JP2001018716A - Forward monitoring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To brighten the illuminance of the image pickup area of on-vehicle cameras and to improve the visibility of a monitor area by canceling the light reduction adjustment of a headlamp with the on-signal of the operation switch of on-vehicle cameras. SOLUTION: The light reduction adjustment of a headlamp 7 is canceled by the on-signal of a camera switch 4 when the image pickup of on-vehicle CCD cameras 1a, 1b is started with the headlamp 7 kept under a light reduction adjustment, thus normal brightness is forcibly resumed. Since the illuminance of the image pickup area of the on-vehicle CCD cameras 1a, 1b can be made sufficiently bright by the light of the headlamp 7, the visibility of a monitor area is improved. This switching is performed automatically, a driver is not required to turn off an automatic light reduction switch 6 manually when the image on a display 2 is hardly visible, thus operability is also improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a forward monitoring apparatus for capturing an image of a scene ahead of a vehicle with a vehicle-mounted camera and displaying the image on a display in the vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, there has been known a forward monitoring apparatus which captures an image of a scene ahead of a vehicle using a vehicle-mounted camera and displays the image on a display in the vehicle.

Further, there is also known an automatic dimming device that diminishes a headlamp according to a vehicle speed, for example, in a low speed in a traffic jam or in an intermittent running state to suppress battery consumption and energy consumption.

[0004]

However, in the conventional forward monitoring device, especially when the automatic dimming device is installed in parallel with the automatic dimming device and the devices are operating simultaneously, the forward monitoring device is particularly required to operate the vehicle at a low speed or at a stop. The blind spot area in front is imaged by the onboard camera and displayed on the display, and even if the driver tries to confirm the safety, the automatic dimming device automatically dims the headlamps during low-speed driving. There is a problem that the illuminance is not sufficient and a clear image cannot be obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem. When the front monitoring device is operated, the operation of the automatic dimming device is forcibly canceled, and the illuminance of the image pickup area is reduced by the light of the headlamp. It is an object of the present invention to provide a forward monitoring device capable of sufficiently taking a forward view.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a forward monitoring apparatus for capturing an image of a blind spot area in front of a vehicle, a headlamp for illuminating the front of the vehicle, and dimming the headlamp according to a vehicle speed. A light controller to adjust,
A camera controller for controlling the operation of the on-vehicle camera, and an operation switch for the on-vehicle camera, wherein the light controller cancels the dimming adjustment function of the headlamp according to a turn-on signal of the operation switch. is there.

In the forward monitoring device according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the operation switch is turned on and the vehicle-mounted camera starts imaging in a situation where the headlamp is dimmed by the light controller, the light controller operates the operation switch. , The dimming adjustment function of the headlamp is canceled by the input signal, and the headlamp is returned to the normal brightness.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the on-vehicle camera starts imaging in a situation where the headlamp is adjusted for dimming, the dimming adjustment of the headlamp is canceled by the ON signal of the operation switch. Since the brightness is forcibly returned to the normal brightness, the illuminance of the imaging area of the vehicle-mounted camera can be sufficiently increased by the light of the headlamp, and the visibility of the monitoring area is improved.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a forward monitoring device according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the forward monitoring apparatus according to this embodiment, the CCD cameras 1a and 1b capture images of scenes in front of and under the vehicle, and display a display 2 mounted on the vehicle. The display 2 can display the images of the CCD cameras 1a and 1b in a divided screen and display both simultaneously, or only one of them can be displayed in a full screen by a user's selecting operation.

[0010] The camera controller 3 is a CCD camera 1
Control necessary for clear imaging, such as activation / stop of a and 1b, focus control, optical axis control, etc., is performed. Camera switch 4
Supplies a start / stop signal of the CCD cameras 1a and 1b to the camera controller 3 by the operation of the driver.

When the automatic light dimming switch 6 is turned on by the automatic light dimming switch 6, the light controller 5 executes control for dimming the brightness of the headlamp 7 from the normal lighting state in accordance with the input vehicle speed signal. The ON / OFF operation signal of the camera switch 4 is also connected to the light controller 5. When the ON operation signal of the camera switch 4 is received, the automatic dimming function of the headlamp 7 is canceled and the normal brightness is controlled. It is set to return to the original.

Next, the operation of the forward monitoring device having the above configuration will be described. As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2, when the camera switch 4 is turned on, this processing routine starts, and the camera controller 3 starts the CCD cameras 1a and 1b to start imaging (step S05). At the same time, the ON / OFF signal of the camera switch 4 is also input to the light controller 5, and the light controller 5 turns on the automatic dimming switch 6, and if the camera is in the automatic dimming operation mode (step S10), the operation proceeds to step S10. The automatic dimming operation is temporarily and forcibly canceled, and the brightness of the headlamp 7 is returned to the normal state (step S15).

In this state, the camera controller 3
The imaging operation by the D cameras 1a and 1b is performed by the camera switch 4
Is continued until it is turned off (step S20). When the camera switch 4 is turned off, the camera controller 3
The CD cameras 1a and 1b are stopped to terminate the forward monitoring operation. At the same time, the light controller 5 receives the OFF signal of the camera switch 4 and resumes the automatic dimming operation. The light adjustment is restarted (step S25).

As described above, in the forward monitoring apparatus according to the present embodiment, when the on-vehicle CCD cameras 1a and 1b start imaging in a situation where the dimming adjustment of the headlamp 7 is performed, the camera switch 4 is turned on. Since the dimming adjustment of the headlamp 7 is canceled by a signal and the brightness is forcibly returned to the normal brightness, the illuminance of the imaging area of the on-vehicle camera can be sufficiently brightened by the light of the headlamp 7 and the monitoring area can be brightened. Since the visibility is improved and the switching is performed automatically, the driver does not need to manually turn off the automatic dimming switch 6 when the image on the display 2 is difficult to see, and the operability is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a, 1b CCD camera 2 Display 3 Camera controller 4 Camera switch 5 Light controller 6 Automatic dimming switch 7 Headlamp

Claims (1)

[Claims] An on-board camera for capturing an image of the front of the vehicle, a headlamp for illuminating the front of the vehicle, a light controller for dimming the headlamp in accordance with a vehicle speed, a camera controller for controlling an operation of the on-vehicle camera, An operation switch for the on-vehicle camera, wherein the light controller cancels a dimming adjustment function of the headlamp in response to a turn-on signal of the operation switch.