JP2013120398A - Vehicle length estimating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To estimate and output the overall length of a vehicle even when the overall length has varied.SOLUTION: A vehicle length estimating apparatus comprises a feature extractor 43 that extracts features of a front side image picked up by a front side sensor 30 disposed at the front end of a vehicle 2 and features of a rear side image picked up by a rear side sensor 31 disposed at the rear end of the vehicle 2; detection interval calculating means that calculates, on the basis of the point of time at which a front side image and another front side image associated with a rear side external image whose features coincide with each other were picked up and the point of time at which the rear side image was picked up, the period between the two points of time as a detection interval Ti; a speed calculator 46 that calculates on the basis of the two points of time, a traveling speed Va of the vehicle 2 during the detection interval Ti; a travel distance calculator 47 that calculates on the basis of the detection interval Ti and the traveling speed Va, a travel distance D during the detection interval Ti; an estimator 48 that calculates on the basis of the travel distance D, an estimate L that is the estimated value of the overall length of the vehicle 2; and an output unit 49 that outputs the estimate L.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle length estimation device that is mounted on a vehicle and estimates the total length of the vehicle in the front-rear direction.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-134718 describes an information providing device for a vehicle that provides information about a moving body around the vehicle based on moving body information acquired from a roadside device installed at a predetermined position on the road. Has been. The lane change determination unit of the information providing apparatus determines that the vehicle changes lanes based on the length of the vehicle stored in advance by the vehicle controller. When it is determined that the vehicle is to change lanes, the information providing unit of the vehicle obtains driving support information including information on other vehicles, pedestrians, and other moving objects around the vehicle via the output device. Output.

JP 2010-134718 A

  In the information providing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a user of the information providing apparatus needs to grasp the total length of the vehicle in advance and store it in the vehicle controller in advance. However, when the total length of the vehicle changes, such as when the tractor pulls the trailer or when the trailer to be pulled is changed to another trailer with a different length, the user or the like knows the total length of the vehicle and sends it to the vehicle controller. In order to memorize | store, it has to measure a full length for every change, and takes time.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a vehicle length estimation device capable of estimating and outputting the total length of the vehicle even when the total length of the vehicle changes. Objective.

  In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle length estimation device of the present invention is a vehicle length estimation device mounted on a vehicle, comprising a front side information acquisition unit, a rear side information acquisition unit, a vehicle speed sensor, and an information storage unit. , Determination means, travel distance calculation means, estimation means, and output means.

  The front side information acquisition means is provided at the front end portion of the vehicle, and sequentially acquires front side external information around the front end portion while the vehicle is traveling. The rear information acquisition means is provided at the rear end portion of the vehicle, and sequentially acquires rear external information around the rear end portion while the vehicle is traveling. The vehicle speed sensor sequentially detects the traveling speed of the vehicle. The information storage means accumulates and stores the external information acquired by the information acquisition means. When the rear information acquisition unit acquires the rear external information, the determination unit compares the acquired rear external information with the front external information stored in the external information storage unit, and compares the front external information and the rear external information. It is determined whether the information is front specific information and rear specific information including common features acquired from one external object. The mileage calculating means starts when the front side information acquisition means acquires the front side specific information when the determination means determines that the front side external information and the rear side external information are the front side specific information and the rear side specific information. The elapsed time from when the rear side information acquisition means acquires the rear side specific information to the time when the rear side specific information is acquired and the traveling speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor between the time when the front side specific information is acquired and the time when the rear side specific information is acquired. The distance traveled by the vehicle between the time when the front specific information is acquired and the time when the rear specific information is acquired is calculated. The estimation means estimates the total length of the vehicle in the front-rear direction based on the travel distance calculated by the travel distance calculation means, the front side specification information, and the rear side specification information. The output means outputs the total length estimated by the estimation means.

  External objects include road markings on roads on which vehicles are traveling, road signs and traffic lights standing on the roads, and the like.

  In the above configuration, the total length in the front-rear direction of the vehicle is estimated and output based on the front-side external information and the rear-side external information acquired by the front-side information acquisition unit and the rear-side information acquisition unit while the vehicle is traveling and the traveling speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor. can do. For this reason, even if it is a case where the full length of a vehicle changes, a driver | operator etc. can grasp | ascertain the estimated full length, without measuring a full length themselves.

  The information storage means stores the front external information acquired by the front information acquisition means in association with the time when the front external information is acquired, and stores the rear external information acquired by the rear information acquisition means. The travel speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor is stored in association with the time at which the external information was acquired, and stored in association with the time at which the travel speed was detected, and the travel distance calculation means is associated with the front side identification information. The time stored in the storage means is extracted as the front specific information acquisition time, the time stored in the information storage means in association with the rear specific information is extracted as the rear specific information acquisition time, and from the front specific information acquisition time The travel speed stored in association with the time included until the time when the rear specific information is acquired is extracted as the travel speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor from the time when the front specific information is acquired until the time when the rear specific information is acquired. It may be.

  In the above configuration, the travel distance calculating means stores the travel speed stored in association with the time included between the time when the front specific information is acquired and the time when the rear specific information is acquired from the time when the front specific information is acquired until the time when the rear specific information is acquired. The vehicle traveled during the period from when the front specific information was acquired to when the rear specific information was acquired, using the elapsed time and the extracted travel speed as the travel speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor. The distance is calculated, and the estimation means estimates the total length of the vehicle in the front-rear direction based on the travel distance calculated by the travel distance calculation means, the front side identification information, and the rear side identification information. The accuracy of estimation can be relatively increased.

  The information storage means stores the front external information acquired by the front information acquisition means in association with the time when the front external information is acquired and the traveling speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor when the front external information is acquired, And the rear external information acquired by the rear information acquisition means is stored in association with the time when the rear external information is acquired and the travel speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor when the rear external information is acquired, and the travel distance The calculation means extracts the time stored in the information storage means in association with the front specific information as the acquisition time of the front specific information, and the time stored in the information storage means in association with the rear specific information at the time of acquisition of the rear specific information. The vehicle speed sensor detects the traveling speed extracted and stored in association with the front side specific information and the rear side specific information from the time when the front side specific information is acquired until the time when the rear side specific information is acquired. It may be extracted as a degree.

  In the above configuration, when the front side specifying information and the rear side specifying information are specified, the travel distance calculating unit extracts the time stored in the information storage unit in association with the front side specifying information as the front side specifying information acquisition time, The time stored in the information storage means in association with the specific information is extracted as the time when the rear specific information is acquired, and the traveling speed stored in association with each of the front specific information and the rear specific information is determined when the front specific information is acquired. Since the travel speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor can be extracted from when the rear specific information is acquired, the total length of the vehicle can be estimated relatively easily.

  According to the present invention, even when the total length of the vehicle changes, the total length of the vehicle can be estimated and output.

1 is a side view of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block block diagram which shows the vehicle length estimation apparatus, information provision apparatus, and communication apparatus which are mounted in the vehicle of FIG. FIG. 1A is a plan view and FIG. 1B is a side view showing a state when the vehicle in FIG. 1 travels from point A to point B on the road. It is a figure which shows the image of the road surface which the front side sensor of the vehicle in A point of FIG. 3 imaged. It is a figure which shows the image of the road surface which the rear sensor of the vehicle in the B point of FIG. 3 imaged. It is a figure which shows the image of FIG. 4 after conversion. It is a figure which shows each area | region at the time of dividing the image of FIG. 4 into 3 parts. It is a figure which shows each area | region at the time of dividing the image of FIG. 5 into 3 parts. It is a figure which shows an example of a vehicle length display screen. It is a flowchart which shows the vehicle length estimation process of this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawing, the arrow FR indicates the front of the vehicle, the arrow UP indicates the upper side, and the arrow IN indicates the inner side in the vehicle width direction. In the following description, front and rear means front and rear of the vehicle, and left and right mean left and right in a state of facing the front of the vehicle. In FIG. 3, F indicates the imaging range of the front sensor (range indicated by a two-dot chain line in the drawing), and R indicates the imaging range of the rear sensor (range indicated by a one-dot chain line in the drawing).

  A vehicle 2 equipped with the vehicle alarm device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a full tractor 10 and a full trailer 20, as shown in FIG. The full tractor 10 has a vehicle body frame 11 extending in the front-rear direction. A plurality of axles (not shown) extending along the vehicle width direction are provided at the front and rear portions of the body frame 11. Traveling wheels 12 are rotatably supported at both ends of each axle in the vehicle width direction. A substantially box-shaped cab 13 is supported on the front upper portion of the vehicle body frame 11 by a cab 13 mount (not shown) attached to the vehicle body frame 11 so as to be tiltable forward. The vehicle body frame 11 supports the loading platform 14 from below at the rear of the cab 13. A pintle hook (not shown) extending rearward is provided at the lower rear end of the body frame 11. The rear end portion of the pintle hook is formed in a hook shape.

  The full trailer 20 has a vehicle body frame 21 extending in the front-rear direction. A plurality of axles (not shown) extending along the vehicle width direction are provided at the front and rear portions of the body frame 21. Traveling wheels 22 are rotatably supported at both ends of each axle in the vehicle width direction. The vehicle body frame 21 supports the loading platform 24 from below. At the front end portion of the vehicle body frame 21, a lunet eye 23 extending forward is provided. The front end portion of the lunet eye 23 is formed in a ring shape.

  The full tractor 10 and the full trailer 20 are coupled by engaging the hook-shaped rear end portion of the pintle hook of the full tractor 10 and the ring-shaped front end portion of the lunet eye 23 of the full trailer 20, thereby 10 becomes a state where the full trailer 20 can be pulled.

  A vehicle length estimation device 1 according to the present embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 2 and, as shown in FIG. 2, a front sensor (front external information acquisition unit) 30, a rear sensor (rear side external information acquisition unit) 31, and The vehicle speed sensor 32, the time measuring unit 33, and the processing unit 40 are provided. In addition, the vehicle length estimation device 1 is mounted on the vehicle 2 and communicates with the information providing device 60 that notifies that a route guidance or an accident involving the vehicle may occur, and a management center that performs operation management of the vehicle 2. The communication device 70 is connected via the network to transmit the state of the vehicle 2 (such as the total length of the vehicle 2) and the traveling state (such as the traveling speed) and receive instructions from the management center.

  The front sensor 30 is a camera sensor composed of a CCD camera, for example, and is detachably attached to the upper front end of the cab 13. Further, the front sensor 30 is attached to the cab 13 so as to be rotatable and movable so that a desired angle of view and elevation angle can be set.

  The rear sensor 31 is a camera sensor composed of a CCD camera, for example, and is detachably attached to the upper rear end of the loading platform 24 of the full trailer 20. Further, the rear sensor 31 is attached to the cargo bed 24 so as to be rotatable and movable so that a desired angle of view and elevation angle can be set.

  The front sensor 30 and the rear sensor 31 capture the road surface in front of and behind the vehicle every predetermined time (for example, 0.1 seconds) after starting the engine (not shown), and display the captured front and rear images. To the processing unit 40. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the vehicle 2 travels from the point A to the point B on the road, the front sensor 30 of the vehicle 2 at the point A (when the front end of the vehicle 2 passes the point A) The front image as shown in FIG. 4 is transmitted to the processing unit 40. Further, the rear sensor 31 of the vehicle 2 at the point B (when the rear end of the vehicle 2 passes the point B) transmits a rear image as shown in FIG. 5 to the processing unit 40.

  The vehicle speed sensor 32 electrically detects the rotational speed of the axle of the vehicle 2 every predetermined time (for example, 0.1 second), detects the travel speed of the vehicle 2, and detects the travel speed V detected in the processing unit 40. Send.

  The time measuring unit 33 includes a real time clock (RTC) which is an integrated circuit for measuring the date and time. The time measuring unit 33 outputs time information T indicating the current time in response to a request from the processing unit 40.

  The processing unit 40 includes a processing unit 41 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a storage unit (information storage unit) 42 including a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory).

  The processing unit 41 executes feature extraction processing according to the feature extraction program stored in the storage unit 42, and executes vehicle length estimation processing according to the vehicle length estimation program. The processing unit functions as the feature extraction unit 43 in the feature extraction process, and in the vehicle length estimation process, the determination unit (determination unit) 44, the travel distance calculation unit (travel distance calculation unit) 45, and the estimation unit (estimation unit). 46, functions as an output unit (output means) 47. Further, the processing unit 41 functions as a storage control unit 48 that stores the front image and the rear image output from the front sensor 30 and the rear sensor 31 and the traveling speed V output from the vehicle speed sensor 32 in the storage unit 42. .

  The storage unit 42 stores in advance various programs (including a feature extraction program and a vehicle length estimation program) read by the processing unit 41 and various data including a road marking pattern to be described later. The road marking is a generic term for what has been painted on the road surface, and includes road markings indicating speed limits, primary stops, etc., and lane markings that represent the boundaries of traveling lanes such as white lines. In the present embodiment, the road marking pattern is data indicating the characteristics of these road markings and lane markings extracted in advance.

  The storage unit 42 also includes a front image storage area 42a in which a front image captured by the front sensor 30 is stored, a rear image storage area 42b in which a rear image captured by the rear sensor 31 is stored, and a vehicle speed. A speed storage area 42c in which the traveling speed V detected by the sensor 32 is stored is set in advance. The front image storage area 42a, the rear image storage area 42b, and the speed storage area 42c are areas in which an upper limit (upper limit data count) of the number of data that can be stored is set in advance, and the stored data count becomes the upper limit data. When reaching the storage control unit 48, when storing the new image or detection result, the storage unit 48 deletes the oldest stored image or detection result first and stores the new image or detection result. Remember. The upper limit data number is set to a number that can reliably execute the vehicle length estimation process executed by the processing unit 41.

  When the storage control unit 48 receives the front image output from the front sensor 30, the storage control unit 48 requests the time measuring unit 33 to output time information T indicating the current time. When the time information T is received from the time measuring unit 33, the received front image and the time information T are associated with each other and stored in the front image storage area 42a of the storage unit 42. Similarly, when the rear image output from the rear sensor 31 is received, the received rear image and the time information T are associated with each other and stored in the rear image storage area 42b of the storage unit 42. For example, when the time when the front end of the vehicle 2 passes through the point A (see FIG. 3) is 12:30:10, the storage control unit 48 outputs the front image as shown in FIG. Is stored in the front storage area in association with the time information T1 indicating 12:30:10, and when the time when the rear end of the vehicle 2 passes through the point B is 12: 30: 12.5 The storage control unit 48 associates and stores time information T2 indicating 12: 30: 12.5 seconds with the rear image as shown in FIG. 5 output from the rear sensor 31. Further, when the storage control unit 48 receives the travel speed V from the vehicle speed sensor 32, the storage control unit 48 requests the timer unit 33 to output time information T indicating the current time. When the time information T is received from the time measuring unit 33, the traveling speed V and the time information T are associated with each other and stored in the speed storage area 42c of the storage unit 42. For example, when the time when the front end of the vehicle 2 passes the point A (see FIG. 3) is 12:30:10 and the traveling speed V1 at this time is 30 km / h as described above, the storage control unit 48 Time information T3 indicating 12:30:10 is associated with the traveling speed V1 and stored in the front storage area, and the time when the rear end of the vehicle 2 passes the point B is 12: 30: 12.5. Thus, when the traveling speed V2 at this time is 30 km / h, the storage control unit 48 stores the traveling speed V2 in association with time information T4 indicating 12: 30: 12.5 seconds.

  In addition, the storage control unit 48 stores the feature and distance Df extracted from the front image described later by the feature extraction unit 43 in the front image storage area 42a in association with the front image from which the feature has been extracted.

  In the feature extraction process, the feature extraction unit 43 extracts road markings in the front image stored in the front image storage area 42a and the rear image stored in the rear image storage area 42b as features of these images. To do. Specifically, the feature extraction unit 43 stores a predetermined image defined on the specific extraction program every time a new front image and rear image are stored in the front image storage area 42a and the rear image storage area 42b. According to the conversion algorithm, the newly stored front image and rear image are converted into an image viewed from a direction orthogonal to the road surface in the image. For example, a front image as shown in FIG. 4 is converted into an image as shown in FIG. The feature extraction unit 43 identifies an edge portion where the brightness and the like change suddenly in each of the converted front image and rear image, and an image around the identified edge portion and a road marking stored in the storage unit 42 Pattern matching is performed, a road marking in the image is identified based on the matching result, and the identified road marking is extracted as a feature of the image. That is, when the pattern of the image around the specified edge portion matches the road marking pattern indicating that the speed limit of the traveling lane is 30 km / h, the road marking is extracted as a feature of the image. Note that if there is no portion in the image that matches the road marking pattern, the feature extraction unit 43 does not extract the feature of the image.

  In addition, the feature extraction unit 43 executes the sensor road marking interval estimation process defined in the specific extraction program, and calculates the distance Df from the front image to the approximate center in the front-rear direction of the road marking extracted from the front end of the vehicle 2 as the feature. presume. Further, the distance Dr from the rear image to the approximate center in the front-rear direction of the road marking is estimated from the rear end of the vehicle 2. Specifically, when estimating the distance Df, the feature extraction unit 43, as shown in FIG. 7, any one of the regions A to C when the road marking extracted as a feature divides the front image into three in the front-rear direction. The distance Df is estimated to be 5 m if it belongs to the area A, 2.5 m if it belongs to the area B, and 1 m if it belongs to the area C. Therefore, in the case shown in FIG. 7, the distance Df is estimated to be 2.5 m. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 8, the feature extraction unit 43 estimates the distance Dr in any one of the regions D to F when the road marking extracted as a feature divides the rear image into three in the front-rear direction. The distance Df is estimated as 1 m when belonging to the region D, 2.5 m when belonging to the region E, and 5 m when belonging to the region F. Therefore, in the case as shown in FIG. 8, the distance Dr is estimated to be 2.5. The feature extraction unit 43 may estimate the distance from the front end of the road marking extracted from the front end of the vehicle 2 as a feature as the distance Df, and the distance from the rear end of the vehicle 2 to the front end of the road marking as the distance Dr. Good. Further, the feature extraction unit 43 estimates the distance from the front end of the vehicle 2 to the rear end of the road marking extracted as the feature as the distance Df, and the distance from the rear end of the vehicle 2 to the rear end of the road marking as the distance Dr. May be.

  In the vehicle length estimation process, the determination unit 44 extracts the features of the rear image newly stored in the rear image storage area 42b and then stores them in the rear image and front image storage area 42a. The front image and the rear image are compared, and it is determined whether or not the front image and the rear image are the front specific information and the rear specific information including common features acquired from one external pair. Specifically, the feature stored in association with the front image stored in the image storage area 42a is referred to and compared with the feature of the rear image newly stored in the rear image storage area 42b. When they are common, the front image and the rear image are specified as the front specific image and the rear specific image. The front image to be compared with the rear image is selected in order from the oldest time information T associated with the front image.

  The travel distance calculation unit 45 calculates a detection interval Ti that is an interval between the time when the front sensor 30 images the front specific image and the time when the rear sensor 31 images the rear specific image. Specifically, first, referring to the time information T stored in the front image storage area 42a and the rear image storage area 42b, the time information T1 associated with the front specific image and the rear specific image are related. Current time information T2 is specified. Next, based on the specified time information T1, T2, a detection interval Ti that is an interval from the time indicated by the time information T1 to the time indicated by the time information T2 is calculated. That is, the detection interval calculation unit 45 obtains the detection interval Ti by the following equation (1).

  Ti (seconds) = T2-T1 (1)

  Therefore, as described above, when the time information T1 indicates time 12:30:10 and the time information T2 indicates time 12: 30: 12.5, the detection interval Ti is 2.5 seconds.

  The travel distance calculation unit 45 refers to the travel speed V stored in the speed storage area 42c of the storage unit 42 and the time information T associated with the travel speed V, and is the same as the time indicated by the time information T1 and T2. The travel speed V1 and the travel speed V2 associated with the time information T3 and T4 indicating the time are specified, and the travel speed Va of the vehicle 2 at the detection interval Ti is calculated by the following equation (2).

  Va (km / h) = (V1 + V2) / 2 (2)

  Therefore, as described above, the time information T1 indicates the time 12:30:10, the traveling speed V1 associated with the time information T3 indicating the same time is 30 km / h, and the time information T2 is 12:30:30 When the traveling speed V2 associated with the time information T4 indicating the same time is 30 km / h, the traveling speed Va is 30 km / h. In addition, when the detection timing of the vehicle speed sensor 32 differs from the timing at which the front sensor 30 and the rear sensor 31 image the road surface, for example, the detection timing of the vehicle speed sensor 32 is 1 second and the front sensor 30 and the rear sensor 31 When the imaging timing is every 0.1 second, the speed calculation unit 46 travels using the travel speed V associated with the time information T indicating the time closest to the time information T1 and the time information T2. The speed Va is calculated.

  Further, the travel distance calculation unit 45 calculates the travel distance D of the vehicle 2 at the detection interval Ti by the following equation (3) using the calculated detection interval Ti and the travel speed Va calculated by the speed calculation unit 46.

  D = Va × Ti (3)

  Therefore, when the traveling speed Va is 30 km / h and the detection interval is 2.5 seconds as described above, the traveling distance D is about 20.8 m. The travel distance calculation unit 45 calculates the acceleration between the times indicated by the time information T3 and T4, and calculates the travel distance based on the acceleration and the time between the times indicated by the time information T3 and T4 and the speed V1. Also good.

  The estimation unit 46 is based on the travel distance D calculated by the travel distance calculation unit 45, the distance Dr estimated from the specific front image stored in the front image storage area 42a, and the distance Df estimated from the specific rear image. An estimated value L of the total length of 2 in the front-rear direction is calculated. That is, the estimation unit 46 calculates the estimated value L of the full length by the following equation (4).

  L = D− (Df + Dr) (4)

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when the distance Df is 2.5 m and the distance Dr is 2.5 m, the total length estimated value L is 15.8 m.

  The output unit 47 outputs the estimated total length L calculated by the estimation unit 46 to the information providing device 60 and the communication device 70. The communication device 70 outputs various information received from the management center via the network to the information providing device 60.

  The information providing apparatus 60 includes a processing unit 61 including a CPU, a storage unit 62 including a ROM and a RAM, a display unit 63, and a speaker 64. The display unit 63 includes a liquid crystal display device having a touch panel function. In the storage unit 62, a vehicle information storage area 62a and a program storage area 62b are set. In the program storage area 62b, a route information providing program (including map information) that defines a route information providing process executed by the processing unit 61, an alarm program that defines an entrainment alarm process, a vehicle length display program, an information display program, etc. Is remembered. In the vehicle information storage area 62a, the width and the total length of the vehicle 2 are stored. The map information stored in the program storage area 62b includes road information selected in the route information providing process executed by the processing unit 61, and each road information is associated with information on the width and total length of the vehicle 2 that can run. ing.

  When the estimated value L of the total length of the vehicle 2 is received from the output unit 47 of the vehicle length estimation device 1, the processing unit 61 stores the estimated value L as the total length of the vehicle 2 in the vehicle information storage area 62 a of the storage unit 62. Note that if the entire length of the vehicle 2 is already stored in the vehicle information storage area 62a, the estimated value L is overwritten.

  The processing unit 61 executes route information provision processing according to the route information provision program. In the route information providing process, the processing unit 61 displays a software keyboard on the display unit 63, and acquires a destination by receiving an operation from the driver via the software keyboard. When the destination is acquired, the processing unit 61 refers to the map information in the program storage area 62b, and based on the lateral width and the total length (estimated value L) of the vehicle 2 stored in the vehicle information storage area 62a, Route information providing processing for selecting a road that can be traveled to create route information to the destination and providing the created route information to the driver via the display unit 63 is executed.

  Moreover, the process part 61 performs an entrainment warning process according to a warning program at the time of the vehicle 2 turning right or left. When the information providing device 60 receives a steering angle detection signal from a steering angle sensor that detects the steering angle of the steering wheel of the vehicle 2 (not shown), the processing unit 61 is stored in the received steering angle detection signal and vehicle information storage area 62a. On the basis of the lateral width and the total length (estimated value L) of the vehicle 2 that is, it is determined whether or not there is a high possibility that a entanglement accident will occur. The driver is informed that an accident involving the vehicle may occur.

  Moreover, the process part 61 performs a vehicle length display process according to a vehicle length display program. The processing unit 61 displays an instruction button (not shown) for receiving an instruction to display the vehicle length from the driver on the display unit 63. When the instruction button is pressed by the driver, the processing unit 61 stores the instruction button in the vehicle information storage area 62a. A vehicle length display screen 80 (see FIG. 9) having a vehicle length display field 81 for displaying the total length (estimated value L) of the vehicle 2 that is present is displayed on the display unit 63.

  The processing unit 61 displays various information from the management center received from the communication device 70 on the display unit 63 according to the information display program.

  The communication device 70 includes a processing unit including a CPU and a storage unit including a ROM and a RAM. An information transmission / reception program executed by the CPU is stored in the storage unit. The processing unit executes information transmission / reception processing for transmitting / receiving information to / from a management center connected via a network according to the information transmission / reception program. When the processing unit receives the estimated value L of the total length of the vehicle 2 from the output unit 47 of the vehicle length estimation device 1, the processing unit transmits the estimated value L to the management center.

  Next, the vehicle total length estimation process executed by the processing unit 40 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this process, the feature extraction unit 43 extracts the features of the rear image newly stored in the rear image storage area 42b after the stopped vehicle 2 starts traveling, for example, 30 seconds after the start of traveling. It is executed every time.

  When this process is started, the determination unit 44 newly stores the most recently stored front image stored in the front image storage area 42a based on the time information T associated with the front image. It selects as an object for comparison with the rear image that has been made, and proceeds to step S2 (step S1).

  In step S <b> 2, the determination unit 44 compares the identified front image with the newly stored rear image, and the front image and the rear image include the front side identification information including the common features acquired from one external pair and the rear image. It is determined whether it is side specific information. When it is front side specific information and back side specific information (step S2: YES), it transfers to step S5. On the other hand, when it is not front side specific information and back side specific information (step S2: NO), it transfers to step S3.

  In step S3, the determination unit 44 determines whether or not the comparison in step S2 has been performed on all the front images stored in the front image storage area 42a as comparison targets. When comparison is performed using all the front images as comparison targets (step S3: YES), this process ends. On the other hand, when the comparison is not performed (step S3: NO), based on the time information T associated with the front image, the front image stored next to the previous image subjected to the previous comparison is compared. As the front image (step S4), and the process proceeds to step S2.

  In step S5, the travel distance calculation unit 45 calculates the time information T1 according to the above equation (1) based on the time information T1 associated with the front specific image and the time information T2 associated with the rear specific image. A detection interval Ti that is an interval from the indicated time to the time indicated by the time information T2 is calculated, and the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S6, the travel distance calculation unit 45 calculates the travel speed Va of the vehicle 2 at the detection interval Ti according to the above equation (2), and proceeds to step S7.

  In step S7, the travel distance calculation unit 45 calculates the travel distance D of the vehicle 2 at the detection interval Ti according to the above equation (3) based on the detection interval Ti and the travel speed Va, and proceeds to step S8.

  In step S8, the estimation unit 46 calculates an estimated value L of the total length in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 2 based on the travel distance D, the distance Df, and the distance Dr calculated by the travel distance calculation unit 45 according to the above equation (4). Then, the process proceeds to step S9.

  In step S9, the output unit 47 outputs the total length estimated value L calculated by the estimation unit 46 to the information providing device 60 and the communication device 70, and ends this process.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the vehicle length estimation device 1 is configured such that the front sensor 30 and the rear sensor 31 detect the front image and the rear image acquired while the vehicle 2 is traveling and the travel speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 32. When the total length of the vehicle 2 changes because the display unit 63 of the information providing device 60 displays the estimated value L that is output. Even so, the driver or the like can grasp the estimated total length without measuring the total length.

  Moreover, since the information provision apparatus 60 performs a route information provision process based on the estimated value L output from the vehicle length estimation apparatus 1, the driver provides appropriate route information according to the estimated total length. Can receive.

  Moreover, since the information provision apparatus 60 performs a warning process based on the estimated value L output from the vehicle length estimation apparatus 1, the driver has an appropriate entrainment accident corresponding to the estimated total length. You can receive notification that there is a risk. For this reason, it is possible to alert the driver to prevent an entrainment accident, so that the risk of an entrainment accident can be reduced.

  Moreover, since the communication apparatus 70 will transmit the estimated value L to the management center, if the estimated value L of the full length of the vehicle 2 is received from the output part 47 of the vehicle length estimation apparatus 1, it will grasp | ascertain the estimated full length in a management center. It is possible to transmit an appropriate instruction according to the estimated total length from the management center to the vehicle 2. For example, based on the width and total length (estimated value L) of the vehicle 2, it is possible to provide information on a road on which the vehicle 2 can travel and a parking space where parking is possible in the vicinity of the road on which the vehicle 2 is traveling. The output unit 47 of the vehicle 2 outputs the information received by the communication device 70 to the information providing device 60, and the information providing device 60 displays the output information.

  Further, when the full tractor 10 is equipped with an entrainment alarm system having rear sensors (not shown) provided at both ends of the rear part of the full tractor 10, this alarm system is based on the estimated value L. It is possible to determine whether or not there is a high possibility that a entanglement accident will occur in the vehicle 2 including 20, and when the possibility that the entanglement will occur is high, it is possible to notify the driver that a entanglement accident may occur. For this reason, the combined use of this warning system with the information providing device 60 can further reduce the risk of entrainment accidents.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, the travel distance calculation unit 45 indicates the same time or the closest time indicated by the time information T1 associated with the front specific image and the time information T2 associated with the rear specific image. The difference from the first embodiment is that the traveling speed Va is calculated based on the total traveling speed V detected between the times indicated by the time information T3 and the time information T4. In the following second embodiment, descriptions of parts common to the first embodiment are omitted.

  The travel distance calculation unit 45 in the second embodiment calculates an average value based on the total travel speed V detected during the time indicated by the time information T3 and T4 stored in the speed storage area 42c as the travel speed Va. . Therefore, the time information T3 indicates time 12:30:10, the time information T3 indicates time 12: 30: 12.5, and the vehicle speed sensor 32 rotates the axle of the vehicle 2 every 0.1 seconds, for example. In the case where the number is electrically detected, the traveling speed V of the vehicle 2 is detected, and the detected traveling speed V is transmitted to the processing unit 40, 0. 0 is displayed in 2.5 seconds between the times indicated by the time information T3 and the time information T4. An average value based on 25 travel speeds V detected every second is calculated as the travel speed Va. The travel distance calculation unit 45 calculates the acceleration between the times indicated by the time information T3 and T4, and calculates the travel distance based on the acceleration, the time between the times indicated by the time information T3 and T4, and the speed V1. May be.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the travel distance calculation unit 45 is the same time as or closest to the time indicated by the time information T1 associated with the front specific image and the time information T2 associated with the rear specific image. An estimation unit 46 calculates a travel speed Va based on the travel speed V detected between the time information T3 indicating the time and the time indicated by the time information T4, calculates a travel distance D based on the detection interval Ti and the travel speed Va. Since the total length in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 2 is estimated based on the travel distance D, the distance Df, and the distance Dr calculated by the travel distance calculation unit 45, the accuracy of estimation of the total length of the vehicle can be relatively increased.

  Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the third embodiment, the front image storage area 42a stores the traveling speed V when the front sensor 30 acquires the front image in association with the front image, and the rear image storage area 42b is stored in the rear sensor 30. The traveling speed V when the front image is acquired is stored in association with the rear image, and the traveling distance calculation unit 45 determines the traveling speed V associated with each of the front specific image and the rear specific image as the detection interval Ti. This is different from the first and second embodiments in that it is extracted as the traveling speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 32. In the following third embodiment, the description of portions common to the first embodiment is omitted.

  When the storage control unit 48 in the third embodiment receives the front image output from the front sensor 30, the storage control unit 48 requests the time measuring unit 33 to output time information T indicating the current time. When the time information T is received from the time measuring unit 33, the time information T, the traveling speed V received from the vehicle speed sensor 32 when the front image is received, and the front image are stored in association with each other. Similarly, when the rear image output from the rear sensor 31 is received, the time information T, the traveling speed V received from the vehicle speed sensor 32 when the rear image is received, and the rear image are associated with each other. The data is stored in the rear image storage area 42b of the storage unit 42. For example, when the time when the front end of the vehicle 2 passes the point A (see FIG. 3) is 12:30:10 and the vehicle speed at this time is 30 km / h, the storage control unit 48 is output from the front sensor 30. The time information T1 indicating 12:30:10 and the traveling speed V2 are associated with the front image as shown in FIG. 4 and stored as the traveling speed V2. Further, when the time when the rear end of the vehicle 2 passes through the point B is 12: 30: 12.5 seconds and the vehicle speed at this time is 30 km / h, the storage control unit 48 is output from the rear sensor 31. In the rear image as shown in FIG. 5, time information T2 indicating 12: 30: 12.5 seconds and 30 km / h are stored in association with each other as the traveling speed V2.

  The travel distance calculation unit 45 in the third embodiment includes the travel speed V1 and the rear specific image associated with the front specific image stored in the front image storage area 42a and the rear image storage area 42b of the storage unit 42. The traveling speed V2 stored in the vehicle is specified, and the traveling speed Va of the vehicle 2 at the detection interval Ti is calculated by the above equation (2).

  Thus, in the third embodiment, by specifying the front specific image and the rear specific image, the front specific image and the rear specific image are associated with each other in the front image storage area 42a and the rear image storage area 42b. Time information T and running speed V can be specified, and the running speed Va of the vehicle 2 at the detection interval Ti can be calculated by the above equation (2). Can be estimated.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment which applied the invention made | formed by this inventor was described, this invention is not limited with the description and drawing which make a part of indication of invention by the said embodiment.

  For example, in the first to third embodiments, the aspect in which the vehicle length estimation device 1 is mounted on the vehicle 2 including the full tractor 10 and the full trailer 20 has been described. The estimation device 1 may be mounted.

  In the first to third embodiments, the vehicle length estimation process has been described as being executed after 30 seconds from the start of traveling of the stopped vehicle 2. However, the display unit 63 of the information providing device 60 is described. Alternatively, a vehicle length estimation instruction button that receives an instruction to execute the vehicle length estimation process from the driver may be displayed, and the vehicle length estimation process may be executed when the vehicle length estimation instruction button is pressed by the driver.

  In the first to third embodiments, in the feature extraction process, the feature extraction unit 43 has described a mode in which the front image and the rear image are converted into an image viewed from a direction orthogonal to the road surface in the image. However, image conversion in the feature extraction process may be omitted. In this case, the road marking pattern for the front image generated in consideration of the distortion of the road marking in the front image and the road marking pattern for the rear image generated in consideration of the distortion of the road marking in the rear image. Are stored in advance, and features are extracted from the front image using the road surface display pattern for the front image, and features are extracted from the rear image using the road surface display pattern for the rear image.

  The front sensor 30 may also be used as the front sensor 30 for imaging the road surface in front of the vehicle in order to select the lane ahead of the vehicle. Further, the rear sensor 31 may also be used as the rear sensor 31 that captures an image of the periphery of the rear of the vehicle for checking the rear when the vehicle is parked.

  Further, laser sensors may be used as the front sensor 30 and the rear sensor 31. In this case, the light emitting part of the laser sensor irradiates light to an external object such as a road marking or a road sign or traffic light standing on the road, and the light receiving part of the laser sensor receives the reflected light from the external object and reflects it. The amount of light received is sequentially acquired as front external information and rear external information. Based on this received light amount, the processing unit 41 determines whether or not the front side specifying information and the rear side specifying information include common features acquired from one external object.

  In the first to third embodiments, the timer unit 33 made of RTC is provided. Instead, a software timer program is stored in the storage unit, and the current time is counted in the processing unit 41 according to this program. You may let them.

  That is, it should be added that other embodiments, examples, operation techniques, and the like made by those skilled in the art based on the above embodiments are all included in the scope of the present invention.

  The present invention is widely applicable to a vehicle length estimation device that is mounted on a vehicle and estimates the total length of the vehicle in the front-rear direction.

1: Vehicle length estimation device 2: Vehicle 10: Full tractor 20: Full trailer 30: Front sensor 31: Rear sensor 32: Vehicle speed sensor 33: Timing unit 40: Processing unit 41: Processing unit 42: Storage unit 42a: Front image Storage area 42b: Rear image storage area 42c: Speed storage area 43: Feature extraction unit 44: Determination unit (determination means)
45: Travel distance calculation unit (travel distance calculation means)
46: Estimator (estimator)
47: Output unit (output means)
48: Storage controller 60: Information providing device 70: Communication device

Claims (3)

A vehicle length estimation device mounted on a vehicle,
Front side information acquisition means provided at the front end portion of the vehicle, and sequentially acquiring front side external information around the front end portion during vehicle travel;
Rear side information acquisition means provided at the rear end of the vehicle, and sequentially acquiring rear external information around the rear end during vehicle travel;
A vehicle speed sensor for sequentially detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle;
Information storage means for accumulating and storing front external information acquired by the front information acquisition means;
When the rear information acquisition means acquires the rear external information, the acquired rear external information is compared with the front external information stored in the external information storage means, and the front external information and the rear external information are compared. Determining means for determining whether or not the front side specific information and the rear side specific information including common features acquired from one external object;
When the determination unit determines that the front external information and the rear external information are the front specific information and the rear specific information, when the front specific information is acquired when the front information acquisition unit acquires the front specific information The vehicle speed sensor is between the elapsed time from when the rear side information acquisition means acquires the rear side specific information until the rear side specific information is acquired and from the time when the front side specific information is acquired until the time when the rear side specific information is acquired. Travel distance calculation means for calculating a travel distance traveled by the vehicle between the time when the front side specific information is acquired and the time when the rear side specific information is acquired, using the detected travel speed;
Estimation means for estimating a total length in the front-rear direction of the vehicle based on the travel distance calculated by the travel distance calculation means, the front-side identification information, and the rear-side identification information;
An output means for outputting the total length estimated by the estimation means. A vehicle length estimation device comprising: The vehicle length estimation device according to claim 1,
The information storage means stores the front external information acquired by the front information acquisition means in association with the time when the front external information is acquired, and the rear external information acquired by the rear information acquisition means Storing in association with the time when the rear external information was acquired, and storing the traveling speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor in association with the time when the traveling speed was detected,
The travel distance calculating unit extracts the time stored in the information storage unit in association with the front side specific information as the time of acquiring the front side specific information, and stores the time in the information storage unit in association with the rear side specific information. The time is extracted as the time when the rear side specific information is acquired, and the travel speed stored in association with the time included between the time when the front side specific information is acquired and the time when the rear side specific information is acquired is determined from the time when the front side specific information is acquired. The vehicle length estimation device, wherein the vehicle speed sensor detects the traveling speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor until the rear side specific information is acquired. The vehicle length estimation device according to claim 1,
The information storage means stores the front external information acquired by the front information acquisition means in association with the time when the front external information is acquired and the traveling speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor when the front external information is acquired. And the rear side external information acquired by the rear side information acquisition means is associated with the time when the rear side external information is acquired and the traveling speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor when the rear side external information is acquired. Remember,
The travel distance calculating unit extracts the time stored in the information storage unit in association with the front side specific information as the time of acquiring the front side specific information, and stores the time in the information storage unit in association with the rear side specific information. Time is extracted as the time when the rear side specific information is acquired, and the traveling speed stored in association with the front side specific information and the rear side specific information is acquired from the time when the front side specific information is acquired to the time when the rear side specific information is acquired. Until the vehicle speed sensor detects the travel speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor.

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