JP3912236B2 - Vehicle periphery monitoring device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle periphery monitoring device that monitors the periphery of a vehicle.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, there has been known a vehicle periphery monitoring device that monitors the periphery of a vehicle with a camera mounted on the vehicle and informs the driver of the information of the intersection road with a monitor display or voice when entering an intersection with poor visibility. Yes. In this vehicle periphery monitoring device, intention information is displayed by a switch operation or the like, and a notification function is activated, so that information on intersection roads is notified by a monitor or voice. For this reason, when information on intersection roads is not required, such as when a vehicle enters an intersection with good visibility, the intention display by switch operation etc. is not performed, and the monitor display etc. is performed unnecessarily. Can be prevented. However, conversely, when the driver needs to be notified, such as when a vehicle enters an intersection with poor visibility, it is necessary to perform intention display by a switch operation or the like, which is very troublesome.
[0003]
Therefore, a vehicle periphery monitoring device that automatically detects an intersection and activates a notification function based on video from a camera installed in front of the vehicle and map information by navigation has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).
[0004]
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of automatic intersection recognition in the vehicle periphery monitoring device described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. 13A, it is assumed that the vehicle 200 approaches an intersection 210 and an image 220 as shown in FIG. 13B is acquired by a camera installed in front of the vehicle. At this time, the vehicle periphery monitoring device recognizes the intersection sign (temporary stop sign) 221 in the image 220 and determines that the vehicle 200 is about to enter the intersection 210. Further, as shown in FIG. 13C, the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus determines that the vehicle is about to enter the intersection based on the map information 230 and the vehicle position information 240 by navigation.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-084496 A
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the vehicle periphery monitoring device described in Patent Document 1 requires a camera, navigation, and the like for monitoring a sign in order to detect an intersection, and the configuration is complicated.
[0007]
The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle periphery monitoring device capable of simplifying the configuration and automatically recognizing an intersection.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vehicle periphery monitoring device that monitors the periphery of a vehicle, an image capturing unit that captures an image of a side of the vehicle, and a traveling direction of the vehicle based on an image captured by the image capturing unit. An image processing means for detecting a road line along the road, and detecting that the front of the road direction of the vehicle detected by the image processing means is interrupted. Intersection detection means for determining that the vehicle is about to enter an intersection when a road intersection line extending in a direction different from the road line is detected.The intersection determination means is configured such that an angle formed between the roadway road line and the roadway intersection line changes according to the movement of the vehicle, and the length of the roadway intersection line is a predetermined value or more. If it is detected that the vehicle is about to enter an intersection with good visibilityIt is characterized by that.
[0009]
【The invention's effect】
  According to the present invention, on the basis of the image from the imaging unit that images the side of the vehicle, the road road line along the traveling direction of the vehicle is detected by the image processing unit. The travel road line may be, for example, a white line on the road or a shoulder line. Then, the intersection determination means detects a break in the vehicle traveling direction ahead of the traveling road line, and further, there is a traveling road intersection line extending in a direction different from the traveling road line from the position where the traveling road line is broken. If detected, it is determined that the vehicle is about to enter the intersection. That is, the intersection judging means detects that the white line or the shoulder line along the traveling direction of the vehicle is interrupted, and further detects that the white line or the shoulder line extends in the other direction from the interrupted position. It detects and recognizes that the road is crossing, and judges that it is going to enter the intersection.Then, the intersection judging means detects that the angle formed between the travel road line and the travel road intersection line changes according to the movement of the vehicle, and that the length of the travel road intersection line is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. If so, it is determined that the vehicle is about to enter an intersection with good visibility.
[0010]
In this way, since the recognition of the intersection is realized by using the imaging means for imaging the side of the vehicle in order to monitor information such as the intersection road, a sign recognition camera for recognizing the intersection is newly provided. No navigation device is required.
[0011]
Therefore, the configuration can be simplified and the intersection can be automatically recognized.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0013]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus 1 includes a left-side camera (imaging means) 10a that images the left side of the vehicle, a right-side camera (imaging means) 10b that images the right side of the vehicle, and a vehicle speed pulse. Necessary information is extracted from the images captured by the vehicle speed sensor 20 and the two-sided cameras 10a and 10b, and the intersection is recognized based on the extracted information and the vehicle speed pulse from the vehicle speed sensor 20. A processing ECU 30, an alarm buzzer (alarm means) 40 for alerting the driver by emitting an alarm sound, an alarm indicator (alarm means) 50 for alerting the driver by lighting, and a bilateral camera 10a , 10b, and an in-vehicle monitor (display means) 60 that displays the image captured.
[0014]
Further, the processing ECU 30 includes an image processing unit (image processing unit) 31 that detects a road line along the traveling direction of the vehicle based on images from the both-side cameras 10a and 10b, and a travel detected by the image processing unit 31. Intersection judgment that recognizes that the road is intersecting when it detects that the road is interrupted, and further detects a driving road crossing line that extends in a different direction from the driving road from the interrupted position. Part (intersection judging means) 32. Here, the traveling road line is a white line or a shoulder line of a road on which the vehicle is traveling, and the traveling road intersection line is a white line or a shoulder line of a road that intersects with the road on which the vehicle is traveling.
[0015]
Next, an outline of the intersection recognition method of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a vehicle position while traveling on a road, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an image obtained from the right-side camera 10b at the vehicle position shown in FIG. In the following description, it is assumed that the right side camera 10b is installed in a direction perpendicular to the vehicle traveling direction.
[0016]
First, as shown in FIG. 2A, it is assumed that an intersection 110 exists far away from the vehicle 100. In the road 120 and the vicinity thereof, there is a travel road line 121 along the vehicle travel direction such as the boundary between the road 120 and the building and the white line of the road 120. For this reason, the image from the right-side camera 10b includes a travel road line 121 along the travel direction of the vehicle 100, as shown in FIG. If the roadway road line 121 extends in parallel to the vehicle traveling direction, the right-side camera 10b is installed in a direction perpendicular to the vehicle traveling direction, so the roadway road line 121 is displayed on the screen. Is detected as a horizontal straight line.
[0017]
Next, it is assumed that the vehicle 100 is about to enter an intersection 110 as shown in FIG. If the lane in which the vehicle 100 is traveling is branched instead of the priority road, the white line or the like is interrupted in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 100. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3B, the image includes a roadway road line 121 in which the front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 is interrupted.
[0018]
In addition, at the intersection 110, since the white line of the intersection road 130 exists from the position where the white line or the like is interrupted, the image travels from the position where the road road line 121 is interrupted as shown in FIG. It includes a line extending in a different direction from the road 121. This line is the traveling road intersection line 131.
[0019]
In this embodiment, based on this, it is detected that the traveling road line 121 along the vehicle traveling direction is interrupted in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle, and further, in a direction different from the traveling road line 121 from the interrupted position. It is determined that the vehicle 100 is about to enter the intersection 110 by detecting the traveling road intersection line 131 that extends.
[0020]
Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2C, it is assumed that the vehicle 100 further approaches the intersection 110. The image in this case (FIG. 3C) is the same as that shown in FIG.
[0021]
Next, it is assumed that the vehicle 100 further moves forward and is about to leave the intersection 110 as shown in FIG. At this time, since a white line or the like of the road 140 on which the vehicle 100 is about to enter is imaged, the image includes a roadway roadline 141 where the rear of the vehicle traveling direction is interrupted as shown in FIG. It becomes.
[0022]
In the present embodiment, based on this, when it is detected that the roadway road line 141 is interrupted behind in the vehicle traveling direction, it is determined that the vehicle is about to leave the intersection 110.
[0023]
Next, the intersection recognition method of this embodiment will be described in more detail. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing intersection approach recognition performed by the process ECU 30 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of each process shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows an image from the right-side camera 10b at the time of entering the intersection and a state in which the image is processed.
[0024]
First, as shown in FIG. 4, the image processing unit 31 detects a horizontal straight line from the image (FIG. 5A) obtained by the right-side camera 10b (S101, FIG. 5B). Specifically, the image processing unit 31 extracts a horizontal straight line by extracting a horizontal edge in the image and performing a Hough transform on the horizontal edge. Then, the image processing unit 31 groups straight lines having the same height on the screen among these horizontal straight lines as a group of straight lines (S102, FIG. 5C).
[0025]
After the grouping, the image processing unit 31 selects one straight line corresponding to the traveling road road line 121 from all the straight lines (including the straight line group) (S103, FIG. 5D). Specifically, the image processing unit 31 selects a straight line that exists at the lowermost position on the screen and has a length equal to or longer than a predetermined value as the traveling road road line 121.
[0026]
After that, the intersection determination unit 32 detects that the front of the travel route road line 121 in the vehicle traveling direction is interrupted, and the distance Ds from the interrupted position (point S) to the front screen edge in the vehicle traveling direction. (S104, FIG. 5E). Here, as shown in FIG. 2A, when the vehicle 100 exists far from the intersection 110, the point S does not exist and the distance Ds becomes “0”.
[0027]
Then, the intersection determination unit 32 determines whether or not the distance Ds exceeds the predetermined value Di and the distance change amount ΔDs is equal to or greater than “0” (S105). The distance change amount ΔDs is a value (= Ds−Ds ′) obtained by subtracting the distance Ds ′ calculated based on the previous image from the right-side camera 10b from the distance Ds calculated this time.
[0028]
When it is determined that the distance Ds does not exceed the predetermined value Di and / or the distance change amount ΔDs is not equal to or greater than “0” (S105: NO), the process ends. If the travel route road 121 is not interrupted, the distance Ds is “0”, and the process is terminated. If the distance Ds does not exceed the predetermined value Di, the distance between the vehicle and the point S is large, and even if the intersection 110 is ahead of the point S, the intersection approach is still ahead, When the distance change amount ΔDs is less than “0”, it can be said that the vehicle 100 is retreating, so that it is clearly not an intersection approach. That is, when “NO” is determined in S105, the vehicle 100 cannot enter the intersection 110.
[0029]
On the other hand, when it is determined that the distance Ds exceeds the predetermined value Di and the distance change amount ΔDs is equal to or greater than “0” (S105: YES), the intersection determination unit 32 is different from the travel route road line 121 from the point S. The traveling road intersection line 131 extending in the direction is detected (S106, FIG. 5 (f)).
[0030]
Thereafter, the intersection determination unit 32 determines whether or not the traveling road intersection line 131 is detected (S107). When it is determined that the traveling road intersection line 131 has not been detected (S107: NO), the intersection determination unit 32 determines that no intersection has entered (S111), and the process ends.
[0031]
When it is determined that the traveling road intersection line 131 is detected (S107: YES), the intersection determination unit 32 determines that the vehicle 100 is about to enter the intersection 110. Then, based on the vehicle speed pulse from the vehicle speed sensor 20, the intersection determination unit 32 determines whether or not the vehicle speed is equal to or less than a predetermined value V0, that is, whether or not the vehicle 100 is in a slow speed or a pause state (S108). ).
[0032]
When it is determined that the vehicle speed is not equal to or lower than the predetermined value V0, that is, when it is determined that the vehicle 100 is not slowing down or temporarily stopped (NO in S108), the intersection determination unit 32 needs to notify the driver of information on the intersection road 130. (S110), the process ends. That is, the intersection determination unit 32 determines that there is no need for notification in the first place because the intersection 110 that is currently approaching can pass at a speed exceeding the predetermined value V0.
[0033]
On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the predetermined value V0 (S108, YES), the intersection determination unit 32 determines that it is necessary to notify the driver of the information on the intersection road 130 (S109), and the process is terminated. To do. Then, according to a command from the processing ECU 30, the image monitor 60 displays images from the two-sided cameras 10a and 10b, the alarm buzzer 40 issues an alarm with an alarm sound, and the alarm indicator 50 lights up to issue an alarm. .
[0034]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing intersection departure recognition performed by the process ECU 30 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of each process shown in FIG. Note that FIG. 7 shows an image from the right-side camera 10b at the time of leaving the intersection and a state in which the image is processed. 6 is performed after it is determined in the intersection approach recognition process shown in FIG. 4 that the vehicle 100 is about to enter the intersection.
[0035]
First, similarly to S101 to S103 shown in FIG. 4, the image processing unit 31 detects horizontal straight lines from the image (FIG. 7A) obtained by the right-side camera 10b (S201), and these horizontal straight lines. Straight lines having the same height in the screen are grouped as a straight line group (S202), and one straight line corresponding to the traveling road line 141 is selected from the whole straight line (including straight line group) group (S203). .
[0036]
After that, the intersection determination unit 32 detects that the rear of the traveling road line 141 in the vehicle traveling direction is interrupted, and the distance De from the position (point E) to the rear screen edge in the vehicle traveling direction. (S204, FIG. 7B).
[0037]
Then, the intersection determination unit 32 determines whether or not the distance De is smaller than the predetermined value Do and the distance change amount ΔDe is “0” or less (S205). Here, the distance change amount ΔDe is a value (= De−De ′) obtained by subtracting the distance De ′ calculated based on the previous image from the right-side camera 10b from the distance De calculated this time. is there.
[0038]
When it is determined that the distance De is not smaller than the predetermined value Do and / or the distance change amount ΔDe is not equal to or less than “0” (S205: NO), the intersection determination unit 32 is driving the vehicle 100 in the intersection. (S207) and the process ends. That is, when the distance De is equal to or greater than the predetermined value Do, the intersection determination unit 32 recognizes that the intersection 110 is still ahead because the distance from the vehicle to the point E is long, and is traveling at the intersection. Deciding. When the distance change ΔDe exceeds “0”, it cannot be said that the vehicle 100 is about to leave the intersection because the vehicle 100 is moving backward. Judging that he is driving in an intersection.
[0039]
When it is determined that the distance De is smaller than the predetermined value Do and the distance change ΔDe is “0” or less (S205: YES), the intersection determination unit 32 determines that the vehicle 100 is about to leave the intersection 110. Then (S206, FIG. 7C), the process ends. If the image monitor 60 displays images from the two-sided cameras 10a and 10b while traveling at the intersection, the image monitor 60 displays the previous image on which the images from the two-sided cameras 10a and 10b are displayed, for example, a television set. When the alarm buzzer 40 and the alarm indicator 50 are performing alarm operations, the operation is stopped.
[0040]
Thus, in the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the travel path along the travel direction of the vehicle 100 by the image processing unit 31 based on the images from the both-side cameras 10a and 10b that capture the side of the vehicle. A road line (for example, a white line or a shoulder line on the road) 121 is detected. Then, the intersection determination unit 32 detects a discontinuity in the front of the vehicle travel direction of the travel route road line 121, and further travels in a direction different from the travel route road line 121 from the position where the travel route road line 121 is discontinued. When the road intersection line 131 is detected, it is determined that the vehicle is about to enter the intersection 110. That is, the intersection determination unit 32 detects that a white line or a shoulder line along the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 is interrupted, and further, a white line or a shoulder line extends in another direction from the interrupted position. This is detected, it is recognized that the road is intersecting, and it is determined that the vehicle 100 is about to enter the intersection 110.
[0041]
As described above, the recognition of the intersection 110 is realized by using the two-sided cameras 10a and 10b that image the side of the vehicle in order to monitor the information such as the intersection road 130. Therefore, a sign for detecting the intersection 110 is used. There is no need to add a new recognition camera and no navigation device is required.
[0042]
  Therefore, the configuration can be simplified and the intersection can be recognized automatically.The
[0043]
  Further, when the intersection determination unit 32 determines that the vehicle 100 is about to enter the intersection 110, the image monitor 60 displays images from the two-sided cameras 10a and 10b. It is automatically displayed on the image monitor 60. For this reason, display is performed without bothering the driver. Therefore, convenience can be improved.The
[0044]
  In addition, as in the past, an apparatus that determines the approach of an intersection by recognizing a sign cannot recognize the departure because there is no sign on the exit side of the intersection. I cannot judge. However, in the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when it is determined that the vehicle traveling on the traveling road line 141 is interrupted after it is determined that the vehicle 110 is about to enter the intersection 110, the vehicle 100 is Since it is determined that the vehicle is about to leave the intersection, it is determined that the vehicle is leaving based on the actually captured image, and the departure of the intersection 110 can be accurately determined.The
[0045]
  Conventionally, the departure cannot be determined, and the timing for returning the image display on the monitor or the like to the original state when leaving the intersection is inaccurate. However, in this embodiment, the vehicle 100 tries to leave the intersection by the intersection determination unit 32. If it is determined that the image monitor 60 is present, the image monitor 60 switches to the previous image from which the images from the two-sided cameras 10a and 10b are displayed, so that the switching is performed based on the actually captured image. Therefore, it is possible to restore the image display at a more accurate timing than before.The
[0046]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment is substantially the same as the first embodiment, but is different from the first embodiment in that the intersection determination unit 32 has a function of determining whether the intersection is visible or not.
[0047]
With reference to FIGS. 8-10, the outline of the intersection sighting determination method of this embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an image captured at an intersection with good visibility by the vehicle 100 traveling forward, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an image captured at an intersection with poor visibility by the vehicle 100 traveling forward. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an angle formed by the roadway road line 121 and the roadway intersection line 131 in the images shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. 8 and 9 show examples of images captured by the right side camera 10b installed in a direction perpendicular to the vehicle traveling direction. In FIG. 9, the white line or the like of the road 120 does not exist, the boundary between the road 120 and the building is recognized as the roadway roadline 121, and the corner of the building (on the point S) is the roadway intersection line 131. It is assumed that it has been recognized.
[0048]
First, as shown in FIG. 8A, the angle formed between the roadway road line 121 and the roadway intersection line 131 at time t0 is θA1. This angle θA1 is not an angle formed by the actual travel road line 121 and the travel road intersection line 131 but an angle on the image. Further, in FIG. 9A, the angle formed between the roadway road line 121 and the roadway intersection line 131 at the same time as FIG. 8A, that is, at time t0, is θB (when the building stands vertically) 90 °). This angle θB is also an angle formed on the screen by the travel route road line 121 and the travel route intersection line 131. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the angle formed by the travel route road line 121 and the travel route intersection line 131 is an angle formed on the screen.
[0049]
Next, when the vehicle 100 moves forward and reaches time t1, as shown in FIG. 8B, the angle formed by the travel route road line 121 and the travel route intersection line 131 is larger than θA1 and becomes θA2. . On the other hand, in FIG. 9B, even if the vehicle 100 moves forward, the wall of the building does not expand in the depth direction, and therefore, at time t1, the road road line 121 and the road crossing line 131 form. The angle is the same as θB (90 °) at time t0.
[0050]
Next, when the vehicle 100 further moves forward and reaches time t2, as shown in FIG. 8C, the angle formed by the traveling road line 121 and the traveling road intersection line 131 becomes larger than θA2 and becomes θA3. It becomes. On the other hand, in FIG. 9C, even when the vehicle 100 further moves forward, at time t2, the angle formed by the traveling road line 121 and the traveling road intersection line 131 is the same as θB (90 at time t0. °).
[0051]
Each angle at each time is as shown in FIG. At an intersection with good visibility, the angle between the roadway road line 121 and the roadway intersection line 131 changes as the vehicle 100 moves forward, whereas at an intersection with poor visibility, the roadway roadline 121 and the roadway intersection intersect. The angle made with the line 131 is constant at 90 °. In this way, by monitoring the angle formed by the travel route road line 121 and the travel route intersection line 131, it is possible to determine whether the intersection is good or bad.
[0052]
Note that at intersections with poor visibility, the angle between the roadway road line 121 and the roadway intersection line 131 is not necessarily 90 °, and other than 90 ° when the wall of the building is not perpendicular to the ground. It becomes the angle of.
[0053]
In the present embodiment, after acquiring images from the two-sided cameras 10a and 10b, the following processing is performed in the processing ECU 30 in order to determine whether or not the intersection is observable.
[0054]
Next, the intersection prospect determination according to the present embodiment will be described in more detail. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing intersection approach recognition and intersection sighting determination performed by the processing ECU 30 shown in FIG. S301 to S311 shown in the figure are the same as S101 to S111 shown in FIG.
[0055]
After S309, the intersection determination unit 32 calculates an angle θ formed by the traveling road line 121 and the traveling road intersection line 131 (S312). Thereafter, the intersection determination unit 32 determines whether or not the current angle θ is changed according to the movement of the vehicle 100 by comparing the previously calculated angle θ and the current angle θ (S313).
[0056]
Here, when the vehicle speed is “0”, it cannot be determined whether or not the angle θ changes in accordance with the movement of the vehicle 100, so the intersection determination unit 32 determines that the vehicle speed is at least “0”. The determination in step S313 is performed normally by not making a determination until the value exceeds 1, or by making a determination based on the previous angle θ and the previous angle θ if possible.
[0057]
When it is determined that the angle θ does not change according to the movement of the vehicle 100, that is, when it is determined that the angle θ is constant regardless of the movement of the vehicle 100 (S313: NO), the intersection determination unit 32 It is determined that the intersection that is about to be unsightly (S315), and the process ends. Then, according to a command from the processing ECU 30, the image monitor 60 displays images from the two-sided cameras 10a and 10b, the alarm buzzer 40 issues an alarm with an alarm sound, and the alarm indicator 50 lights up to issue an alarm.
[0058]
On the other hand, when it is determined that the angle θ has changed according to the movement of the vehicle 100 (S313: YES), the intersection determination unit 32 determines that the intersection that is about to enter is a line of sight (S314). . When it is determined that the intersection is a line of sight, the image monitor 60 does not display the images from the two-sided cameras 10a and 10b, and the alarm buzzer 40 and the alarm indicator 50 do not issue an alarm. The process ends.
[0059]
Note that it is conceivable that the visibility of the intersection deteriorates, as shown in FIG. 12, where the building is located behind the white line of the road 120 and close to the white line of the intersection road 130. As described above, when it is determined whether the line of sight is good or bad based on the angle θ between the roadway road line 121 and the roadway intersection line 131, when a building is present at a position deep from the white line, the intersection It is judged that the prospect of 110 is good. Therefore, in addition to the determination as to whether or not the angle θ has changed (the determination in S313), a determination is made as to whether or not the length of the traveling road intersection line 131 is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. Thereby, when the road crossing line 131 is less than a predetermined value, it can be judged that the prospect has deteriorated due to the presence of a building or the like, and conversely, when the road crossing line 131 is higher than the predetermined value. It can be determined that there is no building or the like, and that the prospect of the intersection 110 is good.
[0060]
  Thus, in the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the configuration can be simplified and the intersection can be automatically detected.TheCan improve convenience.TheTo accurately determine the departure of intersection 110TheThe image display can be restored to the original timingThe
[0061]
  In addition, the intersection determination unit 32 detects that the angle θ changes according to the movement of the vehicle 100, and detects that the length of the traveling road intersection line 131 is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. For example, when the traveling road line 121 is the road 120 and the white line and the traveling road intersection line 131 is the white line of the intersection road 130, the angle θ changes according to the movement of the vehicle 100. Furthermore, for example, when the traveling road intersection line 131 is not hidden by a building or the like, the length of the traveling road intersection line 131 becomes a predetermined value or more. That is, satisfying the above two conditions means that the white line of the intersection road 130 is at a position where it can be easily seen, and the driver can have a good view of the intersection 110. Therefore, it is possible to judge the prospect of the intersection.The
[0062]
  The intersection determination unit 32 detects that the angle θ is constant regardless of the movement of the vehicle 100. For example, when the travel route road line 121 is a boundary between the road 120 and a building and the travel route intersection line 131 is a corner of the building or the like, the angle θ is constant regardless of the movement of the vehicle 100. That is, satisfying the above condition means that the white line of the intersection road 130 cannot be visually recognized due to a building or the like, and the prospect of the intersection 110 is deteriorated. Therefore, it is possible to judge the prospect of the intersection.The
[0063]
  Further, since the alarm buzzer 40 and the alarm indicator 50 issue an alarm when it is determined that the vehicle 100 is about to enter an intersection with poor visibility, attention is only urged when entering an intersection with poor visibility. To prevent unnecessary notificationsThe
[0064]
  In addition, when the intersection determination unit 32 determines that the vehicle 100 is about to enter an intersection with good visibility, the image monitor 60 does not display images from the two-sided cameras 10a and 10b. The display content is not switched from the television display or the like to the images from the both-side cameras 10a and 10b. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary information from being notified.The
[0065]
In the present embodiment, the right and left side cameras 10a and 10b are provided as the cameras that image the side of the vehicle. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the right side camera 10a or the left side camera 10b. Any one of these may be provided.
[0066]
Moreover, in this embodiment, although the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus 1 is used for judgment of the intersection 110, you may use it for judgment, such as a T-junction.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle periphery monitoring device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are explanatory diagrams showing vehicle positions during road travel, where FIG. 2A shows a vehicle position before entering the intersection, and FIG. 2B shows a vehicle position when entering the intersection; (C) shows the vehicle position when the vehicle is about to enter the intersection and further advances from FIG. 2 (b), and (d) shows the vehicle position when the vehicle is about to leave the intersection. Show.
3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an image obtained from the right-side camera at the vehicle position shown in FIG. 2, (a) is an example of an image at the vehicle position shown in FIG. 2 (a), and (b) Fig. 2B is an example of an image at the vehicle position shown in Fig. 2B, Fig. 2C is an example of an image at the vehicle position shown in Fig. 2C, and Fig. 2D is a vehicle position shown in Fig. 2D. It is an example of an image.
4 is a flowchart showing intersection approach recognition performed by the processing ECU shown in FIG. 1; FIG.
5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams of each process shown in FIG. 4, in which FIG. 5A shows an image obtained by the right side camera, and FIG. 5B shows a state of the image processed in S101. (C) shows the state of the image processed in S102, (d) shows the state of the image processed in S103, and (e) shows the image processed in S104. (F) shows the state of the image subjected to the processing of S106.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing intersection departure recognition performed by the processing ECU shown in FIG. 1;
7 is an explanatory diagram of each process shown in FIG. 6, in which (a) shows an image obtained by the right side camera, and (b) shows a state of the image subjected to the process of S204. (C) shows the state of the image at the time of determination in S206.
FIGS. 8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams illustrating an example of an image captured at an intersection with a good line of sight by a vehicle that is moving forward; FIG. 8A illustrates an example of an image at time t0; FIG. (C) shows an example of an image at time t2.
FIGS. 9A and 9B are explanatory diagrams illustrating an example of an image captured at an intersection with poor visibility by a vehicle traveling forward, where FIG. 9A illustrates an example of an image at time t0, and FIG. 9B illustrates an example of an image at time t1; (C) shows an example of an image at time t2.
10 is a graph showing an angle formed by a travel road line and a travel road intersection line in the images shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing intersection approach recognition and intersection line-of-sight judgment performed by the processing ECU 30 shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a case where a building wall or the like is not protruding on the roadway and the intersection has poor visibility.
13A and 13B are explanatory diagrams of automatic intersection recognition in the intersection information providing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, in which FIG. 13A shows a vehicle position on an intersection road, and FIG. 13B shows a video example of a camera installed in the front; (C) shows an example of map information by navigation.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Vehicle perimeter monitoring device
10a Left side camera (imaging means)
10b Right side camera (imaging means)
31 Image processing unit (image processing means)
32 Intersection Judgment Unit (Intersection Judgment Means)
40 Alarm buzzer (alarm means)
50 Alarm indicator (alarm means)
60 On-vehicle monitor (display means)

Claims (7)

In the vehicle periphery monitoring device for monitoring the periphery of the vehicle,
Imaging means for imaging the side of the vehicle;
Image processing means for detecting a roadway line along the traveling direction of the vehicle based on the image picked up by the image pickup means;
It detects that the front of the vehicle travel direction of the travel route road line detected by the image processing means is interrupted, and further, a travel route intersection line extending in a direction different from the travel route road line from the interrupted position. An intersection determination means for determining that the vehicle is about to enter an intersection,
Equipped with a,
The intersection determination means is configured such that an angle formed by the travel road line and the travel road intersection line changes according to the movement of the vehicle, and the length of the travel road intersection line is a predetermined value or more. When the vehicle is detected, it is determined that the vehicle is about to enter an intersection with good visibility . The intersection determination means determines that the vehicle is about to enter an intersection with poor visibility when it detects that an angle formed by the roadway line and the roadway intersection line is constant regardless of the movement of the vehicle. The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to claim 1. 3. The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to claim 2, further comprising alarm means for issuing an alarm when the intersection determination means determines that the vehicle is about to enter an intersection with poor visibility. The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying an image from the imaging means when the intersection judgment means judges that the vehicle is about to enter an intersection. . Further comprising display means for displaying an image from the imaging means,
  2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the display unit does not display an image from the imaging unit when the intersection determination unit determines that the vehicle is about to enter an intersection with good visibility. Perimeter monitoring device. When the intersection determination means detects that the vehicle is about to enter the intersection and then detects that the rear of the vehicle traveling on the travel route detected by the image processing means is interrupted, the vehicle The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein it is determined that the vehicle is about to leave the intersection. Further comprising display means for displaying an image from the imaging means during traveling at an intersection,
  The display means, when the intersection judgment means judges that the vehicle is about to leave the intersection, switches to the previous image on which the image from the imaging means is displayed, and displays it. The vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus according to claim 6.

Images