JP2001086492A - On-vehicle camera video synthetic through-vision device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily confirm safety by displaying and recording a see through image, which has a large angle of view are perspective, easy to watch at the time of respectively reducing and synthetically displaying two kinds of a camera video. SOLUTION: The video to be outputted from on-vehicle cameras 11-14 is selected by a switching controller 18 with information from a car speed detector 15, a front/back detector 16 and an instruction input 17 or the like as a control signal and successively stored in video memories 21 and 22 by address generator 19 and 20, orthogonal coordinates are transformed to perspective coordinates by coordinate transforming circuits 23 and 24 and the video is synthesized by a synthesizing circuit 25 and displayed on an image display 26. The coordinate transforming circuit is composed of a ROM and the video picked up by the camera at the back part of a vehicle is laterally inverted and displayed. Further, image data compressed by an image compressor 27 are recorded on a disk recorder 28 and reproduced by an expander 29.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-vehicle camera image synthesizing fluoroscopic device for switching images from an in-vehicle camera or the like and displaying them in a synthetic perspective.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this kind of on-vehicle camera switching device, one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-215130 is known. FIG. 4 shows a configuration of a conventional on-vehicle camera switching device, in which a camera 1 installed in each part of an automobile is used.
4 are selected by a switching control means 8 which uses information from driving state detecting means such as a turn signal direction detecting means 5, a steering wheel direction detecting means 6, and an instruction input means 7 as a control signal, and displays an image. The information is displayed on the means 9.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional vehicle-mounted camera switching device, only one camera image can be displayed on the image display for a certain period of time, and each of the two camera images is reduced to half. If the image is combined and displayed, the display area of the image is reduced to 1/4, which makes the image too small to be easily seen, and the in-vehicle camera uses a wide-angle lens. Also,
The part of the blind spot that is larger than the driver's viewing angle can be obtained only by mapping with a conventional mirror, etc., and since the mirror is installed very far away from the driver, the mapping is also very small and short It was difficult to confirm.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an on-vehicle camera image synthesizing fluoroscopic apparatus which can easily confirm safety.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a camera installed in each part of a vehicle, a driving state detecting means for detecting a driving state of the vehicle, and Switching control means for selecting a plurality of video signals based on the signals from the operation state detecting means, address generating means for generating an address signal in rectangular coordinates, and a plurality of video signals from the switching control means in accordance with the address signals from the address generating means. An image memory for reading and storing the video signals of the above, a coordinate conversion means comprising a ROM for converting a plurality of video signals written in the image memory in orthogonal coordinates into perspective coordinates, and a plurality of the coordinate-converted videos. A synthesizing means for synthesizing the signal into one image signal; and an image display means for displaying the synthesized image signal. Those having a means for converting and displaying the camera images that are to the left and right opposite. With this configuration, it is possible to change the line of sight by viewing an image that is three-dimensionally displayed at the maximum angle of view on the in-vehicle display of an external situation that is difficult for the driver to see, without impairing the perspective. It is possible to easily confirm the safety in a short time and at a minimum, and to easily confirm the rear of the vehicle when parking.

The present invention, in addition to the above configuration, further comprises means for compressing and storing the combined image signal, and means for reading and expanding the compressed and stored image signal. is there. With this configuration, an image during operation can be recorded and reproduced, and the situation at the time of an accident can be clearly determined.

According to the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the camera has an ultra wide angle lens. With this configuration, if a lens having a viewing angle of 80 ° or more is used for the vehicle-mounted camera, there is no problem near the center of the image, but the image is distorted around the image. Can be corrected and displayed. By changing the internal parameters, the coordinate conversion circuit
It has the effect of being able to cope with ultra-wide-angle lenses.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an on-vehicle camera image synthesizing fluoroscopic device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the on-vehicle camera image synthesizing fluoroscopic device includes cameras 11 to 14, a vehicle speed detector 15, a front and rear detector 16, an instruction input device 17, a switching controller 18, address generators 19 and 20, an image memory 21, 22, a coordinate conversion circuit 23, 24, a synthesis circuit 25, an image display 26, an image compressor 27, a disk recorder 28, and an image expander 29.

Next, the operation will be described. The cameras 11 to 14 installed in each part of the automobile generate the surrounding situation as a video signal, and output the generated video signal to the switching controller 18. Vehicle speed detection knowledge unit 15 generates a control signal for operating the apparatus only at low speed, forward backward detection Intellectual <br/> 16 generates a selection signal of a camera image that performs image signal processing, the instruction input unit 17 Generates a control signal for inputting a driver's instruction. Based on the control signals from these three operation state detectors, the switching controller 18
１４14 are selected. Address generator 1
Reference numerals 9 and 20 generate address signals in rectangular coordinates from the pixel reference clock CLK, and the image signals selected by the switching controller 18 are sequentially stored in the image memories 21 and 22 according to the address signals output from the address generators 19 and 20. It is memorized. The image memories 21 and 22 store the image signals corresponding to the rectangular coordinates, and the coordinate conversion circuits 23 and 24 generate the address signals for reading the image signals written in the image memories 21 and 22 and generate the image signals. Memory 21, 2
2 is affine-transformed into the perspective coordinates of the image signal written in the rectangular coordinates and written into the image memories 21 and 22. The synthesizing circuit 26 synthesizes the two images read out from the image memories 21 and 22 based on the perspective coordinates by the coordinate transforming circuits 23 and 24. The synthesizing circuit 26 synthesizes the two camera images into one image to provide perspective. Is displayed on the image display 26 in a see-through manner. Image compressor 27 to reduce the data capacity when recording the image data to the disk recorder 28, the disk recorder 28, an image of the event of an accident and stored temporarily, the image decompressor 29, an image The data compressed by the compressor 27 is reproduced, and the video at the time of the accident can be reproduced by the input from the instruction input device 17.

FIG. 2 shows a display example of the on-vehicle camera image synthesizing fluoroscopic device according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the mounting angle of the in-vehicle camera is set such that the camera is mounted at an angle of about 45 degrees to both the front and rear sides, so that the image of the camera captures an image that is more than the driver's viewing angle, that is, a blind spot. For example, the right side A 'captures an object located farther to the left side of the left front camera image. Since the vehicle-mounted camera uses a wide-angle lens, the points A and A 'have different distances from the driver, but if the camera image is displayed on the display as it is, the perspective will be impaired. Therefore, as shown in the front side display example (a), the vertical reduction ratio of the point A 'far from the driver in the vertical direction is 50%, and the vertical reduction ratio of the point A close to the driver is 100%. By doing so, it is possible to give a sense of perspective. Similarly, assuming that the left side of the right front camera image is B 'and the right side is B, the left side B' is closer to the driver and the right side B is farther from the driver. Therefore, the vertical reduction rate of the point B 'far from the driver in the vertical direction is 50%,
The vertical reduction ratio of point B, which is close to the driver, is 10
By setting it to 0%, a sense of perspective can be obtained.

As described above, by combining and displaying the two images of the left front camera and the right front camera on one display, it is useful to improve the visibility of an intersection with no traffic light and poor visibility. In other words, to the position where the on-vehicle camera is mounted, in this example, to the front bumper position, the driver can only see on the road where he or she crosses, and the outside situation that is difficult for the driver to see is maximized without compromising the perspective. It is possible to easily confirm the safety by visually observing the in-vehicle display indicated by the corner.

For the rear side, the processing is switched to the rear side vehicle-mounted camera according to the control signal output from the front / rear detector 16 in FIG. 1 to display two screens. FIG.
In the rear side display example (b), assuming that the left side of the rear left camera image is C and the right side is C ′, the right side C ′ is closer to the driver and the left side C is farther from the driver. When you catch the object that is located. Since the in-vehicle camera uses a wide-angle lens, the distances from the driver at point C and point C 'are different, but if the camera image is displayed as it is on the display, the perspective is impaired. Therefore, it is possible to give a sense of perspective by setting the vertical reduction ratio of the point C far from the driver in the vertical direction to 50% and the vertical reduction ratio of the point C 'close to the driver in the vertical direction to 100%. Becomes Similarly, assuming that the left side of the right rear camera image is D 'and the right side is D, the left side D' is closer to the driver and the right side D is farther away from the driver. Become. Therefore, it is possible to give a sense of perspective by setting the vertical reduction rate of point D far from the driver in the vertical direction to 50% and the vertical reduction rate of point D 'close to the driver in the vertical direction to 100%. Becomes

As described above, the two camera images of the left rear and the right rear are combined and displayed on one display unit, thereby helping to prevent a entanglement accident or the like. In other words, the in-vehicle display, which displays the external situation that is difficult to see from the driver behind the rear side vehicle mounted camera, in this case, the driver behind the door mirror position, at the maximum angle of view without compromising the perspective. By doing so, an easy safety check can be made.

Further, by installing another in-vehicle camera in the rear, the processing is switched to the in-vehicle camera in the rear according to the control signal output from the instruction input device 17 in FIG. The rear display example (c) in FIG. 2 shows that the CCD of the vehicle-mounted camera has a structure opposite to the left and right, so that an image that does not make the driver feel uncomfortable is displayed on the display device, and it is easy to check the rear when parking. Become.

FIG. 3 shows another example of the coordinate conversion circuit according to the present embodiment. Address generator 19, 20
Generates an X coordinate by an X coordinate counter 30 from a pixel reference clock CLK, generates a Y coordinate by a Y coordinate counter 31 based on the output value of the X coordinate counter, and outputs orthogonal coordinates to a coordinate conversion circuit 32. The coordinate conversion circuits 23 and 24 of FIG.
Is configured to perform an affine transformation matrix operation from orthogonal coordinates and output perspective coordinates, but the affine transformation matrix operation is originally a complicated operation performed in multiple stages, and the parameters are varied. With this, the effect changes continuously. However, if the image effects can be limited to several types as in the present invention, by storing the address data tabulated in the external ROM in advance for the effects, the coordinate conversion circuit becomes a complicated arithmetic circuit. There is no need to configure the coordinate conversion circuit in multiple stages, and a coordinate conversion circuit can be configured by guiding the data in the ROM with a computer or the like. The coordinate conversion circuit 32 shown in FIG. 3 is constituted by a ROM, and the data in the ROM is the X-coordinate of the image in which the number of Y decreases as the X coordinate increases as in the front side display example (a) in FIG.
The number of vertical lines in coordinates is ((1−X coordinate / X maximum value)
* Y maximum value), and can be calculated easily.
2 can be written in perspective coordinates. In addition, the first location can be easily calculated by (Y maximum value / number of lines + 1) for the locations not written in the image memories 21 and 22. Therefore, all the locations can be calculated by multiplying the number of lines previously obtained. By deriving the calculation result by a computer or the like and storing the result in a ROM, the coordinate conversion can be performed only by the access time to the ROM, which is faster than the processing time required for the operation for affine transformation of the coordinate conversion circuit.

[0016]

The present invention has the following effects as apparent from the above embodiment. (1) Since the camera image is perspective-transformed in real time and a plurality of camera images are synthesized and displayed on one display, the driver can grasp the perspective without complicated operation, and whether the vehicle approaches or moves away from the vehicle. It is easy to confirm the safety of
By adding the function of automatically switching between the front and rear sides, it is possible to easily confirm safety when making a call or when moving backward. Further, by converting the image of the camera installed at the rear part of the automobile to the left and right and displaying it, it is possible to easily confirm the rear side when parking. (2) By recording the video during the operation, the situation at the time of the accident can be reproduced and judged. (3) By using an ultra-wide-angle lens for the vehicle-mounted camera, the coordinate conversion circuit can display an image with little distortion only by changing internal parameters. (4) By configuring the coordinate conversion circuit with a ROM, it is possible to reduce the circuit scale and to reduce the cost as compared with a case where a complicated arithmetic circuit is configured in multiple stages.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an on-vehicle camera video fluoroscopic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a screen diagram showing a display example of the on-vehicle camera video fluoroscopy apparatus in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an address generator and a coordinate conversion circuit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional vehicle-mounted camera switching device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11, 12, 13, 14 Onboard camera 15 Vehicle speed detector 16 Forward / backward detector 17 Instruction input device 18 Switching controller 19, 20 Address generator 21, 22 Image memory 23, 24 Coordinate conversion circuit 25 Synthesis circuit 26 Image display 27 image compressor 28 disk recorder 29 image expander 30 X coordinate counter 31 Y coordinate counter 32 coordinate conversion circuit (ROM)

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Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A camera installed in each part of an automobile, an operating state detecting means for detecting an operating state of the automobile, and a plurality of video signals from each camera are selected based on a signal from the operating state detecting means. Switching control means, an address generating means for generating an address signal of orthogonal coordinates, an image memory for reading and storing a plurality of video signals from the switching control means in accordance with an address signal from the address generating means, and A coordinate conversion means comprising a ROM for converting a plurality of video signals written in rectangular coordinates into perspective coordinates; a synthesis means for synthesizing the plurality of coordinate-converted video signals into one image signal; Image display means for displaying an image signal obtained by the camera, further comprising: In-vehicle camera image synthesis fluoroscope with steps. 2. The in-vehicle camera image synthesizing and fluoroscopic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: means for compressing and storing the synthesized image signal; and means for reading and expanding the compressed and stored image signal. 3. The in-vehicle camera image synthesizing fluoroscopic device according to claim 1, wherein the camera has an ultra-wide-angle lens.