JP2001083244A - Detecting apparatus for obstacle on side face of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a detecting apparatus, for an obstacle on the side face of a vehicle, in which the relative position with reference to the vehicle of the obstacle existing so as to be close to the side face of the vehicle is detected with good accuracy, and by which a contact accident with the obstacle can be prevented when the vehicle is advanced or retreated or when the parking operation of the vehicle is performed. SOLUTION: First obstacle sensors 4, 5 which are installed on both side faces of a vehicle 1 and which probe an obstacle 10 in the rear part are provided. Second obstacle sensors 7, 8 which are installed in the rear part of the vehicle 1 from the first obstacle sensors 4, 5 and which probe the obstacle 10 in a direction nearly at right angles to the probing direction of the first obstacle sensors 4, 5 are provided. The first obstacle sensors 4, 5 and the second obstacle sensors 7, 8 are constituted of distance detecting means of different techniques.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle-side obstacle for accurately and accurately detecting a vehicle-side obstacle when the vehicle starts, reverses, or performs a parking operation. The present invention relates to a detection device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There have been conventionally disclosed many distance measuring devices based on ultrasonic waves and electromagnetic waves, or distance measuring devices based on image sensors and image processing mounted on vehicles. These technologies are, for example,
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 27187 and Patent No. 2887039, obstacles in front and behind a running vehicle, particularly, the presence of a running vehicle and the distance to the vehicle are detected. Most of the methods related to the method of recognizing a vehicle ahead on a curved road, or the method of recognizing a vehicle traveling in the same lane traveling forward or backward or a lane to be changed when changing lanes are used. is occupying.

[0003] In addition, Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-12221 discloses that
2. Description of the Related Art In order to support steering for parking, such as parallel parking, a technique of detecting and notifying an obstacle around a vehicle is disclosed. This technology mounts ultrasonic distance detection sensors on the left and right of the front and rear parts of the vehicle, and installs an audio alarm device in the passenger compartment corresponding to the position of this distance detection sensor, so that any part of the vehicle during steering is The driver is notified whether the vehicle is close to an obstacle, and the distance to the obstacle is notified by the strength of the warning sound or the pitch at which the sound is generated.

[0004]

As described above, there is disclosed a technique for detecting the presence of an obstacle around a vehicle and detecting the approximate distance to the obstacle. However, when detecting the position of the side obstacle of the vehicle by such a method, the existence of the obstacle and the distance to the obstacle can be almost measured, but the relative position of the close obstacle to the own vehicle, that is, It is impossible to accurately detect the position of the obstacle in the front-rear direction and the lateral direction on the side of the own vehicle, and it is difficult to detect an obstacle close to the vehicle when starting or moving backward, particularly when steering for parking. The vehicle had to be relied on visual observation around the vehicle for confirmation, often resulting in a collision with an obstacle. Also, in the distance measurement method using ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves alone, the directivity of ultrasonic waves or electromagnetic waves emitted toward an obstacle is poor,
Depending on the surrounding environment, there is a problem that the measurement ability is deteriorated and an obstacle cannot be confirmed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and accurately and accurately detects a relative position of an obstacle existing close to a side of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a lateral obstacle detection device for a vehicle that can prevent a collision accident with an obstacle at the time of starting or reversing the vehicle, or at the time of parking operation.

[0006]

A vehicle side obstacle detecting device according to the present invention is provided on both sides of a vehicle and detects a rear obstacle, a first obstacle sensor, and a first obstacle sensor. A first obstacle sensor and a second obstacle sensor, the second obstacle sensor being located behind the sensor and being configured to search for an obstacle in a direction substantially orthogonal to the search direction of the first obstacle sensor. Are configured by distance detecting means of a different method.

Further, the first obstacle sensor is constituted by optical distance detecting means attached to the left and right side mirrors of the vehicle. Furthermore, the first obstacle sensor is configured by a distance detecting unit having an optical imaging unit, and configured to display a captured image in a vehicle cabin. Furthermore, the second obstacle sensor is configured by distance detecting means using ultrasonic waves or distance detecting means using electromagnetic waves. Further, a plurality of second obstacle sensors are provided on both side surfaces of the vehicle. Further, the distance to the obstacle measured by the first obstacle sensor and the second obstacle sensor is displayed in the vehicle interior by voice or text.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a lateral obstacle detection device for a vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example of a display device, and FIG. It is a flowchart explaining. In the figure, 1 is a vehicle on which a side obstacle detection device is mounted, 2 and 3 are left side mirrors and right side mirrors of the vehicle 1, 4 is a left first obstacle sensor attached to the left side mirror 2, 5 Is a right first obstacle sensor attached to the right side mirror 3, and the left first obstacle sensor 4 and the right first obstacle sensor 5 are each a stereoscopic image using a pair of publicly known image sensors. The first obstacle sensors 4 and 5 detect the distance to the obstacle 10 by detecting both sides of the vehicle 1 behind the installation location, The obstacle 10 is configured to be captured by an image and displayed on the image display device 6 provided in the vehicle cabin of the vehicle 1.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a left second obstacle sensor mounted on the left side of the vehicle 1, and 8 denotes a right second obstacle sensor mounted on the right side of the vehicle 1. The sensors 7 and 8 are installed so as to be located behind the first obstacle sensors 4 and 5 in the vehicle 1 and, for example, the first obstacle sensor 4 and the ultrasonic obstacle detection device such as an ultrasonic distance detection device. 5 is used, and an exploration in a direction perpendicular to the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle 1, that is, an obstacle in a direction orthogonal to the exploration direction of the first obstacle sensors 4 and 5 is used. And is configured to measure its distance.

The image display device 6 is installed at a place in the vehicle cabin where a driver can easily confirm the image. The image display device 6 includes a first obstacle sensor 4 or 5 and a second obstacle sensor. A sound display device 9 for displaying the distance to the obstacle 10 measured by 7 or 8 is attached, and the distance to the obstacle 10 is transmitted to the driver by voice. In addition, the display image of the image display device 6 does not give a feeling of strangeness even if the driver looks forward while looking forward.
The screen can be inverted and displayed.

FIG. 1 shows a situation where an obstacle 10 such as, for example, a block wall is present near the left side of the vehicle 1, and the first obstacle sensor 4 on the left side is the distance to the tip of the obstacle 10. An example in which L is measured and the second obstacle sensor 7 measures the distance G to the obstacle 10 is shown. The image captured by the first obstacle sensor 4 is displayed on the image display device 6 as shown in FIG. 2, and the distance L to the obstacle 10 measured by the first obstacle sensor 4 and the second obstacle sensor 7 The numerical value of the distance G to the obstacle 10 measured by is displayed by the audio display device 9. In addition, this numerical display can be displayed as a caption on the screen of the image display device 6 irrespective of audio, or can be displayed as both the screen and audio.

An example of the operation of the thus configured vehicle side obstacle detection apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
At 01, for example, it is confirmed that the engine of the vehicle 1 is operating, and when it is confirmed that the parking brake is released, the operation of the device is started. In step 102, the first left and right obstacle sensors 4 and 5 search for an obstacle behind, and when an obstacle is detected, the distance L is calculated in step 102A. L <Y
If so, confirm the numerical value for display. Step 103
Then, the left and right second obstacle sensors 7 and 8 search for the left and right obstacles, and when an obstacle is detected, the distance G is calculated in step 103A. If X, the numerical value is determined for display.

Step 104 is to display the rearward image picked up in step 102 by the image display device 6. If the measured distances L and G are within the above-mentioned predetermined distance, the audio display device 9 or is displayed by the image display device 6 together with the rear image. After the display, if a predetermined time has elapsed, it is confirmed in step 105 whether or not the operation of the engine is continued and whether or not the parking brake is released. If the vehicle is in the driving state, the operation is repeated.
If the engine is stopped or the parking brake is on, the operation ends. In this operation example, the display is performed when the distances L and G are equal to or less than a predetermined value. However, the display is not limited to this.

In this way, the obstacle 10 existing close to the side surface of the vehicle 1 is detected, and the position is displayed in a coordinate manner. The screen on which the obstacle is present can be enlarged and displayed on the screen, and when obstacles exist on both sides, both can be displayed by screen division or time division. Further, the image display device 6 can be configured as two image display devices that are left and right independent. Further, the second obstacle sensors 7 and 8 may not be of the ultrasonic wave type but may be radars using electromagnetic waves. If a plurality of sensors are arranged on each side of the vehicle 1, the search range can be expanded.

In the present invention, the first obstacle sensors 4 and 5 are constituted by an optical distance detecting device, and the second obstacle sensors 7 and 8 are constituted by an ultrasonic distance detecting device. Therefore, even if the first obstacle sensors 4 and 5 deteriorate in obstacle detection ability due to sunlight or headlights of a vehicle behind, the second obstacle sensors 7 and 8 detect an obstacle, and Even if the second obstacle sensors 7 and 8 decrease the obstacle detection capability due to exhaust sound, wind noise, or the like, the first obstacle sensors 4 and 5 detect the obstacle, and the relative position with respect to the vehicle 1 cannot be confirmed. It is possible to notify the warning of the presence of the obstacle and the distance of one of the two-dimensional coordinates even if the obstacle is present. It will be possible to provide accurate support.

[0016]

As described above, according to the apparatus for detecting a lateral obstacle of a vehicle according to the present invention, a first obstacle sensor for searching for an obstacle on both sides toward the front and rear sides of the vehicle. The second obstacle sensor for searching for an obstacle in a direction perpendicular to the left and right sides is provided on both rear sides of the vehicle, and the search directions of the first obstacle sensor and the second obstacle sensor are made orthogonal to each other. In addition, since the first obstacle sensor and the second obstacle sensor are configured by different types of distance sensors having different detection methods, the relative position of the obstacle close to the vehicle with respect to the vehicle can be accurately detected in coordinates. The driver can check the distance along with the image as a numerical value, and if one of the obstacles cannot be detected due to environmental conditions around the vehicle, the other obstacle sensor detects the presence of the obstacle. Application environment range That increased the one in which it is possible to obtain a side obstacle detection device capable of accurately supporting the driver vehicle.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle side obstacle detection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of the vehicle side obstacle detection device according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the lateral obstacle detection device for a vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle, 2 and 3 side mirrors, 4 and 5 First obstacle sensor, 6 Image display device, 7, 8 Second obstacle sensor, 9 Voice display device, 10 obstacles.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G01S 17/88 A

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A first obstacle sensor provided on both sides of a vehicle to search for an obstacle behind the vehicle, a first obstacle sensor provided behind the first obstacle sensor, and a search direction of the first obstacle sensor. And a second obstacle sensor for searching for an obstacle in a direction substantially orthogonal to the first obstacle sensor, wherein the first obstacle sensor and the second obstacle sensor are configured by distance detection means of different methods Obstacle detection device for a moving vehicle. 2. The side obstacle detecting device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the first obstacle sensor is an optical distance detecting means attached to left and right side mirrors of the vehicle. 3. The first obstacle sensor according to claim 1, wherein the first obstacle sensor includes a distance detection unit having an optical imaging unit, and the captured image is displayed in a vehicle interior. The side obstacle detection device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second obstacle sensor is a distance detecting means using an ultrasonic wave or a distance detecting means using an electromagnetic wave. A side obstacle detection device for a vehicle as described in the above. 5. The side obstacle detection device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of second obstacle sensors are provided on both side surfaces of the vehicle. apparatus. 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the distance to the obstacle measured by the first obstacle sensor and the second obstacle sensor is displayed in the vehicle cabin by voice or text. The lateral obstacle detection device for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5.