JP2001130324A - Circumstance confirming device for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To catch three-directional information without requiring a dedicated driving portion for moving a camera device. SOLUTION: A control switch SW and a control circuit portion 3 are structured so that a mirror assembly 2 rotates among three positions and stops at the three positions. As a result, one camera device 4 can catch the three- directional information. By improving an existing control switch and the control circuit portion, the mirror assembly 2 can be rotated between a using position and a forward tilting position, and stopped between the using position and the forward tilting position. Therefore, a motor of an existing door mirror device can be utilized as it is, and the dedicated driving portion for moving the camera device 4 in three directions is not required.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of capturing information around an automobile by using an imaging device (for example, a camera device such as a CCD camera device, hereinafter referred to as a camera device).
In addition, the surroundings of the vehicle are displayed as a camera image on a monitor device to confirm the surroundings of the vehicle, that is, a vehicle surroundings confirmation device for visually confirming a blind spot around the vehicle, wherein the camera device is mounted on a door of the vehicle. The present invention relates to a device for checking the surroundings of a vehicle which is built in a mirror assembly of a door mirror device. In particular, the present invention relates to a peripheral confirmation device for an automobile that can catch information in three directions with one camera device and that does not require a dedicated driving unit for moving the camera device in three directions. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a vehicle surroundings confirmation device of this type is built in a door mirror device mounted on a vehicle door and a mirror assembly of the vehicle, and captures information around the vehicle and converts it into a video signal. It is composed of a camera device and a monitor device that displays information about the surroundings of the automobile captured by the camera device as a camera image. As such a vehicle surrounding confirmation device, there is, for example, a device (a device described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-953) filed by the present applicant.

[0003]

However, in the above-described vehicle surroundings confirmation device, one camera device can only catch information in one direction. Therefore, in order to catch information in multiple directions with one camera device, there is a problem that a dedicated driving unit for moving the camera device in multiple directions is required.

According to the present invention, one camera device can catch information in three directions,
An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle surroundings confirmation device that does not require a dedicated driving unit for moving the vehicle in the direction.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a control switch for rotating a mirror assembly between a use position, a forward tilt position and a rear tilt position, and a mirror. And a control circuit for stopping the assembly at three positions: a use position, a forward tilt position, and a rear tilt position.

As a result, in the vehicle surroundings confirmation device of the present invention, the mirror assembly rotates between three positions and stops at the three positions by operating the control switch and operating the control circuit. This allows one camera device to handle 3
You can catch direction information. Moreover, by simply improving the control switch and control circuit of the existing door mirror device, the mirror assembly is rotated between the use position and the forward tilt position, and is stopped between the forward tilt position and the use position. Can be used, the motor of the existing door mirror device can be used as it is,
A dedicated drive unit for moving the camera device in three directions is not required.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, an example in which a door mirror device is mounted on a left door of an automobile will be described. When the door mirror device is mounted on the right door of the automobile, the left and right sides are reversed. And, in this specification, the front means the front facing the traveling direction of the vehicle from the driver, the rear refers to the rear facing the traveling direction of the vehicle from the driver, and the left side refers to the traveling direction of the vehicle from the driver. Left side, and right side is the right side from the driver in the direction of travel of the car.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, DM is a door mirror device. The door mirror device DM includes a mirror base 1 fixed to a door D of an automobile, a mirror assembly 2 rotatably attached to the mirror base 1, and a motor M
A control switch SW for driving the motor M to rotate the mirror assembly 2, and a control circuit unit 3 for stopping the rotating mirror assembly 2 at a predetermined position.
And

The mirror assembly 2 is mounted on the mirror housing 20 via a power unit (not shown) so as to be tiltable up, down, left and right, and is disposed at an opening of the mirror housing 20. And a mirror body 200.

In the mirror assembly 2, for example, C
A camera device 4 composed of a CD camera is built in. The camera device 4 is installed at an end of the mirror assembly 2 that is remote from the rotation center O. A transparent plate 201 is provided at an end of the mirror assembly 2. As a result, the camera device 4 moves the range 40 shown in FIGS.
An angle of view at which 0 can be visually recognized is obtained. Note that a wide-angle lens may be used in some cases.

On the other hand, a monitor device 5 is installed substantially at the center of an instrument panel or the like (not shown) near the driver's seat of the automobile. As shown in FIG. 4, the monitor device 5 projects information on the surroundings of the automobile caught by the camera device 4 on a screen as a camera image.

The control switch SW is a three-position switch, and as shown in FIGS.
One movable contact 41 connected to the battery (power supply) B
And three fixed contacts, that is, a first fixed contact 42, a second fixed contact 43, and a third fixed contact 44. The control switch SW is used to move the mirror assembly 2 to a use position (a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1), a forward tilt position (a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1), and a rear tilt position (a position illustrated in FIG. (Position indicated by a dashed line).

In FIG. 3, SW1 is a four-way switch, which is a remote control switch for tilting the mirror body 200 up, down, left and right with respect to the mirror housing 20. SW2 is a two-way changeover switch that selects between vertical and horizontal tilting of the right mirror body 200 and vertical and horizontal tilt of the left mirror body 200. These switches SW1 and SW2 and the control switch SW are housed in one switch box.

Further, the control circuit unit 3 is provided with the control circuit shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, two brushes 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35 that slide on the two conductive portions 300 and 301, and slide on the two conductive portions 300 and 301, and two sets of relay circuits It consists of RC1, RS1 and RC2, RS2.
The control circuit 3 stops the mirror assembly 2 at three positions: a use position, a forward tilt position, and a rear tilt position.

The two conductive parts 300 and 301, that is, the first conductive part 300 and the second conductive part 301 are provided on a rotating plate (not shown) which rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the mirror assembly 2. ing. These two conductive parts 300, 3
Numeral 01 is made of, for example, a conductive thin plate and has a circular shape in a state of being isolated from each other. These two conductive parts 300, 30
A space 302 corresponding to the use position, a space 303 corresponding to the forward tilting position, and a space 304 corresponding to the rearward tilting position are provided between the two. The use position vacant space 302, the forward tilt position vacant space 303, and the backward tilt position vacant space 304 have different distances from the rotation center O 'of the two conductive portions 300 and 301, respectively, and have an interval of about 90 degrees. Is open. The rotation center O 'of the conductive parts 300 and 301 and the rotation center O of the mirror assembly 2 may be concentric or not concentric.

The two relay circuits comprise a first relay coil RC1, a first relay contact RS1, a second relay coil RC2, and a second relay contact RS2. The first relay contact RS1 and the second relay contact RS2 include one movable contact 11 and 21, two fixed contacts, that is, first fixed contacts 12 and 22, and second fixed contacts 13 and 23.
Consists of The movable contact 11 of the first relay is connected to one end of the motor M, and the movable contact 21 of the second relay is connected to the other end of the motor M. The movable contacts 11, 21 are connected to a relay coil RC1,
RC2 is inactive (demagnetized, ie normal)
Is connected to the first fixed contacts 12 and 22. When the relay coils RC1 and RC2 are in the operating state (excited state), they are connected to the second fixed contacts 13 and 23. The first fixed contacts 12 and 22 are connected (grounded) to the ground, respectively, while the second fixed contacts 1 and 22 are connected to the ground.
The batteries 3 and 23 are connected to the battery B, respectively.

Of the five brushes, the first brush 31
Are always in contact with the first conductive portion 300 and are connected to the ground via the first relay coil RC1. The second brush 32 is in contact with the first conductive portion 300 and corresponds to the forwardly inclined position space 303, and is connected to the first fixed contact 42 of the control switch SW. The third brush 33 is
It is in contact with the first conductive part 300 or the second conductive part 301 and is connected to the second fixed contact 43 of the control switch SW corresponding to the used tilt position space 302. 4th
The brush 34 is in contact with the second conductive portion 301 and corresponds to the rearwardly inclined position space 303.
W is connected to the third fixed contact 44. Fifth brush 3
5 is always in contact with the second conductive portion 301, and is connected to the ground together with the first brush 31 via the second relay coil RC2.

The device for confirming the surroundings of a vehicle according to the present invention in this embodiment is configured as described above, and the operation and operation thereof will be described below. First, when the mirror assembly 2 is located at the use position, the control circuit unit 3 is in a state shown in FIG. At this time, the camera device 4 catches information on the left and right sides (in this example, left side) of the automobile diagonally behind, and the information caught by the camera device 4 is monitored by a monitor as shown in FIG. The image is displayed on the screen of the device 5 as a camera image. In particular, in the case of this embodiment, since the oblique rear of the left and right sides of the automobile can be visually recognized, the visual range of the mirror body 200 can be supplemented and the visual range wider than the visual range of the mirror body 200 can be recognized. Ideal for merging on roads and the like. In addition, during traveling, the detection of a parallel running vehicle can be confirmed.

Next, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
The knob 40 of the control switch SW is switched from the neutral position to the front position. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the movable contact 41 of the control switch SW is changed to the second fixed contact 43.
To the first fixed contact 42 for connection. As a result, the current from the battery B is changed from the movable contact 41 of the control switch SW to the first contact as shown by the arrow in FIG.
The fixed contact 42 → the second brush 32 → the first conductive part 300 → the first brush 31 → the first relay coil RC 1 → ground. As a result, the first relay coil RC1 is excited to be in an operating state, and accordingly, the first relay contact RS1 is turned on.
One movable contact 11 is switched from the first fixed contact 12 to the second fixed contact 13 for connection. As a result, the current from the battery B is, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 6, the second fixed contact 13 of the first relay contact SW1 → the movable contact 11 → the motor M → the movable contact 21 of the second relay contact SW2 → the second contact. 1 The fixed contact 22 flows from the ground to the ground, and the motor M rotates forward, for example. The forward rotation of the motor M causes the mirror assembly 2
Rotate forward, that is, in the direction of the two-dot chain line arrow in FIG. As the mirror assembly 2 rotates, the conductive portions 300 and 301 rotate in the direction indicated by the solid arrows in FIG.

When the mirror assembly 2 is located at the forward inclined position, the second brush 32 is located at the forward inclined position space 303 of the conductive portions 300 and 301 as shown in FIG. As a result, the movable contact 41 of the control switch SW → the first fixed contact 42 → the second brush 32 → the first conductive part 300 → the first brush 31 → the first relay coil RC1 →
The ground circuit is opened and the first relay coil R
C1 is demagnetized and becomes inactive. Thereby, the first
The movable contact 11 of the relay contact RS1 is switched from the second fixed contact 13 to the first fixed contact 12 and connected. For this reason, the circuit of the second fixed contact 13 of the first relay contact SW1 → the movable contact 11 → the motor M → the movable contact 21 of the second relay contact SW2 → the first fixed contact 22 → the ground is opened, and the motor M The forward rotation stops, and accordingly, the mirror assembly 2 is located at the forward tilt position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. At this time, the camera device 4 catches information in front of the left and right sides (left side in this example) of the automobile, and the information caught by the camera device 4 is, as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed as a camera image. In this case,
It can detect and confirm obstacles around the front fender.

As shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, the knob 40 of the control switch SW is slid from the front position to the neutral position. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the movable contact 41 of the control switch SW is changed to the first fixed contact 42.
To the second fixed contact 43 for connection. As a result, the current from the battery B is changed from the movable contact 41 of the control switch SW to the second contact as shown by the arrow in FIG.
The current flows from the fixed contact 43 → the third brush 33 → the second conductive portion 301 → the fifth brush 35 → the second relay coil RC 2 → the ground. For this reason, the second relay coil RC2 is excited to be in an operating state, and accordingly, the second relay contact RS2
The two movable contacts 21 are switched from the first fixed contact 22 to the second fixed contact 23 to be connected. As a result, the current from the battery B is changed from the second fixed contact 23 of the second relay contact SW2 → the movable contact 21 → the motor M → the movable contact 11 of the first relay contact SW1 → the second contact as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1 The fixed contact 12 flows from the ground to the ground, and the motor M rotates, for example, in the reverse direction. The reverse rotation of the motor M causes the mirror assembly 2
Rotates in the rearward direction, that is, in the direction of the solid arrow in FIG. With the rotation of the mirror assembly 2, the conductive portion 3
00 and 301 rotate in the direction of the solid arrow in FIG.

When the mirror assembly 2 is in the use position, as shown in FIG.
00, 301 are located in use space 302. As a result, the movable contact 41 of the control switch SW → the second fixed contact 43 → the third brush 33 → the second conductive portion 301 →
The circuit of the fifth brush 35 → the second relay coil RC2 → the ground is opened, the second relay coil RC2 is demagnetized and becomes inactive. Thereby, the movable contact 21 of the second relay contact RS2 is switched from the second fixed contact 23 to the first fixed contact 22, and is connected. For this purpose, the second fixed contact 23 of the second relay contact SW2 → the movable contact 21
→ Motor M → Movable contact 11 of first relay contact SW1 → First fixed contact 12 → Ground circuit opens, reverse rotation of motor M stops, and mirror assembly 2 is moved to the solid line in FIG. It is located in the use position shown.

On the other hand, as shown by a chain line in FIG.
The knob 40 of the control switch SW is slid from the neutral position to the rear position. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the movable contact 41 of the control switch SW is switched from the second fixed contact 43 to the third fixed contact 44 and connected. As a result, the current from the battery B changes as shown by the arrow in FIG.
Third fixed contact 44 → fourth brush 34 → second conductive portion 301
→ Fifth brush 35 → second relay coil RC2 → ground. For this reason, the second relay coil RC2 is excited to be in an operating state, and accordingly, the movable contact 21 of the second relay contact RS2 is switched from the first fixed contact 22 to the second fixed contact 23 to be connected. As a result, the current from battery B becomes the second current as indicated by the arrow in FIG.
The second fixed contact 23 of the relay contact SW2 → the movable contact 21 →
Motor M → movable contact 11 of first relay contact SW1 → first
The current flows from the fixed contact 12 to the ground, and the motor M rotates, for example, in the reverse direction. The reverse rotation of the motor M causes the mirror assembly 2
Rotates backward, that is, in the direction of the dashed line arrow in FIG. As the mirror assembly 2 rotates, the conductive portions 300 and 301 rotate in the direction indicated by the solid arrows in FIG.

When the mirror assembly 2 is located at the rearwardly inclined position, the fourth brush 34 is located at the rearwardly inclined position space 304 of the conductive portions 300 and 301 as shown in FIG. As a result, the movable contact 41 of the control switch SW → the third fixed contact 44 → the fourth brush 34 → the second conductive portion 301 → the fifth brush 35 → the second relay coil RC2 →
The ground circuit is opened and the second relay coil R
C2 is demagnetized and becomes inactive. Thereby, the second
The movable contact 21 of the relay contact RS2 switches from the second fixed contact 23 to the first fixed contact 22, and is connected. Therefore, the circuit of the second fixed contact 23 of the second relay contact SW2 → the movable contact 21 → the motor M → the movable contact 11 of the first relay contact SW1 → the first fixed contact 12 → the ground is opened, and the motor M The reverse rotation stops, and accordingly, the mirror assembly 2 is located at the rearwardly inclined position shown by the dashed line in FIG. At this time, the camera device 4 catches information behind the left and right sides (left side in this example) of the car, and the information caught by the camera device 4 is, as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed as a camera image. In this case, it is possible to confirm the bicycle on which the person behind is riding, and it is also possible to confirm the detection of an obstacle behind when, for example, pulling in the width.

As shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, the knob 40 of the control switch SW is slid from the rear position to the neutral position. Then, as shown in FIG. 11, the movable contact 41 of the control switch SW becomes the third fixed contact 4
4 to the second fixed contact 43 for connection. As a result, the current from the battery B changes as shown by the arrow in FIG.
Second fixed contact 43 → third brush 33 → first conductive part 300
→ The first brush 31 → the first relay coil RC1 → ground. For this reason, the first relay coil RC1 is excited to be in the operating state, and accordingly, the movable contact 11 of the first relay contact RS1 is switched from the first fixed contact 12 to the second fixed contact 13 and connected. As a result, the current from the battery B is changed from the second fixed contact 13 of the first relay contact SW1 to the movable contact 11 as shown by the arrow in FIG.
→ Motor M → movable contact 21 of second relay contact SW2 → first fixed contact 22 → ground, and motor M rotates forward, for example. By the forward rotation of the motor M, the mirror assembly 2 rotates forward, that is, in the direction of the solid arrow in FIG. With the rotation of the mirror assembly 2, the conductive portion 3
00 and 301 rotate in the direction of the solid arrow in FIG.

When the mirror assembly 2 is in the use position, as shown in FIG.
00, 301 are located in use space 302. As a result, the movable contact 41 of the control switch SW → the second fixed contact 43 → the third brush 33 → the first conductive portion 300 →
The circuit of the first brush 31 → the first relay coil RC1 → the ground is opened, the first relay coil RC1 is demagnetized and becomes inactive. As a result, the movable contact 11 of the first relay contact RS1 switches from the second fixed contact 13 to the first fixed contact 12 and is connected. For this purpose, the second fixed contact 13 of the first relay contact SW1 → the movable contact 11
→ Motor M → Movable contact 21 of second relay contact SW2 → First fixed contact 22 → Circuit of ground is opened, forward rotation of motor M stops, and mirror assembly 2 is connected with solid line in FIG. It is located at the use position indicated by.

As described above, in the vehicle surrounding confirmation device of the present invention in this embodiment, the mirror assembly 2 is stopped at three positions of the use position, the forward tilt position, and the rear tilt position. Information in three directions (Fig. 4
(A), (B), and (C)). Moreover, in the existing door mirror device (electrically retractable door mirror device), the mirror assembly is configured to rotate between the use position and the rearwardly inclined position (storage position) and stop at the two positions. Is what it is.
As a result, only by improving the control switch and control circuit of the existing door mirror device, the mirror assembly 2 is rotated between the use position and the forward tilt position, and is moved between the forward tilt position and the use position. Since the motor can be stopped, the motor of the existing door mirror device can be used as it is, and a dedicated driving unit for moving the camera device 4 in three directions is unnecessary.

In particular, when the mirror assembly 2 must be tilted and stored at the forward tilt position or the rear tilt position when the vehicles pass each other, as described above, the mirror assembly 2 is moved forward or rearward as described above. When the vehicle is in the tilting position in the tilting position, both the front and the rear of the vehicle can be visually recognized.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, since a part of the vehicle body is displayed on the monitor device 5, the relative positional relationship between the vehicle body and the object can be confirmed.

[0030]

As is apparent from the above description, in the vehicle surroundings confirmation device of the present invention, since the mirror assembly rotates between three positions and stops at the three positions, one camera device can be used in three directions. Information can be caught. Moreover,
By simply improving the control switch and control circuit of the existing door mirror device, the mirror assembly can be rotated between the use position and the forward tilt position, and stopped between the forward tilt position and the use position. Since it is possible, the motor of the existing door mirror device can be used as it is, and a dedicated driving unit for moving the camera device in three directions is unnecessary.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory plan view showing an embodiment of a vehicle periphery confirmation device according to the present invention, in which a mirror assembly is located at three positions.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the door mirror device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the switch device.

4A is an explanatory diagram of a screen of the monitor device when the mirror assembly is located at a forward tilt position, FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram of a screen of the monitor device when the mirror assembly is located at a use position, FIG. C) is an explanatory diagram of a screen of the monitor device when the mirror assembly is located at the backward tilt position.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a control circuit unit when the mirror assembly is located at a use position or when it is located;

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of a control circuit unit when the mirror assembly is rotated from a use position to a forward tilt position.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of the control circuit unit when the mirror assembly is located at a forward tilt position.

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of the control circuit unit when the mirror assembly is rotated from a forward tilt position to a use position.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of a control circuit unit when the mirror assembly is rotated from a use position to a rearwardly inclined position.

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of a control circuit unit when the mirror assembly is located at a rearwardly inclined position.

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram of a control circuit unit when the mirror assembly is rotated from a tilt position to a use position.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mirror base, 2 ... Mirror assembly, 3 ... Control circuit part, 4 ... Camera device (imaging device), 5 ... Monitor device, D ... Door, DM ... Door mirror device, M ... Motor, S
W: Control switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A mirror base fixed to a door of an automobile, a mirror assembly rotatably mounted on the mirror base, a motor, and a control switch for driving the motor to rotate the mirror assembly. A door mirror device comprising: a control circuit unit for stopping the rotating mirror assembly at a predetermined position; and an imaging device built in the mirror assembly to catch information around the automobile and convert it into a video signal. A monitor device for displaying information about the surroundings of the vehicle captured by the imaging device as a camera image, wherein the control switch tilts the mirror assembly to a use position and a forward position. Controls to rotate between three positions, a position and a backward tilt position It consists pitch, the control circuit unit, and a control circuit unit for stopping the 3 position of the use position and the forward tilt position and a rearward tilting position the mirror assembly, the ambient check device for motor vehicle, characterized in that.