JP5353999B2 - Driver assistance device - Google Patents

Abstract

The system (1) has a transmission/reception module (7a) to repeatedly emit a search wave in right or left-side direction relative to a direction of travel of the vehicle (V) or to receive object information of echoes based on the emitted search waves. A controller (7b) determines whether the vehicle enters a target area that incorporates blind spot for a driver of the vehicle based on the object information. The controller provides information which is assigned to the target area according to the determination result to the driver.

Description

  The present invention relates to a driver assistance device that is mounted on a vehicle and that informs the driver of information for alerting the driver when the vehicle enters an intersection or the like with a poor visibility for the driver.

  Conventionally, this type of driver assistance device has a front side view function that captures and displays a monitoring image of the front left and right sides of the vehicle and displays it in the vehicle, such as an intersection with a poor view for the driver (hereinafter referred to as “target region”). It is known that a monitor image is displayed when a driver performs a switch operation when a vehicle enters the vehicle (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  However, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, for example, the driver needs to perform a switch operation when displaying the monitoring image. Therefore, when the vehicle approaches the target area, in addition to the driving operation such as the steering operation of the vehicle and the braking operation. Thus, it is considered that the switch operation is imposed on the driver, which increases the operation burden on the driver.

  On the other hand, a point that requires the use of the front side view function is registered in advance on the map information of the navigation device, and when the vehicle reaches the registered point, a monitoring image is automatically displayed, thereby driving the vehicle. 2. Description of the Related Art Devices that attempt to reduce a user's operation burden are known (see, for example, Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3).

Japanese Patent No. 2827665 Japanese Patent No. 3417134 Japanese Patent No. 3468620

  However, in the device described in Patent Document 2, for example, when an intersection with a good view for the driver is registered, a monitoring image is automatically displayed in a region other than the target region, which is bothersome for the driver. May make you feel. In other words, there is a problem in that it is not easy to register only a crossroad or a T-junction when trying to register only an intersection or the like with a poor view, so that the registration work takes time.

  Further, for example, in the device described in Patent Document 3, even if the driver can manually register only an intersection with poor visibility, the structure in the site of a building or a house, a soundproof wall, a median strip, etc. As a result of the change in the structure of the road, for example, the operation of re-registering to correspond to all of the intersections where the prospect has newly deteriorated (or the prospect has improved) makes the driver feel bothersome The problem remains.

  Furthermore, for example, in the devices described in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, since the current position of the vehicle is measured by the navigation device to determine whether or not the target area has been reached, in order to compensate for the measurement error, It is necessary to display the monitoring image at an earlier stage than the arrival point, and there is a possibility that the driver may feel uncomfortable due to a shift in the display timing.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a driver assistance device that can call a driver's attention more appropriately in a target area.

  The driver assistance device according to claim 1, which is an invention made to achieve the above object, is provided when the host vehicle enters a target area having a blind spot in the field of view of the driver of the host vehicle. This is a device for outputting notification information for calling attention to the device.

  Specifically, the irradiating means irradiates at least one of the right side and the left side with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle, and the region determining means reflects the radar wave arriving from the irradiation direction of the radar wave by the irradiating means. Based on the target information obtained from the waves, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle enters the target area. And an information provision means provides the driver | operator with the information regarding an object area | region based on the determination result of an area | region determination means.

  According to the driver assistance device configured in this way, it is possible to recognize the situation around the host vehicle using information on radar waves reflected by a wall or the like on the road. Since it is not necessary to compensate for the measurement error and the time when the host vehicle enters an intersection or the like (target area) with poor visibility can be accurately determined, the driver can be more appropriately alerted in the target area.

Further, the distance information indicating the relative distance between the target and the vehicle those present in the irradiation range by the irradiation morphism means is included in the target information, area determination means monitors the relative distance based on the distance information In addition, after detecting that the relative distance is within the preset short distance range for a predetermined number of times , the relative distance is outside the preset space range as a range wider than the short distance range. when it is detected that, to determine that the vehicle enters the region of interest.

Note that the short distance range refers to a predetermined distance range that is set in advance so that the driver's field of view is blocked by the target. In addition, the spatial range is, for example, from a position at a distance (hereinafter referred to as “remote distance”) that is far from the host vehicle so that the target does not affect the driving of the host vehicle in the target area in the relative distance detection range. The range up to the position of the vehicle. Therefore, in addition to the case where there is a target far away from the remote range, the case where there is no target within the detection range is included.

  According to the driver assistance device configured in this way, by continuously detecting the target in the neighborhood distance range, it is possible to accurately detect a wall or the like on the road on the way to the target region, and the relative When the distance exceeds the spatial range, it is possible to accurately detect the arrival of the host vehicle in the target area, and therefore, it is possible to accurately determine an intersection or the like having a poor visibility for the driver.

  Further, in the driver assistance device of the present invention, for example, even if the number of times of irradiation of the radar wave by the irradiation means is always kept constant, that is, even if the relative distance to the target is monitored while always keeping a constant monitoring level. However, it is considered that by changing the level of the monitoring level, it is possible to reduce the monitoring burden when unnecessary (as a result, the processing burden of the apparatus, power consumption, etc.).

For example, as described in claim 2 , the area determination means, when the speed of the host vehicle is equal to or less than a preset slowing speed, or the brake depression amount by the driver is equal to or more than a preset stop depression amount, The irradiation period of the radar wave may be shortened. In other words, when approaching an intersection with poor visibility, the driver usually slows down the vehicle or temporarily stops the vehicle. In this case, the monitoring burden when unnecessary is increased by increasing the monitoring level using radar waves. Can be reduced .
Further, as described in claim 3, the information providing means may shorten the irradiation period of the radar wave when the area determining means determines that the host vehicle enters the target area. That is, when entering a crossing with poor visibility, the radar level is used to raise the monitoring level, so that it is possible to accurately determine whether or not a target to be described later exists in the target area.

In addition, as described in claim 4, in the configuration including the information acquisition unit that acquires the peripheral information related to the current location around the host vehicle from outside the host vehicle , the region determination unit includes the peripheral acquired by the information acquisition unit. Based on the information, when the target area exists in the traveling direction of the host vehicle, the irradiation area of the radar wave may be shortened.

  According to the driver assistance apparatus configured as described above, for example, the target area exists in the traveling direction of the own vehicle, instead of using the peripheral information to determine whether or not the own vehicle has reached the target area. Since peripheral information can be used to determine whether or not to do so, it is possible to reduce the unnecessary monitoring burden without affecting the determination accuracy of the target region.

  In addition, as described in claim 5, when the information providing unit determines that the host vehicle enters the target region by the region determining unit, at least one of the right side and the left side with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle is photographed. Information may be provided by displaying an image captured by a possible camera on a display means.

  According to the driver assistance device configured in this way, when entering the target area, for example, by displaying a monitoring image captured by the camera by the front side view function as in the conventional configuration, driving at an appropriate timing Can call attention.

  By the way, the information providing means may display a monitoring image taken by the camera when entering the target area, for example, as in claim 5, but when the monitoring image is displayed for the driver, special attention should be paid. There may be no target to be. If such a case continues, there is a possibility that the driver becomes too accustomed to displaying the monitoring image and may not pay attention.

For this, for example, as described in claim 6, among the targets existing in the irradiation range by the irradiation means, distance information indicating a relative distance between the target object requiring attention to the driver and the host vehicle is provided. If it is included in the target information, the information providing means may provide corresponding information when detecting a relative distance indicating that the target exists in the target area based on the distance information. .

Further, for example, as described in claim 7, the target information includes speed information indicating a relative speed between an attention target that is present in an irradiation range by the irradiation means and requires attention to the driver and the host vehicle. And the information provision means should just provide corresponding information, when detecting the relative speed which shows that the target is approaching the own vehicle based on the speed information.

According to the driver assistance device configured as described in claims 6 and 7, the corresponding information is provided only when a target (attention target) requiring attention to the driver exists in the target area. Thus, it is possible to prevent the driver from becoming accustomed to the notification information and to make the driver pay more attention. Note that the method of providing information is not limited to display of a monitoring image by the front side view function (camera shooting), for example, and may be displayed as a warning image. Alternatively, it may be a warning sound or a warning message indicating that other vehicle or pedestrian needs attention, lighting of a warning light, or the like.

Further, as described in claim 8, 9, the information providing unit, it is determined that the vehicle enters the target region in the region determining means, or if the and attention target object does not exist in the target area, area When the determination means determines that the host vehicle does not enter the target area, information regarding the target area may not be provided to the driver.

According to such a configuration, when a warning is unnecessary, it is possible to reliably prevent useless notification by prohibiting provision of information.
The irradiation means, it is possible to provided in various locations in the vehicle, as claimed in claim 10, the host to the driver of the eye point in the vehicle (the driver's eye position) More preferably, it is provided on the traveling direction side of the vehicle.

  According to such a configuration, since it is possible to irradiate a radar wave to an area that is a blind spot in the driver's field of view, information corresponding to the driver is suitably provided before the driver visually recognizes the situation in the target area. Can do.

It is the schematic diagram which showed the installation place and search range of the driver assistance system of the following embodiment on the top view of a vehicle. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of each part of the driver | operator assistance system. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure and operation | movement of the target search device of the following embodiment. It is a 1st flowchart which shows an example of the alerting | reporting process which a determination device and a control part perform. It is an overhead view for demonstrating a target area | region. It is a graph for demonstrating the relationship between the detection signal of a target finder and a target area. It is a 2nd flowchart which shows an example of the alerting | reporting process which a determination device and a control part perform. It is a 3rd flowchart which shows an example of the alerting | reporting process which a determination device and a control part perform.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the installation location and search range of a driver assistance system 1 to which the present invention is applied on a plan view of a vehicle, and FIG. 2 shows the configuration of each part of the driver assistance system 1. It is a block diagram.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the driver assistance system 1 includes a head unit 3 installed in the vicinity of the center of the front end of the vehicle and an indoor unit 5 installed in the vehicle interior.
[Head]
The head unit 3 irradiates a radar wave (laser light, radio wave, ultrasonic wave, etc.) and receives the reflected wave, thereby detecting a target existing in a preset exploration area (and thus an irradiation range). The target exploration device 7 Hereinafter, the right side in the forward direction of the vehicle is simply referred to as “right”, and the left side in the forward direction of the vehicle is simply referred to as “left”.

There are two exploration areas of the target exploration device 7, which are formed by a right exploration area SR formed by a radar wave irradiated toward the right of the vehicle and a radar wave irradiated toward the left of the vehicle. It consists of the left exploration area SL. Each of the exploration areas SR and SL covers a range from the left and right directions to a direction that is a predetermined angle (for example, 15 °) in the forward direction from the left and right directions as viewed from the installation position of the target exploration device 7. Is set.

  Further, the target searcher 7 detects a target existing in each of the search areas AR and AL for each preset search cycle (radar wave irradiation cycle). Target information including at least the search area where the target is detected, “distance to the target”, and “relative speed with respect to the target” is generated and supplied to the indoor unit 5. The search cycle is set by the indoor unit 5 and the setting information is supplied to the target searcher 7.

  In addition, the target information here includes all targets detected in the exploration area by radar waves. For example, targets that obstruct the field of view such as walls and buildings, and other targets (for example, stopped) Vehicle, traveling vehicle, pedestrian, bicycle, vegetation, stone, animal, etc.).

[Target Searcher]
Here, FIG. 3 is explanatory drawing which shows the structure and operation | movement of the target probe 7 of this embodiment, (a) is a top view (description figure on the irradiation side), (b) is a right side view, c) is a bottom view (an explanatory diagram on the light receiving side).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the target probe 7 according to this embodiment includes a light source 10 that generates laser light that is a radar wave, a light receiving unit 11 that receives laser light, and laser light emitted from the light source 10. The right irradiation light (the right exploration region SR) and the laser light path are changed to the left and right sides that are horizontal with respect to the traveling direction (in the case of FIG. The left irradiation light (left exploration area SL) is generated, and the reflected light of the right irradiation light and the left irradiation light is guided to the light receiving unit 11. The right lens unit 13 is arranged on the optical path of the right irradiation light to the outside and diverges or focuses the right irradiation light, and the left irradiation light from the optical path changer 12 to the outside of the target searcher 7 diverges or focuses. Left lens portion 14

  The light source 10 is configured by a laser diode or a light emitting diode. In the following, the direction along the optical axis of the laser light emitted from the light source 10 is the front-rear direction (vertical direction in FIG. 3), and the direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction is the horizontal direction (in FIGS. 3A and 3C). Left-right direction, a direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 3B, a direction orthogonal to both the front-rear direction and the horizontal direction (a direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIGS. 3A and 3C, FIG. 3B ) In the horizontal direction) is called the vertical direction.

The target exploration device 7 is installed in the vehicle such that the longitudinal direction coincides with the vehicle length direction, the lateral direction coincides with the vehicle width direction, and the vertical direction coincides with the vehicle height direction.
The light receiving unit 11 includes a known image sensor including a plurality of light receiving elements (CMOS, CCD, etc.) arranged in a line, and is arranged below the light source 10 so that the arrangement direction of the light receiving elements coincides with the horizontal direction. Has been.

  The optical path changer 12 of the present embodiment is composed of a prism type mirror formed in a triangular shape, and is arranged so that the center line passing through one vertex of the triangle coincides with the optical axis JC of the laser light emitted from the light source 10. ing. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3A, the laser light emitted from the light source 10 is split into two by reflecting on two surfaces sandwiching the apex, and the two-branched laser light is transverse. The optical path is changed so as to be opposite to each other along the direction. Conversely, the optical path of the reflected light that arrives at the optical path changer 12 from both sides in the horizontal direction (that is, both the left and right sides) is changed so as to go to the light receiving unit 11. The optical path changer 12 is not limited to the prism type mirror formed in a triangular shape, and may be composed of two independent mirrors.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the right lens unit 13 includes a right irradiation lens group 13a composed of lenses having a function of narrowing the beam width of the right irradiation light coming from the optical path changer 12, and a right irradiation lens group. The right light receiving lens group 13b is configured in the same manner as 13a and is arranged below the right irradiation lens group 13a. However, the right light receiving lens group 13b forms an optical path for guiding the reflected light of the right irradiation light to the right half of the light receiving element group constituting the light receiving unit 11 (hereinafter referred to as “right light receiving unit”) via the optical path changer 12. It is set to be. The reflected wave of the right irradiation light guided to the right light receiving unit forms an image at a position corresponding to the arrival direction of the reflected light (an in-plane direction formed by the front-rear direction and the left-right direction). Although the left lens unit 14 is the same as the right lens unit 13 and is not shown, the left lens unit 14 includes a left irradiation lens group 14a and a left light receiving lens group 14b as in the above description.

[Indoor]
Returning to FIG. 2, the indoor unit 5 includes a speaker 22 installed in the vicinity of the front of the driver's seat, a right lamp 23 installed on the A pillars (the right and left columns supporting the front window) located on the right side of the driver's seat, The left lamp 24 installed on the A-pillar located on the left side of the driver's seat and a well-known microcomputer mainly composed of CPU, ROM and RAM. The head 3 (target searcher 7) A determination unit 20 and a control unit 21 that acquire information and perform notification processing using the speaker 22, the right lamp 23, and the left lamp 24 according to the content of the acquired target information are provided. Note that the determiner 20 and the control unit 21 may be integrally configured by one microcomputer, or may be individually configured by a plurality of microcomputers.

  The indoor unit 5 includes a sensor group 32 including various switches and sensors (including at least a vehicle speed and a brake depression amount) provided for detecting the vehicle state, and a GPS device (not shown). A well-known navigation device that acquires the position of the host vehicle from the vehicle, displays a map around the host vehicle, the position of the host vehicle on the map, etc. based on map data prepared in advance, and performs route setting, route guidance, etc. 33.

  The map data includes intersections with poor visibility for the driver (crossroads, T-shaped roads, etc.) and other locations registered by the driver's switch operation (roads with poor visibility by the driver, etc.). Contains crossroad information to represent.

  When the navigation device 33 detects that the host vehicle is traveling in an area including these intersections based on the map data, the navigation device 33 adds the intersection road information to the peripheral information about the current location of the host vehicle, and the added information Is output to the determiner 20.

  The navigation device 33 has a wireless communication device for external communication with other vehicles (not shown), roadside devices, devices (servers, etc.) on the Internet, and includes cross road information from the wireless communication device. When the information is acquired, the acquired information is output to the determiner 20 or stored in association with the map data.

[Notification processing]
Here, the alerting | reporting process which the determination device 20 and the control part 21 perform is demonstrated along the flowchart shown in FIG.

Note that this processing is started repeatedly, for example, automatically when the IG switch of the host vehicle is turned on or when the dedicated switch is turned on manually.
As shown in FIG. 4, when this process is started, first, in S110, the determination unit 20 determines that the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is equal to or less than a preset slow speed based on the detection signal input from the sensor group 32, or Then, it is determined whether or not the brake depression amount by the driver is in any state greater than or equal to a preset stop depression amount. Note that the slowing speed is a threshold value that is set in advance assuming that the host vehicle is slowing down if the speed is lower than this speed, and if the stop stepping amount is equal to or greater than this stepping amount, the driver intends to stop temporarily. It is a threshold set in advance as being. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to S140. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to S120.

In S120, the determiner 20 determines whether or not the intersection information is added to the peripheral information input from the navigation device, that is, the host vehicle is traveling in an area including an intersection or a road that has a poor outlook for the driver. If it is determined affirmatively, the process proceeds to S140. If it is determined negatively, the process proceeds to S130.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (a), intersections with poor visibility for the driver are shown on the right side and the left side with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle when the vehicle enters the intersection such as a T-junction. An intersection having an area that becomes a blind spot in the driver's field of view (hereinafter referred to as a “dead spot area”) due to the presence of a shielding object such as a building or wall that is one of the target information in at least one of the above. Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), a road with a poor visibility for a driver is, for example, a traveling direction of a host vehicle (a straight traveling direction before a right turn) when a vehicle traveling on the road such as a main road turns right. ) On the right side of the road with a blind zone by a shield such as a median strip. Below, the approach area | region of the vehicle which has a blind spot area | region in these intersections and roads is called object area | region.

  In S130, the determination device 20 estimates that the host vehicle is not heading for the target area from the vehicle state and surrounding information, and is a setting for setting the monitoring level of the target searcher 7 to “weak” (normal level). By outputting the information, the search cycle (radar wave irradiation cycle) of the target searcher 7 is lengthened (delayed). On the other hand, in S140, it is estimated that the host vehicle is heading toward the target area from at least one of the vehicle state and the surrounding information, and the monitoring level of the target searcher 7 is set to “medium” (first stage level). Is output, the search cycle of the target searcher 7 is made shorter (faster) than the normal level.

  Subsequently, the determiner 20 continues to acquire the target information from the target searcher 7 (S150), and extracts distance information representing the relative distance of the target with respect to the host vehicle based on the acquired target information. (S151) Based on the extracted distance information, the relative distance between the left and right targets with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle is monitored (S152).

  That is, when the host vehicle is not heading toward the target area, an unnecessary output (and thus the light source 10) of the light source 10 (laser diode or light-emitting diode) of the target searcher 7 is reduced by delaying the irradiation period of the radar wave. The temperature of the target search device 7 is prolonged, and when the host vehicle is moving toward the target area, the radar wave irradiation period (and thus the distance measurement period) is shortened. The calculation accuracy of the relative distance by the target search device 7 is increased.

  The determiner 20 determines a range of distances (hereinafter referred to as “neighboring distance ranges”) in which the relative distance from at least one target on both the left and right sides is set in advance so that the driver's field of view is blocked by the targets. (S153). If the determination is affirmative, a determination counter for counting the number of determinations is incremented (S154). On the other hand, when the relative distance is out of the proximity distance range (when judged negative), the process returns to S110. The determination counter is reset at the end of this process.

  Subsequently, the determiner 20 determines whether or not the count value of the determination counter has reached a preset continuous shielding value (S155). If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to S160. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made, the process returns to S153.

  Specifically, if the neighborhood distance range is set to 5 m, and if a positive determination can be made in S155, for example, as shown in FIG. If it is continuously detected a predetermined number of times, it is assumed that there is a shielding object such as a wall within 5 m on either of the left and right sides with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle. Further, when a negative determination can be made in S155, for example, as shown in FIG. 6B, it is continuously determined that the relative distance exceeds the range from the neighborhood distance range and is further within the detection range. When detected, it is considered that the wall is interrupted on one of the left and right sides of the traveling direction of the host vehicle (for example, a shield such as a private garden or a front door of a house). In FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, each graph showing the relationship between time and relative distance corresponds to each direction of the radar wave emitted from the host vehicle in FIG. 6C. ing. Incidentally, the continuous shielding value is a count value that is variably set according to at least one of the search cycle of the target searcher 7 and the vehicle speed, and the distance (length) of the shielding object along the traveling direction of the host vehicle is, for example, Used to detect the presence of 2 m or more.

  In S160, the determiner 20 determines whether or not the relative distance in at least one of the left and right sides exceeds a far distance set in advance smaller than the maximum detection distance (detection limit) of the target searcher 7, If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to S161. If the determination is negative, the process returns to S153. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), the difference between the detection limit of the target probe 7 and the neighboring distance range is a critical range, and a range set in advance shorter than the critical range is a spatial range. When the relative distance increases beyond the spatial range, it is determined that the host vehicle enters the target area. The far distance is a distance obtained by simulation or the like so that the target is far away from the own vehicle so as not to affect the traveling of the own vehicle in the target area. The spatial range is the distance of the far distance. The range from the position to the position of the host vehicle. Incidentally, since the maximum detection distance of the target probe 7 includes an error depending on the reflection intensity of the target with respect to the radar wave, a far distance is defined as a distance that can be measured within a range in which the target can be reliably detected. ing.

  That is, here, as shown in FIG. 6C, a change from a state in which a shielding object such as a wall continues on one of the left and right sides of the traveling direction of the host vehicle to a state in which no shielding object exists. If detected, it is determined that the host vehicle enters the target area. In S161, by outputting setting information for setting the monitoring level of the target searcher 7 to “strong” (second stage level), the search cycle of the target searcher 7 is changed from the first stage level. Is even shorter (faster).

  Subsequently, the control unit 21 continues to acquire the target information from the target searcher 7, and extracts distance information representing the relative distance of the target with respect to the host vehicle based on the acquired target information (S162). Based on the extracted distance information, the relative distance between the left and right targets with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle is monitored (S163).

  Further, the control unit 21 extracts speed information indicating the relative speed of the target with respect to the host vehicle based on the target information continuously acquired in S162 (S170), and based on the extracted speed information, The relative speed with respect to the left and right targets with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle is monitored (S171).

  That is, when the host vehicle enters the target area, the calculation accuracy of the relative distance and the relative speed by the target searcher 7 is further increased by further increasing the irradiation period of the radar wave. Here, for example, the relative distance and the relative speed may be monitored for a predetermined time, or the relative distance and the relative speed may be monitored until the vehicle speed reaches the slow speed or higher.

  Then, the control unit 21 determines whether or not the target exists in the target area based on the relative distance being monitored in S163, and if it is determined that the target is present, the control unit 21 sets the relative speed being monitored in S171. Based on this, it is determined whether or not the relative speed with at least one of the left and right targets is negative, that is, whether or not the target is approaching the host vehicle (S172). If the determination is affirmative, it is determined that a target that requires attention from the driver (hereinafter referred to as “attention target”) is present in the target area, and the process proceeds to S180. In this case, it is determined that the target object does not exist in the target area, and the process returns to S153.

  Note that the caution information here refers to a target in the target information in which the target exists in the target area for the driver and the target approaches the host vehicle. Specifically, it means a car, a pedestrian, a bicycle, an animal, etc. that are moving closer to the own vehicle.

  Finally, in S180, the control unit 21 outputs notification information for alerting the driver via the speaker 22, the right lamp 23, and the left lamp 24. Specifically, if the “search area where the target is detected” shown in the “target information” is the right search area SR, the right lamp 23 is turned on and a warning sound is output from the speaker 22. In the left exploration area SL, the left lamp 24 is turned on and a warning sound is output from the speaker 22. At this time, based on the “relative distance” and “relative speed” indicated in the “target information”, the predicted arrival time required until the “attention target” reaches the position of the host vehicle is calculated, The type of warning sound is changed according to the predicted arrival time (for example, the shorter the predicted arrival time, the larger the warning sound with a shorter sound interval is output). The warning sound output and the warning display are not necessarily performed together, and at least one of them may be performed.

[effect]
As described above, in the driver assistance system 1 of the present embodiment, whether or not the own vehicle enters the target area by the determiner 20 is based on the target information input from the target searcher 7. Therefore, the determination can be made in accordance with the actual situation around the vehicle, and as a result, the timing at which the host vehicle enters the target area can be determined with high accuracy (displacement of notification timing can be suppressed).

  Specifically, in the driver assistance system 1, by continuously detecting that the relative distance is within the neighborhood distance range a predetermined number of times, the wall of the wall on one of the left and right sides with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle is determined. A state where there is no shielding object from a state where a shielding object such as a wall continues by detecting the presence of such a shielding object and then detecting that the relative distance has increased beyond the spatial range. Detect changes to As a result, it is possible to automatically determine an intersection or the like having a poor view for the driver with high accuracy.

  Further, in the driver assistance system 1, the control unit 21 makes a determination based on the target information input from the target searcher 7, and outputs a warning sound when a target is present in the target area. Attention can be directed to the driver so as not to become overly familiar with the warning sound. Further, not only at intersections but also on roads with poor visibility due to a median strip or the like, the driver can be alerted as necessary.

  Further, the driver assistance system 1 determines whether or not the host vehicle is traveling in an area including the target area based on the driving state of the host vehicle, map data, and external information, and according to the determination result. Since the monitoring level of the target searcher 7 is adjusted, the target area and the target of interest can be accurately determined without imposing an unnecessary burden on the target searcher 7.

[Correspondence with Invention]
In this embodiment, the target exploration device 7 is an irradiation unit, the determination unit 20 is an area determination unit, and the control unit 2.
1, left and right lamps 23 and 24, and speaker 22 correspond to information providing means.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in the notification process executed by the determiner 20 and the control unit 21, and therefore only the notification process of the present embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the notification process of the present embodiment is started, first, the process proceeds to S150, and the determiner 20 continues to acquire target information from the target searcher 7 (S150). Based on the target information, distance information representing the relative distance of the target to the host vehicle is extracted (S151), and based on the extracted distance information, the relative distance between the target on both the left and right sides with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle. Is monitored (S152).

  That is, in the notification process of the present embodiment, by omitting the processes of S110 to S140 in the notification process of the first embodiment, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is moving toward the target area, or when the vehicle is moving toward the target area. In addition, the processing load is reduced by not performing the process of raising the monitoring level of the target probe 7.

  Next, in the notification process of the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle enters the target area by executing the processes of S153 to S160 in the notification process of the first embodiment. If it judges, it will transfer to S170 and will extract speed information showing relative speed of a target to the self-vehicles based on target information currently acquired in S150.

  That is, in the notification process of the present embodiment, by omitting the processes of S161 to S163 in the notification process of the first embodiment, when the vehicle enters the target area, By not performing the process of monitoring the relative distance, the processing load is further reduced.

  Finally, in the notification process of the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not a target object exists in the target area by executing the processes of S171 to S180 in the notification process of the first embodiment, and affirmatively determined. If this happens, broadcast information is output.

Thus, this invention may abbreviate | omit the process of S110-S140 and S161-S163 in the alerting | reporting process of 1st Embodiment.
[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that this embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments only in the notification process executed by the determiner 20 and the control unit 21, and therefore only the notification process of the present embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the notification process of the present embodiment is started, first, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle enters the target area by executing the processes of S150 to S160 as in the second embodiment. To do.

  That is, in the notification process of the present embodiment, as in the second embodiment, it is determined whether the vehicle is heading for the target area by omitting the processes of S110 to S140 in the notification process of the first embodiment. The processing load is reduced by not performing the process of raising the monitoring level of the target searcher 7 when heading to the target area.

  On the other hand, in the notification process of the present embodiment, when it is determined that the host vehicle enters the target area, the process proceeds to S161, and the monitoring level of the target searcher 7 is set to “strong” (first stage level). By outputting the setting information, the search period of the target searcher 7 is made shorter (faster) than the normal level.

And in the alerting | reporting process of this embodiment, it determines whether a target object exists in a target area | region by performing S170-S172 in 1st Embodiment.
Here, in the notification process of the present embodiment, if it is determined that no target is present in the target area, the process proceeds to S173, and the monitoring level of the target searcher 7 is set to “weak” (normal level). By outputting the setting information for this, the search cycle of the target searcher 7 is made longer (slower) than the first stage level, and the process proceeds to S153. On the other hand, when it is determined that the target object is present in the target area, the notification information is output by executing the processing of S180 as in the second embodiment.

  Thus, the present invention may raise the monitoring level of the target searcher 7 only when it is determined that the host vehicle enters the target area. In other words, in the notification process of the first embodiment, even when it is determined that the host vehicle enters the target area, the monitoring level is raised by two stages by raising the monitoring level of the target probe 7. As in the notification process of the present embodiment, the monitoring level may be raised by one level.

[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, it is possible to implement in various aspects.

  In the notification processing of the first to third embodiments, when S160 to S172 are established as operating conditions, warning sound is output or warning lamps are turned on as notification information. May be. For example, although not shown, a front side view function (a camera function capable of photographing the side with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle) is mounted on one of the sensor groups 32, and the monitoring image captured by the camera is displayed on the liquid crystal of the navigation device 33. The image may be transmitted and displayed on a display device (not shown), or may be displayed by simply instructing to display a warning image such as a character on the liquid crystal display device without using the camera photographing function.

  By the way, the present invention is characterized in that a means for determining the region (S160) for determining whether or not the host vehicle enters a target region having a blind spot in the field of view of the driver of the host vehicle is provided. . Therefore, when an affirmative (YES) determination is made in S160 in the first to third embodiments (particularly, the processes of FIGS. 4, 7, and 8), notification information output (S180) is performed in the subsequent step. The notification process may be terminated (END).

  In this case (S160 → S180), the notification processing output method visually provides information to the driver by displaying a monitoring image photographed by the camera by the above-described front side view function. When the vehicle enters the target area as described above, the driver can be alerted at an appropriate timing by displaying the monitoring image captured by the camera using the front side view function.

  In the notification process of the first to third embodiments, when the host vehicle enters the target area, the presence / absence of the caution target is determined based on the target information input from the target searcher 7. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, attention is given based on information (hereinafter referred to as “infrastructure information”) obtained by performing road-to-vehicle communication or vehicle-to-vehicle communication using the wireless communication device of the navigation device 33. You may determine the presence or absence of a target.

  Further, in the notification process of the first to third embodiments, the type of the warning sound is changed according to the predicted arrival time. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the position, traveling direction, speed, and type of the attention target Etc. may be output as notification information. Furthermore, not only the target information input from the target searcher 7 but also notification information may be generated based on infrastructure information.

  In the driver assistance system 1 of the first to third embodiments, the target searcher 7 is installed near the center of the front end of the vehicle. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, at the rear end of the vehicle. It may be installed. In this case, not only the forward direction of the host vehicle but also a warning sound for the reverse direction can be notified to the driver.

  Alternatively, the target searcher 7 is not limited to the front end or the rear end of the vehicle, but from the driver's eye point (the position of the driver's eyes) to the traveling direction side (forward direction side or reverse direction side) of the vehicle. It may be provided at a remote location. According to at least such a configuration, the radar wave can be irradiated to an area that becomes a blind spot in the driver's field of view, so that the notification information is suitably displayed before the driver directly visually recognizes the situation in the target area. Can be output.

  Furthermore, for example, even if the target searcher 7 is provided in the vehicle at a position parallel to the driver's eye point, the target area can be confirmed by the driver by displaying a monitoring image using the front side view function. Can help.

  In the driver support system 1 of the first to third embodiments, the target searcher 7 is configured to generate right irradiation light (right search region SR) and left irradiation light (left search region SL). However, it may be configured to generate either one of right irradiation light (right exploration region SR) and left irradiation light (left exploration region SL). In this case, it is detected that there is a shielding object such as a wall on the irradiation side, and then the shielding object such as a wall continues by detecting that the relative distance has increased beyond the spatial range. It is possible to detect a change from a state to a state where there is no shielding object.

  Furthermore, in the driver assistance system 1 according to the first to third embodiments, the right illuminating light (right exploration area SR) and the left illuminating light (left exploration area SL) are generated by one target searcher 7. For example, each of the target searchers 7 is configured so that the right irradiation light (right exploration area SR) and the left irradiation light (left exploration area SL) are generated independently. May be installed in the vehicle.

  In the driver support system 1 according to the first to third embodiments, the microcomputer including the determination unit 20 and the control unit 21 is provided in the indoor unit 5. May be provided.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Driver assistance system, 3 ... Head part, 5 ... Indoor part, 7 ... Target search device, 10 ... Light source, 11 ... Light-receiving part, 12 ... Optical path changer, 13 ... Right lens part, 13a ... Right irradiation lens Group, 13b ... right light-receiving lens group, 14 ... left lens unit, 5 ... determiner, 21 ... control unit, 22 ... speaker, 23 ... right lamp, 24 ... left lamp, 32 ... sensor group, 33 ... navigation device.

Claims (10)

Irradiating means for irradiating radar waves to at least one of the right side and the left side of the traveling direction of the host vehicle;
Based on the target information obtained from the reflected wave of the radar wave arriving from the irradiation direction of the radar wave by the irradiation means, the host vehicle is set in a target region having a blind spot in the driver's field of view of the host vehicle. Region determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle enters,
Information providing means for providing information on the target area to the driver based on the determination result of the area determining means;
Equipped with a,
The target information includes distance information representing a relative distance between a target existing in an irradiation range by the irradiation unit and the host vehicle,
The area determination means monitors the relative distance based on the distance information, sets a range of distances that is preset as a range of the driver's field of view to be blocked by the target, A distance range preset as a range wider than the range is defined as a spatial range, and after detecting that the relative distance is within the neighboring distance range for a predetermined number of times, the relative distance is outside the spatial range. When it is detected that the vehicle is in the vehicle, it is determined that the host vehicle enters the target area. The region determination means shortens the irradiation period of the radar wave when the speed of the host vehicle is equal to or less than a preset slowing speed or when the brake depression amount by the driver is equal to or more than a preset stop depression amount. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: Wherein the information providing means, said region when the vehicle in the determination means has determined that entering the target area, according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that shortening the irradiation period of the radar wave driver assistance device according to. Comprising information acquisition means for acquiring peripheral information about the current location around the host vehicle from outside the host vehicle;
The area determination unit shortens the irradiation period of the radar wave when the target area exists in the traveling direction of the host vehicle based on the peripheral information acquired by the information acquisition unit. The driver assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A camera capable of photographing at least one of the right side and the left side of the traveling direction of the host vehicle, and display means for displaying an image photographed by the camera,
The information providing means provides information by displaying an image captured by the camera on the display means when the area determining means determines that the host vehicle enters the target area. The driver assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The target object information, among the target existing in the irradiation range by the irradiation unit, a note target requiring attention for pre SL driver the contains the distance information representing the relative distance between the host vehicle And
The information providing unit, when the care target based on the distance information has detected relative distance indicating that it is present in the target area, that the attention target is present in the target area The driver | operator assistance apparatus of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 5 characterized by providing the information which shows. The target object information, among the target existing in the irradiation range by the irradiation unit, a note target requiring attention for pre SL driver the includes the speed information representing the relative velocity between the vehicle ,
When the information providing means detects a relative speed indicating that the attention target is approaching the host vehicle based on the speed information, the attention target is present in the target area. The driver | operator assistance apparatus of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 6 characterized by providing the information which shows. The target information includes the distance information indicating the relative distance between the target vehicle that requires attention from the driver among the targets existing in the irradiation range by the irradiation unit and the own vehicle. ,
Before SL information providing means, in the case where the vehicle in the area determination unit determines that enters the target area, and, if the attention target object does not exist in the target area, the target area to the driver driver assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 characterized in that it does not provide information about. The information providing means does not provide information related to the target area to the driver when the area determining means determines that the host vehicle does not enter the target area. Item 9. The driver assistance device according to any one of items 8 to 9 . The said irradiation means is provided in the advancing direction side of the said vehicle with respect to the said driver | operator's eyepoint in the said own vehicle, The any one of Claim 1 thru | or 9 characterized by the above-mentioned. Driver assistance device.