JPH0471939A - Vehicle rear view confirmation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure the proper safety confirmation of a vehicle rear view by providing the rear side of a vehicle with an image pickup device for optically arresting a rear view image in a reversed form right and left, and generating an electrical image signal via photoelectric conversion, and further providing a display device near a driver's seat for showing an output image from the pickup device. CONSTITUTION:The vehicle rear view confirmation system 11 in the title is so constituted that the rear side of a vehicle 2 is provided with an image pickup device 12 at a position suitable for sufficiently covering a vehicle rear view, and a vehicle rear view taken with the image pickup device 12 is transmitted to a display device 14 fitted near a driver's seat via an image signal cable 13 for indication. The image pickup device 12 is constituted with a condenser lens 15 so fixed as to direct the convex side thereof aft, a reflecting mirror 16 for optically reflecting a condensed vehicle rear view image, and a solid image pickup element 17 for converting the optical image reflected with the mirror 16 to an electrical image signal. Also, the display device 14 is made to show the converted image with the same right and left polarity as in an image reflected on a rear-view mirror.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a vehicle rear confirmation system that makes it possible to reliably confirm the safety of the rear of a vehicle at any time.

[Prior Art] For vehicles moving on public roads, a system for confirming the safety of the rear of the vehicle is extremely important. A rearview mirror is essential for checking the rear. In particular, in the case of delivery-only vehicles used for home delivery services, etc., there are many cases where the vehicle has to drive around narrow alleys without a driver's assistant, and when reversing the vehicle, for example, the rear of the vehicle shown in Figure 15 is In the confirmation system 1, the rearview mirror 3, which is provided in a position to look diagonally upward from the driver's seat of the vehicle 2, plays a really important role as an assistant. Many accidents have been reported in the past, such as elderly people and children getting caught in the wheels of drivers who simply backed up without checking behind them. It can be said that it is the driver's responsibility to keep the rear confirmation system reliable at all times.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional vehicle rear confirmation system l that uses the rearview mirror 3 to confirm the safety of the rear of the vehicle is based on the premise that there is nothing blocking the rearview mirror 3 and the rear view. Therefore, in vehicles that are constantly loaded with a large amount of luggage, such as delivery vehicles, there are many cases where the space between the rearview mirror 3 and the rear window of the vehicle is blocked by the luggage, so the rearview mirror 3 It was often difficult to check the rear visibility, and the problem was that drivers could retreat based solely on their instincts, potentially resulting in personal injury.

On the other hand, with the advancement of imaging technology, it has become possible to obtain sufficient resolution even with home-use video cameras. Against this background, monitors such as the vehicle rear confirmation system 4 shown in Fig. 16 are being developed. camera 5 to vehicle 2
A system has been considered in which the monitor camera 5 is attached to a suitable location at the rear of the vehicle, and images of the rear of the vehicle captured by the monitor camera 5 are displayed on a monitor receiver 6 near the driver's seat. However, this type of vehicle rear confirmation system 4 uses a monitor camera 5.
The image taken at the rear of the vehicle is displayed on the monitor receiver 6 in a horizontally reversed state, and the left and right orientation is opposite to the view of the rear of the vehicle reflected in the rearview mirror 3. Drivers who are used to seeing images tend to misjudge left and right directions, causing issues such as turning the steering wheel to the left when it should be turning to the right, which could lead to a serious accident.

[Means for Solving the Problems] This invention solves the above problems, and is provided at the rear of a vehicle, optically captures an image reflected in the rear field of view of the vehicle, and converts the image into an electrical image by photoelectric conversion. an imaging device,
A display device is provided near the driver's seat of the vehicle and visually displays an output image of the imaging device, and the image is horizontally reversed in either the imaging device or the display device. It is something to do.

[Function] This invention converts an image reflected in the rear view of a vehicle into an electrical image by photoelectric conversion, displays it visibly on a display device installed near the driver's seat of the vehicle, and in the process from image capture to display. By reversing the image left and right, even in situations where the rear view of the vehicle cannot be secured directly from the driver's seat,
To ensure safety confirmation of the rear of a vehicle.

[Example] Examples of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 14.
This will be explained with reference to the figures. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the vehicle rear confirmation system of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the imaging device shown in FIG. 1.

The vehicle rear confirmation system 11 shown in FIG. The information is transmitted to a display device 14 provided near the driver's seat via the driver's seat, and displayed there. The imaging device 12 shown in the embodiment includes a condensing lens 15 fixed with a convex lens surface facing toward the rear of the vehicle, and a reflecting mirror 16 that optically reflects an image of the rear of the vehicle condensed by the condensing lens 15. , a solid-state image sensor 17 that converts an optical image of the rear of the vehicle reflected by this reflection [16] into an electrical image. The image of the rear of the vehicle transmitted through the condensing lens 15 is reflected by the reflection file and formed on the fixed image sensor 17. Therefore, the image of the rear of the vehicle that is formed on the fixed image sensor 17 is an image whose left and right sides are reversed at the time of reflection in the reflection file. On the other hand, the image of the rear of the vehicle photoelectrically converted by the solid-state image sensor 17 is sent to the display device 14 near the driver's seat via the video cable 13, just as the image of the rear of the vehicle is reflected in the rearview mirror 3. It will be displayed with left and right polarity.

In this case, since image transmission from the imaging device 12 to the display device 14 is performed electrically and by a dedicated video cable 13, the space between the driver's seat and the rear window of the vehicle is blocked by luggage, etc. Even if the rear visibility cannot be confirmed due to the mirror 3 or the like, the safety behind the vehicle can be reliably confirmed from the image displayed on the display device 14. Further, in the imaging device 112, only the condenser lens 15 is exposed to the outside, so only the condenser lens 15 is covered with an eaves (not shown) or the like to protect it from direct sunlight and rain and dew. This allows you to always have the best rear visibility.

Note that in the above embodiment, the condenser lens 15 and the reflecting mirror 1
6 may be replaced with an integrally molded prism 19 like the imaging device 18 shown in FIG. 3, and the substrate 20 of the solid-state imaging device 17 may be fixed to the light emitting end of the prism 19 with screws. Since the solid-state image sensor 17 is fixed to the prism 19 along with the substrate 20, the optical axes of the prism 19 and the solid-state image sensor 17 will not be misaligned due to vibrations from the road surface transmitted to the vehicle. The imaging surface of the image sensor 17 is covered by the prism 19 with some gap, but since this gap is sealed, external dust and the like can enter through the gap and adhere to the imaging surface of the solid-state image sensor 17. There is no deterioration in imaging performance.

In each of the above embodiments, the imaging device 12.18 is configured to obtain a horizontally inverted image, but for example, as in the vehicle rear confirmation system 21 shown in FIG. It is also possible to use a device that captures the video as it is, and to display the video on the display device 22 so that the driver's seat can view the horizontally reversed video. In this embodiment, an image of the rear of the vehicle is projected from a display 23 such as a CRT embedded in the dash board toward the windshield 24 of the vehicle.
This allows the virtual image reflected in 4 to be visually recognized.

Furthermore, since it is expected that the degree of reflection on the windshield 24 will differ depending on the state of external light, for example,
As shown in the figure, on the image projection surface of the display 23,
A liquid crystal shutter 25 that can be electrically switched between a light transmission state and a light reflection state is attached, and the liquid crystal shutter 25 is energized only when checking the rear view of the vehicle to block light transmission, thereby creating a reflective mirror. You can also do that. In this case, when the liquid crystal shutter 25 is not energized, the light is transmitted to the liquid crystal shutter 25.
Since the liquid crystal shutter 25 is freely transmitted through the light, the provision of the liquid crystal shutter 25 does not incur the disadvantage of narrowing the forward field of view.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, a display device 26 is provided on the ceiling of the driver's seat of the vehicle 2 facing toward the windshield 24, and the image of the display device 26 is further reflected by a reflector 27 to drive the vehicle. 1 reflection that can be made visible to others #
127 is installed on the ceiling so that it can be swung freely, and the driver sitting in the driver's seat can adjust the reflection @2 according to his or her driving posture.
By adjusting the orientation of 1, you can always ensure the best rear visibility.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, as shown in Fig. 7.8,
It is also possible to configure the display device 28 so that its orientation itself can be changed freely. In this embodiment, the display 23
is attached to a support part 30 which is rotatably held on a pedestal 29 so as to be able to swing freely.
9 and change the swing angle of the display 23, it is possible to check the best rear visibility no matter where you are in the vehicle.

The vehicle rear confirmation system 31 shown in FIG. This uses an imaging device 35 that is optically coupled. In this system 31, as shown in FIG. 10, the left-right correspondence is reversed, such that the dot located at the left end of the light condensing section 32 corresponds to the dot located at the right end of the light receiving section 33. Since the dots on the light collecting section 32 and the light receiving section 33 are made to correspond to each other, before the image of the rear of the vehicle reaches the solid-state image sensor 17 assembled to the light receiving section 33, the image is reversed horizontally. In addition, the light receiving section 33 and the solid-state image sensor 17
Since it is installed in a location that is not easily affected by the vibrations and heat of the vehicle, it can ensure stable operation over a long period of time.

In each of the embodiments described above, the configuration is such that a horizontally reversed image is formed optically, but the image behind the vehicle can also be electrically reversed horizontally at the photoelectric conversion stage or the display stage.

The vehicle rear confirmation system 41 shown in FIG. 11 is provided with a solid-state image sensor 42 at the rear of the vehicle that converts the image reflected in the rear view of the vehicle into an electrical image by horizontally inverting it by photoelectric conversion, and also near the driver's seat of the vehicle. A liquid crystal display panel 43 for displaying the output image of the solid-state image sensor 42 is provided on the top.

As shown in FIG. 12, the solid-state image sensor 42 includes a horizontal register 44 that can selectively transfer charges carrying image information in either the left or right direction. Since it is possible to selectively take out either the video output Vol obtained by transferring the charge to the left via the amplifier 45 or the video output Vo2 obtained by transferring the charge to the right via the amplifier 46, Here, by taking out the video output Vo2 obtained by transferring in the right direction, a horizontally inverted video is obtained at the time of photoelectric conversion.

In the above embodiments, it is also possible to use a solid-state image sensor 47 shown in FIG. 13, which includes a pair of horizontal registers 48 and 49 that transfer charges carrying image information to the left and right, respectively. can.

Furthermore, instead of horizontally reversing the image at the time of imaging, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the image is horizontally reversed at the time of display. For example, as in a matrix type liquid crystal display panel 50 shown in FIG. When driving the liquid crystal element located at the intersection of the and column electrodes, the row electrode drive circuit 51 drives the row electrodes from top to bottom to perform normal vertical scanning, whereas the column electrode drive circuit 52 drives the row electrodes from top to bottom to perform normal vertical scanning. By driving the column electrodes from right to left, horizontal scanning is performed in the opposite direction to the normal direction, thereby making it possible to reverse the horizontal direction of the displayed image.

By the way, in the vehicle rear confirmation systems 11, 21, 31, and 41 shown in each of the above embodiments, a dedicated battery (not shown) other than the vehicle engine battery may be prepared as a common power source necessary for vehicle rear confirmation. Therefore, even if, for example, the engine battery runs out, it is possible to reliably check the rear. In addition, the imaging device 12 is connected to the battery that operates only when the vehicle is backed up.
35 or the display device 14, 28, etc., wasteful power consumption in the battery can be suppressed.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention is provided at the rear of a vehicle, captures an image reflected in the rear field of the vehicle by inverting it left and right by optical reflection, and converts it into an electrical image by photoelectric conversion. Conventionally, the present invention has an imaging device that provides a view of the rear of the vehicle from the driver's seat. The safety confirmation of the rear of the vehicle, which was previously done using mirrors, etc., can always be accurately and reliably communicated to the driver's seat, regardless of the loading status inside the vehicle, and the imaging device is configured to optically obtain reversed images. Therefore, it has excellent effects such as being able to perform appropriate image processing using conventionally used optical elements such as reflecting mirrors and prisms.

Further, the present invention includes an imaging device including a prism having a reflective surface that optically reflects an image of the rear of the vehicle, and a board that is assembled to the output end of the prism and converts the optical image into an electrical image. By constructing a photoelectric conversion element, by fixing the photoelectric conversion element to the prism while physically shielding it from the outside world, it is possible to secure a stable view of the rear of the vehicle and prevent dust, vibration, etc. This has effects such as being able to eliminate video capture errors due to external factors.

The present invention also provides an imaging device that is installed at the rear of the vehicle and captures an image reflected in the rear field of the vehicle and converts it into an electrical image through photoelectric conversion, and an imaging device that is installed near the driver's seat of the vehicle and outputs the image from the imaging device. By providing a display device that flips the image left and right and visually displays it, there is no need to flip the image left and right on the imaging device side. It has the advantage of being easy to use.

In addition, the display device converts electrical images into optical images, projects them onto the vehicle's windshield, and displays the horizontally reversed image in the driver's field of vision. By using it wisely, you can obtain a horizontally reversed image, and by providing a liquid crystal shutter on the image projection surface of the display on the windshield, whose light transmission state can be electrically switched, the liquid crystal shutter can normally be switched to the light transmission state. In addition to ensuring the forward visibility of the vehicle, the liquid crystal shutter is placed in a light-reflecting state that blocks transmitted light only when checking the rear visibility of the vehicle, making it possible to confirm the safety of the rear visibility.

In addition, the display device consists of a display that converts electrical images into optical images and projects them, and a reflector that reflects the images projected by this display and displays them to the driver. Images of the rear of the vehicle can be projected onto reflectors placed in This has effects such as being able to confirm safety.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a solid-state image sensor that is installed at the rear of a vehicle and converts an image reflected in the rear view of the vehicle into an electrical image by horizontally inverting it through photoelectric conversion, and a solid-state image sensor that is installed near the driver's seat of the vehicle By installing a liquid crystal display panel that displays the output image of
It is possible to horizontally invert an image using a purely electrical method, thereby simplifying the configuration of the optical system. In addition, as a solid-state image sensor, one equipped with a horizontal register that can transfer the charge carrying image information to the left or right, or a pair of horizontal registers that can transfer the charge to the left and right. By using the equipment provided, it is possible to easily obtain a horizontally inverted image.

In addition, by displaying the image output from the imaging device horizontally and inverted on the liquid crystal display panel installed near the driver's seat of the vehicle, the image captured by the imaging device from behind the vehicle is displayed in the driver's field of view. In the final step of entering the display, a horizontally reversed image can be displayed. In this case, by using a liquid crystal display panel that drives column electrodes from right to left to obtain a horizontally reversed image, it is possible to easily obtain a horizontally reversed image.

In addition, the present invention provides a power supply means that is used for checking the rear of the vehicle and operates only when the vehicle is backed up, thereby supplying power to the imaging device and the display device only when the vehicle is backed up. This has the effect of suppressing normal power consumption and, in particular, suppressing battery exhaustion of the engine battery. Furthermore, by providing a dedicated battery that is used only for checking the rear of the vehicle, the burden on the engine battery is reduced, while also ensuring the safety of the rear of the vehicle even when the engine battery is close to being depleted. It has the following effects:

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the vehicle rear confirmation system of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the imaging device shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the vehicle rear confirmation system of the present invention. 4 to 6 are respectively side views showing a display device portion of another embodiment of the vehicle rear confirmation system of the present invention, and FIGS. A side view and a front view showing a modified example of the display device shown in FIG. 6, and FIGS. 9 and 10 are a system configuration diagram and a schematic configuration of an imaging device portion, respectively, showing other embodiments of the vehicle rear confirmation system of the present invention. 11 and 12 are a schematic configuration diagram and a circuit configuration diagram of a solid-state image sensor portion showing still another embodiment of the vehicle rear confirmation system of the present invention, respectively, and FIG.
A circuit configuration diagram showing a modification of the solid-state imaging device shown in FIG.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a modification of the liquid crystal display panel shown in FIG. 11, and FIGS. 15 and 18 are system configuration diagrams showing an example of a conventional vehicle rear confirmation system. 211. Vehicle, 11, 21, 31, 41. ,. Vehicle rear confirmation system, 12, 18. ,,imaging device,2
2.26.28. ,,display device. Figure 1

Claims (13)

[Claims] (1) An imaging device installed at the rear of the vehicle, which captures an image reflected in the rear view of the vehicle by reversing it left and right by optical reflection, and converting it into an electrical image by photoelectric conversion, and a driver's seat of the vehicle. A vehicle rear confirmation system comprising a display device provided nearby and visually displaying an output image of the imaging device. (2) The imaging device includes a prism having a reflective surface that optically reflects an image of the rear of the vehicle, and a photoelectric sensor with a substrate that is assembled to the light output end of the prism and converts the optical image into an electrical image. The vehicle rear confirmation system according to claim 1, further comprising a conversion element. (3) an imaging device installed at the rear of the vehicle that captures an image reflected in the rear view of the vehicle and converts it into an electrical image through photoelectric conversion; and an image pickup device installed near the driver's seat of the vehicle that outputs an image from the imaging device. A vehicle rear confirmation system having a display device that visually displays the image by reversing it left and right. (4) The display device has a display that converts an electrical image into an optical image, projects it onto the windshield of the vehicle, and displays the left-right reversed image in the field of view of the driver. Vehicle rear confirmation system described in Section 3. (5) The vehicle rear confirmation system according to claim 4, wherein the windshield has a liquid crystal shutter on the image projection surface of the display whose light transmission state is electrically switched. (6) The display device includes a display that converts an electrical image into an optical image and projects the image, and is swingably installed near the driver's seat and reflects the image projected by the display to the driver. 4. The vehicle rear confirmation system according to claim 3, further comprising a reflecting mirror for displaying the information. (7) A solid-state image sensor, which is installed in the rear of the vehicle and converts the image reflected in the rear view of the vehicle into an electrical image by horizontally inverting it through photoelectric conversion; A vehicle rear confirmation system having a liquid crystal display panel that displays an output image. (8) The vehicle rear confirmation system according to claim 7, wherein the solid-state image sensor has a horizontal register that can selectively transfer charges carrying image information in either left or right direction. (9) The vehicle rear confirmation system according to claim 7, wherein the solid-state image sensor has a pair of horizontal registers that transfer charges carrying image information to the left and to the right, respectively. (10) A solid-state image sensor, which is installed at the rear of the vehicle, converts images reflected in the rear field of the vehicle into electrical images through photoelectric conversion, and a solid-state image sensor, which is installed near the driver's seat of the vehicle, converts images output from the solid-state image sensor Vehicle rear confirmation system with a liquid crystal display panel that displays images in reverse left and right (11) The vehicle rear confirmation system according to claim 10, wherein the liquid crystal display panel drives column electrodes from right to left to obtain a horizontally inverted image. (12) The vehicle rear confirmation system according to claim 1, 3, 7, or 10, further comprising a power supply means for supplying electric power necessary for vehicle rear confirmation only when reversing the vehicle. (13) The vehicle rear confirmation system according to claim 1, 3, 7 or 10, further comprising a dedicated battery used only for vehicle rear confirmation.