KR102426922B1 - Distance measuring equipment for autonomous vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve the accuracy of distance measurement to objects, we present a distance measurement device for an autonomous vehicle that integrates a camera and lidar sensor. The proposed device includes a lidar mounting unit equipped with a lidar sensor, a camera mounting unit installed under the lidar mounting unit on which a camera sensor is mounted, and an adjustment member for adjusting left and right angles and vertical angles of the camera sensor. The camera mounting unit is coupled to the camera sensor and includes a camera fixing plate that enables horizontal and vertical movement of the camera sensor in connection with the adjustment member.

Description

Distance measuring equipment for autonomous vehicles

The present invention relates to a distance measuring device for an autonomous vehicle, and more particularly, to a distance measuring device for an autonomous driving vehicle in which a camera and a LiDAR sensor are integrated.

BACKGROUND ART In general, an autonomous vehicle is a vehicle that drives by itself even without a driver's manipulation of the vehicle, and refers to a vehicle that automatically drives by understanding road conditions even if the driver does not control a brake, a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, or the like.

It is a core technology for realizing smart cars. For autonomous vehicles, it is a highway driving assistance system (HDA, a technology that automatically maintains the distance between vehicles) and a rear-side warning system (BSD, which detects and sounds an alert for nearby vehicles while reversing). technology), Automatic Emergency Braking System (AEB, a technology that activates the brake when the vehicle in front is not recognized), Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS, a technology that compensates for lane departure without a turn signal) , Advanced Smart Cruise Control (ASCC, a technology that maintains the distance between vehicles at a set speed and drives at a constant speed), and the Congested Section Driving Assistance System (TJA) should be implemented.

Although a camera may be used in these various systems, it is difficult to measure the distance of an object because the accuracy of distance information is poor with only the camera. In particular, when the illuminance around the camera is low or the weather is bad, it is very difficult to measure the distance of an object using only the camera.

As described above, the camera has characteristic limitations with respect to environmental factors such as illuminance and weather.

Prior art 1: Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-1998-068399 (vehicle autonomous driving device and control method) Prior art 2: Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0047215 (Target vehicle detection device using a rotary lidar sensor and a rotary lidar sensor) Prior Art 3: Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1510745 (Unmanned Autonomous Driving System for Vehicles)

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for measuring a distance for an autonomous vehicle in which a camera and a lidar sensor are integrated in order to increase the accuracy of distance measurement with respect to an object.

In order to achieve the above object, an apparatus for measuring a distance of an autonomous vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes: a lidar mounting unit equipped with a lidar sensor; Doedoe camera sensor is mounted on the camera mounting unit installed under the lidar mounting unit; and an adjustment member for adjusting the left and right angles and up and down angles of the camera sensor, wherein the camera mounting unit is coupled to the camera sensor and in conjunction with the adjustment member, it is possible to move the left and right angles and up and down angles of the camera sensor It includes a camera holding plate that allows

The adjusting member may include: a first adjusting member for adjusting a vertical angle of the camera sensor; and a second adjustment member for adjusting the left and right angles of the camera sensor.

The first adjusting member and the second adjusting member may be configured as screws.

A first hole into which the first adjustment member is inserted and a second hole into which the second adjustment member is inserted may be formed in the camera mounting part.

The camera fixing plate may include: a rear axle fixing pin hole into which a rear axle fixing pin installed at the bottom of the camera sensor is inserted; a left and right guide hole through which one end of the screw connection pin installed on the bottom of the camera sensor is fitted and movably coupled to the second adjustment member to guide the left and right movement of the camera sensor; and a vertical angle conversion shaft hole that is indirectly connected to the first adjustment member.

The first adjustment member is coupled to the driven gear at the lower part of the camera fixing plate, one end of the vertical angle converting shaft is press-fitted into the center of the driven gear, and the other end of the vertical angle converting shaft is inserted into the vertical angle converting shaft hole. have.

The camera fixing plate is installed at an upper portion spaced apart from the base of the bottom of the camera mounting portion by a predetermined distance and is connected to the base by a support serving as a rotation axis, and as the first adjustment member is operated, the driven gear and the vertical angle are converted The camera sensor may be moved up and down by moving up and down using the support as a rotation axis via an axis.

The left and right guide holes may have a semi-circular arc shape.

A lens movement hole may be formed in one side of the front side of the camera mounting unit to ensure movement of the lens of the camera sensor in up, down, left, and right directions.

A coupling groove is formed on the bottom surface of the lidar mounting part, and a coupling screw is installed on the upper surface of the camera mounting part, so that the lidar mounting part and the camera mounting part can be coupled by the coupling between the coupling groove and the coupling screw.

According to the present invention of such a configuration, by configuring the lidar sensor and the camera integrally, it is possible to supplement the characteristic limitations of the camera itself.

In addition, by employing a screw that enables fine adjustment of the vertical and horizontal angles of the camera, consistent performance can be provided regardless of the installation method through a simple correction operation using the screw.

In particular, even when the illumination is low or the weather is bad, the LiDAR sensor makes it easy to measure the distance to an object, thereby reducing the accident rate.

1 is a front view of an apparatus for measuring a distance for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a coupling between a camera mounting unit and a lidar mounting unit of a distance measuring apparatus for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a view for explaining an internal configuration of the camera mounting unit shown in FIG. 2 .
FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the coupling between the camera sensor, the camera fixing plate, and the left and right tilting screws in the camera mounting unit shown in FIG. 2 .
5 is a view for explaining the coupling between the vertical tilt screw and the camera fixing plate.
6 is a view for explaining left and right angle adjustment of a camera sensor in a distance measuring apparatus for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a view for explaining the vertical angle adjustment of a camera sensor in the distance measuring apparatus for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Since the present invention can have various changes and can have various embodiments, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail.

However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The terms used in the present application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to designate that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification exists, but one or more other features It is to be understood that this does not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in a commonly used dictionary should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present application. does not

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In describing the present invention, in order to facilitate the overall understanding, the same reference numerals are used for the same components in the drawings, and duplicate descriptions of the same components are omitted.

1 is a front view of an apparatus for measuring a distance of an autonomous driving vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a connection between a camera mounting part and a lidar mounting part of the distance measuring apparatus for an autonomous driving vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a view for explaining the internal configuration of the camera mounting unit shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the coupling between the camera sensor and the camera fixing plate and the left and right tilt screws in the camera mounting unit shown in FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the coupling between the vertical tilt screw and the camera fixing plate.

The distance measuring apparatus for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a lidar mounting unit 30 and a camera mounting unit 40 .

A 360 degree rotatable lidar sensor (not shown) is mounted (installed) on the lidar mounting unit 30 .

The lidar mounting unit 20 may be formed in a cylindrical shape.

A coupling groove 32 for coupling with the camera mounting unit 40 is formed on the bottom surface of the lidar mounting unit 30 , and a lidar communication cable 34 is connected to one end of the lidar sensor.

The camera mounting unit 40 is installed under the lidar mounting unit 30 . A coupling screw 41 for coupling with the lidar mounting unit 30 is installed on the upper surface of the camera mounting unit 40 . By coupling between the coupling screw 41 and the coupling groove 32 , the lidar mounting unit 30 and the camera mounting unit 40 may be integrally coupled to each other.

The camera mounting unit 40 may be formed in a cylindrical shape.

A camera sensor 42 is mounted on the camera mounting unit 40 . The camera mounting unit 40 has a hole 44 into which a screw 45 for tilting the left and right angles of the camera sensor 42 is inserted and a screw 47 for adjusting the vertical angle of the camera sensor 42 (tilt). A hole 46 into which is inserted is formed.

Due to the difference in viewing angle between the camera sensor 42 and the lidar sensor (not shown), a separate correction operation is required according to the installation location. That is, in the embodiment of the present invention, by directly manipulating the screws 45 and 47 to finely adjust the camera sensor 42 in the up/down/left/right directions, correction may be made.

Inside the camera mounting unit 40, the camera sensor 42 is installed so that fine movement up/down/left/right (ie, tilting) is possible. The camera sensor 42 has a lens 42a installed at the front and a connector 42b connected to the camera communication cable 70 at the rear.

A lens 42a of the camera sensor 42 is exposed on one side of the front of the camera mounting unit 40 . At this time, when the camera sensor 42 makes a fine movement (ie, tilting) in any one of the up/down/left/right directions, the lens 42a also moves in the same direction. Accordingly, in order to ensure smooth movement of the lens 42a in the up/down/left/right directions, a larger lens movement hole ( 43) is formed.

The camera sensor 42 is installed on the camera fixing plate 50 in the camera mounting unit 40 . A rear axle fixing pin hole 50b is formed in the center of the camera fixing plate 50, and a semi-circular arc-shaped left and right guide hole 50a of a certain length is spaced apart from the rear shaft fixing pin hole 50b in the camera fixing plate 50. And the vertical angle conversion shaft hole (50c) is formed. Here, the left and right guide holes 50a and the vertical angle conversion shaft hole 50c may be installed at positions opposite to each other.

At the bottom of the camera sensor 42, a screw connection pin 48 and a rear axle fixing pin 49 are installed in a downward direction to be spaced apart from each other. The screw connection pin 48 is inserted through the left and right guide holes 50a of the camera fixing plate 50 , and the rear shaft fixing pin 49 is rotatably inserted into the rear shaft fixing pin hole 50b of the camera fixing plate 50 . do. Here, the lower end of the screw connection pin 48 exposed to the lower portion of the camera fixing plate 50 is engaged with the screw 45 . That is, the screw 45 and the screw connection pin 48 may be engaged with each other like a rack and pinion structure. Accordingly, when the screw 45 performs a translational motion (linear motion), the screw connection pin 48 may move in a direction opposite to the moving direction of the screw 45 . A hexagonal groove may be formed in the head of the screw 45 , and the screw 45 may be manipulated using a tool such as a hexagon wrench. Of course, the screw 45 may be directly manipulated by hand without using a tool.

When the screw 45 is rotated while the rear axle of the camera is fixed, the screw connection pin 48 moves along the left and right guide holes 50a. In this way, the left and right angles of the camera sensor 42 on the camera fixing plate 50 can be adjusted by the operation of the screw 45 . At this time, since the screw thread of the screw 45 takes the form of a thread having the same angle as that of the curved surface angle of the left and right guide holes 50a, it is preferable that the screw connection pin 48 is in close contact with the thread of the screw 45 even when the left and right angles are adjusted. do.

Meanwhile, the screw 47 may be connected to the vertical angle converting shaft hole 50c of the camera fixing plate 50 via the driven gear 52 and the vertical angle converting shaft 53 . That is, the screw thread of the screw 47 is meshed with the driven gear 52 at the lower part of the camera fixing plate 50 , and one end of the vertical angle conversion shaft 53 is press-fitted into the center of the driven gear 52 , and the vertical angle conversion is performed. The other end of the shaft 53 is inserted into the vertical angle conversion shaft hole 50c. A hexagonal groove may be formed in the head of the screw 47 , and the screw 47 may be manipulated using a tool such as a hexagon wrench. Of course, the screw 47 may be directly operated by hand without using a tool.

Both sides of the camera fixing plate 50 are respectively connected to the support 51 . At this time, as the camera fixing plate 50 is rotatably coupled to a predetermined portion of the support 51 , when the screw 47 is operated, it is possible to move in the vertical direction. For example, a transverse axis 50d of a predetermined length is protruded from both sides of the camera fixing plate 50, and the end of the transverse axis 50d is rotatably inserted into the insertion groove 51a formed in the support 51 facing the opposite side. do. Of course, if necessary, the horizontal axis 50d may be formed on the support 51 and the insertion grooves 51a may be formed on both sides of the camera fixing plate 50 .

Further, the support 51 is fitted into the holes 60a and 60b formed in the base 60 of the camera mounting unit 40 . At this time, the camera fixing plate 50 and the base 60 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval. The base 60 is fixed to the bottom of the camera mounting unit 40 , and even if the camera sensor 42 and the camera fixing plate 50 move in the up, down, left and right directions, the base 60 does not move at all. The diameter of the base 60 will be larger than the diameter of the camera fixing plate 50 .

Here, the reason why the camera fixing plate 50 and the base 60 are spaced apart by a predetermined interval will be additionally described as follows. If the camera fixing plate 50 comes into contact with the base 60 even though the vertical angle adjustment of the camera sensor 42 is not completed, fine adjustment to a desired angle cannot be performed even if further adjustment is desired. Therefore, it is important to space the camera fixing plate 50 and the base 60 apart so that the desired vertical angle adjustment is not sufficiently constrained.

3 and 5 , the base 60 may be understood as being separately formed at the bottom of the camera mounting unit 40 . It may be understood that the base 60 is formed separately, but it may be understood that the bottom of the camera mounting unit 40 has the same thickness as the base 60 and the holes 60a and 60b are formed.

When the screw 47 is rotated while the center of the camera fixing plate 50 is fixed in the camera mounting unit 40, the driven gear 52 meshed with the screw thread of the screw 47 rotates, and the driven gear 52 The vertical angle conversion shaft 53 fixed to rotates. Accordingly, by moving the camera fixing plate 50 connected to the vertical angle converting shaft 53 in the vertical direction along the vertical angle converting shaft 53, the vertical angle of the camera sensor 42 on the camera fixing plate 50 can be adjusted. have.

In the case of the above-described configuration, the adjustable range of the camera up and down angle is affected by the thickness of the camera mounting unit 40, but the adjustable range of the camera up and down angle is about ±5 degrees, which is not a problem because it is sufficient.

And, in the case of the configuration as described above, since the lidar communication cable 34 and the camera communication cable 70 are located close to each other, wiring can be neatly arranged.

In the above description, the screw 47 may be an example of the first adjusting member described in the claims of the present invention, and the screw 45 may be an example of the second adjusting member described in the claims of the present invention .

Further, the hole 46 may be an example of the first hole described in the claims of the present invention, and the hole 44 may be an example of the second hole described in the claims of the present invention.

6 is a view for explaining left and right angle adjustment of a camera sensor in a distance measuring apparatus for an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Separate correction work according to the installation location due to the difference in the viewing angles of the camera sensor 42 and the lidar sensor (not shown) while using the distance measuring device in which the camera mounting unit 40 is installed under the lidar mounting unit 30 . There may be cases when it is necessary to

The adjustment of the left and right angles of the camera sensor 42 during the correction operation will be described as follows.

In a state in which the rear axle of the camera is fixed, the user may rotate the screw 45 in the first direction (eg, the direction entering the camera mounting unit 40 ) using a tool such as a hexagon wrench. In this case, the screw connection pin 48 meshed with the screw 45 moves by a predetermined value in the opposite direction along the left and right guide holes 50a as shown in FIG. 6 (a), for example.

Conversely, the user may use a tool such as a hexagon wrench to rotate the screw 45 in the second direction (eg, the direction coming out of the camera mounting unit 40 ). In this case, the screw connection pin 48 engaged with the screw 45 moves a predetermined value in the opposite direction along the left and right guide holes 50a as shown in FIG. 6(b), for example.

By operating the screw 45 as described above, it is possible to fine-tune the left and right angles of the camera sensor 42 on the camera fixing plate 50 .

7 is a view for explaining adjustment of a vertical angle of a camera sensor in an apparatus for measuring a distance of an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Separate correction work according to the installation location due to the difference in the viewing angles of the camera sensor 42 and the lidar sensor (not shown) while using the distance measuring device in which the camera mounting unit 40 is installed under the lidar mounting unit 30 . There may be cases when it is necessary to

The vertical angle adjustment of the camera sensor 42 during the correction operation will be described as follows.

When the user rotates the screw 47 in the first direction using a tool such as a hexagon wrench in a state where the center of the camera fixing plate 50 is fixed to the camera mounting unit 40 , the driven follower meshed with the thread of the screw 47 . The gear 52 rotates, and the vertical angle conversion shaft 53 fixed to the driven gear 52 rotates. In this case, for example, since the camera fixing plate 50 rotates about the support 51 as an axis as in FIG. will do

On the contrary, when the user rotates the screw 47 in the second direction (ie, the direction opposite to the first direction) using a tool such as a hexagon wrench, the driven gear 52 meshed with the thread of the screw 47 . ) rotates, and the vertical angle conversion shaft 53 fixed to the driven gear 52 rotates. In this case, for example, since the camera fixing plate 50 rotates about the support 51 as an axis as in FIG. 7(b), the rear part of the camera fixing plate 50 moves downward and the front part moves upward will do

Since the camera fixing plate 50 moves in the vertical direction and the camera sensor 42 also moves in the vertical direction by this screw 47 operation, fine adjustment of the vertical angle of the camera sensor 42 on the camera fixing plate 50 is It is possible.

As described above, the best embodiment has been disclosed in the drawings and the specification. Although specific terms are used herein, they are only used for the purpose of describing the present invention and are not used to limit the meaning or the scope of the present invention described in the claims. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Accordingly, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

30: lidar mounting unit 40: camera mounting unit
42: camera sensor 43: lens movement hole
44, 46: hole 45, 47: screw
48: screw connection pin 49: rear axle fixing pin
50: camera fixing plate 51: support
60: base 34: lidar communication cable
70: camera communication cable

Claims (10)

a lidar mounting unit equipped with a lidar sensor;
Doedoe camera sensor is mounted on the camera mounting unit installed under the lidar mounting unit; and
Including; an adjustment member for adjusting the left and right angles and the up and down angles of the camera sensor;
The camera mounting unit includes a camera fixing plate coupled to the camera sensor to enable left and right angular movement and up and down angular movement of the camera sensor in connection with the adjustment member,
The adjustment member,
a first adjustment member for adjusting the vertical angle of the camera sensor; and
a second adjustment member for adjusting the left and right angles of the camera sensor;
The distance measuring apparatus for an autonomous vehicle, wherein the camera mounting part has a first hole into which the first adjustment member is inserted and a second hole into which the second adjustment member is inserted. delete The method according to claim 1,
The distance measuring device of an autonomous driving vehicle, wherein the first adjusting member and the second adjusting member are constituted by screws. delete The method according to claim 1,
The camera fixing plate,
a rear axle fixing pin hole into which the rear axle fixing pin installed at the bottom of the camera sensor is inserted;
a left and right guide hole through which one end of the screw connection pin installed at the bottom of the camera sensor is fitted and movably coupled to the second adjustment member to guide the left and right movement of the camera sensor; and
and a vertical angle conversion shaft hole that is indirectly connected to the first adjustment member. 6. The method of claim 5,
The first adjustment member is coupled to the driven gear at the lower part of the camera fixing plate, one end of the vertical angle converting shaft is press-fitted into the center of the driven gear, and the other end of the vertical angle converting shaft is inserted into the vertical angle converting shaft hole. A distance measuring device for an autonomous vehicle characterized by its features. 7. The method of claim 6,
The camera fixing plate is installed at an upper portion spaced apart from the base of the bottom of the camera mounting portion by a predetermined distance and is connected to the base by a support serving as a rotation axis, and as the first adjustment member is operated, the driven gear and the vertical angle are converted The distance measuring apparatus for an autonomous vehicle, characterized in that the camera sensor is moved up and down by moving up and down using the support as a rotation axis via an axis. 6. The method of claim 5,
The distance measuring apparatus of an autonomous vehicle, characterized in that the left and right guide holes have a semi-circular arc shape. The method according to claim 1,
A distance measuring device for an autonomous vehicle, characterized in that a lens movement hole for ensuring movement of the lens of the camera sensor up, down, left and right is formed on one side of the front side of the camera mounting unit. The method according to claim 1,
A coupling groove is formed on the bottom surface of the lidar mounting part, and a coupling screw is installed on the upper surface of the camera mounting part, and the lidar mounting part and the camera mounting part are coupled by the coupling between the coupling groove and the coupling screw. distance measuring device for autonomous vehicles.

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