JP2013134597A - Obstacle alarm device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an obstacle alarm device capable of clearly indicating presence of an obstacle approaching a vehicle to a driver without making it difficult to view a situation around the vehicle.SOLUTION: An obstacle alarm device 100 includes: a photographed image acquisition part for acquiring a photographed image G for which a scene around a vehicle 1 is photographed; an attention photographed image generation part for generating an attention photographed image on the basis of the photographed image G; an object present determination part for determining whether or not an object 7 is present in an outer side area O on an outer side of the attention photographed image; a moving direction determination part for determining a moving direction of the object 7 in the outer side area O; and a clear indication image output part for displaying an index S which moves toward a center side from the side of the outer side area O where the object 7 is present in the attention photographed image and moves to the front side from the attention photographed image when determined that the object 7 in the outer side area O is to move to the center side of the attention photographed image by the moving direction determination part.

Description

  The present invention relates to an obstacle alarm device that clearly indicates to an occupant the presence of an obstacle approaching a vehicle.

  There are blind spots around the vehicle that cannot be seen from the position of the driver, and the driver needs to pay close attention to the periphery of the vehicle when driving the vehicle. In particular, when the vehicle is moved backward and parked, there are many users who are not good at parking itself, and there is not a lot of mental fatigue. Thus, conventionally, techniques for monitoring obstacles around the vehicle have been used (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  The vehicle obstacle alarm device described in Patent Document 1 includes a lateral movement obstacle detection means, a lateral movement direction detection means, and a lateral movement information provision means. The laterally moving obstacle detection means detects an obstacle that moves in the direction crossing the traveling direction in front of the vehicle. The lateral movement direction detection means detects the lateral movement direction of the obstacle detected by the lateral movement obstacle detection means. The lateral movement information providing means provides the driver with information regarding the lateral movement direction of the obstacle detected by the lateral movement direction detecting means. At this time, the lateral movement information providing means displays an arrow indicating the lateral movement direction detected by the lateral movement direction detecting means on the display unit.

  The vehicle surrounding monitoring apparatus described in Patent Document 2 includes an imaging unit, an obstacle detection unit, and a display unit. The imaging means images the surroundings of the vehicle including a part of the host vehicle. The obstacle detection means detects an obstacle located around the vehicle and calculates a distance between the detected obstacle and the host vehicle. The display unit displays the captured image captured by the imaging unit and the obstacle display image indicating the distance calculated by the obstacle detection unit on one screen.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-115660 JP 2009-217740 A

  Obstacles around the vehicle are detected by detecting obstacles around the vehicle as in the techniques described in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 and displaying information (arrows, etc.) clearly indicating the obstacles on the screen. Can be notified. However, the screen size of the display (display means) mounted on the vehicle is not large. For this reason, if an arrow or the like is displayed on the image showing the situation around the vehicle displayed on the display, the situation around the vehicle may become difficult to see or an obstacle may not be grasped.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an obstacle alarm device that can clearly indicate to the driver the presence of an obstacle approaching the vehicle without making it difficult to see the situation around the vehicle. is there.

In order to achieve the above object, the characteristic configuration of the obstacle alarm device according to the present invention is as follows:
A captured image acquisition unit that acquires a captured image of a scene around the vehicle;
An attention-captured image generation unit that generates an attention-captured image based on the captured image;
An object presence determination unit that determines whether or not an object exists in an outer region outside the target captured image;
A moving direction determination unit that determines the moving direction of the object in the outer region;
When it is determined by the movement direction determination unit that the object in the outer area moves to the center side of the target captured image, the outer target area of the target captured image moves from the outer area side to the center side, and An explicit image output unit for displaying an indicator that moves toward the near side from the noted photographed image;
It is in the point equipped with.

  With such a characteristic configuration, even if an object is not shown in the monitor screen of the vehicle, the situation around the vehicle is displayed when an object approaching the vehicle enters the shooting range. The presence and direction of an object approaching the vehicle can be clearly indicated to the driver. Accordingly, even when the screen size of the monitor is small, an object approaching the vehicle is not missed. In addition, since the index is displayed on the side edge of the screen, it is difficult for the driver to see the situation around the vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to clearly indicate to the driver the presence of an obstacle approaching the vehicle without making it difficult to see the situation around the vehicle.

  In addition, the explicit image output unit repeatedly displays a plurality of indicators that are turned on after being turned on for a certain period of time and sequentially displayed at different positions, and displays the plurality of indicators at positions where they are partially overlapped for later display. For the overlapping portion between the index and the index displayed immediately before, it is preferable to repeatedly display the index displayed later.

  With such a configuration, even if an index is displayed on the monitor screen, the situation around the vehicle is not hidden by the index. Therefore, the visibility of the situation around the vehicle can be ensured.

  Further, it is preferable that the index to be displayed later is larger in size than the index displayed immediately before.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to visually display a state where the index approaches the center of the screen. Therefore, it becomes easier for the driver to recognize the approach of the obstacle more effectively.

  In addition, it is preferable that the index to be displayed later is lower in transparency than the index displayed immediately before.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to visually display a state where the index approaches the center of the screen. Therefore, it becomes easier for the driver to recognize the approach of the obstacle more effectively. In addition, since the scene displayed at the end of the screen is not hidden, it is possible to properly grasp the obstacle even when the obstacle suddenly pops out.

  Further, the explicit image output unit displays an arrow shape having a convex portion protruding toward the center side of the target captured image so as to shift to an arrow shape having a convex portion protruding toward the near side of the target captured image. It is preferable.

  With such a configuration, since the moving direction of the obstacle coincides with the direction in which the convex portion faces, the driver can intuitively recognize the moving direction of the obstacle. . Further, after that, it is displayed so that the convex portion approaches the occupant side, so that it can be clearly shown visually to focus on monitoring around the vehicle.

  Further, it is preferable that the explicit image output unit is configured to stop outputting the index when the object enters an area corresponding to the target captured image.

  With such a configuration, since the display of the index can be stopped when the object is reflected in the screen (display image) of the display device, the object is not hidden by the index. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately visually recognize an object approaching the vehicle.

It is the block diagram which showed typically the structure of the obstacle alarm device. It is the figure which showed an example of the process of an obstacle alarm device. It is the figure which showed an example of the synthesized image. It is the figure which showed an example of the synthesized image. It is the figure which showed typically the process of the obstacle alarm device.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. The obstacle alarm device 100 according to the present invention has a function of clearly indicating that an object is approaching the driver of the vehicle when there is an object approaching the vehicle. Hereinafter, it demonstrates using drawing.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the obstacle alarm device 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the obstacle alarm device 100 includes a captured image acquisition unit 11, a focused captured image generation unit 12, an outer region generation unit 13, an object presence determination unit 14, a movement direction determination unit 15, and an explicit image output unit. 16, the explicit image storage unit 17 and the composite image generation unit 18 are provided. Each functional unit includes the above-described functional units for performing various processes for clearly indicating the approach of the object 7 to the driver of the vehicle 1 by using a CPU as a core member.

  The captured image acquisition unit 11 acquires a captured image G obtained by capturing a scene around the vehicle 1. Here, the vehicle 1 is provided with a camera 5. The camera 5 according to the present embodiment includes a digital camera that incorporates an image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a CMOS image sensor (CIS) and outputs captured information as moving image information. As shown in FIG. 2A, such a camera 5 is located behind the vehicle 1 in the vicinity of the license plate provided at the outer rear part of the vehicle 1 or in the vicinity of the emblem provided at the outer rear part of the vehicle 1. It is arrange | positioned with a slight depression angle toward. The camera 5 includes a wide-angle lens (not shown). Thereby, the scene around the vehicle 1 can be photographed over the rear of the vehicle 1 over approximately 180 degrees. Such an imaging range is shown as “wide viewing angle” in FIG. The camera 5 has a performance of outputting a moving image as a captured image G in real time. Such a captured image G is transmitted to the captured image acquisition unit 11.

  An example of such a captured image G is shown in FIG. The full width of FIG. 2 (b) corresponds to the wide viewing angle of FIG. 2 (a). Here, in the photographed image G, the object 7 on the left side as viewed from the rear of the vehicle 1 as shown in FIG. 2A is on the right side in the photographed image G as shown in FIG. Thus, mirror image processing is performed. This is because when the scene behind the vehicle 1 is displayed on the monitor 50, it is easy for the driver of the vehicle 1 to intuitively understand whether the object 7 included in the captured image G is on the left side or the right side of the vehicle 1. It is to do.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the noticeable photographed image generation unit 12 generates a noticeable photographed image based on the photographed image G. In the present embodiment, the shooting range of the shot image G is a wide viewing angle. For this reason, the noticeable photographed image generation unit 12 generates a narrow-field region N that is a central portion of the photographed image G as the noticeable photographed image. The captured image G is transmitted from the captured image acquisition unit 11 described above. In the present embodiment, the noticeable photographed image corresponds to the central portion in the horizontal direction of the photographed image G shown in FIG. Such a narrow visual field region N is preferably a region, for example, about 120 to 130 degrees behind the vehicle 1 like the “narrow visual field angle” in FIG. In addition, since the narrow-field region N is close to the advanceable range when the vehicle 1 moves backward, it is referred to as a “focused captured image” because it is a region that should be particularly noted in the captured image G. Such a noticeable photographed image corresponds to a display image displayed on the monitor 50 described later (see FIG. 2C). In the present embodiment, the “focused captured image” is described as an image of a “narrow field of view”.

  The outer area generation unit 13 generates an outer area O outside the target captured image. That is, an outer region O outside the narrow field region N in the captured image G is generated. As described above, the narrow-field region N is generated by the noticeable captured image generation unit 12 at the central portion in the horizontal direction of the captured image G. The outer region generation unit 13 generates an outer region O as shown in FIG. 2B outside the narrow visual field region N in the lateral direction. The outer region O generated by the outer region generation unit 13 is transmitted to an object presence determination unit 14 described later.

  The object presence determination unit 14 determines whether or not the object 7 exists in the outer region O. The outer region O is transmitted from the outer region generator 13. Whether or not the object 7 exists can be determined using a known image recognition process such as pattern matching. Of course, it is possible to determine whether or not the object 7 exists in the outer region O by processing other than pattern matching. The determination result of the object presence determination unit 14 is transmitted to a movement direction determination unit 15 described later.

  The movement direction determination unit 15 determines the movement direction of the object 7 in the outer region O. Such determination of the moving direction is performed when the object presence determination unit 14 determines that the object 7 exists in the outer region O. In particular, in this embodiment, the moving direction determination unit 15 determines whether or not the object 7 in the outer region O moves toward the narrow visual field region N. The movement toward the narrow visual field N indicates that the vehicle 1 moves from the outer side in the width direction of the vehicle 1 to the direction just behind the vehicle 1 behind the vehicle 1. Such a determination can be performed by comparing the position of the object 7 in the current captured image G with the position of the object 7 in the captured image G a predetermined time ago, for example, or by using an optical flow. It is possible to use this method. Such a determination result of the moving direction is transmitted to the explicit image output unit 16 described later.

  When the moving direction determination unit 15 determines that the object 7 in the outer region O moves to the center side of the target captured image, the explicit image output unit 16 is on the side of the outer region O where the object 7 exists in the target captured image. The index S is displayed so as to move toward the center side and move toward the near side from the target photographed image, and the display is repeated. Here, in the present embodiment, the attention-captured image corresponds to an image in the narrow visual field N. Therefore, when the object 7 in the outer region O moves toward the narrow field region N of the vehicle 1, the explicit image output unit 16 initially has the object 7 in the narrow field region N displayed on the monitor 50. The indicator S is directed from the outer region O side toward the center side and then gradually changed to display the indicator S approaching the occupant side from the monitor 50, and the display is repeated. Whether or not the object 7 in the outer region O moves toward the narrow field region N of the vehicle 1 is determined by the moving direction determination unit 15 described above. The side of the outside field O where the object 7 exists in the narrow field area N corresponds to the left side area in the narrow field area N when the object 7 is in the left side area O. On the other hand, when the object 7 is in the right outer region O, the right region in the narrow field region N corresponds.

  In the present embodiment, the explicit image output unit 16 sequentially displays the indicators S that are turned on after being turned on for a certain period of time at different positions and repeatedly performs the display. The indicator S that is turned off after being turned on for a certain period of time indicates not the state in which the indicator S is continuously displayed but the state in which the indicator S is displayed while changing its position. In this embodiment, after such an index S is displayed, it is turned off, and when it is displayed next, it is displayed at a different position. Accordingly, the index S is in a state of moving between two predetermined positions on the screen. The explicit image output unit 16 repeatedly performs such movement of the index S.

  Such an index S may be displayed so as to move continuously, or may be displayed so as to be turned off after being turned on for a certain period of time, that is, so that the index S blinks and moves. In the present embodiment, such an index S will be described as moving continuously. Therefore, the index S is in a state of moving smoothly from appearing on the screen of the monitor 50 until disappearing. The explicit image output unit 16 repeatedly performs such movement of the index S.

  Here, the index S will be described. In the index S according to the present embodiment, an arrow shape having a convex portion protruding toward the center of the noticeable photographed image (narrow field of view N) shifts to an arrow shape having a convex portion protruding toward the near side of the noticeable photographed image. It is configured as follows. Such an index S is stored in the explicit image storage unit 17 as shown in FIG. FIG. 2C shows a captured image G as shown in FIG. 2B, that is, an image displayed on the monitor 50 of the vehicle 1 when the object 7 is in the right outer region O. As shown in FIG. 2C, a plurality of indices S may be displayed on the monitor 50 in this embodiment. In such a case, the plurality of indices S are displayed at positions where they partially overlap. In the present embodiment, “partially overlapping” means that one of the plurality of indicators S is on the side of one of the arrow-shaped convex portions and the other portion of the plurality of indicators S is not on the other arrow-shaped convex portion. Means overlapping. Further, when there are a plurality of indexes S, an overlapping portion between the index S to be displayed later and the index S displayed immediately before is overwritten with the index S to be displayed later. That is, the index S displayed later is arranged in the upper layer than the index S displayed immediately before. In the present embodiment, the index S displayed immediately before is displayed with higher transparency than the index S displayed later. That is, the index S displayed later is displayed with lower transparency than the index S displayed immediately before. Therefore, when a plurality of indices S are displayed, the uppermost index S has the lowest transparency, and the lowermost index S has the highest transparency.

  In addition, the index S displayed later is configured with a larger size than the index S displayed immediately before. Therefore, when a plurality of indices S are displayed, the index S in the uppermost layer has the largest size and the index S in the lowermost layer has the smallest size. Each index S may have a size similar to each other and may be set in size, or may be set in size by changing either the vertical or horizontal length of the index S. .

  The explicit image output unit 16 repeatedly performs such display. Here, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2C, the index S is combined with the captured image of interest which is the narrow visual field N and displayed on the monitor 50. Therefore, the composite image generation unit 18 generates a composite image in which the index S is combined with the target captured image. As a result, an image as shown in FIG. 2C is generated.

  By displaying the index S in this way, the index S gradually increases and can be displayed so as to approach the occupant. As a result, it is possible to visually indicate to the passenger of the vehicle 1 that the object 7 is approaching the vehicle 1.

  The explicit image output unit 16 stops the output of the index S when the object 7 enters the region corresponding to the target captured image, that is, the narrow visual field region N. Whether or not the object 7 has entered the narrow field area N can also be determined by the movement direction determination unit 15. That is, the moving direction determination unit 15 can determine that the object 7 has entered the narrow field region N if there is an object 7 that enters the narrow field region N from the outer region O. Such a determination result is also transmitted to the explicit image output unit 16. Thus, when such a determination result is transmitted, the explicit image output unit 16 stops outputting the index S. Thereby, it is possible to visually indicate to the passenger of the vehicle 1 that the object 7 has entered the narrow field region N.

  An example of a series of images on which such an index S is displayed is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3A, when it is detected that the object 7 in the outer region O has moved to the center side of the narrow-field region N (FIG. 3A), the object 7 is narrow-field. The state in which the index S is displayed while moving until it enters the region N is shown (FIGS. 3B to 4D and FIGS. 4A to 4D). Actually, the process is repeated until the object 7 enters the narrow field area N. When the object 7 enters the narrow visual field N from the right outer region O, the superimposition of the index S ends (FIG. 4 (f)).

  Next, a series of processes in which the obstacle alarm device 100 displays the composite image in which the explicit image is superimposed on the target captured image on the monitor 50 will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. First, the captured image acquisition unit 11 acquires a captured image G captured by the camera 5 of the vehicle 1 (step # 1).

  Next, the noticeable photographed image generation unit 12 generates the central part of the acquired photographed image G as the noticeable photographed image (step # 2). On the other hand, the outer area generation unit 13 generates both lateral portions of the acquired captured image G as the outer area O (step # 3). Whether or not the object 7 is present in the outer region O generated in this way is determined by the object presence determination unit 14 (step # 4).

  If it is determined that the object 7 exists in the outer region O, the moving direction determination unit 15 determines the moving direction of the object 7 (step # 5). When the moving direction of the object 7 is from the outer region O toward the narrow visual field N corresponding to the target photographed image, an explicit image is output by the explicit image output unit 16 (step # 6). This explicit image is output with reference to the explicit image stored in the explicit image storage unit 17.

  The composite image generation unit 18 generates a composite image by superimposing the explicit image output in Step # 6 on the noticeable captured image generated in Step # 2 (Step # 7). The generated composite image is displayed on the monitor 50 (step # 8). Thus, by displaying the noticeable photographed image on the monitor 50 in a large size, it is possible to make the passenger of the vehicle 1 gaze at the vicinity of the vehicle 1 and to clearly indicate the direction of the object 7 approaching the vehicle 1. Become. Therefore, it is possible to grasp the situation around the vehicle 1 and to clearly indicate that an obstacle is approaching.

  As described above, according to the obstacle alarm device 100 according to the present invention, the object 7 approaching the vehicle 1 has entered the imaging range even if the object 7 is not shown in the screen of the monitor 50 provided in the vehicle 1. At the time, the presence and direction of the object 7 approaching the vehicle 1 can be clearly shown to the driver while displaying the situation around the vehicle 1. Therefore, even when the screen size of the monitor 50 is small, the object 7 approaching the vehicle 1 is not missed. In addition, since the index S is displayed at the side edge of the screen, it is not difficult for the driver to see the situation around the vehicle 1. Therefore, the presence of an obstacle (object 7) approaching the vehicle 1 can be clearly shown to the driver without making it difficult to see the situation around the vehicle 1.

[Other Embodiments]
In the above-described embodiment, the explicit image output unit 16 has been described as being displayed so as to gradually increase when the blinking indicator S moves. However, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this. It is naturally possible to display the index S in the same size. Of course, it is naturally possible to display the index S so that it gradually decreases. Even with such a configuration, the object 7 that appropriately approaches the vehicle 1 can be clearly shown to the passenger of the vehicle 1.

  In the embodiment described above, the index S displayed immediately before is described as being higher than the transparency of the index S displayed later. However, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the index S displayed immediately before can be displayed lower than the transparency of the index S displayed later, and the index S displayed immediately before is the same as the transparency of the index S displayed later. Of course, it is also possible to display as follows.

  In the embodiment described above, when there are a plurality of indices S, the plurality of indices S are displayed at positions where they partially overlap each other. However, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this. Even when a plurality of indices S are displayed, it is possible to configure the indices S so as not to overlap each other.

  In the above embodiment, the index S has been described as being configured in the shape of an arrow having a convex portion protruding toward the center of the narrow field region N. However, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this. Of course, the index S can be formed in other shapes.

  In the above embodiment, it has been described that the determination of whether or not the object 7 exists can be performed using a known image recognition process such as pattern matching. However, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is naturally possible to detect with sonar.

  In the above-described embodiment, the attention-captured image generation unit 12 has been described as generating the narrow-field region N that is the central portion of the captured image G as the attention-captured image. However, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the captured image G is acquired by the camera 5 having a narrow viewing angle corresponding to the narrow viewing area N, it is naturally possible to use the captured image G as it is as the focused captured image. In such a case, it is preferable to determine whether or not the object 7 is present in the outer region O as described above, for example, using sonar.

  The present invention can be used for an obstacle warning device that clearly indicates the presence of an obstacle approaching a vehicle to an occupant.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Vehicle 7: Object 11: Captured image acquisition unit 12: Focused captured image generation unit 14: Object presence determination unit 15: Movement direction determination unit 16: Explicit image output unit 100: Obstacle alarm device G: Captured image O: Outside Area S: Indicator

Claims (6)

A captured image acquisition unit that acquires a captured image of a scene around the vehicle;
An attention-captured image generation unit that generates an attention-captured image based on the captured image;
An object presence determination unit that determines whether or not an object exists in an outer region outside the target captured image;
A moving direction determination unit that determines the moving direction of the object in the outer region;
When it is determined by the movement direction determination unit that the object in the outer area moves to the center side of the target captured image, the outer target area of the target captured image moves from the outer area side to the center side, and An explicit image output unit for displaying an indicator that moves toward the near side from the noted photographed image;
Obstacle alarm device comprising:   The explicit image output unit repeatedly displays a plurality of indicators that are turned on after being turned on for a certain period of time, sequentially displayed at different positions, and displays the plurality of indicators at positions where they are partially overlapped, and an indicator to be displayed later The obstacle alarm device according to claim 1, wherein an overlapping display with an index displayed immediately before is performed repeatedly to display an index to be displayed later overwritten.   The obstacle alarm device according to claim 2, wherein the index displayed after is larger in size than the index displayed immediately before.   The obstacle alarm device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the index displayed after the display is lower in transparency than the index displayed immediately before.   The explicit image output unit is configured to display an arrow shape having a convex portion protruding toward the center of the target captured image so as to shift to an arrow shape having a convex portion protruding toward the near side of the target captured image. The obstacle alarm device according to any one of 1 to 4.   The obstacle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the explicit image output unit is configured to stop outputting the index when the object enters an area corresponding to the target captured image. Alarm device.

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