JP2014075026A - Vehicle surrounding-monitoring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a vehicle surrounding-monitoring device with extraneous power consumption suppressed by stopping operation of one of plural sensor means when an own vehicle is stopped.SOLUTION: A vehicle surrounding-monitoring device includes: a radar part 2 for obtaining first obstacle information A nearby an own vehicle; a camera part 3 for obtaining second obstacle information B; article determination means for recognizing an article nearby the own vehicle by using at least one of the first and second obstacle information A and B to output final obstacle information C; own-vehicle speed determination means for determining stoppage of the own vehicle; and detection operation stop means for stopping either one of the radar part 2 and camera part 3 in a case where the own vehicle is determined as being stopped.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle periphery monitoring device that is mounted on a vehicle and detects an obstacle around the host vehicle.

  Conventionally, as a vehicle periphery monitoring device that accurately recognizes an obstacle present in front of the host vehicle, a radar that calculates the distance, position, and relative speed of the obstacle, a camera that images the front of the host vehicle, and imaging An image processing sensor that calculates a distance, a position, and an attribute from the captured image to an obstacle, and acquires obstacle information based on the calculation results of a plurality of (two) sensors using a radar and a camera It is known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4140118

  The conventional vehicle periphery monitoring device has a problem that wasteful power is consumed because the power of a plurality of sensors is always turned on even when the vehicle is stopped, which does not require highly accurate obstacle recognition.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and in a situation where it is not necessary to recognize an obstacle with high accuracy, a vehicle periphery monitoring device capable of suppressing wasteful power consumption. The purpose is to obtain.

  A vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the present invention is a vehicle periphery monitoring device mounted on a vehicle, which transmits and receives an electromagnetic wave to the periphery of the host vehicle and receives a reflected electromagnetic wave, and processes a reception signal of the reflected electromagnetic wave. A signal processing unit that acquires first obstacle information around the host vehicle, a first object detection unit, an imaging unit that captures an image around the host vehicle and acquires an image, and processes the image Accordingly, an image processing unit that detects an object around the host vehicle and acquires second obstacle information, second object detection means including at least one of the first and second obstacle information is used. To recognize objects around the host vehicle and output final obstacle information, and to determine whether the host vehicle is at a predetermined speed or less where high-precision object recognition is unnecessary The own vehicle speed determining means and the own vehicle speed detecting means If it is determined that the vehicle is in the following state for a predetermined speed is obtained and a detection operation stopping means for stopping one of the operation of the first or the second object detecting means.

  According to the present invention, in a situation where high-accuracy object recognition is unnecessary, such as when it is determined that the host vehicle is in a state equal to or lower than the predetermined speed (or is stopped), two kinds of By stopping the operation of any one of the sensor means, wasteful power consumption can be suppressed.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation by Embodiment 3 of this invention.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, a vehicle periphery monitoring device 1 includes a radar unit 2 and a camera unit 3 that are mounted on a vehicle and function as two sensor means for monitoring the periphery of the host vehicle, and a first from the radar unit 2 and the camera unit 3. And an integration unit 4 that integrates the second obstacle information A and B to generate final obstacle information C. A vehicle speed sensor 106 is connected to the integration unit 4.

  The radar unit 2 constituting the first object detection means includes a transmission / reception unit 101 that transmits the electromagnetic wave W1 and receives the reflected electromagnetic wave W2, and a signal processing unit that processes the received signal to generate the first obstacle information A. 102.

  The camera unit 3 constituting the second object detection unit includes an imaging unit 103 that captures the periphery (front) of the host vehicle, and an image processing unit that processes the captured image and generates second obstacle information B. 104.

The integration unit 4 includes an integration processing unit 105, and the integration processing unit 105 includes object determination means, host vehicle speed determination means, and detection operation stop means (all of which will be described later).
The integrated processing unit 105 outputs obstacle information C obtained by integrating the first and second obstacle information A and B to an external device (display device, alarm device, etc.) and a vehicle speed pulse signal from the vehicle speed sensor 106. Based on (vehicle speed information), a detection operation stop command D for the camera unit 3 is generated.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
First, in the radar unit 2, the transmission / reception unit 101 radiates a transmission signal as an electromagnetic wave W1, and receives a reflected electromagnetic wave W2 from an object (obstacle) existing in front of the host vehicle as a reception signal.

  The signal processing unit 102 processes the received signal from the transmission / reception unit 101, thereby indicating the first obstacle indicating the distance from the own vehicle to the obstacle, the relative speed of the obstacle, the position, and the presence / absence of movement in the lateral direction, etc. The object information A is calculated and input to the integration processing unit 105.

  On the other hand, in the camera unit 3, the imaging unit 103 captures the front of the host vehicle and captures the front image, and the image processing unit 104 processes the front image to thereby determine the distance from the host vehicle to the obstacle, the obstacle. The second obstacle information B indicating the position and presence / absence of lateral movement is calculated and input to the integration processing unit 105.

  Based on the coincidence information of the first and second obstacle information A and B, the integrated processing unit 105 finally indicates the distance, relative speed, position, lateral movement distance, etc. of the obstacle present in front of the host vehicle. Obstacle information C is calculated and output to the external device.

Further, the integrated processing unit 105 refers to a vehicle speed pulse signal (speed information of the host vehicle) input from the vehicle speed sensor 106, and determines whether the host vehicle is a predetermined criterion as a reference for determining a situation where high-precision object recognition is unnecessary. It is determined whether or not the speed is below (or stopped).
If high-accuracy object recognition is not necessary (the host vehicle is stopped), the integration processing unit 105 generates a detection operation stop command D for the camera unit 3 as illustrated, for example.

The predetermined speed is set to a speed close to the stop state (for example, about 10 km / h).
In addition, the integrated processing unit 105 stores in advance one of the radar unit 2 and the camera unit 3 to be stopped according to the specifications of the two sensor units, and the host vehicle is below a predetermined speed. If it is determined (or stopped), the stored sensor means is controlled to stop the operation.
Here, a case where the detection function of the auxiliary camera unit 3 is stopped with priority given to the sensor function of the radar unit 2 will be described as an example.

More specifically, it is desirable that the integrated processing unit 105 includes a storage unit that stores, for example, the power consumption levels of the radar unit 2 and the camera unit 3. Thereby, the operation | movement with the larger power consumption among the radar part 2 and the camera part 3 can be stopped.
In FIG. 1, the case where the camera unit 3 is stopped is shown as an example. May be.

On the other hand, if the host vehicle is traveling normally at a speed exceeding the predetermined speed, the detection operation stop command D is not generated and highly accurate object recognition is performed.
In addition, when the host vehicle starts running at a speed exceeding a predetermined speed from the stopped state, the integrated processing unit 105 cancels the generation of the detection operation stop command D and restarts the operation of the camera unit 3.

Next, the processing operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2 together with FIG.
In FIG. 2, first, the integration processing unit 105 determines whether or not the own vehicle is stopped (below a predetermined speed) (step S <b> 11).

  If it is determined in step S11 that the host vehicle is stopped (that is, Yes), the process proceeds to power saving object recognition processing (steps S12 to S17), and the host vehicle exceeds the predetermined speed and is traveling normally (that is, No). ), The process proceeds to a highly accurate object recognition process (steps S18 to S20).

  In high-accuracy processing while the host vehicle is traveling normally, first, a transmission signal is radiated from the transmission / reception unit 101 of the radar unit 2 as an electromagnetic wave W1, and a reflected electromagnetic wave W2 from a front obstacle is captured as a reception signal (radar information). The distance from the host vehicle to the obstacle, the relative speed, the position, the presence / absence of lateral movement, and the like are calculated by the arithmetic processing of the signal processing unit 102 based on the radar information, and the integrated processing unit 105 is used as the first obstacle information A. (Step S18).

  Subsequently, the imaging unit 103 of the camera unit 3 captures the front image of the host vehicle, and the calculation process of the image processing unit 104 based on the front image causes the distance from the host vehicle to the obstacle, the position, the presence / absence of lateral movement, and the like. Is calculated and sent to the integrated processing unit 105 as the second obstacle information B (step S19).

  Finally, the integrated processing unit 105 compares and refers to the first obstacle information A and the second obstacle information B, stores information that matches each distance, position, and the like as a front obstacle, and stores the information. The distance to the obstacle, the position, the relative speed, etc. are output to the external device as final obstacle information C (step S20), and the processing routine of FIG.

  On the other hand, in the power saving process while the host vehicle is stopped (below the predetermined speed), first, the integrated processing unit 105 stops the operation of the camera unit 3 stored as an operation stop target in advance (step S12).

  Subsequently, as in step S18, the transmission / reception unit 101 of the radar unit 2 radiates the transmission signal as an electromagnetic wave W1, captures the reflected electromagnetic wave W2 from an obstacle ahead of the host vehicle as a reception signal (radar information), and performs signal processing. Based on the radar information, the unit 102 calculates the distance from the host vehicle to the obstacle, the relative speed, the position, the presence / absence of lateral movement, and the like, and sends it to the integration processing unit 105 as the first obstacle information A (step S13).

  Further, the signal processing unit 102 of the radar unit 2 determines whether or not the obstacle is moving laterally with respect to the host vehicle based on the radar information, that is, moving forward in the lateral direction during low-speed traveling (stopped). It is determined whether there is an obstacle (such as a human) (step S14), and the determination result is sent to the integrated processing unit 105.

  In step S14, if it is determined that there is an obstacle moving in the lateral direction (that is, Yes), the integrated processing unit 105 detects in order to ensure safety according to the determination result of the signal processing unit 102. The generation of the operation stop command D is canceled and the operation of the camera unit 3 is restarted (step S17), and the process proceeds to the above-described high-accuracy processing (step S18).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S14 that there is no forward obstacle moving in the lateral direction (that is, No), the integration processing unit 105 is obtained in step S13 according to the determination result of the signal processing unit 102. The first obstacle information A is output to the external device as final obstacle information C (step S15).

Finally, the integrated processing unit 105 determines whether or not the own vehicle is stopped (below a predetermined speed) (step S16), and if it is determined that the own vehicle is stopped (that is, Yes), step S13 is performed. The above power saving process is continued.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S16 that the host vehicle is traveling beyond the predetermined speed (that is, No), the operation of the camera unit 3 is resumed (step S17), and the above-described high-precision processing is performed.

  As described above, the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1 (FIGS. 1 and 2) of the present invention transmits and receives the reflected electromagnetic wave W2 by transmitting the electromagnetic wave W1 to the periphery of the host vehicle, A radar unit 2 (first object detection means) including a signal processing unit 102 that processes a reception signal of the reflected electromagnetic wave W2 to obtain first obstacle information A around the host vehicle, and the periphery of the host vehicle A camera unit 3 comprising: an imaging unit 103 that captures images and obtains images; and an image processing unit 104 that detects objects around the host vehicle by processing the images to obtain second obstacle information B. Integrated processing for recognizing an object around the host vehicle using (second object detection means) and at least one of the first and second obstacle information A and B and outputting final obstacle information C Processing of unit 105 (step S20: object determination means) and own vehicle However, the processing of the integrated processing unit 105 (steps S11 and S12: own vehicle speed determination means) for determining whether or not the vehicle is in a state equal to or lower than a predetermined speed that does not require highly accurate object recognition, and the own vehicle speed detection means When it is determined that the host vehicle is in a state equal to or lower than the predetermined speed, the integrated processing unit 105 stops the operation of one of the radar unit 2 and the camera unit 3 (steps S11 and S12: detection operation stop means) ) And.

The detection operation stop means of the integrated processing unit 105 includes storage means for storing the magnitudes of the power consumption of the radar unit 2 and the camera unit 3, and whichever of the radar unit 2 and the camera unit 3 has the higher power consumption. Stop the operation.
As described above, when one's own vehicle is below a predetermined speed or when it is stopped, either one of the radar unit 2 and the camera unit 3 is stopped so that power consumption in a situation where high-precision object recognition is not required. Can be reduced.
Further, during the power saving process, a certain degree of obstacle recognition accuracy can be ensured by continuing the operation of the radar unit 2 with the auxiliary camera unit 3 as an operation stop target.

Further, when the host vehicle starts to travel beyond the predetermined speed during the power saving process, it can be immediately returned to the normal process via steps S16 and S17.
Furthermore, each of the signal processing unit 102 of the radar unit 2 and the image processing unit 104 of the camera unit 3 includes a processing step S14 (lateral movement determination unit) for determining the lateral movement of an object around the host vehicle. The detection operation stop means of the integrated processing unit 105 is an obstacle that moves in the lateral direction by the lateral movement determination means of the other object detection means during operation while one of the radar unit 2 or the camera unit 3 is stopped. Is detected, the operation of the radar unit 2 or the camera unit 3 that is stopped is resumed (step S17). When a necessary situation occurs, the normal processing can be immediately resumed.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the first embodiment (FIGS. 1 and 2), the operation of the camera unit 3 is stopped during the power saving process, but the operation of the radar unit 2 may be stopped as shown in FIGS. .
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle periphery monitoring device 1A according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The same components as those described above (see FIG. 1) are denoted by the same reference numerals as those described above, or the same components. A detailed description will be omitted by adding “A” after the reference numeral.

In FIG. 3, a vehicle periphery monitoring device 1 </ b> A is attached to a vehicle and monitors a periphery of the own vehicle, and a radar unit 2 and a camera unit 3, and first and second obstacle information from the radar unit 2 and the camera unit 3. And an integration unit 4A for integrating A and B (two pieces of sensor information). A vehicle speed sensor 106 is connected to the integration unit 4A.
The radar unit 2 includes a transmission / reception unit 101 and a signal processing unit 102, and the camera unit 3 includes an imaging unit 103 and an image processing unit 104. Further, the integration unit 4A is configured by an integration processing unit 105A.

  The radar unit 2 radiates the electromagnetic wave W1 from the transmission / reception unit 101, receives the reflected electromagnetic wave W2, and processes the received signal in the signal processing unit 102, whereby the first obstacle information A (from the own vehicle to the obstacle ahead). , Distance, relative speed, position, presence / absence of lateral movement, and the like are calculated and sent to the integration processing unit 105A.

  On the other hand, the camera unit 3 captures the front image of the host vehicle from the image capturing unit 103 and performs image processing in the image processing unit 104, whereby the second obstacle information B (distance and position to the front obstacle of the host vehicle). , The presence or absence of lateral movement) is calculated and sent to the integration processing unit 105A.

The integration processing unit 105A integrates the first and second obstacle information A and B, calculates final obstacle information C (distance, relative speed, position, etc. of the front obstacle of the host vehicle) Output to the device.
Further, the integrated processing unit 105A takes in the vehicle speed pulse signal from the vehicle speed sensor 106, and determines whether or not the host vehicle is below a predetermined speed (or stopped) according to the vehicle speed information.

  The integrated processing unit 105A generates a detection operation stop command E for one of the sensor means stored in advance, that is, the radar unit 2, when it is determined that the host vehicle is below a predetermined speed or is stopped. Stop the operation. Further, the integrated processing unit 105A restarts the operation of the radar unit 2 when the host vehicle exceeds a predetermined speed.

Next, the processing operation according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4 together with FIG.
In FIG. 4, the same processes as those described above (FIG. 2) are denoted by the same reference numerals as those described above, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Note that steps S21 to S25, S29, and S30 correspond to steps S11 to S17 described above, respectively.

  In FIG. 4, first, the integrated processing unit 105A determines whether or not the host vehicle is stopped (below a predetermined speed) (step S21), and determines that the host vehicle is traveling beyond the predetermined speed (ie, No). Then, a highly accurate object recognition process (steps S18 to S20) is executed, and the processing routine of FIG.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S21 that the host vehicle is stopped (that is, Yes), the integrated processing unit 105A generates a detection operation stop command E, and the radar unit 2 (high power consumption stored in advance). The operation of the other sensor means) is stopped (step S22).

Subsequently, the camera unit 3 captures the front image of the host vehicle from the imaging unit 103, calculates the second obstacle information B by the image processing of the image processing unit 104, and performs the integration process as in step S19 described above. The data is sent to the unit 105A (step S23).
In addition, the image processing unit 104 determines whether there is an obstacle moving in the lateral direction with respect to the host vehicle (step S24), and sends the determination result to the integration processing unit 105A.

  If it is determined in step S24 that there is an obstacle moving in the lateral direction (that is, Yes), the integration processing unit 105A cancels the generation of the detection operation stop command E and restarts the operation of the radar unit 2. (Step S30), the process proceeds to normal processing (Steps S18 to S20).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S24 that there is no obstacle moving in the lateral direction (that is, No), the integration processing unit 105A uses the second obstacle information B acquired in step S23 as the final obstacle information. The obstacle information C is output to an external device.

  Next, the camera unit 3 recognizes the traffic signal ahead of the host vehicle (step S26), determines whether there is a traffic signal based on the recognition result of the traffic signal (step S27), and does not have a traffic signal (ie, No. ), The process proceeds to step S29.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S27 that there is a traffic light (that is, Yes), it is subsequently determined whether or not the color of the recognized traffic signal is “blue” (step S28) and is blue (that is, , Yes), the process proceeds to the detection operation resuming process (step S30), and if it is determined not to be blue (that is, No), the process proceeds to the next determination step S29.

In step S29, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle is stopped (below a predetermined speed). If it is determined that the host vehicle is traveling beyond the predetermined speed (ie, Yes), the process proceeds to step S30. The operation of the radar unit 2 is resumed and the process proceeds to normal processing (steps S18 to S20).
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S29 that the host vehicle is stopped (that is, Yes), the process returns to step S23 and the power saving process is continued.

  As described above, the imaging unit 103 of the vehicle periphery monitoring device 1A according to the second embodiment (FIGS. 3 and 4) of the present invention includes the front imaging unit that captures the front of the host vehicle and acquires the front image. The image processing unit 104 includes traffic signal identifying means (steps S26 to S28) for identifying a traffic signal ahead of the host vehicle from the front image.

  The detection operation stop means (steps S21, S22, and S30) of the integrated processing unit 105A causes the blue state of the traffic light to be detected by the traffic signal identification means of the image processing unit 104 while the operation of the radar unit 2 (first object detection means) is stopped. If the radar unit 2 is identified, the operation stop state of the radar unit 2 is canceled and the operation of the radar unit 2 is restarted.

  Thus, by stopping the radar unit 2 (sensor means with higher power consumption) when the host vehicle is below a predetermined speed or stopped, the power consumption can be reduced in the same manner as described above. When a situation (green light) that shifts to normal driving is detected, or when necessary, the normal processing can be immediately restored.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
In the first and second embodiments (FIGS. 1 to 4), the sensor means to be stopped of operation is stored in the integrated processing units 105 and 105A in advance, but FIG. As in FIG. 6, the operation of one of the radar unit 2 and the camera unit 3 may be stopped according to the environmental state (brightness) of the host vehicle.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle periphery monitoring device 1B according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. Components similar to those described above (see FIGS. 1 and 3) are denoted by the same reference numerals. Or “B” after the same reference numeral, and detailed description is omitted.

In FIG. 5, the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus 1B includes a radar unit 2 and a camera unit 3 that monitor the periphery of the host vehicle, and first and second obstacle information A and B (2) from the radar unit 2 and the camera unit 3. And an integration unit 4B for integrating two pieces of sensor information). A vehicle speed sensor 106 and an illuminance sensor 107 are connected to the integration unit 4B.
The radar unit 2 includes a transmission / reception unit 101 and a signal processing unit 102, and the camera unit 3 includes an imaging unit 103 and an image processing unit 104. The integration unit 4B is configured by an integration processing unit 105B.

The radar unit 2 acquires a reception signal of the reflected electromagnetic wave W2 in the transmission / reception unit 101, and sends the first obstacle information A calculated in the signal processing unit 102 to the integration processing unit 105B.
The camera unit 3 acquires a front image in the imaging unit 103 and sends the second obstacle information B calculated in the image processing unit 104 to the integrated processing unit 105B.
The integrated processing unit 105B calculates final obstacle information C based on the first and second obstacle information A and B, and outputs it to the external device.

  Further, the integrated processing unit 105B determines whether or not the host vehicle is below a predetermined speed (or stopped) according to the vehicle speed pulse from the vehicle speed sensor 106, and generates a detection operation stop command D or E. .

  Furthermore, the integrated processing unit 105B includes illuminance determination means that takes in illuminance information around the host vehicle from the illuminance sensor 107 and determines whether it is day or night according to the illuminance information. If the illuminance determination result indicates night, a detection operation stop command E is generated.

  That is, the integrated processing unit 105B determines one of the sensor means to be operation stopped according to the day / night determination result by the illuminance determination means, and when the host vehicle travels beyond a predetermined speed after that, Release the stopped state and resume operation.

  Here, although the case where the illuminance information is acquired from the illuminance sensor 107 in the integrated processing unit 105B is shown, the illuminance calculated by the image processing unit 104 based on the surrounding image of the host vehicle acquired from the imaging unit 103. You may comprise so that information may be acquired and day / night determination may be performed.

Next, the processing operation according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6 together with FIG.
In FIG. 6, the same processes as those described above (FIGS. 2 and 4) are denoted by the same reference numerals as those described above, and detailed description thereof is omitted. Step S31 corresponds to steps S11 and S21 described above.

Here, a description will be given focusing on the processing operation for changing the sensor means to be the operation stop target based on the day / night determination result.
In FIG. 6, first, the own vehicle speed determination means in the integrated processing unit 105B determines whether or not the own vehicle is stopped (below the predetermined speed) (step S31), and is traveling beyond the predetermined speed ( That is, if it determines with No), the normal process (step S18-S20) using the radar part 2 and the camera part 3 will be performed, and the process routine of FIG. 6 will be complete | finished.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S31 that the host vehicle is stopped (that is, Yes), then the illuminance determination unit in the integrated processing unit 105B acquires illuminance information around the host vehicle from the illuminance sensor 107. Then, it is determined whether or not it is a daytime state (more than a predetermined illuminance set in advance) that can be captured by the camera unit 3 (step S32).

  If it is determined in step S32 that the current illuminance information is greater than or equal to the predetermined illuminance (that is, Yes), the integrated processing unit 105B regards the daytime state in which imaging by the camera unit 3 is possible and stops the operation of the radar unit 2. (Step S22), and the power saving process (Steps S23 to S30) described above (see FIG. 4) is executed.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S32 that the current illuminance information is lower than the predetermined illuminance (that is, No), it is regarded as a night state in which imaging by the camera unit 3 is impossible, and the operation of the camera unit 3 is stopped. (Step S12), the power saving process (Steps S13 to S17) described above (see FIG. 2) is executed.

  As described above, according to the vehicle periphery monitoring device 1B according to Embodiment 3 (FIGS. 5 and 6) of the present invention, the detection operation stop means in the integrated processing unit 105B has the illuminance around the host vehicle, Illuminance determination means (step S32) for determining whether or not a predetermined illuminance that can be imaged by the camera unit 3 (second object detection means) is provided, and the illuminance determination means determines the illuminance around the host vehicle. If it is determined that the illuminance is greater than or equal to the predetermined illuminance, the operation of the radar unit 2 (first object detection means) is stopped, and the illuminance determination means determines that the illuminance around the host vehicle is lower than the predetermined illuminance. Stops the operation of the camera unit 3 (second object detection means).

  In this way, when the host vehicle is stopped (below a predetermined speed), the operation of the radar unit 2 is stopped during the day and the operation of the camera unit 3 is stopped at night according to the day and night conditions around the host vehicle. Thus, it is possible to reduce power consumption using the sensor means selected according to the environmental state of the host vehicle.

  1, 1A, 1B Vehicle perimeter monitoring device, 2 radar unit, 3 camera unit, 4, 4A, 4B integration unit, 101 transmission / reception unit, 102 signal processing unit, 103 imaging unit, 104 image processing unit, 105, 105A, 105B integration Processing unit, 106 vehicle speed sensor, 107 illuminance sensor, A first obstacle information, B second obstacle information, C final obstacle information, D, E detection operation stop command, W1 electromagnetic wave, W2 reflected electromagnetic wave.

A vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the present invention is a vehicle periphery monitoring device mounted on a vehicle, which transmits and receives an electromagnetic wave to the periphery of the host vehicle and receives a reflected electromagnetic wave, and processes a reception signal of the reflected electromagnetic wave. A signal processing unit that acquires first obstacle information around the host vehicle, a first object detection unit, an imaging unit that captures an image around the host vehicle and acquires an image, and processes the image Accordingly, an image processing unit that detects an object around the host vehicle and acquires second obstacle information, second object detection means including at least one of the first and second obstacle information is used. To recognize objects around the host vehicle and output final obstacle information, and to determine whether the host vehicle is at a predetermined speed or less where high-precision object recognition is unnecessary The own vehicle speed determining means and the own vehicle speed detecting means If it is determined that the vehicle is in the following state for a predetermined speed, the detection operation stopping means for stopping one of the operation of the first or the second object detecting means comprises a, object determination means, the self When it is determined by the vehicle speed detection means that the host vehicle is in a state exceeding the predetermined speed, the vehicle's vehicle is detected by executing highly accurate object recognition using both the first and second obstacle information. Recognize surrounding objects, output final obstacle information, and if the own vehicle speed detecting means determines that the own vehicle is in a state of a predetermined speed or less, the object detecting means that does not stop the vehicle By continuously monitoring the objects around the vehicle, the objects around the host vehicle are recognized, and the final obstacle information is output .

Claims (9)

A vehicle periphery monitoring device mounted on a vehicle,
A transmission / reception unit that transmits electromagnetic waves to the periphery of the host vehicle and receives reflected electromagnetic waves, and a signal processing unit that processes a reception signal of the reflected electromagnetic waves to obtain first obstacle information around the host vehicle, A first object detection means comprising:
An imaging unit that captures an image of the periphery of the host vehicle to acquire an image, and an image processing unit that detects an object around the host vehicle by processing the image and acquires second obstacle information. Second object detection means comprising:
Object determination means for recognizing an object around the host vehicle using at least one of the first and second obstacle information and outputting final obstacle information;
Own vehicle speed determination means for determining whether or not the own vehicle is in a state of a predetermined speed or less that does not require highly accurate object recognition;
When the host vehicle speed detection unit determines that the host vehicle is in the state equal to or lower than the predetermined speed, the detection operation stop unit stops the operation of either the first or second object detection unit. When,
A vehicle periphery monitoring device comprising: The detection operation stop means includes
Storage means for storing the magnitude of each power consumption of the first and second object detection means;
2. The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein one of the first object detection unit and the second object detection unit that stops power consumption is stopped. The detection operation stop means includes
Illuminance determination means for determining whether or not the illuminance around the host vehicle is equal to or higher than a predetermined illuminance that can be imaged by the second object detection means,
If the illuminance determination means determines that the illuminance around the host vehicle is greater than or equal to the predetermined illuminance, the operation of the first object detection means is stopped,
The operation of the second object detection unit is stopped when the illuminance determination unit determines that the illuminance around the host vehicle is lower than the predetermined illuminance. Vehicle periphery monitoring device.   The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to claim 3, wherein the illuminance determination unit acquires illuminance information from an illuminance sensor.   The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to claim 3, wherein the illuminance determination unit acquires illuminance information calculated by the second object detection unit. The imaging unit includes a front imaging unit that images the front of the host vehicle and acquires a front image,
The image processing unit includes a traffic signal identifying means for identifying a traffic signal ahead of the host vehicle from the front image,
The detection operation stop means cancels the operation stop state and detects the first object when the blue state of the traffic light is identified by the traffic light identification means while the operation of the first object detection means is stopped. The vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the operation of the means is resumed. Each of the first and second object detection means includes a lateral movement determination means for determining lateral movement of an object around the host vehicle,
The detection operation stop means detects an obstacle moving in the lateral direction by the lateral movement determination means of the other object detection means in operation while one of the first or second object detection means is stopped. The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein when the operation is stopped, the operation of the first or second object detection unit that is stopped is restarted. . The detection operation stop means includes
Storage means for storing the second object detection means as an operation stop target;
2. The operation of the second object detection unit is stopped when the host vehicle speed detection unit determines that the host vehicle is in a state equal to or lower than the predetermined speed. Vehicle periphery monitoring device. The detection operation stop means includes
When the own vehicle speed detecting means determines that the own vehicle has traveled above the predetermined speed while the first or second object detecting means is stopped, the first or second object detecting means The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the operation of the object detection means is resumed.

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