JP3802723B2 - Vehicle front situation display device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle front situation display device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-34772 or Japanese Patent No. 2932210, a preceding vehicle has recently oscillated and irradiated a radar wave from a millimeter wave radar or laser radar mounted on the forefront of the vehicle. Based on the reflected wave returning from the vehicle, the distance between the preceding vehicle and the subject vehicle and the relative vehicle speed are obtained, and the relationship between the subject vehicle and the preceding vehicle is displayed on the monitor in the vehicle compartment according to the distance between the vehicles, or the vehicle approaches the preceding vehicle. If the distance between the vehicles becomes too short and the vehicle speed is controlled according to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle and the relative vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle, or the warning means is activated to alert the driver, the inter-vehicle distance display device and rear-end collision warning Devices and the like are known.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when displaying the position information of the preceding vehicle and own vehicle etc. on the monitor as described above, if this display is always performed, the driver relies on the display too much and directly confirms the field of view, and instead makes an accident. It was pointed out that it would trigger.
[0004]
The present invention has been devised in view of such circumstances, and by displaying the monitor only when the monitor display is effective for assisting the visibility check such as poor visibility due to bad weather such as rain, snow, and fog, It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle front situation display device that prevents the lack of direct visual field confirmation.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve such an object, a vehicle forward situation display device according to claim 1 detects a front obstacle detection means for detecting a distance, a direction, and a relative speed of an obstacle ahead of the host vehicle, and detects the speed of the host vehicle. Self-vehicle speed detecting means, an image display device which is mounted in the vehicle interior and on which a scale on which the distance and direction of the front obstacle with respect to the own vehicle can be visually recognized is displayed on the monitor, the front obstacle detecting means and the own vehicle A control unit that determines a front obstacle based on the detection result of the speed detection means and determines the distance, direction, relative speed and host vehicle speed of the front obstacle relative to the host vehicle, a display selection switch mounted in the passenger compartment, and the above The control unit includes a monitor display switch of the image display device, a fog lamp switch and a wiper switch for operating a fog lamp and a wiper mounted on the vehicle. A monitor display switch is turned ON, and when either one fog lamp switch or a wiper switch at least has been turned ON, on the monitor of the image display device, the image display position with respect to the vehicle in front obstacle in a simple symbol In addition, the distance to the obstacle closest to the host vehicle is displayed numerically, and in accordance with the operation of the display selection switch, a plurality of front obstacles are simultaneously displayed on the monitor, or the most existing obstacle in the lane of the host vehicle is displayed. and it features that you display only close obstacles.
[0009]
(Function)
According to the vehicle front situation display device according to claim 1, when the monitor display switch is turned on and at least one of the fog lamp switch and the wiper switch is turned on, the control unit detects the detection result of each detection means. Based on the above, on the monitor of the image display device, the position of the front obstacle with respect to the host vehicle is displayed as an image with a simple symbol, and the distance from the obstacle closest to the host vehicle is displayed numerically.
[0011]
In accordance with the operation of the display selection switch, a plurality of front obstacles are simultaneously displayed on the monitor of the image display device, or only the closest obstacle existing in the lane of the host vehicle is displayed.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0014]
1 through 3 and 6 show a first embodiment of the vehicle front status display device according to claim 1, in FIG. 1, 1 is mounted millimeter wave radar (forward fault at the forefront of the vehicle serving trucks (Object detection means) 3 is a vehicle speed sensor (own vehicle speed detection means) for detecting the speed of the host vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 3 is a vehicle speed sensor used for vehicle control such as fuel injection of the engine. The status display device 5 is also used.
[0015]
The vehicle speed sensor 3 is connected to the own vehicle speed measuring means 9 of the control unit 7, and the own vehicle speed measuring means 9 obtains the speed of the own vehicle based on the detection signal of the vehicle speed sensor 3. Yes.
The millimeter wave radar 1 is connected to the relative speed measuring means 11, the inter-vehicle distance measuring means 13 and the direction measuring means 15 of the control unit 7. The relative speed measuring means 11 and the inter-vehicle distance measuring means 13 are connected to the millimeter wave radar. The distance between the vehicle and the relative speed with the front obstacle is measured using the “Doppler effect” that changes the frequency when the radar wave emitted from 1 hits the front obstacle. By adopting a monopulse method or a scanning method, the direction measuring means 15 can measure the direction of the front obstacle with respect to the host vehicle.
[0016]
Based on the measurement results of the own vehicle speed measuring means 9 and the relative speed measuring means 11, the front obstacle speed measuring means 17 of the control unit 7 measures the speed of the front obstacle, and the forward obstacle determining means 19 However, based on the measurement results of the front obstacle measuring means 17 and the relative speed measuring means 11, the front obstacle is a traveling vehicle in front of the host vehicle, a stationary object such as a falling object or a utility pole on the road, or facing. It is determined whether the vehicle is a vehicle.
[0017]
On the other hand, the instrument panel in the passenger compartment has a fog lamp switch 21 and a wiper switch 23 for operating fog lamps and wipers mounted on the truck, and an image display device (monitor display) mounted on the instrument panel as shown in FIG. 25 monitor display switches 27 are mounted, and these are respectively connected to the display determination means 29 of the control unit 7.
[0018]
Then, when the driver turns on the monitor display switch 27 and the at least one of the fog lamp switch 21 and the wiper switch 23 is turned on at the time of poor visibility due to bad weather such as rain, snow, or fog, the display determination means 29 creates a display image. A switch ON detection signal is sent to the means 31. Thus, as shown in the drawing, in addition to the display determination means 29, the inter-vehicle distance measurement means 13, the direction measurement means 15, and the front obstacle determination means 19 are connected to the display image generation means 31, and the display image generation is performed. The means 31 displays the host vehicle 33 and the front area 35 on the monitor 25a of the image display device 25 as shown in FIG. 2, and the traveling vehicle 37, the stationary object 39, etc. for the host vehicle 33 are displayed in the front area 35. Is displayed with a simple symbol, and a drawing process is performed so that the distance 41 between the vehicle and the obstacle closest to the host vehicle 33 (the traveling vehicle 37 in FIG. 2) is numerically displayed on the monitor 25a.
[0019]
Then, as described above, when the switch ON detection signal is input from the display determination unit 29 to the display image creation unit 31, the display image creation unit 31, as shown in FIG. The position of the object 39 or the like is displayed in the front area 35, and the inter-vehicle distance 41 with the obstacle closest to the host vehicle 33 is displayed on the monitor 25a.
[0020]
Moreover, in this embodiment, when there are a plurality of front obstacles, these are simultaneously displayed in the front area 35. However, the oncoming vehicle is not displayed in consideration of visibility, and the number of supplements exceeds three. When all the inter-vehicle distances are compared, the three front obstacles are selected in ascending order of the inter-vehicle distances, and these are displayed in the front area 35. And this display is updated in a fixed time (for example, 0.5 sec.).
[0021]
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the display image creating means 31 has vertical and horizontal shafts 41 and 43 and a frame in the front area 35 so that the distance and direction of the traveling vehicle 37 and the stationary object 39 relative to the host vehicle 33 can be seen. 45 and a distance display 47 are displayed. In the front area 35, a traveling vehicle 37 and a stationary object 39 within 3 m on the left and right of the host vehicle are displayed.
[0022]
When the driver turns off the fog lamp switch 21 and the wiper switch 23, the display image creation means 31 ends the display on the display 25a according to the command of the display determination means 29, but the inter-vehicle distance display 47 continues. May be displayed.
Further, the present embodiment has the following features in addition to the above-described configuration.
That is, when there are a plurality of front obstacles as described above, up to three front obstacles are displayed on the front area 35 of the monitor 25a in consideration of visibility, but a display selection switch (not shown) is provided in the vehicle interior. It is installed.
When the driver operates the display selection switch, only the front obstacle (the traveling vehicle 37 in FIG. 6) that exists in the lane of the own vehicle and is closest to the own vehicle as shown in FIG. 6 is monitored 25a. It can be switched so that it is displayed above. Further, when displaying up to three front obstacles in the front area 35, these displays may be distinguished by colors in consideration of visibility.
Since the vehicle front situation display device 5 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above, the vehicle speed is measured by the vehicle speed measuring means 9 based on the detection signal of the vehicle speed sensor 3 as shown in FIG. Is measured (step S1), and based on the detection signals of the vehicle speed sensor 3 and the millimeter wave radar 1, the forward obstacle speed measuring means 17, the relative speed measuring means 11, the inter-vehicle distance measuring means 13 and the direction measuring means 15 are used. Then, the relative speed, the inter-vehicle distance, the relative position, etc. of the front obstacle are detected (steps S2 to S6).
[0023]
In step S7, the number of front obstacles supplemented by the millimeter wave radar 1 is detected, and if it is determined that the number of supplements is three or less, the process proceeds to step S8, where all the display image creation means 31 is operated. When the drawing process is performed so that the front obstacle is displayed on the display 25a and it is determined that the number of supplements exceeds three, the display image creation means 31 compares all the inter-vehicle distances, The front obstacles are selected in ascending order of distance (steps S9 and S10), and a drawing process is performed so that these are displayed on the monitor 25a (step S8).
[0024]
On the other hand, the display determination means 29 monitors whether or not the driver has turned on at least one of the fog lamp switch 21 and the wiper switch 23 and has turned on the monitor display switch 27 in steps S11 to S13. .
Then, when these switch ON detection signals are input to the display image creation means 31, the display image creation means 31 displays the traveling vehicle for the host vehicle 33 on the monitor 25a of the image display device 25 as shown in FIG. 37 and the position of the stationary object 39 are displayed with simple symbols (step S14), the obstacle closest to the host vehicle 33 is selected, and the inter-vehicle distance 41 is displayed on the display 25a (steps S15 and S16). .
Further, when the driver operates the display selection switch in this display state, only the front obstacle (the traveling vehicle 37 in FIG. 6) that exists in the lane of the own vehicle and is closest to the own vehicle as shown in FIG. Is displayed on the monitor 25a.
When the driver turns off the fog lamp switch 21 or the wiper switch 23, the display image creation means 31 ends the display on the display 25a in accordance with a command from the display determination means 29.
[0025]
As described above, the vehicle front situation display device 5 according to the present embodiment performs the monitor display according to the driver's intention when the visibility is poor due to bad weather such as rain, snow, and fog. Accidents caused by insufficient confirmation can be prevented, and the relative positions of the traveling vehicle 37 and the stationary object 39 with respect to the host vehicle 33 are close to the image of the traveling situation in addition to the inter-vehicle distance as shown in FIG. Since the image is displayed with simple symbols on the monitor 25a, the driver can easily determine the danger and urgency of the vehicle at the time of poor visibility, contributing to avoiding accidents and reducing damage. It became.
Then, there is an advantage that the necessary minimum information can be quickly recognized from the monitor 25a by turning on the display selection switch.
[0026]
FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the invention according to claim 1, and a vehicle front situation display device 49 according to the present embodiment includes an inter-vehicle distance alarm discriminating means 51 in the control unit 7-1 in addition to the configuration of the above-described embodiment. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, an alarm is displayed on the monitor 25a-1 of the image display device 25-1, and an alarm buzzer 53 is mounted in the vehicle interior.
[0027]
That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the inter-vehicle distance alarm discriminating means 51 is connected to the vehicle speed sensor 3, the forward obstacle speed measuring means 17, the relative speed measuring means 11, the inter-vehicle distance measuring means 13, and the direction measuring means 15. .
Then, the inter-vehicle distance alarm discriminating means 51 obtains a safe inter-vehicle distance with respect to the own vehicle speed with respect to the obstacle (the running vehicle 37 in FIG. 5) closest to the own vehicle 33 from these detection results. The necessity of a rear-end collision warning is determined from the relationship between the relative speed and the actual inter-vehicle distance, and a display signal is sent to the display image creating means 31-1. As shown in FIG. 5, the display image creating means 31-1 displays an inter-vehicle distance collision warning display 55 on the monitor 25a-1 of the image display device 25-1.
[0028]
As shown in the drawing, the inter-vehicle distance rear-end collision alarm display 55 includes a safety display unit 55a that displays green when the vehicle is at a safe inter-vehicle distance, a primary alarm display unit 55b that displays a primary alarm in yellow, and a secondary alarm. The display image creating means 31-1 is configured to sequentially display these on the basis of the detection signal from the inter-vehicle distance alarm determining means 51. .
[0029]
Accordingly, when the host vehicle approaches the preceding vehicle too rapidly and is dangerous, the secondary alarm display portion 55c is displayed in red.
The inter-vehicle distance alarm discriminating means 51 operates the alarm buzzer 53 together with the primary alarm and secondary alarm indications of the inter-vehicle distance rear-end collision alarm display 55. In this embodiment, the frequency of the buzzer sound The primary alarm and the secondary alarm are differentiated by changing the strength.
[0030]
Also in the present embodiment, the display of the image display device 25-1 and the operation of the alarm buzzer 53 are performed by the driver turning on the monitor display switch 27 and at least one of the fog lamp switch 21 and the wiper switch 23. This is executed when the is turned ON.
Also in this embodiment, a display selection switch (not shown) is mounted in the passenger compartment, and when the driver operates the display selection switch, it is present in the lane of the own vehicle as shown in FIG. Only the front obstacle (traveling vehicle 37 in FIG. 6) located at a short distance can be switched so as to be displayed on the monitor 25a- 1 .
Since the vehicle forward situation display device 49 according to the present embodiment is configured in this way, the present embodiment can achieve the intended purpose as in the above-described embodiment, and the present embodiment. Then, since a rear-end collision warning device is incorporated, it is possible to more reliably avoid accidents and reduce damage.
Further, there is an advantage that necessary minimum information can be quickly recognized from the monitor 25a- 1 by turning on the display selection switch .
[0038]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the vehicle front situation display device according to claim 1 , when the visibility is poor due to bad weather such as rain, snow, or fog, the monitor display is performed according to the driver's intention. Accidents caused by lack of direct visibility can be prevented, and the relative position of obstacles ahead of the vehicle in addition to the distance between the vehicles can be shown on the monitor with a simple symbol on the monitor. Since images are displayed, the driver can easily determine the danger and urgency of the vehicle when visibility is poor, which contributes to avoiding accidents and reducing damage.
In addition, according to the present embodiment, there is an advantage that necessary minimum information can be quickly recognized by turning on the display selection switch.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle front situation display device according to a first embodiment of claim 1 ;
FIG. 2 is a front view of a monitor showing a display state of an image display device in the vehicle front situation display device shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the vehicle front situation display device of FIG. 1;
4 is a block diagram of a vehicle front situation display device according to a second embodiment of claim 1. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a front view of a monitor showing a display state of the image display device in the vehicle front situation display device shown in FIG. 4;
6 is a front view of a monitor showing a display state of the image display device of the vehicle front situation display device according to the first and second embodiments of claim 1. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Millimeter wave radar 3 Vehicle speed sensor 5,49,57 Vehicle front condition display device 7,7-1,7-2 Control unit 21 Fog lamp switch 23 Wiper switch 25,25-1 Image display device 25a, 25a-1 Monitor 27 Monitor Display switch 41 Inter-vehicle distance display 53 Alarm buzzer 55 Inter-vehicle distance rear-end collision alarm display

Claims (1)

Forward obstacle detection means for detecting the distance, direction and relative speed of the obstacle ahead of the vehicle,
Own vehicle speed detecting means for detecting the speed of the own vehicle;
An image display device that is mounted in the passenger compartment and on which a scale on which the distance and direction of the front obstacle relative to the host vehicle can be visually recognized is displayed on the monitor;
A control unit for determining the front obstacle based on the detection results of the front obstacle detection means and the own vehicle speed detection means, and obtaining the distance, direction, relative speed and own vehicle speed of the forward obstacle with respect to the own vehicle;
A display selection switch mounted in the passenger compartment and a monitor display switch of the image display device;
It consists of a fog lamp switch and a wiper switch that operate the fog lamp and wiper mounted on the vehicle,
In the control unit, when the monitor display switch is turned ON and at least one of the fog lamp switch and the wiper switch is turned ON,
On the monitor of the image display device, the image of the position of the front obstacle with respect to the host vehicle is displayed with a simple symbol, the distance to the obstacle closest to the host vehicle is displayed numerically , and according to the operation of the display selection switch, displaying simultaneously a plurality of front obstacle on the monitor, or the front of the vehicle status display device according to claim you to view only the nearest obstacle present in the lane of the vehicle.

Images