KR20190094135A - A parking assisting system - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a parking assisting system which comprises: a camera unit provided with a wide-angle lens to photograph an image of the front or the rear of a vehicle; and a display unit displaying the image of the front or the rear of the vehicle, wherein the image is photographed by the camera unit. The parking assisting system may comprise an image area selection unit receiving steering angle information of a steering wheel of the vehicle from a steering angle sensor of the vehicle to select a display area to be displayed in the display unit of an original image photographed by the camera unit in accordance with the steering angle information.

Description

Parking assistance system {A PARKING ASSISTING SYSTEM}

The present invention relates to a system for assisting parking, and more particularly, to a parking assist system capable of assisting parking by selecting a part of an original image photographed by a camera unit according to an operation of a steering wheel of a vehicle.

Recently, devices for convenience of consumers as well as consumer satisfaction with power performance of automobiles have been widely used. For example, the spread of the front and rear cameras for parking assistance and the integrated display device that can grasp the state of the car at a glance is becoming more common. The driver can see people (eg pedestrians) or objects around the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "obstacles") through the vehicle's front and rear cameras and distance sensors and display devices when forward or backward parking. The distance to the obstacle can be known.

Conventionally, limited information is provided for simply displaying a front or rear scene or simply displaying a proximity of an obstacle as a warning alarm for recognizing an obstacle when parking.

However, although the main purpose of the front or rear camera of the vehicle is to secure a view of the front or rear of the vehicle, a blind spot occurs according to the angle of view of the lens of the camera.

Accordingly, there is a need for a system for parking assistance that can increase user satisfaction, which is more detailed and convenient than in the prior art.

In order to solve this problem, when the driver manipulates the steering wheel of the vehicle, the driver can provide the driver with a display area necessary according to the operation of the steering wheel among the original images photographed by the camera unit.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a parking unit includes a camera unit for capturing an image of a front or rear side of a vehicle and a display unit displaying an image of the front or rear side of the vehicle photographed by the camera unit. An auxiliary system is disclosed and receives steering angle information of a steering wheel of the vehicle from a steering angle sensor of the vehicle, and selects a display area for displaying on the display unit from an original image photographed by the camera unit according to the steering angle information. It may include an image area selector for.

The image area selection unit may select a display area of a second size for displaying on the display unit from an original image of a first size. Here, the first size may be larger than the second size.

The image area selection unit may arrange a display area of a second size in the center of the original image of the first size, and move the display area in the left and right directions in the original image according to the steering angle information.

The image area selection unit may determine a direction in which the vehicle is to be moved based on the steering angle information, and move the display area in the left and right directions in the original image according to the determined direction.

The image area selector may further move the display area in the vertical direction.

The image area selection unit may move the display area in a vertical direction according to the distance between the vehicle and the parking target area.

The parking assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention obtains an original image of the front or rear of the vehicle from which the blind spot is removed by using a camera unit having a wide-angle lens and a mega image sensor, and among the obtained original images, the parking assistance. The necessary parts may be displayed on the display unit to provide the driver with the front or rear image of the vehicle from which the blind spot is removed.

차 보조 시스템에 비하여, 카메라 회전부 등을 구성하는 모터나 모터 제어를 위한 콘트롤러 등이 필요없으므로 제품 사이즈 및 생산 단가를 줄일 수 있는 장점이 있다.Meanwhile, the front or rear camera unit is designed to adjust the shooting angle by including a camera rotating unit.

Compared to the car assistance system, there is no need for a motor constituting a camera rotating part or a controller for controlling a motor, and thus, there is an advantage of reducing product size and production cost.

1 shows a block diagram of a parking assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram of a camera unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 illustrates a blind spot of a vehicle generally according to photographing of a camera unit mounted on the vehicle.
4 illustrates an example of determining a display area in an original image according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 shows a flow chart of the operation of the parking assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The terms or words used in the specification and claims should not be construed as being limited to the common or dictionary meanings, but should be construed as meanings and concepts consistent with the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments described in the specification and the drawings shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiment of the present invention and do not cover all of the technical idea of the present invention, various modifications that can be replaced at the time of the present application It should be understood that there may be equivalents and variations.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 shows a block diagram of a parking assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The parking assistance system 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a camera unit 110 for photographing an area of the front or rear of the vehicle, and selects a part of the original image photographed by the camera unit to provide to the display unit. An image region selection unit 120 for displaying the image, and a display unit 130 for displaying an image captured by the camera unit, in particular, an image selected by the image region selection unit, and a steering angle sensor for measuring a steering angle of the steering wheel of the vehicle ( 140, and a controller 150 for controlling operations of the camera unit, the image region selection unit, the display unit, the steering angle sensor, and the like.

The camera unit 110 may photograph an image of the front or the rear of the vehicle, and may be installed at at least one of the front or the rear of the vehicle. The camera unit 110 may include a general vehicle camera. In addition, the camera unit 110 may be an infrared camera for securing a view at night. Due to the brightness of the lens of the camera unit 110, an image taken by a general camera may not provide sufficient information for parking assistance on a cloudy day or at night when sufficient light is not provided.

The camera unit 110 may photograph a scene or a parking area in front of or behind the vehicle and provide the captured image to the display unit 130 in the vehicle.

The image area selection unit 120 may select a portion of the original image photographed by the camera unit and provide it to the display unit. For example, the camera unit 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be provided with a wide-angle lens (not shown) and a mega image sensor to acquire a front or rear image of a vehicle having the widest angle of view. The image obtained by the camera unit 110 is referred to herein as the "original image". By using the original image of the widest angle of view as possible to shoot the blind spot in front or rear of the vehicle, it can be provided to the driver.

On the other hand, in order to display the original image on the display unit 130 without distortion, the resolution of the display unit 130 should also be the same as that of the original image. Do not cover in the specification.

Since the resolution of the original image is larger than the resolution of the display unit 130 (for example, the original image has a resolution of 1280 * 720 and the display unit has a resolution of 640 * 480), the image area selection unit 120 may display the display unit (from the original image). In 130, a portion or region to be displayed (hereinafter, referred to as a “display region”) may be selected.

The image area selector 120 may use steering angle information of the steering angle sensor 140 to determine the display area. For example, the initial position of the display area may correspond to the center of the original image. Then, if it is determined that the driver needs the original image on the right side of the display area according to the steering angle information, the display area is moved to the right side according to the steering angle information by a certain ratio, and the display area is moved. 130 may be provided.

For example, when the driver turns the steering wheel counterclockwise during the reverse parking, the steering angle sensor 140 may provide steering angle information to the controller 150 to determine the driver's intention to move the vehicle to the rear right. Therefore, the image of the rear right side of the vehicle is required from the original image, and the case of operating the steering wheel clockwise is the opposite. The display area may be determined using the steering angle information by grasping the relationship between the steering angle information and the movement of the display area.

The operation of the above-described image region selection unit 120 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4.

The display unit 130 is a kind of monitor mounted in the vehicle and may display the state or driving information of the vehicle. The display 130 may operate in conjunction with a navigation or audio system. In addition, the display unit 130 may include a touch panel to recognize a touch input of a driver or a user. The display unit 130 may display data or information obtained from the camera unit 110, the image region selection unit 120, the steering angle sensor 140, and the like described above.

The steering angle sensor 140 is a sensor for sensing a steering angle of a steering wheel of the vehicle, and may sense the steering angle of the steering wheel and provide the steering angle to the controller 150. The controller 150 may display the steering angle of the provided steering wheel on the display 130. Meanwhile, the controller 150 may combine the steering angle with the parking assist indicator to display the driving trajectory of the vehicle on the display 130.

The controller 150 may receive data or information from the camera unit 110, the image region selection unit 120, the display unit 130, the steering angle sensor 140, and the like. The controller 150 may process the received data or information and display the same on the display 130.

The controller 150 allows the display unit 130 to display the front or rear image captured or acquired by the camera unit 110. The acquired front or rear image may include a parking target area to be parked by the vehicle. The parking target area is the area of the bottom of the parking area, which is generally shown in white in a rectangular shape, and may not have a separate color marking.

The controller 150 may display the parking assistance indicator together with or overlapping with the parking target area of the photographed or acquired front or rear image. The parking assistance indicator is a virtual display for displaying a path or a distance from the vehicle to the parking target area. This corresponds to data generated by the controller, and the size, number, shape or shape of the parking assistance indicator may be changed according to the distance to the parking target area or the distance to the obstacle.

In addition, the system 100 may be provided with a distance measuring sensor (not shown). The distance measuring sensor may be installed in at least one of the front or the rear of the vehicle, is generally mounted on the bumper of the vehicle, and can measure the distance to the obstacle. In general, a plurality of distance measuring sensors may be provided. The distance information measured by the distance measuring sensor is provided to the controller 150, and the controller 150 may appropriately process the distance information and display the same on the display 130.

2 shows a block diagram of the camera unit 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The camera unit 110 includes an image sensor 110-1 for acquiring an image of the front or rear of the vehicle, a power supply 110-3 for outputting a variable sequence power to the image sensor, and the power supply unit. It may include a microcontroller unit (110-2) for outputting a sequence signal for controlling the variable sequence, outputting a reset signal to the image sensor, and receiving an image from the image sensor. have.

The image sensor 110-1 may acquire an image of the front or the rear of the vehicle when parking. The image sensor 110-1 is controlled by the MCU 110-2 and may receive a sequence voltage from the power supply unit 110-3.

The image acquired through the image sensor 110-1 may be combined with or synthesized with information related to the driving of the vehicle, such as a parking area display line, a parking target area, a warning phrase, and the like, and displayed on the display unit.

The power supply unit 110-3 may control a sequence of power input to the image sensor 110-1. For example, the power supply unit 110-3 receives information on the sequence (hereinafter referred to as “sequence data”) from the MCU 110-2 and uses the sequence data to transmit the image sensor 110-1. By varying the sequence of the power input to the, the variable sequence power can be output to the image sensor (110-1).

The MCU 110-2 may control the overall operation of the camera unit 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The MCU 110-2 may receive an image obtained from the image sensor 110-1 and process the image in an appropriate format.

In addition, the MCU 110-2 may control the image sensor 110-1 to operate normally. The MCU 110-2 may determine that the image sensor 110-1 is abnormal when there is no signal output from the image sensor 110-1 or there is an error in the output signal. The MCU 110-2 may output the sequence data such that the power supply unit 110-3 outputs the variable sequence power.

In addition, the camera unit 110 may further include a lens (not shown). Here, the lens is preferably a wide-angle lens having a wide angle of view, the maximum angle of view is preferably about 180 degrees. When the lens is a wide-angle lens, the original image obtained by the camera unit 110 may include a blind spot in front of or behind the vehicle.

3 illustrates a blind spot of a vehicle according to photographing of a camera unit mounted on a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The angle of view of the lens of the camera unit 110 of the vehicle 200 may be determined according to its characteristics. For example, the angle of view of the lens of the camera module generally mounted on a vehicle is about 127 degrees. Therefore, the photographing range of this camera module is about 127 degrees with respect to the camera module (or its lens), and is indicated by A in FIG. In the present specification, A will be referred to as a "shootable range".

In addition, an area of about 53 ° except for the imageable range is indicated by B in FIG. 2. This area is referred to as the "non-shooting range", which is the blind spot described above. In FIG. 2, since it is assumed that the camera module is located at the center of the screen, the non-shooting range exists as about 26.5 ° on the left and right sides.

A blind spot or an ineligible range for which the camera unit of the parking assistance system cannot capture is in an area close to the vehicle. As you move away from the vehicle, the blind spot or unshootable range disappears. In this situation, when the driver attempts to park, if the driver proceeds to parking without recognizing the obstacle that is actually present in the blind spot or the dead zone, an accident due to contact with the obstacle may be caused.

Therefore, the parking assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention provides a means for photographing the shooting blind spot or the impossible shooting range in order to eliminate the possibility of such an accident.

For example, the camera unit 110 of the parking assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a wide angle lens. As mentioned above, the lens angle of view of a camera module mounted on a vehicle is generally about 127 degrees, but if a wide angle lens is used, it is possible to obtain an image of the entire range of the front or rear of the vehicle, that is, the range of about 180 degrees. . Therefore, when the wide-angle lens is used for the camera unit 110 of the parking assistance system, the blind spot generated during parking can be removed.

However, even if the camera unit 110 is provided with a wide-angle lens simply to obtain the original image to remove the unshootable range, it is not useful for parking assistance unless the display unit 130 capable of displaying it is prepared. Thus, for example, if the resolution of the original image is 1280 * 720 (pixels), the resolution of the display 130 must also be 1280 * 720 (pixels) to display it without distortion. However, if the resolution of the display unit 130 mounted in the vehicle at this point becomes 1280 * 720 (pixel), the production cost will increase significantly.

In addition, such a display unit having a resolution of 1280 * 720 (pixels) is commonly referred to as a wide display device, and it may not be easy to install it due to the limited space in the vehicle.

Therefore, in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the image of the blind spot of the vehicle may be provided to the driver by replacing the lens and the image sensor of the camera unit 110 without changing the condition or performance of the display unit 130. I would like to suggest a solution.

Briefly, an embodiment of the present invention obtains an original image having the widest angle of view by using the camera unit 110, and then selects only the necessary area from the original image and displays it on the display unit 130 to park the vehicle. The driver can provide an image of the blind spot of the city vehicle. This process is described in more detail in FIG.

4 illustrates an example of determining a display area D in an original image 400 according to an exemplary embodiment. 4A shows that the display area D is in the initial position. 4B and 4C show that the display area D is moved left and right, respectively. On the other hand, since the display area D corresponds to the screen displayed by the display unit 130, there will be no problem even if it is regarded as the display screen of the display unit 130. Meanwhile, in FIGS. 4A to 4C, it can be seen that the size of the original image 400 is larger than the display area D. FIG. 4A to 4C, the height of the original image 400 is illustrated to be the same as the height of the display area D. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

The camera unit 110 may obtain an original image 400 and provide the original image 400 to the image region selection unit 120 or the controller 150. The original image 400 may have, for example, a resolution of 1280 * 720. The display 130 may have a resolution of, for example, 640 * 480.

The controller 150 may receive steering angle information from the steering angle sensor 140 to determine in which direction and how much to move the display area D, and provide the movement information to the image area selection unit 120. . The movement information may be directly calculated by the image area selection unit 120 and obtained.

The image area selection unit 120 may move the display area D in left and right directions according to the movement information. In order to determine the movement of the display area D, the image area selector 120 may arrange the display area D having the second size in the center of the original image 400 having the first size (or resolution). . Therefore, initially, the display area D may be as large as the second size at the center of the original image 400. The second size (or resolution) corresponds to the maximum resolution of the display 130 (eg, 640 * 480).

Then, the image area selection unit 120 may receive the steering angle information and move the display area D to the left and right according to the steering angle information.

The steering angle information is information indicating how much the steering wheel of the vehicle is rotated, and the movement trajectory or the moving direction of the vehicle may be determined based on the steering angle information.

For example, if the steering wheel of the vehicle is rotated in the clockwise direction, it may be determined that the vehicle will move to the rear left direction when reversing. In this case, the driver may need an image of the rear left side of the vehicle, and thus the image area selector 120 may move the display area to the left in the original image 400. 4b illustrates this.

On the other hand, if the steering wheel of the vehicle is rotated counterclockwise, it can be determined that the vehicle will move to the rear right direction when reversing. In this case, the driver may need an image of the rear right side of the vehicle, and thus the image area selector 120 may move the display area to the right in the original image 400. 4c illustrates this.

In addition, as mentioned above, since the parking assistance system 100 according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a distance measuring sensor, the display area may be selected according to the distance between the vehicle and the parking target area.

For example, if the vehicle is close to the parking target area, the area farther away from the vehicle is not of interest, and the area closer to the vehicle will be the main concern. Therefore, when the vehicle approaches the parking target area, for example, when the distance measured by the distance measuring sensor is within a certain range, the image area selection unit 120 displays the display area D in the original image 400. Can be moved downward (since the image taken close to the bottom of the original image 400).

4A to 4C show that the height of the original image 400 and the height of the display area D are the same, so that it is impossible to move the display area D up and down, but the drawings of FIGS. 4A to 4C are shown in FIG. Since the example of the invention is shown, it is not limited thereto. 4A to 4C, the height of the original image 400 is greater than (or higher than) the height of the display area D, thereby moving the display area D up and down within the original image 400. Can be.

In addition, if the vehicle is far from the parking target area, the image area selection unit 120 moves the display area D upward in the original image 400 (the image captured at a far position is located above the original image 400). Location).

Figure 5 shows a flow chart of the operation of the parking assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the operation method of the parking assistance system may include a step (S510) of the driver 150 recognizing the driver's parking attempt or directly inputting the parking attempt by the driver. The controller 150 may recognize the driver's parking attempt by the user if the user places the transmission gear in the reverse area or when the driver presses a button for notifying a parking attempt provided in the vehicle. I can recognize it. Here, the button for notifying the parking attempt provided in the vehicle may be a soft button displayed on the display 130 to allow the driver to touch, and a hard button physically provided in the vehicle, such as an electronic parking button.

In addition, the driver may inform that the parking procedure is started by pressing a button for notifying a parking attempt provided in the vehicle.

Then, the image mode of the display unit 130 for parking assistance may be selected (S520). The image mode of the display 130 may include a fixed mode and a variable mode. The fixed mode is similar to the related art, and refers to a mode for displaying an image corresponding to a fixed photographing angle and a photographing range. The variable mode uses an image region selector 120 linked to a steering angle according to an embodiment of the present invention, and selects a display region from an original image acquired by the camera unit 110 according to a driver's steering wheel. This refers to a mode that can be displayed on the display 130.

The driver can determine in which mode of operation the parking assistance system is to be used. Since the operation of the parking assist system according to the fixed mode is similar to the related art, a description thereof will be omitted herein.

When the image mode of the display unit 130 is selected as the variable mode in operation S520, the image region selection unit 120 may be controlled according to the steering angle of the steering wheel of the vehicle in operation S530. As described with reference to FIG. 4, the display area to be displayed on the display unit 130 may be selected and displayed in the original image acquired by the camera unit 110.

Next, it may be checked whether parking of the vehicle is completed (S540). This can be confirmed by the driver's parking completion input or by shifting the transmission gear (P). If the parking is not completed, for example, when the transmission gear shift is performed again or the driver inputs a button for notifying the parking attempt again, the process moves back to step S530.

If it is confirmed that the parking is completed, it is possible to initialize the image mode of the display unit 130 (S550), the operation of the parking assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention is terminated.

Embodiments of the present invention have been described above, and those skilled in the art can recognize that the embodiments are merely illustrative, not limiting of the invention, without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. It will be appreciated that variations, modifications, etc. are possible.

110: camera unit 120: image area selection unit
130: display unit 140: steering angle sensor
150: control unit 110-1: image sensor
110-2: MCU 110-3: power supply

Claims (10)

A display unit;
A steering angle sensor for obtaining steering angle information from a steering wheel of the vehicle;
A camera module for obtaining an image having a first resolution;
An image area selector configured to select a partial area of the image having the first resolution as a display area from a driver;
And a controller configured to display the display image on the display unit after converting the display area to a display image having a second resolution having a different resolution from the first resolution based on the steering angle information. The method of claim 1,
The second resolution is,
Parking assistance system having a resolution corresponding to the resolution displayed on the display unit. The method of claim 1,
The second resolution is,
Parking assistance system having a lower resolution value than the first resolution. The method of claim 1,
The control unit,
And arranging the display image at the center of the image having the first resolution, and then moving the display image up / down or left / right within the image having the first resolution based on the steering angle information. The method of claim 4, wherein
The control unit,
And the display image is moved to the left when the steering wheel rotates clockwise, and the display image is moved to the right when the steering wheel rotates counterclockwise. The method of claim 1,
And a distance measuring sensor measuring a distance between the vehicle and an obstacle or a parking target area.
The control unit,
And a parking assistance system for moving the display image within the image having the first resolution based on the information acquired from the distance measuring sensor. The method of claim 6,
The control unit,
A parking assist for moving the display area downward when the distance between the vehicle and the parking target area or the obstacle approaches, and moving the display area upward when the distance between the vehicle and the parking target area or the obstacle increases; system The method of claim 1,
The image area selection unit,
When the driver places the transmission gear in the reverse (R) area or presses a button indicating a parking attempt provided in the vehicle, the parking assist system receives a partial area of the image having the first resolution as the display area from the driver. . The method of claim 1,
And an image mode selector configured to receive an image mode from the driver.
The video mode,
A parking mode including a fixed mode for displaying an image of a range captured by the camera module on the display unit and a variable mode in which an image in which the display image is superimposed on an image of the range captured by the camera module is displayed on the display unit. system. The method of claim 1,
The camera module includes a wide angle lens,
Parking assistance system comprising a maximum angle of view of the optical lens ranges from 100 degrees to 180 degrees

Images