KR101633501B1

KR101633501B1 - AVM system for providing information of side distance and method thereof

Info

Publication number: KR101633501B1
Application number: KR1020150077353A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 전성훈
Original assignee: (주)캠시스
Priority date: 2015-06-01
Filing date: 2015-06-01
Publication date: 2016-06-24

Abstract

Disclosed are an around view monitoring (AVM) system for providing information of a side distance and a method thereof. According to an aspect of the present invention, the AVM system comprises: an image input unit storing image signals which are individually inputted in real time from a plurality of cameras provided in a vehicle in a storage unit as each camera image data; an image compound unit generating a top view image using image data; a distance information generation unit generating side distance information to recognize a side distance using a vehicle size within the top view image; and a display unit outputting the top view image to which side distance information is reflected.

Description

[0001] AVM SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING SIDE INTERVAL INFORMATION [0002]

The present invention relates to an AVM (Around View Monitoring) system and method for providing side interval information for parking convenience.

Generally, the driver's vision (view) on the inside of the vehicle is mainly directed to the front, and the left and right and rear views of the driver are largely obscured by the vehicle body.

In order to solve such a problem, a clock assist means such as a side mirror for supplementing a limited range of the driver's clock is generally used. Recently, techniques including camera means for photographing an external image of a vehicle and providing the image to a driver This trend is being applied to vehicles.

Among them, there is around view monitoring (AVM) system (hereinafter, referred to as AVM) system in which a plurality of cameras are installed around a vehicle to show 360 ° omni-directional images around the vehicle. The AVM system combines not only each individual view captured through a plurality of cameras that photograph the surroundings of the vehicle but also images of the surroundings of the vehicle to provide a top view image in which the driver looks at the vehicle in the sky , Displays obstacles around the vehicle and eliminates blind spots.

The concept of the AVM system is schematically shown in Fig.

Referring to FIG. 1, cameras 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d (hereinafter, collectively referred to as 110) are installed on front and rear sides, right and left sides of the vehicle 100, respectively. Each of the cameras 110 photographs the images A, B, C, and D on the front and rear sides and the left and right sides of the vehicle 100 and displays the captured image on the image 100 (Refer to FIG. 1 (b)) and outputs it to various display devices mounted on the vehicle 100.

The reconstructed AVM image is generated by converting an image photographed horizontally on the ground by a camera 110 installed on front and rear sides, left and right sides of the vehicle into an image of a shape perpendicular to the ground, Since there is a distance from the event, a detailed explanation thereof is omitted.

These top view images can be useful when parking, but it can be useful in places where parking lines are drawn, but it is difficult to recognize whether there is a proper distance from the surrounding vehicles in places without parking lines. Therefore, in order to recognize the distance to the side car, the left and right sides of the vehicle must be directly seen by the naked eye, which causes the utilization value of the AVM system to deteriorate. If you park too close to the side car located on the left side of the driver's seat, it is difficult to get off the car and you may have to park again.

In the conventional AVM system, the parking assist function is provided. However, this is because the parking assist line corresponding to the size of the vehicle is displayed on the screen, and the driver is guided to park the vehicle in accordance with the parking assist line. There is a problem that it is not possible to recognize the interval.

Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1426468 (Registration date July 29, 2014) How to guide parking of a vehicle on an AVM

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an AVM system and a top-view image processing method that allow a driver to recognize an interval with a side-

It is another object of the present invention to provide an AVM system and a top-view image processing method capable of enhancing user's convenience by displaying a distance interval guideline according to the driver's habit or situation of the present invention.

Other objects of the present invention will become more apparent through the following preferred embodiments.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an AVM (Around View Monitoring) system, comprising: an image input unit for storing, in respective camera image data, image signals input in real time from a plurality of cameras provided in a vehicle; An image synthesizer for generating a top view image using the image data; An interval information generating unit for generating side interval information for side distance recognition using the vehicle size in the top view image; And a display unit for outputting the top view image in which the side interval information is reflected.

Here, the side interval information may be represented by a plurality of lines.

The image analysis unit may further include an image analysis unit for analyzing the top view image and measuring a parking distance, which is an interval between the left side and the right side side, upon completion of parking, and the information about the parking distance may be stored in the storage unit as driver parking history information .

The interval information generation unit may generate the side interval information by referring to the driver parking history information.

The apparatus may further include a sensor unit for sensing presence or absence of a passenger inside the vehicle, wherein the interval information generating unit may generate the side interval information using the presence of the passenger.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing side interval information performed in an AVM system, comprising: determining a display position using a vehicle size in a top view image; And displaying side gap information at the display position in the top view image, and a recording medium on which a program for executing the method is recorded.

Here, the display position can be determined with reference to the driver parking history information.

The method may further include determining whether a passenger is present in the vehicle, wherein the display position can be determined according to whether the passenger is present or not.

Other aspects, features, and advantages will become apparent from the following drawings, claims, and detailed description of the invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to allow the driver to recognize the distance to the side vehicle, and to park at an appropriate interval.

Further, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the convenience of the user can be increased by providing the distance interval information in accordance with the habit or the situation of the driver.

1 schematically illustrates the concept of an AVM system;
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an AVM system, and more particularly,
3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of an AVM system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing side interval information in an AVM system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of generating side interval information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, . On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, terms such as a first threshold value, a second threshold value, and the like which will be described later may be previously designated with threshold values that are substantially different from each other or some of which are the same value, Because there is room, the terms such as the first and the second are to be mentioned for convenience of classification.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, the terms "comprises" or "having" and the like refer to the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

It is to be understood that the components of the embodiments described with reference to the drawings are not limited to the embodiments and may be embodied in other embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is to be understood that although the description is omitted, multiple embodiments may be implemented again in one integrated embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an interface screen in which side interval information is displayed in an AVM system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of an AVM system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

3, an AVM system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an image input unit 310, a storage unit 315, an image synthesis unit 320, an interval information generation unit 325, a display unit 330, . &Lt; / RTI > Although not shown, the AVM system may further include a controller for controlling the operation of one or more components included in the AVM system. An image analysis unit for measuring an interval to the side vehicle in a parked state, A sensor unit for sensing the presence of a passenger, and the like.

The image input unit 310 is a unit for inputting each camera image signal picked up and input from a camera 110 installed in each of a plurality of places (for example, positions designated to photograph the front, rear, left, and right sides of the vehicle 100) And stores the generated camera image data in the storage unit 315. Here, the camera 110 may be implemented as a wide-angle camera in order to capture an image of the surroundings of the vehicle with a small quantity.

The storage unit 315 stores, for example, an operation program of the AVM system, camera image data generated by the image input unit 310, AVM image data synthesized by the image synthesizer 320 described below, Side interval information generated by the unit 325, and the like can be stored. The storage unit 315 may be separated into a permanent storage memory for permanently storing data and a temporary storage memory for temporarily storing and operating data necessary for operation.

The image synthesizing unit 320 synthesizes the surrounding environment of the vehicle with the AVM image data which is a top view image which is viewed from above the vehicle by using the camera image data stored in the storage unit 315. The image synthesizer 320 outputs the top view image 200 generated as shown in FIG. 2 through the display 330.

The image synthesizing unit 320 uses AVM image information, for example, images captured horizontally on the ground by the cameras 110 installed on the front and rear sides, left and right sides of the vehicle, respectively, And thus the process of generating the data is far from the technical idea of the present invention, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the description thereof will be omitted.

The interval information generation unit 325 generates side interval information displayed in a synthesized or overlay format on the top view image generated by the image synthesis unit 320. [ As shown in FIG. 2 according to an example, the side interval information may be represented by a plurality of guide lines 210. Accordingly, the user can check the guideline 210 in the top view image 200 and attempt parking at a proper distance from the side car.

The interval information generating unit 325 generates the side interval information using the size of the main difference (that is, the vehicle in which the AVM system is installed) in the top view image. For example, if the size of the car viewed from the top view is 10 cm and the size of the actual car is 2 meters, then 1 cm from the top view image will be 0.2 m from the actual distance, thereby displaying the guideline at the actual distance of 0.5 m In the top view image, you can display the guideline at a distance of 2.5cm from the vehicle.

Here, the guideline does not necessarily have to be plural (that is, only one guideline may be displayed at a specific distance on the left and right sides), and the line shape may be processed in a bar-shaped distance display manner . Further, it is also possible to measure the distance between the vehicle and the lateral vehicle, and display information about the distance. For example, if the measured distance from the side car parked on the left side is 1 meter, the information about that meter is displayed on the screen.

As described above, the AVM system according to the present invention may further include an image analysis unit for analyzing images such as a top view image, and the image analysis unit may analyze the top view image to measure the distance between the present vehicle and the parked side vehicle have. The image analyzing unit analyzes the top view image in a manner similar to or similar to the manner in which the interval information generating unit 325 uses the size of the main difference image of the top view image to search for the position at which to display the side interval information, You will be able to calculate the distance.

Therefore, the interval information generation unit 325 can use the distance to the side vehicle calculated by the image analysis unit as the side interval information. Although the interval information generating unit 325 and the image analyzing unit are implemented as separate components in the present embodiment, they may be implemented as one component that performs two functions together.

Although not shown in the drawings, the AVM system according to an exemplary embodiment may further include a sensor unit for measuring whether or not a passenger boarded inside the vehicle exists. The sensor unit is implemented in the form of an infrared sensor, which senses whether the passenger or passenger is present in the passenger seat or rear seat by infrared rays. Alternatively, the sensor unit may be implemented with a contact sensor on the seat or a pressure sensor that senses the pressure due to the weight, and may sense the presence of a passenger sitting in the passenger seat or the back seat. The presence or absence of a passenger is determined according to the sensing information measured by the sensor unit. According to an example, the interval information generating unit 325 can generate side interval information corresponding to the presence or absence of a passenger. This will be described later with reference to the related drawing (FIG. 5).

4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of providing side interval information in an AVM system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of generating side interval information according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4, the AVM system according to the present embodiment recognizes the horizontal size of the vehicle in the top view image (S410), and determines a position to display the guide line based on the recognized horizontal size of the vehicle (S420) . That is, as described above, the ratio between the distance on the top view screen and the actual distance is calculated by using the lateral size of the vehicle viewed in the top view image and the lateral size of the actual vehicle And displays the side interval information using the ratio. As described above, one or more guide lines are displayed as position interval information in accordance with the calculated ratio. This is described in detail in the foregoing description, and redundant explanations are omitted.

Once the guideline display position is determined, the guideline is displayed at the corresponding position in the top view image (S430). For example, a guideline is displayed at the left and right 0.5m, 0.8m, and 1m positions. In this embodiment, the guide lines are displayed at the same intervals on both the left and right sides, but it is natural that the guide lines may be displayed so that the left and right sides have different intervals.

The predetermined interval (for example, 0.5 m, 0.8 m, 1 m) may be used as the interval of the guideline (i.e., the distance from the side of the vehicle), but may be different depending on the situation . For example, if there is no other car on the left, the left guideline may be displayed at a larger interval (e.g., 0.6m, 0.9m, 1.1m, etc.).

Referring to FIG. 5 illustrating an embodiment of the present invention, the AVM system checks whether a passenger is present based on a value measured by a sensor unit (S510). Here, it is possible to sense not only the presence of the passenger but also the position of the passenger in the passenger seat or whether the seat is on the left or right side of the rear seat. If a passenger is present on the right side of the vehicle (passenger seat or rear seat right seat), it is considered that the passenger may be uncomfortable when getting on and off when the vehicle is parked close to the right vehicle. If the passenger is on the right, the right guideline may be displayed at longer intervals.

In addition, the display position of the guide line may be determined using the previous parking history of the driver. Accordingly, the AVM system confirms the previous parking history of the driver stored in advance (S520). When the vehicle is parked (the parking situation is recognized when the vehicle is stopped and there is no movement for a certain period of time or when the system power is turned off), the AVM system calculates the distance from the left and right side wheels And stores information on the distance to the calculated lateral vehicle as a parking history. The stored information can be used to analyze the user's parking habit. For example, it is necessary to analyze parking habits such as whether the left side is wider than the right side, or vice versa, and when there is a passenger.

Thus, the AVM system determines the location to display the guideline according to the presence of the passenger and the previous parking history. In other words, it is to decide what kind of guideline should be displayed to the side car.

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to increase the convenience of the user through the user-customized parking guide display by displaying the guide line differently according to the driving habit of the user and the presence of the passenger.

The method of providing the side interval information in the AVM system according to the present invention can be implemented as a computer readable code on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording media storing data that can be decoded by a computer system. For example, it may be a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a flash memory, an optical data storage device, or the like. In addition, the computer-readable recording medium may be distributed and executed in a computer system connected to a computer network, and may be stored and executed as a code readable in a distributed manner.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made.

100: vehicle 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d:
200: Top view image 210: Guideline
310: image input unit 315:
320: image synthesizer 325: interval information generator
330:

Claims

In an AVM (Around View Monitoring) system,
A video input unit for storing video signals inputted respectively in real time from a plurality of cameras provided in a vehicle as respective camera video data in a storage unit;
An image synthesizer for generating a top view image using the image data;
An interval information generating unit for generating side interval information for side distance recognition using the vehicle size in the top view image;
A display unit for outputting the top view image in which the side interval information is reflected; And
And an image analysis unit for analyzing the top view image and measuring a parking distance, which is an interval between the left side and the right side side car upon completion of parking,
Wherein the information on the parking interval is stored in the storage unit as the driver parking history information.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the side interval information is represented by a plurality of lines.

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The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the interval information generation unit generates the side interval information by referring to the driver parking history information.

The method according to claim 1,
And a sensor unit for sensing whether a vehicle occupant is present or absent,
Wherein the interval information generation unit generates the side interval information using the presence or absence of the passenger.

A method for providing side interval information performed in an AVM (Around View Monitoring) system,
Determining a display position by using the vehicle size in the top view image and referring to the driver parking history information; And
And displaying the side interval information at the display position in the top view image.

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The method according to claim 6,
Further comprising the step of determining whether a passenger inside the vehicle is present,
Wherein the display position is determined according to whether or not the passenger is present.

9. A recording medium in which a program for carrying out the method of claim 6 or 8 is recorded so as to be readable by a computer.