JP2000272418A - Periphery confirmatory device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To confirm both an area forward of a vehicle body and a peripheral part of a front wheel by a camera device provided on a back side of a door mirror. SOLUTION: A camera device 22 to form this vehicle periphery confirmatory device on a rear side of a mirror 18 and a cameral drive mechanism unit 24 are provided in a mirror case 16 of a door mirror 10. The camera device 22 is provided in a retracted manner in a storage part 16A provided in the mirror case 16. The angle of the camera device 22 is controlled in the perpendicular direction by the camera drive mechanism unit 24, and the camera device 22 is displaced from the condition in which the image of the forward part is picked up in a substantially horizontal condition to the condition in which the image of a peripheral part of a front wheel is picked up in a downwardly inclined condition. The angle change-over of the camera device 22 can be selected by the operation of a camera direction change-over switch provided on a control panel at a driver's seat. Both the forward part of the vehicle body and the peripheral part of the front wheel can be checked with the limited angle of the field of view of the camera device 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle periphery confirmation device in which a camera device is mounted on a door mirror provided on a front seat door of an automobile or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, door mirrors, fender mirrors, and the like have been known as a vehicle periphery confirmation device for confirming the rear of a vehicle body. However, particularly in the front and lower portions of the vehicle body (front wheel peripheral portion) on the passenger seat side, blind spots tend to occur from the driver's seat, and there is no means for effectively confirming this area.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A camera device is provided in a mirror case of a door mirror provided at a front door of a vehicle body toward the opposite side (front of the vehicle body) to the mirror, and an image signal of the camera device is displayed by a display device installed in a driver's seat, thereby obstructing a front vehicle body. We have proposed a confirmation device that allows objects to be viewed. However, when the camera device is provided on the door mirror in this way, there is a certain limit to the viewing angle obtained with a small camera device, and if the angle is too wide, distortion or the like of a captured image occurs. For this reason,
For example, when the camera device provided on the door mirror captures an image of the front of the vehicle body, the lower peripheral portion of the front wheel cannot be captured. Conversely, with the camera device provided on the door mirror,
For example, when an image of the front wheel periphery is taken, it becomes impossible to take an image of the front of the vehicle body.

Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle periphery confirmation device that can confirm both the front of the vehicle body and the periphery of the front wheels by a camera device provided on the back of a door mirror.

When the camera device is provided on the back of the door mirror as described above, the lens barrel of the camera may protrude from the back of the door mirror, or the housing for housing the camera device may remain open on the back of the door mirror. In addition to disturbing the appearance of the door mirror, when the wind noise becomes loud when the vehicle is running or if the door mirror hits an obstacle,
There has been a problem that the impact concentrates on the camera device and causes damage to the camera device.

Therefore, a second object of the present invention is to prevent the appearance of the door mirror from being impaired by the camera device provided on the rear surface of the door mirror, prevent wind noise, and further reduce the possibility of damage due to obstacles. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle periphery confirmation device that can suppress the vehicle.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a door mirror having a mirror case mounted on a front door of a vehicle body and having a mirror surface for confirming a side and a rear of the vehicle body. A camera device provided on a mirror case of the door mirror and imaging a front part and a front wheel peripheral portion of a vehicle body; a display device installed on a driver's seat of the vehicle body and displaying an image signal by the camera device; It is provided on the mirror case of the door mirror and supports the camera device so that the angle can be changed substantially vertically.
A drive mechanism for displacing the camera device from an angular direction for imaging the front of the vehicle body to an angular direction for imaging the front wheel peripheral portion,
Operating means installed in the driver's seat of the vehicle main body and instructing the drive mechanism to change the angle of the camera device. Further, according to the present invention, the camera device is housed in a state where the camera device is submerged in a housing portion provided in the mirror case, is arranged in a state where an image is taken outside the opening of the housing portion, and is provided in an opening of the housing portion. A transparent protective cover is provided.

[0008] In the vehicle periphery confirmation device of the present invention, a mirror device of a door mirror attached to the front door of the vehicle body is provided with a camera device for imaging the front of the vehicle body and the periphery of the front wheels. The image signal from the camera device is transmitted to and displayed on a display device installed in the driver's seat of the vehicle body. A drive mechanism that supports the camera device in the mirror case of the door mirror so that the angle of the camera device can be changed substantially in the vertical direction, and displaces the camera device in the angle direction for imaging the front wheel peripheral portion from the angle direction for imaging the front of the vehicle body. Is provided. Then, by operating the operation means provided in the driver's seat of the vehicle body, an instruction to change the angle of the camera device by the drive mechanism is issued, and the angle of the camera device is changed.

By adjusting the camera device in the angle direction for imaging the front of the vehicle body, the front of the vehicle body can be confirmed on the display device, and by adjusting the camera device in the angle direction for imaging the front wheel peripheral portion. The front wheel peripheral portion can be confirmed on the display device. Thereby, both the front of the vehicle body and the periphery of the front wheels can be confirmed by the limited viewing angle of the camera device provided on the back of the door mirror.

In the vehicle periphery confirmation device according to the present invention, the camera device is stored in a state of being immersed in a storage portion provided in a mirror case, and is arranged so as to capture an image outside the opening of the storage portion. . Also, in the opening of the storage section,
A transparent protective cover is provided to close the opening of the storage unit. This prevents the camera device provided on the back of the door mirror from impairing the appearance of the door mirror,
In addition, wind noise can be prevented, and the possibility of breakage due to obstacles can be suppressed. In addition, when an entire door mirror hits an obstacle or a person, damage to the opponent is smaller than hitting at a single point.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle periphery confirmation device according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a view showing a structure of a vehicle-mounted door mirror to which a vehicle periphery confirmation device according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 1 (A) is a horizontal sectional view, and FIG.
(B) is a partially omitted front view. FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view showing the exterior of a vehicle-mounted door mirror to which the vehicle periphery confirmation device according to the present invention is applied. Door mirror 10 of this example
Is, for example, a door frame 2A of a left front door 2 of a passenger car.
And has a function of automatically opening and closing by an operation from a control panel (not shown) in the driver's seat. The present invention can be applied to a door mirror without such an automatic opening / closing mechanism.

In FIG. 1, a mounting neck portion 12 is fixed to a door frame 2A, and an automatic opening / closing mechanism unit 14 for a door mirror 10 is provided at a tip end of the mounting neck portion 12. A dome-shaped mirror case 16 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of 14.
The automatic opening / closing mechanism unit 14 is configured by assembling a reduction gear mechanism, a driving motor, and the like with respect to the mounting neck portion 12, drives the mirror case 16 to turn in the horizontal direction, and shifts the mirror case 16 from the state shown in FIG. Case 16 to door 2
It is driven to open and close in a state of being folded on the side surface of.

A mirror 18 is provided at the front opening of the mirror case 16, and a mirror drive unit 20 is provided at the back of the mirror 18. The mirror drive unit 20 displaces the mirror 18 in the horizontal direction according to the driver's line of sight by oscillatingly supporting the mirror 18 by the bearing portion 20A and variably controlling the amount of protrusion of the movable piece 20B. To obtain the optimal angle. The mirror case 16 is provided with a camera device 22 and a camera drive mechanism unit 24 that constitute the vehicle periphery confirmation device of this example.

The camera device 22 of this embodiment uses a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD, and is provided facing the back side of the mirror 18. The camera device 22 includes a storage unit 1 provided at a position near the front end of the mirror case 16.
6A. As shown by a dashed line in FIG. 1, the viewing axis of the camera device 22 is set so that the center axis is substantially parallel to the side surface of the passenger car in the horizontal direction, and the camera drive mechanism unit 24 in the vertical direction. With the driving of the vehicle, the vehicle is displaced from a state in which an image of the front is photographed in a substantially horizontal state to a state in which the image of the front wheel peripheral portion of the vehicle is photographed by being inclined downward.

Further, the camera device 22 of the present embodiment is provided in a state of being entirely enclosed in a camera case 22A, and is held in a storage portion 16A of the mirror case 16 so as to be rotatable in a vertical (vertical) direction. In this example, the storage unit 16
A transparent protective cover 28 is provided in the opening of A in a state facing the lens barrel of the camera device 22. In this way, by enclosing the camera device 22 in the camera case 22A and sealing the opening of the storage portion 16A with the protective cover 28, the storage portion 16A of the camera device 22 has sufficient strength. Even when the object 10 collides with an obstacle, damage to the camera device 22 can be prevented. Further, by closing the opening of the storage section 16A with the protective cover 28, wind noise and the like can be prevented, and the appearance of the door mirror 10 can be maintained.

The camera drive mechanism unit 24 is provided inside the mirror case 16 and includes a drive motor 2.
4A and a reduction gear / clutch mechanism 24B. The camera drive mechanism unit 24 drives the drive motor 24A in accordance with an operation from a control panel at the driver's seat to vertically displace the camera drive mechanism unit 24 via a reduction gear / clutch mechanism 24B, thereby displacing the camera apparatus. 2
The control is performed to switch from a state in which an image of the front is imaged near the horizontal to a state in which an image of the periphery of the front wheels of the vehicle is imaged by tilting downward. In the reduction gear / clutch mechanism 24B, the drive motor 24
A by absorbing the drive error of A
Therefore, it is not necessary to use a high-precision servo motor, and an inexpensive drive motor 24A and simple control are realized.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a control system in the vehicle periphery confirmation device of this embodiment. The vehicle provided with the vehicle periphery confirmation device of the present example is provided with a navigation device, and displays a current position on a map read from a map database based on current position information obtained by GPS or autonomous navigation. A display device is provided.

In FIG. 3, a navigation unit 110 includes a CD or D storing a map database for navigation.
It has a built-in disk device such as a VD. The display 120 displays map information read by navigation, and is constituted by a CRT or the like. Further, in this example, information captured by the camera device 22 provided on the door mirror 10 described above is displayed on the display 120. In this example, one of the map display of the navigation and the imaging information of the camera device 22 is selectively displayed. In addition,
A configuration in which both the map display of the navigation and the imaging information of the camera device 22 are displayed on the divided screen may be adopted. Also,
The display 120 can be used as a TV image receiving screen or the like.

The camera / navigation switch 140 is a switch for selecting whether to use the map display of the navigation or the imaging information of the camera device 22, and is provided on the control panel of the driver's seat. Camera of this example /
The navigation switch 140 is a three-stable switch, and switches between a state in which the navigation device is selected, a state in which the camera device 22 is selected, and a state in which both are not selected. This camera / navigation switch 14
When the navigation device is selected according to 0, the navigation unit 110 and the like are activated, and the map information is displayed on the display 120. When the camera device 22 is selected by the camera / navigation switch 140, the camera device 22 is activated, and the image captured by the camera device 22 is displayed on the display 120.

The camera direction switch 150 is a switch for selecting the direction of the viewing angle of the camera device 22, and is provided on the control panel of the driver's seat. The camera direction switch 150 activates the camera drive mechanism unit 24 of the camera device 22 when the camera device 22 is selected by the camera / navigation switch 140,
Drive the drive motor 24A to reduce the gear / clutch mechanism 2
The camera drive mechanism unit 24 is vertically displaced via 4B. Then, the camera device 22 is controlled to switch between a state in which the front view is imaged with the viewing angle of the camera device 22 being almost horizontal and a state in which the camera device 22 is tilted downward to image the periphery of the front wheels of the automobile.

The control box 130 controls the entire control system of this embodiment, controls various input keys and instruments, and controls the power supply to each unit. , The camera device 22, the camera driving mechanism unit 24, and the like.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of an imaging area when the viewing angle direction of the camera device 22 is switched.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of the display images of the two imaging regions shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, a truck 300
The door mirror 10 equipped with the camera device 22 of this example is provided on a sedan vehicle 200 traveling behind the vehicle.
As shown in the figure, when a large vehicle such as a truck 300 is traveling forward, the front position on the passenger seat (left) side is a blind spot. Therefore, the camera device 22 is set to be in a state in which an image of the front is taken with the viewing angle being almost horizontal. The hatched area AR1 in FIG. 4 indicates the field of view of the camera device 22 in this case, and can be included in the field of view up to the distance indicated by LT1 in front of the sedan vehicle 200. In this case, a display image as shown by G1 in FIG.

On the other hand, when the user wants to see the peripheral portion of the front wheel of the own vehicle, the camera device 22 is set to take an image of the field of view below. The hatched area AR2 in FIG.
2, and the distance indicated by LT2 including the vicinity of the front wheels of the sedan vehicle 200 can be included in the field of view.
In this case, a display image as shown by G2 in FIG. As described above, both the front of the vehicle body and the periphery of the front wheels can be confirmed by the limited viewing angle of the camera device 22 provided on the back of the door mirror 10, and a convenient periphery confirmation device can be provided.

In the above example, since the protective cover 28 is provided so as to face the lens barrel of the camera device 22, as shown in FIGS. The opening of the storage section 16A is formed in a concave shape. Therefore, as a method of eliminating such a concave portion and further improving the appearance of the door mirror 10, a protective cover having a shape in which the outer peripheral surface of the protective cover forms a continuous curved surface with the outer peripheral surface of the mirror case 16 is provided. Is also good.

[0025]

As described above, in the vehicle periphery confirmation device of the present invention, a camera device for imaging the front of the vehicle body and the periphery of the front wheel is provided in the mirror case of the vehicle-mounted door mirror, and the angle of the camera device is adjusted. Is provided with a drive mechanism for driving the drive in a substantially vertical direction. Thus, there is an effect that both the front of the vehicle body and the peripheral portion of the front wheel can be confirmed by the limited viewing angle of the camera device provided on the rear surface of the door mirror.

Further, in the present invention, the camera device is stored in a state of being immersed in a storage portion provided in the mirror case, and a transparent protective cover is provided at an opening of the storage portion. This allows
The camera device provided on the back side of the door mirror prevents the appearance of the door mirror from being impaired, prevents wind noise, and further suppresses the possibility of damage due to obstacles.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a structure of a vehicle-mounted door mirror to which a vehicle periphery confirmation device according to the present invention is applied, wherein (A) is a horizontal sectional view and (B) is a partially omitted front view.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view showing an appearance of a vehicle-mounted door mirror to which the vehicle periphery confirmation device shown in FIG. 1 is applied.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a control system in the vehicle periphery confirmation device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of an imaging area when the viewing angle direction of the camera device is switched in the vehicle periphery confirmation device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a display image of two imaging regions shown in FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... door mirror, 16 ... mirror case, 18 ...
Mirror, 20 mirror drive unit, 22 camera device, 24 camera drive mechanism unit, 28 protective cover, 110 navigation unit, 120 display, 130 control box, 140 camera / Navigation switch, 150 ... Camera direction switch.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 7/18 B60R 21/00 622F 622S 624C F term (Reference) 3D053 FF17 FF31 GG06 5C022 AA04 AB30 AB62 AB65 AC01 AC13 AC27 AC42 AC69 AC74 CA00 5C054 AA01 AA05 CA04 CB02 CC05 CD03 CE02 CF02 CF06 CG04 CH01 EA01 FC11 FE11 FE23 FF02 HA30

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A door mirror having a mirror surface provided on a mirror case attached to a front door of a vehicle body for checking the side and rear of the vehicle body, and provided on a mirror case of the door mirror, the front of the vehicle body. And a camera device that images the front wheel peripheral portion; a display device that is installed in a driver's seat of the vehicle body and displays an imaging signal from the camera device; and is provided in a mirror case of the door mirror, and moves the camera device substantially vertically. A drive mechanism for supporting the angle changeable, and displacing the camera device from an angular direction for imaging the front of the vehicle body to an angular direction for imaging the front wheel peripheral portion; and An operation means for instructing an angle change of a camera device, and a vehicle periphery confirmation device, characterized by comprising: 2. The camera device according to claim 1, wherein the camera device is housed in a storage portion provided in the mirror case in a state where the camera device is submerged, and is arranged so as to capture an image outside the opening of the storage portion. 2. The vehicle surrounding confirmation device according to claim 1, further comprising a transparent protective cover. 3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an outer peripheral surface of said protective cover has a shape forming a continuous curved surface with an outer peripheral surface of said mirror case. 4. A navigation device for detecting a current position of a vehicle and displaying the current position on a map, wherein the display device displays a map display by the navigation device and an image signal of the camera device. 2. The vehicle periphery confirmation device according to claim 1, wherein the device also serves as the display device. 5. The vehicle according to claim 4, further comprising a selection unit that is installed in a driver's seat of the vehicle body and selects whether to perform display by the navigation device or display by the camera device. Peripheral confirmation device. 6. The vehicle periphery confirmation device according to claim 1, wherein the camera device and the drive mechanism are provided on a door mirror on the front passenger seat side. 7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism comprises a drive motor and a gear mechanism.