JP2012227605A - Periphery monitoring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a periphery monitoring device capable of suppressing discomfort against a distance sense and speed sense.SOLUTION: The periphery monitoring device 1 includes: a display section 21 that images the periphery of a vehicle with a camera 22 and presents the captured image to a driver; an electronic mirror timing acquisition section 32 that acquires operation timing of driving operation by the driver in use of the display section 21; and a comparison section 34 that corrects the image presented to the driver with the display section 21 according to the operation timing.

Description

  The present invention relates to a periphery monitoring device that provides a driver with a periphery image.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an apparatus that captures a rear side instead of a side mirror of a vehicle and presents the captured image to a driver (hereinafter also referred to as “electronic mirror” in the present specification) is known. For example, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the driver feels due to a difference in distance feeling by enlarging and displaying an image captured by an external camera so that the image is substantially the same size as the image reflected on the side mirror. It reduces the sense of incongruity.

JP 2008-022125 A

  However, the sense of distance and the sense of speed between the host vehicle and the obstacle that the driver feels when using the electronic mirror may differ from the sense of distance and sense of speed that the driver feels when using the side mirror. Therefore, even if an image captured by an external camera as in Patent Document 1 is enlarged and displayed so as to be approximately the same size as an image reflected on a side mirror, some drivers may feel uncomfortable, reducing the uncomfortable feeling. Was not enough.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, and makes it a subject to provide the periphery monitoring apparatus which can suppress the discomfort with respect to a feeling of distance and a feeling of speed.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the periphery monitoring device according to the present invention captures the periphery of a vehicle, presents the captured image to the driver, and operates the driving operation by the driver when using the presenting means. Acquisition means for acquiring timing, and correction means for correcting an image presented to the driver by the presentation means in accordance with the operation timing acquired by the acquisition means.

  According to such an invention, the image presented to the driver is corrected according to the operation timing of the driving operation by the driver when using the presentation means. In this case, since the sense of distance and the sense of speed felt by the driver can be corrected in consideration of the operation timing of the driver, it is possible to suppress a sense of discomfort with respect to the sense of distance and sense of speed.

  In the periphery monitoring device according to the present invention, the correcting means may change the display magnification of the image presented to the driver by the presenting means.

  In this case, by changing the display magnification, it is possible to appropriately change the sense of distance and the sense of speed that the driver feels.

  In the periphery monitoring device according to the present invention, the acquisition unit further acquires the operation timing of the driving operation by the driver when the presentation unit is not used, and the correction unit performs the driving operation by the driver when the presentation unit is used. The display magnification of the display image presented to the driver by the presenting means may be increased as the operation timing is earlier than the operation timing of the driving operation by the driver when the presenting means is not used.

  In this case, the display image presented to the driver by the presenting means is earlier as the operation timing of the driving operation by the driver when using the presenting means is earlier than the operation timing of the driving operation by the driver when not using the presenting means. Therefore, the sense of distance and sense of speed felt by the driver can be brought close to those when the presenting means is not used.

  The periphery monitoring device according to the present invention further includes a traveling state detecting unit that detects a traveling state of the vehicle, and the acquiring unit acquires the operation timing of the driving operation by the driver in the traveling state detected by the traveling state detecting unit. The correcting means may correct the image presented to the driver by the presenting means according to the operation timing in the traveling state acquired by the acquiring means.

  Depending on the driving state of the vehicle, the distance feeling and speed feeling between the host vehicle and the obstacle that the driver feels when using the electronic mirror tend to be different, so by comparing the operation timing for each different driving state, the driver can A sense of incongruity with the sense of distance and the sense of speed can be suppressed.

  According to the present invention, a sense of discomfort with respect to a sense of distance or a sense of speed can be suppressed even when the drivers are different.

It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the periphery monitoring apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline of the electronic mirror mounted in a vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the periphery monitoring apparatus which concerns on this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a periphery monitoring device 1 according to the present invention. The periphery monitoring device 1 is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile. The periphery monitoring device 1 includes an electronic mirror activation switch 11, a radar 12, a rudder angle sensor 13, a shift sensor 14, a vehicle speed sensor 15, a periphery monitoring ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 3, a display unit 21, and a camera 22. .

  The electronic mirror start switch 11 is for the driver to start and stop the electronic mirror. The electronic mirror activation switch 11 is installed on the operation panel of the driver's seat and operated by the driver.

  The radar 12 functions as a distance detection unit that measures the distance to an obstacle. For example, the radar 12 transmits an electromagnetic wave while scanning in a horizontal plane, receives a reflected wave that is reflected back to the object, and receives it. Information such as the presence / absence of an object, the orientation of the object viewed from the vehicle, the distance from the vehicle to the object, the relative speed of the object with respect to the vehicle, and the like is acquired from the frequency change of the signal. Examples of the radar 12 include a laser radar and a millimeter wave radar. The radar 12 outputs various types of information related to the detected object to the periphery monitoring ECU 3.

  The steering angle sensor 13 is a sensor that detects the steering angle of the host vehicle, and detects the steering angle of the host vehicle, for example, by detecting the rotation angle (steering angle) of the steering shaft. The steering angle sensor 13 outputs the detected steering angle to the periphery monitoring ECU 3 as a steering angle signal.

  The shift sensor 14 has a function of acquiring the shift position of the shift lever of the transmission. Examples of the shift position include “parking (P)”, “reverse (R)”, “neutral (N)”, “drive (D)”, “low (L)”, and the like. The shift sensor 14 outputs information related to the shift position of the transmission to the periphery monitoring ECU 3.

  The vehicle speed sensor 15 is a sensor that detects the speed of the vehicle, and is attached to, for example, a wheel of the vehicle, and detects the rotational speed of the wheel. The vehicle speed sensor 15 outputs the detected vehicle speed to the periphery monitoring ECU 3 as a vehicle speed signal.

  The display unit 21 is provided in the driver's seat and presents the situation around the vehicle imaged by the camera 22 to the driver as an image. The display unit 21 can change the display magnification by receiving a control signal from the comparison unit 34 described later.

  The camera 22 captures the situation around the vehicle and transmits the captured image to the display unit 21. The camera 22 can capture an image by zooming in or out by receiving a control signal from the comparison unit 34. The display unit 21 and the camera 22 constitute a presentation unit that captures an image of the periphery of the vehicle and presents the captured image to the driver.

  The periphery monitoring ECU 3 includes a CPU [Central Processing Unit], various memories, and the like, and comprehensively controls the periphery monitoring device 1. The periphery monitoring ECU 3 includes a side mirror timing acquisition unit 31, an electronic mirror timing acquisition unit 32, a traveling state determination unit 33, and a comparison unit 34.

  The side mirror timing acquisition unit 31 acquires the operation timing of the driving operation by the driver when using the side mirror based on the radar 12 and the steering angle sensor 13. Whether or not the side mirror is used is determined based on the output of the electronic mirror start switch 11. The side mirror timing acquisition unit 31 acquires and stores the detected driver operation timing for each driver.

  The side mirror timing acquisition unit 31 may detect the operation timing of the driver when changing the lane as the driving operation. In this case, for example, the side mirror timing acquisition unit 31 acquires the distance from the radar 12 to the obstacle existing on the rear side of the host vehicle, and the host vehicle and the obstacle when the steering angle is a predetermined value or more. Is stored as the operation timing (operation distance).

  Moreover, the side mirror timing acquisition part 31 may detect the operation timing of the driver at the time of parking as a driving operation. In this case, for example, the side mirror timing acquisition unit 31 acquires the distance to the obstacle existing behind the host vehicle from the radar 12, and performs a braking operation of a predetermined value or more between the host vehicle and the obstacle. The distance is stored as the operation timing.

  When the side mirror timing acquisition unit 31 detects a signal indicating the driving state from the driving state determination unit 33 described later, the side mirror timing acquisition unit 31 stores the driving state acquired from the driving state determination unit 33 and the acquired operation timing in association with each other. .

  The electronic mirror timing acquisition unit 32 acquires the operation timing of the driving operation by the driver when using the electronic mirror based on the radar 12 and the steering angle sensor 13. Whether or not an electronic mirror is used is determined based on the output of the electronic mirror activation switch 11. The electronic mirror timing acquisition unit 32 outputs the detected operation timing of the driver to the comparison unit 34.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic mirror is a device that captures the rear side of the host vehicle with the camera 22, displays the captured image on a display unit 21 provided inside the vehicle, and presents it to the driver.

  The electronic mirror timing acquisition unit 32 acquires and stores the operation timing by the driver for each driver when the electronic mirror is used, by the same method as the side mirror timing acquisition unit 31 described above.

  When the electronic mirror timing acquisition unit 32 detects a signal indicating the driving state from the driving state determination unit 33 described later, the electronic mirror timing acquisition unit 32 stores the driving state acquired from the driving state determination unit 33 and the detected operation timing in association with each other. . The side mirror timing acquisition unit 31 and the electronic mirror timing acquisition unit 32 constitute acquisition means for acquiring operation timing.

  The traveling state determination unit 33 determines the traveling state of the host vehicle based on the outputs of the shift sensor 14 and the vehicle speed sensor 15. As a running state of the vehicle, for example, there are a normal running state, a high-speed running state, and a parking state. For example, the traveling state determination unit 33 determines whether the vehicle speed acquired by the vehicle speed sensor 15 is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold (for example, 60 km / h). If the vehicle speed is lower than the threshold, the traveling state is set as the traveling state. When the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the threshold, the high speed driving state is set as the driving state. For example, when “reverse (R)” is acquired as information regarding the shift position from the shift sensor 14, the traveling state determination unit 33 sets the parking state as the traveling state. The traveling state determination unit 33 outputs a signal indicating the determined traveling state of the vehicle to the side mirror timing acquisition unit 31, the electronic mirror timing acquisition unit 32, and the comparison unit 34. The traveling state determination unit 33 constitutes a traveling state detection unit that detects the traveling state of the vehicle.

  The comparison unit 34 acquires the operation timing of the driver stored in the side mirror timing acquisition unit 31 and the electronic mirror timing acquisition unit 32, and controls the display unit 21 and the camera 22 based on each operation timing. The comparison unit 34 displays an image displayed on the display unit 21 as the driver operation timing acquired by the electronic mirror timing acquisition unit 32 is earlier than the driver operation timing acquired by the side mirror timing acquisition unit 31. Increase the display magnification. In addition, the display magnification of the image displayed on the display unit 21 may not be changed, and the image displayed on the display unit 21 may be enlarged or reduced by zooming in or out of the camera 22. The comparison unit 34 constitutes a correction unit that corrects an image presented to the driver by the presentation unit according to the operation timing.

  When the comparison unit 34 acquires a signal indicating the travel state from the travel state determination unit 33, the comparison unit 34 compares the operation timings associated with the acquired travel state. The comparison process will be specifically described below by taking as an example a case where a high-speed traveling state is acquired as a traveling state.

  When the comparison unit 34 acquires a signal indicating the high-speed driving state from the driving state determination unit 33, the comparison unit 34 is associated with the driver driving the host vehicle from among a plurality of operation timings stored in the side mirror timing acquisition unit 31. And the operation timing d1 associated with the high-speed running state is acquired. Moreover, the comparison part 34 is matched with the driver | operator who drives the own vehicle out of the several operation timing which the electronic mirror timing detector 32 memorize | stored, and is matched with the high-speed driving state. The timing d2 is acquired. Here, the operation timing acquired by the comparison unit 34 relates to the lane change, and the operation timings d1 and d2 are distances between the own vehicle and the vehicle existing on the rear side when the driver changes the lane. Shall.

  The comparison unit 34 obtains a difference between the operation timing d1 and the operation timing d2, and determines whether or not the absolute value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. Here, the predetermined threshold is a preset value. As this set value, a different value may be set for each acquired traveling state.

  When the absolute value of the difference between the operation timing d1 and the operation timing d2 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and d1 <d2, the comparison unit 34 transmits a control signal to the display unit 21, and the display magnification of the display unit 21 is displayed. Lower. On the other hand, when the absolute value of the difference between the operation timing d1 and the operation timing d2 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and d1> d2, the comparison unit 34 transmits a control signal to the display unit 21, and Increase the display magnification. When the absolute value of the difference between the operation timing d1 and the operation timing d2 is smaller than a predetermined threshold, the comparison unit 34 does not change the display magnification of the display unit 21.

  That is, when the distance between lanes when using an electronic mirror is greater than the distance between lanes when using a side mirror by a predetermined value or more (that is, when the operation timing when using an electronic mirror is late) By the way, it can be said that the driver feels that the rear side vehicle is closer than when the side mirror is used. In this case, the comparison unit 34 reduces the display magnification of the display unit 21, thereby increasing the distance from the rear side vehicle that the driver feels. On the other hand, when the inter-vehicle distance in the lane change when using the side mirror is larger than the inter-vehicle distance in the lane change when using the electronic mirror by a predetermined value or more (that is, when the operation timing when using the electronic mirror is early) In other words, it can be said that the driver feels that the rear side vehicle is farther than when the side mirror is used. In this case, the comparison unit 34 increases the display magnification of the display unit 21 to reduce the distance from the rear side vehicle that the driver feels. Accordingly, the inter-vehicle distance felt by the driver when the side mirror is used can be made closer to the inter-vehicle distance felt by the driver when the electronic mirror is used. In other words, the operation timing by the driver when the side mirror is used can be brought close to the operation timing by the driver when the electronic mirror is used.

  Next, the operation of the periphery monitoring device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the operation of the periphery monitoring device 1 according to the present embodiment. Here, it is assumed that the periphery monitoring device 1 has already stored in the side mirror timing acquisition unit 31 the operation timing of the driver when the side mirror is used in various traveling states. The process shown in FIG. 3 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined interval from the timing when the power of the periphery monitoring device 1 is turned on, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the periphery monitoring ECU 3 of the periphery monitoring device 1 first determines whether or not the driver is using an electronic mirror (S1). This determination is made based on the electronic mirror activation switch 11. When the electronic mirror is activated by the electronic mirror activation switch 11, it is determined that the electronic mirror is used, and the electronic mirror activation switch 11 determines the electronic mirror. When is stopped, it is determined that the electronic mirror is not used.

  When it is determined that the driver is using the electronic mirror, the surroundings monitoring ECU 3 next determines whether or not the traveling state determination unit 33 is in the parking state (S2). When it is determined that the traveling state of the host vehicle is the parking state, the electronic mirror timing acquisition unit 32 detects and stores the brake timing (operation timing) of the driver in the parking state (S3).

  In S2, when the traveling state determination unit 33 determines that the traveling state of the host vehicle is not a parking state, the traveling state determination unit 33 determines whether the traveling state of the host vehicle is a high speed traveling state (S4). ). When it is determined that the traveling state of the host vehicle is the high-speed traveling state, the electronic mirror timing acquisition unit 32 detects and stores the driver's lane change timing (operation timing) in the high-speed traveling state (S5). On the other hand, when it is determined that the traveling state of the host vehicle is not the high-speed traveling state, the electronic mirror timing acquisition unit 32 detects and stores the driver's lane change timing (operation timing) in the normal traveling state (S6).

  When the operation timing when the electronic mirror is used in any of S3, S5, and S6 is detected, the comparison unit 34 next acquires the operation timing when the side mirror is used. Here, the acquired operation timing may correspond to the traveling state detected in S2 or S4.

  Next, the comparison unit 34 compares the operation timing of the driver when the electronic mirror is used and when the side mirror is used (S7). If the compared operation timing difference is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the comparison unit 34 transmits a control signal to the display unit 21 to change the display magnification of the image displayed on the display unit 21 (S8). Specifically, when the operation timing of the driver when using the electronic mirror is later than the operation timing of the driver when using the side mirror, the comparison unit 34 sets the display magnification of the display image on the display unit 21. make low. On the other hand, when the operation timing of the driver when using the electronic mirror is earlier than the operation timing of the driver when using the side mirror, the display magnification of the display image on the display unit 21 is increased.

  If the display magnification of the electronic mirror is changed in S8, or if the difference in the driver's operation timing between the use of the electronic mirror and the use of the side mirror is not greater than or equal to a predetermined value in S7, the series of periphery monitoring processing ends.

  When it is determined in S1 that the driver is not using the electronic mirror, the surrounding monitoring ECU 3 next determines whether or not the traveling state determination unit 33 is in the parking state (S9). When it is determined that the traveling state of the host vehicle is the parking state, the side mirror timing acquisition unit 31 detects and stores the brake timing (operation timing) of the driver in the parking state (S10).

  When it is determined in S8 that the traveling state of the host vehicle is not a parking state, the traveling state determination unit 33 determines whether or not the traveling state of the host vehicle is a high-speed traveling state (S11). When it is determined that the traveling state of the host vehicle is the high-speed traveling state, the side mirror timing acquisition unit 31 detects and stores the driver's lane change timing (operation timing) in the high-speed traveling state (S12). On the other hand, when it is determined that the traveling state of the host vehicle is not the high-speed traveling state, the side mirror timing acquisition unit 31 detects and stores the driver's lane change timing (operation timing) in the normal traveling state (S13).

  When the operation timing at the time of using the side mirror by the driver is stored by any of S8, S10, and S11, the series of periphery monitoring processing ends.

  According to the periphery monitoring device 1 according to the present embodiment described above, the image presented to the driver is corrected according to the operation timing of the driving operation by the driver when using the display device 21. In this case, since the sense of distance and the sense of speed felt by the driver are corrected in consideration of the operation timing of the driver, it is possible to suppress a sense of discomfort with respect to the sense of distance and sense of speed.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the distance between the host vehicle and the obstacle is acquired as the operation timing, but other physical quantities may be acquired as the operation timing.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Perimeter monitoring apparatus, 11 ... Electronic mirror starting switch, 12 ... Radar, 13 ... Steering angle sensor, 14 ... Shift sensor, 15 ... Vehicle speed sensor, 21 ... Display part, 22 ... Camera, 31 ... Side mirror timing acquisition part, 32 ... an electronic mirror timing acquisition unit, 33 ... a running state determination unit, 34 ... a comparison unit.

Claims (4)

Presenting means for imaging the periphery of the vehicle and presenting the captured image to the driver;
Obtaining means for obtaining operation timing of a driving operation by the driver when using the presenting means;
A periphery monitoring apparatus comprising correction means for correcting an image presented to the driver by the presenting means in accordance with the operation timing obtained by the obtaining means. The correction means changes a display magnification of an image presented to the driver by the presentation means.
The periphery monitoring device according to claim 1. The acquisition means further acquires the operation timing of the driving operation by the driver when not using the presentation means,
The correction means provides the presentation as the operation timing of the driving operation by the driver when the presentation means is used is earlier than the operation timing of the driving operation by the driver when the presentation means is not used. Increase the display magnification of the display image presented to the driver by means;
The periphery monitoring apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The vehicle further comprises traveling state detection means for detecting the traveling state of the vehicle,
The acquisition unit acquires an operation timing of the driving operation by the driver in the driving state detected by the driving state detection unit,
The correction means corrects the image presented to the driver by the presentation means according to the operation timing in the running state acquired by the acquisition means.
The periphery monitoring apparatus of any one of Claims 1-3.

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