JP2007317002A - Drive assisting method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drive assisting method, and a drive assisting apparatus for displaying a drive assisting image in response to a condition of accumulated snow. <P>SOLUTION: A control device 2 of a drive assisting system 1 comprises a geography data storing unit 16 for storing route data 17 and map drawing data 18, a CPU 10 that acquires the snow data W, determines the field of view of the driver based on the snow data W, and inputs an image signal which is obtained by photographing the circumference of the vehicle in a traveling direction by controlling a camera 3 when a vehicle approaches an intersection when it is determined as not being in a good field of view caused by the accumulated snow, and an image processor 20 for outputting an image based on the input image signal on a display 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support method and a driving support device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an in-vehicle device that displays an image of a blind spot area (hereinafter referred to as a blind corner) in front of and in front of a vehicle that cannot be seen from a driver's seat on a display is known. This device inputs a video signal from an in-vehicle camera attached to the front end of the vehicle, and outputs a monitor image based on the video signal to a display disposed near the driver's seat. Therefore, it is possible to confirm whether or not another vehicle is approaching from the other direction by checking the monitor image at a point where the left and right line of sight is bad, such as an intersection.

Patent Document 1 describes an in-vehicle device that stores data related to the height of a building near an intersection. In this vehicle-mounted device, when the building is tall, it is determined that the prospect from the driver's seat is bad, and the vehicle-mounted camera at the front end of the vehicle is activated. In this case, at the intersection where there is no high building and the line of sight is good, since the video of the in-vehicle camera is not displayed on the display, frequent image display or image switching is suppressed, and the driver does not feel bothered.
JP 2004-322797 A

  However, it takes a lot of time and effort to generate a database about buildings near intersections nationwide, and the data capacity is huge. Even in intersections without high buildings, in areas where there is a large amount of snow, snow removed from the road shoulders may be piled like walls, and other vehicles and pedestrians approaching the intersection may enter the blind spot.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a driving support method and a driving support device that display a driving support image in accordance with a snow cover condition.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is a driving support method using an imaging device that images the side of a vehicle end, and when the vehicle approaches an intersection, the intersection is Based on the associated snow cover data, the driver's visibility status is determined, and when it is determined that the visibility status is not good, the imaging device is controlled to input a video signal, and an image based on the video signal is displayed. Output to the means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a driving support apparatus mounted on a vehicle to which an imaging device is attached. Geographic data storage means for storing geographical data, snow cover data acquiring means for acquiring snow cover data, and the geographical data An intersection determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle has approached an intersection based on the above, a visibility condition determination means for determining a driver's visibility condition based on the snow accumulation data when approaching the intersection, When it is determined that the visibility state is not good, the imaging device is controlled to input a video signal obtained by imaging the side of the vehicle end on the traveling direction side, and an image based on the input video signal And an output control means for outputting to the display means.

The invention according to claim 3 is the driving support apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the snow cover data acquisition means receives the snow cover data transmitted from the outside.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the driving support device according to the second aspect, the vehicle further includes a weather database storing the snow accumulation data relating to the amount of snow accumulation at each time in each region, and the snow accumulation data acquiring means includes the vehicle The gist of the present invention is to acquire the snow cover data corresponding to the region to which the current position belongs and the current time from the weather database.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the driving support device according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, the visibility situation determining means has a snow cover height of a predetermined height or more based on the snow cover data. In this case, the gist is to judge that the visibility is not good.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the driving support apparatus according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, wherein the intersection determination means detects the presence or absence of a signal at the intersection when an intersection is detected in front of the vehicle. The gist state judging means judges the visibility situation based on the snow cover data for an intersection where the signal is not installed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the visibility is not good due to snow, a video signal is input from the imaging device, and an image of the periphery of the vehicle is output to the display unit based on the video signal. For this reason, it is possible to perform image display even at a point where normal image display is not performed, depending on the snow cover condition.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the driving support device inputs a video signal from the imaging device when the visibility is not good due to snow, and the side of the vehicle end on the traveling direction side is based on the video signal. Is output to the display means. For this reason, it is possible to perform image display even at a point where normal image display is not performed, depending on the snow cover condition.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the snow cover data acquisition means receives the snow cover data from the outside. For this reason, since highly accurate data can be utilized, an image can be displayed at a precise timing.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, since the driving support device can acquire snow cover data from its own database based on the factors of time and region, even under a situation where data cannot be received from the outside, An image can be displayed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the snow cover height is equal to or higher than the predetermined height, it is determined that the visual field situation is not good, so it is possible to determine the quality of the visual field with a relatively simple process.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the snow condition is determined for an intersection where no signal is installed. For this reason, in the point where the signal is installed, since the snow condition is not judged and the image is not displayed, frequent image display can be suppressed.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a driving support device of the present invention is embodied will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a driving support system 1 mounted on an automobile (vehicle).

  The driving support system 1 includes a control device 2 as a driving support device that performs control for driving support, a blind corner camera (hereinafter simply referred to as a camera 3) as an imaging device, a monitor switch 4 that activates the camera 3, a camera 3 is provided with a display 5 and a speaker 6 as display means for displaying the video 3.

The control device 2 temporarily stores the calculation results of the CPU 10 and the CPU 10 as the snow data acquisition unit, the intersection determination unit, the visibility state determination unit, and the imaging control unit that perform main control of each process.
A ROM 12 for storing various programs such as an AM 11 and a blind corner program is provided. The CPU 10 is connected to the GPS receiving unit 13 included in the control device 2 and calculates absolute coordinates based on the position detection signal input from the GPS receiving unit 13. Further, the CPU 10 inputs the vehicle speed pulse signal VP and the direction detection signal GRP from the vehicle speed sensor 30 and the gyro sensor 31 provided in the vehicle C (see FIG. 2) via the vehicle side I / F unit 14. The relative position from the reference position is calculated by autonomous navigation. Then, the vehicle position is specified together with the absolute coordinates based on the GPS receiver 13. The CPU 10 stores and updates the calculated coordinates of the vehicle position in the RAM 11.

  When the system activation signal STT is input from the ignition module 32 via the vehicle-side I / F unit 14, the CPU 10 starts the driving support system 1 using the system activation signal STT as a start trigger. .

  Further, the CPU 10 receives the snow cover shown in FIG. 3 from a base station that transmits radio wave beacons, optical beacons, and FM multiplex broadcasts constituting VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) through the communication unit 15 as snow data acquisition means. The weather data W as data is received. From the beacon and the base station, for example, weather data W of each region in each prefecture is transmitted. The weather data W includes a region identifier W1 indicating a region and a snow cover height W2 of the region. The snow cover height W2 indicates the average snow cover amount for each day or time zone. When the weather data W is input, the CPU 10 temporarily stores it in the RAM 11.

  The control device 2 also includes a geographic data storage unit 16 as geographic data storage means and an image processor 20 as output control means. The geographic data storage unit 16 is an external storage medium such as a built-in hard disk or optical disk. In the geographic data storage unit 16, each route data 17 as geographic data for searching for a route to the destination and each map drawing data 18 as geographic data for outputting the map screen 5a to the display 5 are displayed. And are stored. The route data 17 is data for each region that divides the whole country into regions, and includes the numbers of nodes indicating road end points and intersections, links connecting the nodes, and coordinate data of the nodes and links. is doing. It also has a link cost indicating the link length and average travel time, a signal installation position, and the like.

  The CPU 10 uses this route data 17 to search for a guide route that connects the destination and the current vehicle position. At this time, using the link length of the link cost, the average travel time, etc., search for a plurality of routes such as a guide route with the shortest distance, a guide route with the shortest travel time, a guide route with reduced expenses, etc. To do. Then, once searching for each guide route, the CPU 10 stores search history data indicating a node / link representing the route data in the RAM 11.

  Further, the map drawing data 18 is stored for each area obtained by dividing the map of the whole country, and is divided for each layer from a wide area map to a narrow area map. Each map drawing data 18 includes road drawing data indicating the shape of the road, background data for drawing roads, urban areas, rivers, and the like.

  Based on the CPU 10, the image processor 20 of the control device 2 reads map drawing data 18 within a predetermined distance from the vehicle position from the geographic data storage unit 16. Then, drawing data around the current position of the vehicle C is generated and temporarily stored in the VRAM 21. And the video signal based on drawing data is output to the display 5 with the index data which shows the own vehicle position. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, a map screen 5 a on which a current position index 5 b indicating the vehicle position is superimposed is displayed on the display 5.

Moreover, the control apparatus 2 is provided with the audio | voice processor 22 as shown in FIG. The audio processor 22 reads an audio file from an audio file database (not shown) under the control of the CPU 10 and outputs an audio signal to the speaker 6 as an output unit. Thereby, a guidance voice or the like for guiding the route is output.

  Further, the control device 2 includes an external input I / F unit 23. When the operation switch 7 or the like adjacent to the display 5 of the driving support system 1 is operated, the external input I / F unit 23 outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the input operation to the CPU 10. The display 5 is a touch panel. When the touch panel is input, the external input I / F unit 23 outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the input operation to the CPU 10.

  Further, the CPU 10 inputs a mode activation signal STP from the monitor switch 4 that activates the blind corner monitor mode. The monitor switch 4 is attached to, for example, a steering wheel and outputs a mode activation signal STP to the CPU 10 via the external input I / F unit 23 when an input operation is performed by the driver.

  When the mode activation signal STP is input, the CPU 10 turns on a mode activation flag (not shown) stored in the RAM 11 and waits for an approach to the intersection based on the route data 17. When the vehicle C enters the predetermined distance range from the intersection, it is determined based on the weather data W input from the communication unit 15 whether or not the snow cover height W2 in the area including the intersection is equal to or higher than the predetermined height Hw. . The predetermined height Hw is a parameter for vehicles other than the vehicle C such as the height of a general vehicle and a pedestrian's height range, a parameter of the vehicle such as a field of view from the driver's seat of the vehicle C, and a snow cover on a road shoulder. If the average amount of snow accumulation is set to a predetermined height Hw or more based on the height statistical data and the like, there is a high probability that other vehicles and pedestrians will be difficult to see due to snow on the shoulders. When determining that the snow cover height W2 is equal to or higher than the predetermined height Hw, the CPU 10 activates the camera 3 and inputs the video data DP1 to DP3 as video signals via the video data input unit 25.

  The camera 3 has an optical mechanism including a prism and a lens, and a CCD image sensor. As shown in FIG. 2, the camera 3 is provided in the center of the grill at the front end of the vehicle C, and is attached so that its optical axis is obliquely downward toward the road surface. The camera 3 can image a front imaging area Z1 that is in front of the vehicle C. Further, the camera 3 is capable of imaging the front left imaging area Z2 and the front right imaging area Z3, which are the front sides of the vehicle C.

  The image processor 20 inputs video data DP1 of the front imaging area Z1, video data DP2 of the front left imaging area Z2, and video data DP3 of the front right imaging area Z3 from the camera 3, respectively. Then, the video data DP1 to DP3 are output to the display 5 and a monitor image is displayed.

  Next, the processing procedure of this embodiment is demonstrated according to FIG. First, as described above, the CPU 10 waits for the input of the mode activation signal STP by the input operation of the monitor switch 4, and repeats the determination of whether or not to start the blind corner monitor mode (step S1). When mode activation signal STP is input (YES in step S1), CPU 10 obtains the current position of vehicle C calculated based on GPS receiver 13, vehicle speed sensor 30, and gyro sensor 31 (step S2).

When acquiring the current position, the CPU 10 repeatedly determines whether or not the vehicle C is approaching the intersection based on the route data 17 (step S3). More specifically, when the driving support system 1 is guiding a route to the destination designated by the driver, the CPU 10 determines that the relative distance between the intersection on the guidance route and the vehicle position is a predetermined distance ( For example, it is determined that the vehicle C is approaching the intersection. On the other hand, when route guidance is not performed, if there is an intersection in a substantially semicircular area with a radius of a predetermined distance (for example, 50 m) in the traveling direction from the own vehicle position, the vehicle approaches the intersection. Judge that

  If it is determined that the vehicle C is approaching the intersection (YES in step S3), the CPU 10 acquires the weather data W received by the communication unit 15 from the RAM 11 (step S4). Then, it is determined whether or not the snow cover height W2 in the weather data W is equal to or greater than a predetermined height Hw (step S5).

  As shown in FIG. 5, there is no snow on the sidewalks 101 or the road shoulders on both sides of the vehicle C approaching the intersection 100, or the snowfall height W2 is less than a predetermined height Hw, and there is a building on the sidewalk 101 side. When there is not, the visual field range V from the driver's seat is large, and the other vehicle C1 entering the intersection 100 from the other direction can be confirmed.

  Accordingly, when determining that the snow cover height W2 is less than the predetermined height Hw (NO in step S5), the CPU 10 inputs the vehicle speed pulse signal VP from the vehicle speed sensor 30 (step S6), and based on the vehicle speed pulse signal VP. To calculate the vehicle speed. Then, it is determined whether or not the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined speed Va (step S7). The predetermined speed Va is set to 10 km / h, for example. If it is determined that the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than predetermined speed Va (NO in step S7), camera 3 is activated (step S8). Then, the CPU 10 controls the camera 3 to output each video data DP1 to DP3 to the image processor 20. The image processor 20 outputs the two pieces of video data DP2 and DP3 or all the video data DP1 to DP3 to the display 5 and displays a monitor screen (step S9). As a result, a monitor screen 40 as shown in FIG. FIG. 7 shows a screen that outputs the video data DP2 and DP3. Of each monitor screen 40, the left monitor image 41 based on the video data DP2 obtained by imaging the front left imaging area Z2 is shown on the left side, and the right monitor image 42 based on the video data DP3 obtained by imaging the front right imaging area Z3 on the right side. Is displayed. A mask 43 is displayed between the left monitor image 41 and the right monitor image 42. Further, when the display switching operation unit 44 at the lower end of the screen is operated, the image of the video data DP1 in the front imaging area Z1 is displayed below the images 41 and 42, but the illustration is omitted here. .

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle speed is higher than the predetermined speed Va (YES in step S7), the CPU 10 determines that the passing intersection is an intersection with good visibility, and whether or not the blind corner monitor mode is ended. Is determined (step S10). Here, the input of the mode end signal EDP by the input operation of the monitor switch 4 or the OFF signal from the ignition module 32 is used as the end trigger. If it is determined that the mode has not ended (NO in step S10), the process returns to step S2 and the above-described processing is repeated.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when the average amount of snow is not less than the predetermined height Hw, the snow S removed from snow is piled up on the sidewalks 101 on both sides of the vehicle C or is highly accumulated on the shoulder. In some cases, the visual field range V of the driver seat is narrowed. In this case, there is a possibility that the driver cannot pay attention to the fact that the relative height between the snow S and the other vehicle C1 is not set and a blind spot due to the snow S is generated. For this reason, if the amount of snow accumulation increases and it is determined that the snow height W2 of the weather data W is greater than or equal to the predetermined height Hw (YES in step S5), the CPU 10 activates the camera 3 (step S8) and described above. In this way, the monitor screen 40 is displayed (step S9). As a result, pedestrians and other vehicles C1 that cannot be seen due to the snow S are displayed on the monitor screen 40. Therefore, attention can be paid to pedestrians and other vehicles C1.

When the monitor screen 40 is displayed, it is determined whether or not to end the mode based on the presence or absence of an end trigger (step S10). If no end trigger is input (NO in step S10), the process returns to step S2 and the above-described processing is repeated. If an end trigger has been input (YES in step S10), the process ends.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In the above embodiment, when the driving support system 1 determines that there is a possibility that the driver's field of view may not be good due to snow accumulation, the video data DP1 to DP3 are input from the camera 3 and the video data DP1. The monitor screen 40 displaying the blind corner is output to the display 5 based on .about.DP3. For this reason, it is possible to provide the driver's attention to the blind spot caused by snow cover and information on other vehicles and pedestrians blocked by the blind spot caused by snow cover. Further, when there is no snow, the monitor screen 40 is not displayed even when approaching an intersection unless the vehicle speed is reduced, so that troublesomeness due to frequent image display can be reduced.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the communication unit 15 receives the weather data W transmitted by VICS, FM multiplex broadcasting, or the like. For this reason, since highly accurate data can be utilized, a snowfall condition can be judged correctly.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the monitor screen 40 is displayed when the snow cover height W2 of the weather data W is equal to or higher than the predetermined height Hw. For this reason, the image of the front of the vehicle C need not be subjected to image processing or the like, and a blind corner image can be displayed by a relatively simple process at a point where a visual field defect may occur.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.
-In above-mentioned embodiment, although the communication part 15 received the weather data W by VICS etc., other road-to-vehicle communications, such as a probe system, may be sufficient, and the inter-vehicle communication which transmits / receives data between other vehicles C1. But you can.

  In the above embodiment, the snow cover height W2 is determined based on the weather data W. However, a camera that captures the front or front side of the vehicle C is installed, and the image is processed to obtain the actual snow cover height. May be calculated.

  In the above embodiment, the driving support system 1 may be provided with the snow cover database 50 (see FIG. 8) indicating the snow cover amount at each time in each region. The snow cover data 50 a of the snow cover database 50 includes a region identifier 51, a month 52 as a time, and a snow cover height 53. The CPU 10 determines the current month 52 using calendar data (not shown), determines the region based on the map drawing data 18, and determines the snow cover height 53 of the month 52 in the region identifier 51. Also good. Moreover, it may be a season instead of the month 52. In this way, the monitor screen 40 can be displayed at an appropriate timing even in a situation where data cannot be received from the outside.

  The CPU 10 of the driving support system 1 may not activate the camera 3 at the intersection where the signal is installed based on the installation position of the signal in the route data 17. In this way, frequent image display can be suppressed.

  In the above embodiment, the camera 3 that images the front blind corner of the vehicle C is used. However, a camera that images the rear blind corner may be used. In this case, the camera is attached to the rear end of the vehicle C. In this case, the rear side of the vehicle C can be confirmed on the display 5 when the vehicle C needs to retreat where the visibility is not good.

The block diagram of the driving assistance device of this embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the imaging area of a camera. Explanatory drawing of weather data. Explanatory drawing of the process sequence of this embodiment. Explanatory drawing of a driver | operator's visual field in the intersection without snow cover. Explanatory drawing of a driver | operator's visual field in the intersection with snow. Explanatory drawing of a monitor screen. Explanatory drawing of the snow-cover database of another example.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 ... Control apparatus as a driving assistance apparatus, 3 ... Camera as an imaging device, 5 ... Display as display means, 10 ... Snow cover data acquisition means, intersection judgment means, visibility condition judgment means, and CPU as imaging control means, 15 ... Communication unit as snow data acquisition means, 16 ... Geographic data storage part as geographic data storage means, 17 ... Route data as geographic data, 18 ... Map drawing data as geographic data, 20 ... Image as output control means Processor, 50a ... Snow cover data, 100 ... Intersection, C ... Vehicle, DP1-DP3 ... Video signal, W ... Weather data as snow cover data, W2, 53 ... Snow cover height.

Claims (6)

In a driving support method using an imaging device that images the side of a vehicle end,
When the vehicle approaches an intersection, based on the snow accumulation data associated with the intersection, the driver's visibility situation is determined. A driving support method, comprising: inputting a signal and outputting an image based on the video signal to a display unit. In a driving support device mounted on a vehicle to which an imaging device is attached,
Geographic data storage means for storing geographic data;
Snow data acquisition means for acquiring snow data;
An intersection judging means for judging whether or not the vehicle approaches an intersection based on the geographic data;
Visibility situation judgment means for judging the visibility situation of the driver based on the snow cover data when approaching the intersection;
An imaging control means for controlling the imaging device to input a video signal obtained by imaging the side of the vehicle end on the traveling direction side when it is determined that the visibility is not good due to snow; and
A driving support apparatus comprising: output control means for outputting an image based on the input video signal to a display means. In the driving assistance device according to claim 2,
The driving support device, wherein the snow cover data acquisition means receives the snow cover data transmitted from the outside. In the driving assistance device according to claim 2,
A weather database that stores the snow cover data relating to the amount of snow cover at each time in each region;
The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the snow cover data acquiring means acquires the snow cover data corresponding to the region to which the current position of the vehicle belongs and the current time from the weather database. In the driving assistance device according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the visibility status determining means determines that the visibility status is not good when the snow level is equal to or higher than a predetermined height based on the snow coverage data. In the driving assistance device according to any one of claims 2 to 5,
The intersection determination means determines the presence or absence of a signal at the intersection when an intersection is detected in front of the vehicle,
The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the visibility status determining means determines a visibility status based on the snow cover data for an intersection where the signal is not installed.

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