JP2005092415A - Monitor system for automobile, transmitter, receiver, and automobile monitoring method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve designability of an automobile, and to attain line saving, and to carry out highly efficient communication when monitoring the rear part of an automobile. <P>SOLUTION: A UWB pulse signal generated by using the same code system is used also as a radar signal for radio transmission to a receiver 3 and rear monitor. Ranging and radio transmission of a camera video can be simultaneously carried out, and a configuring element 15 for pulse generation necessary in carrying out the radio communication of a camera video signal picked up by an imaging device 11 to the receiver 3 and a component 15 for pulse generation related to radar transmission can be used together. Thus, a power source cable and a signal cable can be used together compared with the case that those components are separately provided. Also, the range information is superimposed on the blank period of the camera video signal so that the radio transmission of a plurality of pieces of information can be carried out by one channel. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an automobile monitoring system, a transmitter, a receiver, and an automobile monitoring method.

  A system has been proposed and commercialized that installs a camera behind the vehicle, displays the back of the vehicle on a liquid crystal monitor when parking, calculates the progress prediction curve based on the steering angle, and displays it over the camera image ( For example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, a system has been proposed in which a radar is installed toward the rear of the vehicle, and the distance between the rear vehicle and the rear vehicle is measured to make a rear-end collision prediction.

JP 2002-337605 A

  When the rear image of the vehicle is imaged with a camera and the distance between the vehicle and the rear vehicle is measured with a radar, it is necessary to install both the camera and the radar at the rear trunk end of the vehicle, When a plurality of in-vehicle devices such as a camera and a radar are attached together, there is a problem that a protruding portion on the rear side of the automobile becomes large and the design is impaired.

  In addition, when both the camera and the radar are mounted on the rear side of the vehicle and the signals from these vehicle-mounted devices are transmitted by wire, it is necessary to wire a power cable and a signal cable to each of the camera and the radar. However, there is also a problem that wiring of these cables is troublesome. That is, the wiring drawn from the camera and radar attached to the rear of the automobile is drawn into the trunk door at the rear of the automobile and then pulled out to the automobile body via the hinge of the trunk door. Although necessary, since these cables have a certain thickness, the wiring work is troublesome, and there is a problem with considerable restrictions on the door design.

  On the other hand, a method of performing short-range wireless communication using a wireless LAN or Bluetooth (trademark) at a frequency of about 2.4 GHz is also conceivable.

  However, in this case as well, since information about both the camera and the radar must be communicated through separate radio channels, a circuit for processing a plurality of radio channels is required. There is a problem that the space for installing both radars becomes large.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to improve the design of an automobile, reduce the number of wires, and perform efficient communication.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is obtained by an imaging means for imaging the outside of the automobile, a measuring means for measuring a distance to an object existing outside the automobile, and the imaging means. Transmission means for transmitting the video data and the distance measurement data obtained by the measuring means as wireless data, and receiving means for receiving the wireless data transmitted from the transmitting means.

  Invention of Claim 2 is the monitoring system for motor vehicles of Claim 1, Comprising: The signal which the said measurement means transmits / receives in order to measure the distance to the said object, From the said transmission means to a reception means The signals carrying the wireless data to be transmitted are all ultra-wideband pulse signals.

  A third aspect of the present invention is the automobile monitoring system according to the second aspect, wherein the measurement unit and the transmission unit are a pulse generation circuit that generates the ultra-wideband pulse signal, and the pulse generation circuit. A pulse interval setting unit that sets a pulse interval of the generated ultra-wideband pulse signal based on a pseudo-random number using a predetermined code sequence, and the reception unit sets the pulse interval of the transmission unit Pulse interval recognition means for generating a pseudo-random number using the same code sequence as the means and recognizing the pulse interval of the signal transmitted from the transmission means as the wireless data, and the pulse interval recognized by the pulse interval recognition means Based on the wireless data, the distance measurement data and the video data are extracted from the video data.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the automobile monitoring system according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the transmission means uses the imaging means to measure the distance information measured by the measurement means. And a signal processing circuit for superimposing the image data picked up in the blank period.

  Invention of Claim 5 is the monitoring system for motor vehicles of Claim 3, Comprising: The said code series was set differently for every said vehicle based on the specific information different for every vehicle of the said motor vehicle Is.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided imaging means for imaging the outside of an automobile, measuring means for measuring a distance to an object existing outside the automobile, video data obtained by the imaging means, and the measuring means And transmission means for transmitting the distance measurement data obtained in step 1 as wireless data.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging means for imaging the outside of a vehicle, a measuring means for measuring a distance to an object existing outside the vehicle, video data obtained by the imaging means, and the measuring means. The wireless data is received from a transmitter provided with transmission means for transmitting the distance measurement data obtained in step 1 as wireless data.

  The invention according to claim 8 is obtained by measuring the distance to the object existing outside the vehicle of the vehicle and the first step of imaging the outside of the vehicle with predetermined imaging means, and measuring the distance. A second step of transmitting the distance measurement data and the video data imaged by the imaging means to a predetermined receiver as wireless data.

  In this specification, the ultra-wideband pulse signal is a pulse signal in which an intermittent impulse appears without using a carrier wave, and the pulse width of the impulse is 1 nanosecond or less.

  In the first, seventh and eighth aspects of the invention, the outside of the vehicle, for example, behind the vehicle is imaged by the imaging means, and the distance to the object existing outside the vehicle is measured and obtained by the imaging means. Since the video data and the distance measurement data obtained by the measuring means are transmitted together as wireless data, communication between the transmitting means and the receiving means can be made more efficient, and the wiring between them can be saved. Can be

  In the inventions according to claim 2 and claim 3, both the signal transmitted and received by the measuring means for measuring the distance to the object and the signal carrying the wireless data transmitted from the transmitting means are both ultra-wideband pulses. It is a signal, and it is possible to perform wireless transmission of camera video simultaneously with distance measurement by this ultra-wideband pulse signal. Thereby, a component for generating a pulse required when wirelessly communicating a camera video signal imaged by the imaging unit to the receiving unit, and a component for generating a pulse for obtaining distance measurement data by the measuring unit. Compared with the case where these components are provided separately, a power cable and a signal cable can also be used. Therefore, line saving can be achieved and the apparatus cost and installation space can be reduced. Further, by combining these components, it is possible to achieve downsizing and improve the design of the automobile.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the vehicle monitoring system uses the same code sequence on the receiving means side as the code sequence used for the pulse interval of the ultra-wideband pulse signal generated on the pulse signal transmitting side. Thus, pseudo-random numbers are generated, and this code sequence allows the receiving means to easily recognize the pulse interval of the ultra-wideband pulse signal and extract data.

  In the automobile monitoring system according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the distance information measured by the measuring means is superimposed on the blank period of the video data imaged by the imaging means. Distance information can be easily transmitted on the same channel. Therefore, compared with the case where both information of the camera video signal and the distance measurement information are communicated through separate wireless channels, the apparatus cost for that can be reduced.

  In the automobile monitoring system according to the fifth aspect of the invention, since the code series is set differently for each vehicle based on the unique information different for each vehicle of the automobile, the radar signal between the vehicles is set. And interference of pulse signals transmitted to the receiving means can be easily prevented.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a UWB (ultra-wideband) radar device 1 and a back camera 2 are integrated with each other in order to achieve the purpose of improving the design of an automobile and simultaneously reducing the number of wires and performing efficient communication. By unitizing, in particular, by putting the video signal data of the back camera 2 on the pulse signal output by the UWB radar device 1 and outputting the radar signal to the receiving means 3 in the vehicle compartment at the same time as outputting the radar signal to the rear of the vehicle, At the same time as ranging, the camera image is transmitted wirelessly.

{First embodiment}
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4 used in the automobile monitoring system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows a receiver (receiving means) 3 also used in the automobile monitoring system. FIG.

  This vehicle monitoring system includes an in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4 as a transmitter shown in FIG. 2 and a receiver 3 shown in FIG.

  The in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4 is configured by integrally unitizing the UWB radar device 1 and the back camera 2, and the camera image captured by the back camera 2 is transmitted to the receiver 3 in the vehicle interior. Wireless transmission using the UWB (ultra-wideband) method.

  Here, the UWB system refers to a system that performs communication using a UWB (ultra-wideband) pulse signal. That is, instead of superimposing a signal on a general carrier wave, a UWB pulse signal having an intermittent impulse having a pulse width of about several hundred picoseconds to 1 nanosecond is generated, and the time of the pulse By detecting the pulse position deviation and demodulating by receiving the pulse train and correlating with the template related to the temporal position of the pulse by making the position somewhat faster or slower along the time axis, If a certain amount of time is averaged, the average value of noise approaches zero, but noise is removed using the principle that a signal synchronized with the template remains. As a time interval (pulse interval) between pulses in UWB, for example, a method of spreading data using a pseudo-random number obtained from a predetermined spreading code sequence such as a PN code string is adopted. Then, by recognizing this time interval in common between transmission and reception, pulses other than the pulse adapted to the time interval are ignored, thereby achieving noise removal as described above. Moreover, since the UWB pulse signal has a very high distance resolution and can detect the position within several centimeters of error, it can be used as a radar by detecting the UWB pulse signal by reflecting it on the object. Is possible. For this reason, it is possible to perform distance measurement as the UWB radar apparatus 1 using the same UWB pulse signal simultaneously with radio transmission to the receiver 3 in the vehicle interior by the UWB method.

  Specifically, this in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4 is installed in the rear part of an automobile as shown in FIG. 1, and as shown in FIG. 2, an image pickup device (image pickup means) 11 for generating a camera image and a camera image signal as digital data. A signal processing circuit 12 for converting and overwriting the radar ranging data on the digitized camera video data, and a modulation for generating a random number for determining the pulse interval after modulating the camera video data and the radar ranging data A random number generation circuit 13, a timer circuit 14 that generates a pulse transmission timing based on the random number generated by the modulation / random number generation circuit 13, a pulse generation circuit 15 that generates a UWB pulse signal in accordance with the pulse transmission timing, An in-vehicle communication antenna 16 that transmits a UWB pulse signal toward the in-vehicle receiver 3, and a UWB pulse signal transmitted to the rear of the vehicle; A radar antenna 17 that receives the reflected wave, a switch 18 that switches the use of the radar antenna 17 between transmission and reception, and a filter / amplifier circuit 19 that filters and amplifies the UWB pulse signal received by the radar antenna 17. And a correlator LSI 20 for extracting the received UWB pulse signal, and a distance measuring circuit 21 for calculating the distance to the rear vehicle based on the time difference between the transmitted and received signals.

  The imaging device 11 uses a general CCD or the like and constitutes the above-described back camera 2. The angle of view is arranged in the downward direction of the rear of the automobile, so that the peripheral image from directly behind the rear bumper of the automobile to the rear. It is installed to take pictures.

  The signal processing circuit 12 converts the camera video signal supplied from the image sensor 11 into digital data of a predetermined format such as YUV422 format. Further, the signal processing circuit 12 records distance measurement information given from the distance measurement circuit 21 described later in a portion corresponding to the blank period of the camera video signal, and outputs this to the modulation / random number generation circuit 13.

  The modulation / random number generation circuit 13 performs a predetermined modulation process on the digital data given from the signal processing circuit 12 and generates a pseudo random number using a predetermined code sequence such as a PN code sequence, and outputs the information to a timer circuit. 14 for output.

  The timer circuit 14 outputs a pulse transmission timing to the pulse generation circuit 15 and the correlator LSI 20 using the random number given from the modulation / random number generation circuit 13 as a pulse interval while measuring time along the time axis.

  The modulation / random number generation circuit 13 and the timer circuit 14 function as pulse interval setting means for setting the pulse interval when generating intermittent impulses.

  Further, the signal processing circuit 12, the modulation / random number generation circuit 13, the timer circuit 14, the pulse generation circuit 15, the filter / amplifier circuit 19, the correlator LSI 20, and the distance measurement circuit 21 can extend to any object existing around the automobile. Is measured by the UWB pulse signal, and functions as a distance measurement / data transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the distance measurement data and the video data captured by the image sensor 11 to the receiver 3 by the UWB pulse signal.

  The pulse generation circuit 15 generates a UWB pulse signal at the pulse transmission timing given from the timer circuit 14. The pulse width of the impulse of this UWB pulse signal is about several hundred picoseconds to 1 nanosecond.

  Here, for example, a 24 GHz band is used as the frequency of a UWB radar signal described later. When this frequency band is used, the pulse generation circuit 15 can be formed of SiGe. Since various circuit units that handle baseband signals such as the signal processing circuit 12, the modulation / random number generation circuit 13, and the ranging circuit 21 can be generated by CMOS, if the pulse generation circuit 15 is formed of SiGe, the vehicle-mounted periphery monitoring device 4 as a whole is formed. Can be configured with one chip, and the cost can be reduced.

  The vehicle interior communication antenna 16 is installed at the rear of the automobile and is directed in front of the automobile. The UWB pulse signal output from the pulse generation circuit 15 is demultiplexed and wirelessly transmitted to the receiver 3.

  The radar antenna 17 is installed at the rear of the automobile and is directed further rearward. The radar antenna 17 is a radio transmission of a radar signal (UWB radar signal) as a UWB pulse signal to the rear, and the UWB radar signal is a rear object ( A reflected wave (UWB pulse signal) reflected by an automobile or the like is wirelessly received.

  The switch 18 switches the radar antenna 17 between the pulse generating circuit 15 side and the filter / amplifier circuit 19 side. By switching the switch, the radar antenna 17 causes the radar transmitting antenna to transmit the UWB pulse signal to the rear of the vehicle. And the radar receiving antenna of the reflected wave from the rear.

  When the switch 18 is connected to the filter / amplifier circuit 19, the filter / amplifier circuit 19 performs band-pass filtering and amplifies the UWB pulse signal as a reflected wave received by the radar antenna 17.

  The correlator LSI 20 uses the pulse transmission timing given from the timer circuit 14 as a template, and determines whether or not the correlation between the pulse waveform and the template is equal to or greater than a certain value, so that data is input. Based on this, the UWB pulse signal is converted into a baseband signal.

  The distance measuring circuit 21 calculates the time difference between transmission and reception of the UWB pulse signal at the radar antenna 17 based on the baseband signal given from the correlator LSI 20, and the UWB pulse signal is reflected based on this time difference. A distance (ranging data) to an object (for example, an automobile) is calculated. The distance data calculated here is input to the signal processing circuit 12 and, as described above, a blank portion of the camera video signal. Is transmitted to the receiver 3 from the vehicle interior communication antenna 16 together with the camera video signal.

  The filter / amplifier circuit 19, the correlator LSI 20, and the distance measuring circuit 21 function as measuring means for measuring the distance to a rear object (such as an automobile) based on the UWB radar signal received by the radar antenna 17. .

  Further, pulse interval setting means (that is, modulation / random number generation circuit 13 and timer circuit 14), pulse generation circuit 15, radar antenna 17, switch 18, and measurement means (that is, filter / amplifier circuit 19, correlator LSI 20 and The distance measuring circuit 21) constitutes the UWB radar apparatus 1 described above.

  Among these, the pulse interval setting means (that is, the modulation / random number generation circuit 13 and the timer circuit 14) and the pulse generation circuit 15 are transmitting means for wirelessly transmitting the UWB pulse signal to the receiver 3 through the vehicle interior communication antenna 16. Function as.

  The receiver 3 installed in the vehicle interior receives a UWB pulse signal that is installed in the front of the vehicle interior as shown in FIG. 1 and wirelessly transmitted from the vehicle-mounted periphery monitoring device 4. As shown in FIG. Random number generation circuit 31 for generating a random number for recognizing the interval, timer circuit 32 for recognizing pulse transmission timing based on the random number generated by modulation / random number generation circuit 31, and wireless transmission from vehicle-mounted periphery monitoring device 4 The in-vehicle communication antenna 33 that receives the UWB pulse signal, the filter / amplifier circuit 34 that filters and amplifies the UWB pulse signal received by the in-vehicle communication antenna 33, and extracts the received UWB pulse signal as a baseband. Correlator LSI 35 for converting into a signal, and a baseband signal from correlator LSI 35 is demodulated to generate a camera video signal and radar ranging data. A demodulator circuit 36 for converting the video data demodulated by the demodulator circuit 36 into a format such as NTSC and outputting it to an image processing ECU or a liquid crystal display (not shown), and a demodulator circuit And an in-vehicle LAN-I / F circuit 38 for outputting radar ranging data among the data demodulated in 36 to a predetermined control system LAN (not shown) such as CAN or FlexRay.

  The random number generation circuit 31 generates a pseudo random number using a predetermined code sequence such as a PN code sequence. In particular, the random number generation circuit 31 generates a pseudo random number using the same code sequence that is generated by the modulation / random number generation circuit 13 of the in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4. The information is generated and output to the timer circuit 32.

  The timer circuit 32 outputs a pulse transmission timing to the correlator LSI 35 using the random number given from the random number generation circuit 31 as a pulse interval while measuring time along the time axis.

  The random number generation circuit 31 and the timer circuit 32 generate a pseudo random number using the same code sequence as the pulse interval setting means of the in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4 and the pulse interval of the UWB pulse signal transmitted from the in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4 Functions as pulse interval recognition means.

  The in-vehicle communication antenna 33 receives a UWB pulse signal wirelessly transmitted from the in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4.

  The filter / amplifier circuit 34 band-pass-filters and amplifies the UWB pulse signal received by the in-vehicle communication antenna 33.

  The correlator LSI 35 uses the pulse transmission timing given from the timer circuit 32 as a template, and determines whether or not the correlation between the pulse waveform and the template is equal to or greater than a certain value. Based on this, the UWB pulse signal is converted into a baseband signal.

  The demodulating circuit 36 extracts the camera video signal and the radar ranging data from the baseband signal from the correlator LSI 35, distributes them to the video encoder circuit 37 and the in-vehicle LAN-I / F circuit 38, respectively, and outputs them. Specifically, the camera video signal is extracted from the baseband signal, and the radar ranging data is extracted from the blank period of the camera video signal.

  The correlator LSI 35 and the demodulating circuit 36 are configured so that the camera video signal and the radar ranging data are converted from the UWB pulse signal based on the pulse interval recognized by the pulse interval recognition means (that is, the random number generation circuit 31 and the timer circuit 32). Functions as a signal extracting means for extracting.

  The operation of the automobile monitoring system having the above configuration will be described.

  First, the image sensor 11 of the in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4 captures a peripheral image behind the vehicle from directly under the rear bumper of the vehicle. The camera video signal at this time is input to the signal processing circuit 12. Then, the signal processing circuit 12 converts the camera video signal given from the image sensor 11 into digital data of a predetermined format such as the YUV422 format, and converts the ranging information given from the ranging circuit 21 to the camera. Recording is performed in a portion corresponding to the blank period of the video signal, and this is output to the modulation / random number generation circuit 13. The modulation / random number generation circuit 13 performs predetermined modulation processing on the digital data supplied from the signal processing circuit 12, generates random numbers using a predetermined code sequence, and outputs the information to the timer circuit 14. The timer circuit 14 outputs the pulse transmission timing to the pulse generation circuit 15 and the correlator LSI 20 using the random number given from the modulation / random number generation circuit 13 as a pulse interval while measuring the time along the time axis.

  Then, the pulse generation circuit 15 generates a UWB pulse signal at the pulse transmission timing given from the timer circuit 14. The UWB pulse signal generated here is wirelessly transmitted to the receiver 3 through the vehicle interior communication antenna 16.

  Here, the switch 18 switches the radar antenna 17 between the pulse generation circuit 15 side and the filter / amplifier circuit 19 side at high speed. When the switch 18 is connected to the pulse generation circuit 15 side, the radar antenna 17 functions as a radar transmission antenna and transmits a UWB radar signal to the rear of the automobile. When the switch 18 is connected to the filter / amplifier circuit 19 side, the radar antenna 17 is a radar of a reflected wave (UWB pulse signal) in which the UWB radar signal is reflected by a rear object (automobile or the like). Receive.

  The filter / amplifier circuit 19 band-pass-filters and amplifies the UWB pulse signal as a reflected wave received by the radar antenna 17. At this time, the correlator LSI 20 uses the pulse transmission timing given from the timer circuit 14 as a template, and the correlation between the waveform of the UWB pulse signal given from the filter / amplifier circuit 19 and the template is a certain value or more. The UWB pulse signal is converted into a baseband signal while determining whether or not.

  Thereafter, the distance measuring circuit 21 calculates a time difference between transmission and reception of the UWB pulse signal at the radar antenna 17 based on the baseband signal given from the correlator LSI 20, and based on this time difference, the UWB pulse signal is calculated. The distance (ranging data) to the reflected object (for example, car) is calculated. The distance measurement data is input to the signal processing circuit 12, recorded in a blank portion of the camera video signal, and transmitted from the vehicle interior communication antenna 16 to the receiver 3 together with the camera video signal.

  By the way, in the receiver 3, the random number generation circuit 31 generates the same pseudo-random numbers as the modulation / random number generation circuit 13 of the in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4, and outputs these pieces of information to the timer circuit 32. The timer circuit 32 outputs a pulse transmission timing to the correlator LSI 35 using the random number given from the random number generation circuit 31 as a pulse interval while measuring the time along the time axis.

When the in-vehicle communication antenna 33 wirelessly receives the UWB pulse signal from the in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4, the UWB pulse signal is bandpass filtered and amplified by the filter / amplifier circuit 34, and then is correlated by the correlator LSI 35. Converted to baseband signal. A camera video signal is extracted from the baseband signal by the demodulation circuit 36, and radar ranging data is extracted from the blank period of the camera video signal. The video encoder circuit 37 and the in-vehicle LAN-I / F circuit 38 are respectively extracted. And output.

  In this way, the UWB radar apparatus 1 and the back camera 2 are integrally united to form the in-vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus 4, and in particular, the video signal data of the back camera 2 is added to the UWB pulse signal output from the UWB radar apparatus 1. Since the radar signal is output to the rear of the vehicle at the same time as the radar signal is also output to the receiver 3 in the passenger compartment, wireless transmission of the camera image is performed simultaneously with the distance measurement. In addition to being able to reduce the wiring between the two, a component such as a pulse generation circuit 15 necessary for wirelessly communicating a camera video signal captured by the back camera 2 to the receiver 3, and UWB Compared with the case where the components such as the pulse generation circuit 15 related to radar transmission in the radar apparatus 1 are provided separately and these components are provided separately, the power cable and the signal cable are used. It can be also used Le. Therefore, line saving can be achieved and the apparatus cost and installation space can be reduced. Further, by combining these components, it is possible to achieve downsizing and improve the design of the automobile.

  Further, since ranging information is superimposed and transmitted to the receiver 3 during the blank period of the camera video signal, the camera video signal captured by the back camera 2 and the ranging information can be transmitted through the same channel. Therefore, compared with the case where both information of the camera video signal and the distance measurement information are communicated through separate wireless channels, the apparatus cost for that can be reduced.

{Second Embodiment}
In the first embodiment, distance measurement is performed on a rear object using a UWB radar signal generated by generating a pseudo-random number using a predetermined code sequence. When pseudo-random numbers are generated in a sequence, there is a possibility that interference of UWB radar signals may occur between adjacent cars, for example.

  In the first embodiment, the random number generation circuit 31 of the receiver 3 and the modulation / random number generation circuit 13 of the in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4 generate pseudo random numbers using the same code sequence. For example, as shown in FIG. If different vehicles are approaching, UWB pulse signals wirelessly transmitted from the in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4 to the receiver 3 may interfere with each other and cause interference.

  Therefore, in the automobile monitoring system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, a different code sequence is held for each of the vehicles 41 and 42 of the automobile, and the UWB pulse signal including the UWB radar signal between the vehicles 41 and 42 is stored. This is to prevent interference.

  Specifically, each of the random number generation circuit 31 of the receiver 3 and the modulation / random number generation circuit 13 of the in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4 incorporates a storage device such as a flash ROM, and each vehicle 41, 42 unique information is stored in advance. Then, after the specific information is digitized according to a predetermined rule, a code sequence is automatically generated using the numeric value. In this case, the same code sequence is generated for each vehicle by the random number generation circuit 31 of the receiver 3 and the modulation / random number generation circuit 13 of the in-vehicle periphery monitoring device 4 in common with the first embodiment.

  Here, as the unique information of each vehicle 41, 42, a number specially set for differentiating the code series in the automobile monitoring system may be used. The production number and serial number assigned for the purpose of individual identification of the system itself may be used. Further, other unique information such as the number plate of each vehicle 41, 42, the chassis number, and the ID number of the immobilizer is referred to. Then, different code sequences may be automatically generated for each of the vehicles 41 and 42 using these. Further, only one of these pieces of unique information may be used alone, or a plurality of pieces of unique information may be used in combination.

  As a method for automatically generating a different code sequence for each of the vehicles 41 and 42 based on the unique information, for example, a predetermined PN sequence code is held in advance, and a predetermined digit is used as a unit for this PN sequence code. By adding, integrating, or subtracting the above unique information, a different code sequence can be easily generated automatically for each of the vehicles 41 and 42.

  Other configurations are the same as the configuration of the automobile monitoring system described in the first embodiment.

  By doing in this way, the interference of the UWB pulse signal including the UWB radar signal between the vehicles 41 and 42 can be easily prevented.

In each of the above embodiments, only the function of extracting the camera video signal and the radar distance measurement data in the demodulation circuit 36 of the receiver 3 has been described. However, the camera video data acquired in the demodulation circuit 36 is described. It is possible to provide various additional functions such as performing white line recognition processing by the demodulation circuit 36 and transmitting the white line recognition result at this time to the control system LAN through the in-vehicle LAN-I / F circuit 38. In this way, the in-vehicle communication of the camera video signal is performed using the ultra-wideband UWB pulse signal. Therefore, even when monitoring the white line during high-speed driving and using it for a lane departure warning, the high-speed communication is responsive. An excellent lane departure warning or the like can be executed.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the outline | summary of the monitoring system for motor vehicles based on 1st Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an in-vehicle periphery monitoring device that is a component of an automobile monitoring system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the receiver which is one component of the monitoring system for motor vehicles based on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the outline | summary of the monitoring system for motor vehicles based on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 UWB radar apparatus 2 Back camera 3 Receiver 4 Vehicle-mounted periphery monitoring apparatus 11 Image pick-up element 12 Signal processing circuit 13 Modulation / random number generation circuit 14 Timer circuit 15 Pulse generation circuit 16 Car interior communication antenna 17 Radar antenna 18 Switch 19 Filter Amplifier circuit 20 Correlator LSI
21 Ranging Circuit 31 Random Number Generation Circuit 32 Timer Circuit 33 In-Vehicle Communication Antenna 34 Filter / Amplifier Circuit 35 Correlator LSI
36 Demodulation circuit 37 Video encoder circuit 38 In-vehicle LAN-I / F circuit

Claims (8)

An imaging means for imaging the outside of the vehicle;
A measuring means for measuring a distance to an object existing outside the vehicle;
Transmitting means for transmitting video data obtained by the imaging means and distance measurement data obtained by the measuring means as wireless data;
A vehicle monitoring system comprising: receiving means for receiving wireless data transmitted from the transmitting means. The vehicle monitoring system according to claim 1,
The vehicle monitoring, wherein the signal transmitted and received by the measuring means to measure the distance to the object and the signal carrying the wireless data transmitted from the transmitting means to the receiving means are both ultra-wideband pulse signals system. The automobile monitoring system according to claim 2,
The measuring means and the transmitting means are
A pulse generation circuit for generating the ultra-wideband pulse signal;
The pulse interval setting means for setting the pulse interval of the ultra-wideband pulse signal generated by the pulse generation circuit based on a pseudo-random number using a predetermined code sequence,
The receiving means is
Pulse interval recognition means for recognizing the pulse interval of the signal transmitted as the wireless data from the transmission means by generating a pseudo-random number by the same code sequence as the pulse interval setting means of the transmission means;
A vehicle monitoring system, comprising: signal extraction means for extracting the distance measurement data and the video data from the wireless data based on the pulse interval recognized by the pulse interval recognition means. The automobile monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The transmission means is
A vehicle monitoring system comprising a signal processing circuit that superimposes the distance information measured by the measuring unit on a blank period of video data captured by the imaging unit. The automobile monitoring system according to claim 3,
The automobile monitoring system, wherein the code series is set differently for each vehicle based on unique information different for each vehicle of the automobile. An imaging means for imaging the outside of the vehicle;
A measuring means for measuring a distance to an object existing outside the vehicle;
A transmitter comprising: transmission means for transmitting video data obtained by the imaging means and distance measurement data obtained by the measurement means as wireless data.   An imaging means for imaging the outside of the automobile, a measuring means for measuring a distance to an object existing outside the automobile, video data obtained by the imaging means, and distance measurement data obtained by the measuring means A receiver characterized by receiving the wireless data from a transmitter comprising a transmitting means for transmitting as wireless data. A first step of imaging the outside of the automobile with a predetermined imaging means;
The distance to the object existing outside the automobile is measured, and the distance measurement data obtained by the distance measurement and the video data captured by the imaging means are transmitted as wireless data to a predetermined receiver. An automobile monitoring method comprising two steps.

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