JP2019075827A - Video system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To shape a video captured by a camera clearly with inexpensive means.SOLUTION: A video system 11 for a vehicle includes: a camera 12 for shooting rear and side areas of a car body 1; a monitor 13 for displaying a video captured by the camera 12 on a screen; and an ECU14 for shaping the video displayed in the monitor 13. The camera 12 is housed in a housing 15 on the right and left of the car body, and a side turn signal lamp 16 is provided on the outer surface of the housings 15. The ECU14 controls a video processing circuit 17, displays the videos in the rear and side areas of the car body 1 in two parts of the monitor screen with different compression rates, and changes the compression rates depending on vehicle information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic control unit that performs data processing for shaping an image of a vehicle body peripheral area photographed by a camera and displaying the image on a monitor, and a vehicle image system provided with the unit.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a technique of using a camera and a monitor instead of a side mirror to display an image of a vehicle body peripheral area photographed by the camera on a monitor in a vehicle interior. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a "vehicle rear recognition device" in which cameras are installed on both left and right side surfaces of a front portion of a vehicle body and a monitor is installed on a driver's seat. Patent Document 2 describes a "vehicle surrounding situation display device" which detects a mobile in a vehicle peripheral area and highlights a region including the mobile on a screen of a monitor.

JP 2003-312359 A Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 7-223487 gazette

  By the way, since the camera changes the viewing angle according to the lens specification, for example, by using a wide-angle lens, it is possible to display on the monitor an area which has been a blind spot in the case of the side mirror. However, in the method of changing the viewing angle using a lens, the driver may mistake the sense of distance and may lead to a dangerous situation because the appearance of the peripheral area of the vehicle does not match the mirror. There is also known a method in which different areas are photographed by a plurality of cameras and video data are combined and displayed on a monitor, but in this case, there is a problem that processing of video data takes cost and time. .

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic control unit capable of shaping an image captured by a camera in an easy-to-view manner using an inexpensive data processing technique, and a vehicle image system provided with the unit.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as an ECU) that performs data processing for shaping an image of a vehicle body peripheral area photographed by a camera and displaying the image on a monitor. The ECU is characterized in that it comprises image shaping means for displaying the image data received by the camera on at least two parts of the monitor screen at different compression rates.

  Here, different compression ratios mean that the image of the vehicle body peripheral area is displayed relatively large on the first part of the monitor screen and displayed relatively small on the second part of the monitor screen. This includes that the video shot by the camera is displayed on the first portion without processing, and the video of the second portion is displayed larger or smaller than the video of the first portion.

  Further, the ECU according to the present invention is characterized in that the image shaping means includes an image processing circuit which changes the compression ratio of the image displayed on at least two parts of the monitor screen according to the vehicle information. Vehicle information includes, for example, forward / backward of vehicle, left / right turn, presence / absence of following vehicle / parallel vehicle, vehicle speed, road shape, weather, brightness of surrounding environment, etc. Provided to the ECU from the sensors provided on the

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the video processing circuit processes the video data displayed on at least two parts of the monitor screen such that the compression rates in the horizontal direction are different. In another embodiment of the present invention, the video processing circuit processes video data displayed on two parts of the monitor screen so that the compression rates in the vertical direction are different. Besides, it is also possible to process the video data so that the compression rates in both horizontal and vertical directions are different.

  The vehicle image system according to the present invention includes a camera for capturing an area around a vehicle body, a monitor for displaying an image captured by the camera, and an ECU for performing data processing for shaping an image displayed on the monitor. Is characterized in that it comprises an image processing circuit that changes the compression ratio of the image displayed on at least two parts of the monitor screen according to the vehicle information.

  Here, the camera is housed in a housing and installed at a necessary part of the vehicle body. Preferably, the housing can be shared by the camera and the lighting fixture. As a lighting lamp, a head lamp, a side turn signal lamp, a clearance lamp, etc. can be illustrated.

  According to the ECU and the video system for a vehicle according to the present invention, the video data captured by the camera is processed at different compression rates and displayed on at least two parts of the monitor screen. It has the effect that it can be shaped easily.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a video system for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a model figure showing the image processing by ECU at the time of a vehicle going straight on. It is a model figure which shows the video processing by ECU at the time of vehicle left-right turn. It is a model figure showing the image processing by ECU at the time of vehicles retreat. It is a model figure showing the image processing by ECU at the time of intersection right turn. It is a block diagram showing an image system which attached ECU to a camera. It is a block diagram which shows the imaging | video system which attached ECU to the monitor.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. The vehicular image system 11 shown in FIG. 1 includes a pair of left and right cameras 12 for photographing the rear and side areas of the vehicle body 1, a pair of left and right monitors 13 for displaying an image photographed by the camera 12 on the screen, and the monitors 13. It has ECU14 which performs data processing for shaping the picture displayed.

  The camera 12 is housed inside the housing 15 so as to face the rear of the vehicle body 1. The housing 15 is used as a camera housing or a lamp housing, and is attached, for example, to the left and right side surfaces at the front of the vehicle body 1. The outer surface of the housing 15 is provided with a side turn signal lamp 16 as a lighting lamp. The monitor 13 is disposed at or near the driver's seat.

  The ECU 14 is installed at an appropriate position of the vehicle body 1 separately from the camera 12 and the monitor 13. The ECU 14 is provided with a video processing circuit 17 that processes video data captured by the camera 12. The image processing circuit 17 functions as an image shaping means of the ECU 14 and displays the image of the rear and side areas of the vehicle body 1 on two parts of the monitor screen with different compression rates, and the compression rates according to the vehicle information. It is configured to change.

  Next, the image processing by the ECU 14 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows video processing when the vehicle goes straight through the intersection, (a) shows a straight-ahead vehicle V, (b) shows a raw video taken by the camera 12 on the left, and (c) shows a monitor 13 Shows the processed image displayed on the screen of. In FIG.2 (b), (c), 1 is a vehicle body, 2 is a following vehicle, 3 shows a pedestrian.

  The image after processing shown in FIG. 2C is divided into two in the horizontal direction and displayed on the screen of the monitor 13. An image Pa indicating the rear of the vehicle V is displayed at a compression ratio A on the left side 13a of the monitor screen, and an image Pb indicating the side of the vehicle is displayed on the right side 13b at a compression ratio B. The compression rate can be expressed, for example, as a percentage based on the size of the raw image P shown in FIG. 2B. In the illustrated example, the compression rate A of the image Pa is 100%, and the image Pb Compression ratio B is 80%. The compression rates A and B both indicate the compression rate in the horizontal direction, and the video data is processed by the video processing circuit 17 so that the compression rate A> the compression rate B. As a result, in the image of the vehicle body peripheral area, the outer shape of the succeeding vehicle 2 included in the image Pa of the left portion 13a is relatively widely displayed, and the outer shape of the pedestrian 3 included in the image Pb of the right portion 13b is relatively It is displayed narrow.

  Therefore, when the vehicle goes straight, the monitor 13 can display an image of the rear of the own vehicle that the driver wants to gaze closely, that is, an image Pa including the following vehicle 2 more easily than the pedestrian 3 on the monitor 13. A signal from a vehicle speed sensor, car navigation information, and the like can be used as vehicle information when traveling straight. Also, in the illustrated example, the image Pa of the left portion 13a is shown in the same size as the unprocessed image P (see FIG. 2b), but the image Pa is displayed larger with a compression ratio A of 100% or more Accordingly, the image Pb can be displayed smaller at a compression ratio B of 80% or less.

  FIG. 3 shows video processing when the vehicle V turns left (or right) at the intersection, (a) shows the left vehicle V, (b) shows the video displayed on the monitor 13 immediately before the left turn (c ) Shows the image on the way to the left. In the left turn (or right turn) image, the compression ratio of the image displayed on the two parts of the monitor screen is changed as the vehicle V moves.

  That is, on the screen of the monitor 13, the video Pa of the left portion 13a is displayed at a compression rate A immediately before the left turn, and changes to a small compression rate A '(for example, 80% of the raw video) A> compression rate A '). On the other hand, the image Pb of the right side portion 13b is displayed at the compression ratio B immediately before the left turn, and changes to a large compression ratio B '(for example, 120% of the raw image) along the left turn (compression ratio B <compression ratio B' ).

  Thereby, the image of the vehicle body peripheral area is displayed so as to be gradually reduced at the left portion 13a as the vehicle V moves, and displayed so as to be gradually enlarged at the right portion 13b. Therefore, at the time of turning to the left or right, it is possible to easily display on the monitor 13 an image of the side of the vehicle that the driver wants to watch, that is, an image Pb including the pedestrian 3 who is in danger of getting caught in the vehicle. The vehicle information at the time of turning to the left or right can use a turn signal, car navigation information, line-of-sight information of the driver, and the like.

  FIG. 4 shows video processing when the vehicle moves forward or backward, (a) shows a raw video taken by the camera 12 while the vehicle is stopped, and (b) shows a video displayed on the monitor 13 when moving forward. , (C) shows the image at the time of retreat. In each figure, 2 indicates a succeeding vehicle, 4 indicates a rear wheel of the host vehicle, and 5 indicates a white line of the road surface.

  Here, the video processing circuit 17 divides the screen of the monitor 13 into two in the vertical direction, and processes the video data displayed in the upper and lower two parts so that the compression rates in the vertical direction are different. That is, when the vehicle advances, an image Pc including the succeeding vehicle 2 is displayed at the compression ratio C on the upper part 13c of the monitor screen and the road surface including the rear wheel 4 and the white line 5 on the lower part 13d The image Pd is displayed at a compression ratio D.

  For example, when the size of the unprocessed video P (see FIG. 4A) is 100%, the compression ratio C of the video Pc is 120%, and the compression ratio D of the video Pb is 80%. The compression rates C and D both indicate the compression rate in the vertical direction, and when advancing, the video data is processed so that the compression rate C> the compression rate D, and the image Pc of the upper portion 13c is displayed relatively large. At the time of backward movement, the video data is processed so that the compression ratio C <the compression ratio D, and the video Pd of the lower portion 13d is displayed relatively large. Therefore, when the vehicle is moving backward, the monitor 13 can display an image immediately after the vehicle that the driver wants to gaze closely, that is, the road surface around the rear wheel 4 and the white line 5 on the monitor 13.

  FIG. 5 shows video processing when the vehicle V turns right at an intersection. In the figure, 6 indicates a pedestrian crossing and 7 indicates a bicycle. Here, the camera 12 is used as a wide area sensor, and the video data captured by the camera 12 is divided in half in the horizontal plane, and is divided into a display area E at the rear of the vehicle body and a communication area F at the side of the vehicle body. It is recorded.

  Then, the video data included in both areas E and F are used for communication with the drive recorder or the inter-vehicle communication system, and only the video included in the display area E is monitored in the same manner as when turning left (see FIG. 3). Displayed on the screen. Therefore, it is possible to leave, as the traveling history, the images of the bicycle 7 and the pedestrian in the vicinity of the pedestrian crossing 6, which enters the blind spot area of the right-turn vehicle, among the images captured in a wide range by the camera 12.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and as exemplified below, the configuration of each part can be appropriately changed and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention.

(A) As shown in FIG. 6, the left and right cameras 12L, 12R are provided with separate ECUs 14L, 14R, and the image taken by the left camera 12L is shaped by the left ECU 14L and displayed on the left monitor 13L. The photographed image is shaped by the right ECU 14R and displayed on the right monitor 13R.

(B) As shown in FIG. 7, the left and right monitors 13L, 13R are provided with separate ECUs 14L, 14R, and the left camera 12L reshapes the image captured by the left camera 12L and displays it on the left monitor 13L. The photographed image is shaped by the right ECU 14R and displayed on the right monitor 13R.

(C) Using the camera of the front vehicle for optical communication with the rear vehicle. For example, a bicycle or a motorcycle traveling on the rear side of a front vehicle turns a headlamp on and off for a short time, and transmits a light signal indicating the presence of the own vehicle to the front vehicle. The forward vehicle receives the light signal from the bicycle or bike by the camera and recognizes the presence of the backward vehicle. When a light signal is received from a rear vehicle at the time of turning to the right or turning a lane, a warning is issued to the driver of the front vehicle by voice or video.

11 Vehicle Imaging System 12 Camera 13 Monitor 14 ECU
15 housing 16 side turn signal lamp 17 image processing circuit

Claims (3)

  The camera comprises: a camera for capturing an area around the vehicle body together with a part of the vehicle body; a monitor for displaying an image captured by the camera; and an electronic control unit for performing data processing for shaping the image displayed on the monitor It is provided in a housing of a lighting lamp, and the electronic control unit is provided with a video processing circuit that changes a compression ratio of a video displayed on at least two parts of a monitor screen according to vehicle information. Video system.   The illumination lamp includes a pair of side turn signal lamps provided on the left and right sides of the vehicle body, the camera is provided to face the rear of the vehicle body, and the camera captures the rear and side of the vehicle body. The image system for vehicles according to 1. The video includes a first video portion obtained by capturing a part of the vehicle body and the rear of the vehicle body, and a second video portion obtained by capturing the side of the vehicle body;
The image processing circuit sets the compression ratio of the first image portion larger than the compression ratio of the second image portion when the vehicle body goes straight through the intersection, and the right when the vehicle body is turning left or right at the intersection. The vehicle image system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the compression ratio of the second image portion is increased from the left turn start to the left turn start.