JPH0339743Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] "Industrial application field" This invention detects obstacles around the vehicle by rotating an ultrasonic unit mounted on the vehicle to perform scanning, and displays the detected obstacles on the vehicle's scanner. The present invention relates to a sonar display device.

"Prior Art" As a conventional obstacle detection device for a vehicle, there is a device disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 84377/1983. This uses ultrasonic waves to detect the location and presence of obstacles around the vehicle. However, there are problems in that the configuration is complicated, such as switching and controlling a plurality of ultrasonic units in a time-sharing manner, and the ultrasonic units are fixed, which limits the detection range of obstacles.

Therefore, a so-called scanning sonar has been proposed in which scanning is performed by rotating an ultrasonic unit using a motor.

An example of such scanning sonar is
For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, there is an automobile A in which a rotating ultrasonic unit 5 is provided at the upper left of the rear bumper B.

FIG. 3 is a structural block diagram of such a scanning sonar.

As shown in FIG. 3, the scanning sonar 1 of this automobile is operated by a computer 2 to
The stepping motor 4 is driven through the motor to rotate the ultrasonic unit 5.

The ultrasonic unit 5 is provided with a transmitting sensor 5a and a receiving sensor 5b adjacent to each other.

The 40KHz carrier wave generated by the fundamental wave generation circuit 6 becomes a pulse wave by the computer 2 opening the AND gate 7 in a 300μs pulse shape, and is input to the transmission sensor 5a via the amplifier circuit 8 and the output circuit 9. . As a result, ultrasonic waves are transmitted in a pulsed manner from the transmitting sensor 5a.

The reflected waves from the ultrasonic waves emitted in a pulsed manner are reflected from the outside and returned to the receiver sensor 5b, and are detected by the receiving sensor 5b, and sent to the amplifier circuit 10, the filter 11, and the detection circuit 1.
2. The signal is input as a digital value to the computer 2 via the programmable gain amplifier 13, the programmable peak hold circuit 14, and the A/D converter 15.

The reason for using the programmable gain amplifier 13 is that the further away the obstacle is, the greater the attenuation of the ultrasonic waves, making it difficult to detect, so to compensate for this, the gain is increased as time passes. .

The computer 2 determines that if a reflected wave is detected within a predetermined time from when the AND gate 7 is opened and pulsed ultrasonic waves are emitted, there is an obstacle at a distance proportional to the elapsed time until the reflected wave is detected. If no obstacle is detected even after a period of time, it is basically determined that there is no obstacle.

LED matrix 20 which is an obstacle display device
The system is configured as shown in Fig. 4, and includes, for example, a scanning sonar 1 installed at the rear left of vehicle A indicated by a two-dot chain line, a detection area in front of the left, a detection area in the rear left, and a detection area on the right. The angle θ indicating the ultrasonic transmission direction of the scanning sonar 1, which is composed of the latter detection area and indicated by the dashed-dotted arrow a, is 0.
~90°, the position of the obstacle within the detection area is displayed on the LED matrix 20a indicating this area. The angle θ indicating the ultrasonic transmission direction is the turning angle of the scanning sonar 1, and this is
Obstacles in the detection area are detected in the range of 90° to 180°, and this is displayed on the LED matrix 20b.
Further, when θ is in the range of 180° to 270°, obstacles in the detection area are displayed on the LED matrix 20c.

"Problems with the Prior Art" As mentioned above, in the conventional vehicle scanning sonar display device, as shown in FIG. 4, only 3/4 of the entire monitor screen M is used for display.
Further, for example, at the time when obstacle detection is being performed for the detection area, the matrices 20b and 20c corresponding to the detection area are not used and are in an idle state, making the display device extremely uneconomical. It consisted of In addition, each LED matrix 20a, 20b, 20c covers approximately 40% of the entire monitor screen.
Since the area is only one-times that of the original, and the width of the display screen corresponding to the distance of the obstacle is narrow, there is a problem that display accuracy is reduced.

``Purpose of the invention'' Therefore, the purpose of the invention is to provide a display device that can always use the entire monitor screen, improve display accuracy, and reduce the number of display elements as a result. An object of the present invention is to provide an economical display device for scanning sonar for vehicles.

``Structure of the invention'' The main means adopted by the invention to achieve the above purpose is to perform scanning by rotating an ultrasonic unit mounted on a vehicle to detect obstacles around the vehicle and to locate the obstacles. In a display device for a scanning sonar for a vehicle that displays on a monitor screen, a display area corresponding to a partial detection area corresponding to the turning position of the ultrasonic unit is formed on the monitor screen, and a display area around the display area is formed on the monitor screen. The object of the present invention is to arrange a plurality of vehicle marks schematically representing parts of the vehicle, and to selectively select and display the vehicle mark corresponding to the partial detection area of the ultrasonic unit during scanning. This is a display device for scanning sonar for vehicles.

"Example" Next, an example embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 showing an example of a monitor screen used in a display device according to an embodiment of the present invention, to provide an understanding of the present invention. .

Note that the same reference numerals are used for elements common to the conventional apparatus shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. Further, the following embodiments are merely examples embodying the present invention, and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention.

In Figure 1, 30 is on the monitor screen.
It has a rectangular matrix display section 31 formed by combining display elements such as LEDs in a grid pattern.
Although the matrix display section 31 is square in the figure,
It may be formed into a rectangular shape as appropriate depending on the width of the detection area of the scanning sonar or the required range of the detection area. Around the matrix display section 31, a vehicle mark composed of LEDs and the like as described below is arranged. That is, 32a is a vehicle mark placed on the right side of the matrix display section 31. 32b and 32c are a vehicle mark provided diagonally on the upper right side of the matrix display section 31 and a vehicle mark provided on the upper part of the matrix display section 31.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 2, when the ultrasonic unit 5 turns 90 degrees counterclockwise in plan view from a line along the left side of the vehicle body A, the detection area along the left side of the vehicle body A shown in FIG. Scanning is performed.
The turning angle of the ultrasonic unit 5 is detected by an angle detector (not shown), and when this turning angle is within the range of 0° to 90° as described above, the vehicle mark 32a shown in FIG. The other vehicle marks 32b and 32c are turned off. Therefore, the driver recognizes the vehicle mark 3 by lighting the vehicle mark 32a.
Detection area on the left side of the vehicle body shown in 2a,
That is, it can be known that scanning is being performed in the detection area, and the position of the obstacle relative to the vehicle body can be confirmed from the obstacle image displayed on the matrix display section 31.

In addition, the ultrasonic unit 5 further turns and the vehicle body A
When facing the direction of the detection area, which is the area on the left rear side of the
If the angle is between 90° and 180°, the vehicle mark 3
2b is turned on and vehicle marks 32a and 32c are turned off. This allows the driver to know that the current scanning area is the left rear portion of the vehicle body A, which is represented in a simulated manner by the vehicle mark 32b.
Similarly, the rotation angle of the ultrasonic unit 5 is changed from 180°.
When it comes to the 270° range, the rear part of the vehicle body A is being scanned, so the vehicle mark 32c
lights up and turns off other vehicle marks.

As mentioned above, any of the vehicle marks 32a,
32b and 32c are lit, the image of the obstacle obtained by the ultrasonic unit 5 in the corresponding area is displayed on the matrix display section 3.
1 is displayed.

In the embodiment described above, vehicle marks 32a, 32b, and 32c are arranged around one matrix display section 31 to indicate which detection area near the vehicle the matrix display section represents. For example, compared to the conventional matrix display shown in Fig. 4, the left side of the vehicle body, the left rear side,
One matrix display section can be used for the three rear matrix display sections, and if the resolution is kept the same, the number of display elements can be reduced to at least 1/3.

``Effects of the invention'' As described above, this invention is a vehicle that detects obstacles around the vehicle and displays the position of the obstacles on a monitor screen by rotating the ultrasonic unit mounted on the vehicle and performing scanning. In a display device for a scanning sonar for a vehicle, a display area corresponding to a partial detection area corresponding to the turning position of the ultrasonic unit is formed on the monitor screen, and a part of the vehicle is roughly shown around the display area. A scanning sonar for a vehicle, characterized in that a plurality of vehicle marks are arranged, and the vehicle mark corresponding to a partial detection area of the ultrasonic unit during scanning is selectively selected and displayed. Since it is a display device, one display section can serve as a display section corresponding to all detection areas close to the vehicle body, and the number of display elements can be significantly reduced.

Furthermore, if a monitor screen with the same number of display elements is used, the number of display elements increases relative to the detected distance, improving display accuracy.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a display device of a scanning sonar for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the concept of the detection area displayed by the scanning sonar display device. A perspective view of the ultrasonic sonar part attached to the rear part, FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a control system of a conventional scanning sonar for a vehicle, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a display device of a conventional scanning sonar for a vehicle. It is. Explanation of symbols, 30...Monitor screen, 31...Matrix display section, 32a, 32b, 32c...Vehicle mark, 5...Ultrasonic unit, A...Vehicle body.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A scanning sonar for a vehicle that performs scanning by rotating an ultrasonic unit mounted on the vehicle to detect obstacles around the vehicle and display the location of the obstacles on a monitor screen. In the display device, a display area corresponding to a partial detection area according to a turning position of the ultrasonic unit is formed on the monitor screen, and a plurality of vehicles are formed around the display area, partially showing a part of the vehicle. A display device for a scanning sonar for a vehicle, characterized in that marks are arranged and the vehicle mark corresponding to a partial detection area of the ultrasonic unit during scanning is selectively selected and displayed.