the area E
Difference dx = | d (i, j) between the adjacent regions R1 to R8
-D (Ri) | Thereafter, in step S8, the magnitude difference between the distance difference dx and the distance threshold value d0 is determined. When the determination is NO for dx ≧ d0, the process proceeds to step S12. When the determination is YES for dx <d0, the process proceeds to step S12. In S9, the number of points p to be given is set. The setting of the assigned point number p in step S9 is performed as follows. (First Example) As shown in FIG. 22, a target adjacent region in the region E is a region R in the window direction (vertical direction).
It is determined whether the vehicle is located at position 2 or R7. If the determination is NO, the number of assigned points p is set to p = 1, and if the determination is YES, the number of assigned points p is set to p larger than the case of the above-described NO determination. = 2. That is, when the adjacent area is in the window direction (vertical direction), the number of assigned points p (therefore, the number of effective points P (i,
j)) is made larger than the number of points given in the line direction.

(Second Example) As shown in FIG. 23, it is determined whether or not a reference distance value di (see FIG. 18) determined for each line is larger than a predetermined value L. ≤
When L is NO, the assigned point number p is set to p = 1. When di> L is YES, the assigned point number p is set.
Is set to p = 2 which is larger than the case of the above-mentioned NO determination. That is, the assigned point number p (effective point number P (i, j)) at the long-distance side line position is made larger than the short-distance side area.

(Third example) As shown in FIG. 24, the magnitude of the distance difference dx between the area E and the adjacent areas R1 to R8 and the predetermined value D2 is determined. The number of points p is set to p = 3. The judgment is dx
If NO in the case of ≧ D2, the magnitude of the distance difference dx and another predetermined value D1 (D0>D1> D2) is determined. If the determination is NO in the case of dx ≧ D1, the number of assigned points p is p.
= 2, and when YES in dx <D1, the number p of assigned points is set to p = 1. That is, when the distance difference from the adjacent area is smaller than a predetermined value, the number of assigned points p (the number of effective points P (i, j)) is increased.

(Fourth example) As shown in FIG.
It is determined whether or not the measured distance d (i, j) is larger than a predetermined value L. If this determination is NO for d (i, j) ≦ L, the number p of assigned points is set to p = 1, and the determination is made again. Is d (i,
j)> When L is YES, the number of assigned points p is set to p = 2, which is larger than in the case of the above-mentioned NO determination. That is, when the measured distance of the area E is larger than the predetermined value, the number of assigned points p (the number of effective points P (i,
j)) is increased.

After step S9, step S9 is executed.
At 10, the number of valid points P (i, j) up to that point
Is added to the number of assigned points to set a new number of valid points P (i, j) = P (i, j) + p, and the process proceeds to step S12. In this step S12, step S
It is determined whether or not the processing of 6 to S10 has been completed for each of the eight adjacent areas R1 to R8. If the determination is NO, the process returns to step S6, and the same processing is performed for the other remaining adjacent areas. On the other hand, if the determination is YES,
Proceeding to step S13, setting of the number of effective points P (i, j) for all areas E, E,.
It is determined whether or not the processing of S10) has been completed. When this determination is NO, the process returns to step S4, and the setting of the number of effective points P (i, j) is repeated for another area E.
On the other hand, if the determination is YES, the process proceeds to the next distance calculation processing for each line (see FIG. 28).

FIG. 28 shows the processing operation in the line distance calculating section 26, and calculates the distance for each line based on the number of effective points P (i, j) given and set by the eight adjacent point processing section 25. I do.

First, in step T1, the number of lines n
And the distance data d (i, j) for each area E divided into the number m of windows, and the number of effective points P (i, j) for each area E given by the above-described eight adjacent point processing.
In the next step T2, the line representative effective point number PI (i) is initialized to PI (i) = 0. The line representative effective point number PI (i) is set for a line at the time of distance calculation for each line. The larger this value is, the higher the validity of the distance data of the line is, and
Judged to be authentic.

In the next step T3, a line representative threshold value P0 corresponding to the line representative effective point number PI (i) is set. The setting of the line representative threshold value P0 in step T3 is performed as follows. (First Example) In this example, the line representative threshold value P0 is set to a constant value C as shown in FIG.

Further, as in the following second to fourth examples, the line representative threshold value P0 is variably set so as to become smaller as the distance becomes longer.

(Second Example) That is, the line representative threshold value P0 is set according to the position of the line. For example, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the line representative threshold value P0 decreases proportionally as the line position moves from the outside to the inside of the vehicle body 1 (the line number increases), or FIG.
As shown in FIG. 0 (b), the line representative threshold value P0 is set so as to gradually decrease as the line position goes from the outside to the inside of the vehicle body 1. That is, the line representative threshold value P0 is set for each line such that the line representative threshold value P0 becomes smaller as the line position becomes farther.

(Third Example) In addition, the line representative threshold value P0
According to the actual measurement distance. That is, FIG.
(A), the line representative threshold value P0 decreases proportionally as the measurement distance increases, or
As shown in FIG. 31B, the line representative threshold value P0 is set so as to gradually decrease as the measurement distance increases. That is, the line representative threshold value P0
Is set to decrease as the measured distance increases.

(Fourth Example) As shown in FIG. 33, a short-distance detection area A1 closest to the side of the vehicle C and the short-distance detection area A1 and a short-distance detection area A1 The middle distance detection area A2 located behind, the farthest long distance detection area A3 located behind the middle distance detection area A2, and the side located at the side of the middle distance or long distance detection areas A2, A3. And the area detection area A4. Then, as shown in FIG. 32, the line representative threshold value P0 of the middle distance detection area A2 is made smaller than the short distance detection area A1, and the line representative threshold value of the long distance detection area A3 is larger than the middle distance detection area A2. P0 is set small (in the illustrated example, the line representative threshold value P0 of the long distance detection area A3 = 0). The line representative threshold value P0 of the side detection area A4 is set to be larger than the line representative threshold value P0 of the middle distance detection area A2 and smaller than the line representative threshold value P0 of the short distance detection area A1.
That is, the line representative threshold value P0 is set for each of the predetermined detection areas A1 to A4.

As in the following fifth to seventh examples, the line representative threshold value P0 is variably set according to the condition of the measured distance. (Fifth example) The line representative threshold value P0 is set according to the maximum number of effective points Pmax in the area on each line.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 34, the maximum number of effective points Pmax = max (P (i,
1), P (i, 2),..., P (i, m)).
Next, it is determined whether or not the maximum effective point number Pmax is larger than a predetermined value. If the determination is NO, the line representative threshold value P0 is set to P0 = P1, and the determination is YE.
In the case of S, the line representative threshold value P0 is set to P0 = P2 (> P1) which is larger than the case of NO. That is, the line representative threshold value P0 is set according to the maximum effective point number Pmax of the area on each line.

(Sixth Example) The line representative threshold value P0 is set according to the total sum Psum of the effective points of the area on each line. Specifically, as shown in FIG.
Sum of the number of effective points in the upper area Psum = (P
Search for (i, 1) + P (i, 2) +... + P (i, m). Next, it is determined whether or not the total sum Psum is greater than a predetermined value. If the determination is NO, the line representative threshold value P0 is set to P0 = P1, and if the determination is YES, the line representative threshold value P0 is set. It is set to P0 = P2 (> P1) which is larger than the case of NO. That is, the line representative threshold value P0 is determined by the sum Psum of the effective points of the area on each line.
It is set to increase as m increases.

(Seventh Example) The line representative threshold value P0 is set according to the detection frequency of the distance data of the area on each line. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 36, the number Ndata of distance data measured is calculated, and this data number Ndata is calculated.
It is determined whether data is greater than a predetermined value. If the determination is NO, the line representative threshold value P0 is set to P0 =
When the determination is YES, the line representative threshold value P0 is set to P0 = P2 (>
P1). That is, the line representative threshold value P0 is set based on the detection frequency of the distance data in the area on each line.

FIG. 37 shows the number Ndata of the distance data.
Is shown, and the number of data Ndata is set to Ndata =
After initialization as 0, it is determined whether the distance d (i, j) in a certain area on each line is d (i, j) = 0.
When the determination is YES, the state is that the distance data is not detected, and when the determination is NO, the state is that the distance data is detected.
After updating ta to Ndata = Ndata + 1, the process proceeds to the next step, and it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for the distance d (i, j) in all regions on each line. The distance d (i,
j) The determination of 0 and the filtering process are repeated, and the determination is Y
When it becomes ES, the filter processing starts. This filtering process is performed to suppress frequent switching of the line representative threshold value P0 due to an instantaneous change in the detection state of the distance data. First, the data number Ndata is smoothed to obtain a smoothed data number Ndatarec. Then, the original data number Ndata is reduced to the smoothed data number Ndatarec.
Replace with

In the flow of FIG. 28, after step T3, the process proceeds to step T4, where it is determined whether or not the effective point number P (i, j) for each area is larger than the line representative threshold value P0. This determination is made by N of P (i, j) ≦ P0
If O, the process proceeds to step T6, but if the determination is P (i, j)> P0, the process proceeds to step T5.
, The representative distance l (i) for each line is updated for averaging, and the line representative effective point number P
After updating the line representative effective point number PI (i) by adding the effective point number P (i, j) for each area to I (i), the process proceeds to step T6. That is, in the line distance calculation unit 26, the number of effective points P (i, j) given and set by the eight adjacent point processing unit 25 is the line representative threshold value P0.
The distance calculation for each line is performed for an area larger than the above.

The updating of the representative distance l (i) for each line is performed by the following equation. l (i) = [l (i) × PI (i) + d (i, j) ×
{P (i, j) -PO + 1}] {PI (i) + P
(I, j) -PO + 1}

In step T6, it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for all the window numbers (area E) of the line, and steps T3 to T5 are repeated for each area E of the line until this determination becomes YES. If the determination in step T6 is YES, the process proceeds to step T7, where it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for all the line numbers, and steps T2 to T6 are repeated until the determination becomes YES. If the determination in step T7 is YES, the process proceeds to the next object recognition process (see FIG. 39).

FIG. 38 shows another embodiment of the processing operation of the line distance calculating section 26, and the regions E, E on each line are shown.
Based on the distance data that is the maximum number of valid points for
Distance data deviating from the distance data by a predetermined distance or more is not used for distance calculation. The detailed description of the same parts as in FIG. 28 will be omitted.

That is, steps U1 and U2 are the same as steps T1 and T2 (see FIG. 28). In steps U3 to U6, the maximum number of valid points PP in the line i and the area E where the maximum number of valid points PP can be obtained.
With the distance Dmax. Specifically, step U3
, After initializing the maximum number of effective points PP in the line i to PP = 0, in step U4, whether the number of effective points P (i, j) for each area E is larger than the line representative effective point number PP Is determined. If the determination is NO in P (i, j) ≦ PP, the process proceeds directly to step U6, but the determination is YES in P (i, j)> PP.
In step U5, after the number of effective points P (i, j) for each area E is set to the above-mentioned line representative effective point number PP and the distance d (i, j) in the area E is set to distance Dmax. , And proceed to step U6. Then, in step U6, it is determined whether the process has been completed for all window numbers, that is, whether the maximum number of effective points PP and the distance Dmax of the corresponding region have been obtained for all regions in the line, and this determination is YES. Steps U4 to U6 are repeated until.

If the determination in step U6 is YES, the process proceeds to step U7, where the lower limit value Dlow for distance determination is determined.
r (= Dmax−d0) and the upper limit value Dupper (= D
max + d0) is set. Thereafter, in step U8, the distance d (i, j) for each of the regions is set to the lower limit Dl.
larger than the power and smaller than the upper limit value Dupper, that is, Dlower <d (i, j) <Dupp
er, and if the determination is NO, the process proceeds directly to step U10, and if the determination is YES, the process proceeds to step U10 via step U9. Step U9 is the same as step T5 in FIG. 28, and step U10 is the same as step T6 in FIG.
After step U10, the process proceeds to step U11 in which the same processing as step T7 in FIG. 28 is performed.

It should be noted that the above-described distance data d (i, j) for each region E is subjected to 8-neighboring point processing to give the number of effective points P (i, j), and thereafter, the representative distance for each line FIG. 14 shows a specific example of the process of calculating l (i), and FIG. 14A shows distance data d (i, j) for each region.
And FIG. 14B shows the number of effective points P for each area.
(I, j), and FIG. 14 (c) shows a representative distance l (i) for each line.

FIGS. 39 and 40 show the processing operation of the object recognizing section 20 in the controller 15. The object recognizing section 20 is based on the representative distance l (i) for each line calculated by the line distance calculating section 26. To recognize the object O. That is, in step W1, the object number k is set, and in step W2, the object detection distance L (k), the number of effective object points PK (k), and the number of data in the object N (k)
Are set to 0, and the primary storage data set is reset.

In the next step W3, it is determined whether or not valid unregistered line data has been registered. If this determination is NO, the flow proceeds to step W8. Step W3
Is YES, in step W4, the front / rear position XD (i) and the horizontal position YD (i) of the line data are set. Thereafter, in step W5, it is determined whether or not the object detection distance L (k) has already been defined. If the determination is NO, the process proceeds to step W6.
The object detection distance L (k) is set to L (k) = XD (i),
Also, the number of object effective points PK (k) is expressed as PK (k) = PI
In (i), the number of data in the object N (k) is further expressed as N (k)
= 1 and the primary storage data set is set, and then the process proceeds to step W8.

On the other hand, the determination in step W5 is YES
, The process proceeds to step W7, where the object detection distance L
Let (k) be L (k) = ｛PK (k) × L (i) + P (i)
× XD (i)} / {PK (k) + P (i)} and the number of object effective points PK (k) as PK (k) = PK (k)
+ PI (i), and the number of data in the object N (k) by N
After setting (k) = N (k) +1 and updating the primary storage data set, the process proceeds to step W8.

In step W8, it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for all the line numbers.
Steps W3 to W7 are repeated until. Step W
If the determination at step 8 is YES, a determination is made at steps W9 to W11 as to whether or not the object O can be registered. First, in step W9, it is determined whether the number N (k) of data in the object is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Note that the predetermined value can be variably set so as to decrease as the distance increases. If the determination in step W9 is NO, it is considered that the distance data is due to noise or the like, and step W10
Does not register the object O and initializes the object data of the object number k, and then proceeds to step W12 shown in FIG. On the other hand, if the determination in step W9 is YES, the process proceeds to step W12 after the object O is registered in step W11. That is, the object recognition unit 20
Registers an object corresponding to the distance of each line as a new object only when the number N (k) of distance data per line calculated by the line distance calculation unit 26 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

In step W12, the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 13 and the steering angle θ detected by the steering angle sensor 14 are read.
At 13, the speed of the steering wheel angle θ is calculated,
Curvature radius R of the traveling path on which the vehicle is traveling (see FIG. 48)
Is calculated by the following equation. In the equation, A is a stability factor indicating the good turning performance of the vehicle, and Lh is the wheel base of the vehicle.

R = (1 + A · V ² ) · (Lh / θ)

In the next step W14, the steering angle θ is compared with two large and small set values. If the steering angle θ is smaller than the smaller set value, the vehicle is assumed to be in a straight running state. Then, the process directly proceeds to a display processing operation (see FIG. 44) described later.

When the steering angle θ is in the middle state between the two reference values, it is determined that the vehicle is in the lane change state, and the routine proceeds to step W15, where the curvature radius R of the traveling road is equal to or larger than a predetermined value. Is determined. Here, when it is determined that R <NO at the predetermined value, the display processing operation (FIG.
4), but if it is determined that R ≧ the predetermined value is YES, the process proceeds to step W17.

When the steering angle θ is larger than the set value on the larger side in step W14, the process proceeds to step W16, assuming that the vehicle is in a curve running state.
It is determined whether there is a speed of the calculated steering wheel angle θ, that is, whether the steering wheel is moving and the steering wheel angle θ is changing. When this determination is NO, the process proceeds to the display processing operation (see FIG. 44), but when YES, the process proceeds to step W17.

In step W17, the maximum display distance xmax to be displayed on the display unit 31 is calculated, and in step W18, the detected value x of the distance to the object O is read. In step W19, the vehicle C (own vehicle) of the object O is read. ) Is calculated. Next, the process proceeds to step W20, where the position xpredi of the object O after a predetermined time Δt has elapsed.
ct is estimated by an expression xpredict = x + Δt · vss, and in step W21, the estimated position x is estimated.
The magnitude of the predict and the maximum distance xmax are compared. If the determination is NO in xpredict <xmax, the process proceeds to the display processing operation.
When ≧ xmax is YES, it is determined in step W22 whether or not the object O is moving away from the vehicle C. When the determination is NO (when the object O is approaching), the display processing operation is performed. move on. On the other hand, if the determination in step W22 is YES, the process proceeds to step W23, where the display of the distance of the object O on the display unit 31 is canceled, and the process ends.

After the processing operation in the object recognizing unit 20, the process proceeds to a display processing operation shown in FIG. 44, and a display process for displaying an object on the display unit 31 is performed. That is, in this display processing operation, first, in step X1 shown in FIG. 44, the distance x between the object O and the own vehicle C is compared with the comparatively long set value 40 m, and this determination is made. x> 40m NO
In this case, it is determined that the object O is far from the host vehicle C and cannot be an obstacle to change lanes, and the process ends. If the determination in step X1 is YES, that is, x ≦ 40 m, the process proceeds to step X2, and the distance x is set to 10 m (the distance at which the closest object O enters the blind spot of the mirror of the vehicle C). Compare the size with. This judgment is x ≦
If YES at 10 m, it is determined that the object O is extremely close to the vehicle C, and the process proceeds to step X3 to display the information about the object O on the display luminance (lighting) of the segment 34 on the display screen 31a of the display unit 31. Brightness) is set to “setting 3”, and in the next step X4, the display color of the segment 34 is set to “red”. Then, the process proceeds to step X10, where the segment row 33 is displayed on the display screen 31a of the display unit 31. After the current distance to the object O is displayed by lighting the segments 34, 34,...

The determination in step X2 indicates that N> x
If O (x = 10 to 40 m), step X
5, the relative speed vss of the object O with respect to the own vehicle C
Is true, that is, whether or not the object O is approaching the vehicle C. When the determination is YES (vss> 0) and the object O is in the approaching state, the process proceeds to step X6. The display brightness level of the segments 34, 34,... On the display screen 31a of the display unit 31 is set to an intermediate "setting 2", and the segment 3 is set in the next step X7.
After the display colors of 4, 34,... Are set to “yellow”, the process proceeds to step X10.

On the other hand, if the determination in step X5 is NO (v
When ss ≦ 0), the process proceeds to step X8, assuming that the object O is in the separated state, and sets the display brightness level of the segment 34, 34,... on the display screen 31a to the smallest (dark) “Setting 1”. To the next step X9
, The display color of the segments 34, 34,... Is set to "blue", and the process proceeds to step X10.

Each segment row 3 in the display section 31
As shown in FIG. 45, the display brightness level of the segment 34 of No. 3 is set so that the larger the value of “setting”, the larger (brighter) the brightness. In addition, FIG.
4, the eight segments 34, 34,... Of each segment row 33 on the display screen 31a represent a distance of 5 m.
As shown in FIG. 46, each time the object O approaches the vehicle C by 5 m from 40 m, the lighting number of the segments 34, 34,... Increases by one. Therefore, when it is determined that x ≦ 10 m in step X2 as described above, according to the calculation result of the distance x, among the eight segments 34, 34,. Segments 34, 34, ... (when x = 5 to 10 m),
(In the case of x <5 m), all the segments 34, 34,... (When x <5 m) are lit, and the lighting of the segments 34, 34,. Done in color. Note that FIG. 43 illustrates a display state in which all the segments 34, 34, ... are lit at the luminance level of "setting 3" and in "red".

In this embodiment, the step W19 in the processing operation of the object recognizing section 20 shown in FIG.
A relative speed calculating means 40 for calculating a relative speed vss of the object O detected by the rear detection sensor 10 (object detecting means) with respect to the vehicle C is provided.

Further, in steps X1 to X10 of the display processing operation shown in FIG. 44, based on the calculation result by the relative speed calculation means 40, information on the distance of the detected object O from the vehicle C is displayed on the display unit 31. Display control means 41 for displaying is configured.

In step W20 of the processing operation of the object recognizing section 20, a position estimating means for estimating the position xpredict of the detected object O after a lapse of a predetermined time tΔ based on the calculation result by the relative speed calculating means 40. 4
2 are configured.

Further, at steps W21 and W23,
When the estimated position xpredict of the object O estimated by the position estimating means 42 is apart from the vehicle C by a predetermined distance xmax or more, a display canceling means 43 for canceling the display control means 41 to display the information on the distance of the object O is provided. It is configured.

Further, the steps W14 to W16 constitute a curve detecting means 44 for detecting that the vehicle is traveling on a curve.

In addition, the contact / separation determining means 45 for determining whether the object O detected by the detection sensor 10 (object detecting means) is in the approaching state or the separating state with respect to the vehicle C by step W22 is constituted. ing.

The display canceling means 43
The display control means 41 cancels the display of the information on the distance of the object O when the curve detecting means 44 detects the curve traveling state, and the contact / separation determining means 4
For the object O determined to be approaching the vehicle C by 5, the canceling of the display of the information on the distance of the object O by the display control means 41 is stopped.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when an image is captured as luminance information by the left and right rear side detection sensors 10, 10, first, each distance measuring circuit 1 of the controller 15
At 6, the image of each detection sensor 10 is divided in the line direction and the window direction, and the distance d (i, j) is measured for each region E. Next, the number of effective points of the distance data for each region E is calculated by the eight adjacent point processing unit 25 based on the measured distance d (i, j) for each region E and the difference dx between the distances of the adjacent regions R1 to R8. P (i, j) is added, and the line distance calculation unit 26 calculates the distance l (i) for each line based on the number of effective points P (i, j), and the object recognition unit 20 calculates the distance l (i). The object O is recognized from the distance l (i) for each line calculated by As described above, the validity of the distance data for each region E is determined as the number of valid points P (i, j) from the relationship with the adjacent regions R1 to R8, and based on the number of valid points P (i, j). Since the distance O (i) for each line is obtained and the object O is recognized based on the distance l (i), even if there is a variation or noise in the distance measurement data, it is possible to reduce the influence as much as possible. As a result, accurate distance calculation can be performed, and accurate object recognition can be performed.

In the 8-neighboring point processing section 25, the distance difference dx between the area E and the adjacent areas R1 to R8 is equal to the threshold value d0.
When the number is smaller than the effective point number P (i, j) (the number of assigned points p), the area E
Only when the distance difference dx from the adjacent regions R1 to R8 is smaller than the threshold value d0 can be determined to be valid by providing the effective point number P (i, j), and the accuracy of the distance calculation can be improved.

At this time, the threshold value d0 is made variable according to the measured distance data of the area E, and as shown in FIGS. 17 to 19, the reference distance value di set in accordance with the line position of the area E. If you set it to be larger as
By increasing the threshold value d0 for the distance data in the far distance side area, the number of effective points P of the distance data is increased.
By increasing (i, j), accurate data can be obtained even if the distance data of the object O on the far side varies.

As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the threshold value is the distance difference dx between each region E and the adjacent regions R1 to R8.
If the average value D is set so as to increase as the average value D increases, the threshold value d0 is set according to the actually measured distance data. The threshold value d0 can be made to correspond stably.

In the eight adjacent point processing unit 25, the number of effective points to be given is changed according to the distance d (i, j) of the area E, and as shown in FIG. Is set to be larger than the number of effective points in the line direction. That is, when the CCD lines on the CCD chip 11 are at equal intervals, the number of lines included in the long distance area is smaller than that in the short distance area,
Although the object O on the far side is more difficult to recognize than the object O on the near side, if the number of effective points when the adjacent area is in the window direction is made larger than that in the line row direction as in this embodiment, Even with the small number of lines, the number of effective points can be increased, and the probability of recognizing the far-side object O can be increased.

Further, as shown in FIG. 23, the same effect can be obtained even if the number of effective points at the long-distance line position is made larger than that at the short-distance line position.

Further, as shown in FIG.
When the distance difference dx from 1 to R8 is smaller than the predetermined value D1 or D2, the number of effective points is increased.
The object O can be easily recognized.

As shown in FIG. 25, even when the number of effective points is increased when the measured distance d (i, j) is larger than the predetermined value L, the same operation and effect as described above can be obtained. Can be.

As shown in FIGS. 26 and 27, the process of assigning the number of effective points is performed only when the distance is on the short distance side and the middle distance side, and the process of assigning the effective point number is performed when the distance is on the long distance side. If it does not, on the long distance side, the process of assigning the number of effective points for determining the validity of the distance data is not performed, and the distance data is not dropped as noise etc. by the process of assigning the number of effective points,
Adopted as it is. In this case, the same effect can be obtained.

The line distance calculation unit 26 calculates the distance for each line in an area where the number of effective points P (i, j) is larger than the line representative threshold value P0. It is possible to calculate accurately.

At this time, as shown in FIGS.
The line representative threshold value P0 is set smaller as the distance becomes longer (as shown in FIG. 30, the line representative threshold value P0 is set for each line so that the line position becomes smaller as the line position becomes longer.
Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 31, when the measured distance d (i, j) is set to be smaller as the distance becomes larger), the line representative threshold value in the long distance side area is smaller than that in the short distance side area, The distance data on the distance side can be prevented from being missed, and the distance calculation on the long distance side can be accurately performed to accurately recognize the object O on the long distance side.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 32 and 33, the line representative threshold is set to a predetermined detection area A1.
If the setting is made for each A4, the distance calculation of the desired detection areas A1 to A4 can be accurately performed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 33 to 36, the line representative threshold is set in accordance with the detection state of the distance data for each line, so that the line representative threshold is set in accordance with the detection state. It is set by changing, and the accuracy of the distance calculation can be further increased.

That is, as shown in FIG. 34, the line representative threshold value P0 is determined by the maximum effective point number Pmax according to the maximum effective point number Pmax of the area on each line.
When it is set to be larger as x is larger, the line representative threshold value P0 changes according to the maximum number of effective points Pmax of the area on each line. Further, as shown in FIG. 35, the line representative threshold value P0 is calculated based on the total sum Psum of the effective points of the area on each line.
If it is set to increase as m increases, the line representative threshold value P0 changes according to the total sum Psum of the number of effective points in the area on each line. Therefore, in any case, the accuracy of the distance calculation can be improved.

Further, as shown in FIG. 36, when the line representative threshold is set based on the distance data detection frequency in the area on each line, the line representative threshold is set when the distance data detection frequency is high. Can be set large to improve the accuracy of the distance calculation.

As shown in FIG. 38, the line distance calculator 26 calculates distance data deviated from the distance Dmax by a predetermined distance d0 or more with respect to the distance Dmax which is the maximum number of effective points of the area on each line. If it is configured not to be used in the calculation, the distance calculation is performed only with the distance data within the range of the predetermined distance d0 from the distance Dmax that is the maximum number of effective points of the area on each line, and the distance calculation with high accuracy is performed. be able to.

As shown in FIG. 39, the object recognition unit 20
When the object O corresponding to the distance of each line is registered as a new object O only when the number of distance data per line calculated by the line distance calculator 26 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a new It is possible to provide a restriction when registering the object O, and it is possible to prevent noise or the like other than the object O from being erroneously registered as the object O.

At this time, if the predetermined value to be compared with the number of distance data for each line is set to be smaller on the far side, registration can be more easily performed on the object O on the far side.

The distance measuring characteristic of the distance measuring circuit 16 is configured so as to complement the other lines with reference to the long distance side line, so that the distance of the mirror of the door mirror 6 behind the detection sensor 10 can be measured. When the distance measurement characteristics for each line are complemented with other lines based on the specified line in order to avoid affecting the distance accuracy, the detection accuracy of all lines is improved while increasing the effectiveness of distance data on the long distance side. Can be satisfactorily corrected.

Since the object recognizing section 20 is configured to output a signal such as an alarm based on the recognition result of the object O, the recognized object O can be easily known.

Further, in this embodiment, an object O within a predetermined range on the rear side of the vehicle C is detected by the detection sensor 10 and registered as the object O, and the registered object O is obstructed by the lane change of the vehicle C. Is determined to be an object, and information on the distance x between the vehicle and the vehicle C is displayed on the segments 34,
An occupant is notified by the lighting display of 34,. And
The radius of curvature R of the traveling path of the vehicle C is calculated and estimated from the vehicle speed V and the steering angle θ, and the presence or absence of a curve traveling state in which the vehicle C is traveling on a curved traveling path from the steering angle θ and the speed V thereof. When the vehicle is traveling on a curve, the relative speed vss between the object O and the vehicle C (own vehicle) is calculated from the detected value x of the distance to the object O, and a predetermined time Δt is calculated based on the relative speed vss. Object O after passing
Is estimated. The estimated position xpredict of the object O is a predetermined distance xmax from the vehicle C.
When the vehicle is separated from the vehicle C, information on the distance x from the vehicle C is displayed by lighting the segments 34, 34,... Of the display unit 31, but the estimated position xpredic
When t is more than the predetermined distance xmax from the vehicle C, the display of the information on the distance of the object O is canceled. As described above, when the vehicle C is in a curve running state, among the detected objects O located behind the vehicle C, the estimated position xpredict after a lapse of the predetermined time Δt is separated from the vehicle C by a predetermined distance xmax or more is displayed on the display unit 31. Are not displayed, for example, as shown in FIG. 48, the inside lane r of the curved lanes r, r,.
Is traveling, the estimated position xpredict of the guardrail G outside the other lane r adjacent to the outside of the curve of the traveling lane r is equal to the predetermined distance xm.
It is determined that the object is more than ax away, and the display of the guardrail G is canceled. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent the guardrail G from being erroneously displayed as an object (other vehicle).

Further, even if the estimated position xpredict after the lapse of the predetermined time Δt is the object O which is more than the predetermined distance xmax from the vehicle C, it is determined that the object O is approaching the vehicle C. The cancellation of the display on the display unit 31 is stopped, and information on the distance of the object O is displayed by lighting the segments 34, 34,... As usual. For this reason, the guardrail G can be more accurately distinguished from other objects (other vehicles), and the erroneous display thereof can be more reliably prevented.

(Other Embodiments) FIGS. 47 and 48 show the guardrail G when the vehicle C is running on a curve as described above.
This shows another embodiment for preventing the erroneous display (the same reference numerals are given to the same portions as those in the respective drawings of the above embodiments, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted).

That is, in this embodiment, a part of the processing operation shown in FIG. 40 is changed, and steps Y12 to Y16 in the processing operation shown in FIG.
0 is the same as steps W12 to W16. Then, in step Y17, the object detection area up to that point is changed to an object detection area having a distance L behind the vehicle C. The changed object detection area indicates, for example, a range until the object detection area behind the vehicle C intersects with the guardrail G, as shown in FIG. 48, the radius of curvature R of the traveling road and the distance to the adjacent lane r. From α, it is calculated by L = {(R + α) ² −R ² } ^1/2 . Note that this is the case where the guardrail G is outside the curve of the traveling road, and when it is inside, it is determined by L = {(R-α) 2-R2} 1/2.

Step Y18 after step Y17
Then, in the changed object detection area, the predetermined distance L
It is determined whether or not the object O exists in a range equal to or greater than j. As shown in FIG. 48, when the width of the detection area (the width between the range cut ranges) is Y (where Y ≠ α), as shown in FIG. 48, Lj = ｛(R + α) ^2- (R + Y) ²と^{し て} Required as ^1/2 . If the determination in step Y18 is NO, the process directly proceeds to the display processing operation (see FIG. 44), but if YES, step Y19.
Ends after canceling the display of the distance of the object O on the display unit 31 in.

In the case of this embodiment, steps Y12 to Y
An extraction means 46 is configured by 17 to extract an information provision target from the detected objects based on the detection results of the detection sensor 10 and the steering angle sensor 14. The display control means 41 displays the information on the position of the information providing target with respect to the vehicle C extracted by the extraction means 46 on the display unit 31. Then, the extraction means 46
Are a curvature estimating unit 47 (steps Y12 and Y13) for estimating a curvature R of a traveling path on which the vehicle C is traveling based on the detection result of the steering angle sensor 14, and a traveling path estimated by the curvature estimating unit 47. And an object extracting unit 48 (steps Y17 and Y18) for extracting an object existing in the range of the traveling path as the information providing target based on the estimated curvature R of
Further, the extracting means 46 is configured to change the extraction content of the object extracting section 48 according to the traveling position of the vehicle C.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when the vehicle C enters a curve running state, the object detection area is changed, and a predetermined distance Lj is set in the changed object detection area.
Are displayed on the display unit 31 by lighting of the segments 34, 34,..., While the objects in the range of the predetermined distance Lj or more are displayed on the display unit 31. Cancellation is not performed and the distance is not displayed. In this manner, the range of the travel path is obtained from the curvature R of the travel path of the vehicle C, and only the objects within the range of the travel path are extracted and displayed as information providing targets.
As shown in FIG. 8, when the vehicle C is traveling on a curve, the guardrail G outside the curve of the other lane r becomes an object outside the range of the travel path, and the guardrail G is erroneously displayed as an object (other vehicle). It can be reliably prevented.

Further, since the contents of the extraction by the object extracting section 48 are changed according to the traveling position of the vehicle C, for example,
Even if the distance to the guardrail G changes between the start and the middle of the curve running of the curve, the range of the running path is changed accordingly, and erroneous display of the guardrail G can be stably prevented.

In the above embodiment, a multi-stage line type CCD is used as the detection sensor 10. However, the present invention is also applicable to a laser radar, a millimeter-wave radar, and an ultrasonic sensor. O may be detected, and a similar effect can be obtained. In addition, the detection sensor 10
Is not limited to the inside of the door mirror 6, and may be installed, for example, near the rear window glass in the vehicle interior.

The information on the distance x of the registered object O at the closest position which has become the alarm target is not limited to information displayed on the display unit 31 by lighting the segments 34, 34,. May be displayed, and furthermore, not only the display on the display unit 31 but also an occupant of the vehicle C may be notified by voice or the like.

[0114]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when an object on the rear side of the vehicle is detected and the distance to the object is displayed, the relative speed of the detected object to the vehicle is determined. Is calculated, and based on the calculation result of the relative speed, the position of the detected object after a predetermined time elapses is estimated. When the estimated position of the object is more than a predetermined distance from the vehicle, information on the distance of the object is obtained. Display was canceled. Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the display of the information on the distance to the object is canceled when the vehicle is in a curve running state. Claim 4
According to the invention, when detecting an object on the rear side of the vehicle, extracting an information providing target based on a value related to the steering angle of the vehicle from the detected objects and displaying the position, the steering angle of the vehicle is determined. Estimating the curvature of the vehicle's travel path based on the value of
Based on the estimated curvature of the travel path, objects existing in a range within the travel path are extracted as information providing targets. Therefore, according to these inventions, it is possible to reliably prevent a guardrail on the outside of a curve in another lane from being erroneously displayed as an object (other vehicle) in a curve running state of the vehicle, and to optimize the display of the object. Can be.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, it is determined whether the detected object is in an approaching state or a separated state with respect to the vehicle, and it is determined that the detected object is approaching the vehicle. For the object that was displayed, the cancellation of the display of information related to the distance of the object was stopped and the information was displayed, so that the guardrail could be more accurately identified from other objects (other vehicles) and displayed incorrectly. Can be more reliably prevented.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, the content of the information providing object to be extracted is changed according to the traveling position of the vehicle. Even if the distance to the guardrail changes, the range of the traveling path can be changed accordingly, and erroneous display of the guardrail can be stably prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing positions of components of the display device for a vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention in a vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a display device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a display device.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a concept of measuring a distance to an object by a detection sensor.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image captured by a CCD chip.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a concept of dividing a line in an image captured by a CCD chip in a window direction to divide an area.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which images obtained by upper and lower CCD chips are shifted on the same line and parallax occurs.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a principle of measuring a distance to an object by upper and lower CCD chips.

FIG. 10 shows C in an image obtained by a CCD chip.
It is a top view which shows the ranging direction of a CD line.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing a range cut area in a vertical direction.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a horizontal range cut area.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an arrangement of eight adjacent regions adjacent to the region.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a specific example from the processing of eight adjacent points to the calculation of the distance for each line.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an eight adjacent point processing operation.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a first example for setting a distance threshold.

FIG. 17 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 16, showing a second example for setting a distance threshold value.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a setting example of a reference distance value.

FIG. 19 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 16, showing a third example for setting a distance threshold value.

FIG. 20 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 16 showing a fourth example for setting a distance threshold value.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a distance threshold is set according to an average value of distance differences.

FIG. 22 is a first example for assigning the number of effective points for each area.
It is a flowchart figure which shows an example.

FIG. 23 shows a second example for assigning the number of effective points for each area.
FIG. 23 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 22 showing an example.

FIG. 24 is a third diagram for assigning the number of effective points for each area.
FIG. 23 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 22 showing an example.

FIG. 25 is a fourth diagram for giving the number of effective points for each area.
FIG. 23 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 22 showing an example.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating a first example for determining whether to assign an effective point to each area.

FIG. 27 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 26, illustrating a second example for determining whether to assign an effective point number for each area.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart illustrating a distance calculation processing operation for each line.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart illustrating a first example for setting a line representative threshold.

FIG. 30 is a characteristic diagram showing a second example for setting a line representative threshold.

FIG. 31 is a characteristic diagram showing a third example for setting a line representative threshold value.

FIG. 32 is a characteristic diagram showing a fourth example for setting a line representative threshold value.

FIG. 33 is a plan view showing a detection area in a fourth example for setting a line representative threshold value.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart illustrating a fifth example for setting a line representative threshold value.

FIG. 35 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 34, illustrating a sixth example for setting a line representative threshold value.

FIG. 36 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 34, illustrating a seventh example for setting a line representative threshold value.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart illustrating an example of calculating the number of data in a seventh example for setting a line representative threshold value.

FIG. 38 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 28, illustrating another embodiment of the distance calculation processing operation for each line.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart showing the first half of the object recognition processing operation.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart showing the latter half of the object recognition processing operation.

FIG. 41 is a characteristic diagram illustrating characteristics for distance correction according to parallax.

FIG. 42 is an explanatory diagram for determining day and night according to a detection rate.

FIG. 43 is a diagram showing a display state on the display unit.

FIG. 44 is a flowchart showing a display processing operation.

FIG. 45 is a diagram illustrating characteristics of a display luminance map used in the display processing operation.

FIG. 46 is an explanatory diagram of a segment lighting number map used in the display processing operation.

FIG. 47 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the object recognition processing operation.

FIG. 48 is a diagram showing the concept of a detection area.

FIG. 49 is a diagram illustrating a change in distance of a guardrail detected as an object when the vehicle travels on a curve.

[Explanation of symbols]

 C vehicle 6 door mirror 10 rear side detection sensor (object detection means) 11 CCD chip (multi-stage line type CCD) 15 controller 16 distance measuring circuit 20 object recognition unit 21 object identification unit 25 8 adjacent point processing unit 26 line distance calculation unit 31 Display unit (display unit) 40 Relative speed calculation unit 41 Display control unit 42 Position estimation unit 43 Display cancellation unit 44 Curve detection unit 45 Contact / separation determination unit 46 Extraction unit 47 Curvature estimation unit 48 Object extraction unit E, E (i, j) ) Regions R1 to R8 Adjacent region d (i, j) Measurement distance dx Distance difference from adjacent region d0 Threshold P (i, j) Number of effective points P0 Line representative threshold l (i, j) Line representative distance A1 to A4 Detection area R Curvature radius of travel road r Lane (travel road) G Guardrail O Object O 'Object image

Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Hiroki Uemura 3-1 Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun, Hiroshima Prefecture Inside Mazda Co., Ltd. (72) Minegumi Nakano 3-1 Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun, Hiroshima NALDEC Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 5H180 AA01 CC04 LL02 LL08 LL15 5J070 AC01 AC02 AC06 AK22 AK40 BG01

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An object detecting means for detecting an object on a rear side of a vehicle, a relative speed calculating means for calculating a relative speed of the object detected by the object detecting means with respect to the vehicle, and a relative speed calculating means. Display control means for displaying on the display means information on the distance of the detected object to the vehicle based on the calculation result; and, based on the calculation result by the relative speed calculation means, after a predetermined time of the detected object has elapsed. Position estimating means for estimating a position, and display canceling means for canceling display of information on the distance of the object by the display control means when the estimated position of the object estimated by the position estimating means is more than a predetermined distance from the vehicle. A display device for a vehicle, comprising: 2. The display device for a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a curve detecting means for detecting that the vehicle is in a curve running state, wherein the display canceling means controls the display when the curve detecting means detects the curve running state. A display device for a vehicle, wherein the display device is configured to cancel the display of information on a distance to an object by the means. 3. The display device for a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: a contact / separation determination unit configured to determine whether an object detected by the object detection unit is in an approaching state or a separation state with respect to the vehicle, and a display canceling unit. Is configured to stop canceling the display of information on the distance of the object by the display control means for the object determined to be approaching the vehicle by the approach / separation determination means. Display device. 4. An object detecting means for detecting an object on the rear side of the vehicle, a steering angle detecting means for detecting a value relating to a steering angle of the vehicle, and a detection result of the object detecting means and the steering angle detecting means. Extracting means for extracting an information providing target from the detected objects; and display control means for displaying, on a display means, information on a position of the information providing target with respect to the vehicle extracted by the extracting means, A curvature estimating section for estimating a curvature of a traveling path on which the vehicle is traveling based on a detection result of the steering angle detecting means; and a traveling path based on an estimated curvature of the traveling path estimated by the curvature estimating section. An object extraction unit for extracting an object existing in a range as the information providing target. 5. The vehicle display device according to claim 4, wherein the extraction means is configured to change the extraction content of the object extraction unit according to the traveling position of the vehicle. .