JP2013010384A - Automatic door opening device for swing door - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic door opening device improved in distance detection accuracy for a distance to an obstacle even for the obstacle with a mirror surface since a conventional detection of an obstacle using merely a laser sensor may cause a distance calculation error for the obstacle with the mirror surface.SOLUTION: The contact of a swing door on an obstacle having a mirror surface can be accurately avoided by detecting the obstacle using the combination of two sensors of a laser and a sonar. Also, the contact of the swing door on the obstacle can be avoided since the result of detecting the obstacle with the mirror surface as the obstacle can always be reflected by giving priority to the result of the detection of the obstacle by the sonar to determine the opening of the swing door.

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus that automatically opens a swing door so that it does not come into contact with an obstacle.

  Conventionally, for example, a sonar obstacle detection method disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, a sonar is provided in a vehicle door, and the position of an obstacle is detected by ultrasonic waves transmitted from the sonar. And the range which can open a door based on the result is determined, and it is trying to prevent interference with an obstacle.

  An obstacle detection method using a laser disclosed in Patent Document 2 is also known. In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is determined whether there is an obstacle that may come in contact with the door opening direction based on laser light transmission / reception by a laser sensor installed in a vehicle door. And the door opening control apparatus which restrict | limits the opening degree of the said door based on this determination is provided.

JP 2005-336934 A JP 2010-228748 A

  When an obstacle around a door is detected using the invention of Patent Document 1, an area in which an obstacle can be detected with one sonar is usually not sufficient for a necessary detection range. This is because the range that must be detected is the entire range where obstacles can interfere with the door, whereas the detection range of one sonar is narrow compared to the size of the door. is there. Then, in order to avoid the whole door from interference of an obstacle using the invention described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to provide a large number of sonars to cover almost the entire surface of one door.

  In addition, even if a plurality of sonars are installed, as shown in FIG. 1, if the interval between adjacent sonars 10 is wide, a dead zone in which an obstacle cannot be detected is generated between the adjacent sonars 10. . If such a dead zone occurs, if there is an obstacle, especially a thin object such as a pole, in this dead zone, the presence of the obstacle cannot be detected and the door will come into contact with the obstacle. is there.

  On the other hand, the apparatus described in Patent Document 2 can detect an obstacle that may come into contact with the vehicle door with respect to the entire surface of the vehicle door by one laser sensor. In addition, when the incident angle of the laser is shallow, when the reflection of the laser in the incident direction is small, or when the obstacle is such that the reflectance of the laser is low, even if the reflected laser beam cannot be received sufficiently, the obstacle Avoid contact with However, when the surface of the obstacle is a mirror surface, although the secondary reflection occurs, the intensity of the reflected laser light may be relatively high. When the distance to the obstacle is calculated based on the reflected laser beam that has been secondarily reflected, there is a problem that an error based on the second reflection is included.

  This problem will be specifically described with reference to FIG. The following problems occur when the surface of an obstacle to be detected, such as a vehicle with metallic paint, is a mirror surface. (Problem 1) The laser light irradiated from the laser sensor 9 and hitting the obstacle is not reflected in the incident direction but reflected in a direction different from the incident direction at an angle equal to the incident angle. Further, it is conceivable that the laser light reflected in a direction different from the incident direction strikes a secondary reflection object such as the ground, causes secondary reflection, is reflected again by an obstacle, and is received by the laser sensor. In this way, when laser light is emitted once and the laser light is reflected a plurality of times and then received by the laser sensor, the distance calculated based on the received laser light (that is, reflected light) is generated by secondary reflection or the like. Error. Therefore, an obstacle may actually exist near the calculated distance. As a result, when the surface of the obstacle is a mirror surface, even an obstacle that may come into contact when the swing door is opened may not be detected as an obstacle that may come into contact. was there. (Problem 2) In Problem 1, the case where the secondary reflected light is reflected by the laser sensor has been described. However, the diffuse reflection component may be very weak depending on the type of specular reflection object. In such a case, the reflected light may hardly be returned as in the case of a diffusive reflecting object having a very low reflectance. In such a case, it is determined that there is no obstacle in the scan plane of the laser sensor, and there is a possibility that the door may come into contact with the obstacle as in the case of Problem 1. In the case of Problem 2, the method of Patent Document 2 described above is also conceivable, but Problem 1 cannot be solved by the method of Patent Document 2. As a matter of course, it is desired that the problems 1 and 2 can be solved at a time.

  The present invention has been made in view of these points, and it is possible to reduce the number of sensors, and even when the surface is a mirror surface, the obstacle when the swing door is opened. An object is to provide an automatic door opening device that can avoid contact with the door.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is installed in the door or a door mirror mounted on the door in the vicinity of the rotating shaft of the swing door of the vehicle. A laser sensor that transmits a laser beam so as to scan a plane that is shifted in a direction in which the door is opened, and a laser sensor that receives reflected light reflected by an obstacle, and is installed on the door, and the door is opened. A sonar that emits a sound wave in a direction and receives a sound wave reflected by the obstacle, and an obstacle that may come into contact with the door in the door opening direction based on the reception result of the sound wave by the sonar A sonar determination unit that determines whether or not there is an obstacle, and an obstacle that may come into contact with the door in the door opening direction based on a result of laser light reception by the laser sensor A laser determination unit that determines whether or not it exists, and an opening degree limiting unit that limits the opening degree of the door based on a sonar determination result by the sonar determination unit and a laser determination result by the laser determination unit, The opening limit unit is configured so that the determination result of the sonar determination unit is in contact with the door even if the determination result by the laser determination unit is a determination result that there is no obstacle that may contact the door. If the result of the determination is that there is an obstacle that may occur, the opening degree of the door is limited.

  Since sonar uses sound waves, unlike a laser beam, even if it is a mirror surface, it is reflected in the same manner as when it is not a mirror surface. Therefore, the sonar can accurately detect an obstacle even when the surface is a mirror-like obstacle. In the control in the opening restriction unit, priority is given to the determination result by the sonar, and even if the determination result by the laser determination unit is a determination result that there is no obstacle that may contact the door, When the determination result of the determination unit is a determination result that there is an obstacle that may contact the door, the opening degree of the door is limited. Therefore, it can avoid that a swing door contacts the obstruction whose surface is a mirror surface. Also, although the accuracy of calculating the distance to the object with a mirror surface may be insufficient, a laser sensor that uses almost the entire moving range of the swing door when the swing door is opened is also used. It is determined whether there is an obstacle that may come into contact with the swing door. Therefore, the sonar may be installed in order to detect an obstacle having a mirror surface, and the obstacle having a mirror surface is usually a large object such as a metallic paint vehicle or a glass-walled outer wall of a store. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide many sonars. Therefore, the number of sensors can be reduced.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the sonar is installed at an end portion of the swing door opposite to the rotation axis of the swing door, and the vehicle outer end of the door mirror installed at the swing door is arranged. It is preferable that the detection range includes a point on a line of intersection between a vertical plane parallel to the side of the vehicle and a vertical plane passing through the end of the swing door opposite to the rotation axis and orthogonal to the swing door.

  When the swing door is opened, it is usually the end of the swing door opposite to the rotation axis that contacts the obstacle. If the sonar is provided at the position of claim 2, when the swing door is opened, an obstacle having a mirror surface on the front side in the moving direction of the end opposite to the rotation axis of the swing door is detected. Therefore, the swing door can be prevented from coming into contact with an obstacle whose surface is a mirror surface with high accuracy.

It is a figure which shows the detection area | region by the sonar of a prior art. It is a figure which shows the problem of the reflection by the laser of a prior art. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the swing door automatic door opening apparatus of embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of a scanning mechanism in the laser sensor 9. It is a figure which shows the installation position and detection area | region 10a of the sonar 10 from vehicle upper direction. It is a figure which shows the installation position and detection area | region 10a of the sonar 10 from a vehicle side. (A) is a figure which shows the installation position of a sonar, (B) is a scanning surface by the laser beam radiate | emitted from the laser sensor 9, and maintains a fixed angle with a door when a door is opened. It is the figure which showed a mode that it moved. It is a figure for demonstrating the scanning angle range by the laser beam radiate | emitted from the laser sensor. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the example of a determination whether an obstacle exists in the movable range of the door 30 using obstacle detection range data. It is a flowchart which shows the main routine of a swing door automatic door opening control process. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the obstruction detection process by the laser sensor 9 in the main routine of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the obstruction detection process by the sonar 10 in the main routine of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the swing door automatic opening device according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the automatic swing door opening / closing device mainly includes an ECU 1 that executes various control processes, various switches 6 to 8 and sensors 9 to 11, and a swing door (hereinafter also simply referred to as a door). It is composed of an opening / closing motor 12 and a latch release motor 13 for opening and closing the door. In the present embodiment, the door is automatically opened and closed by using these two types of motors 12 and 13, and these two types of motors 12 and 13 are driven by a user's switch operation.

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration for automatically opening and closing one door, and the swing door automatic opening and closing device according to the present embodiment is applied to any door of the vehicle, for example, only the door of the driver's seat. It can be applied only to the doors of the driver seat and the passenger seat, or to all the swing doors of the vehicle. When the swing door automatic opening and closing device according to the present embodiment is applied to a plurality of doors, the configuration shown in FIG. 3 is provided for the plurality of doors.

  The various switches 6 to 8 in FIG. 3 are provided in the passenger compartment and operated by a user (vehicle occupant). Among them, the open switch 6 is operated to open the door, and the close switch 7 is operated to close the opened door, and the stop switch 8 is operated to stop the door being opened or closed. If these switches 6-8 are operated, each operation signal will be output to ECU1.

  The laser sensor 9 is provided so as to move with the door in the vicinity of a rotation shaft that rotatably supports the door with respect to the vehicle body side surface of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. , Provided below the door mirror 32 attached to the door. This laser sensor 9 is reflected by a light emitting element that emits laser light, a scanning mechanism that changes the irradiation direction of the laser light emitted from the light emitting element within a predetermined plane, and scans the plane with the laser light, and an obstacle. A light receiving element that receives the laser light, a control circuit that calculates a distance to the obstacle from the elapsed time from the light emission to the light reception of the laser light, and the like. When the laser sensor 9 detects an obstacle, the laser sensor 9 outputs the distance to the obstacle to the ECU 1.

  The scanning mechanism in the laser sensor 9 includes, for example, a mirror 21 that reflects laser light, a motor 20 that rotates the mirror 21, a lens 24, and a lens 25, as shown in FIG. The mirror 21 has a substantially columnar shape, and a reflection surface that reflects the laser beam generated by the light emitting element 22 is formed on one end surface thereof, and the laser beam reflected by the obstacle is reflected on the other end surface toward the light receiving element 23. The reflecting surface to be formed is formed. A plurality of laser beams can be emitted so as to scan a plane around the rotation axis by rotating the mirror 21 around the rotation axis penetrating both reflection surfaces by the motor 20. The lens 24 is a lens designed so that the laser beam has a beam shape or a predetermined spread angle. The lens 25 is a lens for collecting received light. The scanning surface and scanning range of the laser sensor 9 will be described in detail later.

  Note that the scanning mechanism shown in FIG. 4 is an example, and other known configurations may be adopted. For example, the mirror and the drive part of the mirror may be formed on the semiconductor substrate by MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technology. A polygon mirror may be used as the mirror.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the sonar 10 is installed at the end of the door 30 opposite to the door mirror 32 (that is, the end opposite to the rotation axis of the door 30). And the detection area | region 10a in which this sonar 10 detects an obstruction includes the intersection 40 shown in FIG. This intersection point 40 passes through the vehicle outer end of the door mirror 32 and is parallel to the door 30 forming the vehicle side surface, and passes through the end opposite to the rotation axis of the door 30 and is perpendicular to the door 30. It is a point on the line of intersection. In the door 30, it is generally the end portion (the front end of the door) that is most easily in contact with the obstacle on the side opposite to the rotation axis of the door 30. Therefore, when the detection area 10a is used, it is possible to detect an obstacle in contact with a portion of the door 30 that is most likely to contact the obstacle. In addition, it is desirable in terms of design that the sonar 10 is installed at a position where the intersection 40 can be the detection region 10a and in the vicinity of the handle at the tip of the door.

  Further, as an advantage of installing the sonar 10 so as to be the detection area 10a, there is an advantage that the number of sonars 10 to be installed can be reduced. As described above, the obstacle having a mirror surface on the surface is, for example, a metallic painted vehicle body or a glass wall of a store, and these are relatively large obstacles. In the process of opening the door 30, these obstacles are unlikely to come into contact with portions other than the front end of the door 30 even though they do not come into contact with the front end of the door 30. Therefore, in order to avoid contact with an obstacle having a mirror surface, it is sufficient to avoid contact of the front end of the door 30 with the obstacle. To that end, a detection region 10a as shown in FIG. It is only necessary to install one sonar 10 so that the

  The intersection 40 is not the tip of the door 30 itself, but a point separated from the tip of the door 30 by a gap d between the door 30 and the vertical plane 42. Even if the intersection 40 is included in the detection area 10a, the detection area 10a of the sonar 10 may not be able to detect an obstacle present in the gap d. In other words, the gap d may become a dead zone of the sonar 10. However, since the obstacle having a mirror surface is sufficiently larger than the door, it is unlikely that the obstacle exists in the gap d. Therefore, even if the gap d becomes a dead zone of the sonar 10, there is no influence on the detection of an obstacle whose surface is a mirror surface.

  In FIG. 6, the installation position of the sonar 10 and the detection area 10a are shown from the side of the vehicle. In FIG. 6, the detection region 10a has an elliptical shape, and the major axis direction thereof is the horizontal direction. In addition, it is not limited to the example of this FIG. 6, You may install the sonar 10 so that the long-axis direction of the detection area 10a may turn into a perpendicular direction.

  The opening sensor 11 detects the opening of the door and generates an opening detection signal indicating the detected opening. An opening degree detection signal from the opening degree sensor 11 is also input to the ECU 1.

  The ECU 1 includes an input interface (I / F) 2 that receives the operation signals of the switches 6 to 8 and the signals from the sensors 9 to 11, a CPU 3 that performs various arithmetic processes according to a predetermined program, a program, and a program to be described later It comprises a nonvolatile memory 4 that stores obstacle detection range data, a motor driver 5 that outputs a drive signal for driving the opening / closing motor 12 and the latch release motor 13, and the like.

  Here, operations of the opening / closing motor 12 and the latch release motor 13 when the door is automatically opened and closed will be described.

  The latch release motor 13 is installed inside the door and acts on a latch mechanism (not shown) that holds the door in the closed position to release the latch mechanism. As a result, the door can be opened.

  The opening / closing motor 12 is also installed inside the door, and drives the door opening / closing mechanism (not shown) to open or close the door 11 to a set opening (maximum opening). However, when the stop switch 8 is operated or an obstacle that may come into contact with the door is detected while the door is being opened, the opening / closing motor 12 may open the door even if the opening is less than the set opening. The door opening is stopped. In this case, the opening degree of the door is maintained at the opening degree when the opening / closing motor 12 is stopped.

  Next, the scanning surface and the scanning angle range by the laser light emitted from the laser sensor 9 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the laser sensor 9 provided at the lower part of the door mirror 32 is a plane (scanning surface of the laser sensor 9) that is deviated from the surface of the door 30 by a predetermined angle φ in the direction in which the door 30 is opened. A laser beam is emitted so as to scan.

  In this way, by making the plane shifted by a predetermined angle φ with respect to the surface of the door 30 as the scanning surface of the laser sensor 9, as shown in FIG. Also, an obstacle can be detected at a position preceding the predetermined angle φ. In other words, a failure that may come into contact with the door 30 when the door 30 is opened by setting the plane shifted by the predetermined angle φ relative to the surface of the door 30 as the scanning surface of the laser sensor 9. An object can be detected before it comes into contact with the door 30. Moreover, as will be described next with reference to FIG. 8, the scanning angle range of the laser sensor 9 in the scanning plane completely includes the range of the surface of the door 30. Therefore, the movable range of the door 30 when the door 30 is opened is entirely included in the obstacle detection range by the laser sensor 9 except for the vicinity of the door 30 in the closed state.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a scanning angle range by the laser sensor 9 in the above-described scanning plane. As shown in FIG. 7B, the scanning angle range of the laser sensor 9 is such that the direction from the installation position of the laser sensor 9 (below the door mirror 32) toward the front of the vehicle in the closed state is the start position (scanning angle 0 °). Is set. As a result, it is possible to detect an obstacle in the door 30 that may come into contact with a portion existing in a range in front of the vehicle from the installation position of the laser sensor 9.

  Laser light from the laser sensor 9 is repeatedly emitted at a predetermined step angle θx in the clockwise direction shown in FIG. 8 from the above-described start position. Then, for example, an angle extending almost directly from the laser sensor 9 toward the sky (in the example of FIG. 8, a scanning angle of about 260 °) is set as the end position. Thereby, the range from the start position to the end position of the emission of the laser beam, that is, the scanning angle range of the laser sensor 9 becomes the angle range shown in FIG.

  Therefore, the scanning surface and the scanning angle range described above are scanned with a laser beam, so that an obstacle that may come into contact with the door 30 is contacted with the single laser sensor 9 over almost the entire surface of the door 30. It becomes possible to detect.

  Here, when the laser sensor 9 scans the scanning angle range shown in FIG. 8 with laser light, the laser light is reflected by a body part other than the door 30, the ground, or an obstacle that may not contact the door 30. The reflected light may be received by the laser sensor 9 in some cases. Since these obstacles exist outside the movable range of the door 30, it is not necessary to limit the opening degree of the door 30 even if these obstacles are detected.

  In this regard, in the present embodiment, when an obstacle is detected by the laser sensor 9, in order to accurately determine whether the obstacle exists within the movable range of the door 30 or outside the movable range, Obstacle detection range data is stored in the nonvolatile memory 4 in advance. The obstacle detection range data consists of distance data (set distance L) from the installation position of the laser sensor 9 to the end of the door 30 at each scanning angle θ of the laser beam.

  The ECU 1 instructs the laser sensor 9 on the scanning angle at which laser light is emitted. When the laser sensor 9 emits laser light at the instructed scanning angle and receives reflected light from an obstacle or the like, a distance X to the obstacle is calculated and output to the ECU 1. The ECU 1 extracts a set distance L to the end of the corresponding door 30 from the stored obstacle detection range data based on the scanning angle θ of the laser light emitted from the laser sensor 9. Then, the distance X to the obstacle actually detected by the laser sensor 9 is compared with the extracted set distance L. From this comparison, if the actual distance X is shorter than the set distance L, it can be determined that the obstacle exists within the movable range of the door 30 and may contact the door 30. On the other hand, if the actual distance X is longer than the set distance L, it can be determined that the obstacle exists outside the movable range of the door 30 and has no effect when the door 30 is opened.

  An example of determining whether an obstacle exists within the movable range of the door 30 using the obstacle detection range data described above is shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, for example, distances X1 to X3 to the obstacle are calculated at the scanning angles θ1 to θ3, and the distances X1 to X3 and the set distances L1 to L1 stored for the respective scanning angles θ1 to θ3. The example which compared L3 is shown. As shown in FIG. 8, the set distances L1 to L3 are distances from the installation position of the laser sensor 9 to the end of the door 30 at the scanning angles θ1 to θ3 of the respective laser beams.

  In the example of FIG. 9, the distances X1 and X3 to the obstacle detected at the scanning angles θ1 and θ3 are longer than the set distances L1 and L3. As a result, it is determined that there is no obstacle that may contact the door 30 at the scanning angles θ1 and θ3. On the other hand, the distance X2 to the obstacle detected at the scanning angle θ2 is shorter than the set distance L2. For this reason, it is determined that there is an obstacle that may come into contact with the door 30 at the scanning angle θ2.

  As described above, in addition to detecting an obstacle that may contact the door 30 by the laser sensor 9, the swing door automatic opening / closing device of the present embodiment also contacts the door 30 by the sonar 10. Detect possible obstacles. The obstacle detection by the laser sensor 9 and the obstacle detection by the sonar 10 are both performed during the swing door automatic opening control process.

  Next, the swing door automatic opening control process in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 10, 11, and 12. The flowchart of FIG. 10 shows the main routine of the swing door automatic opening control process, FIG. 11 shows the details of the obstacle detection process (S130) by the laser sensor 9 in the main routine, and FIG. 12 shows the sonar 10 in the main routine. The details of obstacle detection processing by. Moreover, these are performed in ECU1.

  In step S100 of the flowchart of FIG. 10, it is determined whether or not the open switch 6 is turned on by the vehicle user. If it is determined that the open switch 6 is turned on, the process proceeds to step S110, and although not shown, it is determined whether or not the vehicle speed signal from the vehicle speed sensor that measures the vehicle speed indicates vehicle speed = 0. That is, in step S110, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is stopped.

  If it is determined in step S110 that the vehicle speed is 0, the process proceeds to step S120, and a drive signal is output from the motor driver 5 to the opening / closing motor 12 and the latch release motor 13 to start opening the door. After this step S120, the door 30 is opened at a constant speed thereafter. In subsequent step S130, the sonar 10 and the laser sensor 9 detect an obstacle that may come into contact with the door 30. This obstacle detection processing includes obstacle detection processing by the laser sensor 9 and the sonar 10 respectively. Details thereof will be described later with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.

  In step S140, it is determined based on the opening detection signal of the opening sensor 11 whether or not the opening of the door 30 has reached the set (maximum) opening when the door 30 is automatically opened. If it is determined in step S140 that the opening degree of the door 30 has reached the set opening degree, the process proceeds to step S180. On the other hand, if it is determined that the opening degree of the door 30 has not yet reached the set opening degree, the process proceeds to step S150.

  In step S150, based on the detection result of the sonar 10, it is determined whether there is an obstacle that may contact the door 30. If it is determined in step S150 that there is an obstacle, the process proceeds to step S170. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no obstacle, the process proceeds to step S160.

  In step S160, based on the detection result of the laser sensor 9, it is determined whether there is an obstacle that may come into contact with the door 30 as in step S150. If it is determined in step S160 that there is an obstacle, the process proceeds to step S170. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no obstacle, the process returns to step S130.

  By repeatedly executing the processing from step S130 to step S160, the obstacle detection for the door 30 is continuously performed while the door 30 is opened to the set opening degree.

  If it is determined in step S150 that there is an obstacle, step S180 is directly executed. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S160 that there is an obstacle, step S170 is executed. This step S170 is executed after the obstacle is detected, but initially, the driving of the opening / closing motor 12 is continued. However, when the door 30 is opened by an angle corresponding to the distance between the surface of the door 30 and the scanning plane by the laser light from the opening of the door 30 at the time when the obstacle is detected, the opening of the door 30 is increased. Restrict. That is, the opening operation of the door 30 is stopped after increasing the opening degree of the door 30 by a certain angle set to be less than the predetermined angle φ. As a result, the door can be opened as much as possible within a range in which the door does not contact the obstacle, so that the convenience of the vehicle user can be improved.

  However, when an obstacle is detected when the door 30 is substantially closed immediately after the door 30 is opened, the latch mechanism is simply released by the latch release motor 13 (the door is halfway). It is preferable not to increase the opening of the door 30 any more.

  When an obstacle is detected when the door 30 is substantially closed, that is, immediately after the laser sensor 9 starts to detect the obstacle, an accurate distance between the door 30 and the obstacle is obtained. This is because they cannot. However, if the door does not open at all, it may be mistaken for a door failure. Therefore, it is preferable to release the latch mechanism by the latch release motor 13. Note that even when the sonar determination result is that there is an obstacle, the door opening degree may be increased within a range that does not contact the obstacle as in the case where the laser determination result is that there is an obstacle. In this case, the door opening to be increased is determined based on the distance to the obstacle measured by the sonar 10.

  In step S180, the opening of the door 30 is stopped by stopping the driving of the opening / closing motor 12, and the opening degree of the door 30 is maintained.

  Next, obstacle detection processing by the laser sensor 9 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S200, the CPU 3 reads the obstacle detection range data Ln by the laser from the nonvolatile memory 4. In the subsequent step S210, the scanning angle θn is set to a value (0 °) corresponding to the starting position of the scanning angle range. In step S220, it is determined whether or not the scanning angle θn has reached an upper limit angle corresponding to the end position of the scanning angle range of the laser beam. If it is determined in step S220 that the upper limit angle has been reached, the scan angle θn is reset to a value (0 °) corresponding to the start position of the laser beam scan angle range in step S230. .

  In step S240, the laser sensor 9 is instructed to emit laser light at the set scanning angle θn. When the laser sensor 9 receives the reflected light with respect to the emitted laser light, the laser sensor 9 calculates the distance Xn to the obstacle based on the difference between the light receiving and emitting times of the laser light. The laser sensor 9 outputs a distance Xn corresponding to ∞ (infinity) when it does not receive the reflected light of the laser beam within a predetermined specified time.

  In step S250, the magnitude relationship between the distance Xn to the obstacle input from the laser sensor 9 and the obstacle detection range data Ln by the laser is determined. If it is determined in step S250 that the distance Xn to the obstacle is larger than the obstacle detection range data Ln by the laser, it can be considered that the obstacle does not exist within the movable range of the door 30. Therefore, the process of step S260 is performed. Proceed to

  In step S260, the scanning angle θ of the emitted laser light belongs to a predetermined determination angle area (for example, an area having a scanning angle of 90 ° to 150 °), and the distance Xn input from the laser sensor 9 is ∞ (infinite). It is determined whether or not.

  If it is determined No in step S260, the process proceeds to step S270, and the scanning angle θn is updated by increasing the scanning angle θn by a predetermined step angle θx. Then, the process returns to step S220, and laser light is emitted from the laser sensor 9 at the updated scanning angle θn or the reset scanning angle θn.

  On the other hand, if it determines with Yes in step S260, it will progress to step S280 and will determine with the obstacle which may contact the door 30 existing. When the processing in step S280 is performed, it is determined that there is an obstacle in the determination processing in step S160 in the main routine of FIG.

  In the obstacle detection process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, the process from step S220 to step S270 is repeated as long as no obstacle is detected while the door 30 is opened. Then, in parallel with the repeated processing of the obstacle detection processing, the processing from steps S120 to S150 of the main routine is also repeatedly executed.

  Next, obstacle detection processing by the sonar 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S300, the sonar 10 is instructed to transmit a sound wave. When the sonar 10 detects reflection on the transmitted sonar, the sonar 10 calculates the distance Y to the obstacle based on the time difference from the transmission of the sonar to reception. Note that the sonar 10 outputs a distance Y corresponding to ∞ (infinite) when no sonar reflection is detected within a predetermined specified time.

  In step S310, the magnitude relationship between the distance Y to the obstacle input from the sonar 10 and the preset determination distance X for determining that there is an obstacle is determined. The determination distance X is set, for example, to the sonar 10 or the door 30 so as to be perpendicular to the sonar 10 or the door 30 and the shortest distance between the outer peripheral surface of the door 30 opening range indicated by a broken line in FIG. If it is determined in step S310 that the distance Y to the obstacle is greater than the determination distance X, it can be assumed that the obstacle does not exist within the movable range of the door 30, and the processing in FIG. (End).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S310 that Yes, that is, the distance Y to the obstacle is equal to or smaller than the determination distance X, the process proceeds to step S320, and there is an obstacle that may contact the door 30. Judge that. When the processing in step S320 is performed, it is determined that there is an obstacle in the determination processing in step S150 in the main routine of FIG.

  The obstacle detection processing by the sonar 10 shown in the flowchart of FIG. 12 is also repeatedly performed unless an obstacle is detected while the door 30 is opened. Then, in parallel with the repetition processing of the obstacle detection processing by the sonar 10 (in time division), the processing from steps S120 to S160 of the main routine is also repeatedly executed.

  As described above, an obstacle having a mirror surface on the surface can also be detected by detecting using a combination of the two sensors of the laser sensor 9 and the sonar 10. That is, even if the surface is a mirror surface, the laser sensor 9 may not be able to calculate the distance correctly by deciding whether to open the swing door 30 by giving priority to the obstacle detection result by the sonar 10 that does not decrease the detection accuracy. It is possible to avoid the swing door 30 coming into contact with an obstacle having a certain mirror surface.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the sonar 10 is installed so that the detection region 10a is the region shown in FIG. 5, so that the swing door 30 contacts an obstacle having a mirror surface with only one sonar 10. Can be almost prevented.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the present embodiment, in FIG. 10, after referring to the determination result of the sonar 10, the determination result of the laser sensor 9 is referred to. However, the determination result of both the sonar 10 and the laser sensor 9 is finally obtained. If the opening degree of the door is controlled by preferentially using the obstacle determination result by the sonar 10 among the both determination results, the order of reference is not essential.

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the scanning angle range is scanned with the laser beam so that an obstacle that may come into contact with almost the entire surface of the door 30 can be detected. However, a window is usually provided on the upper portion of the door 30, and the user of the vehicle can easily see the side of the vehicle through the window. Further, since the laser sensor 9 is provided in the vicinity of the rotation axis of the door 30, the door portion located in front of the vehicle with respect to the installation position of the laser sensor 9 is small, and the movement distance when the door is opened. Is also small.

  For this reason, the need for detecting an obstacle by the laser sensor 9 is relatively low in the range where the door window is provided or in the range of the door portion in front of the vehicle than the installation position of the laser sensor 9. Therefore, the scanning angle range shown in FIG. 9, that is, the direction immediately below the installation position of the laser sensor 9 is set as the starting position of the scanning angle range, and the vicinity of the upper end position of the door portion below the window is set as the ending position of the scanning angle range. good. Even in such a scanning angle range of the laser beam, an obstacle to the door portion below the window, which is likely to be a blind spot for the vehicle user, can be detected without omission. Furthermore, by narrowing the scanning angle range of the laser light in this way, it is possible to reduce power consumption, improve the responsiveness of obstacle detection, and increase the obstacle detection accuracy.

  Further, the laser beam from the laser sensor 9 scans a plane that is deviated from the surface of the door 30 by a predetermined angle φ in the direction in which the door 30 is opened. However, when the installation position of the laser sensor 9 in the door mirror is sufficiently away from the door surface, the laser light from the laser sensor 9 may scan a plane parallel to the surface of the door 30. That is, the predetermined angle φ may be 0 °.

  If a plurality of sonars are installed, an obstacle having a mirror surface on the surface can be detected in a wider range. In that case, it is preferable that at least one sonar is installed so as to detect the above-mentioned intersection.

  Further, although the laser sensor 9 is provided in the lower part of the door mirror, the laser sensor 9 may be provided in the door body. Further, the laser sensor 9 may be installed in a support shaft that fixes the door mirror to the door 30. Thereby, compared with the case where the laser sensor 9 is installed in the lower part of a door mirror, the design property can be improved.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ECU, 6 Open switch, 7 Close switch, 8 Stop switch, 9 Laser sensor, 10 Sonar, 10a Sonar detection range, 11 Opening sensor, 12 Opening / closing motor, 13 Latch release motor, 30 Door, 32 Door mirror, 40 Intersection , 42 vertical plane, 44 vertical plane

Claims (2)

In the vicinity of the rotation axis of the swing door of the vehicle, the laser is installed on the door or a door mirror mounted on the door, and scans the surface of the door in a direction shifted in the direction in which the door is opened. A laser sensor that transmits light and receives reflected light reflected by an obstacle; and
A sonar that is installed in the door, transmits sound waves in the door opening direction, and receives sound waves reflected by obstacles;
A sonar determination unit that determines whether there is an obstacle that may contact the door in the door opening direction based on a reception result of the sound wave by the sonar;
A laser determination unit that determines whether there is an obstacle that may contact the door in a door opening direction based on a result of receiving the laser beam by the laser sensor;
Based on the sonar determination result by the sonar determination unit and the laser determination result by the laser determination unit, an opening limit unit that limits the opening of the door,
The opening limit unit is configured so that the determination result of the sonar determination unit is in contact with the door even if the determination result by the laser determination unit is a determination result that there is no obstacle that may contact the door. If the result of the determination is that there is an obstacle that may occur, the opening degree of the door is limited. The sonar is
In the swing door, the swing door is installed at the end opposite to the rotation axis of the swing door,
On a line of intersection between a vertical plane passing through the vehicle outer end of the door mirror installed on the swing door and parallel to the vehicle side, and a vertical plane passing through the end opposite to the rotation axis of the swing door and perpendicular to the swing door The automatic door opening device according to claim 1, wherein a point is included in the detection range.

Images