JP4218453B2 - Vehicle forward visibility support device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention mainly relates to a vehicle forward visibility support device at night, and particularly when turning right at an intersection at night, by photographing an oncoming lane direction and a right-turn direction pedestrian crossing with a monitoring camera and displaying an image, The present invention relates to a device for assisting a driver with forward visibility.

  As can be seen from the fact that the number of traffic fatalities at intersections accounts for about one third of all fatal accidents, many accidents occur within the intersection. In particular, contact with an oncoming vehicle and a contact with a crossing pedestrian during nighttime and right turn are constantly occurring. For these reasons, there is a need for a forward visibility support device that assists the driver so that the presence of an oncoming vehicle or a crossing pedestrian can be reliably recognized in order to realize a safe right turn.

  As such prior art, for example, there is a vehicle surrounding monitoring device disclosed in Patent Document 1. This device makes it possible to change the imaging direction of a camera installed on the left front and right front of the vehicle, and when turning an intersection using a vehicle rotation angle detection means, map information means, and current position detection means, One direction is imaged with two cameras on the left and right to support the field of view. However, this device has a problem in that it is impossible to confirm an oncoming vehicle when turning right and a pedestrian on a pedestrian crossing in the traveling direction, which is the most dangerous when turning an intersection.

Further, as another technique, an apparatus that supports right turn using road-to-vehicle communication (for example, see Patent Documents 2 and 3) is disclosed. However, these devices are for the purpose of avoiding a collision between a right turn vehicle and a straight vehicle, and are not intended for avoiding a contact accident with a crossing pedestrian.
In addition, an apparatus that supports driving vision at night without being particularly limited to a right turn has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 4).
JP 05-278522 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-270097 JP 2002-260193 A JP-A-11-263145

  The present invention has been made in view of the absence of a suitable conventional technique for the purpose of preventing an accident with an oncoming vehicle or a crossing pedestrian at the time of a right turn at night. To provide a device that supports the driver's forward visibility by securing the visibility of both the oncoming lane and the right-turning pedestrian crossing at the time of a right turn at night, using a camera that photographs the right-turning pedestrian crossing. is there.

The invention according to claim 1 for achieving the above object is a vehicular front view assisting device that assists the driver's front view when turning right at an intersection,
A right camera that is provided on the right side of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle azimuth of the vehicle, and that captures the front lane direction when the vehicle turns right by imaging a left front direction with respect to the vehicle azimuth of the vehicle ;
A left camera that is provided on the left side of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle body direction of the vehicle, and that captures a right-turn direction pedestrian crossing when the vehicle turns right by imaging a right front direction with respect to the vehicle direction of the vehicle ;
An orientation sensor for detecting the orientation of the vehicle body;
Right camera shooting direction control means for controlling the shooting direction of the right camera to a first designated angle with respect to the front of the vehicle body;
Left camera shooting direction control means for controlling the shooting direction of the left camera to a second specified angle with respect to the front of the vehicle body;
Image synthesizing means for synthesizing two images photographed by the right camera and the left camera into one image at a predetermined display ratio;
Image display means for displaying an image synthesized by the image synthesis means;
A visibility support control circuit;
The visibility support control circuit calculates a right turn turning angle of the vehicle body based on the vehicle body direction detected by the direction sensor when making a right turn, and the right camera determines the opposite lane direction based on the right turn turning angle. The first designated angle for photographing and the second designated angle for photographing the right-turn direction pedestrian crossing are calculated and the corresponding right camera photographing direction control means and left camera photographing direction control are calculated. The display ratio is determined such that the display ratio of the image captured by the right camera to the image captured by the left camera increases as the right turn angle increases and is output to the image composition means. The image synthesizing unit is a vehicle front vision support device for synthesizing images taken by the right camera and the left camera according to the display ratio and outputting the synthesized images to the image display unit .

  According to such a configuration, there is an effect that the field of view in two directions that are difficult for the driver to visually recognize when turning right can be simultaneously confirmed on one screen.

In addition, according to such a configuration, an image in the oncoming lane direction that is difficult for the driver to visually recognize as the right turn operation progresses is displayed in a large size, which can be useful for preventing accidents with oncoming vehicles.

Further, an invention according to claim 2, in the front visual field support device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vision enhancement control circuit, crossing the detecting means has detected that the vehicle is in the intersection When it is detected that the nighttime switch for inputting that it is nighttime is ON and that the right turn turn signal switch indicating the intention to turn right is ON or that the right turn angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle. In any case, it is determined that the vehicle is turning right, and the output of the first and second designated angles and the display ratio is started.

  Front vision assistance is not so necessary during daytime or at intersections. Therefore, according to the above configuration, the apparatus operates only when front vision support is necessary, which is efficient.

The invention described in Claim 3 is the forward visibility assist device for a vehicle according to claim 2, in place of the case where the right turn turn angle is detected that is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle, the steering angle sensor A vehicular forward vision assistance device, characterized in that it is detected that the steering is turned to the right by a predetermined angle or more.

  The driver's intention to make a right turn can also be detected by detecting the turning angle of the steering angle in this way.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicular forward vision assistance device according to any of the first to third aspects, the first specified angle is equal to the right turn angle from the front of the vehicle body to the left. In the vehicle front vision support apparatus, the second specified angle is an angle equal to (90 degrees-the right turn angle) from the front of the vehicle body to the right.

  According to such a configuration, the right camera can always face in the opposite lane direction and the left camera can face in the right turn direction crosswalk regardless of the turning angle of the right turn of the vehicle body.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle front vision support apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle front vision support apparatus of the present embodiment. The forward view support according to the present invention is performed by displaying an image photographed by the monitoring camera on a display or the like provided in the vehicle. There are two surveillance cameras, and one (hereinafter referred to as the right camera 1) is for photographing the opposite lane direction 4 when making a right turn. As shown in FIG. 3, it is located above the right front fender of the vehicle body 3. It is attached. The other unit (hereinafter referred to as the left camera 2) is for photographing the right turn direction pedestrian crossing 5 when making a right turn, and is attached to the upper part of the left front fender of the vehicle body 3.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the right camera 1 and the left camera 2 are arranged so that the predetermined direction described above can always be monitored even when the right turn proceeds and the right turn turning angle θ that the vehicle body 3 is in the straight direction increases. The shooting direction is controlled by the right camera shooting direction control means 7 and the left camera shooting direction control means 8, respectively. The right camera shooting direction control means 7 and the left camera shooting direction control means 8 include a servo mechanism using a DC motor, a step motor, and the like. Then, the photographing directions of the right camera 1 and the left camera 2 are controlled so as to coincide with the first designated angle α1 and the second designated angle α2 instructed from the visual field support control circuit 9, respectively.

  The two images taken by the right camera 1 and the left camera 2 are sent to the image composition means 10. The display ratio of the two images is instructed to the image composition means 10 by the visual field support control circuit 9. The image synthesizing unit 10 synthesizes two images into one image according to the instructed display ratio and outputs the synthesized image to the image display unit 11. The image display means 11 is composed of a liquid crystal display, for example, and displays the received composite image to support the driver's forward view.

  The visibility support control circuit 9 receives output signals from a number of sensors. The night switch 12 is a switch for inputting that it is night, and is operated by the driver. The right turn signal switch 13 is a switch for inputting a driver's intention to turn right. The in-intersection detection means 14 is composed of, for example, a car navigation device equipped with GPS, detects that the own vehicle is in the intersection in light of the map data possessing the current position of the own vehicle detected by GPS, and provides visibility support Informs the control circuit 9.

  The azimuth sensor 15 measures the azimuth of the vehicle body 3 with a geomagnetic azimuth sensor, an optical fiber gyroscope, etc., and notifies the visual field assistance control circuit 9 of it. The steering angle sensor 16 detects a turning angle from the neutral position of the steering and notifies the visual field assistance control circuit 9 of the detected turning angle. The image recognition means 17 analyzes the image of the right turn direction pedestrian crossing 5 photographed by the left camera 2, finds the pedestrian 6, and notifies the visual field assistance control circuit 9.

  Next, a description will be given of the operation for assisting the forward visibility performed under such a configuration. FIG. 2 shows a processing flow of the visibility support control circuit 9. In the first step S1, it is checked whether the nighttime switch 12 is ON. Since the vehicle front vision support device of the present invention is mainly intended for front vision support at the time of a right turn at night, the process proceeds to a support flow after step S2 that continues only when the night switch 12 is ON. Therefore, it is desirable to use night vision for the right camera 1 and the left camera 2 that can easily ensure night vision.

  In step S2, it is checked whether the vehicle body 3 is in the intersection. This check is performed by the output signal of the above-described intersection detection means 14. If it is within the intersection, the process proceeds to step S3.

  Step S4 following step S3 is a step for detecting a right turn motion intention or a right turn motion start. In step S3, it is checked whether the right turn turn signal switch 13 is ON. If it is ON, it is determined that there is an intention to turn right, and the process proceeds to step S5. If it is OFF, it is checked in step S4 based on the output of the steering angle sensor 16 whether or not the steering angle in the right direction of the steering is greater than or equal to a predetermined angle. If the angle is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle, it is determined that the right turn operation is started and the process proceeds to step S5. In step S4, instead of checking the steering angle, it may be checked whether the direction of the vehicle body 3 has turned to the right by a predetermined angle or more from the straight traveling direction. As shown in FIG. 3, when the right turn turning angle θ of the vehicle body 3 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, it can be considered that the right turn operation is started.

  Steps S5 to S8 are a processing flow for supporting the forward visual field accompanying the start of a right turn. In step S5, the visual field support control circuit 9 calculates the directions in which the right camera 1 and the left camera 2 should shoot with respect to the right camera shooting direction control means 7 and the left camera shooting direction control means 8, respectively. Are output as the designated angle α1 and the second designated angle α2.

  The direction in which the right camera 1 and the left camera 2 shoot will be described with reference to FIG. The right camera 1 is a camera that monitors the oncoming lane 4. Therefore, it is necessary to always face the straight direction (O-A direction). Therefore, an angle equal to the right turn angle θ is output as the first designated angle α1. Here, the first designated angle α1 is the shooting direction of the right camera 1 measured leftward from the vehicle body direction (OB direction). The right camera shooting direction control means 7 receives the first designated angle α1 equal to the right turn angle θ as an input, and controls the right camera 1 to face the opposite lane direction (a1-b1 direction). By making the value of the first designated angle α1 equal to the right turn turning angle θ in this way, the right camera 1 always monitors the oncoming lane direction even if the right turn turning angle θ changes.

  On the other hand, the left camera 2 is a camera that monitors the right turn direction pedestrian crossing 5. Therefore, it is necessary to always face the right turn direction (a2-b2 direction). Therefore, an angle of (90 degrees−right turn angle θ) is output as the second designated angle α2. Here, the second designated angle α2 is a shooting direction of the left camera 2 measured in the right direction from the vehicle body direction (O-B direction). The left camera photographing direction control means 8 receives the second designated angle α2 as input, and performs control to turn the left camera 2 in the right turn direction crossing direction (a2-b2 direction). Since the value of the second designated angle α2 is determined and controlled in this way, the left camera 2 always monitors the right turn direction pedestrian crossing even if the right turn turning angle θ changes.

  Two images of the right camera 1 and the left camera 2 that are photographed with the photographing direction controlled in this way are sent to the image synthesizing means 10. At the same time, the image of the left camera 2 is also sent to the image recognition means 17. The image recognition means 17 analyzes the image of the pedestrian crossing 5 in the right turn direction of the left camera 2 that has been sent and checks whether there is a pedestrian. And when the pedestrian 6 is discovered, the fact is notified to the visual field assistance control circuit 9.

In step S6, it is checked whether or not a pedestrian has been found based on the output signal of the image recognition means 17. If not found, the process proceeds to step S7.
In step S7, when the image synthesizing unit 10 synthesizes the two images taken by the right camera 1 and the left camera 2 into one image, the display ratio of the two images is calculated and the image synthesizing unit 10 is instructed. . The synthesized images are displayed side by side by the image display means 11 at a display ratio designated on one screen as shown in FIG. An image 1 in FIG. 5 represents an image photographed by the right camera 1, and an image 2 represents an image photographed by the left camera 2. The display ratio of the image 1 taken by the right camera 1 to the entire screen is determined so as to increase as the right turn angle θ increases as shown in FIG. 6, for example. FIG. 5A shows a screen when the right turn angle θ is small, FIG. 5C is large, and FIG. 5B shows an intermediate screen.

  When the display ratio is determined in this way, as the right turn angle θ of the vehicle body 3 increases, the image 1 in the oncoming lane direction that becomes difficult for the driver to see directly becomes larger. Accordingly, the effect of assisting the driver in the forward visibility is enhanced as compared with the case where the two images are displayed at a fixed ratio.

  If the pedestrian 6 is found in step S6, the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, a predetermined ratio is output as a display ratio. When this fixed ratio is 50%, for example, the images 1 and 2 are displayed at the same ratio as shown in FIG. 5B regardless of the right turn angle θ. Even if the right turn angle θ increases, the image 2 of the left camera 2 that is photographing the pedestrian is displayed in a fixed size without being reduced, so that the driver can continue to see the pedestrian 6 reliably. Can do.

After steps S8 and S9, both return to step S1 and repeat the processing so far.
If NO in steps S1, S2, and S4, the process proceeds to step S9. The case where the process proceeds to step S9 is a case where no front vision support is required. Accordingly, in step S9, zero is output as both the first designated angle α1 and the second designated angle α2 in order to turn the two cameras toward the front. In the subsequent step S10, since no support is required, the display by the image display means 11 and the photographing of the two cameras are stopped. Then, the process returns to step S1.

  Through the processing described above, when the driver makes a right turn at night, the driver can acquire images of the oncoming lane direction and the right turn direction pedestrian crossing that are difficult for the driver to continue to check. Further, when a pedestrian is present, the image is displayed in a large size and can be visually recognized. Therefore, monitoring these images can also help prevent a traffic accident.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the front view assistance apparatus for vehicles of this invention. It is a processing flowchart of a visual field assistance control circuit. It is a figure explaining the visual field of the camera in an intersection. It is a figure explaining the imaging | photography direction of a camera. It is a figure which shows the display state of the synthesized image. It is an example of the display ratio of the image of two cameras.

Explanation of symbols

In the drawings, 1 is a right camera, 2 is a left camera, 3 is a vehicle body, 7 is a right camera shooting direction control means, 8 is a left camera shooting direction control means, 9 is a visual field support control circuit, 10 is an image composition means, and 11 is Image display means, 12 is a night switch, 13 is a right turn signal switch, 14 is an intersection detection means, 15 is a direction sensor, 16 is a steering angle sensor, 17 is an image recognition means, α1 is a first designated angle, and α2 is a first The designated angle of 2, θ represents the right turn angle.

Claims (4)

A vehicle front visibility support device that assists a driver's front vision when turning right at an intersection,
A right camera that is provided on the right side of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle azimuth of the vehicle, and that captures the front lane direction when the vehicle turns right by imaging a left front direction with respect to the vehicle azimuth of the vehicle ;
A left camera that is provided on the left side of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle body direction of the vehicle, and that captures a right-turn direction pedestrian crossing when the vehicle turns right by imaging a right front direction with respect to the vehicle direction of the vehicle ;
An orientation sensor for detecting the orientation of the vehicle body;
Right camera shooting direction control means for controlling the shooting direction of the right camera to a first designated angle with respect to the front of the vehicle body;
Left camera shooting direction control means for controlling the shooting direction of the left camera to a second specified angle with respect to the front of the vehicle body;
Image synthesizing means for synthesizing two images photographed by the right camera and the left camera into one image at a predetermined display ratio;
Image display means for displaying an image synthesized by the image synthesis means;
A visibility support control circuit;
The visibility support control circuit calculates a right turn turning angle of the vehicle body based on the vehicle body direction detected by the direction sensor when making a right turn, and the right camera determines the opposite lane direction based on the right turn turning angle. The first designated angle for photographing and the second designated angle for photographing the right-turn direction pedestrian crossing are calculated and the corresponding right camera photographing direction control means and left camera photographing direction control are calculated. The display ratio is determined such that the display ratio of the image captured by the right camera to the image captured by the left camera increases as the right turn angle increases and is output to the image composition means. The vehicular forward view assisting apparatus , wherein the image synthesizing unit synthesizes images taken by the right camera and the left camera in accordance with the display ratio and outputs the synthesized images to the image display unit . 2. The night vision switch according to claim 1, wherein the visibility assistance control circuit detects that the vehicle is in the intersection and inputs that the vehicle is at night. Is in the right-turning operation when the state is ON and the right-turn turn signal switch indicating the intention to turn right is ON or when it is detected that the right turn angle is greater than or equal to a predetermined angle And starting output of the first and second designated angles and the display ratio . The vehicle forward vision assistance device according to claim 2, wherein instead of detecting that the right turn angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle, the steering angle sensor is turned rightward by steering more than the predetermined angle. A vehicular forward vision assistance device , characterized in that it is detected that the vehicle is present . 4. The vehicular forward vision assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the first specified angle is an angle equal to the right turn angle from the front of the vehicle body to the left, and the second specified angle is A vehicular forward visibility support device characterized in that the angle is equal to (90 degrees-the right turn angle) from the front of the vehicle body to the right .

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