JP2004082918A - Vehicular noctovision and rearview mirror - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular noctovision improving safe traveling during night travel and capable of confirming a condition of an area in front of a vehicle by using infrared light, and a rearview mirror mounted with an infrared camera. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicular noctovision is provided with an infrared projector 5 emitting infrared light, a camera 7 receiving reflected light of the infrared light emitted from the infrared projector 5 and irradiated on the area in front of the vehicle 1 to pick up an image of the area in front of the vehicle 1, and a displaying means for displaying a result picked up by the camera 7. The camera 7 is provided on a rearview mirror attaching part 6 in a cabin, the camera 7 can turn in right and left directions, and orientation of the camera 7 is controlled so as to follow an advancing direction of the vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a night vision device for a vehicle that can confirm a state ahead of a vehicle using infrared light, and a room mirror equipped with an infrared camera.
[0002]
[Prior art]
During night driving, the vehicle emits infrared light toward the front of the vehicle, receives the reflected infrared light with the camera, processes the image, displays the image processing result on the display, and switches the headlight to the high beam. There has been proposed a night vision device for a vehicle that can confirm a distant situation without any problem.
[0003]
By the way, in such a night vision device for a vehicle, the mounting position of the camera that receives the reflected light of the infrared light is suitable for a high position of the vehicle and in a vehicle room where the lens surface is not easily stained. It is attached to the back of the roof panel in front of the rearview mirror.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional night vision apparatus for a vehicle, the camera is fixed with the direction (imaging direction) directed toward the front of the vehicle. Can receive the reflected light from the camera, but cannot receive the reflected light of infrared light at a point out of the camera's field of view, such as when the road is curved, and the driver checks the situation ahead of the vehicle. It was difficult. In particular, when there is a person on a curve, the driver suddenly gets into the field of view of the camera while the vehicle is traveling on the curve, so that the driver sometimes gets cold.
[0005]
An object of the present invention is to improve safe driving during night driving.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a light source that emits infrared light, and receives a reflected light of the infrared light when the infrared light emitted from the light source is irradiated forward of the vehicle. What is claimed is: 1. A night vision device for a vehicle, comprising: a camera that images a front of a vehicle; and a display unit that displays a result of the imaging by the camera. Is provided with control means for following the vehicle in the traveling direction of the vehicle.
[0007]
According to the above configuration, for example, when the vehicle is turning left, the camera is directed to the front left, and when the vehicle is turning right, the camera is directed to the front right, and the vehicle is displayed on the display screen according to the traveling direction of the vehicle. The left front image or the right front image of the vehicle is displayed. As a result, the driver can easily check the left and right front situations of the vehicle during night driving, and can drive safely.
[0008]
In addition, the present invention provides a light source that emits infrared light and a reflection of the infrared light, which is provided in a room mirror mounting portion in a vehicle compartment and is irradiated when the infrared light emitted from the light source is irradiated forward of the vehicle. A camera that receives light and captures an image of the front of the vehicle, a steering angle sensor that detects the steering angle and steering direction of the steering wheel and outputs a steering angle signal, and a vehicle speed sensor that detects the traveling speed of the vehicle and outputs a vehicle speed signal Driving means for rotating the camera in the horizontal direction, a direction in which the steering wheel of the camera is turned by capturing the steering angle signal and the vehicle speed signal, and controlling the driving means based on the two signals. And control means for causing the camera to follow the traveling direction of the vehicle by rotating the camera.
[0009]
According to the above configuration, the camera rotates following the direction in which the steering wheel is turned, and an image captured by the camera is displayed on the display means. It is possible to easily check the situation in front of the left and right, and to drive safely.
[0010]
The present invention is characterized in that the control means increases the rotation speed of the camera in proportion to the traveling speed of the vehicle. The driver turns the steering wheel slowly when driving at a low speed on a curve, but turns quickly when driving at a high speed. If the rotation speed of the camera is increased in proportion to the traveling speed of the vehicle as in the above configuration, it is possible to display an image matching the speed of the steering wheel operation of the driver on the display means.
[0011]
Further, the present invention is characterized in that the camera is integrated with a rearview mirror. By doing so, the camera can be made compact and the mounting operation can be facilitated.
[0012]
Further, in the present invention, the irradiation direction of the light source is controlled so as to follow the traveling direction of the vehicle. With this configuration, when the vehicle turns left, the infrared light is emitted to the front left of the vehicle, and when the vehicle turns right, the infrared light is emitted to the front right of the vehicle. The reflected light of light becomes clearer.
[0013]
Furthermore, the room mirror according to the present invention is characterized in that a camera that receives infrared light and changes its direction following the traveling direction of the vehicle is integrally mounted.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an outline of a vehicle 1 equipped with a night vision device for a vehicle according to the present invention. The vehicle 1 is provided with headlights 2, 2 on the front left and right sides. The headlights 2, 2 are for high beam light sources 3, 3 arranged on the outer side of the vehicle and for low beam arranged on the inside thereof. Light sources 4, 4 and infrared projectors 5, 5 arranged near the center of the vehicle are provided, respectively. Here, the infrared projectors 5 and 5 constitute a light source that emits infrared light.
[0015]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a commercially available camera (CCD camera) 7 for receiving infrared light is installed in the rear-view mirror mounting portion 6 at the front of the driver's seat inside the vehicle. A controller 8 is provided inside the vehicle 1 as control means. As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 8 receives a vehicle speed signal from a vehicle speed sensor 9 and a steering angle signal from a steering angle sensor 10. , An image signal is input from the camera 7.
[0016]
The controller 8 has an image processing unit 11, which processes an image signal from the camera 7 and outputs the processed image signal to a display 12 as a display means installed in front of a driver's seat inside the vehicle 1. At 12 is displayed an image taken by the camera 7. Further, a speaker 13 and an indicator 14 are connected to the controller 8.
[0017]
The camera 7 is provided with a camera driving unit 15 for rotating the direction (imaging direction) in the horizontal direction. The camera driving section 15 constitutes driving means. Further, by using the notification means such as the speaker 13 and the indicator 14, for example, it is possible to notify that a person is present in front of the vehicle, so that it is possible to reduce the burden of the driver having to look at the display 12 and confirm. it can.
[0018]
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of the room mirror 20 on which the camera 7 is integrally mounted. The rearview mirror 20 has a support portion 21 at an upper portion, and the support portion 21 is fixed to an inner surface of a vehicle roof. A support shaft 22 is provided in the support portion 21 in a vertical direction, and a rear-view mirror body 23 is attached to a lower end of the support shaft 22 via a pivot (not shown). 24 is a mirror.
[0019]
The camera 7 is disposed on the support 21 in front of the room mirror main body 23, and the camera 7 and the room mirror main body 23 are provided integrally via the support 21. The camera 7 includes a lens group 25 and a CCD (not shown) that receives infrared light transmitted through the lens group 25 therein. A camera drive section 15 is provided on the support section 21 above the camera 7, and the camera 7 and the camera drive section 15 are connected by a rotation output shaft 26. Although not shown, a motor (for example, a stepping motor) and a potentiometer are provided inside the camera driving unit 15. Then, the turning position of the camera 7 can be detected by the potentiometer.
[0020]
In the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 5, when the vehicle 1 approaches a point where the road 30 curves rightward, when the driver turns the steering wheel to the right, the camera 7 turns following the steering operation. To change the direction to the right front of the vehicle. That is, when the driver turns the steering wheel to the right, the steering angle and the steering direction at that time are detected by the steering angle sensor 10, and the steering angle sensor 10 outputs the detection result as a steering angle signal a. The traveling speed of the vehicle 1 at that time is detected by the vehicle speed sensor 9, and the vehicle speed sensor 9 outputs the detection result as a vehicle speed signal b.
[0021]
The steering angle signal a and the vehicle speed signal b are taken into the controller 8, and the controller 8 generates a control signal c based on the steering angle signal a and the vehicle speed signal b, and outputs the control signal c to the camera drive unit 15. At this time, the controller 8 detects that the steering wheel has been turned to the right and the magnitude of the steering wheel steering angle from the steering angle signal a, and in accordance with the control signal c, moves the camera 7 to the right of the vehicle by an angle proportional to the steering wheel steering angle. The camera driving unit 15 is controlled to rotate forward.
[0022]
In addition, the driver normally turns the steering wheel slowly when traveling at a low speed on a curve, and quickly turns the steering wheel when traveling at a high speed. Therefore, it is necessary to control the rotation speed of the camera 7 in accordance with the speed of the steering wheel operation. There is. Therefore, the controller 8 detects the speed of the vehicle 1 from the vehicle speed sensor b, and slows down the rotation speed of the camera 7 when the vehicle 1 is running at a low speed, according to the control signal c, so that the vehicle 1 is at a high speed. When the vehicle is running, the camera driving unit 15 is controlled to increase the rotation speed of the camera 7.
[0023]
Conventionally, since the camera 7 is of a fixed type that cannot rotate in the lateral direction of the vehicle, when the driver turns the steering wheel to the right, the field of view of the camera 7 is in the range of A as shown in FIG. Even if there is a pedestrian M first, the pedestrian M cannot be imaged. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6A, only the curved road 30 is displayed on the display screen 12A of the display 12, but the pedestrian M is not displayed.
[0024]
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when the driver turns the steering wheel to the right, as shown in FIG. 5, the camera 7 rotates to the front right of the vehicle according to the steering angle of the steering wheel, and the field of view of the camera 7 becomes Since the range is B, the pedestrian M at the end of the curve can be imaged by the camera 7. Then, with the rotation of the camera 7, the display range of the display screen 12A of the display 12 moves as shown in FIG. 6B, and the pedestrian M on the curved road 30 is displayed on the display screen 12A. Is displayed. In FIG. 6B, a two-dot chain line indicates a range displayed on the display screen 12 </ b> A of the display 12 during straight running.
[0025]
When the vehicle 1 approaches a point where the road 30 is curving to the left and the driver turns the steering wheel to the left, the camera 7 turns following the operation of the steering wheel and changes its direction to the front left of the vehicle. Also in this case, the turning angle and the turning speed of the camera 7 are controlled according to the steering angle and the vehicle speed of the steering wheel.
[0026]
When the steering wheel is turned right or left to return to the straight traveling state, the camera 7 rotates in response to the operation of the steering wheel and turns in the straight traveling direction. At this time, the turning speed of the camera 7 is also proportional to the running speed of the vehicle, and the camera 7 turns slowly when the vehicle is running at a low speed, and turns fast when the vehicle is running at a high speed.
[0027]
In the present embodiment, when the camera 7 captures an image of the pedestrian M, the controller 8 performs image processing on the captured image, recognizes that the pedestrian M is present at the curve point, and appropriately issues a warning signal to the speaker 13 and the indicator 14. Is output.
[0028]
According to the present embodiment, since the camera 7 is provided in the rear-view mirror mounting portion 6, the camera 7 can be mounted at a high position, and reflected light of infrared light from the front of the vehicle 1 can be efficiently received.
[0029]
Note that the light distribution control can be performed by following the irradiation direction of the infrared projector 5 in the traveling direction of the vehicle. That is, when the vehicle 1 turns right, the infrared projector 5 is turned rightward, and the infrared light from the infrared projector 5 is irradiated to the right front of the vehicle. When the vehicle 1 turns left, the infrared projector 5 is turned left. To emit the infrared light from the infrared projector 5 toward the left front of the vehicle. In this way, the reflected infrared light received by the camera 7 becomes clearer.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the driver can easily check the situation at the curve point during night driving, so that safe driving can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a vehicle equipped with a night vision device for a vehicle according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of a vehicle equipped with the vehicle night vision device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a night vision device for a vehicle according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a part of a room mirror equipped with a camera.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a visual field range of a camera.
6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating a display range on a monitor, in which FIG. 6A illustrates a display range according to the related art, and FIG. 6B illustrates a display range according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 2 Headlight 3 High beam light source 4 Low beam light source 5 Infrared projector 6 Room mirror unit 7 Camera 8 Controller 9 Vehicle speed sensor 10 Steering angle sensor 12 Display 15 Camera drive unit 20 Room mirror 21 Supporting unit 23 Room mirror body

Claims (6)

A light source that emits infrared light, a camera that receives reflected light of the infrared light when the infrared light emitted from the light source is applied to the front of the vehicle, and captures an image of the front of the vehicle, and an image captured by the camera. Display means for displaying the result of the night vision device for a vehicle,
A night vision apparatus for a vehicle, wherein the camera is provided in a rear-view mirror mounting portion in a vehicle compartment, and control means for controlling the direction of the camera to follow the traveling direction of the vehicle is provided. A light source that emits infrared light, and a vehicle that receives reflected light of the infrared light when the infrared light emitted from the light source is applied to the front of the vehicle, the reflected light being provided at a rear-view mirror mounting portion in the vehicle interior; A camera that images the front, a steering angle sensor that detects a steering angle and a steering direction of a steering wheel and outputs a steering angle signal, a vehicle speed sensor that detects a traveling speed of the vehicle and outputs a vehicle speed signal, and Driving means for turning in the direction, taking in the steering angle signal and the vehicle speed signal, and controlling the driving means based on both signals, turning the camera in the direction in which the steering wheel is turned, Control means for causing the direction of the camera to follow the traveling direction of the vehicle. The night vision device for a vehicle according to claim 2,
The night vision device for a vehicle, wherein the control means increases a rotation speed of the camera in proportion to a traveling speed of the vehicle. The night vision device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2,
The night vision device for a vehicle, wherein the camera is integrated with a room mirror. The night vision device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2,
A night vision device for a vehicle, wherein a light distribution control is performed so that an irradiation direction of the light source follows a traveling direction of the vehicle. A room mirror, wherein a camera that receives infrared light and changes its direction following the vehicle traveling direction is integrally mounted.

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