JP2006044517A - Mirror control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mirror control device free for each driver to automatically drive a mirror by proper quantity. <P>SOLUTION: An obstacle position deriving part 12 derives a position of an obstacle existing in the circumference of a vehicle on the mirror control device 1. Additionally, a view point position deriving part 13 derives a position of a view point of the driver of the vehicle. An angle deriving part 14 derives an angle of the mirror 2 from the position of the obstacle derived by the obstacle position deriving part 12 and the view point position derived by the view point position deriving part 13. A mirror angle adjusting part 15 adjusts the angle of the mirror 2 in accordance with the angle derived by the angle deriving part 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a mirror control device, and more particularly to a mirror control device that controls a mirror attached to a vehicle so that a driver recognizes an obstacle present around the vehicle.

  Conventionally, many warning devices have been proposed that monitor the situation around the vehicle and allow the driver to recognize obstacles around the vehicle. Many of this type of alarm device displays an image or characters representing the alarm on a display device installed in the center console of the vehicle.

  By the way, for example, when the host vehicle tries to change lanes while traveling at a high speed, the driver usually checks the surrounding situation visually using a mirror or directly for safety confirmation. On the other hand, in the conventional alarm device, the driver cannot recognize surrounding obstacles unless the line of sight is moved to the center console. Therefore, when the lane is changed as described above, a situation may occur in which the driver moves his / her line of sight between the periphery of the vehicle and the center console. Such line-of-sight movement can occur not only in the above-described situation, but also when another vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane changes to the lane in which the host vehicle travels or when parking.

In order to solve the above-described problems, some of the above alarm devices allow the driver to recognize the presence of another vehicle traveling diagonally behind the vehicle by driving a mirror of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the following). Called a conventional mirror control device). Specifically, a conventional mirror control device first detects a distance and an angle to another vehicle located obliquely behind the vehicle with a position sensor while the vehicle is running. Thereafter, the conventional mirror control device calculates the relative speed of the other vehicle with respect to the host vehicle by the controller, and detects the danger at the time of lane change. Furthermore, the conventional mirror control device operates the mirror driving device so that the driver can visually recognize other vehicles obliquely behind when detecting the movement of the lane change by signals from the steering angle sensor and the turn signal device. The mirror is driven (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 7-17348 A

  However, in the conventional mirror control device, the mirror is driven simply based on signals from the steering angle sensor and the turn signal device, so even if the mirror is driven by an appropriate amount for one driver, other drivers For this reason, there is a problem that the drive amount may not be appropriate.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a mirror control device that can automatically drive mirrors by an amount appropriate for each driver.

  To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mirror control device for controlling a mirror attached to a vehicle, wherein a position of an obstacle existing around the vehicle is derived. 1 deriving unit, a second deriving unit for deriving the position of the viewpoint of the driver of the vehicle, the position of the obstacle derived by the first deriving unit, and the viewpoint position derived by the second deriving unit To a third deriving unit for deriving the mirror angle, and an adjusting unit for adjusting the mirror angle based on the angle derived by the third deriving unit.

  In a preferred example, the mirror control device further includes an imaging device that captures the surroundings of the vehicle, and the first derivation unit detects an obstacle existing around the vehicle using an image captured by the imaging device. Then, the position of the detected obstacle is derived.

  In another preferred example, the mirror control device further includes an active sensor that detects an obstacle existing around the vehicle and derives a distance to the detected obstacle and an orientation of the detected obstacle, and the first derivation is performed. The unit derives the position of the obstacle detected by the active sensor. Here, the active sensor is typically an ultrasonic sensor or a radar.

  In addition, a second aspect of the present invention is a mirror control method for controlling a mirror attached to a vehicle, the first derivation step for deriving the position of an obstacle existing around the vehicle, From the second derivation step for deriving the viewpoint position of the driver of the vehicle, the position of the obstacle derived in the first derivation step, and the viewpoint position derived in the second derivation step, the angle of the mirror is determined. A third deriving step for deriving, and an adjusting step for adjusting the angle of the mirror based on the angle derived by the third deriving step.

  A third aspect of the present invention is a computer program for controlling a mirror attached to a vehicle, the first derivation step for deriving the position of an obstacle existing around the vehicle, and the vehicle The angle of the mirror is derived from the second deriving step for deriving the position of the driver's viewpoint, the position of the obstacle derived in the first deriving step, and the viewpoint position derived in the second deriving step. A third derivation step, and an adjustment step for adjusting the angle of the mirror based on the angle derived by the third derivation step. Here, the computer program is illustratively recorded on a storage medium.

  As described above, in each aspect described above, the mirror is adjusted according to the angle detected from the position of the obstacle and the viewpoint position of the driver. Therefore, the mirror is adjusted to an appropriate angle according to the viewpoint position unique to each driver. As is clear from the above, according to each aspect described above, it is possible to provide a mirror control device capable of automatically driving a mirror by an appropriate amount for each driver.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a mirror control device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the mirror control device 1 automatically adjusts the angle of the mirror 2 attached to the vehicle V (for example, see FIG. 2), and thereby controls the image reflected on the mirror 2. Here, as the mirror 2 to be controlled, a door mirror, a fender mirror, and a room mirror are typical. For example, a rear view mirror or a left and right front mirror that is attached to many vehicles having a high vehicle height such as an RV car or a minivan type Auxiliary mirrors installed at corners can also be controlled. Further, as the mirror 2, not only one of the above, but also a plurality of mirrors selected from the above may be controlled. In the description of this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, a case will be described in which the mirror 2 to be controlled is a left door mirror (for example, see FIG. 2).

  In order to control the mirror 2, the mirror control device 1 includes an imaging device 11, an obstacle position deriving unit 12, a viewpoint position deriving unit 13, an angle deriving unit 14, and a mirror angle adjusting unit 15.

  The imaging device 11 is attached to the vehicle V, captures the surrounding situation of the vehicle V, and generates an image representing the captured situation. Further, preferably, the imaging device 11 has an angle of view capable of photographing a range that can be covered by the mirror 2. Here, in order to image the surroundings of the vehicle V over a wide range, a plurality of imaging devices 11 are installed in the vehicle V, a device having a movable mechanism is used as the imaging device 11, or a wide-angle lens is used as the imaging device 11. It is preferable to use those having In addition, as the imaging device 11, many types such as a CCD camera, a CMOS camera, or an infrared camera can be applied. However, the type of obstacle to be detected by the obstacle position deriving unit 12, or the imaging device What is necessary is just to apply an appropriate thing according to 11 installation environments or cost.

  The obstacle position deriving unit 12 processes the image sent from the imaging device 11 and detects an obstacle present around the vehicle V. Furthermore, the obstacle position deriving unit 12 derives the position of the detected obstacle with respect to the vehicle V. The obstacle position deriving unit 12 is typically realized by software using a dedicated microcomputer or DSP. As an obstacle detection method, for example, a known technique such as template matching or background difference can be applied. In addition, as a method for deriving the position of the detected obstacle, typically for each obstacle reflected in each image taken by the plurality of imaging devices 11, the three-dimensional position of the obstacle is typically determined by parallax stereo. Information to be shown (hereinafter referred to as position information) can be obtained. Further, when there is one imaging device 11 or when each imaging device 11 cannot capture the same obstacle, from the images continuously captured on the time axis by the single imaging device 11, Obstacle position information can be obtained by time difference stereo. The depth information acquisition method as described above is a well-known technique and will not be described in detail.

  Here, the three-dimensional position obtained by the above method is represented by the values of the first coordinate system C1 with the attachment position of the imaging device 11 as a reference point as shown in FIG. Such a three-dimensional position needs to be converted into a value of the second coordinate system C2 with the center of the mirror surface of the mirror 2 as a reference point for processing by the angle deriving unit 14. For such conversion, the obstacle position deriving unit 12 stores in advance the installation positions of both the imaging device 11 and the mirror 2 and represents them in the first coordinate system C1 based on the both installation positions. The obtained three-dimensional position is converted into a value of the second coordinate system C2. As illustrated in FIG. 2, when the imaging device 11 and the mirror 2 are installed on the vehicle V as illustrated in FIG. 2, first, the reference point of the first coordinate system C1 is determined based on the respective installation positions. The first coordinate system C1 is translated in the three-dimensional space so that is coincident with the reference point of the second coordinate system C2. Thereafter, based on the installation positions of both the imaging device 11 and the mirror 2, the translated first coordinate system C1 is rotated around each of its own X, Y, and Z axes, thereby , And the second coordinate system C2. Similarly, the three-dimensional position of the obstacle is converted into the value of the second coordinate system C2.

  Reference is again made to FIG. The viewpoint position deriving unit 13 derives the position of the viewpoint of the driver of the vehicle V. For example, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 extracts a driver's pupil from images captured by a plurality of imaging devices installed inside and outside the vehicle V while the vehicle V is traveling and stopped. For such pupil extraction, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 exemplarily includes three imaging devices installed on each of the left and right door mirrors and the room mirror. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the first imaging device 131 out of the three is fixed in the mirror 2 as disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2002-114119. Specifically, the imaging device 131 is fixed to a holder 133 that is fixed to the mirror surface 132. As a result, even if the driver changes the direction of the mirror surface 132 by his / her own operation (that is, the angle with respect to a predetermined reference), the range in which the imaging device 131 can shoot can always cover the eye position of the driver. . When this method is employed, the mirror surface 132 needs to transmit light such as a magic mirror.

  In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the imaging device 131 is fixed to a portion connecting the door mirror 2 and the vehicle body 135. In this case, the image pickup apparatus 131 is installed so as to be able to take an image of a range where it is assumed that there is a driver's eyes.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the second imaging device 136 among the three devices is installed on the door mirror 137 on the opposite side in the same manner as the imaging device 131. The third imaging device 138 is attached to the rear mirror 139 of the vehicle V so that the photographing range can cover the position of the driver's eyes.

  The viewpoint position deriving unit 13 extracts the driver's pupil from an image captured by each of the imaging devices described above by an image processing technique such as template matching. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the extracted three-dimensional position of the pupil E is obtained from at least two images out of the three images taken by the three imaging devices at the same time. It is derived in the same way as when deriving.

  In the above description, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 has been described as including three imaging devices. However, in order to derive the viewpoint position by stereo vision, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 includes at least two imaging devices. It only has to be included. Further, the installation positions of these imaging devices are not limited to the door mirror and the room mirror as described above, and may be installed at other positions as long as they can capture the driver's pupil. In the above description, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 is described as including three imaging devices. However, when the imaging device 11 is installed at the position as described above, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 You may perform your own processing using the image shot by the above.

  Next, the processing procedure of the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The viewpoint position deriving unit 13 performs the processing shown in FIG. 6 at regular intervals after the driver is seated in the driver's seat. First, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 determines whether or not the driver has adjusted the angle of the mirror 2 by itself (step S1).

  When the determination is Yes, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 erases the three-dimensional position of the driver viewpoint stored in the memory (not shown) by the previous process (step S2).

  Thereafter, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 extracts both pupils of the driver from each of the plurality of images obtained from the above-described imaging device by the above-described method (step S3), and 3 of both eyes with the mirror 2 as a reference. A dimension position is derived (step S4). The viewpoint position deriving unit 13 writes the three-dimensional position thus obtained in the memory (step S5).

  When it is determined No in step S1, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 determines whether or not a three-dimensional position is stored in the memory (step S6). When it is determined No, the process returns to step S1. Conversely, when the determination is Yes, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 regards the three-dimensional position currently stored in the memory as valid, and ends the process illustrated in FIG.

  In the processing as described above, immediately after the driver adjusts the mirror 2 himself, the three-dimensional positions of both eyes with respect to the mirror 2 are stored in the memory. Here, in general, since the driver looks at the mirror 2 while adjusting the mirror 2, the memory stores the three-dimensional positions of both eyes when the driver looks at the mirror 2. Become.

  Refer to FIG. 1 again. The angle deriving unit 14 operates every predetermined time to derive the optimum angle of the mirror 2. Thereafter, the angle deriving unit 14 generates control information indicating the difference between the current optimum angle and the previous optimum angle, and passes the control information to the mirror angle adjusting unit 15.

  Hereinafter, the detailed processing procedure of the angle deriving unit 14 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In FIG. 7, the angle deriving unit 14 is first detected from the three-dimensional position of the obstacle derived by the obstacle position deriving unit 12 and the three-dimensional position of the viewpoint derived by the viewpoint position deriving unit 13. It is determined whether or not the mirror 2 can project the obstruction (step S11). If it is determined No, there is no way to derive the optimum angle of the mirror 2, so the angle deriving unit 14 ends the process shown in FIG. 7.

  On the contrary, when it is determined Yes, the angle deriving unit 14 derives the optimum angle of the mirror 2 from the three-dimensional position of the obstacle and the three-dimensional position of the viewpoint (step S12). Here, when the coordinate system representing the three-dimensional position of the obstacle is different from the coordinate system representing that of the viewpoint, one of the three-dimensional positions is converted into the value of the other coordinate system. The angle deriving unit 14 derives the optimum angle of the mirror 2.

  Thereafter, the angle deriving unit 14 determines whether or not the optimum angle derived this time matches the previous one (step S13). If the determination is Yes, the angle deriving unit 14 ends the processing illustrated in FIG. 7 without generating control information in the mirror angle adjusting unit 15. Alternatively, the angle deriving unit 14 may generate control information including 0 as the adjustment amount and pass it to the mirror angle adjusting unit 15.

  Conversely, when it is determined No in step S13, the angle deriving unit 14 subtracts the previous optimal angle from the current optimal angle, generates control information including the adjustment amount obtained as a result, and the mirror angle adjusting unit 15 (Step S14). Thereafter, the angle deriving unit 14 ends the process of FIG.

  As described above, the optimum angle is derived when the driver cannot visually recognize the image of the obstacle B on the mirror 2. Here, the optimum angle is an angle at which the image of the obstacle appears on the mirror surface of the mirror 2 when viewed from the driver. Hereinafter, an example of such an optimum angle derivation method (that is, the process of step S12) will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. In FIG. 8, the three-dimensional position of the obstacle B is moved to a symmetrical position with respect to the mirror plane Pm including the mirror surface of the mirror 2. Here, the coordinate value of the three-dimensional position before the movement is A (x, y, z), and the coordinate value of the three-dimensional position after the movement is A ′ (x ′, y ′, z ′).

  Next, a point where a straight line connecting the coordinate value A ′ and the coordinate value D (p, q, r) of the driver's viewpoint E intersects the mirror plane Pm is obtained. If such a coordinate value (X, Y, Z) of the intersection P is within the mirror surface of the mirror 2, the driver can visually recognize the image of the obstacle B at the position of the intersection P of the mirror 2. Therefore, in order to determine the optimum angle of the mirror 2, it is only necessary to calculate the inclination of the mirror plane Pm by the back calculation from the above calculation procedure and set the angle at which the driver can recognize the obstacle B.

  The mirror angle adjusting unit 15 mechanically and / or electrically adjusts the angle of the mirror 2 according to the angle derived by the angle deriving unit 14. More preferably, the optimum angle is a value at which the image of the obstacle B comes to the center of the mirror surface of the mirror 2.

  Refer to FIG. 1 again. The mirror angle adjusting unit 15 adjusts the angle of the mirror 2 according to the adjustment amount included in the control information passed from the angle deriving unit 14. Thereafter, the mirror angle adjusting unit 15 writes the current angle of the mirror 2 in the memory of the angle deriving unit 14 so that the angle deriving unit 14 can perform the next process. The angle adjustment of the mirror 2 is realized by mechanically changing the direction of the mirror surface, such as a door mirror, or electrically changing the refractive index of the reflecting surface of the mirror 2.

  Next, an example of control of the mirror 2 by the mirror control device 1 will be described with reference to the schematic diagrams of FIGS. 9A and 9B. First, in FIG. 9A, a range Ra indicates the field of view that the driver in the vehicle V sees through the mirror 2. In this state, when the imaging device 11 and the obstacle position deriving unit 12 detect an obstacle (pedestrian in the illustrated example) B around the vehicle V, 3 of the detected obstacle B From the three-dimensional position and the three-dimensional position of the viewpoint E of the driver calculated by the viewpoint position deriving unit 13, it is determined whether the driver can visually recognize the obstacle B through the mirror 2. When the obstacle cannot be visually recognized, the angle deriving unit 14 derives the optimum angle of the mirror 2. The mirror angle adjustment unit 15 changes the direction of the mirror 2 based on the optimum angle derived by the angle deriving unit 14. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 9B, the driver can visually recognize the range Rb where the obstacle B exists through the mirror 2.

  As described above, according to the mirror control device 1, the imaging device 11 monitors the situation around the vehicle V, and when there is an obstacle, the obstacle position deriving unit 12 determines the position of the obstacle. Is derived. The viewpoint position deriving unit 13 derives the position of the driver's viewpoint existing in the vehicle V. Thereafter, the angle deriving unit 14 derives the optimum angle of the mirror 2 based on the position of the obstacle and the viewpoint of the driver, and the direction of the mirror 2 is adjusted based on the derived optimum angle. Accordingly, even if the driver of the vehicle V changes, it is possible to provide a mirror control device that can automatically control the mirror 2 by an amount appropriate for each driver.

  Further, according to the present mirror control device 1, since the driver's viewpoint position is automatically derived while the driver is adjusting the mirror 2 by himself / herself, it is possible to provide a user-friendly mirror control device. It becomes possible.

  In the above embodiment, the control target mirror 2 has been described as the left door mirror. However, even when the control target is a door mirror on both sides, each may be controlled by the same processing as described above. In this case, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 derives the position of the viewpoint with respect to the left door mirror and the position of the viewpoint with reference to the right door mirror.

  In the mirror control device 1 described above, the obstacle position deriving unit 12, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13, and the angle deriving unit 14 may be realized by a processor and a memory that execute a computer program. Further, such a computer program may be distributed in a state of being recorded on a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, or may be stored in a computer device so as to be distributed via a network.

  In the mirror control device 1 described above, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 derives the position of the driver's viewpoint when the driver adjusts the orientation of the mirror 2 as shown in FIG. The present invention is not limited to this, and the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 may be performed so that the driver's viewpoint position is periodically derived and updated while the driver is driving the vehicle. As a result, it is possible to control the mirror 2 following the movement of the viewpoint of the driver. As represented by the reverse of the vehicle at the time of parking, the driver takes various postures while driving the vehicle. Therefore, when performing the processing of FIG. 10, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 is as shown in FIG. In addition to the imaging devices 131 and 136 attached to the door mirrors 132 and 136, it is preferable to include an imaging device 138 attached to the room mirror 139. As a result, the viewpoint position of the driver can be derived more accurately.

  Hereinafter, an alternative process of the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is different from FIG. 6 in that steps S31 to S35 are further provided. Since there is no difference between the two flowcharts other than that, in FIG. 10, the same step numbers are assigned to the steps corresponding to the steps shown in FIG.

  When it is determined No in step S6, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 receives images from the imaging devices 131, 136, and 138, detects the driver's pupil from each received image, and obtains the position of the viewpoint ( Step S31).

  Thereafter, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 obtains the reliability of each detected viewpoint position from, for example, the pupil recognition rate and the pupil occupancy rate in the image (step S32).

Thereafter, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 determines whether or not two or more of the respective reliability levels exceed a predetermined threshold value (step S33). When it is determined No, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 performs step S31 in order to obtain a more reliable viewpoint position.

  On the other hand, when the determination is Yes, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 obtains a highly accurate viewpoint three-dimensional position by stereo vision from two images that are the basis of the two viewpoint positions with high reliability. (Step S34). Thereafter, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 writes the three-dimensional position thus obtained in the memory (step S35), and then performs step S31 again.

  As described above, by repeatedly executing steps S31 to S35 and periodically obtaining the three-dimensional position of the viewpoint, the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 is always accurate according to many driving situations. Is derived.

(Modification)
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a mirror control device 1a according to a modification of the embodiment. In FIG. 11, the mirror control device 1 a is different from the above-described mirror control device 1 in that an active sensor 21 and an obstacle position deriving unit 22 are provided instead of the imaging device 11 and the obstacle position deriving unit 12. To do. Since there is no difference between the mirror control devices 1 and 1a other than that, in FIG. 11, the same reference numerals are assigned to the components corresponding to the configuration shown in FIG.

  The active sensor 21 emits ultrasonic waves, electromagnetic waves, or light toward the periphery of the vehicle, processes the received reflected wave, and detects obstacles existing around the vehicle. Furthermore, the active sensor 21 measures the distance to the detected obstacle and the azimuth in which the detected obstacle exists, with the vehicle as a reference.

  The active sensor 21 capable of measuring the distance is well known, and includes, for example, an FM-CW radar, a pulse radar, or a two-frequency CW radar.

  Further, the azimuth measurement can be realized by providing a mechanism in which the active sensor 21 scans the direction of the transmission wave mechanically or electronically. In addition, the azimuth measurement can be performed by using stereo for the reflected wave received by each of the plurality of active sensors 21. When measuring the azimuth, the azimuth resolution can be increased by narrowing the beam width of the transmission wave as much as possible.

  Next, an example of distance measurement of the active sensor 21 will be described in detail with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. In the following description, it is assumed that the active sensor 21 is a pulse radar. Under this assumption, the active sensor 21 detects the reflected wave from the obstacle by a method such as quadrature detection or square correlation, and uses the difference between the transmission time of the pulse and the reception time of the reflected pulse. Calculate the distance of the obstacle to the vehicle. For example, if the difference between the transmission time and the reception time is t and the speed of light is c, the distance d to be obtained is d = c × t / 2.

  The obstacle position deriving unit 22 derives the three-dimensional position of the detected obstacle from the distance and direction derived by the active sensor 21.

  Next, an example of the position derivation of the obstacle position deriving unit 22 will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 12, an orthogonal coordinate system C3 having the installation position of the active sensor 21 as the origin is considered. Here, the Z-axis indicates a vertically upward direction. The Y axis indicates the traveling direction of the transmission pulse of the active sensor 21 in a state where scanning is not performed. Further, the X axis is orthogonal to both the Z axis and the Y axis. When the scanning direction of the active sensor 21 has a θ angle clockwise when viewed from the positive direction of the Z axis and a φ angle when viewed from the positive direction of the X axis, the three-dimensional of the obstacle B at the distance d The position is calculated as (d × sin θ, d × cos θ × cos φ, d × sin θ × sin φ). The obstacle position deriving unit 22 passes such a three-dimensional position to the angle deriving unit 14.

  As described above, the use of the active sensor 21 enables robust obstacle detection that is less susceptible to environmental changes around the vehicle as compared to the case of using the imaging device 11 as described in the previous embodiment. It is possible to provide a possible mirror control device 1a.

  The mirror control device according to the present invention is suitable for an alarm device or the like that requires an effect that the optimum mirror orientation can be adjusted with respect to all drivers who may drive the vehicle.

1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a mirror control device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The schematic diagram which shows a part of process of the obstacle position derivation | leading-out part 12 shown in FIG. Schematic diagram showing a first installation example of the imaging device 131 constituting the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 shown in FIG. Schematic diagram showing a second installation example of the imaging device 131 constituting the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 shown in FIG. Schematic diagram showing a part of the processing of the viewpoint position deriving unit 13 shown in FIG. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the viewpoint position derivation | leading-out part 13 shown in FIG. The flowchart which shows the process sequence of the angle derivation | leading-out part 14 shown in FIG. The schematic diagram which shows the derivation | leading-out method of the optimal angle by the angle derivation | leading-out part 14 shown in FIG. The schematic diagram which shows the mode before adjustment of the mirror 2 shown in FIG. The schematic diagram which shows the mode after adjustment of the mirror 2 shown in FIG. The flowchart which shows the alternative process sequence of the viewpoint position derivation | leading-out part 13 shown in FIG. The schematic diagram which shows the whole structure of the mirror control apparatus 1a which concerns on the modification of this invention. Schematic diagram showing distance measurement and position derivation of an obstacle in the mirror control device 1a shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1a Mirror control device 11 Imaging device 21 Active sensor 12, 22 Obstacle position deriving unit 13 View point deriving unit 14 Angle deriving unit 15 Mirror angle adjusting unit 2 Mirror

Claims (7)

A mirror control device for controlling a mirror attached to a vehicle,
A first deriving unit for deriving the position of an obstacle existing around the vehicle;
A second deriving unit for deriving the position of the viewpoint of the driver of the vehicle;
A third deriving unit for deriving the angle of the mirror from the position of the obstacle derived by the first deriving unit and the viewpoint position derived by the second deriving unit;
A mirror control device comprising: an adjusting unit that adjusts the angle of the mirror based on the angle derived by the third deriving unit. The mirror control device further includes an imaging device for photographing the surroundings of the vehicle,
2. The first deriving unit according to claim 1, wherein an obstacle existing around the vehicle is detected using an image captured by the imaging device, and a position of the detected obstacle is derived. Mirror controller. The mirror control device further includes an active sensor that detects an obstacle existing around the vehicle and derives a distance to the detected obstacle and a direction of the detected obstacle.
The mirror control device according to claim 1, wherein the first deriving unit derives a position of an obstacle detected by the active sensor.   The mirror control device according to claim 3, wherein the active sensor is an ultrasonic sensor or a radar. A mirror control method for controlling a mirror attached to a vehicle,
A first derivation step for deriving the position of an obstacle existing around the vehicle;
A second derivation step for deriving the position of the viewpoint of the driver of the vehicle;
A third derivation step for deriving the angle of the mirror from the position of the obstacle derived in the first derivation step and the viewpoint position derived in the second derivation step;
A mirror control method comprising: an adjustment step of adjusting the angle of the mirror based on the angle derived by the third deriving step. A computer program for controlling a mirror attached to a vehicle,
A first derivation step for deriving the position of an obstacle existing around the vehicle;
A second derivation step for deriving the position of the viewpoint of the driver of the vehicle;
A third derivation step for deriving the angle of the mirror from the position of the obstacle derived in the first derivation step and the viewpoint position derived in the second derivation step;
A computer program comprising: an adjusting step of adjusting an angle of the mirror based on the angle derived by the third deriving step. The computer program according to claim 6, recorded on a storage medium.

Images