JP2018101855A - Camera washing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique of facilitating a user's operation to actuate a washing device while suppressing consumption of a washing liquid concerning the washing device for washing multiple on-vehicle cameras.SOLUTION: Multiple cameras respectively image different directions in the outer circumference of a vehicle. A touch panel type display 20 can display circumferential images of a vehicle that are generated by performing predetermined conversion in multiple captured images captured by the multiple cameras, and receives an input of a user. A washing section washes each one of lenses or lens covers of the multiple cameras. When a circumferential image is displayed in the display 20, the washing section washes the camera corresponding to an area of a circumferential image subjected to a touch-operation with a use's touch-operation of a circumferential image as an opportunity.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a camera cleaning device for cleaning a camera mounted on a vehicle.

  A driving support device that captures an image of the periphery of the vehicle with a camera and displays an image of the periphery of the vehicle on a display inside the vehicle is provided in the vehicle. Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle having four cameras mounted on the vehicle with the lens exposed to the outside of the vehicle body and a cleaning device that sprays cleaning liquid toward the lens of the camera. This cleaning device includes a tank for cleaning liquid, a pump for sending the cleaning liquid from the tank, a blowing port that opens toward the lens of the camera, and a pipe that connects the blowing port and the pump.

JP 2000-236462 A

  In the cleaning apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, when four operation switches are provided so that the four cameras can be cleaned individually, the number of operation switches increases, making it difficult for the user to operate. On the other hand, when only one operation switch is provided in the cleaning device and all four cameras are cleaned by operating the operation switch, there is a possibility of cleaning a camera that is not soiled, and no cleaning liquid is required. Will be consumed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to facilitate a user operation for operating the cleaning device while suppressing consumption of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning device for cleaning a plurality of in-vehicle cameras. To provide technology.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a camera cleaning device according to an aspect of the present invention is a device for cleaning a camera provided in a vehicle, and includes a plurality of cameras that respectively capture different directions around the outside of the vehicle, and a plurality of cameras A touch panel display that can display a vehicle peripheral image generated by performing predetermined conversion on a plurality of captured images captured by the camera, and a cleaning unit that respectively cleans a lens or a lens cover of a plurality of cameras And comprising. When the peripheral image is displayed on the touch panel display, the cleaning unit cleans the camera corresponding to the area of the peripheral image that has been touch-operated when the user touches the peripheral image.

  According to this aspect, when the peripheral image displayed on the touch panel display has an unclear region, the user can clean the camera corresponding to the peripheral image by simply touching the unclear region, and the operation is easy. It is. In addition, since cleaning can be performed on individual cameras, consumption of cleaning liquid can be suppressed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, in the washing | cleaning apparatus which wash | cleans several vehicle-mounted cameras, the technique which made easy the user's operation for operating a washing | cleaning apparatus, suppressing consumption of a washing | cleaning liquid is provided.

It is a figure which shows the camera washing | cleaning apparatus mounted in a vehicle. It is a figure which shows the function structure of the camera washing | cleaning apparatus containing a process part. It is a figure which shows the screen of a display of the state in which the captured image of a rear camera is unclear. It is a figure which shows the screen of the display from which the captured image of the rear camera became clear by washing | cleaning.

  FIG. 1 shows a camera cleaning device 1 mounted on a vehicle 10. The camera cleaning device 1 of the embodiment includes a front camera 12a, a rear camera 12b, a left side camera 12c, a right side camera 12d (referred to as “camera 12” if these are not distinguished), a front discharge port 14a, a rear discharge port 14b, A left side discharge port 14c, a right side discharge port 14d (referred to as “discharge port 14” when these are not distinguished), a liquid container 16, a pump 18, a display 20, and a processing unit 22 are provided.

  The front camera 12a images the front of the vehicle, the rear camera 12b images the rear of the vehicle, the left camera 12c images the left side of the vehicle, and the right camera 12d images the right side of the vehicle. To do. As described above, the camera 12 captures images in different directions around the outside of the vehicle, and sends the captured images to the processing unit 22. Data transmission from the camera 12 to the processing unit 22 may be wireless or wired.

  The discharge port 14 is a nozzle that opens toward the lens of each camera 12 and discharges a cleaning liquid for cleaning the lens of the camera 12. The discharge port 14 is connected to the pump 18 by a water pipe. When the camera 12 is provided with a transparent lens cover, the lens cover may be cleaned with a cleaning liquid. The lens cover is not limited to the one that covers only the lens of the camera 12, and may cover the entire camera 12. The discharge port 14 may be provided integrally with the housing of the camera 12 or may be separate from the housing, but in any case, the discharge port 14 is disposed in the vicinity of the camera 12. The liquid container 16 supplies the cleaning liquid to the pump 18. The cleaning liquid for the liquid container 16 may be shared with the cleaning of the windshield and the rear glass.

  The pump 18 sends the cleaning liquid for the liquid container 16 to one of the discharge ports 14 in response to an instruction signal from the processing unit 22. The cleaning liquid is sent from the liquid container 16 to the discharge port 14 by the pump 18 and is discharged from the discharge port 14 to the lens of the camera 12. By discharging the cleaning liquid, foreign matters such as mud and dust attached to the lens of the camera 12 can be removed. The liquid container 16, the pump 18, and the discharge port 14 function as a cleaning unit for cleaning the lens of the camera 12. By making the cameras 12 individually washable, consumption of the cleaning liquid can be suppressed as compared with the case where all the cameras 12 are washed. In particular, it is useful to reduce the consumption of the cleaning liquid when the cleaning liquid for the camera 12 and the cleaning liquid for the windshield and rear glass are shared.

  The touch panel display 20 is provided, for example, on a dashboard located between a driver seat and a passenger seat. The display 20 displays a map image indicating the position of the host vehicle as a navigation function, displays an image around the vehicle when traveling at a low speed or when traveling backward, and accepts a user input, and displays position information indicating the input position as a processing unit. 22 to output.

  FIG. 2 shows a functional configuration of the camera cleaning apparatus 1 including the processing unit 22. The processing unit 22 includes an acquisition unit 24, an image processing unit 26, an image output unit 28, a reception unit 30, and a determination unit 32. The processing unit 22 may be provided integrally with the display 20. In FIG. 2, each element described as a functional block for performing various processes can be configured by a circuit block, a memory, and other LSIs in terms of hardware, and loaded into the memory in terms of software. Realized by programs. Therefore, it is understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by hardware only, software only, or a combination thereof, and is not limited to any one.

  The acquisition unit 24 acquires images captured from each of the cameras 12. Identification information indicating which camera 12 has captured the image is added to the image captured by the camera 12. The image processing unit 26 processes the image received from the acquisition unit 24. The image processing unit 26 generates a bird's-eye view image obtained by converting a plurality of captured images captured by the plurality of cameras 12 into a predetermined conversion process, for example, the viewpoint is converted upward, and connects the four bird's-eye view images to surround the vehicle. The surrounding image shown is generated. If the lens of the camera 12 is dirty, the captured image displayed on the display 20 may be unclear. However, the captured image resulting from the contamination of the lens of the camera 12 is also unclear in the peripheral image obtained by converting the captured image. Appears.

  The image processing unit 26 sends the peripheral image to the image output unit 28, and the image output unit 28 causes the display 20 to display the peripheral image and the captured image. For example, the display 20 displays a peripheral image when the vehicle 10 travels at a low speed or reverses, thereby displaying a place where the driver is difficult to see and assisting driving such as parking.

  The accepting unit 30 accepts an input corresponding to a user's touch operation from the display 20. The user touches the panel of the display 20. An in-vehicle function switching operation, a surrounding image switching operation, an operation for performing cleaning of the camera 12, and the like can be input.

  The determination unit 32 determines which camera 12 is to be cleaned based on the user input result received by the reception unit 30, and sends an instruction signal for cleaning the camera 12 to the pump 18. For example, when the display 20 displays a peripheral image in which a captured image of each camera 12 is generated, when the user performs a touch operation on the peripheral image, the determination unit 32 determines which camera has the region of the peripheral image subjected to the touch operation. 12, an instruction signal for cleaning the camera 12 corresponding to the touch-operated area is sent to the pump 18. Thereby, the cleaning liquid of the liquid container 16 can be sent from the pump 18 to the discharge port 14 corresponding to the instruction signal.

  FIG. 3 shows a screen of the display 20 in a state where the image captured by the rear camera 12b is unclear. FIG. 4 shows the screen of the display 20 on which the image captured by the rear camera 12b becomes clear by the cleaning.

  On the screen of the display 20 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a captured image 36 by the rear camera 12b is displayed on the right side in the figure, and an overhead image based on the captured images of all the cameras 12 is displayed on the left side. The captured image 36 shown on the right side of the display 20 may be an image converted so as to widen the viewing angle. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show screen examples of the display 20 in a situation where the driver is parked while retreating the vehicle.

  The overhead image 38 displays a vehicle image area 42 in the center, and displays a front overhead image area 40a, a rear overhead image area 40b, a left side overhead image area 40c, and a right side overhead image area 40d around the vehicle image area 42. Configured. The front bird's-eye view image area 40a is obtained by converting an image captured by the front camera 12a into an image seen from above. The rear overhead image area 40b, the left side overhead image area 40c, and the right side overhead image area 40d are converted in the same manner as the front overhead image area 40a, and the rear camera 12b, the left side camera 12c, and the right side camera 12d are converted. Based on each of the captured images. In this way, four overhead images based on the imaging of the plurality of cameras 12 are connected, and the connected overhead images are simultaneously displayed on the display 20 as peripheral images.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the unclear area 44 is displayed in the captured image 36, and the unsharp area 44 is also displayed in the rear overhead image area 40 b generated from the captured image 36. The user who sees the display 20 recognizes the blurred region 44 at a glance. At this time, if the user touches the unclear area 44, that is, the rear overhead image area 40b, the rear camera 12b corresponding to the rear overhead image area 40b is cleaned. That is, when a peripheral image based on the plurality of cameras 12 is displayed on the display 20, the cleaning unit performs the camera corresponding to the area of the peripheral image that has been touch-operated when the user touches the peripheral image. 12 is washed.

  As a result of this cleaning, the foreign matter attached to the lens of the rear camera 12b is removed, and the unclear area 44 disappears from the captured image 36 and the overhead image 38 as shown in FIG. Further, since only the camera 12 corresponding to the touch-operated area is cleaned, consumption of the cleaning liquid can be suppressed.

  When the user touches the vehicle image area 42, all the cameras 12 may be washed. That is, the vehicle image area 42 also functions as an interface for executing cleaning of all the cameras 12. Thereby, when a plurality of unclear areas are displayed on the bird's-eye view image 38 and the picked-up images 36 of the plurality of cameras 12 are unclear, the plurality of cameras 12 can be cleaned by a single touch operation.

  The camera cleaning execution process will be described. The image output unit 28 causes the display 20 to display a captured image 36 and an overhead image 38 obtained by imaging the periphery of the vehicle when traveling at a low speed or when traveling backward. If the bird's-eye view image 38 displayed on the display 20 has an unclear area, the user touches the unclear area.

  The accepting unit 30 accepts user input, and sends position information on the screen of the display 20 on which the user has performed a touch operation to the determining unit 32. The determination unit 32 determines which of the overhead image areas has been touch-operated based on the position information input by the user, and sends an instruction signal to the pump 18 to perform cleaning of the camera 12 corresponding to the overhead image area of the touch operation. Send to. The pump 18 sends the cleaning liquid to any one of the discharge ports 14 based on the instruction signal to clean the camera 12.

  As described above, the camera cleaning device 1 executes the cleaning process for the camera 12. The user can easily perform the cleaning of the camera 12 only by touching the unclear area when there is an unclear area in the surrounding image of the vehicle 10 displayed on the display 20.

  It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments are merely examples, and that various modifications can be made to combinations of the constituent elements, and that such modifications are within the scope of the present invention.

  In the embodiment, an aspect in which the camera 12 is cleaned using the cleaning liquid is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this aspect. For example, a mode in which foreign matter attached to the camera lens is sucked or a case in which the foreign matter attached to the camera lens is blown off and blown may be used. In any case, each camera 12 is provided with a discharge port for cleaning the lens of the camera 12.

  In the embodiment, the mode in which the camera 12 is cleaned when the overhead view image 38 illustrated in FIG. 3 is touched is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this mode. For example, when the captured image 36 shown on the display 20 is touched, the camera 12 may be cleaned. Moreover, although the aspect which divides | segments the screen of the display 20 as shown in FIG. 3 and displays the captured image 36 and the bird's-eye view image 38 was shown, it is not restricted to this aspect. For example, only the overhead image 38 may be displayed on the display 20. Only the captured image 36 may be displayed. In any case, the camera 12 is cleaned in response to a touch operation on the peripheral image displayed on the display 20.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Camera washing | cleaning apparatus, 10 Vehicle, 12 Cameras, 12a Front camera, 12b Rear camera, 12c Left side camera, 12d Right side camera, 14 Outlet, 14a Front outlet, 14b Rear outlet, 14c Left side outlet, 14d Right side outlet, 16 liquid container, 18 pump, 20 display, 22 processing unit, 24 acquisition unit, 26 image processing unit, 28 image output unit, 30 reception unit, 32 determination unit, 36 captured image, 38 overhead image.

Claims (1)

An apparatus for cleaning a camera provided in a vehicle,
A plurality of cameras for imaging different directions around the outside of the vehicle,
A touch panel display capable of displaying a peripheral image of a vehicle generated by performing predetermined conversion on a plurality of captured images captured by the plurality of cameras, and receiving a user input;
A cleaning section for cleaning each of the lenses or lens covers of the plurality of cameras,
When the peripheral image is displayed on the touch panel display, when the user touches the peripheral image, the cleaning unit cleans the camera corresponding to the region of the peripheral image that has been touched. A camera cleaning device.

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