JP2007148618A - Vehicle periphery monitoring system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle periphery monitoring system capable of enhancing safety of a vehicle, allowing not only a driver but also other occupants to surely look back when getting out of the vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: Before doors FRD, FLD, RRD, RLD of the stopped vehicle 300 are opened, images in the rear of side mirrors provided on the vehicle 300 are taken by cameras CAMR and CAML and displayed on displays DSF and DSR provided within the vehicle. According to this, not only the driver but also an occupant in the front passenger seat or the rear seat can see the images in the rear of the side mirrors, and not only the driver but also other occupants can surely look back when getting out of the vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle periphery monitoring system, and more particularly to a vehicle periphery monitoring system that can monitor a situation around the vehicle when the vehicle is parked or stopped.

The driver of the vehicle uses the door mirrors installed on both sides of the vehicle and the rearview mirrors installed in the passenger compartment to check the safety of the rear side of the vehicle. In order to assist, a technique is known in which a camera is mounted on a vehicle door mirror or the like to capture an image around the vehicle, and the image is displayed on a display device installed in the vehicle interior (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).
JP 2001-301737 A

By the way, the vehicle periphery monitoring technology using the camera as described above is for assisting the driver in confirming the periphery of the vehicle, and when the vehicle is traveling backward (including when traveling backward) or when getting off the vehicle. Useful for backward confirmation.
On the other hand, it is difficult for other occupants who have boarded the passenger seat or the rear seat of the vehicle to check backward using the door mirror or the rearview mirror when getting off the vehicle door. Further, in a vehicle of a type in which the rear situation is difficult to visually recognize, there are cases where the rear confirmation before opening the door cannot be sufficiently performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the object of the present invention is to ensure that not only the driver but also the passenger of the vehicle get out of the vehicle more reliably in the vicinity of the door and behind the door. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle periphery monitoring system capable of increasing the safety of a possible vehicle.

The vehicle periphery monitoring system according to the present invention is a display device provided in the vehicle by capturing an image of at least a peripheral region of the vehicle door with an image pickup means before the door of the vehicle in a stopped state is opened. It is characterized by being displayed.
According to this configuration, after the vehicle stops and before the door of the vehicle is opened, not only the driver but also the passenger in the passenger seat and the rear seat can see an image of at least the surrounding area of the door, It is possible to more reliably check the rear when not only the passenger but also other passengers get off the vehicle or when the door is opened.

The said structure WHEREIN: The structure which displays the image of the at least peripheral area | region of the door opened among the some doors with which the said vehicle is displayed on the said display apparatus is employable.
According to this configuration, since only an image of at least the peripheral area of the door on the exit side is automatically displayed, it is possible to easily grasp the situation on the side of the exit door.

In the above configuration, an approaching object detection unit that detects an approaching object approaching from the rear of the vehicle is provided, and when the approaching object detection unit detects an approaching object in at least a peripheral region of the door, an image of the approaching object is provided. Is displayed on the display device.
According to this configuration, it is possible not only to let the occupant recognize the situation behind the vehicle by automatically notifying the occupant by an image display that a vehicle or a person has approached from behind while the vehicle is parked or stopped. Attention can be given to passengers before getting off.

In the above configuration, the display device includes first and second screens that can be viewed from different fields of view on the common display unit, and the field of view of the door on the door side that is opened among the first and second screens. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which an image of at least the peripheral area of the door is displayed only on the screen.
According to this configuration, when a so-called multi-view display device is mounted on a vehicle, an image behind the vehicle is displayed only on the screen on the side of getting off, and the screen on the side not getting off does not change depending on the passenger getting off. Specifically, for example, when the passenger on the passenger seat gets off while the navigation image is displayed on the screen on the driver seat side, the navigation image on the driver seat side is maintained as it is.

In the above configuration, the display device includes first and second screens that can be viewed from different fields of view on a common display unit, and is disposed on the door side of the first and second screens where an approaching object approaches. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which an image of at least the peripheral area of the door is displayed only on the screen in the field of view of the seat.
According to this configuration, when a so-called multi-view display device is mounted on a vehicle, at least an image around the door is displayed only on the screen on the exit side, so that the person who gets off can be alerted.

In the above configuration, the imaging unit may employ a configuration provided in the door mirror.
According to this structure, the surroundings of the doors on both sides of the vehicle can be imaged by providing the imaging means on the door mirror.

  The said structure WHEREIN: When a passenger | crew exists in the seat corresponding to the door opened, the structure which displays an image is employable.

  According to the vehicle periphery monitoring method of the present invention, an image of a rear area of a door provided in the vehicle is taken and displayed on a display device provided in the vehicle before the vehicle door is opened after the vehicle stops. It is characterized by that.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the vehicle periphery monitoring system which can improve the safety | security of the vehicle which can confirm a door periphery and back more reliably not only when it is a driver | operator but a passenger of a vehicle gets off from a vehicle is obtained. .

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 to 4 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle periphery monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a vehicle periphery of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle to which the monitoring system is applied, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a camera installed on a door mirror, and FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a structure of a display device installed in the vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this vehicle periphery monitoring system includes a monitoring ECU (monitoring electronic control unit) 10, a plurality of cameras CAMR and CAML as imaging means, a front display DSF and a rear display DSR as display devices, and an approach. It consists of a rear detection radar RD as an object detection means.

As shown in FIG. 2, the monitoring ECU 10 is mounted on the vehicle 300 and includes hardware such as a processor and a memory and necessary software, and comprehensively controls the vehicle periphery monitoring system.
As shown in FIG. 1, the monitoring ECU 10 includes a navigation system 220, an automatic transmission control device (ETC • ECU) 200, an engine control device (EG • ECU) 210, a door lock / unlock sensor DLS (hereinafter referred to as a lock). Various information is inputted from a sensor DLS), a door courtesy DK, a rear detection radar RD, an occupant detection sensor 50, and the like.
Further, the monitoring ECU 10 can display captured images input from the cameras CAMR and CAML on the front display DSF and the rear display DSR.
The processing by the monitoring ECU 10 will be described later.

  The cameras CAMR and CAML are respectively provided on door mirrors DMR and DML provided on the left and right sides of the vehicle 300 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the left and right sides of the vehicle 300 are shown in FIG. The area around the door and the rear area is imaged in a range of predetermined visual fields SFR and SFL. Cameras CAMR and CAML are arranged so as to capture images up to the lower end side of each door FRD, FLD, RRD, and RLD of vehicle 300.

As shown in FIG. 2, the front display DSF is arranged on the dashboard portion so that it can be visually recognized from the driver seat DS and the passenger seat PS located at the front of the vehicle 300.
The rear display DSR is disposed slightly in front of the rear right seat RRS and the rear left seat RLS so that the rear display DSR can be seen from the rear right seat RRS and the rear left seat RLS located at the rear of the vehicle 300, respectively.

The front display DSF and the rear display DSR are formed of, for example, a so-called multi-view display as shown in FIG. 4, and includes a display unit 100, a display control unit 110, and the like.
The display control unit 110 is supplied with the image data (image signal) DT1 from the first image source 120A and the image data (image signal) DT2 from the second image source 120B. The image data (image signal) ADT composed of the image data DT 1 and DT 2 is output to the common display unit 100.
The first and second image sources 120A and 120B are composed of a plurality of sources such as a TV receiver, a DVD playback device, a hard disk playback device, and a navigation system.

  The display unit 100 includes a liquid crystal panel, a backlight, a parallax barrier, and the like. The viewer OBR can visually recognize the first image IM1 based on the first image data DT1 from the right direction and the second image data DT2. Is displayed on the common display screen so that the observer OBL can visually recognize from the left direction. Note that a multi-view display using a parallax barrier is a known technique, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, by configuring the front display DSF and the rear display DSR with multi-view displays, the passengers in the driver seat DS and the passenger seat PS and the passengers in the rear right seat RRS and the rear left seat RLS see different images, respectively. be able to. For example, while the map screen of the navigation system 220 is displayed on the screen on the driver seat DS side of the front display DSF, the TV screen or DVD image is displayed on the screen on the passenger seat PS side. Different images can be seen simultaneously with the passenger in the passenger seat PS. The same applies to the rear right seat RRS and the rear left seat RLS.

  The rear detection radar RD detects, for example, an approaching object behind the vehicle 300 by outputting a millimeter wave radar to the rear of the vehicle 300 and detecting a signal returned from the approaching object such as the following vehicle. To do. This rear detection radar RD constantly scans the left and right behind the vehicle 300 at a predetermined cycle, and an approaching object such as a vehicle or a person is detected in the visual field SFR or the visual field SFL from the detection signal of the rear detection radar RD. It is possible to detect approaching.

  Although not shown, the occupant detection sensor 50 is provided in each of the driver seat DS, the passenger seat PS, the rear right seat RRS, and the rear left seat RLS, and detects whether the occupant is seated in each seat. Thereby, it can be detected in which seat the passenger of the vehicle 300 is sitting.

  The lock sensor DLS is a sensor that detects whether a lock mechanism provided in each door FRD, FLD, RRD, RLD of the vehicle 300 is in an activated state or in a released state. Output a release signal. The monitoring ECU 10 can detect the state of the lock mechanism of each door FRD, FLD, RRD, RLD by a signal from the lock sensor DLS.

  The door courtesy DK is a sensor that is provided in each of the doors FRD, FLD, RRD, and RLD of the vehicle 300 and detects the open / closed state of each of the doors FRD, FLD, RRD, and RLD. The monitoring ECU 10 can detect the open / closed state of each door FRD, FLD, RRD, RLD by a signal from the door courtesy DK.

The navigation system 220 is mounted on the vehicle 300 and supplies map information, current position information of the vehicle 300, and the like to the front display DSF and the rear display DSR.
The ETC / ECU 200 controls the automatic transmission of the vehicle 300, but provides position information of the shift lever to the monitoring ECU 10.
The EG / ECU 210 controls the engine of the vehicle 300, but provides information such as engine stop and start to the monitoring ECU 10.

Next, an example of the vehicle periphery monitoring process by the monitoring ECU 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Note that the monitoring process routine 1 shown in FIG. 5 is executed every predetermined time.
First, as shown in FIG. 5, it is determined whether the vehicle 300 has stopped (step ST1). Whether the vehicle has stopped can be determined from, for example, information that the engine has stopped, information that the shift lever has moved to the parking range, or that the IG has turned on from the IG on state. If the vehicle is not stopped, the process is terminated.

  When the vehicle stops, it is determined whether or not there is a door lock release signal (step ST2). If there is no door lock release signal, it is determined that there is no passenger getting off from the doors FRD, FLD, RRD, RLD, and the process is terminated.

If there is a door lock release signal from any of the doors FRD, FLD, RRD, and RLD, it is determined whether there is an occupant in the corresponding seat (step ST3). Here, the corresponding seats are the driver seat DS in the case of the door FRD, the passenger seat PS in the case of the door FLD, the rear right seat RRS in the case of the door RRD, and the rear left seat RLS in the case of the door RLD.
When the door locks of the doors FRD and RRD located on the right side of the vehicle are released, the right camera CAMR is activated, and when the door locks of the doors FLD and RLD located on the left side of the vehicle are released. Activates the left camera CAML (step ST4).

Next, a vehicle rear image is displayed on the screen corresponding to the passenger's seat to get off of the four screens of the front display DSF and the rear display DSR (step ST5).
Specifically, the screen on the driver's seat DS side of the front display DSF when the door lock of the door FRD is released, and the screen on the passenger seat PS side of the front display DSF when the door lock of the door FLD is released. When the door lock of the door RRD is released, the screen on the rear right seat RRS side of the rear display DSR is displayed. When the door lock of the door RLD is released, the screen on the rear left seat RLS side of the rear display DSR is displayed. indicate.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, while the navigation image is displayed on the screen DI on the driver seat DS side of the front display DSF and the DVD image is displayed on the screen PI on the passenger seat PS side, the door lock of the door FLD is released. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, the rear image on the left side of the vehicle 300 is displayed on the screen PI on the passenger seat PS side while the screen DI on the driver seat DS side is kept as it is.
Therefore, the passenger in the passenger seat PS can get off the vehicle by opening the door FLD after confirming the safety on the left rear side of the vehicle 300 by viewing the image displayed on the screen PI on the passenger seat PS side. At this time, the passenger in the driver seat DS can continue to view the navigation image.

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), when a DVD image is displayed on each of the screen RRI of the rear right seat RRS and the screen RLI of the rear left seat RLS of the rear display DSR, the rear right seat RRS side door When the door lock of the RRD is released, as shown in FIG. 7B, the right rear image of the vehicle 300 is displayed on the screen RRI of the rear right seat RRS without changing the screen RLI on the rear left seat RLS side. The
Therefore, the passenger in the rear right seat RRS can get off by opening the door RRD after confirming safety on the right rear side of the vehicle 300 by viewing the image displayed on the screen RRI of the rear right seat RRS. At this time, the passenger in the rear left seat RLS can continue to watch the DVD image.
The same applies to the case where the door locks of the driver seat DS and the rear left seat RLS are released.

Next, it is determined whether the opening / closing of the door whose door lock is released is completed (step ST6). That is, it is determined whether the occupant has finished getting off. This determination can be made based on, for example, a signal from a door courtesy DK provided on each door door FRD, FLD, RRD, RLD.
When the passenger gets off the vehicle, the display of the vehicle rear image on the front display DSF or the rear display DSR is terminated (step ST7). The activated camera CAMR or camera CAML is also stopped.

Next, another example of the vehicle periphery monitoring process by the monitoring ECU 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
Note that the monitoring process routine 2 shown in FIG. 8 is executed every predetermined time. In this example, processing when an approaching object approaching from the rear of the vehicle 300 is detected will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 8, it is first determined whether or not the vehicle 300 has stopped (step ST11). If the vehicle has stopped, the detection signal of the rear detection radar RD indicates that another vehicle, person, etc. It is determined whether or not an approaching object is approaching (step ST12). If it is not approaching, the process is terminated, and if an approaching object is detected, it is determined whether the approaching object is approaching the vehicle 300 from the right side or approaching from the left side ( Step ST13).

  When approaching from the right side, the right camera CAMR is activated (step ST14), and when approaching from the left side, the left camera CAML is activated (step ST15).

Next, a vehicle rear image is displayed on a screen corresponding to a passenger's seat to get off of the four screens of the front display DSF and the rear display DSR (step ST16). For example, when the approaching object is approaching from the right side, the screen on the right side of the front display DSF and the rear display DSR. When the approaching object is approaching from the left side, the left side of the front display DSF and the rear display DSR is An image of an approaching object is displayed on the screen.
Thereby, it is possible to notify each occupant that an object is approaching the door before opening the door.
At this time, it may be configured to detect whether there is an occupant in each seat and not display it on the screen corresponding to the seat without the occupant.

  Next, when a predetermined time (for example, about 30 seconds) has elapsed since the display of the rear image of the vehicle 300 was started, the display is terminated (step ST18).

  In the above embodiment, the case where the door to be opened is determined by releasing the door lock has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the seat belt is attached and detached, detected by the camera, or each seat is alighted. Various methods such as providing a notification switch can be adopted.

  In the above embodiment, the case where a multi-view display is adopted as the display device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a single view display can also be used. In this case, it is possible to divide the screen into left and right and display a vehicle rear image on one or a part thereof, and display a DVD image or a navigation image on the other.

  Moreover, although the case where a vehicle rear image is displayed every time the door is opened and closed has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the location where the vehicle parks needs to monitor the rear region of the door mirror. It is good also as a structure which judges whether it is a place and displays the image of the back area | region of a door mirror on a display apparatus, only when it judges that it is a required place. For example, by setting a parking lot other than on the road as a place where monitoring of the rear area is unnecessary in advance, the vehicle rear image is not automatically displayed on the display device at the unnecessary place. Advantages such as being able to suppress the increase in the amount are obtained. In addition, information on the parking location of the vehicle can be obtained from a navigation system or the like.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the vehicle rear image is displayed every time the door is opened and closed is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is received that the shift lever has moved from other than the P range to the P range, and When the presence of the occupant is detected by the occupant detection sensor, the rear image of the vehicle is displayed on the corresponding screen, or the IG is changed from the on state to the off state, and the occupant detection sensor detects the presence of the occupant In some cases, it is also possible to adopt a configuration such as displaying a vehicle rear image on a corresponding screen.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the rear detection radar RD is used as the approaching object detection unit has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the approaching object approaches from either the left or right of the rear of the vehicle. Any sensor can be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the present invention is applied to the case of opening and closing the door of the vehicle has been described.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle periphery monitoring system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the vehicle to which the vehicle periphery monitoring system of this invention was applied. It is a figure which shows the camera installed in the door mirror on either side. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the display apparatus installed in a vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process by monitoring ECU. It is a figure which shows an example of the image display on a front display. It is a figure which shows an example of the image display on a rear display. It is a flowchart which shows the other example of the process by ECU for monitoring.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... ECU for monitoring
50 ... Occupant detection sensor 100 ... Display unit 110 ... Display control unit 200 ... ETC / ECU
210 ... EG / ECU
220 ... Navigation system 300 ... Vehicle DMR, DML ... Door mirror FRD, FLD, RRD, RLD ... Door CAMR, CAML ... Camera (imaging means)
DK ... Door courtesy DLS ... Lock sensor DSF ... Front display (display device)
DSR ... Rear display (display device)
SFR, SFL ... Field of view RD ... Backward detection radar

Claims (8)

Before the door of the vehicle in a stopped state is opened, an image of at least a peripheral region of the vehicle door is captured by an imaging unit and displayed on a display device provided in the vehicle.
A vehicle periphery monitoring system characterized by that. The vehicle periphery monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein an image of at least a peripheral area of the door that is opened among the plurality of doors provided in the vehicle is displayed on the display device. An approaching object detecting means for detecting an approaching object approaching from the rear of the vehicle;
2. The vehicle periphery monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein when the approaching object detection means detects an approaching object in at least a peripheral region of the door, an image of the approaching object is displayed on the display device. . The display device includes first and second screens that can be viewed from different fields of view on a common display unit,
The vehicle periphery monitoring according to claim 2, wherein an image of at least a peripheral region of the door is displayed only on a screen in a field of view of the door on the door side to be opened, of the first and second screens. system. The display device includes first and second screens that can be viewed from different fields of view on a common display unit, and is disposed on the door side of the first and second screens where the approaching object approaches. The vehicle periphery monitoring system according to claim 3, wherein an image of at least a peripheral region of the door is displayed only on a screen in a field of view of the seat. The vehicle periphery monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the imaging unit is provided on a door mirror of the vehicle. The vehicle periphery monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein an image is displayed when an occupant is present in a seat corresponding to the door to be opened. Before the door of the vehicle in a stopped state is opened, an image of at least the peripheral area of the vehicle door is taken and displayed on a display device provided in the vehicle.
The vehicle periphery monitoring method characterized by the above-mentioned.

Images