JP2010263412A - Vehicle periphery image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle periphery image display device capable of improving the visibility of an image while displaying the image covering a wide range in a lateral direction around a vehicle, even when using a display device formed in a longitudinally long shape. <P>SOLUTION: An image processor 4 generates a combined image data obtained by combining lateral image data, obtained by vertically and horizontally inverting a peripheral image behind the vehicle imaged by a camera 2, with mask image data for masking a predetermined area including a lower edge part of the lateral image data. A display device 3 displays the combined image data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle periphery image display device including a vertically long display device that displays an image around the vehicle.

  Conventionally, by displaying an image captured by a camera mounted on the vehicle on an in-vehicle display (display device), it is possible to check the situation around the vehicle including the visual field range that becomes a blind spot of the driver at an intersection with poor visibility, and parking Supporting the movement is performed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). In this case, since it is necessary to display an image over a wide range in the horizontal direction (lateral direction), a horizontally long display is often used as the display device. However, in recent years, this display is provided in a meter. In such a case, a vertically long display may be used due to space problems.

JP 2006-262447 A

  When a vertically long display is used, it is difficult to display an image over a wide range in the horizontal direction because the display area in the horizontal direction is narrow. Therefore, it is conceivable to display on the display an image obtained by inverting the image captured by the camera vertically and horizontally (image rotated 90 degrees). However, when displayed in this way, the sky may be displayed at the bottom of the display, or an object (obstacle) existing around the vehicle may be displayed upside down. If such display is performed, the user may feel uncomfortable, and as a result, the visibility of the display image may be reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to display an image over a wide range in the horizontal direction around a vehicle even when a vertically long display device is used. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle periphery image display device that can improve the visibility of the vehicle.

  According to the means of claim 1, the image processing means is a mask for masking a predetermined area including a horizontal image obtained by vertically and horizontally reversing an image around the vehicle imaged by the imaging means, and a lower end portion of the horizontal image. A composite image is generated by combining the image. This synthesized image is displayed on a vertically long display device. In this way, when displaying a landscape image in a vertically and horizontally inverted form, there is a possibility that an unnatural display such as a sky is displayed in the lower area of the display device or the direction of the object is upside down may be displayed. . However, this means can prevent the unnatural display from occurring by covering a predetermined area including the lower end portion of the landscape image with the mask image. Therefore, it is possible to improve the visibility of the image while displaying an image over a wide range in the horizontal direction around the vehicle.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the imaging means configured by the wide-angle camera having a wide angle of view (viewing angle) is used, an image over a wider range in the horizontal direction around the vehicle can be displayed on the display device. .

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the imaging unit is provided so as to capture an image behind the vehicle, and the image processing unit converts the captured image into an image viewed from the side of the vehicle. For example, when a vehicle is parked, a person other than the driver (for example, a passenger) may confirm the rear from the side of the vehicle and transmit the confirmation status to the driver to assist the parking operation. According to this means, the display device displays an image as seen from the above-mentioned line of sight of the passenger. Accordingly, the driver can perform the parking operation smoothly by performing the parking while looking at the image displayed on the display device, similarly to the case where the above-described assistance is performed.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the distance sensor measures the distance from the side surface of the vehicle to an object existing around the vehicle, and the image processing means covers the mask image according to the distance measured by the distance sensor. The size of the predetermined area to be hidden is changed. With such a configuration, it is possible to set a predetermined area so as to reliably cover objects existing around the vehicle, and to ensure an unnatural display in which objects existing around the vehicle are displayed upside down. Can be prevented.

  According to the means described in claim 5, the image processing means changes the display color of the mask image in accordance with the distance to the object measured by the distance sensor. With such a configuration, for example, by changing the display color between when the distance to the object existing around the vehicle is short and when it is far away, the driver can roughly grasp the distance to the object present in the covered area. can do.

The block diagram of the vehicle periphery image display apparatus which shows the 1st Embodiment of this invention. Top view of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle periphery image display device The figure which shows an example of landscape image data The figure which shows an example of synthetic image data Flow chart showing contents of display control by vehicle periphery image display device FIG. 1 equivalent diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle periphery image display device, and FIG. 2 is a view showing a vehicle on which the vehicle periphery image display device is mounted from above. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle periphery image display device 1 includes a camera 2, a display device 3, and an image processing device 4.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the camera 2 (corresponding to an imaging unit) is provided so as to be able to capture a peripheral image behind the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the camera 2 is attached above a license plate (represented by the symbol N in FIGS. 3 and 4) provided at the rear of the vehicle. The location where the camera 2 is attached can be changed as appropriate as long as it is a position where a peripheral image behind the vehicle can be captured. The camera 2 is equipped with a wide-angle lens so that the rear of the vehicle can be imaged over a wide range. Thereby, the camera 2 is configured as a wide-angle camera having a field angle (viewing angle) of about 180 degrees in the horizontal direction. The lens attached to the camera 2 is not limited to a wide-angle lens, and the camera 2 may have a horizontal angle of view (for example, about 120 degrees) equivalent to that of a back camera (rear camera) generally mounted on a vehicle.

  Although not shown, the display device 3 is provided at a central portion (a portion between the speedometer and the tachometer) of a meter provided so as to be embedded in the driver's seat side of the instrument panel. The display device 3 is composed of, for example, a TFT color liquid crystal display and is configured to have a relatively vertically long and relatively small screen. Note that the display device 3 is not necessarily arranged in the meter, and may be arranged in the center console or on the dashboard as long as it has a vertically long shape. In that case, it may have a relatively large screen.

  The image processing apparatus 4 (corresponding to image processing means) is mainly composed of a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an A / D converter, and the like. A unit 6, a mask image generation unit 7, and an image composition unit 8 are provided. Among these, the image acquisition unit 5 performs a process of converting an analog video signal output from the camera 2 into a digital signal (image data).

  The image data output from the image acquisition unit 5 is given to the image conversion unit 6. The image conversion unit 6 removes an unnecessary portion (for example, an image of a portion that is considerably away from the vehicle and has no influence on the parking operation) from the image data. The image conversion unit 6 may be configured to perform image processing to be described later using the provided image data as it is.

  The image picked up by the wide viewing angle camera 2 is distorted such that the peripheral portion is curved. The image conversion unit 6 corrects this distortion by image processing. In the present embodiment, correction of a portion that is at least necessary for parking assistance, that is, a bumper of the own vehicle (shown with reference sign B in FIGS. 3 and 4) and a line indicating the parking position (FIG. 3 and FIG. In FIG. 4, correction is performed to eliminate distortion.

  Further, the image conversion unit 6 converts the image data into an image viewed from the rear side of the vehicle on the passenger seat side (lateral side). The image conversion unit 6 outputs the converted landscape image data (landscape image) to the image composition unit 8. An example of the landscape image data is shown in FIG. In the horizontally oriented image data shown in FIG. 3, there is an unnatural display in which a sky is displayed in the lower part or the adjacent vehicle C is displayed upside down. For this conversion, the image captured by the camera 2 may be simply inverted vertically (rotated 90 degrees).

  The mask image generation unit 7 generates mask image data (mask image) for covering a predetermined area including the lower end portion of the horizontal image data. As shown in FIG. 2, the mask image data is for covering an area A indicated by hatching in the visual field range of the camera 2. In the present embodiment, a virtual line X that is parallel to the side surface of the host vehicle is drawn at a position that is a predetermined distance d (for example, 50 cm) away from the side surface on the passenger seat side of the host vehicle. The separated area A is covered with a mask image. The mask image generation unit 7 outputs the mask image data generated in this way to the image synthesis unit 8.

  The image synthesizing unit 8 synthesizes the given landscape image data and mask image data to generate synthesized image data (synthesized image). An example of the composite image data is shown in FIG. In the composite image data shown in FIG. 4, the unnatural display that existed in the horizontally oriented image data shown in FIG. 3 is obscured by the mask image. The image composition unit 8 converts the composite image data into a video signal that can be displayed on the display device 3 and outputs the video signal to the display device 3.

  The image processing apparatus 4 is provided with a shift detection signal from a shift position sensor (not shown) that detects the shift position of the shift lever of the vehicle. The image processing device 4 executes the above-described series of image processing when the shift position is reverse “R” based on the shift detection signal. The shift detection signal is also given to the camera 2 and the imaging operation is performed when the shift position is “R”. Accordingly, the composite image is displayed on the display device 3 when the shift position is “R”. That is, the vehicle periphery image display device 1 displays a surrounding image of the rear of the vehicle captured by the camera 2 when the vehicle moves backward on the display device 3 in the passenger compartment, thereby assisting the driver in the parking operation. It has become.

  Next, display control for assisting parking operation by the vehicle periphery image display device 1 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the shift position is changed to “R” by the operation of the driver (start), the camera 2 starts an imaging operation and a series of image processing by the image processing device 4 is performed (steps S1 to S5). That is, the image acquisition unit 5 converts a video signal indicating a surrounding image behind the vehicle imaged by the camera 2 into image data (step S1). The image conversion unit 6 corrects the distortion of the image data and converts it into landscape image data (step S2). The mask image generation unit 7 generates mask image data (step S3). The image composition unit 8 composes the horizontal image data and the mask image data (step S4), and displays the composite image on the display device 3 (step S5).

  While the shift position is “R” (“YES” in step S6), the above-described series of image processing (steps S1 to S5) is repeatedly executed. During this time, the display device 3 displays an image (composite image) of the rear periphery of the host vehicle viewed from the front passenger seat side. When the shift position is changed to something other than “R” (for example, “D”) by the driver's operation (“NO” in step S6), the imaging operation by the camera 2 is stopped and the image processing device 4 A series of image processing operations are stopped (END).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
The image processing device 4 synthesizes horizontal image data obtained by vertically and horizontally reversing a surrounding image captured by the camera 2 and mask image data for masking a predetermined area A including the lower end portion of the horizontal image data. The synthesized image data is generated. In landscape image data, there is an unnatural display such as the sky displayed below or the adjacent vehicle displayed upside down. By combining the mask image data with this, the composite image is displayed. There is no such unnatural display in the data. Therefore, even when the vertically long display device 3 is used as in the present embodiment, it is possible to improve the visibility of the display image while displaying a peripheral image over a wide range behind the vehicle.

  In the image processing apparatus 4, the image conversion unit 6 converts the image data into landscape image data as viewed from the rear side of the passenger seat of the host vehicle. When a vehicle is parked, a person other than the driver (for example, a passenger) may confirm the rear from the side of the host vehicle and transmit the confirmation status to the driver to assist the parking operation. According to the above configuration, the display device 3 displays a video (image) as seen from the line of sight of the passengers described above. Therefore, the driver can perform the parking operation smoothly by performing the parking while watching the video displayed on the display device 3 as in the case where the above-described assistance is performed. In addition, since the camera 2 is configured as a wide-angle camera having a field angle (viewing angle) of about 180 degrees in the horizontal direction, a peripheral image over a wider range in the horizontal direction behind the vehicle is displayed on the display device 3. Can do.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 in the first embodiment, and the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. The vehicle periphery image display device 11 of the present embodiment differs from the vehicle periphery image display device 1 in that a distance sensor 12 is provided and an image processing device 13 is provided instead of the image processing device 4. . This image processing device 13 (corresponding to an image processing means) is provided with a mask image generation unit 14 instead of the mask image generation unit 7 and a distance acquisition unit 15 with respect to the image processing device 4. Is different.

  The distance sensor 12 is, for example, a corner sonar, and measures the distance from the side surface portion of the host vehicle to an object existing in the vicinity thereof. The measurement value of the distance sensor 12 is given to the distance acquisition unit 15 of the image processing device 13. The distance acquisition unit 15 outputs the measurement value of the closest distance among the distances from the side surface part of the host vehicle to the nearby object (obstacle) to the mask image generation unit 14 based on the given measurement value.

  The mask image generation unit 14 compares the measured value of the nearest distance given from the distance acquisition unit 15 with the predetermined distance d (for example, 50 cm) described above. As a result, when the predetermined distance d is smaller, a mask image is generated by the same method as the mask image generation unit 7. On the other hand, if the distance measurement value is smaller, a mask image is generated using the measurement value instead of the predetermined distance d. That is, the mask image generation unit 14 changes the size of the predetermined area A that is covered by the mask image in accordance with the distance to the object that exists in the vicinity of the vehicle.

  In addition, the mask image generation unit 14 changes the display color of the mask image as follows. That is, the display color of the mask image generated using the predetermined distance d is light blue. When a mask image is generated using a distance measurement value, it is displayed in yellow if the measurement value is 30 cm or more, for example, and is displayed in red if it is less than 30 cm. In step S3 shown in FIG. 5, the mask image generation unit 14 generates a mask image based on the method described above.

  Also by the vehicle periphery image display device 11 of the present embodiment in which the above-described mask image generation method is changed, the same operation and effect as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition, since the width of the predetermined area A covered by the mask image is changed according to the measured value of the distance from the side surface of the vehicle to the object (obstacle) existing around the vehicle, it is displayed on the display device 3. An object existing around the vehicle in the composite image can be reliably covered with the mask image. For this reason, the unnatural display by which the object which exists in the vehicle periphery is displayed upside down can be prevented reliably. Furthermore, since the display color of the mask image is changed according to the measured value of the distance to the object existing around the vehicle measured by the distance sensor 12, the driver can detect the object existing in the area covered by the mask image. You can roughly grasp the distance.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings, and the following modifications or expansions are possible.
In step S6 of FIG. 5, a series of image processing may be stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed since the shift position is other than “R”. When parking, if the vehicle cannot be parked well in one reverse, the forward and reverse are usually repeated. If the above change is made, the video behind the vehicle will continue to be displayed on the display device 3 in such a case, and the convenience is improved.
The camera 2 may be attached to a position where a peripheral image of the front or side of the vehicle can be captured. When imaging the front of the vehicle, the imaging operation of the camera 2 and the image processing operation of the image processing device 4 may be executed when the shift position is in any one of “D”, “2”, and “L”. In this case, each of the above operations may be executed according to the traveling speed of the vehicle. For example, when used in an application for confirming the situation around the vehicle including the visual field range that becomes the blind spot of the driver at an intersection with poor visibility, each of the above is at a traveling speed at which it can be determined that the vehicle is slowing down or stopped. What is necessary is just to perform operation | movement.
The distortion correction by the image conversion unit 6 may be performed as necessary.
The display device 3 may be a display of a car navigation device.

  In the drawings, 1 and 11 are vehicle periphery image display devices, 2 is a camera (imaging means, wide-angle camera), 3 is a display device, 4 and 13 are image processing devices (image processing means), and 12 is a distance sensor.

Claims (5)

A vehicle periphery image display device comprising an image pickup means for picking up a vehicle periphery and a vertically long display device for displaying an image,
The image captured by the imaging unit is converted into a horizontally oriented image that is vertically and horizontally inverted, a mask image for covering a predetermined area including the lower end portion of the horizontally oriented image is generated, and the landscape image and the mask image are combined. Image processing means for generating the synthesized image
The vehicle peripheral image display device, wherein the display device displays the composite image.   2. The vehicle periphery image display device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging means is constituted by a wide-angle camera having a wide angle of view. The imaging means is provided to capture an image behind the vehicle,
The vehicle peripheral image display device according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit converts the image captured by the imaging unit into an image viewed from the rear side of the vehicle. Provided with a distance sensor that measures the distance from the side of the vehicle to an object that exists around the vehicle
4. The vehicle periphery image display device according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit changes a size of the predetermined region according to a distance measured by the distance sensor. 5.   The vehicle surrounding image display device according to claim 4, wherein the image processing unit changes a display color of the mask image according to a distance measured by the distance sensor.

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