JP2022157941A - electronic mirror system - Google Patents

Abstract

To enable a driver to check the rear of a vehicle easily even if an abnormality occurs in an electronic mirror system.SOLUTION: An electronic mirror system includes: a first imaging part 3a which is attached to a protruding body 20 protruding in a vehicle width direction relative to a side surface of a vehicle and captures images of the rear; a control unit which causes a display part to display the images captured by the first imaging part 3a; a second imaging part 4a which is attached in a direction different from that of the first imaging part 3a in the protruding part 20; and a rotation mechanism 27 which rotates the protruding body 20 around an axis along the vehicle width direction between a first position, where the first imaging part 3a faces the rear, and a second position, where the second imaging part 4a faces the rear.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to electronic mirror systems.

In recent years, instead of side mirrors, an electronic mirror system has been proposed in which an image pickup unit picks up an image of the rear of the vehicle and displays the picked-up image on a display unit inside the vehicle (see Patent Document 1 below).

JP 2020-19351 A

Since the electronic mirror system uses electronic devices, there is a possibility that an abnormality may occur in the system. If a system malfunction occurs, the captured image will not be displayed properly on the display unit, making it difficult for the driver to check behind the vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to enable the driver to easily check the rear of the vehicle even if an abnormality occurs in the electronic mirror system.

In one aspect of the present invention, a first imaging unit attached to a projecting body projecting in the vehicle width direction from a side surface of a vehicle for capturing an image of the rear, and a display unit displaying an image captured by the first imaging unit. , a second imaging unit attached to the projecting body in a direction different from that of the first imaging unit, a first position where the first imaging unit faces the rear, and the second imaging unit and a rotating mechanism that rotates the projecting body around an axis extending in the vehicle width direction between a second position facing the rear and the electronic mirror system.

Also, the direction in which the second imaging section faces may be orthogonal to the direction in which the first imaging section faces.

Further, the control section may cause the display section to display the captured image captured by the second imaging section in a state in which the projecting body is positioned at the second position.

Further, the second imaging unit may image the surroundings of the vehicle looking vertically downward when the projecting body is positioned at the first position.

Further, the control unit may display the captured image captured by the second imaging unit with the projecting body positioned at the second position on a second display unit different from the display unit.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it is effective in the driver|operator being able to check the back of a vehicle easily, even if abnormality arises in an electronic mirror system.

1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of an electronic mirror system 1 according to one embodiment; FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the attachment position of the 1st imaging parts 3a and 3b. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of a projecting body 20; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of a projecting body 20;

<Configuration of electronic mirror system>
A configuration of an electronic mirror system according to one embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of an electronic mirror system 1 according to one embodiment. The electronic mirror system 1 is mounted on a vehicle and used as a substitute for side mirrors. The electronic mirror system 1 captures an image of the rear of the vehicle and displays the captured image on the display unit. As a result, the driver of the vehicle can check the rear of the vehicle, which is a blind spot, during driving or when getting off the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic mirror system 1 includes a plurality of first imaging units 3a and 3b, second imaging units 4a and 4b, first display units 5a and 5b, a second display unit 6, a detection It has a unit 8 and a control device 10 .

The first imaging units 3a and 3b are provided on both sides of the vehicle, and image the rear of the vehicle. The first imaging units 3a and 3b are, for example, wide-angle cameras and include imaging elements. The first imaging units 3 a and 3 b output captured images to the control device 10 .

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the attachment positions of the first imaging units 3a and 3b. The first imaging unit 3 a is attached to the left side surface of the vehicle 100 as shown in FIG. 2 and images the left rear of the vehicle 100 . Specifically, the first imaging unit 3a is attached to a protrusion 20 that protrudes from the left side surface of the vehicle 100 in the vehicle width direction. The first imaging unit 3 b is attached to the right side surface of the vehicle 100 and images the right rear of the vehicle 100 . Specifically, the first imaging unit 3b is attached to a protrusion 30 that protrudes from the right side surface of the vehicle 100 in the vehicle width direction. The detailed configuration of the projecting bodies 20 and 30 will be described later.

The second imaging units 4a and 4b capture an image of the surroundings of the vehicle in order to generate a bird's-eye view image. The second imaging units 4a and 4b are attached to both side surfaces of the vehicle in the same manner as the first imaging units 3a and 3b. Although the details will be described later, the second imaging section 4a is provided on the protruding body 20, and the second imaging section 4b is provided on the protruding body 30. As shown in FIG.

The first display units 5a and 5b are provided inside the vehicle and display the captured images captured by the first imaging units 3a and 3b. For example, the first display unit 5a displays an image captured by the first imaging unit 3a, and the first display unit 5b displays an image captured by the first imaging unit 3b. The first display units 5a and 5b are liquid crystal displays, for example. The first display unit 5a is arranged near the first imaging unit 3a in the vehicle, and the first display unit 5b is arranged near the first imaging unit 3b.

The second display unit 6 is provided inside the vehicle and displays a bird's-eye view image. The second display unit 6 displays a bird's-eye view image generated based on the captured images captured by the second imaging units 4a and 4b. The bird's-eye view image is generated based on captured images captured by the second imaging units 4a and 4b provided on both sides of the vehicle and by the imaging units provided on the front and rear of the vehicle.

A detector 8 detects the state of the electronic mirror system 1 . For example, the detection unit 8 detects whether the electronic mirror system 1 is abnormal. The detection unit 8 outputs the detection result to the control device 10 .

A control device 10 controls the operation of the electronic mirror system 1 . For example, the control device 10 causes the first imaging units 3a and 3b to perform imaging, and causes the first display units 5a and 5b to display the captured images. The control device 10 has a storage section 12 and a control section 14 .

The storage unit 12 includes, for example, ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 12 stores programs and various data for the control unit 14 to execute.

The control unit 14 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 14 controls operations of the electronic mirror system 1 by executing programs stored in the storage unit 12 . For example, the control unit 14 causes the first display units 5a and 5b to display captured images captured by the first imaging units 3a and 3b.

By the way, since the electronic mirror system 1 uses electronic devices such as the first imaging units 3a and 3b and the first display units 5a and 5b, there is a possibility that an abnormality may occur in the system. For example, if the first imaging units 3a and 3b fail and system malfunction occurs, the captured images will not be displayed properly on the first display units 5a and 5b, making it difficult for the driver to check behind.
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, although the details will be described later, the projecting bodies 20 and 30 are provided with the second imaging units 4a and 4b in addition to the first imaging units 3a and 3b, and a system abnormality occurs. In this case, the protrusions 20 and 30 can be rotated so that the second imaging units 4a and 4b face the rear. The projecting bodies 20 and 30 rotate around the rotation axis C shown in FIG. As a result, when a system abnormality occurs, the driver of the vehicle can easily check the area behind the vehicle by looking at the captured images captured by the second imaging units 4a and 4b facing the rear.

<Detailed configuration of projecting body>
A detailed configuration of the protrusions 20 and 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. Since the projecting bodies 20 and 30 have the same configuration, the projecting body 20 to which the first imaging section 3a is attached will be described below as an example.

3 and 4 are schematic diagrams for explaining the configuration of the projecting body 20. FIG. FIG. 3 shows the protrusion 20 positioned at the first position, and FIG. 4 shows the protrusion 20 positioned at the second position. The projecting body 20 is arranged at a position where a vehicle mirror is installed. The projecting body 20 has a housing 22 and a rotating mechanism 27, as shown in FIG.

The housing 22 is a portion forming the skeleton of the projecting body 20, and has a rectangular parallelepiped shape here. A first imaging section 3 a and a second imaging section 4 a are arranged in the housing 22 . The housing 22 is rotatable between a first position shown in FIG. 3 and a second position shown in FIG. The housing 22 is positioned at the second position by rotating in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 3 from the first position.

The first position is a position where the rear surface 23a of the housing 22 is parallel to the vertical direction. An opening is formed in the rear surface 23a so that the first imaging unit 3a can image the rear. The second position is a position where the bottom surface 23b of the housing 22 is parallel to the vertical direction. An opening is formed in the bottom surface 23b so that the second imaging section 3b protrudes. The housing 22 is positioned at the first position when the electronic mirror system 1 is operating normally, and is positioned at the second position when an abnormality occurs in the system.

The second imaging section 4a is attached to the protrusion 20 in a direction different from that of the first imaging section 3a. Specifically, the first imaging unit 3a is mounted so as to face the normal direction of the back surface 23a of the housing 22, and the second imaging unit 4a is mounted so as to face the normal direction of the bottom surface 23b of the housing 22. installed.

The direction in which the second imaging section 4a faces is orthogonal to the direction in which the first imaging section 3a faces. When the projecting body 20 is positioned at the first position, as shown in FIG. 3, the first imaging section 3a faces the rear of the vehicle, and the second imaging section 4a faces vertically downward. On the other hand, when the projecting body 20 is positioned at the second position, as shown in FIG. 4, the first imaging section 3a faces the upper side of the vehicle, and the second imaging section 4a faces the rear side of the vehicle. Therefore, the second imaging unit 4a captures an image of the surroundings while facing downward when the projecting body 20 is at the first position, and looks backward when the projecting body 20 is at the second position. to capture an image of the rear.

The rotating mechanism 27 is a mechanism for rotating the projecting body 20 around an axis along the vehicle width direction (that is, the rotation axis C shown in FIG. 1). In the present embodiment, the rotating mechanism 27 rotates the projecting body 20 between a first position where the first imaging section 3a faces the rear and a second position where the second imaging section 4a faces the rear. Here, the driver of the vehicle manually rotates the protrusion 20 between the first position and the second position.

The rotation mechanism 27 may have a rotation restricting portion that restricts the protrusion 20 from rotating more than 90 degrees from the first position. As an example, the rotation restricting portion has a lock mechanism that locks the projecting body 20 at a position rotated by 90 degrees from the first position. As a result, when the driver manually rotates the projecting body 20, it is possible to prevent the projecting body 20 from rotating more than 90 degrees. As a result, when the projecting body 20 is manually rotated, the projecting body 20 is easily positioned at the second position rotated 90 degrees from the first position. becomes easier to check.

The control unit 14 of the control device 10 selects the first imaging units 3a and 3b, the second imaging units 4a and 4b, the first display units 5a and 5b, and the second display unit 6 according to the positions of the protrusions 20 and 30. You can control the action.
For example, when the projecting body 20 is positioned at the first position, the control unit 14 causes the first display units 5a and 5b to display the captured images captured by the first imaging units 3a and 3b. At this time, the control unit 14 may cause the second display unit 6 to display a bird's-eye view image based on the captured images of the second imaging units 4a and 4b.

On the other hand, when the projecting body 20 is positioned at the second position, the control section 14 causes the first display sections 5a and 5b to display the captured images captured by the second imaging sections 4a and 4b. At this time, the control unit 14 turns off the first imaging units 3a and 3b. Therefore, the control unit 14 causes the first display units 5a and 5b to display the images captured by the second imaging units 4a and 4b instead of the images captured by the first imaging units 3a and 3b. Note that the position of the projecting body 20 is detected by the detection unit 8 .

Accordingly, when the projecting body 20 is positioned at the first position, the driver of the vehicle can check the rear by looking at the captured image captured by the first imaging unit 3a, and the projecting body 20 is positioned at the second position. When positioned, the rear can be confirmed by looking at the captured image captured by the second imaging unit 4a.

However, it is not limited to the above, and the control unit 14 may cause the second display unit 6 to display the captured images captured by the second imaging units 4a and 4b with the projecting body 20 positioned at the second position. . When the first display units 5a and 5b are out of order, the second display unit 6 displays the captured images of the second imaging units 4a and 4b so that the driver can check the rear.

In the above description, the driver of the vehicle manually rotates the projecting body 20 to the second position. good. For example, the control unit 14 drives a motor provided in the rotating mechanism 27 to rotate the projecting body 20 to the second position. Specifically, when the detection unit 8 detects an abnormality in the system, the control unit 14 causes the rotation mechanism 27 to rotate the protrusion 20 to the second position. As a result, the projecting body 20 rotates to the second position as soon as an abnormality occurs in the system.
When rotating the projecting body 20, the control unit 14 also rotates the projecting body 30 together.

<Effects of this embodiment>
The electronic mirror system 1 of the above-described embodiment includes the second imaging section 4a attached to the projecting body 20 in a direction different from that of the first imaging section 3a, the first position where the first imaging section 3a faces the rear, and the second imaging section 3a. 2 It has a rotation mechanism 27 for rotating the projecting body 20 between the second position where the imaging unit 4a faces the rear.
Accordingly, when a system abnormality occurs, the projecting body 20 can be rotated to the second position so that the second imaging section 4a faces the rear. Therefore, when a system abnormality occurs, the driver of the vehicle can easily check the area behind the vehicle by looking at the captured image captured by the second imaging unit 4a. As a result, even if a system abnormality occurs, the driver can continue to drive the vehicle by checking the rear by using the image captured by the second imaging unit 4a.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist thereof. be. For example, all or part of the device can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in arbitrary units. In addition, new embodiments resulting from arbitrary combinations of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effect of the new embodiment caused by the combination has the effect of the original embodiment.

1 electronic mirror system 3a, 3b first imaging section 4a, 4b second imaging section 5a, 5b first display section 6 second display section 14 control section 20 projecting body 25 mirror surface section 27 rotating mechanism

Claims (5)

a first imaging unit attached to a projecting body projecting in the vehicle width direction from the side surface of the vehicle and capturing an image of the rear;
a control unit for displaying a captured image captured by the first imaging unit on a display unit;
a second imaging unit attached to the protruding body in a direction different from that of the first imaging unit;
A rotation that rotates the projecting body about an axis along the vehicle width direction between a first position where the first imaging section faces the rear and a second position where the second imaging section faces the rear. a mechanism;
an electronic mirror system. The direction in which the second imaging unit faces is orthogonal to the direction in which the first imaging unit faces,
The electronic mirror system of claim 1. The control unit causes the display unit to display an image captured by the second imaging unit with the projecting body positioned at the second position.
The electronic mirror system according to claim 1 or 2. The second imaging unit, when the projecting body is positioned at the first position, looks vertically downward and captures an image of the surroundings of the vehicle.
The electronic mirror system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The control unit causes a second display unit different from the display unit to display an image captured by the second imaging unit with the projecting body positioned at the second position,
An electronic mirror system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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