WO2020059900A1

WO2020059900A1 - Vehicle black box device capable of monitoring blind spot

Info

Publication number: WO2020059900A1
Application number: PCT/KR2018/011014
Authority: WO
Inventors: 차병옥
Original assignee: 차병옥
Priority date: 2018-09-19
Filing date: 2018-09-19
Publication date: 2020-03-26

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vehicle black box and, more specifically, to a vehicle black box device capable of monitoring the left, rear, and right sides including a blind spot of a vehicle, the vehicle black box device comprising: a first camera for photographing surroundings of a vehicle from the left side to the rear side; a second camera for photographing surroundings of the vehicle from the right side to the rear side; a control unit for generating an image on the basis of images captured by the first and second cameras; and a display unit for displaying the image generated by the control unit, wherein a rear side photographing area of the first camera is configured to overlap with a rear side photographing area of the second camera, and the control unit combines the overlapping rear side image areas in the images captured by the first and second cameras, so as to generate an image obtained by connecting images from the left side to the right side of the vehicle.

Description

Vehicle black box device capable of monitoring blind spots

The present invention relates to a vehicle black box, and more particularly, to a vehicle black box device that can monitor the left side, the rear side, and the right side, including the blind spot of the vehicle.

Vehicles are a convenient means of transportation and can also cause various safety accidents.

The driver must keep an eye on the front of the vehicle while driving, and also be careful about the rear and sides to avoid safety accidents. On the other hand, the vehicle is equipped with a device that can check the outside for safe driving of the driver, and there is a side mirror mounted on the left and right sides of the vehicle and a room mirror mounted at an intermediate point between the driver's seat and the passenger seat inside.

The side mirror is mounted on the driver's side door and the passenger side door of the vehicle, and is a reflector that can see the rear, and the room mirror is a reflector that can see the movement of the rear.

The above-described side and room mirrors are the simplest and most economical means to check the outside while driving, but if they rely on them, there are necessarily blind spots that the driver cannot observe while driving.

The blind spot is formed on the rear side of the vehicle due to the structural limitations of the side mirror. In the past, to overcome this blind spot, a reflector having a wide angle of view is additionally attached to the side mirror or mounted separately to access from the rear side. We wanted to observe the vehicle.

Recently, in order to solve this problem in a blind spot, a technique has been proposed that replaces a side mirror on the side of a vehicle to combine a camera and check it through a screen from the inside.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing a conventional camera system, and shows a camera system for replacing a side mirror. This is published in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2012-0042220.

In the side mirror replacement camera system, the camera 1 is placed on both sides of a conventional side mirror to face the rear side, and the image captured by the camera 1 is displayed through the display 2 disposed inside the driver. It is configured to be confirmed.

However, in this prior art, there is still a problem that a blind spot is still present in a part of the rear region, and the arrangement process of the camera and the display is difficult and the workability is very deteriorated.

The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and has an object to provide a vehicle black box device capable of monitoring a blind spot that can effectively acquire images of both sides and rear while having a simple structure.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle black box device capable of monitoring a blind spot that allows a driver to focus on driving without arranging additional components inside the vehicle.

A feature of a vehicle black box device capable of monitoring a blind spot according to the present invention for achieving the above object is: a first camera for photographing the periphery of the vehicle from left to rear; A second camera for photographing the periphery of the vehicle from right to rear; A control unit that generates an image from the images captured by the first and second cameras; And it includes a display unit for displaying the image generated by the control unit, the rear-side photographing area of the first camera is set to overlap with the rear-side photographing area of the second camera, the control unit in the first and second cameras In the photographed image, an overlapping rear image region is synthesized to generate an image connected from left to right of the vehicle.

Preferably, the display unit may be arranged to replace the position of the room mirror of the vehicle.

Preferably, the first camera and the second camera may include a lens having an angle of view of 90 ° or more so that the photographing area partially overlaps.

Preferably, the first camera photographs an area from the left side to the rear side of the vehicle while periodically rotating horizontally at a predetermined angle, and the second camera periodically rotates at a predetermined angle horizontally from the right side of the vehicle. The area up to the rear side can be photographed.

More preferably, the rotation period between the first camera and the second camera is set such that the timing at which the first camera photographs the rear side of the vehicle and the timing at which the second camera photographs the rear side of the vehicle are synchronized. Can be set.

More preferably, the first camera and the second camera are disposed symmetrically on the left and right sides of the rear of the vehicle, the first camera is disposed on the left rear of the vehicle, and the second camera is the rear right of the vehicle Can be placed on.

More preferably, the first camera and the second camera are disposed symmetrically on the left and right sides of the roof of the vehicle, the first camera is disposed on the rear left side of the roof, and the second camera is the rear right side of the roof. Can be placed on.

More preferably, the first camera and the second camera may be arranged to be tilted up and down by a certain angle.

Preferably, the control unit includes an image compensator for homography the images captured by the first camera and the second camera, and a rear surface overlapped by images captured by the first camera and the second camera, respectively. A video combining unit for generating a single image by synthesizing a side image area, rearranging the output of the image compensating unit to the single image, and synthesizing the image combining unit from the left to the right of the vehicle into a connected image, It may be provided with a storage unit for storing.

Preferably, the display unit may further display a virtual model of the vehicle and a lane of a road on which the vehicle travels while displaying the image synthesized by the image synthesis unit.

The black box device for a vehicle capable of monitoring a blind spot according to the present invention is implemented in a display unit as a single image connected to both sides and rear from an image acquired through a plurality of cameras on the rear side of the vehicle, so that it is intuitive and accurate. Monitoring is possible.

In addition, it is possible to remove blind spots by displaying a single image leading to the left-rear-right side, and to prevent problems in safe driving through dispersion of gaze because the image is displayed at the location of the room mirror that is already familiar to the driver. You can.

In addition, the user's convenience is maximized because a mutually overlapping region of images photographed by a plurality of cameras is synthesized and implemented as a single completed image.

According to the present invention, since the rotation cycles of a plurality of cameras can be set in advance, and synchronized with the set rotation cycles, the vehicle can be easily changed and applied even if the structural specifications of the vehicle are different, and reliability of operation is guaranteed.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing a prior art camera system,

2 is a conceptual diagram of a vehicle black box device capable of monitoring a blind spot according to an embodiment of the present invention,

3 is a view illustrating an angle of view in the camera of FIG. 2 according to an embodiment,

4 is a view showing an angle of view in the camera of FIG. 2 according to another embodiment,

5 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the control unit in the apparatus according to the present invention.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent through the detailed description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the configuration and operation of the present invention shown in the drawings and described by the above description will be described as at least one embodiment. By the above, the technical idea of the present invention and its core configuration and operation are not limited.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a vehicle black box device capable of monitoring a blind spot according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention is arranged in a vehicle and provides a device capable of observing the side and rear from the inside, and it should be understood that such a vehicle includes various transportation means such as a passenger car, a truck, and heavy equipment, as well as a motorcycle or a bicycle.

The present invention is basically disposed on the rear side of the vehicle, each of which has a cross angle from the rear, and a plurality of cameras facing the rear, a control unit for processing an image photographed from the plurality of cameras, and an image processed by the control unit It comprises a display unit for displaying on the screen.

In the concept of the present invention, a plurality of cameras point to the rear side, and simultaneously photograph the side and rear during the operation of the vehicle, thereby providing the driver with a single integrated image of both sides and rear. The arrangement of the plurality of cameras will be described in more detail in the embodiments.

Various types of light detection means may be applied to the camera provided in the device of the present invention. For example, the camera may be a CCD (charge coupled device) camera. A CCD camera is a type of digital camera that converts an image into an electrical signal using a charge-coupled device (CCD) and processes it as digital data.

In addition, the camera of the present invention may employ devices capable of sensing various light such as laser, visible light or infrared light.

The display unit is disposed in the interior of the vehicle, and may be disposed as a single unit, in particular, on the front view side of the driver. The display unit may directly display the image captured from the camera or the control unit may display the synthesized image. The display unit may be an LED display.

The preferred arrangement of the display unit may be arranged in a portion adjacent to the line of sight in a range that does not interfere with the driver's front view, and most preferably may be disposed in place of the room mirror. In the present invention, the display unit is arranged to replace the position of the room mirror of the vehicle.

In the present invention, lateral and rear images are combined and displayed. This has the advantage of being able to replace the side mirror and room mirror functions provided to view the rear movement, as well as to expand the limited viewing range of the side and room mirrors.

In addition, in the present invention, since the images on both sides of the vehicle are implemented in a manner that extends to both sides in addition to the rear image, there is an advantage that substantially eliminates the risk of driving caused by the driver turning his / her eyes to both sides.

2 is a conceptual diagram of a vehicle black box device capable of monitoring a blind spot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, in an embodiment of the present invention, the detection of the first camera 110 and the second camera 120, the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 disposed in the roof or rear of the vehicle It comprises a control unit 400 for receiving a signal and performing image processing, and a display unit 200 for displaying an image generated by the control unit 400.

The first camera 110 and the second camera 120 may be arranged to face both sides, and the specific arrangement and angle of view of the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 will be described later.

It is preferable that the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 disposed on the roof of the vehicle or the rear of the vehicle are symmetrically disposed on the left and right sides. Accordingly, the first camera 110 photographs an area from the left side to the rear side of the vehicle, and the second camera 120 photographs an area from the right side to the rear side of the vehicle.

As in the example of FIG. 3, the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 are disposed symmetrically on the left and right sides of the roof of the vehicle, and the first camera 110 is disposed on the rear left side of the roof, and the second camera 120 may be disposed on the rear right side of the roof.

4, the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 are disposed symmetrically on the left and right sides of the vehicle's rear, and the first camera 110 is disposed on the left side of the vehicle's rear, and the second camera 120 may be disposed on the right side of the vehicle rear end.

As the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides, the first camera 110 faces the left and the rear, and the second camera 120 faces the right and the rear.

The control unit 400 sets the rotation cycle of the first camera 110 and the second camera 120, receives images captured by the first camera 110 and the second camera 120, and receives the images taken from the left side of the vehicle. Creates an image linked up to and provides the generated image to the display unit 200.

In particular, the control unit 400 corrects an image received from the first camera 110 and the second camera 120, and the rear side image superimposed on the image captured by the first camera 110 and the second camera 120. The regions are synthesized to create an image connected from the left side of the vehicle to the right side through the rear side. Then, the control unit 400 stores the generated image.

The control unit 400 may be connected to the power supply unit 300 to display a photographed image using power of a vehicle or power of a battery, and control to display the generated image.

The power supply unit 300 may include a battery, and may charge and use the power generated by the vehicle while driving, and use the power of the battery while stopping.

The power supply unit 300 supplies power for driving the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 under the control of the control unit 400, image processing of the control unit 400, and image display of the display unit 200. To supply.

The display unit 200 may be arranged in the form of a room mirror to output a single image signal received from the control unit 400. The display 200 may display the stored image.

3 is a view showing an angle of view in the camera of FIG. 2 according to an embodiment. In particular, FIG. 3 is an example in which the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 are symmetrically arranged in the roof of the vehicle.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 are disposed symmetrically on the left and right sides from the rear of the vehicle roof to sense images on both sides, respectively, and the rear side of the first camera 110 It is necessary to set the photographing area and the photographing area on the rear side of the second camera 120 to overlap each other.

The first camera 110 is disposed to face the left and rear, and the second camera 120 is disposed to face the right and the rear. In consideration of the distortion of the image, it is preferable that the angle of view of the image processed by the controller 400 is about 120 °, but it is not limited thereto. However, the angle of view of each camera may be formed to be 90 ° or more in consideration of overlapping regions. As such, the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 are partially overlapped so that the rear side photographing area of the first camera 110 and the rear side photographing area of the second camera 120 overlap. It is provided with a lens having an angle of view of more than °, the lens is preferably a wide-angle lens.

The first camera 110 may photograph all or a portion of the left and rear sides, and the second camera 120 may photograph all or a portion of the right and rear portions.

The first camera 110 photographs the left area (a), and the second camera 120 photographs the right area (b). In addition, within the field of view of each camera, an overlapping area c exists on the rear side.

The photographed image of the overlapping area (c) is generated as a single image through the process of correcting and synthesizing the image in the control unit 400 and is used as an image connecting from the left area (a) to the right area (b).

In the view angle range of the first camera 110 and the second camera 120, some uncovered areas may exist, and since the uncovered areas belong to a part of the vehicle, from the viewpoint of observing the side and rear vehicle surroundings Can be ignored.

As described above, the range photographed by the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 is capable of covering both the side and the rear of the vehicle in the vicinity of the vehicle, so that the square generated by the conventional side mirror and the room mirror The area can be removed.

In addition, compared to the case of the conventional side mirror replacement camera, the range of observation is significantly wider, and the entire left and right and rear centers of the vehicle in operation can be displayed as images at once.

The control unit 400 is rearward overlapped in the images captured by the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 by the arrangement structure and the angle of view of the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 described above. Side image areas can be synthesized to create an image connected from the left to the right of the vehicle.

On the other hand, in the present invention, the roof concept of a vehicle means a roof of a general vehicle, and the rear of the vehicle may be understood to include a corner of a trunk or a bumper.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, an example in which the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 are disposed on both rear sides of the vehicle roof may be suitable for a van or hatchback type vehicle in which a trunk lid does not exist. .

4 is a view illustrating an angle of view in the camera of FIG. 2 according to another embodiment. In particular, FIG. 4 is an example in which the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 are symmetrically arranged at the rear of the vehicle.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 are disposed at corner portions on both sides of the rear of the vehicle.

As in FIG. 3, the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 are directed to the left side, the rear side, and the right side and rear, respectively, and the images captured by the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 are controlled. It is synthesized by 400 and is generated as an image connected from left to right of the vehicle.

The left region (a), which is the region detected by the first camera 110, and the right region (b), which is the region detected by the second camera 120, have an overlapping region (c).

Synthesis of the image based on the overlapping region (c) is the same as that described in FIG. 3, so a description thereof will be omitted.

When the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 are disposed at the corners on both sides of the rear of the vehicle, the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 are disposed on both sides of the rear of the roof. In comparison, you can use a lens with a wider angle of view of the cameras or set a larger rotation angle. This is because when the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 are disposed at corner portions on both sides of the rear of the vehicle, an uncovered area may be generated in a portion not belonging to the vehicle.

The first camera 110 and the second camera 120 having the structures illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the present invention rotate horizontally and periodically at a predetermined angle to photograph the left and right sides and the rear side around the vehicle. The first camera 110 photographs the area from the left side to the rear side of the vehicle while periodically rotating horizontally at a predetermined angle, and the second camera 120 rotates periodically at a certain angle horizontally and rearward from the right side of the vehicle. The area up to the side is photographed.

When the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 rotate periodically to photograph both sides and the rear side, the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 must photograph the rear side at the same timing. . This is a condition that is required when a single image is generated by synthesizing the rearward image area overlapped by the control unit 400.

Therefore, the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 so that the timing at which the first camera 110 photographs the rear side of the vehicle and the timing at which the second camera 120 photographs the rear side of the vehicle are synchronized. Set the rotation cycle. Therefore, the time point at which the first camera 110 rotates at the maximum angle to photograph the rear side and the time point at which the second camera 120 rotates at the maximum angle to photograph the rear side are coincident.

The device of the present invention may be provided with a rotation guide for rotation of the first camera 110 and the second camera 120, the rotation guide may be made of a guide rail or a slit.

As a further example, the photographing ranges of the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 need to be extended up and down by a certain angle according to the height of the vehicle. To this end, the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 may be disposed to be tilted up and down by a predetermined angle.

The device of the present invention may further include an elevating guide for vertical tilting of the first camera 110 and the second camera 120, and the elevating guide may be formed in a guide rail or a slit form.

The rotation and tilting of the above-described camera may be implemented by the rotational force of the motor, and the driving of the motor is controlled by the control unit 400.

Referring to FIG. 5, the control unit 400 processes and stores an image input from the camera and outputs it through the display unit 200 at the same time.

In this process, a configuration for correcting and synthesizing images collected from two cameras is included. Accordingly, the control unit 400 includes an image compensating unit 420, an image synthesizing unit 430, and a storage unit 440. It is configured by.

The image compensator 420 flattens (homography) the images captured by the first camera 110 and the second camera 120, respectively.

The image synthesizing unit 430 generates a single image by synthesizing the rear image regions overlapping the images captured by the first camera 110 and the second camera 120, respectively, and compensating the image to the generated single image. Rearranges the output of and synthesizes the connected images from left to right of the vehicle.

In the process of generating a single image, the image synthesizing unit 430 limits an unnecessary image area, and generates a single image interconnected from an image in the left area to an image in the right area including the image in the overlapped area.

For example, when the image synthesis unit 430 overlaps an image on one side of the left region (a) and an image on the other side of the right region (b), the two images are mutually matched to determine the overlapped region (c). At this time, it is preferable that the image synthesis unit 430 performs correction on a distorted range, in particular, an edge region to which an image is connected.

Since the single image generated by the image synthesizing unit 430 simultaneously shows both the rear and the both sides, distortion may occur when implemented in the display unit 200 having a flat shape. Therefore, it is corrected to a perspective three-dimensional shape through the planarization of the image correction unit 430.

The storage unit 440 stores the output of the image synthesis unit 430. In addition, the storage unit 440 may store images captured by the first camera 110 and the second camera 120, respectively.

The display unit 200 may directly display the output of the image synthesizing unit 430, or display the image stored in the storage unit 440, and photographed by the first camera 110 and the second camera 120 It is also possible to display each image. It is preferably controlled according to the display mode.

When the composite image is displayed by the image synthesizing unit 430, the display unit 200 virtually further displays a virtual model of the vehicle and the lane of the road on which the vehicle travels while displaying the synthesized image. desirable.

When the display unit 200 displays an image in a specific mode, the brightness and contrast of the displayed image may be adjusted according to the amount of ambient light to facilitate identification of the driver.

The device according to the present invention described above has an advantage of easy and accurate external monitoring because it displays images connected through both cameras to both sides and rear. Specifically, it is displayed as a single image that leads to the left-rear-right-side, so that a blind spot can be removed.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, but a person having ordinary knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains will be able to implement in a modified form without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention.

Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention described herein should be considered from a descriptive point of view rather than a limiting point of view, and the scope of the present invention is shown in the claims rather than the above description, and all differences within the equivalent ranges of the present invention It should be interpreted as being included in.

The black box device for a vehicle capable of monitoring a blind spot according to the present invention can be variously applied to a vehicle, as well as a moving object such as a ship or aircraft.

Claims

A first camera that photographs the surroundings of the vehicle from left to rear;

A second camera for photographing the periphery of the vehicle from right to rear;

A control unit that generates an image from the images captured by the first and second cameras; And

It includes a display unit for displaying the image generated by the control unit,

The rear-side photographing area of the first camera is set to overlap with the rear-side photographing area of the second camera,

The control unit is a black box device for a blind spot monitoring, characterized in that to generate a connected image from the left and right of the vehicle by synthesizing the rear image region overlapping from the images captured by the first and second cameras.
According to claim 1,

The display unit,

Vehicle black box device capable of monitoring a blind spot, characterized in that it is arranged to replace the position of the room mirror of the vehicle.
According to claim 1,

The first camera and the second camera,

A black box device for a vehicle capable of monitoring a blind spot, characterized in that it has a lens having a viewing angle of 90 ° or more so that the photographing area partially overlaps.
According to claim 1,

The first camera periodically rotates horizontally at a predetermined angle to photograph an area from the left side to the rear side of the vehicle,

The second camera is a black box device capable of monitoring a blind spot, characterized in that it periodically rotates horizontally at a predetermined angle and photographs an area from the right side to the rear side of the vehicle.
The method of claim 4,

It is characterized in that the first camera and the second camera are rotated so that the timing at which the first camera photographs the rear side of the vehicle and the timing at which the second camera photographs the rear side of the vehicle are synchronized. Vehicle black box device capable of monitoring blind spots.
The method of claim 4,

The first camera and the second camera,

Is disposed symmetrically to the left and right from the rear of the vehicle,

The first camera is disposed at the rear left side of the vehicle, and the second camera is a vehicle black box device capable of monitoring a blind spot, characterized in that it is disposed at the rear right side of the vehicle.
The method of claim 4,

The first camera and the second camera,

In the roof of the vehicle is disposed symmetrically to the left and right,

The first camera is disposed on the rear left side of the roof, and the second camera is disposed on the rear right side of the roof.
The method of claim 7,

The first camera and the second camera,

Vehicle black box device capable of monitoring a blind spot, characterized in that it can be tilted up and down by a certain angle.
According to claim 1,

The control unit,

An image compensating unit that flattens (homography) images captured by the first camera and the second camera,

A single image is generated by synthesizing the rear image regions overlapping from the images captured by the first camera and the second camera, rearranging the output of the image correction to the single image, and from the left side of the vehicle. A video synthesis unit that synthesizes images connected to the right,

A black box device capable of monitoring a blind spot, comprising a storage unit for storing the output of the image synthesis unit.
According to claim 1,

The display unit,

A black box device capable of monitoring a blind spot, characterized by further displaying a virtual model of the vehicle and a lane of a road on which the vehicle travels while displaying the image synthesized by the image synthesis unit.