JP5605605B2 - Vehicle periphery monitoring device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus that can receive parking assistance with high convenience.

  2. Description of the Related Art A vehicle periphery image display device that can easily check safety around a vehicle when the vehicle is parked is known. For example, Patent Literature 1 describes a configuration including a display control device that superimposes and displays a contour line of a vehicle body on an image captured by a vehicle-mounted camera in a vehicle periphery display device. In the vehicle periphery display device, when the outline of the vehicle body is superimposed on the surrounding image, the positional relationship between the vehicle body and the obstacle can be easily grasped when visually checking the periphery of the vehicle, and safety confirmation when parking the vehicle is possible. It becomes easy.

JP 2006-74105 A

  In the vehicle periphery display device of Patent Document 1, an image visually recognized from the driver's seat is basically designated and displayed by the driver. When a vehicle is parked, a surrounding image of the rear of the vehicle is usually displayed. For example, when the driver wants to carefully check the safety of the rear left of the vehicle, the driver switches the camera direction and the like to change the desired direction. It is necessary to display an image. In addition, if an obstacle to be noted is located in the corner of the display image, it is not possible to recognize the obstacle immediately, and as a result, it is assumed that the driver will look aside (gazing at the display image by the driver). In that case, the parking operation cannot be performed smoothly.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle periphery monitoring device that can instantly confirm a caution target around a vehicle without gazing at a screen and that allows a driver to perform a driving operation independently.

1st characteristic structure of the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus which concerns on this invention is a vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus which monitors a vehicle periphery when parking a vehicle, Comprising: The surrounding image of the said vehicle image | photographed with the imaging device mounted in the vehicle An image acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of attention objects in the parking process in the surrounding image, and a gazing point that automatically and sequentially switches the attention objects according to the parking process from the plurality of attention objects A display image generation unit that generates a display image from the peripheral image so that the gazing point is located in the center, and at least a contour line of the vehicle existing between the gazing point and the driver as a translucent image A semi-transparent image generation unit to be generated, and a display control unit that superimposes the translucent image on the display image and displays the display image on a display device in a vehicle interior.

  With this configuration, in the parking process, the attention object corresponding to the parking process is sequentially switched from a plurality of set attention objects as a gazing point, and a display image in which the gazing point is located in the center is displayed on the display device in the vehicle interior. The In this way, the driver can efficiently check the attention object according to the parking process and perform the parking simply by looking at the display device in the passenger compartment without looking at the side (looking at the screen). When the attention object is displayed in the center of the display screen, the time required to directly view the attention object in the screen is shortened, and the driver himself / herself drives to guide to safe driving behavior based on visual observation. can do. By recognizing that the subject of attention has automatically changed, it can be confirmed that the parking process is proceeding smoothly, and can be used as feedback of driving behavior to the driver.

  In addition, since the semi-transparent image generation unit and the display control unit display the display image with the semi-transparent image of the outline of the vehicle superimposed on the display image, the relative position between the target object at the center of the image and the host vehicle is displayed. The relationship can be easily grasped and the driving operation in the parking process is further supported.

  A second characteristic configuration of the vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the present invention is that the display image generation unit generates a display image by converting the viewpoint of the periphery image into an image viewed from the driver's seat.

  Since the surrounding image of the vehicle photographed by the photographing device mounted on the vehicle is an angle obtained by capturing the object from the position of the photographing device, driving is different from the angle when the driver visually recognizes from the position of the driver's seat. Have a sense of incongruity. As in this configuration, when the display image generation unit converts the viewpoint image into an image viewed from the driver's seat and generates a display image, the image displayed on the display device in the passenger compartment looks around the driver seat. Close to the image. As a result, the driver can visually recognize the surrounding image without feeling uncomfortable, and the driving operation for parking can be performed more smoothly.

  A third characteristic configuration of the vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the present invention is the position where the vehicle reaches the attention object in the parking target area indicating the area where the vehicle is parked in the attention object setting unit. It is in the point set to the near outside position on the side where the vehicle enters the parking target area at the boundary between the parking target position and the parking target area.

  Thus, by setting the attention object as the parking target position, it is possible to confirm the stop position of the vehicle and the inclination of the vehicle (deviation from the parking frame, oblique parking, etc.). By confirming the stop position of the vehicle, a strong impact at the wheel stopper can be mitigated, and a problem that the rear bumper comes into contact with a wall or a pile of a parking lot or the like is suppressed.

Illustration of the front of the driver's seat of the vehicle Block diagram showing the basic configuration of the vehicle The figure which shows the movement locus at the time of garage parking and the position of the attention object to be set Block diagram schematically showing an example of a system configuration of a vehicle It is a figure which shows the relationship between a parking process and a display image, (a) is a top view which shows a parking process, (b) is a plane enlarged view which shows a parking process, (c), (d) shows attention object A. Display image positioned in the center [(c) is the actual image of the vehicle, (d) is the translucent image of the vehicle], (e) and (f) are the display images [(e ) Is an actual image of the vehicle, (f) is a translucent image of the vehicle], (g) and (h) are display images in which the attention object C is located at the center [(g) is an actual image of the vehicle, (h) Indicates a translucent image of the vehicle. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a parking process and a display image, Comprising: (a) is a top view which shows a parking process, (b) shows the example of a display of a display part (attention object C is located in the center), respectively. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a parking process and a display image, Comprising: (a) is a top view which shows a parking process, (b) shows the example of a display of a display part (attention object B is located in the center), respectively. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a parking process and a display image, Comprising: (a) is a top view which shows a parking process, (b) shows the example of a display of a display part (attention object B is located in the center), respectively. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a parking process and a display image, Comprising: (a) is a top view which shows a parking process, (b) shows the example of a display of a display part (attention object C is located in the center), respectively. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a parking process and a display image, Comprising: (a) is a top view which shows a parking process, (b) shows the example of a display of a display part (attention object C is located in the center), respectively.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show the basic configuration of the vehicle 30. FIG. The steering 24 provided in the driver's seat is interlocked with the power steering unit 33 and transmits the rotational operation force to the front wheels 28f to steer the vehicle 30. The front wheel 28f corresponds to the steering wheel of the present invention. An engine 32 and a speed change mechanism 34 having a torque converter, CVT, and the like that shift the power from the engine 32 and transmit the power to the front wheels 28f and the rear wheels 28r are arranged at the front of the vehicle body. Power is transmitted to the front wheel 28f and / or the rear wheel 28r according to the driving method of the vehicle 30 (front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, four wheel drive). In the vicinity of the driver's seat, an accelerator pedal 26 as an accelerator operating means for controlling the traveling speed, and a brake pedal 27 for applying a braking force to the front wheels 28f and the rear wheels 28r via the brake devices 31 for the front wheels 28f and the rear wheels 28r, Are arranged in parallel.

  A monitor 20 (display device) in which a touch panel 23 is formed on the display unit 21 is provided at an upper position of the console near the driver's seat. In the present embodiment, the monitor 20 is of a liquid crystal type provided with a backlight. The monitor 20 is also provided with a speaker 22. The touch panel 23 is a pressure-sensitive type or an electrostatic type, and outputs a contact position of a finger or the like as location data. As will be described later, in the present embodiment, the touch panel 23 of the monitor 20 is used as an instruction input unit to the vehicle periphery monitoring device. When the navigation system is mounted on the vehicle 30, it is preferable that the monitor 20 is also used as a display device for the navigation system.

  The monitor 20 may be of a plasma display type or a CRT type, and the speaker 22 may be provided at another place such as the inside of a door. Further, in the case where another switch or the like is provided as an instruction input unit for the vehicle periphery monitoring device, the touch panel 23 of the monitor 20 is not necessarily used as an instruction input unit for the vehicle periphery monitoring device.

  A steering sensor 14 is provided in the operation system of the steering 24, and the steering operation direction and the operation amount are measured. The operation system of the shift lever 25 is provided with a shift position sensor 15 to determine the shift position. The operation system of the accelerator pedal 26 is provided with an accelerator sensor 16 to measure an operation amount. The operating system of the brake pedal 27 is provided with a brake sensor 17, which detects the presence or absence of the operation.

In addition, a rotation sensor 18 that measures the amount of rotation of at least one of the front wheel 28f and the rear wheel 28r is provided as a movement distance sensor. In this embodiment, the case where the rotation sensor 18 is provided in the rear wheel 28r is illustrated. As for the movement distance, the transmission mechanism 34 may measure the movement amount of the vehicle 30 from the rotation amount of the drive system. The vehicle 30 is the core of the vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the present invention, and is an ECU (electronic device) that performs driving control including parking assistance.
control unit) 10 is arranged.

  As shown in FIG. 2, for example, a camera 12F is provided at the front of the vehicle 30, a camera 12B at the rear, a camera 12L at the left, Cameras 12R are respectively provided on the right side. The camera 12 is a digital camera that incorporates an image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a CMOS image sensor (CIS) and outputs information captured by the image sensor in real time as moving image information. The camera 12 includes a wide-angle lens and has a field angle of about 140 degrees on the left and right, for example. The camera 12 is installed with a depression angle of, for example, about 30 degrees toward the rear of the vehicle 30 and photographs a region up to about 8 m behind. The captured image is input to the ECU 10 and used for parking assistance or the like.

As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle periphery monitoring device of the present embodiment configured with the ECU 10 as the core performs, for example, parking in a parking space E between two parked vehicles 40 (41 and 42). Used for. The vehicle 30 passes by the side of the parking space E, moves forward, turns back with turning back, and is parked in the parking space E. The reference point Q is a substantially central portion of the axle of the rear wheel 28r of the vehicle 30, and the points P1 to P3 indicate positions (coordinate points) on the horizontal plane (on the road surface) of the reference point Q. In the garage parking in this example, the vehicle 30 moves forward on the parking route KF to the point P2 which is the reverse start position along with the arc-shaped movement locus by steering in the right direction from the point P1. Then, the vehicle travels backward on the parking route KB to the point P3 with an arcuate movement locus by steering leftward from the point P2 and is parked in a predetermined parking space E. Note that 8A, 8B, 8C, and 8D shown in FIG. 3 are virtual attention objects set by the attention object setting unit 5 described later.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration example of the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus according to the present invention having the ECU 10 as a core. As shown in FIG. 4, the ECU 10 includes functional units such as a calculation unit 1, an image acquisition unit 2, and a display control unit 3. The calculation unit 1 includes functional units such as a parking target setting unit 4, an attention target setting unit 5, a display image generation unit 6, and a translucent image generation unit 7. Each functional unit of the ECU 10 is realized by cooperation with software such as a program executed on the hardware, with logical operation hardware such as a microcomputer and a DSP (digital signal processor) as a core. Therefore, each functional unit shows a sharing as a function and does not necessarily need to be physically configured independently. The ECU 10 also includes various memories such as a frame memory for storing images and various electronic circuits such as an image processing circuit. Since the configurations and functions of these various memories and various electronic circuits are known, illustration and detailed description thereof are omitted.

  The image acquisition unit 2 is a functional unit that acquires a peripheral image of the vehicle 30 captured by the camera 12 (on-vehicle imaging device). The image acquisition unit 2 includes a frame memory for storing images, a synchronization separation circuit, and the like. The display control unit 3 is a functional unit that displays a peripheral image of the vehicle 30 captured by the camera 12 on a monitor 20 (display device) in the vehicle interior. Moreover, the display control part 3 superimposes the semi-transparent superimposed image of a vehicle on a display image, and displays it on the monitor 20 so that it may mention later.

  The parking target setting unit 4 included in the calculation unit 1 is a functional unit that sets the parking space E of the vehicle 30. The attention object setting unit 5 is a functional unit that sets a plurality of attention objects 8 in the surrounding image in the parking process. The display image generation unit 6 switches from the plurality of attention objects 8 set by the attention object setting unit 5 to the attention object 8 according to the parking process, and generates a display image that positions the attention point in the center. It is a functional part. Here, the display image generation unit 6 also has a function of generating a display image by sequentially converting the viewpoint of the peripheral image into an image viewed from the driver's seat. The semi-transparent image generation unit 7 is a functional unit that generates the outline of the vehicle existing between the point of sight (attention target) and the driver's seat as a semi-transparent image. In addition, detection results are input to the calculation unit 1 from the steering sensor 14, the shift position sensor 15, the accelerator sensor 16, the brake sensor 17, the rotation sensor 18, and the like, and the guidance route of the vehicle 30 is determined based on the detection results of these sensors. Can also be calculated.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10, a garage parking procedure supported by the vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 5A shows the position of the vehicle 30 where the driver confirms the parking target E on the left side of the vehicle 30. Prior to the driving operation of the vehicle for parking, the parking target E is first set by the parking target setting unit 4. There are various methods for setting the parking target E. For example,
(A) setting a predetermined position from the vehicle as an initial position of the parking target E based on the stop position of the vehicle at the start of parking support;
(B) When passing through the position of the parking target E, an empty area is detected and detected automatically with a sonar or the like, and the parking target E is set.
(C) For example, image recognition of a parking frame line to set a parking target E
Etc. Also in the present embodiment, the parking target E is set by appropriately using the methods (a) to (c).

  When the parking target E is set in the parking target setting unit 4 in this way, next, the attention target setting unit 5 sets a plurality of attention objects 8 in the parking process. In the present embodiment, four attention objects 8A, 8B, 8C, and 8D are set as the attention objects 8 in the garage parking process. The shape of the attention object 8 shown in FIGS. 5 to 10 is a pylon shape (conical shape). The shape of the attention object 8 is not particularly limited, and may be a columnar shape, a pyramid shape, a prismatic shape, or the like. The positions of the attention objects 8A, 8B, 8C, and 8D may be finely adjusted as appropriate by displaying, for example, the image shown in FIG.

  The attention object 8A is a predetermined position in front of the vehicle 30 when moving forward of the parking target E. The attention object 8B is a boundary of the area of the parking target E indicating the area where the vehicle 30 is parked, and is a position near the outside on the side where the vehicle 30 enters the area of the parking target E. The attention object 8C is a parking target position that is a position where the vehicle 30 reaches when the parking of the vehicle 30 is completed in the parking target E area. The attention object 8D is a predetermined position in front of the vehicle 30 when moving forward again to correct the inclination of the vehicle 30 that has entered the area of the parking target E.

  When the parking target E and the attention object 8 are set, next, the display image generation unit 6 sequentially switches the attention object according to the parking process from the plurality of attention objects 8A to 8D, and the switched attention object A display image located in the center as a viewpoint is generated. FIG. 5C is a display image in which the attention object 8A is positioned at the center with the gazing point, and FIG. 5E is a display image in which the attention object 8B is positioned in the center with the gazing point. (G) is a display image that is positioned in the center with the attention object 8C as the point of sight.

  Here, the display image is generated by the display image generation unit 6 by successively converting the viewpoint of the peripheral image into an image viewed from the driver's seat. If it does in this way, the image displayed on the monitor 20 in a vehicle interior will be brought close to the image which looked around from the driver's seat. As a result, the driver can visually recognize the surrounding image without feeling uncomfortable, and the driving operation for parking can be performed more smoothly.

  Further, the translucent image generation unit 7 generates a translucent image 35 in which the outline of the vehicle 30 existing between the gazing point (attention object 8) and the driver's seat is translucent. In the translucent image 35, the wheel portion of the vehicle 30 is displayed as it is. The display control unit 3 superimposes the translucent image 35 on the display image generated by the display image generation unit 6 and displays it on the monitor 20 in the vehicle interior. 5D, FIG. 5F, and FIG. 5H are images in which the translucent image 35 is superimposed on the display image in which the attention objects 8A, 8B, and 8C are respectively positioned in the center. As shown in f), the wheel portion of the vehicle 30 is displayed in the image. Here, among FIG. 5D, FIG. 5F, and FIG. 5H, the image of FIG. 5H is displayed on the monitor 20 in the passenger compartment. That is, the display image generation unit 6 switches from the attention objects 8A, 8B, 8C, and 8D to the attention object 8C as the attention object according to the parking process shown in FIG. A displayed display image is generated, and the image of FIG. 5H is displayed on the monitor 20 in the passenger compartment.

  When the translucent image 35 is superimposed on the display image and displayed by the translucent image generation unit 7 and the display control unit 2 as shown in FIG. 5D, FIG. 5F, and FIG. The relative positional relationship between the attention object 8 located at the center of the vehicle and the host vehicle can be easily grasped.

  FIG. 6A shows a process in which the driver advances the vehicle 30 at the position shown in FIG. Here, the display image generation unit 6 generates a display image positioned in the center with the attention object 8C as the gazing point without switching the attention object, and displays the image of FIG. 6B on the monitor 20 in the vehicle interior.

FIG. 7A shows a process in which the vehicle 30 is stopped at a position suitable for retreating and parking in the garage. At this time, the steering angle of the vehicle 30 is preferably returned to the neutral position. Here, the display image generation unit 6 switches to the attention object 8B as the attention object according to the parking process shown in FIG. 7A, generates a display image located in the center with the attention object 8B as the gazing point, The image 7 (b) is displayed on the monitor 20 in the passenger compartment.

  FIG. 8A shows a process in which the driver changes the shift lever 25 to reverse, loosens the brake pedal 27, and causes the vehicle 30 to move backward with steering. Here, the display image generation unit 6 continues to generate a display image located in the center with the attention object 8B as the gazing point, and displays the image of FIG. 8B on the monitor 20 in the vehicle interior.

  FIG. 9A shows a process in which the turning of the vehicle 30 is completed, and after that, the vehicle 30 reaches a position where the vehicle 30 moves backward by going straight and the steering angle is returned to the neutral position again. Here, the display image generation unit 6 switches again to the attention object 8C as the attention object according to the parking process shown in FIG. 9A, and generates a display image located in the center with the attention object 8C as the gazing point. The image shown in FIG. 9B is displayed on the monitor 20 in the passenger compartment.

  FIG. 10A shows a process in which the vehicle 30 is moved straight back to the parking target position. The driver operates the brake pedal 27 to stop the vehicle 30 at the parking target position. Here, the display image generation unit 6 continues to generate a display image located in the center with the attention object 8C as the gazing point, and displays the image of FIG. 10B on the monitor 20 in the vehicle interior. Thus, garage parking is completed.

  In short, in the process of parking in the garage, FIGS. 5 (a) and 6 (a) are “a process of driving while confirming the parking target position”, and FIGS. 7 (a) and 8 (a) are “The process of driving while checking the distance between the host vehicle and the obstacle (the front side of the parked vehicle)”. FIGS. 9 (a) and 10 (a) show “Checking the vehicle tilt and stop position. While driving. " Therefore, the monitor 20 of the vehicle 30 displays an image in which the attention object 8C is positioned at the center in the “process of driving while checking the parking target position”, and “checking the distance between the host vehicle and the obstacle” In the “driving process”, an image with the attention object 8B positioned at the center is displayed, and in the “process for driving while confirming the tilt and stop position of the vehicle”, an image with the attention object 8C positioned in the center is displayed. .

  Thus, in the process of parking in the garage, the attention object corresponding to the parking process is sequentially switched as a gazing point from the set caution objects, and the display image in which the gazing point is located in the center is displayed in the vehicle interior. When displayed, the driver can efficiently check the attention object according to the parking process and perform the parking simply by looking at the display device in the passenger compartment without looking aside. In addition, when the attention object is displayed in the center of the display screen, the time for directly looking at the attention object in the screen is shortened, and the driver himself / herself drives independently, and safe driving behavior based on visual observation. Can be guided to. Further, by recognizing that the attention object has automatically changed, it can be confirmed that the parking process is proceeding smoothly, and can be used as feedback of driving behavior to the driver.

  In the garage parking described above, the configuration in which only the attention objects 8B and 8C are displayed at the center with the attention points 8B and 8C being displayed according to the parking process is shown. However, the attention objects 8A and 8D are displayed according to the parking process. A configuration may be adopted in which an image positioned in the center is displayed with the point of interest as a gazing point.

Other Embodiment
[1]
In the above embodiment, when the display image generation unit 6 switches the attention object 8 according to the parking process, a configuration is shown in which a display image is created each time the attention object 8 is positioned at the center with the attention object 8 as the point of sight. However, instead of this, the display image generation unit 6 may be configured to continuously create an image in which the attention object 8 is positioned at the center for each of the set plurality of attention objects. In this way, when the current attention object 8 is switched to another attention object 8 according to the parking process, an image in which the other attention object 8 is located at the center is displayed only by switching the display image of the monitor 20. That is, every time the attention object 8 is switched, it is not necessary to create a display image with another attention object 8 as the gazing point, so that the display image displayed on the monitor 20 can be switched smoothly.

[2]
In the above embodiment, the displayed peripheral image is an angle obtained by capturing an object from the positions of the cameras 12F, 12R, 12L, and 12R, and is substantially equivalent to an image directly viewed by the driver turning around. . Therefore, the angle is different from the angle when the driver visually recognizes the corresponding part with the rearview mirror from the position of the driver's seat. Therefore, instead of the peripheral image of the above-described embodiment, a viewpoint conversion process may be performed on the display image to display the peripheral image as a mirror image.

[3]
Referring to the above embodiment, it can be easily understood that the present invention can be applied to garage parking with automatic driving operation and parallel parking. As with the case of parking in the garage, the target area for the parking target E at the boundary between the predetermined position in front of the vehicle 30 and the area for the parking target E when moving forward of the side of the parking target E is the same as in the case of garage parking. A position near the outside on the side where the vehicle 30 enters, a parking target position that is a position where the vehicle reaches when the vehicle 30 is parked within the area of the parking target E, and the like may be set. Therefore, the combination of the subject (driver or parking support device) that performs the driving operation of the vehicle and the parking mode (garage parking or parallel parking) is not limited to the above embodiment.

[4]
In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the attention object 8 to be switched according to the parking process is set in advance is exemplified. However, the timing for switching the attention object 8 and the order of switching the attention object 8 can be configured to be changed. Also good. Moreover, you may comprise so that the attention object 8 made into a gaze point manually may be switched and displayed in a parking process. Moreover, you may comprise so that the attention object 8 set beforehand can be added or deleted.

[5]
In the above embodiment, the cameras 12F, 12B, 12L, and 12R are arranged on the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle 30 as the imaging device 12 that captures the surroundings of the vehicle. The camera 12F need not be arranged in the front part of the vehicle.

[6]
In the above embodiment, the outline of the vehicle 30 is made translucent, but it can also be described by a non-transparent line.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a vehicle periphery monitoring device that can receive parking assistance with high convenience can be provided.

2 Image acquisition unit 3 Display control unit 4 Parking target setting unit 5 Attention target setting unit 6 Display image generation unit 7 Translucent image generation units 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D Attention target 12F, 12B, 12L, 12R Camera (photographing device)
20 Monitor (display device)
30 Vehicle 35 Translucent image

Claims (3)

A vehicle periphery monitoring device that monitors the periphery of a vehicle when parking the vehicle,
An image acquisition unit for acquiring a peripheral image of the vehicle imaged by an imaging device mounted on the vehicle;
An attention object setting unit for setting a plurality of attention objects in the peripheral image in the parking process;
A display image generation unit that generates a display image from the peripheral image so as to automatically and sequentially switch the attention object according to the parking process from the plurality of attention objects and set the attention point in the center,
A translucent image generating unit that generates at least an outline of the vehicle existing between the gaze point and the driver as a translucent image;
A vehicle periphery monitoring device comprising: a display control unit that superimposes the translucent image on the display image and displays the superimposed image on a display device in a vehicle interior.   The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the display image generation unit generates a display image by converting the viewpoint of the periphery image into an image viewed from a driver's seat. In the attention object setting unit, the attention object is
A parking target position which is a position where the vehicle reaches when parking is completed in a parking target area indicating an area where the vehicle is parked;
The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle periphery monitoring device is set at a position near the outside on the side where the vehicle enters the parking target area at a boundary of the parking target area.

Images