JP2007182117A - Perimeter monitoring device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a perimeter monitoring device for a vehicle capable of making it known to a driver of the vehicle immediately before starting that there is an object near the vehicle existing at a dead angle from the driver's seat. <P>SOLUTION: In the vehicle 1, an on-vehicle camera 11 is mounted to a door mirror 2, and the image of left side periphery of the vehicle at the dead angle from the driver can be displayed on a display device 16. When the driver rides on the vehicle and moves a shift lever from a P position to a D position, and simultaneously a motion sensor 12 detects a moving object at the periphery of left side of the vehicle, the screen of the display device is switched to display the image by the on-vehicle camera 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle periphery monitoring device that performs vehicle periphery monitoring.

  As a conventional technique related to a vehicle periphery monitoring device, there is one described below (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This is because a side sensor is provided at the front side of the vehicle, an in-vehicle camera for photographing the side of the vehicle is attached to the front of the vehicle, and a monitor for displaying the image is installed in the vehicle interior. Thus, when it is detected that an object has come within a predetermined distance to the side of the front of the vehicle, the monitor screen is switched and an image from the in-vehicle camera is displayed on the monitor. As a result, when the vehicle enters an intersection with poor visibility, when the vehicle approaches the front side from the left and right roads, an image of the left and right roads that automatically intersect is displayed on the monitor screen. The presence or absence can be confirmed.

As described above, in the vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the related art described above, the image of the left and right roads of the vehicle can be automatically displayed on the monitor screen only when an object approaches the vehicle, and the attention to the left and right roads can be raised. In particular, the safety of the vehicle at the meeting can be improved.
JP 2001-39248 A (FIG. 2)

However, in actual vehicles, other obstacles often approach other than the intersection. In particular, there are many cases where pedestrians, bicycles, etc. around the parked vehicle are inadvertently approaching not only the front part, but also the driver's seat on both sides of the vehicle. When there is a pedestrian or the like on the other side of the vehicle, it tends to be a blind spot from the driver's seat, and the driver often does not notice this. When the vehicle is started without knowing this, the vehicle suddenly starts moving to a pedestrian or the like in the vicinity of the vehicle, which may give fear to the pedestrian or the like.
The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and is for a vehicle capable of notifying the driver of a vehicle immediately before starting the presence of an object in the vicinity of the vehicle that becomes a blind spot from the driver's seat. An object is to provide a peripheral monitoring device.

  The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the present invention is mounted on the opposite side of the driver's seat on the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle, and is mounted on the vehicle that takes a picture of the periphery of the vehicle that becomes a blind spot from the driver's seat. Moving object detection means for detecting the presence of a moving object around the vehicle, vehicle start detection means for detecting that the vehicle is about to start, monitor drive means for receiving imaging data formed by the in-vehicle camera, And display means for displaying an image photographed by the in-vehicle camera based on the imaging data, the monitor driving means being connected to the vehicle by the vehicle start detection means. When the vehicle is detected to be just before starting, at the same time, the moving object detection means causes the vehicle to become a blind spot from the driver's seat. Around, when detecting that the moving object is present, on said display means to display the image around the vehicle as a blind spot of the driver's seat by the vehicle-mounted camera.

  In this way, it is possible to notify the driver of the vehicle immediately before starting that there is a moving object around the side of the vehicle that becomes a blind spot from the driver's seat.

The following configuration is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention.
(1) The vehicle start detection means detects that the shift position of the vehicle transmission has been switched from the stop position to the travel position. Thus, it is possible to easily detect that the vehicle is about to start without providing a special sensor, switch, or the like.
(2) When the vehicle drive detecting means detects that the vehicle is about to start, the monitor drive means has a moving object around the vehicle that becomes a blind spot from the driver's seat at the same time. If it is detected, the display means displays an image of the vicinity of the vehicle that becomes a blind spot from the driver's seat by the in-vehicle camera, and informs the driver of the presence of the moving object by sound. Thus, immediately before the vehicle starts, even if the driver is not looking at the display means, the driver can be notified of the presence of the object.

  Because it is possible to notify the driver of the vehicle immediately before the start of the vehicle, the driver does not start the vehicle without noticing the presence of the object, and gives fear to pedestrians in the vicinity of the vehicle. There is no. In addition, there is an object that moves to the blind spot from the driver's seat just before the vehicle actually starts because the driver is accustomed to the image of the in-vehicle camera because it does not display the image by the in-vehicle camera when it is not used. In this case, it is possible to prevent the driver's attention to the image of the in-vehicle camera from being dull.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 3 is a so-called right-hand drive vehicle in which the driver's seat is arranged on the right side. A vehicle-mounted camera 11 constituting the device 10 (shown in FIG. 4) is attached. The in-vehicle camera 11 is formed by a CCD camera and is directed downward from the door mirror 2 as shown in FIG. 1 to photograph the periphery of the left side surface including at least the left front corner and the left front wheel side of the vehicle 1 that is a blind spot from the driver's seat. (FIGS. 2 and 3 are shown).

  Similarly, a motion sensor 12 constituting the vehicle periphery monitoring device 10 is attached to the mirror housing 2a. The motion sensor 12 corresponds to the moving object detection means of the present invention and is the same as that disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-1642. For example, the motion sensor 12 is a radio wave sensor including a receiving antenna and a receiving circuit. By receiving radio waves of a specific frequency band from moving objects, within a predetermined range around the left side surface of the vehicle 1 that becomes a blind spot from the driver's seat from the movement of the body or the movement of the chest during breathing, Any object that can detect a moving object or an organism can be used.

  Next, the vehicle periphery monitoring device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The on-vehicle camera 11 described above is connected to a controller 15, and a display device 16 is further connected to the controller 15. The controller 15 includes a microprocessor and corresponds to the monitor driving means of the present invention. An image around the vehicle 1 captured by the in-vehicle camera 11 is converted into imaging data that is an electrical signal by the in-vehicle camera 11 and transmitted to the controller 15. The controller 15 activates the display device 16 and transmits imaging data input from the in-vehicle camera 11 to the display device 16.

  The display device 16 displays an image around the left side surface of the vehicle 1 captured by the in-vehicle camera 11 based on the input imaging data. The display device 16 corresponds to the display means of the present invention, and includes a display unit formed by a normal liquid crystal monitor generally used in a vehicle, and is attached at a position where it can be viewed from the driver's seat in the passenger compartment. The display device 16 can display an image taken by the in-vehicle camera 11, and can also display a screen by the navigation device of the vehicle 1 or television broadcasting.

  The controller 15 is connected to the motion sensor 12 described above, and can receive a signal from the motion sensor 12 when a moving object is detected. The controller 15 is connected to a vehicle speed sensor 13 attached to a transmission (not shown) of the vehicle 1 so that the controller 15 can detect the speed of the vehicle 1.

  The controller 15 is connected to a shift switch 14 that detects the position (shift position) of the shift lever of the automatic transmission of the vehicle 1, and the position of the shift lever is detected by the controller 15. The controller 15 is connected to an audio speaker 17 mounted in the passenger compartment, and a voice signal from the controller 15 can send a message to the driver by human voice.

  The controller 15 is connected to a foot brake switch 18 attached to a brake pedal for a foot brake (not shown) of the vehicle 1 and a parking brake switch 19 attached to a parking brake lever. The foot brake switch 18 and the parking brake switch 19 are turned on when the foot brake or the parking brake is operated, and are turned off when the brake pedal or the parking brake lever is returned. The presence or absence of each operation is detected by the controller 15. The The vehicle speed sensor 13, the shift switch 14, the foot brake switch 18, and the parking brake switch 19 correspond to the vehicle start detection means of the present invention.

  Next, based on FIG. 5, the operation method by the controller 15 of the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus 10 will be described. First, after the driver gets on the stopped vehicle 1 and operates the engine to set various electrical components of the vehicle 1 to the standby state, the shift position of the shift lever is set to start the vehicle 1. , P (parking range) position is moved to D (drive range) position.

  If it is detected in step S510 that the shift position is moved from the P position to the D position by the shift switch 14 and the vehicle 1 is just before starting, the process proceeds to step S520, and at the same time, by the motion sensor 12. It is determined whether or not there is a moving object around the left side surface of the vehicle 1 that becomes a blind spot from the driver's seat. When the motion sensor 12 detects the presence of a moving object, the process proceeds to step S530, and the voice signal from the controller 15 is issued from the voice speaker 17 by a human voice, for example, “There is a pedestrian”. Inform the driver of the presence of moving objects and call attention to moving objects.

  At the same time, the controller 15 connects and activates the display device 16 that has not been activated with the battery of the vehicle 1, and displays an image around the left side surface of the vehicle 1 by the in-vehicle camera 11 on the display unit. At this time, if an image relating to the route guidance by the navigation device or an image by television broadcasting is already displayed on the display device 16 by the driver's own operation, the vehicle-mounted camera 11 described above is used for the vehicle 1. Quickly switch to the image around the left side. Accordingly, the driver can know the situation around the vehicle 1 such as the presence of a pedestrian from the image on the display unit before starting the vehicle 1 and can avoid danger in advance.

  When the shift switch 14 does not detect that the vehicle 1 is in a state immediately before starting, or when the motion sensor 12 does not detect that there is a moving object around the vehicle 1, the display device 16 is not activated, and the in-vehicle camera 11 The image by is also not shown. Note that the shift switch 14 is not only when the shift position is moved from the P position to the D position, but also from the P or N (neutral) position (both are included in the stop position of the present invention). When the vehicle 1 is moved to any one of D, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and R (reverse) positions (all encompassing the traveling position of the present invention), the vehicle 1 is in a state immediately before starting. Is detected.

  Thereafter, after confirming that the driver has no danger in the vicinity of the vehicle 1, the vehicle 1 is started and the vehicle speed is increased. In step S540, the vehicle speed sensor 13 indicates that the speed has become 15 km / h or more. Is detected, the process proceeds to step S550, the generation of the message by the audio speaker 17 is stopped, the operation of the display device 16 is stopped (the power is turned off), or the image display by the in-vehicle camera 11 in the display unit is stopped, The image about the route guidance or the image of the television broadcast is displayed again. When the vehicle speed is less than 15 km / h, the process proceeds from step S540 to step S530, and the image display by the in-vehicle camera 11 on the display device 16 is continued. Here, the speed at which the operation of the display device 16 is stopped is not necessarily limited to 15 km / h as long as the vehicle 1 is in a traveling state and there is no fear that a pedestrian or the like approaches.

  According to the present embodiment, when the controller 15 detects that the vehicle 1 is just before starting by the shift switch 14, at the same time, the motion sensor 12 moves the driver 15 around the vehicle 1 that becomes a blind spot from the driver's seat. When it is detected that there is a moving object, the display device 16 displays an image of the surroundings of the vehicle 1 that is a blind spot from the driver's seat by the in-vehicle camera 11, so that the driver of the vehicle 1 immediately before starting the vehicle It can inform the existence. Thus, the driver does not start the vehicle 1 without noticing the presence of the object, and does not give fear to the pedestrians and the like in the vicinity of the vehicle 1. Moreover, since the image by the vehicle-mounted camera 11 is not displayed when it is useless, the driver gets used to the image of the vehicle-mounted camera 11 and moves to the blind spot from the driver's seat immediately before the vehicle 1 actually starts. When there is an object, it is possible to prevent the driver's attention to the image of the in-vehicle camera 11 from being dull.

  In addition, when the shift position of the transmission of the vehicle 1 is switched from the P and N positions to the D, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and R positions, the shift switch 14 detects that the vehicle 1 is just before starting. Even if the vehicle is not provided with a special sensor, switch, or the like, it can be easily detected that the vehicle 1 is just before starting.

  When the controller 15 detects that the vehicle 1 is about to start, the motion sensor 12 simultaneously has a moving object around the vehicle 1 that is a blind spot from the driver's seat. If this is detected, in addition to displaying the image by the in-vehicle camera 11 on the display device 16, in order to inform the driver of the presence of a moving object by the human voice of the audio speaker 17, immediately before the vehicle 1 starts. Even if the driver does not look at the display device 16, the driver can be notified of the presence of the object.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, differences between the second embodiment of the present invention and the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the second embodiment, the vehicle speed sensor 13 and the foot brake switch 18 correspond to vehicle start detection means. First, when the driver starts the engine to start the stopped vehicle 1, in step S610, the vehicle speed sensor 13 detects that the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 is less than 5 km / h, and the process proceeds to step S620. Proceed with Here, the detected speed is not necessarily limited to 5 km / h as long as the vehicle 1 can detect that the vehicle 1 is in the vicinity of the stop state.

  When the driver moves the shift position of the shift lever to the D position while stepping on the foot brake and then returns the foot brake pedal to operate the accelerator, the foot brake switch 18 is turned on in step S620. It is detected that the switch has been switched from to off. Accordingly, when it is detected that the vehicle 1 is just before starting, the process proceeds to step S630, and the motion sensor 12 determines whether or not there is a moving object around the left side surface of the vehicle 1 that becomes a blind spot from the driver's seat. Determined. If the motion sensor 12 detects the presence of a moving object, the process proceeds to step S640, where a message for the driver is issued from the audio speaker 17, and an image around the left side surface of the vehicle 1 by the in-vehicle camera 11 is displayed on the display device 16. .

  When the vehicle speed sensor 13 detects that the speed of the vehicle 1 is 5 km / h or more, or when it does not detect that the foot brake switch 18 is switched from on to off, or the motion sensor 12 is around the vehicle 1 When it is not detected that there is a moving object, the display device 16 is not activated, and an image by the in-vehicle camera 11 is not displayed. Since the subsequent operation method is the same as that of Embodiment 1, description is abbreviate | omitted. In the present embodiment, by detecting that the speed of the vehicle 1 is less than 5 km / h, the case where the vehicle 1 is running is eliminated, and the foot brake switch 18 is switched from on to off. By detecting this, the state immediately before the vehicle 1 starts from the stop state is detected.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
(1) By releasing the parking brake, it may be detected that the vehicle is about to start when the parking brake switch is switched from on to off.
(2) A shift switch, a foot brake switch, or a parking brake switch may be combined with each other to detect that the vehicle is about to start.
(3) Instead of the sound from the sound speaker, sound may be generated by a buzzer or chime, etc., and the driver may be alerted to be aware of the situation around the vehicle.
(4) The in-vehicle camera and the motion sensor may not necessarily be attached to the door mirror as long as they are attached to the side surface of the vehicle.
(5) In a left-hand drive vehicle in which the driver's seat is located on the left side, an in-vehicle camera and a motion sensor are attached to the right door mirror so that an image around the right side of the vehicle, which is the driver's blind spot, is displayed on the display device. That's fine.
(6) The display unit of the display device may be a CRT.

In this embodiment, it is a front view of the door mirror which attached the vehicle-mounted camera and the motion sensor. In this embodiment, it is a side view of the vehicle carrying a vehicle-mounted camera. It is a top view of the vehicle shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the periphery monitoring apparatus for vehicles. It is a flowchart which shows the operating method by Embodiment 1 of the periphery monitoring apparatus for vehicles. It is a flowchart which shows the operating method by Embodiment 2 of the periphery monitoring apparatus for vehicles.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle 10 ... Vehicle periphery monitoring device 11 ... In-vehicle camera 12 ... Motion sensor 13 ... Vehicle speed sensor 14 ... Shift switch 15 ... Controller 16 ... Display device 17 ... Audio speaker 18 ... Foot brake switch 19 ... Parking brake switch

Claims (3)

An in-vehicle camera that is mounted on the opposite side of the driver's seat on the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle and photographs the periphery of the vehicle that becomes a blind spot from the driver's seat,
Moving object detection means for detecting the presence of a moving object around the vehicle that is a blind spot from the driver's seat;
Vehicle start detection means for detecting that the vehicle is immediately before starting,
Monitor driving means for receiving imaging data formed by the in-vehicle camera, and display means for displaying the image taken by the in-vehicle camera based on the imaging data, the imaging data being input from the monitor driving means,
The monitor driving means moves to the periphery of the vehicle that becomes a blind spot from the driver seat by the moving body detecting means at the same time when the vehicle start detecting means detects that the vehicle is just before starting. A vehicle periphery monitoring device, wherein when the presence of an object is detected, an image of the periphery of the vehicle that becomes a blind spot from the driver's seat by the in-vehicle camera is displayed on the display means. 2. The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle start detection means detects that the shift position of the transmission of the vehicle is switched from a stop position to a travel position. The monitor driving means moves to the periphery of the vehicle that becomes a blind spot from the driver seat by the moving body detecting means at the same time when the vehicle start detecting means detects that the vehicle is just before starting. When the presence of an object is detected, in addition to displaying an image of the surroundings of the vehicle that is a blind spot from the driver's seat by the in-vehicle camera on the display unit, the driver can detect the presence of a moving object by sound. The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle periphery monitoring device is notified.

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