JPH0274437A - Obstacle detecting device of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reproduce an image of a good visuality in a receiver and to recognize an obstacle behind the vehicle rapidly and easily by sliding a distance sensor and detecting an obstacle within a specific distance from the car body, and after that, positioning a photograph to take a picture of the obstacle. CONSTITUTION:When a back gear linking switch 12 of a positioning device 5 is ON, a distance sensor 4 unitary with a photograph 2 installed to the rotary shaft of a servo motor 1 is slided to detect an obstacle through an interface 14, a D/A converter 7, and an amplifier 8, by the direction from a CPU 9. The photograph 2 takes a picture of an obstacle and reproduces the image of the obstacle on an image receiver 3 in a car room. At the same time, the CPU 9 generates an alarm sound from a speaker 15 through the interface 14 and an alarm circuit 16.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a vehicle obstacle detection device for recognizing obstacles behind the vehicle.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, this type of device has been known to install a television camera at the rear of the vehicle body facing in a certain direction, and use the television receiver inside the vehicle interior to recognize obstacles behind the vehicle. There is.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) In conventional obstacle detection devices, the television camera is fixed, so it is necessary to use a wide-angle lens to obtain a wider field of view, making it difficult to see the image. It had some problems. Swinging a TV camera may be considered as a means of obtaining a wide field of view, but it is not easy to recognize obstacles within a certain distance from the vehicle from a moving screen, and it is difficult to recognize obstacles within a certain distance from the vehicle from a moving screen. There is also a limit to the rocking speed of the camera, which poses a problem in that it is difficult to quickly confirm a wide field of view.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional technology, and its purpose is to provide a vehicle in which the driver can quickly and easily recognize obstacles behind the vehicle. To provide an obstacle detection device.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes an imaging section provided on the vehicle body via a swinging means, and an image receiving section provided in the vehicle interior for reproducing images inputted by the imaging section. , a distance sensor for measuring the distance between an obstacle and the vehicle body, and a positioning means for the imaging section.

Further, the distance sensor may be provided in the swinging means of the imaging section,
A plurality of them may be provided on the vehicle body.

Furthermore, it is also possible to provide an alarm means for issuing an alarm when an obstacle is detected.

(Function) After the distance sensor swings together with the imaging unit or independently to detect an obstacle within a predetermined distance from the vehicle body, or after detecting an obstacle at the shortest distance among them, it takes an image of this obstacle. The imaging unit is positioned as desired.

Furthermore, even in the case of detection using a plurality of distance sensors, the imaging unit is positioned in a short time to capture an image of the detected obstacle.

Then, an image of the obstacle is reproduced on the image receiving section. Furthermore, when an obstacle is detected, a warning is issued.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an obstacle detection device for a vehicle when a distance sensor is provided on the swinging means of the imaging section, and Fig. 2 is a side view of the distance sensor provided on the swinging means of the imaging section. Figure 3 is also a plan view.

In the present invention, the second
．． As shown in Fig. 3, there is an imaging section 2 provided at the center of the outer rear part of the vehicle body W, an image receiving section 3 provided inside the vehicle interior that reproduces images inputted by the imaging section 2, and an image sensing section 3 disposed between obstacles and the vehicle body W. It is composed of a distance sensor 4 mounted on a servo motor 1 integrally with an imaging section 2 for measuring distance, and a positioning means 5 as shown in FIG. 1 for positioning the imaging section 2 so as to take an image of an obstacle. There is.

Here, the positioning means 5 includes the servo motor 1 and the imaging section 2.
The output signal of the detector 6 and the output signal of the distance sensor 4 are input to the servo motor 1 via a D/A converter 7 and an amplifier 8 according to a predetermined program. C, which is a central processing unit that outputs drive commands to
PU9, memory 10 for storing data, and operation panel 11
and a reverse gear interlock switch 12 that is linked to the reverse operation.
and interfaces 13 and 14.

Further, a speaker 15, which is an alarm means for emitting an alarm when an obstacle is detected, is connected to an interface 14 via an alarm circuit 16.
It is connected to the. The speaker 15 is provided inside the vehicle interior and outside the rear of the vehicle body.

The operation of the vehicle obstacle detection device configured as above will be described below.

First, as shown in FIG.
When turned on, a start signal is input to the CPU 9 via the interface 13, and the image pickup unit 2, which is installed integrally with the rotating shaft of the servo motor 1, is connected via a reducer that is waiting at a predetermined original position. The distance sensor 4
9, a predetermined voltage value is applied to the servo motor 1 via the interface 14, the D/A converter 7, and the amplifier 8.
oscillates to detect obstacles by inputting

If an obstacle exists within a predetermined distance between the vehicle body W and the obstacle, which is set in advance by a setting switch on the operation panel 11, the distance between the vehicle body W and the obstacle at that time is measured by the distance sensor 4 and output. Furthermore, the position (angular position) of the imaging unit 2 at that time is output from the detector 6, and both are input to the memory 10 via the interface 14 and the CPU 9.

In this way, the distance from the vehicle body W to the obstacle within a predetermined distance and the position of the imaging unit 2 at that time are stored in the memory 10 by swinging the distance sensor 4 from the original position to the original position for one cycle. In this case, since the swing is not for imaging, it is possible to swing at high speed.

Next, the CPU 9 determines the position of the imaging unit 2 at the shortest distance among the distances between the vehicle body W and the obstacle stored in the memory 10, and this position is set as the set value.

Then, the imaging section 2 is positioned at the set value by the positioning means 5, images the obstacle, and reproduces the image of the obstacle on the image receiving section 3 in the vehicle interior. Further, the CPU 9 generates an alarm sound from the speaker 15 via the interface 14 and the alarm circuit 16.

In this manner, the driver can quickly recognize the obstacle based on the image of the obstacle produced by the image receiving unit 3 and the warning sound produced by the speaker 15.

Further, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of an obstacle detection device for a vehicle when a plurality of distance sensors are provided on the vehicle body, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of a vehicle provided with a plurality of distance sensors.

A plurality of distance sensors 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d.

4e, 4f, 4g, and 4h are arranged at the rear of the vehicle body W as shown in FIG. 5 so that the distance to an obstacle behind the vehicle body can be measured. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, each distance sensor 4a, 4b does not need to be swung to detect an obstacle, as is the case when only one distance sensor is used. ,...,
4h is activated and each distance sensor 4a, 4b,..., 4h
The value of the distance between the vehicle body W and the obstacle is outputted from and inputted to the memory 10 via the interface 14 and the CPU 9.

In addition, the range detected by each distance sensor 4a, 4b, . . . , 4h and the position where the imaging unit 2 should be positioned at that time (
For example, the detection distance of the distance sensor 4d is within a predetermined distance set by the setting switch on the operation panel 11 and is the shortest detection distance. When the CPU 9 determines that, the position of the imaging unit 2 corresponding to the distance sensor 4d that detected this distance is called from the memory 10 to the CPU 9 as a set value. Then, the current position of the imaging unit 2 is detected as a current value by the detector 6 and inputted to the CPU 9 via the interface 14, and the set value and the current value are input to the CPU 9.
A comparison calculation is performed at C so that the position of the imaging section 2 becomes the set value.
A drive signal is input from the PU 9 to the servo motor 1 via the interface 14, the D/A converter 7, and the amplifier 8, and the imaging unit 2 is positioned.

The image of the obstacle captured by the imaging section 2 is then reproduced on the image receiving section 3 inside the vehicle interior. Furthermore, the CPU 9 is an interface 14,
An alarm sound is generated from the speaker 15 via the alarm circuit 16. In this manner, the driver can more quickly recognize the obstacle based on the image of the obstacle produced by the image receiving unit 3 and the warning sound produced by the speaker 15.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, after detecting an obstacle within a predetermined distance from the vehicle body by swinging the distance sensor, the imaging unit is positioned to take an image of the obstacle. As a result, a highly visible image can be reproduced on the image receiving unit, and the driver can quickly and easily recognize obstacles behind the vehicle.

Furthermore, by providing a plurality of distance sensors at the rear of the vehicle, the driver can more quickly recognize obstacles behind the vehicle.

Furthermore, by issuing a warning when an obstacle is detected, the driver can more reliably recognize the obstacle.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an obstacle detection device for a vehicle when a distance sensor is provided on the swinging means of the imaging section, and Fig. 2 is a side view of the distance sensor provided on the swinging means of the imaging section. 3 is a plan view, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of an obstacle detection device when a plurality of distance sensors are provided on the vehicle body, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of a vehicle provided with a plurality of distance sensors. . In the drawings, 1 is a servo motor, 2 is an imaging section, 3 is an image receiving section, 4 is a distance sensor, and 5 is a positioning means. Figure 2 Figure 5

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a vehicle obstacle detection device for checking obstacles behind the vehicle, there is an imaging unit installed on the vehicle body via a swinging means, and an image pickup unit installed in the vehicle interior that reproduces the image input by the imaging unit. An image receiving section, a distance sensor for measuring the distance between an obstacle and the vehicle body, and a positioning means for positioning the imaging section to image the obstacle by detecting the obstacle within a predetermined distance from the vehicle body using the distance sensor. An obstacle detection device for a vehicle, characterized in that: (2) Claim 1, wherein the distance sensor is provided in the swinging means of the imaging section.
Obstacle detection device for the vehicle described. (3) The obstacle detection device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of distance sensors are provided on the vehicle body. (4) The obstacle detection device for a vehicle according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising an alarm means for issuing an alarm when an obstacle is detected.