JP2006252264A - Obstacle informing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an obstacle informing device for detecting an obstacle such as a pedestrian by radar, performing risk determination of this obstacle, and emitting visible light to the obstacle only in case of necessity, in which optical axis adjustment is facilitated with a simplified structure. <P>SOLUTION: This device comprises a visible light light source (visible light LED 9), a light guide means (light guide 10b) guiding visible light from the visible light source to substantially the same position as output light from a laser light source (infrared LD 8) in a projecting-side optical system (convex lens 13) of a laser radar device and making it incident on the projecting-side optical system in parallel to the output light from the laser light source, and a visible light control means (control circuit 3) determining, based on a distance and a direction measured by the laser radar device, a dangerous substance for which warning is required among the detected obstacles, and drive-controlling the visible light source to irradiate an object including at least the dangerous substance with visible light by the projecting-side optical system. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an obstacle notification device that is mounted on a vehicle and notifies a danger by irradiating an obstacle (such as a pedestrian) that has a high risk of collision with visible light.

  Conventionally, in the field of vehicles, monitoring of front obstacles in vehicles using radar, ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control), and the like have been realized. The development of this radar (vehicle radar device) has been widely promoted, and as a system, a radio system (for example, millimeter wave radar) or a laser system using light in the near infrared region is mainly used. This means that electromagnetic waves such as radio waves and laser beams are transmitted in pulse form to objects (reflectors of other vehicles, etc.), and the distance to the object is obtained from the delay time until the reflected waves are received. Is detected (scanned) and transmitted to detect the orientation of the object.

By the way, in such a radar apparatus, since a detection medium (millimeter wave or near infrared ray) for detecting an obstacle is not perceived by humans, for example, the detected obstacle is a pedestrian, and the pedestrian is dangerous. Even in the situation, there is a problem that the human side (pedestrian or vehicle driver) notices a dangerous state and cannot take a risk avoiding action positively.
Therefore, conventionally, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a configuration in which an obstacle is detected by a laser radar and a spotlight is irradiated to the obstacle judged to be dangerous. However, with regard to the risk determination, there is no detailed description, and there is only a description that determines that an obstacle ahead of the host vehicle is dangerous. In addition, there is no description on how to provide a spotlight projector in the vehicle.

  In Patent Document 2, obstacles such as pedestrians are detected by an infrared camera or millimeter wave radar, and further, it is determined whether or not the obstacle exists in the own lane, and the obstacle existing in the own lane is detected. Therefore, there is described an obstacle notification device that irradiates a spotlight (electromagnetic wave marker) in the vicinity of the obstacle to inform the driver of the own vehicle of the presence of the obstacle (easily recognize the obstacle). In this device, there is no description about the purpose or effect of notifying the obstacle side (pedestrian or driver of another vehicle) of the danger. The spotlight is irradiated by a spot lamp provided separately from the infrared camera and the radar device.

Patent Document 3 describes a technique for causing a pedestrian or the like to recognize the presence of a vehicle by projecting visible light forward. However, there is no description of a configuration that detects a dangerous object or the like and projects light as necessary.
Further, in Patent Document 4, the light beam is displayed corresponding to the trajectory that the vehicle should travel, so that the driver of the host vehicle can grasp the course of the host vehicle or the other person can recognize the presence of the host vehicle. The technique made is described. However, with this technology, in order to irradiate other people, such as dangerous pedestrians, with a light beam, pedestrians, etc. are detected and a judgment is made as to whether or not they are dangerous in the relationship between the pedestrians and the vehicle However, it is not configured to irradiate the light beam only when it is dangerous.

In the technique described in Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4, light is projected even when there is no dangerous pedestrian or the like. For this reason, even if the pedestrian can recognize the existence of the car, he / she does not know at all whether or not he / she is dangerous. Also, even if it is not dangerous, it will be flooded, so if there are many cars, many visible light beams will be mixed around the pedestrians, causing a problem that confuses which car to pay attention to There is a high possibility of doing.
In addition, it is conceivable to notify the danger with an alarm sound instead of light. In this case, even if the sound is heard, it is unclear to whom it is intended. Etc.) cannot recognize the danger.

In addition, the pedestrian senses the vehicle approaching from the front or the back by the approaching engine sound. However, in the future, when electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles become widespread, there is a problem that when the vehicle is running with a motor, there is no engine sound and the motor sound is low, so that the approach of the vehicle cannot be detected.
Therefore, the inventors detect obstacles such as pedestrians with radar as in the devices described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, and further determine the danger of the obstacles, and only when necessary. We are studying obstacle notification devices that irradiate obstacles with visible light.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-255399 JP 2004-185105 A JP 05-238307 A JP 2004-9829 A

However, the conventional obstacle notification devices (Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2) have the following problems.
(1) When a light projection device that projects visible light (a device including the above-described spot lamp) is provided separately, in addition to a visible light source, an optical device that forms a visible light beam and scans the beam. It is necessary to newly provide a system (including a scanning mechanism), which increases the overall size of the apparatus and increases the cost.
(2) When the projector that projects visible light is provided separately from the radar, the position and orientation of the optical axis of the visible light projector and the optical axis of the radar are respectively adjusted with respect to the vehicle body, It becomes necessary to adjust the relative position and orientation of the optical axis of the visible light projector and the optical axis of the radar to a predetermined relationship, and the productivity and maintainability of the vehicle are considerably reduced.

(3) Since the configuration is such that the danger is simply determined based on whether or not an obstacle exists in front of the vehicle or in the own lane, an accurate danger determination cannot be performed, and an obstacle that is not actually dangerous (for example, Irradiate visible light to pedestrians who are very unlikely to collide because they are moving quickly in the direction of getting out of their own lane, or are actually dangerous obstacles (for example, Pedestrians who are likely to collide because they are moving toward the lane are highly likely to malfunction, such as processing that does not irradiate visible light.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides an obstacle notification device that detects obstacles such as pedestrians with a radar, further determines the danger of the obstacles, and irradiates the obstacles with visible light only when necessary. An object of the present invention is to provide an obstacle notification device having a simple configuration and easy optical axis adjustment. It is another object of the present invention to provide an obstacle notification device capable of accurately irradiating visible light to dangerous obstacles with accurate danger determination.

The obstacle notification device of the present application is mounted on a vehicle and irradiates a detection area around the vehicle while scanning a laser beam, detects an obstacle around the vehicle based on a reflected wave of the laser beam, and detects the obstacle. Including a laser radar device that measures the distance and direction of
It is an obstacle notification device that notifies a situation such as danger by irradiating visible light on an object including at least a dangerous object that requires a warning among the obstacles,
The visible light source;
The visible light from the visible light source is guided to substantially the same position as the output light from the laser light source in the light projecting side optical system of the laser radar device, and in parallel with the output light from the laser light source. Light guiding means for inputting to the optical system;
Based on the distance and direction measured by the laser radar device, a dangerous material that requires a warning is determined from the obstacles, and at least a light-projecting side optical of the laser radar device with respect to an object including the dangerous material. And a visible light control means for driving and controlling the light source for visible light to irradiate visible light by the system.
Here, the “obstacle” is a general term for objects existing around the vehicle. The “object” is an obstacle that irradiates visible light, and includes a dangerous object. Further, the “dangerous object” is an object that is determined to be dangerous to the extent that a warning is necessary, among the obstacles. Note that it is not always necessary to determine whether the obstacle or the object is a person or a vehicle. In addition, “danger” means a danger that the host vehicle and an obstacle collide (including contact and extremely close state).

According to this apparatus, obstacles existing in the detection area around the host vehicle are detected by the laser radar, and those obstacles having a high risk of collision (including contact) are determined as dangerous objects. Visible light is irradiated to the dangerous goods. For this reason, the danger notification to the dangerous object side (for example, a pedestrian or the driver of another vehicle) and the danger notification to the own vehicle side (the driver of the own vehicle) are made, and safety is improved. To do.
In addition, in this apparatus, the light-projecting side optical system (including the scanning mechanism) of the laser radar is also used for projecting visible light. For this reason, compared with a conventional configuration in which a light projecting side optical system is separately provided for visible light, the apparatus can be greatly simplified and the apparatus cost can be significantly reduced.

  Further, the visible light from the light source for visible light is guided to substantially the same position as the output light from the laser light source in the optical system on the light projecting side of the laser radar device, and the light projecting side in parallel with the output light from the laser light source Because it is a configuration that inputs to the optical system, the direction of the obstacle that was discovered and the direction that illuminates the visible light are almost the same, and unlike conventional configurations that irradiate laser light and visible light from different positions, laser light And the optical axis alignment of visible light (the operation of setting the relative positional relationship between the optical axis of the laser light and the optical axis of the visible light to a predetermined relationship) is not necessary. Further, it is not necessary to calculate the direction in which the visible light beam is irradiated (the direction in the coordinates of the visible light projector) from the position information of the corresponding obstacle (position information in the coordinates of the radar device). In addition, the optical axis adjustment of visible light and the optical axis adjustment as a laser radar can be realized at once by easy optical axis adjustment using visible light, which is practically very convenient. Incidentally, an ordinary laser radar can only output laser light in an invisible region, and therefore, a special work is required to use a special optical axis adjustment target.

Next, in a preferred embodiment of the present apparatus, the visible light control means causes the own vehicle to collide with the obstacle based on the movement vector of the own vehicle and the obstacle movement vector obtained from the measurement result of the laser radar device. Risk level determination means for determining the risk level to be determined, and the dangerous goods are determined based on the risk level determined by the risk level determination means.
In this embodiment, since the risk is determined in consideration of the moving speed and moving direction of the host vehicle and the obstacle, the dangerous object is accurately determined, and the visible light is accurately irradiated to the dangerous object.

Next, another preferable form of the present apparatus is a configuration in which the light intensity of the visible light beam applied to the dangerous material of the risk level changes according to the risk level determined by the risk level determination means.
In this mode, for example, the light intensity is lowered when the degree of danger is low, and the light intensity is raised when the degree of danger is high, so that a pedestrian or the like can accurately recognize the high degree of danger. be able to.

Further, another preferred form of the present apparatus is a configuration in which the color of the visible light beam applied to the dangerous material of the risk level changes according to the risk level determined by the risk level determination means.
In this mode, for example, the danger can be reliably notified to a pedestrian or the like by changing to a warning color as the degree of danger increases.

Further, another preferred form of the present apparatus is a configuration in which the divergence angle of the visible light beam applied to the object changes according to the distance to the object and the direction.
When the divergence angle of the visible light beam is constant, and there is an object at a short distance, the intensity of light is strong, but the object (pedestrian or the like) is not noticed because the beam is thin. On the other hand, when the object is located far away, the beam is expanded and the possibility of being recognized by the object increases. However, since the light intensity attenuates in inverse proportion to the square of the distance, there is a problem that even if light hits an object, the light intensity is weak and is not noticed. Furthermore, since the beam is expanded, there is a high possibility that the beam will hit an obstacle other than the object. In this embodiment, these problems can be solved by appropriately changing to the optimum divergence angle according to the distance to the object and the direction.

Moreover, another preferable form of the present apparatus is a configuration in which the light intensity of the visible light beam changes in accordance with the distance to the object and the divergence angle of the visible light beam applied to the object.
In the case of a visible light beam that expands as it approaches the object from the light source, the light intensity per unit area of the beam cross section decreases as the distance increases even at the same beam divergence angle. Even when the distance is the same, the light intensity per unit area of the beam cross section changes according to the beam divergence angle. Therefore, it is desirable to make the light intensity at the point of the object basically constant by controlling the emission intensity of the light source according to the distance to the object and the beam divergence angle. Such control is possible.

Moreover, another preferable form of the present apparatus is a configuration in which the color of the visible light beam applied to the object changes according to the use state of the fog lamp of the host vehicle.
In this mode, when a fog lamp is used (a state in which fog is generated, for example), the visible light to be irradiated is switched to light yellow, for example, to be affected by particles such as floating fog. Since the visible light reaches the object more reliably, the reliability of the warning can be maintained high.

In another preferred form of the present apparatus, the visible light control means executes the determination of the dangerous substance and the irradiation of the visible light in conjunction with a winker operation or / and a brake operation of the host vehicle. .
In this aspect, when there is a high risk of collision or the like (when there is a high necessity for dangerous material notification), dangerous material notification is accurately performed.

In another preferred form of the present device, the visible light control means is more likely to determine the specification of the dangerous material as a dangerous material when the turn signal operation and / or the brake operation of the host vehicle is performed. It is to change to.
In this mode, an obstacle that is determined to be a dangerous object for the first time after a deceleration or right / left turn is performed and the danger increases, before the deceleration or right / left turn is performed (when the blinker operation is performed) The possibility of being determined as a dangerous object in advance increases, and a dangerous situation can be notified with a time margin.

According to the obstacle notification device of the present application, obstacles existing in the detection area around the host vehicle are detected by the laser radar, and those obstacles having a high risk of collision (including contact) are regarded as dangerous objects. It is judged and visible light is irradiated to this dangerous substance. For this reason, the danger notification to the dangerous object side (for example, a pedestrian or the driver of another vehicle) and the danger notification to the own vehicle side (the driver of the own vehicle) are made, and safety is improved. To do.
In addition, in this apparatus, the light-projecting side optical system (including the scanning mechanism) of the laser radar is also used for projecting visible light. For this reason, compared with a conventional configuration in which a light projecting side optical system is separately provided for visible light, the apparatus can be greatly simplified and the apparatus cost can be significantly reduced.

  Further, the visible light from the light source for visible light is guided to substantially the same position as the output light from the laser light source in the optical system on the light projecting side of the laser radar device, and the light projecting side in parallel with the output light from the laser light source Because it is a configuration that inputs to the optical system, the direction of the obstacle that was discovered and the direction that illuminates the visible light are almost the same, and unlike conventional configurations that irradiate laser light and visible light from different positions, laser light And the optical axis alignment of visible light (the operation of setting the relative positional relationship between the optical axis of the laser light and the optical axis of the visible light to a predetermined relationship) is not necessary. Further, it is not necessary to calculate the direction in which the visible light beam is irradiated (the direction in the coordinates of the visible light projector) from the position information of the corresponding obstacle (position information in the coordinates of the radar device). In addition, the optical axis adjustment of visible light and the optical axis adjustment as a laser radar can be realized at once by easy optical axis adjustment using visible light, which is practically very convenient.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a device configuration of an obstacle notification device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a main routine of control processing of the apparatus. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a subroutine (control processing for obstacle distance etc.) of control processing of the apparatus. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control process subroutine (dangerous substance determination process) of the apparatus.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an obstacle notification device including a vehicle radar device (pulse echo type two-dimensional scanning laser radar). This obstacle notification device 1 is an integrated (single unit) vehicle radar device and visible light projector, and includes a control circuit 3, an LD driver 4, an LED driver 5, and a scanning device. A circuit 6, a light receiving circuit 7, an infrared LD (infrared laser diode) 8, a visible light LED 9 (light source for visible light), a light guide 10a for laser light, and a light guide 10b for visible light ( A light guiding unit), a lens driving device 11, a PD (photodiode) 12, a light projecting lens 13, a light receiving lens 14, and a lens holder 15.
In this example, the control circuit 3 constitutes the visible light control means and the risk determination means of the present invention. The light projecting lens 13 constitutes the light projecting side optical system of the present invention.
Further, what is indicated by reference numeral 2 in FIG. 1 is a control unit (ECU) mounted on the host vehicle, and controls, for example, a brake and an accelerator.

Here, the LD driver 4 is a circuit that drives the infrared LD 8 under the control of the control circuit 3, and the LED driver 5 is a circuit that drives the visible light LED 9 under the control of the control circuit 3.
The LD driver 4 is a circuit that is controlled by the control circuit 3 and operates the infrared LD 8 at each light emission timing produced by the control circuit 3 to output laser light (laser pulse). Here, the light emission timing is set in advance so that light emission and light reception are performed a predetermined number of times in a detection area obtained by dividing the detection area with a certain width in the scanning direction. Further, the light emission period of the laser light may be constant.

The lens holder 15 is a member that holds the light projecting lens 13 and the light receiving lens 14 in a predetermined positional relationship.
Further, the lens driving device 11 moves the light projecting lens 13 and the light receiving lens 14 up and down and left and right through the lens holder 15 to output laser light (or / and / or) output from the infrared LD 8 and guided by the light guide 10a. The visible light output from the visible light LED 9 and guided by the light guide 10b) can be transmitted by scanning at predetermined angles in the vertical and horizontal directions (that is, the scanning range including the detection area), and the reflection of the laser light. This is a mechanism that enables light to be received by the PD 12, and is controlled by the control circuit 3 via the scanning circuit 6 and operates at a predetermined timing and cycle.

The light projecting lens 13 and the light receiving lens 14 do not have to be convex lenses as shown in the figure, and may be, for example, Fresnel lenses. Further, instead of the lens driving device 11 and the scanning mechanism composed of the light projecting lens 13 and the light receiving lens 14, the laser beam is scanned and transmitted / received at a predetermined angle by a reflection mirror or a polygon mirror that is oscillated or rotated. A scanning mechanism may be configured.
The scanning range is usually set wider than the detection area where the object is detected, and optical axis adjustment (correction of the center position of the detection area) is possible by changing software parameters.

The visible light guide 10b is light guiding means for inputting the visible light output from the visible light LED 9 to the light projecting optical system (light projecting lens 13) in parallel with the laser light. That is, the end of the light guide 10b for visible light is arranged in the vicinity of the end of the light guide 10a for laser light, and the visible light output from the visible light LED 9 is output from the infrared LD 8 to be the light guide. It is configured to be input to the light projecting lens 13 at substantially the same position as the laser light guided by 10a. Thereby, the light simultaneously output from the visible light LED 9 and the infrared LD 8 is irradiated to substantially the same position in the scanning range. Note that “substantially the same position” here means that they are preferably the same within a tolerance range that is sufficiently small with respect to the resolution of the laser radar. However, since the accuracy of the position where the visible light is irradiated does not necessarily correspond to the detection accuracy of the laser radar, the tolerance may be greater than the resolution of the laser radar.
The light guide 10a and the light guide 10b can be realized by an optical fiber made of synthetic resin, for example. Further, the light guide 10a and the light guide 10b can have a function of shaping the cross-sectional shape of the beam.

Further, it is desirable that the light intensity (brightness) of visible light emitted from the visible light LED 9 is appropriate considering that the target is a human being. When the light intensity is weak against human vision, there is a high possibility that visible light will not be recognized even if it hits an object (at least a dangerous object) accurately. Conversely, when the light intensity is strong against human vision, it is unlikely to be overlooked, but there is a possibility that the human being is obscured and cannot recognize the light-emitting vehicle.
The visible light beam is preferably a beam that expands as the distance from the device increases. In this way, the light projecting portion (light guide 10b and the like) can be made small. Moreover, even if there is light passing through the object, even if it hits an object that exists farther than the object because it attenuates with distance, it is difficult to draw attention. Further, since the beam cross-sectional area is narrower than the object, there is also an advantage that the possibility of hitting another obstacle is low.

  The PD 12 is for receiving reflected light (light collected by the light receiving lens 14) reflected by the transmitted laser light and returning to the object, and an electric signal corresponding to the amount of received light (light receiving intensity) ( Hereinafter, the received light amount signal is output. The received light amount signal output from the PD 12 is input to the light receiving circuit 7 and amplified, and then processed in the control circuit 3. That is, at the sampling period corresponding to the light emission timing, for example, the light reception amount signal is read for a certain time after light emission, and light reception amount data (hereinafter referred to as light reception waveform data) is generated with the delay time (distance) as the horizontal axis. Is done. When the received light waveform data is transmitted and received a plurality of times in the detection area described above (when there are a plurality of waveform data for one detection area), for example, the received light waveform data is integrated for each detection area. The data of each received signal is stored in, for example, a memory in the control circuit 3. The received light amount at the peak position of the received light waveform data is stored as received light amount (reception intensity) data of each detection region, and the distance value calculated based on the delay time of the peak position of the received light waveform data is , And stored as data of the distance to the object for each detection region.

  Note that how many times laser beam transmission / reception is performed in one detection area (in other words, how much the laser light emission period is set) affects the detection sensitivity. Based on conditions such as the spread of the light beam and the reflectance of the detection target, for example, it is determined so that the detection target (other vehicles or people around the host vehicle) can be reliably detected without causing false detection in a good environment. Is done.

  Further, the obstacle notification device 1 is mounted toward the front of the host vehicle C1, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, and irradiates the detection area in front of the host vehicle C1 with laser light. Existing pedestrians H1, H2, etc. are detected as objects. Note that the detection area of the present invention is not limited to the front of the vehicle, and may be set to the rear as shown in FIG. 7, for example, to detect an object behind the host vehicle (such as the following vehicle C2). Incidentally, the following vehicle C2 (such as a motorcycle) is likely to collide with the vehicle C1 when the vehicle C1 decelerates.

  Next, the control circuit 3 is a circuit including a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and appropriately executes, for example, the processes shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 to 4 (for example, periodically executed while the vehicle is running). ) To realize accurate obstacle detection and danger notification for obstacles. Hereinafter, this process will be described.

When the processing is started, first, in step S1, processing for realizing the above-described measurement operation (transmission and reception of laser light and generation and storage of data such as the amount of received light) for each detection region (step S1). Steps S2 to S4) and a process for irradiating visible light (steps S5 to S6) are executed, and when these processes are completed for all detection areas, the process proceeds to step S7. Here, in step S2,
The lens driving device 11 is operated to move the light projecting lens 13 and the light receiving lens 14 in a predetermined direction by a predetermined unit amount. In step S3, the laser beam is emitted by causing the infrared LD 8 to emit light. In step S4, data such as the amount of received light described above is generated from the signal received by the PD 12 and stored. In step S5, it is determined whether or not the current scanning direction is a direction in which a dangerous substance is present in the previous scan (scanning). If the direction is in the presence of a dangerous substance, the process proceeds to step S6. If not, the process goes through without executing step S6. In step S6, the visible light LED 9 is allowed to emit light for a predetermined time (or until step S2 is executed next) to irradiate visible light. If step S6 is completed or if the determination result in step S5 is negative and step S6 is passed, it is determined whether or not the above processing (steps S2 to S6) is completed for all detection regions. If completed, the process proceeds to step S7. If not completed, the process returns to step S2 to repeat the process for the next detection area.

If it progresses to step S7, after each process (step S12-S15) shown in FIG. 3 is performed sequentially, it will progress to step S8.
In step S12, detection determination for detecting a plurality of reflection objects reflecting the laser beam is performed from the signal data stored in step S4, and the coordinates are stored. That is, for example, a detection area in which the received light amount data exceeds a detection threshold value set in advance is determined as a reflecting object, and the position coordinates of the reflecting object are stored. Since this example is a two-dimensional scanning type, the stored position coordinates are position data in a three-dimensional coordinate system (position coordinates in the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction of the vehicle).

  In step S13, pattern matching between the coordinates of the previous reflector (coordinates stored in step S12 during the previous scan) and the coordinates of the current reflector (coordinates stored in step S12 during the current scan) is performed. The speed of each reflector (relative speed with respect to the host vehicle, including the moving direction) is obtained. Specifically, a reflection object estimated to be the same as the current reflection object is found from the coordinates and speed of the previous reflection object, and the speed is obtained from the difference between the coordinate values. In addition, the judgment whether it is the same reflective object, for example, based on the position and speed of the previous reflective object, a position range having a predetermined spread (a position range where the reflective object is estimated to be present) is set If the position of the current reflecting object exists within this position range, it is determined by determining that the object is the same.

In step S14, the vehicle speed information is obtained from the ECU 2, and the moving speed (including the moving direction) of the reflecting object with respect to the road surface is obtained from the information.
In step S15, a plurality of reflecting objects whose moving speeds obtained in step S14 are equal within a predetermined allowable error range and whose position coordinates are close to each other are recognized as one obstacle. For example, an automobile is composed of several reflectors, and these are recognized as an obstacle called one automobile. Further, the distance and direction to the center position of the obstacle (that is, the coordinate data of the center position of the obstacle) and the speed and width dimension of the entire obstacle are obtained and stored for each obstacle.

If it progresses to step S8, after each process (step S22-S24) shown in FIG. 4 is performed sequentially, it will progress to step S9.
In step S22, the process of S23-S24 is performed with respect to all the obstructions calculated | required by step S7 (S15).
In step S23, a collision determination (risk degree determination) is performed based on the obstacle information and the vehicle information, and if it is determined that there is a high possibility of collision (including contact) (ie, dangerous), the process proceeds to step S24. If not, go through without executing step S24. For example, based on the movement vector (movement speed and movement direction) of the obstacle and the movement vector of the own vehicle, a value corresponding to the approach distance between the obstacle and the own vehicle after a set time from the current time is calculated as the risk level. When the degree of risk (approach distance) is, for example, equal to or less than a predetermined value (including the case of approaching abnormally), it is determined that there is a collision (dangerous), and the process proceeds to step S24, where it is greater than zero. Sometimes it is determined that there is no collision (no danger), and the process goes through step S24. In step S24, an obstacle determined to collide (dangerous) is registered (stored) as a dangerous object.
If step S24 ends or if the determination result in step S23 is negative and step S24 is passed, it is determined whether or not the above processing (steps S23 to S24) has been completed for all obstacles. If completed, the process proceeds to step S9. If not completed, the process returns to step S23 to repeat the process for another obstacle.

Next, in step S9, the direction of the obstacle registered as a dangerous object in step S24 is stored for the next processing (for determination in step S5).
After step S9, the process proceeds to step S10, and the information obtained in steps S7 and S8 is transmitted to the ECU 2. The ECU 2 uses these pieces of information for, for example, automatic inter-vehicle control. Or you may use for the information display of the dangerous goods to the driver | operator in a vehicle.
When step S10 is completed, the process returns to step S1 and is repeated at the next execution timing.

According to the obstacle notification device described above, obstacles existing in the detection area around the host vehicle are detected by the laser radar, and those obstacles having a high risk of collision (including contact) are dangerous. At the time of the next radar scan determined as a dangerous object, visible light is immediately irradiated in the direction of the dangerous object. For this reason, the danger notification to the dangerous object side (for example, a pedestrian or the driver of another vehicle) and the danger notification to the own vehicle side (the driver of the own vehicle) are made, and safety is improved. To do.
Moreover, in this apparatus, the light-projecting side optical system (including the scanning mechanism) of the laser radar is also used for projecting visible light. For this reason, compared with a conventional configuration in which a light projecting side optical system is separately provided for visible light, the apparatus can be greatly simplified and the apparatus cost can be significantly reduced.

  Further, the visible light from the visible light LED 9 is guided to substantially the same position as the output light from the infrared LD 8 in the light projection side optical system (convex lens 13) of the laser radar, and the output light from the infrared LD 8 (laser light). Therefore, the direction of the obstacle that was found is almost the same as the direction of illuminating the visible light, and the laser light and the visible light are irradiated from different positions. Unlike the configuration, there is no need to align the optical axes of laser light and visible light (operation for setting the relative positional relationship between the optical axis of laser light and the optical axis of visible light to a predetermined relationship). Further, it is not necessary to calculate the direction in which the visible light beam is irradiated (the direction in the coordinates of the visible light projector) from the position information of the corresponding obstacle (position information in the coordinates of the radar device). In addition, the optical axis adjustment of visible light and the optical axis adjustment as a laser radar can be realized at once by easy optical axis adjustment using visible light, which is practically very convenient. Incidentally, an ordinary laser radar can output only laser light, and therefore, a special work for using a special optical axis adjustment target is required. In addition, when a visible light projector is provided separately, the coordinate system of the projector and the radar device is different, so the direction in which the visible light beam is irradiated (the direction in the coordinates of the visible light projector) It is necessary to calculate from the position information of the obstacle (position information in the coordinates of the radar device) one by one, and there are disadvantages such as a decrease in responsiveness.

  Further, in this apparatus, all of the components including the laser radar and the visible light projector are provided in one unit, and basically, the control unit is controllable with the ECU 2 on the vehicle side. being independent. That is, as long as the vehicle speed information and power supply are input, the unit can realize the operation of discovering dangerous objects and irradiating visible light. This makes it possible to manufacture and sell this unit as an independent product. For vehicle users and automobile dealers, this unit can be obtained even if the vehicle is not equipped with this type of warning function. If it is attached to the vehicle, the danger notification function is realized, which is convenient, and the attachment work is also an integral unit, so that there is an advantage that it is easy.

  The device also determines the risk of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle based on the movement vector of the host vehicle and the obstacle movement vector obtained from the measurement results of the laser radar. A dangerous material is determined, and visible light is accurately irradiated to the dangerous material. Specifically, there is no danger of colliding in the future, but even pedestrians moving in front of the vehicle only at that point in time are mistakenly determined as dangerous objects, and visible light is irradiated to these pedestrians etc. This has the advantage of avoiding malfunctions. Conversely, a pedestrian that does not exist at the front of the vehicle at the present time but may move forward and collide in the future is erroneously determined not to be a dangerous object, and visible light is emitted to the pedestrian or the like. There is also an advantage that a defect that is not irradiated is avoided.

For example, since the pedestrian H1 in FIG. 5 is moving in a direction away from the road, it is unlikely that it will collide with the host vehicle C1 in the future. In the configuration in which an obstacle is determined as a dangerous object, it is erroneously determined as a dangerous object. However, since the apparatus of this example takes into consideration the movement vectors of the host vehicle and the obstacle, there is a high possibility that such a pedestrian H1 will not be determined as a dangerous object. Further, since the pedestrian H2 in FIG. 5 is moving in the direction approaching the road, there is a high possibility that it will collide with the own vehicle C1 in the future, but it is not in front of the own vehicle C1 at the present time, so it is simply present ahead. In the configuration in which the obstacle to be determined is a dangerous object, it is erroneously determined that it is not a dangerous object. However, since the apparatus of this example considers the movement vectors of the host vehicle and the obstacle, there is a high possibility that such a pedestrian H2 is accurately determined as a dangerous object.
In addition, even a pedestrian moving in the same direction at the same position in front of the host vehicle, such as a pedestrian trying to cross the front of the host vehicle at high speed (it is estimated that the vehicle will cross the road before the host vehicle approaches) Pedestrians, etc.) are difficult to determine as dangerous goods, and pedestrians trying to cross the front of the vehicle at low speed (pedestrians estimated to be unable to cross the road before the vehicle approaches) are dangerous Thus, it is possible to accurately determine a dangerous object in consideration of the moving speed, such as being easily determined as an object.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the form example demonstrated above, There can be various aspects and deformation | transformation. Hereinafter, various modifications will be described.
For example, it may be configured not only to simply irradiate visible light but also to display (project) characters such as “caution” on the road surface near the dangerous object with visible light.
Moreover, it is good also as a structure which irradiates visible light, in order to make a pedestrian etc. recognize the condition also to the obstacle with a low danger level (safe). For example, when a pedestrian is about to cross a road, if the pedestrian can safely cross the road, the pedestrian can be surely recognized of the situation by notifying the obstacle (pedestrian) with visible light. You may do it. At that time, if the configuration is such that the relationship between the vehicle and the pedestrian is displayed on the road surface with characters, pictures (crosswalk), or symbols, the pedestrian can be recognized more correctly. At that time, when an oncoming vehicle is approaching, the oncoming vehicle is irradiated with a visible light beam in order to recognize that the oncoming vehicle should be careful. There may be.

Also, the risk of obstacles is not limited to the approach distance between the host vehicle and the obstacle after the set time, but based on the current movement vectors, the distance at which the host vehicle and the obstacle are closest to each other (the closest approach distance) It is good also as a structure which calculates | requires and determines a risk according to this closest approach distance. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the relationship between the closest approach distance and the risk level may be set in advance, and the risk level may be determined. Note that the relationship between the approach distance and the degree of risk is not necessarily a proportional relationship (linear relationship), and may be a non-linear relationship as indicated by a dotted line in FIG. Further, the degree of danger may be determined in consideration of the relative speed at the time of approach. Further, the degree of danger may be determined by further considering the road surface state (dry state, snow cover state, frozen state, pavement state). In addition, the degree of danger is determined by taking into consideration the future travel route of the vehicle that is expected from the steering state (not necessarily a road or lane, but an area where the vehicle will travel from now on), and is away from this travel route when the vehicle approaches. An obstacle with high possibility (for example, a pedestrian indicated by a symbol H3 in FIG. 5) may be determined not to be dangerous.
Further, when there is even a slight degree of danger, it may be configured to irradiate visible light immediately, or may be configured to irradiate visible light by determining that it is a dangerous object when the threshold value of the set danger level is exceeded. Good.

Further, the light intensity of the visible light beam may be constant, but may be changed according to the determined risk. For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, the light intensity is lowered when the degree of danger is low (that is, the difference in brightness when the visible light blinks is reduced), and the light intensity when the degree of danger is high. By increasing the height (that is, by increasing the difference in brightness when the visible light flickers), it is possible to make the pedestrian or the like accurately recognize the height of the danger.
In addition, the light intensity of the visible light beam may be changed according to the distance to the object and the divergence angle of the visible light beam with which the object is irradiated. In the case of a visible light beam that expands as it approaches the object from the light source, the light intensity per unit area of the beam cross section decreases as the distance increases even at the same beam divergence angle. Even when the distance is the same, the light intensity per unit area of the beam cross section changes according to the beam divergence angle. Therefore, it is desirable that the light intensity at the point of the object is basically constant by controlling the light emission intensity of the light source according to the distance to the object and the beam divergence angle.

Further, it is desirable to adjust the light intensity of the visible light beam so that it is relatively weak at the upper part of the object (near the face of a pedestrian or the like) and relatively strong at the part other than the upper part of the object. This is because when a strong light is applied near the face of a pedestrian or the like, it is dazzled, and it is difficult for a pedestrian to see at night.
Such a change in light intensity can be realized, for example, by making the output of the LED driver 5 in the above-described embodiment variable.

The color of the visible light beam may be constant, but may be changed according to the determined risk. For example, the danger can be surely notified to a pedestrian or the like by changing to a warning color as the degree of danger increases. For example, according to the traffic signal, the color of visible light may be blue when the degree of danger is low, and may be changed to yellow and red as the degree of danger increases.
Moreover, it is good also as a structure from which the color of a visible light beam changes according to the use condition of the fog lamp of the own vehicle. When fog lamps are used (such as when fog is generated), the visible light to be irradiated is switched to light yellow, for example, so that it is less affected by particles such as floating fog and more reliably. Since visible light reaches the object, the reliability of the warning can be maintained high.

  Such a change in the color of visible light can be realized, for example, by providing an RGB light source as the visible light LED 9 in the embodiment and changing the light emission intensity of each light source. Alternatively, a plurality of light sources of different colors (blue and red, white and light yellow, etc.) may be provided, and the light source to be turned on may be switched according to the degree of danger or the use state of the fog lamp. At this time, it is possible to use a configuration in which the light axes of the respective light sources are incident on one light guide 10b by using a half mirror or the like so that the optical axes of the respective light sources coincide with each other. Thus, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the optical axis is slightly different for each light source. Alternatively, the light emitted from the light source is combined and emitted by controlling the intensity of the light passing through the three primary colors as a configuration in which white light emitted from the light source passes through a filter colored in the three primary colors, as was done with a CRT type color television. The structure which changes the color of may be sufficient.

Further, the divergence angle of the visible light beam applied to the object may be constant, or may be changed according to the distance to the object and the direction. When the divergence angle of the visible light beam is constant, and there is an object at a short distance, the intensity of light is strong, but the object (pedestrian or the like) is not noticed because the beam is thin. On the other hand, when the object is located far away, the beam is expanded and the possibility of being recognized by the object increases. However, since the light intensity attenuates in inverse proportion to the square of the distance, there is a problem that even if light hits an object, the light intensity is weak and is not noticed. Furthermore, since the beam is expanded, there is a high possibility that the beam will hit an obstacle other than the object. In order to solve these problems, it is necessary to appropriately adjust the beam divergence angle to an optimum value according to the distance to the dangerous object and the direction.
Further, the divergence angle of the visible light beam applied to the object may be changed in accordance with the use state of the fog lamp of the host vehicle.
In order to adjust the beam divergence angle, the positional relationship between the light source and the lens may be changed. For example, the distance between the end position of the light guide 10b and the lens 13 may be variable.

In the above-described embodiment, each time a radar scan is performed, the determination of a dangerous object and the irradiation of visible light are always performed. However, for energy saving, the determination is performed only when the necessity is high (for example, only at night). Alternatively, it may be possible to change the dangerous substance determination specification (for example, the threshold for risk determination) so that the dangerous substance is easily determined only when the degree of necessity is high.
For example, it is good also as an aspect which performs determination of a dangerous article and irradiation of visible light in conjunction with the turn signal operation or / and the brake operation of the own vehicle. Taking out the blinker or operating the brake means changing the lane or making a right / left turn, and is often accompanied by deceleration. In addition, when the brake is operated, the vehicle is naturally decelerated. Therefore, when the turn signal operation or / and the brake operation of the host vehicle is performed, the danger of a collision or the like is increased, and the necessity of notification of dangerous materials is increased.

  In addition, when the turn signal operation and / or the brake operation of the host vehicle are performed, the specification of dangerous goods determination (for example, the threshold value of the risk level for determining dangerous goods) is changed in a direction that makes it easier to determine the dangerous goods. It is good also as an aspect to do. In this mode, an obstacle that is determined to be a dangerous object for the first time after a deceleration or a right or left turn is performed and the danger increases, before the deceleration or a right or left turn is performed (when the blinker operation is performed) The possibility of being determined as a dangerous object in advance increases, and a dangerous situation can be notified with a time margin. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the own vehicle C1 reaches the intersection and performs a blinker operation to turn left, the following vehicle C2 or the pedestrian H4 on the road side that is about to turn left is determined to be a dangerous object early. Irradiation with a visible light beam is executed early.

Further, the number of light sources and light guiding means for visible light is not limited to one, and a plurality of one-dimensional or two-dimensional arrays may be provided. The divergence angle of the visible light beam can be controlled by changing the light source to be turned on among the plurality of light sources provided.
Further, the light source for visible light is not limited to the LED, but may be a general filament type or a discharge phenomenon such as a plasma display light source.

In addition, it is possible to detect whether the obstacle is outside the guard rail by detecting the guard rail, and even if the obstacle is determined to be a dangerous object based on the movement vector etc., the obstacle outside the guard rail May be configured not to be determined as dangerous goods. In this case, since it is actually outside the guardrail, a safe obstacle is prevented from being erroneously determined as a dangerous object.
In addition, in order to prevent pedestrians from being dazzled by the irradiation of visible light, the face or head of a pedestrian or the like is detected, and the face or head is not irradiated with visible light (as far as possible below the body). It is desirable to irradiate only visible light.

Further, the present invention may be applied to a radar apparatus that scans in two directions, up and down and left and right as in the above-described embodiment. The present invention may be applied to a vehicular radar device.
In addition, a configuration in which scanning is performed only on the transmission side may be used. However, in order to perform better ranging operation while maintaining the reception state equally regardless of the scanning position, as in the above-described embodiment, the reception side It is also desirable that scanning be performed at.

It is a figure which shows the apparatus structure of an obstacle alerting | reporting apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the main routine of the control processing of the apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine (distance calculation etc. of an obstacle) of the control processing of the same apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the subroutine (dangerous object determination process) of the control processing of the same apparatus. It is a figure which shows the specific examples, such as a positional relationship of the own vehicle and the front obstruction (pedestrian). (A) is a figure which shows the specific example of the relationship between the closest approach distance and a danger level, (b) is a figure which shows the specific example of the relationship between a danger level and visible light intensity | strength. It is a figure which shows the state which the vehicle carrying an obstacle alerting | reporting apparatus approached to the intersection back.

Explanation of symbols

1 Obstacle Notification Device 3 Control Circuit (Visible Light Control Unit, Risk Determination Unit)
5 LED driver (visible light control means)
9 Visible LED (Light source for visible light)
10b Light guide for visible light (light guiding means)
13 Projection lens 13 (projection side optical system)

Claims (9)

A laser that is mounted on a vehicle and irradiates a detection area around the vehicle while scanning with a laser beam, detects an obstacle around the vehicle based on a reflected wave of the laser beam, and measures the distance and direction to the obstacle Including radar equipment,
It is an obstacle notification device that notifies a situation such as danger by irradiating visible light on an object including at least a dangerous object that requires a warning among the obstacles,
The visible light source;
The visible light from the visible light source is guided to substantially the same position as the output light from the laser light source in the light projecting side optical system of the laser radar device, and in parallel with the output light from the laser light source. Light guiding means for inputting to the optical system;
Based on the distance and direction measured by the laser radar device, a dangerous material that requires a warning is determined from the obstacles, and at least a light-projecting side optical of the laser radar device with respect to an object including the dangerous material. An obstacle notification device comprising: a visible light control unit that drives and controls the light source for visible light to irradiate visible light with a system. The visible light control means is a risk determination means for determining a risk of collision between the own vehicle and the obstacle based on the movement vector of the own vehicle and an obstacle movement vector obtained from the measurement result of the laser radar device. The obstacle notification device according to claim 1, wherein the dangerous object is determined based on the risk determined by the risk determination means. The obstacle notification device according to claim 2, wherein the light intensity of the visible light beam irradiated to the dangerous object of the risk level is changed according to the risk level determined by the risk level determination unit. . The obstacle notification according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a color of a visible light beam applied to a dangerous object of the risk level is changed according to the risk level determined by the risk level determination unit. apparatus. The obstacle notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a divergence angle of a visible light beam applied to the object is changed according to a distance and an azimuth to the object. . The light intensity of the visible light beam is changed according to the distance to the object and the divergence angle of the visible light beam applied to the object. Obstacle notification device according to the above. The obstacle notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a color of a visible light beam applied to the object is changed according to a use state of a fog lamp of the host vehicle. The said visible light control means performs the determination of the said dangerous goods and irradiation of the said visible light in conjunction with the blinker operation or / and the brake operation of the own vehicle. The obstacle notification device described. The said visible light control means changes the specification of determination of the said dangerous goods to the direction where it is easy to determine with a dangerous object, when the turn signal operation of the own vehicle or / and the brake operation are performed. The obstacle notification device according to any one of 1 to 7.

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