JPH06284335A - Traffic lane running-away alarming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To turn ON/OFF lights without an illuminance sensor by turning ON vehicle lights only when an average value becomes smaller than the desired signal average value of the vehicle lights corresponding to the exposure time of a visual sensor. CONSTITUTION:A controller 2 as a signal processing means judges whether or not it is necessary to turn ON the vehicle lights, supplies control signals to an automatic lighting circuit ALC and automatically let the vehicle lights turned ON/OFF. In this case, illuminance around a vehicle is equivalently detected by using the visual sensor 1 in a traffic lane running-away alarming device instead of the illuminance sensor. Then, the exposure time of the visual sensor 1 is controlled so as to settle the average value of the equivalent illuminance in a prescribed range and also the desired signal average value of the vehicle lights is obtained. The control signals are supplied to the automatic lighting circuit ALC and the vehicle lights (side marker lamp/headlamp) are turned ON when the average value becomes smaller than the desired signal average value and the vehicle lights are turned OFF when the average value becomes larger than the desired signal average value.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lane departure warning device, and more particularly to a lane (white line, yellow line) on a road surface by a visual sensor.
The present invention relates to a lane departure warning device that detects a warning and issues an alarm when the vehicle deviates from the lane.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The structure of a lane departure warning device using a conventional visual sensor is shown in FIG. 5, in which 1 is a visual sensor and 2 is a controller which generates a lane departure warning signal. Reference numeral 3 is an alarm device that issues an alarm upon receiving a lane departure warning signal.

The controller 2 also includes an A / D converter 21 for converting the analog output of the visual sensor 1 into a digital signal, a sensor controller 22 for controlling the exposure time (aperture) of the visual sensor 1, a vehicle speed signal, and the like. An input circuit 23 for inputting a winker or flasher (direction indicator) signal, a ROM 24 storing a control program, an output circuit 25 for giving an output signal to the alarm device 3, and a CP connected to these.
U26 and a power supply circuit 2 for supplying power to the controller 2
7 and 7.

FIG. 6 shows a CPU stored in the ROM 24 described above.
26 shows a flow chart of a control program executed by 26, and the operation of the conventional example of FIG. 5 will be described below with reference to this flow chart.

First, in step S1, the CPU 26 initializes (initializes) the CPU 26 and its peripheral circuits.

Next, the output signal of the visual sensor 1 is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 21 and read (step S4), the integrated value of the read signal is obtained (step S5), and the result is visually confirmed. The average value of the integrated values is obtained by dividing by the number of pixels of the sensor 1 (step S6).

The detection signal of the visual sensor 1 includes a lane portion signal and a road surface portion signal on the traveling road, but the lane portion is a small range with respect to the road surface portion. For example, in a lane width of about 3.6 m, the lane part corresponds to a total of about 0.3 m on the left and right, and the road surface part corresponds to about 3.3 m remaining. Therefore, the average value of the sensor detection signal almost represents the road surface illuminance.

Therefore, in steps S7 to S10, the signal average value (corresponding to the average value of the illuminance signal from the road surface) is preset in the sensor output (set value Th1) in order to easily extract the lane portion. The suitable range is between 2 and 2.

That is, the signal average value is compared with the set values Th1 and Th2 (Th1> Th2) in steps S7 and S8. The sensor controller 22 is controlled so as to shorten the exposure time, and the process returns to step S4. On the contrary, if it is smaller than the set value Th2, it is determined that the exposure is insufficient, and the sensor controller 22 is set to increase the exposure time in step S10.
Control to return to step S4.

When a sensor signal at an appropriate exposure time is obtained by the series of processes in steps S4 to S10, the sensor signal is binarized to extract the lane portion, and the position of the vehicle and the lane is detected from the detected position of the lane. The relationship is geometrically determined (step S11).

Next, the vehicle speed signal and the winker (flasher) signal are read for later determination (step S1).
2).

As a result of step S11, it is determined whether or not the vehicle deviates from the lane (step S13). If it does not deviate, the process jumps to step S17. If it deviates, the vehicle speed is determined in step S14. Condition (set value Th3)
Check.

In step S14, vehicle speed <set value T
In the case of h3, since the lane corresponds to a general road whose lane is not always clear, the process jumps to step S17, the warning output is turned off, and the process ends.

Further, when the vehicle speed ≧ the set value Th3, it corresponds to an expressway or the like in which the lane is clear. Therefore, the blinker signal is checked in step S15. If there is a turn signal operation, no alarm is required, so step S1
When the blinker operation is not performed, an alarm is required. Therefore, the alarm output to the alarm device 3 is turned on (step S16) and the process is ended.

As described above, in the lane departure warning system shown in FIG. 5, since the sensor 1 is used to visually detect the lane,
At night, it is necessary for the driver to detect the lane by relying on the light that is manually turned on.

Therefore, with this lane departure warning system alone,
If the driver forgets to turn on the light or is late in timing, it becomes difficult to detect the lane.

On the other hand, the vehicle is conventionally provided with an auto light circuit independently of the lane departure warning device, and an example of the configuration of such an auto light circuit (ALC) is shown in FIG.

In the drawing, 4 and 5 are lighting switches and dimmer switches which are manually selected by the driver, 6 is a left headlight, 7 is a right headlight, and 8
-10 are relays that are excited when the side lights (SMALL), the left and right headlights 6 and 7 upward lights, and the left and right headlights 6 and 7 downward lights are turned on, respectively.
Reference numeral 1 is a key switch for supplying DC power from the battery 12 to these relays 8 to 10, 13 is a control signal for exciting the relay 8 which is connected to the key switch 11, and supplies the relay 8 and the lighting switch 4 with a control signal. A controller for an auto light which gives a control signal for exciting 9 and 10 to the lighting switch 4 and the dimmer switch 5 and further gives an auto signal to the lighting switch 4, and 14 is a controller 13 that detects the illuminance around the vehicle. Is an illuminance sensor for

The above lighting switch 4 and dimmer switch 5 are manually operated by a driver,
First, the key switch 11 is closed to supply the controller 13 with the power of the battery 12.

In the lighting switch 4, the switch position is set to "AUTO" only when the auto light circuit ALC is operated, and the switch position is set to "OFF" when the vehicle lighting is unnecessary, so that only the side lights are turned on. For example, the switch position is set to "SMALL", and the switch position is set to "ON" when the side lights and the headlights (H / L) are turned on.

Further, in the dimmer switch 5, the switch position is set to "H" when the writing direction of the headlight is turned upward.
IGH "and switch position to" LO "
W ".

Then, in these switches 4 and 5, for example, the switch position is set to "S" in order to turn on the side lights.
When set to "MALL", the relay 8 is grounded so that the relay 8 is excited and the side lamp is turned on.

In order to operate the auto light circuit ALC, the driver sets the switch position of the lighting switch 4 to "AUTO". As a result, the terminal AUTO of the controller 13 is grounded and is thus in a movable state.

The controller 13 uses the illuminance sensor 1
When the illuminance at this time is high, the side lights and headlights do not need to be turned on, so the terminals SMALL and H / L are not connected to the ground terminal GND.

Since the illuminance becomes low in the dusk such as in the evening, the controller 13 first connects the terminal SMALL to the ground terminal GND, and the relay 8 turns on the side lights.

At night, etc., the illuminance approaches "0", so the controller 13 connects not only the terminal SMALL but also the terminals H / L to the ground terminal GND, thereby turning on the side lights by the relay 8 and dimming. Depending on whether the switch position of the switch 5 is "HIGH" or "LOW", the relay 10 or the relay 9 is excited to turn on the headlights 6 and 7 as well.
It makes it easy to drive at night.

[0027]

However, such an auto light circuit has a problem that an illuminance sensor for detecting the illuminance around the vehicle is required for the lighting control.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to realize a lane departure warning device combined with an auto light circuit without requiring an illuminance sensor.

[0029]

[Means for Solving the Problems] To achieve the above object,
The lane departure warning system according to the present invention is for turning on / off the light of a vehicle.
A lane departure warning device that has an auto light circuit that automatically controls turning off, detects a lane on the road surface while variably controlling the exposure time of the visual sensor by the signal processing means, and issues an alarm when the vehicle deviates from the lane. It is assumed that

In the present invention, the signal processing means is
The average value of the output signals of the visual sensor is calculated, the exposure time of the visual sensor is controlled so that the average value falls within a predetermined range, and the average value is higher than the desired signal average value of the vehicle lights corresponding to the exposure time. It is characterized in that a control signal is given to the auto light circuit to turn on the vehicle light only when the value becomes small.

[0031]

According to the present invention, the signal processing means detects a lane on the road surface from the output signal of the visual sensor while variably controlling the exposure time of the visual sensor as usual, and outputs an alarm signal when the vehicle deviates from the lane. To vehicle.

During this period, the signal processing means determines whether or not the vehicle lights need to be turned on, and applies a control signal to the auto light circuit to automatically turn on / off the vehicle lights.

That is, in the conventional auto light circuit, the illuminance sensor detects the illuminance around the vehicle, and the side lights and headlights are turned on / off according to the detected illuminance. Instead of the illuminance sensor, a lane departure warning is issued. The illuminance around the vehicle is equivalently detected using the visual sensor in the device.

Then, the exposure time of the visual sensor is controlled so that the average value of the equivalent illuminance falls within a predetermined range, and the desired signal average value of the vehicle lights corresponding to the exposure time is obtained. Also, when the average value becomes smaller, a control signal is given to the auto light circuit to turn on the vehicle lighting (vehicle side light / headlight), and when the average value becomes larger than the desired signal average value, Turn off the vehicle lights.

In this way, the lane departure warning device can surely detect the lane, and it is not necessary to provide a special illuminance sensor as the auto light.

[0036]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a lane departure warning system according to the present invention, and schematically shows a conventional lane departure warning system shown in FIG. 5 and a conventional autolight circuit shown in FIG. It is a combination of and.

That is, the input circuit 23 of the controller 2 as the signal processing means shown in FIG. 1 is connected to not only the vehicle speed signal and the winker signal but also the switch position "AUTO" of the lighting switch 4, and this switch position " When the driver selects "AUTO", the CPU
26, the automatic light circuit is enabled to operate.

The output circuit 25 is connected not only to the alarm device 3 but also to the lighting switch 4 and the dimmer switch 5, and the output signal "SMA" from the output circuit 25 is output.
LL "and" H / L "are connected to switch positions similar to those in FIG.

As a result, the controller 2 operates instead of the controller 13 shown in FIG. 7, and is different in that the controller 13 and the illuminance sensor 14 are unnecessary.

2 to 4 are C of the controller 2 of FIG.
The flowchart of the program executed by the PU 26 is shown, and the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1 will be described below with reference to this flowchart. It should be noted that one program is formed in FIGS.

First, initial settings are made in steps S1 to S3. In step S1, the CPU is the same as in FIG.
26 and its peripheral circuits are initialized, and in steps S2 and S3, the side lights (SMALL) output and headlight (H / L) output are turned off (non-ground potential) as the initial state of the auto light circuit ALC. (Steps S2, 3).

The subsequent steps S4 to S17 are executed in the same manner as in the case of FIG. 7. However, in step S12, the state of the switch position "AUTO" of the lighting switch 4 is also input circuit 23 in addition to the case of FIG. I am trying to read through.

After steps S4 to S17 are executed in this manner, the lighting switch 4 read in step S12 is checked (step S18). At this time, the switch position of the lighting switch 4 "AUT
When O "is OFF, the auto light function is not necessary, so the flow skips to steps S28 and S29 to turn off the outputs of the side lights and the headlights 6 and 7 and returns to step S4 to perform the above series of processing. repeat.

When the switch position "AUTO" of the lighting switch 4 is ON in step S18, the processing for auto light from step S19 is executed.

First, the output signal "SMALL" to the side lights
The state of is checked (step S19). If it is found as a result of this check that it is already ON, the process proceeds to step S25 to check whether it needs to be turned OFF, and if it is still OFF, it is turned ON.
Then, the process proceeds to step S20 to check whether or not it is necessary.

In step S20, the sidelight output "SMAL
In order to determine whether or not it is necessary to turn on the L "and headlight output" H / L ", the sensor signal average value of OFF → LIGHT corresponding to the preset exposure time is searched.

The signal average value searched for in step S20 corresponding to the exposure time is stored in advance in the ROM 24 as a memory map. In addition, f1 is the sidelight output “S
M2L is a threshold function for determining whether to turn on, and f2 is a threshold function for determining whether to turn on the headlight output "H / L". The time is the value determined in the processing of steps S4 to S10 (that is, the exposure time when the finally obtained signal average value is obtained).

In step S21, the signal average value f2 (threshold value) retrieved in step S20 and steps S4 to S
The actual signal average value determined in the process of 10 is compared. When the actual signal average value is less than or equal to the threshold value f2, it can be determined that the vehicle is traveling at night or the like, so in steps S23 and S24, the headlight output "H / L" and the sidelight output "S" are respectively calculated.
"MALL" is turned ON, the process returns to step S4 and is repeated.

On the other hand, when the actual signal average value exceeds the threshold value f2 in step S21, it is compared with the signal average value f1 (threshold value) obtained in step S20 (step S22). Here, when the actual signal average value is less than or equal to the threshold value f1, it can be determined that the vehicle is traveling in the dim light state, so only the sidelight output “SMALL” is turned on (step S2).
4) and returns to step S4 to repeat the process.

If the actual signal average value exceeds the threshold value f1 in step S22, the vehicle side light output "SMAL" is output.
L "and headlight output" H / L "are left in the previous state (that is, both are OFF), the process returns to step S4, and the process is repeated.

In step S19, the sidelight output "SMAL
When it is determined that L ″ is ON, it is determined in steps S25 to S29 whether it is necessary to turn OFF.

First, as in step S20, an average value of the sensor signal of turning on and off corresponding to the preset exposure time is searched. For f3, turn the sidelight output "SMALL" to 0.
A threshold function for determining whether to turn to FF, and f4 is a threshold function for determining whether to turn off the headlight output "H / L".

In step S26, the signal average value f3 (threshold value) retrieved in step S25 and steps S4 to S
The actual signal average value determined in the process of 10 is compared. If the actual signal average value is equal to or greater than the threshold value f3, it is determined that the surroundings of the vehicle have sufficient illuminance, and steps S28 and S2 are performed.
At 9, the headlight output "H / L" and the side-light output "SMALL" are both turned off, and the process returns to step S4 and is repeated.

On the other hand, when the actual signal average value falls below the threshold value f3 in step S26, it is compared with the signal average value f4 (threshold value) obtained in step S25 (step S25).
27). Here, when the actual signal average value is equal to or greater than the threshold value f4, it is determined that the light is in the dim light state, and only the headlights 6 and 7 are turned off (step S29).
Return to 4 and repeat the process.

If the actual average value of the signals exceeds the threshold value f4 in step S27, the vehicle side light output "SMAL" is output.
L "and headlights 6 and 7 outputs are in the previous state (ie
Both of them remain OFF, the process returns to step S4 and the process is repeated.

In the above description, f1 to f4 are respectively f3> f1 (Vehicle side light output "SMALL" ON ⇔ OF
F hysteresis>f4> f2 (Headlight output "H / L" ON ⇔ O
FF system).

[0057]

As described above, according to the lane departure warning apparatus of the present invention, the average value of the output signals of the visual sensor is calculated, and the exposure of the visual sensor is adjusted so that the average value falls within a predetermined range. Since it is configured to turn on the vehicle lights by giving a control signal to the autolight circuit only when the average value becomes smaller than the desired signal average value of the vehicle lights corresponding to the exposure time while controlling the time, The light can be turned on / off at a timing according to the lane detection situation without using an illuminance sensor, which matches the driver's driving sensation.

Also, as a lane departure warning device, it is possible to avoid a lane undetected state caused by forgetting to turn on the lights at night, and a reliable warning can be given even at night.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram showing an embodiment of a lane departure warning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart diagram (No. 1) of a control program stored and executed in a controller as signal processing means in the lane departure warning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart diagram (No. 2) of a control program stored in and executed by a controller as a signal processing unit in the lane departure warning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart (No. 3) of a control program stored in and executed by a controller as signal processing means in the lane departure warning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a lane departure warning device common to the present invention and a conventional example.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a control program stored and executed in a controller in a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventionally known auto light circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Visual sensor 2 Controller 3 Alarm device 6,7 Headlight 8-10 Relay 26 CPU ALC auto light circuit In the figure, the same code | symbol shows the same or corresponding part.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location H04N 5/225 C // G06F 15/62 380 9287-5L

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An auto light circuit for automatically controlling lighting and extinguishing of lights of a vehicle, the signal processing means variably controls an exposure time of a visual sensor to detect a lane on a road surface to detect a vehicle from the lane. In a lane departure warning device that issues an alarm when a vehicle deviates, the signal processing means calculates an average value of output signals of the visual sensor and controls an exposure time of the visual sensor so that the average value falls within a predetermined range. A lane deviation characterized in that a control signal is given to the autolight circuit to turn on the vehicle light only when the average value of the desired signal of the vehicle light corresponding to the exposure time becomes smaller than the average value. Alarm device.