JP4785707B2 - Obstacle warning device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an obstacle warning device for preventing an own vehicle from coming into contact with an obstacle, and in particular, preventing contact with a tire stop or a wheel stop installed in a parking lot or the like when starting the own vehicle. It is related with the obstacle warning device for doing.

  With the improvement of the mounting rate of imaging cameras in automobiles, applications using imaging data are rapidly expanding. Many of these applications assist the driver's driving and improve the safety of the vehicle when traveling or parking. For example, in the case of a system that displays obstacles around a vehicle, a plurality of super wide-angle imaging cameras are used to synthesize the captured image data and display a 360 ° video around the vehicle. Further, by combining the captured image data after the viewpoint conversion, it is possible to display the captured image data from the top of the vehicle on the display.

  Patent Document 1 relates to an obstacle detection device, and aims to detect and notify an obstacle or the like existing under a vehicle. It is determined whether there is an obstacle under the vehicle by comparing images below the vehicle taken at the time of stopping and starting. If there is an obstacle, the engine is prohibited from starting and a warning is given to the driver. The driver can confirm that there is no abnormality under the vehicle and press the confirmation button to start the engine. If no obstacle is detected, the engine is started immediately.

JP 2005-138720 A

  For example, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), when the vehicle 102 is parked from the head in the large parking lot 100 and then departs, if there is no other vehicle around the own vehicle, the own vehicle 102 is Often it moves forward and out of the head. However, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), when the tire stop 104 is installed in the parking lot, if the vehicle is advanced by forgetting that the tire stop 104 exists, the vehicle stops at the tire stop 104. 102 could get on and it was dangerous.

  On the other hand, although it is possible to detect an obstacle using a dedicated camera that images the lower side of the vehicle as in Patent Document 1, the cost increases due to the installation of the dedicated camera.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and prevents the vehicle from coming into contact with an obstacle when the vehicle is started after being stopped at a parking lot or the like, and the cost for that purpose. It aims at providing the obstacle warning device which suppressed the rise.

  The obstacle warning device according to the present invention captures at least the traveling direction of the host vehicle and outputs imaging data, and the traveling direction of the host vehicle based on imaging data of a certain period before the host vehicle is parked. Detection means for detecting whether there is an obstacle, storage means for storing the detection result of the obstacle by the detection means, travel direction storage means for storing the travel direction when the host vehicle is parked, and parking When the traveling of the host vehicle is resumed later, it is determined that the traveling direction matches the determining unit that determines whether the traveling direction of the host vehicle matches the traveling direction stored in the traveling direction storage unit; Warning means for issuing a warning that there is an obstacle in the traveling direction when the detection means detects the presence of the obstacle.

  Preferably, the storage means stores imaging data before a certain period, and the warning means reads imaging data before a certain period from the storage means and reproduces the imaging data on a display. Furthermore, the warning means may display a graphic such as a character or marking that warns that an obstacle is present in the traveling direction, or may emit a sound or a warning sound. Preferably, the detection means detects a tire stop installed in the parking lot as an obstacle.

  The obstacle warning program according to the present invention captures at least the traveling direction of the host vehicle, and determines whether there is an obstacle in the traveling direction of the host vehicle based on imaging data for a certain period before the host vehicle is parked. A step of detecting, a step of storing a traveling direction when the host vehicle is parked, and a traveling direction of the host vehicle coincides with the stored traveling direction of the host vehicle when the traveling of the host vehicle is resumed after parking. And a step of issuing a warning that there is an obstacle in the traveling direction when it is determined that the traveling direction matches and the presence of the obstacle is detected by the detecting step; Have

  According to the obstacle warning device according to the present invention, the existing imaging means (imaging camera) mounted on the vehicle is used to detect whether there is an obstacle in the traveling direction during parking, and the traveling direction. If there is an obstacle in the vehicle, the warning will be issued when starting, so the user can recognize the presence of the obstacle in the direction of travel before starting, and start the vehicle by avoiding the obstacle Can do. Moreover, since an obstacle is detected using the existing imaging means mounted on the vehicle, an increase in cost can be suppressed.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an obstacle warning device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The obstacle warning device 10 detects at least whether there is an obstacle in the traveling direction of the vehicle by performing image processing on at least the imaging camera 12 that captures the traveling direction of the host vehicle and imaging data output by the imaging camera 12. An image processing unit 14, a vehicle state sensor 16 that detects a traveling state such as a vehicle speed and a gear position and outputs the detection result, and a vehicle position calculation unit that calculates a vehicle position based on a GPS satellite or a self-contained navigation sensor 18, a memory 20 that stores an obstacle warning program, imaging data captured by the imaging camera 12, a display 22, a display control unit 24 that controls display on the display 22, a speaker 26, and audio from the speaker 26 A voice output unit 28 that controls output and a control unit 30 that controls each unit based on an obstacle warning program are included.

  The imaging camera 12 is configured by an optical system including, for example, a CCD imaging device and a lens. For example, as shown in FIG. The imaging camera 12a images the front of the vehicle with a viewing angle θ1. An imaging camera 12b is attached to a bumper at the rear of the vehicle, and the imaging camera 12b images the rear of the vehicle with a viewing angle θ2. The imaging camera 12 is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 2 and may be used to image the periphery of the vehicle using a larger number of imaging cameras, and the mounting position is not necessarily limited to the bumper.

  Imaging data captured by the imaging camera 12 can be displayed on the display 22 by the display control unit 24 via the image processing unit 14 for driving assistance of the driver when the vehicle is traveling or parked. Further, as will be described later, when the own vehicle is stopped at a parking lot or the like, the control unit 30 instructs the image processing unit 14 to detect an obstacle, and the imaging data captured by the imaging camera 12 is detected as an obstacle. To be served.

  The image processing unit 14 detects an obstacle using a known image processing method such as pattern matching. For example, pattern data of an obstacle to be detected in advance can be stored in a memory, the pattern data can be compared with the analyzed image data, and the obstacle can be detected based on the degree of comparison between the two. Then, the image processing unit 14 outputs obstacle data including the presence or absence of an obstacle to the control unit 30.

  Based on the outputs of the vehicle state sensor 16 and the vehicle position calculation unit 18, the control unit 30 determines whether or not the vehicle enters an operation of parking in the parking lot. For example, the control unit 30 compares the output of the vehicle position calculation unit 18 with map data prepared in advance (for example, map data used in the navigation device), and travels along a route where the vehicle enters the parking lot. And / or referring to the fact that the speed of the vehicle has become below a certain level and / or that the gear position has become a constant gear based on the output of the vehicle state sensor 16 It is determined whether or not it has entered. When the control unit 30 determines that the operation of parking in the parking lot has been entered, the control unit 30 performs obstacle detection and warning based on the obstacle warning program stored in the memory 20.

  Next, the operation of the obstacle warning device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the parking operation of FIG. 3 and the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the parking lot 40 is provided with a plurality of parking spaces 42 (in the figure, 10 locations are shown), and in each parking space 42, two tire stops 44 are installed in a row. An example is used in which the vehicle 46 is moved forward to 42 and parked.

  The control unit 30 monitors the outputs of the vehicle state sensor 16 and the vehicle position calculation device 18, and enters the parking operation when the vehicle speed is below a certain level and the vehicle is traveling toward the parking lot. (Step S101). If it is determined that the parking operation has been entered, the control unit 30 displays the image data captured by the imaging camera 12 based on the obstacle warning program on the display 22 (step S102), whereby the traveling direction of the host vehicle, in this case, A video in front of the car is displayed.

  FIG. 5 shows a display example of imaging data when the own vehicle enters the parking space shown in FIG. 3 from the front. When the host vehicle 46 moves forward and parks, a parking space 42 and a tire stopper 44 installed in front of the parking space 42 are displayed on the display 22. Further, a part of the front bumper 50 of the own vehicle may be projected together so that the relative positional relationship with the front tire stop 44 can be easily recognized. Moreover, you may make it display the arrow 52 which shows the advancing direction of the own vehicle. The driver can park the vehicle at an appropriate position while confirming the imaging data displayed on the display 22.

  When entering the parking operation, the control unit 30 causes the image processing unit 14 to detect whether there is an obstacle in the traveling direction of the host vehicle (step S103). As described above, the image processing unit 14 includes obstacle pattern data for detecting obstacles in advance, and performs image analysis on the imaged data displayed in FIG. 5 and applies the obstacle to the analyzed image. It is detected whether or not the pattern data is included. In the present embodiment, the image processing unit 14 detects the tire stop 44 as an obstacle.

  The image processing unit 14 outputs obstacle data related to the obstacle (for example, the presence / absence of the obstacle, the shape, type, and position of the obstacle) as the obstacle detection result to the control unit 30. In response to this, the control unit 30 stores the obstacle data in the memory 20 (step S104). The control unit 30 further stores the image data captured by the imaging camera 12 in the memory 20 from the time when it is determined that the vehicle enters the parking operation until the parking is completed (step S104).

  Furthermore, the control unit 30 stores in the memory 20 the traveling direction of the host vehicle when the host vehicle stops in the parking space 42 based on the output of the vehicle state sensor 16. The traveling direction is preferably the gear position of the vehicle state sensor 16. In the case of parking shown in FIG. 3, “forward” is stored as the traveling direction of the host vehicle 46.

  Next, when the engine is restarted after parking, the control unit 30 determines that the host vehicle resumes running from the parking lot (step S106). The control unit 30 detects the traveling direction of the host vehicle based on the output of the vehicle state sensor 16. That is, either forward or reverse is detected from the gear position of the own vehicle. Then, the control unit 30 determines whether or not the detected traveling direction of the vehicle coincides with the traveling direction during parking stored in the memory 22 (step S107). For example, in the example of parking shown in FIG. 3, if the start of the own vehicle is forward, the traveling directions coincide.

  If it is determined that the traveling directions match, the control unit 30 determines whether an obstacle exists based on the obstacle data stored in the memory 20 (step S109). When it is determined that the traveling directions match and an obstacle is present, the control unit 30 reads out the imaging data stored in the memory 20 from when the parking operation enters until parking in the parking space 42, The imaging data is reproduced on the display 22 as a moving image. For example, in the example of parking shown in FIG. 3, by reproducing the imaging data, it is notified that there is a tire stop 44 in front of the parking space 42, and if the host vehicle is advanced, it will ride on the tire stop 44. Recognize When playing back the captured data, the message “This is a past image” or “The image at time x minutes” is displayed along with the message so that the user mistakes the current captured image. Can be prevented.

  On the other hand, when the traveling directions do not coincide with each other, for example, in the example of parking in FIG. 3, when it is determined that the own vehicle is going to move backward or there is no obstacle, the control unit 30 Since no obstacles exist, no obstacle warning is given. When the host vehicle moves backward, the imaging data behind the host vehicle captured by the imaging camera 12b (see FIG. 2) may be displayed on the display 22.

  In addition to the reproduction of the stored imaging data, the control unit 30 displays a warning character 60 “There is an obstacle ahead” in the reproduced imaging data, for example, as shown in FIG. The user may be more alerted. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6B, a marking 62 may be displayed in an overlapping manner so as to identify an obstacle displayed in the reproduced image data, and a warning may be issued. Or even if it is a warning which displays only the warning character 60 without reproducing the stored imaging data, and further urges the user to notice that there is an obstacle ahead by voice or warning sound. Good.

  As described above, the obstacle warning device of the present embodiment detects and stores whether there is an obstacle in the traveling direction of the own vehicle from the imaging data for a certain period from the time of entering the parking operation. When starting, if there is an obstacle in the traveling direction, a warning is generated, so that the obstacle can be recognized in advance and contact with the obstacle can be avoided. In addition, since obstacles are detected using existing imaging cameras such as front imaging cameras and rear imaging cameras mounted on vehicles, cost increases are suppressed compared to the case where conventional dedicated cameras are installed. can do.

  In the above embodiment, the tire stop installed in the parking lot is used as an example of the obstacle. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is intended for planting trees, gutters, people and animals. Good.

  Further, in the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the output of the vehicle position calculation unit is used to determine when the vehicle enters the parking operation, but it is not always necessary to use the output of the vehicle position calculation device. It is also possible to determine the parking entry point based on the output of the state sensor 16. Furthermore, in the said Example, although the own vehicle showed the example which advances and parks, it is not necessarily limited to this, The case where the own vehicle reversely parks may be sufficient.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a navigation system to which the obstacle warning device is adapted. In addition to the obstacle warning device 10, the navigation system 70 includes an input unit 72 that receives input from the user, and a navigation function unit 74 that searches for an optimum route from the vehicle position to the destination. When the host vehicle is traveling, a road map around the host vehicle position is displayed on the display 22, and a mark indicating the host vehicle position is synthesized and displayed there.

  For example, when the destination is set to a parking lot and the own vehicle reaches the vicinity of the parking lot, the navigation function unit 74 announces this by voice. In response to this, the obstacle warning program is activated, and the control unit 30 stores the imaging data until stopping in the parking space, and detects whether there is an obstacle in the traveling direction. Also good.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments according to the present invention, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. Deformation / change is possible.

  The obstacle warning device according to the present invention can be used as an obstacle warning system when starting a vehicle. As a usage mode, it can be functionally coupled to an electronic device such as a navigation device or another computer.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the obstruction warning apparatus which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a top view which shows arrangement | positioning of the imaging camera attached to the vehicle. It is a figure explaining the parking operation in a present Example. It is a flowchart explaining warning operation | movement of the obstacle warning apparatus of a present Example. It is a figure which shows the imaging data before the fixed period which parks. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example at the time of warning. FIG. 6A shows a display example of warning by characters, and FIG. 6B shows a display example of warning by marking. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a navigation system to which the obstacle warning device is adapted. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a conventional problem.

Explanation of symbols

10: Obstacle warning device 12: Imaging camera 14: Image processing unit 16: Vehicle state sensor 18: GPS sensor 20: Own vehicle position calculation unit 22: memory 24: microcontroller 26: display control unit 28: display 40: tire stop 42: Parking 46: Parking space 52: Front bumper 54: Arrow 60: Warning character 62: Marking 70: Navigation system 72: Input unit 74: Navigation function unit

Claims (9)

Imaging means for imaging at least the traveling direction of the vehicle and outputting imaging data;
Detecting means for detecting whether or not there is an obstacle in the traveling direction of the own vehicle based on imaging data of a certain period before the own vehicle is parked;
Storage means for storing an obstacle detection result by the detection means;
Traveling direction storage means for storing the traveling direction when the vehicle is parked;
Determining means for determining whether or not the traveling direction of the own vehicle coincides with the traveling direction stored in the traveling direction storage means when the traveling of the own vehicle is resumed after parking;
Warning means for issuing a warning that there is an obstacle in the advancing direction when it is determined that the advancing direction matches and the presence of the obstacle is detected by the detecting means;
Obstacle warning device. 2. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores imaging data before the certain period, and the warning unit reads the imaging data before the certain period from the storage unit and reproduces the imaging data on a display. Obstacle warning device. The obstacle warning device according to claim 2, wherein the warning unit displays a character or a graphic that warns that an obstacle is present in the traveling direction on the reproduced imaging data. The obstacle warning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the warning means emits a sound or a warning sound indicating that an obstacle is present in the traveling direction. The obstacle warning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the detection means detects a tire stop installed in a parking lot as an obstacle. The obstacle warning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A navigation system including a navigation function unit having a function of guiding a route to a destination. Imaging at least the traveling direction of the vehicle, and detecting whether there is an obstacle in the traveling direction of the vehicle based on imaging data of a certain period before the vehicle is parked;
Storing the direction of travel when the vehicle is parked;
Determining whether the traveling direction of the vehicle coincides with the stored traveling direction of the host vehicle when the traveling of the host vehicle is resumed after parking;
Issuing a warning that there is an obstacle in the direction of travel when it is determined that the direction of travel matches and that the presence of an obstacle is detected by the detecting step;
Obstacle warning program with. The obstacle warning program according to claim 7, wherein the step of issuing a warning includes a step of reproducing on a display image data of a certain period before parking. The obstacle warning program according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the step of issuing a warning emits a character, a figure, a voice or a warning sound indicating that an obstacle is present in the traveling direction.

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