JP2001341598A - Surroundings monitoring device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a surroundings mounting device for a vehicle effectively reporting an approach of another vehicle or the like. SOLUTION: A surrondings monitoring device for a vehicle 1 is mounted on a vehicle and monitors left and right side of surroundings of a vehicle and reports information resulted from the monitoring to a driver. A monitoring means 3 monitoring left and right sides of the vehicle and a radar device 16 detecting a moving body in left and right sides are provided. A speed and a distance of the moving body are detected by the radar device 16 and time for the detected moving body to reach the vehicle is calculated based on the speed and distance thereof. If the calculated time is shorted than a preset safe pass time, an alarm 27 issues a warning sound.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle periphery monitoring device which is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile and monitors the side around the vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a vehicle approaches an intersection, it is necessary to confirm the safety of the left and right. At an intersection with poor visibility or an intersection where there is no signal, the driver makes the vehicle slightly enter the intersection. It was necessary to check the safety on the left and right. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the approach into the intersection, and after the approach, it is necessary to directly visually check the left and right sides of the vehicle to confirm the safety, which is a mental burden on the driver.

In order to reduce the above-mentioned burden, image pickup means such as a CCD camera or the like is mounted on the hood, front grille and bumper of an automobile in recent years. LCD (liquid crystal display) installed inside the vehicle
There has been proposed a visual recognition device of a type which assists the driver's traveling by simultaneously displaying left and right images on both sides of the vehicle on a display means such as a display device.

[0004] For example, as disclosed in JP-A-6-344827 and JP-A-10-104765.

[0005]

However, according to the apparatus disclosed in the above-mentioned conventional publication, the driver himself / herself needs to judge the safety confirmation by looking at the intersection situation displayed on the display means. There is a risk of overlooking the approach of another vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle periphery monitoring device that effectively notifies the approach of another vehicle or the like.

[0007]

A technical means for solving the above-mentioned problems is provided in a vehicle, which monitors a side around the vehicle and provides a driver with information obtained by the monitoring. , A sensor for detecting a moving body on the side of the vehicle is provided, and a notifying means for notifying a driver of the detection of the moving body by the sensor is provided.

Further, the speed and distance of the moving body are detected by the sensor means, and the time required to reach the vehicle is calculated from the detected speed and distance of the moving body, and the time obtained by this calculation is calculated. Alternatively, a structure may be adopted in which a warning is issued by the notifying means when the time is shorter than a safe passage time preset in the vehicle.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS.
The vehicle periphery monitoring device 1 includes an automobile 2 as an example of a vehicle.
And an LCD (liquid crystal) provided at a position such as an instrument panel in a vehicle compartment that is easy for a driver to see, in order to display an image taken by the imaging means 3. display)
A display unit 4 composed of an image sensor, a CRT, or the like; a display processing unit 5 that converts an image signal captured by the imaging unit 3 into a predetermined display signal and supplies the display signal to the display unit 4; A central processing unit 6 that supplies signals to the display processing unit 5.

The imaging means 3 includes a case 10 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape elongated in the front-rear direction of the automobile 2, and a case 10.
And a pair of left and right transmission windows 11 and 12 made of transparent glass and the like mounted on rectangular openings formed at the front portions on both sides of the front and rear sides, respectively, and a single imaging unit disposed in the case body 10. A CCD camera 13 and each of the transmission windows 11,
A prism body for reflecting light entering from the light guide 12 and guiding the reflected light to the imaging surface of the CCD camera 13;

At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the light entering from the left transmission window 11 is reflected by the prism 14 and
The light that has been guided to the right half of the imaging surface of the CD camera 13 and that has entered through the transmission window 12 on the right side is reflected by the prism 14 and guided to the left half of the imaging surface of the CCD camera 13 to be a single CCD camera. 13 is configured so that the left and right scenes can be imaged simultaneously.

The image signal picked up by the CCD camera 13 is supplied to the display processing unit 5 via the central processing unit 6, is subjected to mirror image inversion processing by the display processing unit 5, and is supplied to the display means 4 side for display. The right view taken through the transparent window 12 is displayed as a right image in the right half of the display unit 4a of the means 4, and the left view taken through the transparent window 11 is displayed as the left image in the left half of the display unit 4a. It is configured to:

At the front end of the case body 10, a radar device 16 as a sensor means is mounted. As shown in FIG.
7, a triangular wave generation circuit 18, an oscillation circuit 19, a transmission antenna 20, a reception antenna 21, an amplification circuit 22, and an A / D
The radar is an FM-CW system (a system that applies FM modulation to a transmitted continuous wave) including a converter 23.

The radar device 16 emits the triangular wave generated by the triangular wave generation circuit 18 as a signal wave from the transmission antenna 20 through the oscillation circuit 19 by the operation of the approaching object detection unit 17, and the other vehicle as a moving body The signal wave reflected by the human being is received by the receiving antenna 21, and the approaching object detecting unit 1 is transmitted through the amplifier circuit 22 and the A / D converter 23.
7 to detect other vehicles and the like.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the radar device 1 in the vehicle periphery monitoring device 1 mounted on the automobile 2
Assuming that the frequency of the signal wave emitted from 6 is f0, the frequency of the received wave that reflects the signal wave and returns to the approaching vehicle 25 is f1, and the propagation speed of the signal wave is a, the speed of the approaching vehicle 25 is V is obtained by the Doppler effect as follows. V = a (1−√ (f1−f0)) Further, assuming that the time until the signal wave is reflected and returned to the approaching vehicle 25 is t, the distance D to the approaching vehicle 25 is obtained as follows. . D = at / 2 The speed V and the distance D of the approaching vehicle 25 as the moving object detected by the approaching object detection unit 17 are supplied to the central processing unit 6. The central processing unit 6 calculates a time T (T = D / V) from the speed V and the distance D until the approaching vehicle 25, which is the moving body, reaches the vehicle 2, which is the own vehicle.

On the other hand, in the central processing unit 6 mounted on the vehicle, the car 2 passes (or enters) an intersection with poor visibility or an intersection where no signal is installed (a so-called support target intersection) by ordinary driving. The safety transit time T0 is set in advance as a safe transit time T0. The safe transit time T0 is compared with the time T until the approaching vehicle 25, which is a moving body, arrives. If the time is shorter, it is determined that the vehicle can safely pass (or enter) without any trouble, and the time T becomes the safe passage time T
If the distance is shorter than 0, the approaching vehicle 25 may arrive before passing (or entering), so that a warning signal is output to the warning output unit 26.

When a warning signal from the central processing unit 6 is input to the warning output unit 26, a warning signal such as a buzzer sound or the like is output from a warning signal such as a buzzer sound. Is configured to emit. At this time, the alarm 27 may be arranged at an appropriate position such as an instrument panel so that the driver can easily recognize the warning sound.

In the present embodiment, the image pickup means 3
1 and FIG. 2, the left and right visual field ranges and the right and left detection ranges by the radar device 16 are substantially the same range.

Further, a navigation device 29 capable of recognizing a map data having road information of an intersection to be supported which needs assistance from the vehicle surroundings monitoring device 1 such as a poor visibility and a vehicle position of the vehicle, An intersection approach detection section 30 for detecting approach is provided, and navigation information is also displayed on the display means 4.

The present embodiment is configured as described above. When the intersection approach detection unit 30 detects that the vehicle is approaching the support target intersection during the operation of the navigation device 29, the detection signal is sent to the central processing unit. The central processing unit 6 operates the imaging unit 3, the display processing unit 5, the radar device 16, and the warning output unit 26 after an appropriate time has elapsed from the vehicle speed of the vehicle and the distance to the support target intersection.

The information picked up by the image pickup means 3 is sent to the display processing section 5 through the central processing section 6, and the left and right images of the intersection are displayed on the display means 4.

The information on the approaching vehicle 25 and the like detected by the radar device 16 is sent to the central processing unit 6, and the central processing unit 6 determines whether or not a preset condition is avoided. That is, the length of the safe passage time T0 and the time T until the approaching vehicle 25 or the like arrives are compared. If the safe passage time T0 is shorter than the time T, it is determined that the vehicle can safely pass (or enter) without any trouble. If it is determined that the time T is shorter than the safe passage time T0, the approaching vehicle 25 arrives before passing (or entering), so that a warning signal is output to the warning output unit 26. Then, the warning output unit 26 emits a warning sound by the alarm 27 based on the input of the warning signal, to call attention to the driver that the moving body is approaching.

As described above, the image of the intersection taken by the image pickup means 3 is displayed on the display means 4, and the driver can visually recognize the display means 4 to determine that a vehicle or a person is not approaching. Even when a person overlooks an approach, a warning sound from the annunciator 27 can alert the driver, and the vehicle passes (or enters) at a support target intersection such as an intersection with poor visibility or an intersection with no signal installed. There is an advantage that safety at the time of improvement can be achieved.

Therefore, it is not necessary for the driver to pay close attention to the display means 4, and it is possible to easily determine whether or not the vehicle can safely pass (or enter) the intersection, and there is an advantage that the driver can concentrate on driving.

Although the above embodiment shows a case where the vehicle passes (enters) an intersection with poor visibility, the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where the vehicle turns right as shown in FIG. That is, when the vehicle 2 as the host vehicle is going to turn right, the oncoming vehicle 32 that is also going to turn right at the intersection
(For example, buses, trucks, wagons, etc.), the visibility may be obstructed. In this case, if a similar radar device 16 is attached to the right front end of the vehicle,
Speed V and distance D of approaching vehicle 25 traveling in the oncoming lane
May be detected, and if there is not enough time to safely pass, a warning sound may be emitted by the alarm 27.

In the above embodiment, the image pickup means 3
Shows a structure provided with the radar device 16, but a structure provided with the imaging means 3 and the radar device 16 independently of each other may be adopted, and a structure provided with the radar device 16 on the left and right sides of a front bumper or the like respectively. It may be.

Further, the radar device 16 has a structure using an FM-CW type radar using a millimeter wave, but may be a sensor using a laser beam or an ultrasonic wave. It is not limited to any form.

As a method for issuing a warning, the alarm 2
Although a structure for generating a warning sound such as a buzzer sound is shown by 7, a method of displaying the sound on the display means 4 or the head-up display or the like may be used.

Further, as an external device for recognizing the support target intersection, a structure using map data having road information of the support target intersection in advance and a navigation device 29 capable of recognizing the position of the vehicle is shown. The structure may be such that the intersection is recognized based on the own vehicle position and the map data by the navigation, and the intersection to be supported is detected by recognizing that the vehicle is in a stopped state by a vehicle speed sensor or the like mounted on the vehicle. The support target intersection may be detected by recognizing by image processing an infrastructure (a beacon or a lane marker) laid on a road that transmits information, or a sign or a stop line of a temporary stop at the intersection.

Further, the safety passage time T0 may have a structure in which different times are set according to the difference between passing, entering, turning right, and turning left.

[0031]

As described above, according to the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus of the present invention, the sensor means for detecting the side moving body around the vehicle is provided, and the detection of the moving body by the sensor means is provided to the driver. The system is provided with a notification means for notifying the driver that the driver is effectively notified of the approach of another vehicle, etc., and improving the safety when passing (entering) at intersections with poor visibility or at intersections where there is no signal. There is an advantage that can be achieved.

Further, the speed and distance of the moving body are detected by the sensor means, and the time required to reach the vehicle is calculated from the detected speed and distance of the moving body. If the structure is such that a warning is issued by the notification means when the safety passage time is shorter than the safety passage time set in advance, it can be easily determined whether or not the vehicle can safely pass (enter) the intersection by the presence or absence of the notification, and There is an advantage that you can concentrate on.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory plan view at an intersection in an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a vehicle periphery monitoring device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a radar device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a radar device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram in another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 vehicle periphery monitoring device 2 automobile 3 imaging means 4 display means 5 display processing unit 6 central processing unit 16 radar device 26 warning output unit 27 alarm

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) B60R 21/00 626 B60R 21/00 626B 626G 628 628C 1/00 1/00 A G06T 1/00 330 G06T 1 / 00 330B H04N 7/18 H04N 7/18 J (72) Inventor Masayuki Kato 1-7-10 Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi F-Term in Harness Research Institute, Inc. F-term (reference) 5B057 AA16 BA02 CA12 CA16 CB12 CB16 CE08 DA04 5C054 AA01 CA04 CC03 CH01 EA01 EA05 FE18 HA18

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle periphery monitoring device mounted on a vehicle for monitoring a side around the vehicle and providing information on the monitoring to a driver, wherein a sensor means for detecting a lateral moving body around the vehicle. And a notifying means for notifying a driver of the detection of a moving body by the sensor means. 2. The speed and distance of the moving body are detected by the sensor means, and the time required to reach the vehicle is calculated from the detected speed and distance of the moving body, and the time obtained by this calculation is calculated. 2. The vehicle surroundings monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein a warning is issued by the notifying unit when the safety passage time is shorter than a safety passage time set in advance in the vehicle.