JP2008250453A - Drive support device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that it is impossible to provide appropriate information for alerting at an appropriate timing. <P>SOLUTION: Obstacle image information showing an image of an obstacle near one's own vehicle is obtained. Obstacle position information showing the position of the obstacle is obtained. Based on the obstacle position information, it is detected that the obstacle is in the driver's blind spot due to the pillar of the vehicle. When the obstacle is detected in the blind spot, control is performed to display the image of the obstacle on the pillar according to the obstacle image information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support apparatus and method for supporting driving by displaying an image of an obstacle on a pillar of a host vehicle.

Conventionally, as a technique for avoiding a head-on accident at an intersection, if the angle between the host vehicle and the other vehicle is constant and does not change over time, the driver is judged to have a high risk of collision and a warning is given to the driver. The technique to emit is known (patent document 1). Moreover, the technique which displays the image which image | photographed the exterior of a vehicle on a pillar is known (patent documents 2-4).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-242799 JP 2005-182305 A JP 2005-184225 A JP 2006-303583 A

In the prior art, appropriate information cannot be provided at an appropriate timing for alerting.
In other words, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, an alarm is issued to avoid a head-on accident, but even if the alarm is issued when the angle between the host vehicle and the other vehicle is constant, If it exists in the blind spot, the state of the other vehicle cannot be accurately known. Therefore, more information is needed to actually drive to avoid collisions, such as whether the other vehicle is on the right or left, how much danger of a collision, and more appropriate information. To the driver. Further, since the warning condition is that the angle between the host vehicle and the other vehicle is constant, the position of the driver's eyes could not cope with the fluctuation.

Furthermore, in Patent Documents 2 to 4, although driving assistance can be performed by displaying an image outside the vehicle with respect to the pillar, it is inconvenient when actually operating a device that displays an image with respect to the pillar. Often occurs. That is, in order to call attention to an obstacle outside the vehicle, it is important for the driver to recognize that the call has been made. However, in the configuration in which external images are continuously displayed on the pillar as in the conventional technology, attention to the display is distracted, and even if an image of an obstacle present in the blind spot is displayed on the pillar, the driver is aware It may not be. Therefore, providing information to the driver at an appropriate timing is extremely important for alerting the driver.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a driver with appropriate information at an appropriate timing for alerting.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention acquires obstacle position information indicating the position of an obstacle, detects that the obstacle is included in the driver's blind spot by a pillar of the host vehicle, and When it is detected that the obstacle is included, control for displaying an image of the obstacle on the pillar of the host vehicle is performed. That is, when an obstacle is included in the driver's blind spot, an image of the obstacle is displayed on the pillar.

  Therefore, when an obstacle is included in the blind spot of the driver of the host vehicle, an image of the obstacle is displayed on the pillar of the host vehicle. It is possible to recognize that it exists, and to drive while paying attention to obstacles in the blind spot. Furthermore, since it is detected that an obstruction is included in the blind spot based on the obstacle position information, even if the driver's own vehicle moves his / her head or the like, the blind spot direction or angle is included in the blind spot. The image of the obstacle can be reliably transmitted to the driver, and the warning can be surely made.

  Further, the driver can recognize the state of the obstacle from the image displayed on the pillar, and can select an appropriate danger avoidance driving corresponding to the obstacle. For example, if the obstacle is a vehicle, it can recognize the state of the vehicle's traveling speed and direction from the image, and if it is a pedestrian, it can recognize the state of the pedestrian's traveling speed and direction from the image. Can do. As a result, the risk of collision can be easily predicted, and the driver can select the danger avoidance driving corresponding to each obstacle.

  The obstacle image acquisition means only needs to be able to acquire obstacle image information indicating an image of the obstacle. For example, output from various cameras that acquire an image of the surroundings of the host vehicle in a direction that can be a blind spot. What is necessary is just to comprise so that a signal may be acquired. Of course, to display the image of the obstacle without distortion or to bring the image of the obstacle close to the actual image, information obtained by performing various image processing on the captured image is acquired as the obstacle image information. You may do it.

  It should be noted that any object that should avoid contact in the host vehicle can be the obstacle. For example, moving vehicles such as other vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles that can be included in the blind spot can be typical obstacles in the present invention, but fixed objects such as signs, utility poles, and trees are defined as obstacles in the present invention. Also good.

  The obstacle position information acquisition unit only needs to be able to acquire obstacle position information indicating the position of the obstacle, and may acquire information specifying the position of the obstacle based on the above-described obstacle image information. It may be acquired by communication such as vehicle-to-vehicle communication or road-to-vehicle communication, or output information of various sensors such as an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, and a radar may be acquired to specify the position of an obstacle. A configuration can be adopted.

  The obstacle invisible state detecting means only needs to be able to detect that the obstacle is included in the blind spot of the driver by the pillar of the host vehicle. That is, it is only necessary to detect a state in which it is impossible for the driver to visually recognize the obstacle. For this purpose, for example, a configuration in which the variation in the position of the human eye is specified based on the position of the human eye, the position of the head, the position of the driver's seat, the position of the headrest of the driver's seat, etc., and the variation in the blind spot is detected. Etc. can be adopted.

  If the blind spot is specified, it can be detected that the obstacle is included in the blind spot based on the position of the obstacle. For example, data indicating the size of each obstacle by specifying in advance typical sizes of obstacles such as moving objects such as other vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, and fixed objects such as signs, utility poles, trees, etc. If written in a predetermined storage medium, by referring to this data, it is easily specified whether or not each obstacle of that size is included in the blind spot based on the distance between each obstacle and the host vehicle. be able to.

  The obstacle display control means only needs to be able to display an image of the obstacle on the pillar when it is detected that the obstacle is included in the blind spot. That is, it is only necessary to output a signal for displaying an image of an obstacle to the display unit that displays an arbitrary image on the pillar and display the image of the obstacle on the pillar. As a display unit for displaying an image on the pillar, various devices can be employed. For example, a projector that projects an image on the pillar, a display installed in the pillar, and the like can be employed.

  Furthermore, as a configuration example for detecting that an obstacle is included in the blind spot, a configuration using information indicating the position of the driver's eyes, the position of the pillar, and the position of the obstacle may be employed. For example, the position of the driver's eyes is acquired based on the eye position information output by a sensor that detects the position of the driver's eyes, the predetermined position of the pillar of the host vehicle is acquired, and based on the obstacle position information. If the position of the obstacle is acquired, it is possible to determine whether the position of the driver's eyes, the position of the pillar, and the position of the obstacle are on a straight line. When it is determined that the obstacle exists in the blind spot, it can be considered that the blind spot includes an obstacle.

  In addition, in the sensor which detects a driver | operator's eye position, the position of a driver | operator's eye may be detected directly and may be detected indirectly and various structures are employable. For example, a configuration in which the position of a human eye is directly detected based on a camera image, an ultrasonic sensor, a signal output from an infrared sensor, or the like may be employed. The position of the human head, the position of the driver's seat, the position of the headrest of the driver's seat, and the like may be specified based on a signal output from the infrared sensor or the like, and the position of the human eye may be estimated from these positions.

  Furthermore, a configuration may be adopted in which control is performed to display an image of an obstacle on the pillar when the entire obstacle is included in the blind spot. According to this configuration, the obstacle is displayed on the pillar when the obstacle cannot be visually recognized by the blind spot, and the obstacle is not displayed on the pillar when a part of the obstacle exists outside the blind spot.

  In other words, in a state where a part of the obstacle exists outside the blind spot (the obstacle's viewing angle seen by the driver (the angle formed by the two straight lines connecting the both ends of the obstacle and the eyes) is larger than the blind spot) Since the person can directly see the obstacle, the obstacle is not displayed on the pillar in this state. And since the obstacle is displayed on the pillar when the obstacle cannot be seen at all due to the blind spot, the obstacle is displayed on the pillar in a state that should be driven while paying attention to the obstacle. It becomes possible to drive while paying attention to obstacles.

  Further, a distance between the obstacle and the host vehicle is acquired based on the obstacle position information, and when the distance between the obstacle and the host vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, the obstacle You may employ | adopt the structure which stops the control for displaying an image on the said pillar. That is, when the distance between the host vehicle and the obstacle is closer, the size of the obstacle seen from the host vehicle is larger than when both are far away, and the possibility that the obstacle is included in the blind spot is reduced.

  Therefore, if a specific distance is determined in advance and the display of the image on the pillar is stopped when the obstacle and the vehicle are below this distance, it is necessary to alert the driver. The display can be performed only when the driver needs to be alerted, and can be surely alerted when the driver needs to be alerted.

  It should be noted that the distance between the obstacle and the host vehicle may be determined so that the display is made when it is necessary to display an image on the pillar. For example, a typical size is specified in advance for each of obstacles such as other vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, and other fixed objects such as signs, utility poles, trees, etc. A distance that can coincide with the blind spot is specified, and data indicating the distance is written in a predetermined storage medium. This distance is the limit distance that the entire obstacle will be included in the blind spot for each obstacle, and if the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than the limit distance, a part of the obstacle will be It exists outside the blind spot. Therefore, by referring to the data indicating the distance described above, when the distance between the obstacle and the host vehicle is equal to or less than the limit distance, the control for displaying on the pillar is stopped. Only an image can be displayed on the pillar.

  Further, the method of displaying an image of an obstacle on the pillar when it is detected that the obstacle is included in the blind spot as in the present invention can be applied as a program or a method. In addition, the above-described driving support device, program, and method may be realized as a single driving support device, or may be realized by using parts shared with each part provided in the vehicle. The embodiment is included. For example, it is possible to provide a navigation device, a method, and a program that include the driving support device as described above. Further, some changes may be made as appropriate, such as a part of software and a part of hardware. Furthermore, the invention is also established as a recording medium for a program for controlling the driving support device. Of course, the software recording medium may be a magnetic recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, or any recording medium to be developed in the future.

Here, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) Configuration of navigation device:
(2) Driving support processing:
(3) Other embodiments:

(1) Configuration of navigation device:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device 10 including a driving support device according to the present invention. The navigation device 10 includes a control unit 20 including a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like and a storage medium 30, and the control unit 20 can execute a program stored in the storage medium 30 or the ROM. In the present embodiment, the navigation program 21 can be implemented as one of the programs, and guidance is output by a display unit or a speaker (not shown) to perform route guidance of the host vehicle. Further, the navigation program 21 has a function of displaying an image of an obstacle included in the blind spot on the pillar as one of its functions.

  The own vehicle (the vehicle on which the navigation device 10 is mounted) includes a GPS receiver 40, an in-vehicle camera 41, an in-vehicle camera 42, and a projection device 43 in order to realize the above functions by the navigation program 21. The exchange of signals between these units and the control unit 20 is realized by an interface (not shown).

  The GPS receiver 40 receives radio waves from GPS satellites and outputs information for calculating the current position of the host vehicle via an interface (not shown). The control unit 20 acquires this signal and acquires the current position of the host vehicle. Of course, the current position of the host vehicle may be acquired based on output signals from a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, or the like (not shown), or the current position may be corrected with reference to the trajectory of the host vehicle.

  The camera 41 outside the vehicle is attached to the host vehicle so as to include the periphery of the host vehicle in the field of view, and outputs image data indicating the captured image. The control unit 20 acquires this image data via an interface (not shown). In the present embodiment, an out-of-vehicle camera 41 is attached to the host vehicle so that an obstacle included in the blind spot of the driver by the pillar of the host vehicle can be photographed. Therefore, the image data output from the vehicle camera 41 can be obstacle image information.

  The in-vehicle camera 42 is attached to the host vehicle so that the eyes of the driver who drives the host vehicle are included in the field of view, and outputs image data indicating the captured image. The control unit 20 acquires this image data via an interface (not shown), and specifies coordinates indicating the position of the eye in the three-dimensional space from the position of the eye included in the image. In addition, the said coordinate is a coordinate of the three-dimensional coordinate system previously defined by making the reference | standard position of the own vehicle into an origin.

  The projection device 43 is a projector that outputs projection light obtained by adjusting output light from the light source to the pillar of the host vehicle, and is controlled by a control signal output from the control unit 20. In other words, the control unit 20 outputs image data for displaying an arbitrary image and a signal for controlling the operation of the projection device 43 via an interface (not shown), and the projection device 43 arbitrarily outputs the signal according to these signals. The image of is displayed on the pillar. In the present embodiment, the control unit 20 can output image data indicating an image photographed by the above-described camera 41 and display an image of an obstacle existing outside the host vehicle on the pillar.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an arrangement example of the outside camera 41, the inside camera 42, and the projection device 43 in the own vehicle. In FIG. 2, the outer periphery of the host vehicle 100 and the interior of the passenger compartment are schematically shown together with the driver D. In this example, the vehicle exterior camera 41 is attached to the left and right side mirrors S of the host vehicle 100. In addition, the outside camera 41 attached to the right side mirror can capture an image in the field of view from the front to the right side of the host vehicle 100. The vehicle exterior camera 41 attached to the left side mirror can capture an image with a field of view from the front to the left side of the host vehicle 100 as a field of view. In FIG. 2, the field of view of the outside camera 41 is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle camera 42 is attached to the periphery of the rearview mirror in the passenger compartment of the host vehicle 100, and can capture an image with a field of view including the face of the driver D. In FIG. 2, the field of view of the in-vehicle camera 42 is indicated by a broken line. The projection device 43 is attached to a ceiling near the center of the host vehicle 100 and is directed to each of the left and right front pillars (pillars that support the ceiling of the host vehicle and are disposed on the left and right in front of the host vehicle). Can project light. In FIG. 2, the projection range of the projection device 43 is indicated by a one-dot chain line.

  The storage medium 30 stores map information 30a for performing guidance by the navigation program 21. The map information 30a includes node data indicating nodes set on a road, link data indicating connection between nodes, data indicating a target, and the like, and is used for specifying the position of the own vehicle and guiding to a destination. Is done. The storage medium 30 stores vehicle information 30b indicating the coordinates of the pillar position in the host vehicle. The coordinates of the position of the pillar are also defined in the same coordinate system as the coordinate system for specifying the position of the eye.

  In the present embodiment, the navigation program 21 causes the navigation device 10 to function as a driving support device according to the present invention by cooperating with the above-described units. Therefore, the navigation program 21 includes an obstacle image information acquisition unit 21a, an obstacle position information acquisition unit 21b, an obstacle invisible state detection unit 21c, and an obstacle display control unit 21d.

  The obstacle image information acquisition unit 21a is a module that acquires image data output from the vehicle camera 41, acquires image data at specific time intervals, and stores the acquired image data in a memory (not shown). The obstacle position information acquisition unit 21b refers to the image data and specifies the position of the obstacle in the three-dimensional space based on the position of the obstacle image included in the image. Again, this coordinate is a coordinate in a three-dimensional coordinate system defined in advance with the reference position of the host vehicle as the origin. In the present embodiment, the coordinate value of the above-described three-dimensional coordinate system is associated with the position of the image acquired by the outside camera 41 in advance, and the position of the obstacle is identified by specifying the position of the image in the image. The coordinate value of the three-dimensional coordinate system is specified.

  More specifically, a contact point between the obstacle and the road surface (for example, a contact point between the road surface and a wheel of another vehicle) is extracted from the obstacle image, and the position of the contact point in the image is specified. A three-dimensional coordinate associated with the position is acquired. That is, three-dimensional coordinates are associated with each position in the image in advance, and the position of the obstacle is specified by acquiring the three-dimensional coordinates associated with the above-described contact points. The position of each obstacle may be defined by the coordinates of the representative point such as the center of the vehicle body, or may be defined by the coordinates indicating the outer periphery, and various configurations can be employed. Further, the three-dimensional coordinates corresponding to the position of the obstacle may be specified based on images taken at different times by the vehicle exterior camera 41. Of course, at this time, information indicating the inclination and altitude of the road surface where the obstacle exists is acquired based on the map information 30a, and the coordinates of the three-dimensional space corresponding to the contact point between the obstacle and the road surface are acquired based on the information. The value may be corrected.

  The obstacle invisible state detection unit 21c is a module that detects that an obstacle is included in the driver's blind spot, and in the present embodiment, the eye position information indicating the driver's eye position and the position of the front pillar are obtained. Based on the pillar position information shown and the obstacle position information showing the position of the obstacle, it is detected that an obstacle is included in the blind spot.

  The eye position information is specified by analyzing image data output from the in-vehicle camera 42 and extracting an eye image. In the present embodiment, an eye image is extracted from a captured image of the in-vehicle camera 42 by pattern matching or the like, and the eye position in the image is specified. Then, in the three-dimensional coordinate system defined in advance with the reference position of the host vehicle as the origin, the three-dimensional coordinates corresponding to the eye position are specified. That is, in the in-vehicle camera 42, three-dimensional coordinates are associated with each position in the image in advance, and the position of the obstacle is specified by acquiring the three-dimensional coordinates associated with the above-described contact.

  Of course, the position of the eye or head may be detected by various sensors, or position detection by the sensor and image analysis may be combined. Further, the configuration for detecting the eye position by the in-vehicle camera 42 is not limited to the above-described configuration, and three-dimensional coordinates corresponding to the eye position can be specified based on images taken at different times by the in-vehicle camera 42. It is possible to adopt various configurations.

  Here, it is only necessary that the origin of the line of sight can be specified by detecting the position of the eye. Therefore, the average position of the left and right eyes may be defined as the eye position, the position may be specified for each of the left and right eyes, the average line-of-sight direction by the left and right eyes, Various configurations can be adopted as long as the blind spot can be identified by identifying the line-of-sight direction for each of the eyes.

  The pillar position information is specified based on the vehicle information 30b described above. Here, the pillar is a member that supports the ceiling of the host vehicle, and is a member having a predetermined width. Therefore, the pillar position information is a coordinate indicating a region including the outer periphery and the inner side of the pillar, and a coordinate value in a three-dimensional coordinate system corresponding to this region is the pillar position information.

  In the obstacle invisible state detection unit 21c, the eye position information and pillar position information specified as described above, and the positions indicated by the obstacle position information acquired by the obstacle position information acquisition unit 21b exist on a straight line. Sometimes an obstacle is included in the blind spot. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the position of the eye, the position of the pillar, and the position of the obstacle, showing the position of the eye as Pe, the position of the pillar as Pp, and the position of the obstacle (another vehicle) as Pc. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the driver visually recognizes the right side, a line of sight with the eye position Pe as the origin can be defined. Since the pillar has a width, a range where the line of sight intersects with the pillar is a blind spot (two-dot chain line shown in FIG. 3). Further, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 3, when the pillar position Pp and the obstacle position Pc exist on the line of sight with the eye position Pe as the origin, the obstacle may be included in the blind spot. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the eye position Pe, the pillar position Pp, and the obstacle position Pc are present on a straight line, it is considered that the obstacle is included in the blind spot.

  When the obstacle display control unit 21d detects that the obstacle is included in the blind spot as described above, the obstacle display control unit 21d takes an image of the obstacle on the pillar so as to be displayed on the pillar. Image data indicating an image and a control signal for displaying the image are output to the projection device 43. As a result, an image of the obstacle is displayed on the pillar of the host vehicle. In this embodiment, the left and right obstacles are photographed by the two outside-vehicle cameras 41.

  Therefore, when the obstacle is present on the right side of the host vehicle, the obstacle display control unit 21d projects an image photographed by the right outside camera 41 on the right front pillar, and the obstacle is present on the left side of the host vehicle. Sometimes, the image taken by the left outside camera 41 is projected onto the left front pillar. As described above, when an obstacle is included in the blind spot, an image of the obstacle is displayed on the pillar in the direction in which the obstacle exists. Therefore, the driver can recognize that there is an obstacle in the blind spot at a timing when attention should be paid, and can surely drive while paying attention to the obstacle in the blind spot. Furthermore, since it is detected that an obstacle is included in the blind spot following the change in the blind spot according to the position of the eye, it is possible to reliably alert the obstacle included in the blind spot. Further, the driver can recognize the state of the obstacle from the image displayed on the pillar, and can select an appropriate danger avoidance driving corresponding to the obstacle. Furthermore, obstacles present on the right side of the driver are displayed on the right front pillar, and obstacles existing on the left side of the driver are displayed on the left front pillar. Therefore, the driver can drive while paying attention to an appropriate direction where the obstacle exists.

(2) Driving support processing:
Next, the process which the navigation apparatus 10 implements in the above structure is demonstrated. When the navigation program 21 is executed by the navigation device 10, the navigation program 21 executes the processing shown in FIG.

  In this process, the navigation program 21 determines whether or not the host vehicle is proceeding to the intersection (step S100), and this process is performed until it is determined in step S100 that the host vehicle is proceeding to the intersection. repeat. That is, the navigation program 21 specifies the current position of the host vehicle based on the output signal of the GPS receiver 40 and the map information 30a, and refers to the map information 30a of the travel path on which the host vehicle travels, and automatically It is determined whether there is an intersection in front of the vehicle.

  When it is determined in step S100 that the host vehicle is traveling to the intersection, it is determined whether there is an obstacle traveling on the intersection at the intersection (step S110). This determination is performed by the obstacle image information acquisition unit 21a and the obstacle position information acquisition unit 21b. That is, the obstacle image information acquisition unit 21a acquires image data output from the vehicle camera 41, and the obstacle position information acquisition unit 21b refers to the image data to determine the position of the obstacle in the three-dimensional space. Identify.

  In step S110, when it is not determined that there is an obstacle traveling on the intersection, the processes in and after step S100 are repeated. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S110 that there is an obstacle traveling on the intersection, the obstacle invisible state detection unit 21c determines whether the obstacle is included in the driver's blind spot due to the pillar of the host vehicle. Is determined (step S120).

  That is, the obstacle invisible state detection unit 21c acquires image data output from the in-vehicle camera 42, specifies eye position information indicating the position of the eye from the image, acquires vehicle information 30b, and indicates the position of the pillar. Specify pillar position information. Then, referring to the obstacle position information acquired by the obstacle position information acquisition unit 21b described above, it is determined whether or not the eye position, the pillar position, and the obstacle position are on a straight line. If it exists above, it is determined that the obstacle is included in the blind spot, and if it does not exist on the straight line, it is not determined that the obstacle is included in the blind spot. If it is not determined in step S120 that the obstacle is included in the blind spot, the processes in and after step S100 are repeated.

  When it is determined in step S120 that the obstacle is included in the blind spot, it is further determined whether or not the state in which the obstacle is included in the blind spot is maintained for a certain period of time (step S130). That is, the obstacle invisible state detection unit 21c can measure the elapsed time by a timing circuit (not shown), and measures the elapsed time after it is determined in step S120 that the obstacle is included in the blind spot. It is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed. Then, when it is not determined in step S130 that the state where the obstacle is included in the blind spot is maintained for a certain period of time, the processing after step S100 is repeated, and in step S130, the state where the obstacle is included in the blind spot is maintained for a certain period of time. When it is determined that the image is displayed, the processing after step S140 is performed to display an image on the pillar.

  That is, in the present embodiment, when the state in which the obstacle is included in the blind spot is an extremely short time, the state in which the obstacle is included in the blind spot is not performed so that the image display on the pillar is not performed. It is determined whether or not it is maintained for a certain time. It should be noted that here, the state where the obstacle is included in the blind spot and the state where the obstacle is not included are repeated in a short time to prevent the display on the pillar from flickering, or the obstacle is included in the blind spot. As long as it can be controlled so that the display on the pillar is performed in a state where it is certain that it is certain, the above-mentioned fixed time length can be adjusted as appropriate.

  When the obstacle display control unit 21d determines in step S130 described above that the state where the obstacle is included in the blind spot is maintained for a certain period of time, the obstacle display control unit 21d includes image data indicating an image captured by the outside camera 41; A control signal for displaying the image is output to the projection device 43, and an obstacle is displayed on the pillar (step S140). In the present embodiment, before the projection device 43 displays an obstacle image in step S140, no obstacle image is displayed on the pillar.

  The obstacle invisible state detection unit 21c determines whether an obstacle is included in the driver's blind spot in the state where the obstacle is displayed on the pillar as described above (step S150). The process in step S150 is the same as the process in step S120 described above, and an obstacle is included in the driver's blind spot when the driver's eye position, pillar position, and obstacle position are on a straight line. It is determined that If it is not determined in step S150 that the blind spot contains an obstacle, the processes in and after step S140 are repeated. If it is not determined in step S150 that the blind spot contains an obstacle, the obstacle invisible state detection unit 21c is on the pillar. The image processing for is terminated. By the above process, while the obstacle is included in the blind spot, the obstacle is displayed on the pillar. Therefore, the driver can surely drive while paying attention to the obstacle in the blind spot.

(3) Other embodiments:
The above embodiment is an example for carrying out the present invention, and various other embodiments can be used as long as an image of the obstacle can be displayed on the pillar when the obstacle is included in the blind spot. It can be adopted. For example, the obstacle image information acquisition unit 21a only needs to be able to acquire obstacle image information, and the acquired image data may be corrected. Various examples can be adopted as correction examples. Image processing for removing distortion of an obstacle image or image processing for bringing an obstacle image close to an actual image is executed. May be acquired as obstacle image information.

  In addition, any object that should avoid contact in the host vehicle can be the obstacle. Therefore, obstacles are not limited to other vehicles, and moving objects such as pedestrians and bicycles that can be included in blind spots may be defined as obstacles in the present invention, or fixed objects such as signs, utility poles, trees, etc. You may define it as an obstacle.

  The configuration for acquiring the obstacle position information is not limited to image processing, and may be acquired by communication such as vehicle-to-vehicle communication or road-to-vehicle communication, or output information of various sensors such as an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, and a radar. The position of the obstacle may be specified by acquiring the above, and various configurations can be adopted.

  The obstacle invisible state detection unit 21c only needs to detect that an obstacle is included in the driver's blind spot by the pillar of the host vehicle. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the configuration for detecting that the driver's eye position, the pillar position, and the obstacle position exist on a straight line as described above, and it is impossible for the driver to visually recognize the obstacle. It is possible to adopt various configurations for detecting the state of

  For example, the blind spot may be specified based on the position of the human eye and the like, and it may be detected that the obstacle is included in the blind spot based on the typical size of the obstacle. In other words, data indicating the size of each obstacle by specifying in advance typical sizes of obstacles such as other vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, etc., and stationary objects such as signs, utility poles, trees, etc. If it is written in a predetermined storage medium, it is possible to easily specify whether or not each obstacle is included in the blind spot based on the distance between each obstacle and the host vehicle by referring to this data.

  More specifically, for example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, when it is assumed that the other vehicle 200 travels in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the host vehicle 100, the typical size of the other vehicle 200 is If it is defined as 4 m or the like, it can be inferred from the position Pc of the other vehicle 200 whether or not both of the two diagonal points Pd of the other vehicle 200 are included in the blind spot. Of course, the traveling direction of the host vehicle 100 and the traveling direction of the other vehicle 200 are not particularly limited, and the relative traveling direction of the other vehicle 200 with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle 100 is determined by various sensors, image recognition, inter-vehicle communication, and the like. It is good also as a structure which identifies and determines whether another vehicle is included in a blind spot for every said relative advancing direction.

  Furthermore, as a state where the obstacle is included in the blind spot, a state where a part of the obstacle is included in the blind spot may be assumed, or a state where the entire obstacle is included in the blind spot may be assumed. . In other words, the image of the obstacle may be displayed on the pillar when a part of the obstacle is included in the blind spot, or the image of the obstacle is displayed on the pillar when the entire obstacle is included in the blind spot. It is good also as a structure displayed on. According to the latter configuration, the obstacle is displayed on the pillar when the obstacle cannot be visually recognized by the blind spot, and the obstacle is not displayed on the pillar when a part of the obstacle exists outside the blind spot.

  In other words, in a state where a part of the obstacle exists outside the blind spot (the obstacle's viewing angle seen by the driver (the angle formed by the two straight lines connecting the both ends of the obstacle and the eyes) is larger than the blind spot) Since the person can directly see the obstacle, the obstacle is not displayed on the pillar in this state. And since the obstacle is displayed on the pillar when the obstacle cannot be seen at all due to the blind spot, the obstacle is displayed on the pillar in a state that should be driven while paying attention to the obstacle. It becomes possible to drive while paying attention to obstacles.

  Furthermore, it is good also as a structure which acquires the distance of an obstruction and the own vehicle based on the said obstacle position information, and determines whether an obstruction is included in a blind spot based on the distance of an obstruction and the own vehicle. . That is, when the distance between the host vehicle and the obstacle is closer, the size of the obstacle seen from the host vehicle is larger than when both are far away, and the possibility that the obstacle is included in the blind spot is reduced. Therefore, when the distance between the vehicle and the obstacle is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, the obstacle is included in the blind spot, and the control for displaying the obstacle image on the pillar is stopped. Also good.

  Note that this distance may be set such that it is not necessary to display an obstacle image on the pillar. FIG. 3 illustrates this distance. That is, the other vehicle 200 shown in FIG. 3 is entirely included in the blind spot indicated by the two-dot chain line, and the distance between the other vehicle 200 and the host vehicle 100 in this state is the distance L. On the other hand, when the distance between the other vehicle 200 and the host vehicle 100 is equal to or less than the distance L, the viewing angle of the other vehicle 200 becomes wider than the blind spot, and a part of the other vehicle 200 is visually recognized by the driver.

  Therefore, if the distance L is defined in advance and the distance between the other vehicle 200 and the host vehicle 100 is acquired and compared with the distance L, it is determined whether or not the other vehicle 200 is included in the driver's blind spot. can do. Further, if the display of the image on the pillar is stopped when the distance between the other vehicle 200 and the host vehicle 100 is equal to or less than the distance L, the display is displayed only when the driver needs to be alerted. This can be performed, and when the driver needs to be alerted, the alert can be surely performed.

  Of course, the above distance may vary depending on the type of obstacle. That is, the distance between the obstacle and the host vehicle may be determined so that the display is performed when it is necessary to display an image on the pillar. For example, a typical size is specified in advance for each obstacle such as a pedestrian other than another vehicle, a bicycle, a sign, a power pole, and a tree, and the distance at which the visual angle and the dead angle of the obstacle of the size can coincide with each other is determined. The data indicating this distance is written in a predetermined storage medium. This distance is the limit distance that the entire obstacle will be included in the blind spot for each obstacle, and if the distance between the obstacle and the vehicle is less than the limit distance, a part of the obstacle will be It exists outside the blind spot. Therefore, by referring to the data indicating the distance described above, when the distance between the obstacle and the host vehicle is equal to or less than the limit distance, the control for displaying on the pillar is stopped. Only an image can be displayed on the pillar.

  Further, the configuration for detecting the dynamic change in the blind spot is not limited to the configuration for analyzing the image of the in-vehicle camera 42 as described above. For example, the configuration for specifying the position of the human eye is not limited to the configuration for analyzing the image captured by the in-vehicle camera 42, and various human head positions, driver seat positions, driver seat headrest positions, etc. A configuration may be adopted in which a change in the position of a human eye or a change in blind spot is detected from each position by detection with a sensor.

  In other words, the present invention is not limited to the image captured by the camera, and may employ a configuration in which the position of the human eye is directly detected based on a signal output from an ultrasonic sensor, an infrared sensor, or the like. The position of the human head, the position of the driver's seat, the position of the headrest of the driver's seat, and the like may be specified based on signals output from the sound wave sensor, the infrared sensor, etc., and the position of the human eye may be estimated from these positions. .

  Furthermore, the configuration for displaying an image on the pillar is not limited to the projection device, and a configuration for displaying an image of an obstacle on a display installed on the pillar may be adopted. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the control unit 20 is configured by a CPU or the like for executing the navigation program 21, but, of course, each unit shown in FIG. 1 such as the obstacle image information acquisition unit 21a is replaced with another ECU. Alternatively, a plurality of ECUs may cooperate to form the driving support device according to the present invention.

  Furthermore, the element that can be a trigger when stopping the control for displaying the image of the obstacle on the pillar is not limited to the relationship between the obstacle and the blind spot, and the position of the own vehicle or the like for stopping the control. It may be a trigger. For example, when the host vehicle reaches an intersection or passes through an intersection, control for displaying an image of an obstacle on a pillar may be stopped. Further, in the above-described processing, the processing according to the present invention is performed when it is determined that the host vehicle is traveling to the intersection. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and step S100 is omitted. Various configurations can be employed.

It is a block diagram of the navigation apparatus containing a driving assistance device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of arrangement | positioning with a camera outside a vehicle, a camera inside a vehicle, and a projection apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the own vehicle, a blind spot, and another vehicle. It is a flowchart of a driving assistance process.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Navigation apparatus, 20 ... Control part, 21 ... Navigation program, 21a ... Obstacle image information acquisition part, 21b ... Obstacle position information acquisition part, 21c ... Obstacle invisible state detection part, 21d ... Obstacle display control part, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 ... Storage medium, 30a ... Map information, 30b ... Vehicle information, 40 ... Reception part, 41 ... Outside camera, 42 ... In-vehicle camera, 43 ... Projection apparatus

Claims (5)

Obstacle image information acquisition means for acquiring obstacle image information indicating an image of an obstacle existing around the host vehicle;
Obstacle position information acquisition means for acquiring obstacle position information indicating the position of the obstacle;
Based on the obstacle position information, obstacle invisible state detecting means for detecting that the obstacle is included in a driver's blind spot by a pillar of the host vehicle;
Obstacle detection control means for performing control for displaying an image of the obstacle on the pillar based on the obstacle image information when it is detected that the obstacle is included in the blind spot;
A driving support apparatus comprising: The obstacle invisible state detecting means acquires eye position information output from a sensor that detects the position of the driver's eyes and pillar position information indicating the position of the pillar, and the position of the driver's eyes and the Detecting that the obstacle is included in the blind spot when the position of the pillar and the position of the obstacle are on a straight line;
The driving support device according to claim 1. The obstacle display control means performs control for displaying an image of the obstacle on the pillar when the entire blind area is included in the blind spot.
The driving support device according to claim 1. The obstacle display control means acquires the distance between the obstacle and the host vehicle based on the obstacle position information, and the distance between the obstacle and the host vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. Sometimes stopping the control to display an image of the obstacle on the pillar,
The driving assistance apparatus in any one of Claims 1-3. An obstacle image information acquisition step of acquiring obstacle image information indicating an image of an obstacle existing around the host vehicle;
An obstacle position information acquisition step of acquiring obstacle position information indicating the position of the obstacle;
Based on the obstacle position information, an obstacle invisible state detecting step of detecting that the obstacle is included in a driver's blind spot by a pillar of the own vehicle;
An obstacle display control step for performing control for displaying an image of the obstacle on the pillar based on the obstacle image information when it is detected that the obstacle is included in the blind spot;
Driving support method including.

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