JP2001277940A - Rearview mirror device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rearview mirror device capable of enhancing a visual field near a vehicle in spite of a car speed and a gear position. SOLUTION: When a car speed is a constant value or less or a gear position is positioned at a retreated position, a rearview mirror is inwardly and downwardly turned from a standard position by a predetermined amount.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a rearview mirror device, and more particularly to a rearview mirror device for automatically changing the angle of a rearview mirror to prevent a driver from overlooking a pedestrian or the like in order to prevent a car accident. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Pedestrians and two-wheeled vehicles are afraid of approaching a vehicle when the speed of the vehicle is high (hereinafter referred to as vehicle speed). However, when the speed of the vehicle is low, they can approach without much fear. Therefore, it is preferable that the rearview mirror can be viewed closer to the vehicle when the vehicle speed is low, and it is preferable that the outside of the vehicle can be visually recognized when the vehicle speed is high.

[0003] In order to improve the visibility of the tractor that constitutes the connected vehicle together with the trailer, the applicant of the present application has disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-47474 that the rearview mirror is rotated inward when the vehicle speed is low so that the rearview mirror is rotated. We have proposed a rearview mirror device that captures the vicinity of the vehicle and reduces oversight by the driver.

[0004]

However, in cab-over type vehicles such as trucks, tractors, and buses, the driver's seat is located at a high position, and the rearview mirror is also mounted at a high position. The present inventor's research has shown that the appearance around the front wheel does not change much by simply turning the front wheel.

There is a problem that when a pedestrian or the like is present around the front wheels when turning while traveling forward or turning while moving backward, it is easy to overlook. In addition, some models have an auxiliary mirror for viewing the underside of the vehicle, but the small mirror area makes it difficult to see. However, there is a problem that the attention of the auxiliary mirror is concentrated on the main mirror, and the visibility of the auxiliary mirror is neglected.

On the other hand, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 2-86839, many proposals have been made to control the mirror downward when the gear is in the reverse position. Such a technique aims at visually recognizing the periphery of the rear wheel when the vehicle travels backward, and has a problem that it is not possible to improve the visibility near the front wheel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to realize a rearview mirror device in which the appearance near the vehicle is reduced regardless of the vehicle speed and the gear position.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a rearview mirror device according to the present invention comprises: a turning unit for turning a rearview mirror of a vehicle up, down, left and right; a vehicle speed detecting unit;
A gear position detection unit, and a control for controlling the rotation unit such that the rearview mirror is turned inward and downward by a predetermined amount of rotation from a standard position when the vehicle speed is equal to or less than a predetermined value or the gear position is a reverse position. And a part.

That is, in the present invention, as shown in principle in FIG. 1, the upper and lower sides of a rearview mirror 3 of a vehicle (although shown as a connected vehicle of a tractor 1 and a trailer 2, but may be a normal truck or the like). (Vertical) has a structure that can control the viewing angle β, and when the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detection unit is running at a low speed below a certain value, the control unit controls the rearview mirror 3 via the rotating unit, It is turned downward from the position by a predetermined amount of rotation to reach the position shown in FIG.

At the same time, the structure is such that the left and right (horizontal) viewing angle α of the rearview mirror 3 can also be controlled. As shown in principle in FIG.
By rotating inward from the standard position shown in (1) by a predetermined amount of rotation, it becomes the position shown in FIG.

Therefore, when the vehicle is running at a low speed, the downward rotation and the inward rotation of the rearview mirror 3 are simultaneously performed. Alternatively, when the gear position detected by the gear position detection unit is the backward position, the control unit moves the rearview mirror 3 via the rotation unit so that the rearview mirror 3 is also directed downward and inward as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Can be rotated.

This makes it possible to prevent a collision accident or a collision accident with the obstacle OBS in an invisible area near the vehicle during low-speed traveling. In the above case, when the vehicle speed is greater than the given value but less than another given value, the control unit controls the rearview mirror 3 to be smaller than the predetermined rotation amount shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (2). The rotation unit can be controlled so as to face downward and inward by another predetermined rotation amount shown in 2).

Therefore, when the vehicle speed slightly increases from the low-speed traveling, not only the vicinity of the vehicle but also the outside of the vehicle can be included in the visible range. Further, the control unit can control the turning unit so that the rear-view mirror 3 returns to the standard position when the vehicle speed indicates a stopped state or is equal to or higher than the another predetermined value.

This makes it possible to visually recognize the outside of the vehicle when the vehicle is stopped or traveling at high speed. Here, when the vehicle is a connected vehicle of a tractor and a trailer, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a rearview mirror 3 is provided on the tractor 1 and a connection angle detecting means of the connected vehicle is provided. The control unit may control the rotating unit so that the standard position of the rearview mirror 3 changes according to the angle.

Alternatively, a rearview mirror 3 is provided on the tractor 1 and a camera is mounted so as to rotate together with the rearview mirror 3 so as to photograph the rear surface of the trailer 2. The image is processed to detect the rear end position 2a of the rear side surface of the trailer 2, and the predetermined position when the rotating portion is controlled so that the rear end position 2a comes to the predetermined position of the image of the camera is backed up. The standard position of the mirror 3 may be used.

That is, in a connected vehicle including the tractor 1 and the trailer 2, when the connection angle of the trailer 2 and the trailer rear end position 2a are detected by an image method, a radar method, a mechanical method, or the like, the trailer 2 may be bent. The left and right angles of the rearview mirror 3 can be controlled so that the rear end of the trailer 2 always appears at a predetermined position (standard position) of the rearview mirror 3.

[0017]

FIG. 3 shows an electric circuit example (1) of a rearview mirror device according to the present invention. In this circuit example, a calculation unit 11 as a control unit is connected so as to input output signals from a gear position sensor 12 as a gear position detection unit and a vehicle speed sensor 13 as a vehicle speed detection unit.

The arithmetic section 11 supplies an output signal to a vertical rotation motor drive circuit 14 and a horizontal rotation motor drive circuit 15, and the vertical rotation motor drive circuit 14 receives the output signal via a vertical rotation motor drive circuit 16. To rotate the rearview mirror 3 up and down, and a motor drive circuit for left and right rotation.
15 is connected via a left / right rotation motor drive circuit 17 so as to rotate the rearview mirror 3 in the left / right direction.

The driving circuits 14 and 15 and the motor 16
And 17 constitute a rotating part. FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a control program stored and executed in the arithmetic unit 11 in the circuit example shown in FIG. Less than,
The operation of the embodiment in FIG. 3 will be described along this flowchart.

Step S1 : First, the arithmetic unit 11 determines whether the gear position is the reverse position based on the output signal of the gear position sensor 12. As a result, when it is determined that the gear position is the reverse position, the process proceeds to step S4, and when the gear position is not the reverse position, that is, in the case of the forward position or the neutral position,
Proceed to step S2.

Step S2 : It is determined from the output signal of the vehicle speed sensor 13 whether or not the vehicle is stopped. As a result, if the vehicle is in the stopped state where the vehicle speed is substantially zero, the process proceeds to step S9, and if not, the process proceeds to step S3.

Step S3 : It is determined whether the vehicle speed is 8 km / h or less. This is for determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling at low speed. When the speed is 8 km / h or less, the process proceeds to step S4, and otherwise, the process proceeds to step S6.

Step S4 : When the gear position is in the reverse position or when the vehicle speed is 8 km / h or less, as shown in FIG. 2 (2), the number of inward turning steps of the rearview mirror 3 is set to "two steps" ( (Eg 10 °)
To decide. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S5.

Step S5 : The amount of downward rotation of the rear-view mirror 3 is set to “two steps” (for example, 20 °) as shown in FIG.
To decide. Step S6 : It is determined whether or not the vehicle speed is in the range of 8 to 15 km / h, that is, whether or not the vehicle is traveling at a higher speed and lower speed. When the vehicle speed is in the vehicle speed range, the process proceeds to step S7, and otherwise, the process proceeds to step S9.

Step S7 : As shown in FIG. 2 (2), the amount of inward rotation of the rearview mirror 3 is set to "one step" (for example, 5 degrees).
To decide. Step S8 : The amount of downward rotation of the rearview mirror 3 is calculated as shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), it is determined to be “one step” (for example, 10 °).

Step S9 : When the vehicle is stopped, or when the vehicle speed is 15 km / h or more, the number of inward turning steps is returned to zero, that is, the standard position as shown in FIG. Proceed to S10. Step S10 : The downward turning amount of the rear-view mirror 3 is returned to zero, that is, the standard downward position as shown in FIG.

The reason why the rear-view mirror 3 is returned to the standard position when the vehicle is stopped is, for example, when the vehicle is stopped at the shoulder of the road and the rearview mirror 3 is looking backward to enter the main road. In this case, it is dangerous because other vehicles traveling in the traveling lane cannot be seen unless the vehicle is seen not only in the vicinity of the vehicle but also in the outer direction. This also applies to high-speed running.

Step S11 : The arithmetic unit 11 turns the left-right mirror via the left-right rotation motor drive circuit 15 so that the number of inward rotation steps of the rearview mirror 3 becomes the number of steps determined in step S4, S7 or S9. By providing a control signal to the driving motor 17, the rearview mirror 3 is rotated left and right, and the process proceeds to step S12.

Step S12 : The arithmetic unit 11 operates the vertical mirror motor drive circuit 14 so that the number of vertical rotation stages of the rearview mirror 3 becomes the number of stages determined in step S5, S8 or S10. By providing a control signal to the rotation motor 16, the rearview mirror 3 is rotated in the vertical direction.

Here, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an embodiment in which the vehicle is applied to a truck or a connected vehicle that is not in a bent state as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described. However, in practice, the tractor 1 and the trailer 2 often travel with some bending angle, and the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is used to cope with such a situation.

That is, as shown in a circuit example (2) of FIG.
The difference from the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is that a connection angle detection device 18 is used and this output signal is provided to the calculation unit 11. Also, FIG.
4 is different from the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 in that step S0 is provided before step S1 in the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step S0, when the connection angle between the tractor 1 and the trailer 2 is detected by the connection angle detecting device 18, the arithmetic unit 11 receiving the connection angle detects the connection angle of the rear-view mirror 3 corresponding to the connection angle. Determine the standard position. Then, steps S1 to S10 are performed in the same manner as in the embodiment of FIG. 4, but in step S11, the left and right angles of the rearview mirror determined in step S0 are used as standard positions, and only the angle corresponding to the determined number of steps is used. The rearview mirror is rotated left and right.

Therefore, step S12 is executed in the same manner as in FIG. The mirror control based on the connection angle is described in, for example,
A known technique disclosed in JP-A-10-81174 may be used. In step S0 in the above embodiment, the angle of the rearview mirror is controlled to the standard position by detecting the connection angle between the tractor and the trailer, but as described in Japanese Patent Application No. 20000-3351 according to the present inventors, the connection is performed. A method of controlling the angle of the rearview mirror to a standard position without detecting the angle is also possible.

That is, in this embodiment, a camera is used, the output image thereof is processed to detect the trailing end position of the trailer, and the trailer position of the tractor is always set at a predetermined position in the camera image. The rearview mirror is rotating. Since the camera is mounted together with the rearview mirror so as to photograph the rear side of the trailer, when the rearview mirror rotates, the camera also rotates and the rear end position of the trailer comes to a predetermined position of the image. Become like

This will be specifically described with reference to the principle diagram shown in FIG. First, when the connected vehicle is in a state of zero bending (straight running) as shown in FIG. 1A, it is assumed that the viewing angle α of the camera 4 and the viewing angle β of the mirror 3 have a relationship as illustrated.
In such a state, when turning at a bending angle θ as shown in FIG. 2B, the control unit (not shown) detects the trailing end position 2a of the trailer 2 from the output image of the camera 4. The rear-view mirror 3 is rotated by controlling a rotating unit (not shown) so that the rear end position 2a is located at a predetermined position in the image.

When the rearview mirror 3 rotates, the camera 4 rotates together with the rearview mirror 3, so that the trailing end position 2 a of the trailer 2 in the image of the camera 4
Corresponds to a predetermined position (following line L1 shown in FIG. 8) = standard position. When the bending angle further increases from the state of FIG. 7 (2) to the state of FIG. 7 (3) (the bending angle θ ′), the rearview mirror 3 is similarly rotated based on the output image of the camera 4. As a result, the camera 4 is also rotated, so that the trailing end position 2a of the trailer 2 is controlled to coincide with the following line L2 as shown in FIG.

As described above, it is possible to control the trailing end position 2a of the trailer 2 to be always at the window of the camera image, that is, the predetermined position of the rearview mirror, without attaching the component to the trailer 2. In this case, the predetermined position of the camera image can be set to the center of the horizontal axis coordinate of the image (the example in FIG. 8).

As a result, if, for example, the viewing angle of the rearview mirror 3 and the camera 4 is the same, the rear end position 2a of the trailer 2 is always visible in the center of the rearview mirror 3 from the driver's seat. Note that this center position may be offset left and right. FIG. 9 shows an electric circuit example (3) of a rearview mirror device for realizing the principle of FIGS. 7 and 8, in which a CCD camera is used as a camera, and the output of the CCD camera 4 is used. The image is stored in the image memory 6a, and the image processing unit 6b performs a differentiation process, an edge process, a binarization process, and the like based on the data stored in the image memory 6a, and gives the processing result to the calculation unit 6c.

The calculation unit 6c determines the shape of the trailing surface of the trailer as described later, detects the coordinates of the trailing end position, determines the relationship between the trailing end position and a predetermined position, and determines the result. This is given to the step motor drive circuit 7a. The step drive circuit 7a rotates the step motor 7b, whereby the camera 4 and the mirror 3 rotate together.

The image memory 6a, the image processing unit 6b, and the calculation unit 6c in FIG. 9 constitute a control unit, and the step motor drive circuit 7a and the step motor 7b constitute a rotation unit. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an embodiment (1) of the arithmetic processing executed by the arithmetic unit 6c shown in FIG. 9, and the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 9 will be described below with reference to this flowchart.

First, the arithmetic unit 6c determines whether or not the trailing surface of the trailer 2 has been detected from the image of the camera 4 output after performing the differentiation processing, edge extraction, and binarization processing in the image processing unit 6b. (Step S21). Regarding the trailing surface detection of the trailer 2, reference can be made to JP-A-5-313736, JP-A-8-320999, JP-A-9-16782, and JP-A-10-97699.

That is, the edge is detected from the camera image, and the shape detected as shown in FIG. 11 is compared with a previously stored U-shape having an open mouth. As a result of this comparison, when it is determined that they match, it is determined that the rear side surface 2b of the trailer 2a has been detected, and the X-axis coordinate Xt of the vertical edge in the trailer 2a is detected as the rear end position 2a (step S22).

Thereafter, the coordinates Xt are set in advance to -Xa
It is determined whether or not the distance is between Xa and Xa (step S23). That is, as shown in FIG. 11, in this embodiment, the rear end position 2a, which is a vertical edge, is controlled so as to come to the X-axis coordinate “0”, which is the center position (standard position) of the image. In order to prevent frequent rotation of the step motor 7b, a tolerance of -Xa to Xa is provided for the center coordinate "0" as described above,
When the coordinates Xt are within this range, the camera 4 is not rotated. Note that -Xa to Xa can be set to ± 5 °.

In step S23, when the coordinate Xt is within the above range, the process exits the flowchart. When the coordinate Xt is not within the range, the process proceeds to step S24. Step S24
Then, it is determined whether the position of the coordinate Xt is off on the plus side (outward) or off on the minus side (inward).

As a result, when it is off to the plus side (Xt> X
In a), the step motor 7b is turned outward by one step in step S25, and the process proceeds to step S26. In step S26, the coordinates Xt in the camera image are detected, and the process proceeds to step S27. In step S27, it is determined whether or not the coordinate Xt has become “0”. In this case, if Xt = 0 has not been reached, the process returns to step S25, and steps X25 to S2 are performed until Xt = 0.
Repeat 7. On the other hand, when Xt = 0, the process exits this flowchart.

If it is determined in step S24 that the motor is deviated to the inside (Xt <-Xa), steps S28 to S30 are executed in the same manner as steps S25 to S27, so that the step motor 7b is Rotate in the direction. Step S21
When it is determined that the rear side surface 2b of the trailer 2 has not been detected, the process proceeds to step S31, in which the step motor 7b is rotated to the maximum outward step position, and the process proceeds to step S32.

In step S32, the step motor 7b is turned inward by one step, and the flow advances to step S33. In step S33, it is determined whether or not the camera 4 has detected the trailing surface 2b of the trailer 2.If the trailing surface 2b of the trailer 2 is detected, as in step S21, the process proceeds to step S22. Proceed to S34.

In step S34, it is determined whether or not the step motor 7b has reached the most inward position (the number of steps is zero). If not, the process returns to step S32, and the step motor 7b is further shifted by one step. Only rotate inward. In this way, the rear side 2b of the trailer 2
Steps S32 to S34 are repeated until is detected, and the process proceeds to step S22 when the rear side surface 2b of the trailer 2 is detected.

In step S34, the step motor 7
When it is determined that b has reached the most inward position, the process proceeds to step S35. In step S35, the step motor 7b is held at the most inward position, and the process proceeds to step S36. The most inward position is a normal mirror adjustment position (see FIG. 7 (1)) in which the rotation control of the rear-view mirror 3 is not performed.

In step S36, it is determined whether or not a camera (not shown) installed together with the rearview mirror 3 and the rotating unit on the opposite side of the tractor 1 has detected the rear side surface 2b of the trailer 2. If this is the case, the trailer 2 is bent to the opposite side and it is not abnormal, and the process exits this flowchart. If not, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the apparatus, and a failure warning is generated in step S37.

In this way, as shown in FIG. 8, the trailing end position 2a of the trailer 2 is controlled to the center line L1 as a follow-up line. In the above step S36,
When the rear surface 2b is detected by the camera provided on the opposite side, steps S21 to S30 may be executed in the same manner.

In this embodiment, after executing the modified example of step S0 in FIG. 6 in this way, the same steps S1 to S1 are performed.
2 will be executed.

[0053]

As described above, according to the rearview mirror device of the present invention, when the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined value or the gear position is at the backward position, the rearview mirror is moved downward and inward by a predetermined amount from the standard position. Because it was configured to rotate,
When the vehicle speed is low when traveling forward or when traveling backward, the visibility around the front wheels can be greatly improved, and therefore, the possibility of the driver overlooking a pedestrian or the like can be greatly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view for explaining the operation principle of a rearview mirror device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view for explaining the operation principle of the rearview mirror device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit example (1) of the rearview mirror device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a control program stored and executed in a calculation unit in the circuit example shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit example (2) used in another embodiment of the rearview mirror device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a control program stored and executed in an arithmetic unit in the circuit example shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view for explaining the principle of still another embodiment of the rearview mirror device according to the present invention.

8 is a diagram showing the trailing surface of the trailer in the final camera image controlled by the embodiment shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit example (3) of the rearview mirror device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a control program stored and executed in an arithmetic unit in the circuit example shown in FIG. 9;

11 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a camera image and a trailing surface of the trailer in the circuit example illustrated in FIG. 9;

[Description of Signs] 1 Tractor 2 Trailer 2a Rear end position 2b Trailer rear side 3 Rearview mirror 4 Camera 5 Driver's seat 6a Image memory 6b Image processing unit 6c Operation unit 7a Step motor drive circuit 7b Step motor 11 Operation unit 12 Gear position sensor 13 Vehicle speed sensor 14 Motor drive circuit for vertical rotation 15 Motor drive circuit for left / right rotation 16 Motor for vertical rotation 17 Motor for left / right rotation 18 Connection angle detecting device In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (5)

[Claims] A rotating unit for rotating a rearview mirror of the vehicle up and down, left and right, a vehicle speed detecting unit, a gear position detecting unit, and when the vehicle speed is equal to or less than a predetermined value or when the gear position is in a backward position.
A control unit that controls the rotating unit so that the rearview mirror is turned inward and downward by a predetermined amount of rotation from a standard position. 2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the vehicle speed is higher than the predetermined value but lower than another predetermined value, the controller turns the rear-view mirror inward by another predetermined rotation amount smaller than the predetermined rotation amount. A rearview mirror device, wherein the rotating portion is controlled to face downward. 3. The control unit according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the rotation unit so that the rearview mirror is at the standard position when the vehicle speed indicates a stopped state or when the vehicle speed is equal to or more than another predetermined value. A rearview mirror device characterized by being controlled. 4. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is a connected vehicle including a tractor and a trailer, the rearview mirror is provided on the tractor, and a connection angle detecting device for the connected vehicle is provided. A rearview mirror device, wherein the control unit controls the rotating unit such that a standard position of the rearview mirror changes according to the connection angle. 5. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is a connected vehicle including a tractor and a trailer, and the rearview mirror is provided on the tractor and rotates together with the rearview mirror. A camera attached to the camera for photographing the rear surface of the trailer; the control unit processes an output image of the camera to detect a rear end position of the rear surface of the trailer; A rearview mirror device characterized in that the predetermined position when the rotating portion is controlled to come to a predetermined position of the image is a standard position of the rearview mirror.