JP4211562B2 - Vehicle periphery monitoring device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle periphery monitoring device that monitors the surroundings of a vehicle.

  Conventionally, as a vehicle periphery monitoring device, for example, there are a front camera for photographing the front of the vehicle, a back camera for photographing the rear of the vehicle, a corner sonar and a back sonar for detecting an obstacle by ultrasonic waves.

  Images taken by the front camera and the back camera are usually displayed on a monitor of a car navigation system, and the detection result by the corner sonar and the back sonar (ultrasonic sensor) is notified to the driver by a buzzer and a display.

  These notification timings are after an ignition switch (hereinafter referred to as IG) is turned on in the front camera. When the IG is turned on, the car navigation is activated, and the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the predetermined vehicle speed, an image taken by the front camera is displayed on the car navigation monitor. In the back camera, after the IG is turned on, in the case of a so-called automatic vehicle, the shift is further set to “R (reverse)” so that an image photographed by the back camera is displayed on the monitor.

  Also in back sonar and corner sonar, when the shift is set to other than “P (parking)” after IG is turned on, back sonar and corner sonar are activated (in “R”, back sonar and corner sonar are “D”). (Drive) ”corner sonar is activated) and the driver is notified of the obstacle detection result.

  As described above, the conventional periphery monitoring device operates after the IG is turned on or when the vehicle starts to move, such as when the shift position is other than P, and notifies the user of the surrounding situation. It was like that. For this reason, the user cannot recognize the surrounding situation of the vehicle unless it is just before the vehicle starts to move.

  In addition, as described above, when the camera image is displayed on the monitor of the car navigation system, it takes time to start the car navigation system even if the IG is turned on. It took time. Even when the shift position is moved, there is a time lag in the display of the back camera image, and it is not displayed instantaneously.

  As described above, in the conventional periphery monitoring device, the start timing of the camera, the monitor, etc. is set when the vehicle starts moving, or there is a time lag until the monitor display, so the user is alerted in advance of the surrounding situation. Couldn't do enough.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle periphery monitoring device that can alert a driver in advance of a vehicle periphery condition even if the vehicle does not start to move.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the first detecting means for detecting that an occupant is about to get on the vehicle by recognizing that the door is in the unlocked state. (1) and second detection means (2) for detecting that an occupant has entered the vehicle by recognizing that the door is closed from the open state, and the periphery of the vehicle a peripheral monitoring unit that monitors, receives a notification means for notifying the monitoring result of the peripheral monitoring unit to the passenger, the first detection result by the first detecting means, the peripheral monitoring unit in response to the first detection result Control means for receiving the second detection result by the second detection means and controlling the notification means to notify the occupant of the monitoring result by the periphery monitoring means in accordance with the second detection result. And the peripheral monitoring hand Stage is characterized by the ultrasonic sensor (6, 7) der Rukoto for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle by emitting ultrasound.

  That is, in the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus of the present invention, when the first detection means detects that an occupant is about to get on the vehicle, the control means receives the detection result and activates the periphery monitoring means. Then, when the second detecting means detects that an occupant has entered the vehicle, the control means receives the detection result and activates the notifying means, and the notifying means informs the occupant of the monitoring result by the periphery monitoring means. It has come to inform.

  Thus, since the periphery monitoring device of the present invention sets the timing for starting the periphery monitoring means and the timing for notifying the passenger by the notification means, vehicles such as IG on, shift position movement, etc. Even if it is not a condition to start moving, the driver can be notified in advance of the situation around the vehicle and can be alerted.

For example, it can be used as shown in claim 2, a buzzer for notifying the detection result of the obstacle by the ultrasonic sensor as a broadcast intellectual means (9a) or indicator of (9b).

  In addition, the code | symbol in the bracket | parenthesis of each said means shows the correspondence with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the present embodiment includes a first detection unit that detects that a user (occupant) is about to get on the vehicle, a second detection unit that detects that the user is on the vehicle, Periphery monitoring means for monitoring the periphery of the vehicle, notification means for notifying the user of the monitoring result of the periphery monitoring means, and control means are provided.

  The first detection means is a door lock centralized management ECU 1 mounted on the vehicle. The door lock centralized management ECU 1 recognizes that the vehicle has changed from the door locked state to the unlocked state. In the present embodiment, the fact that the occupant intends to get on the vehicle means that the vehicle has changed from the door locked state to the unlocked state.

  The second detection means is an ECU 2 that is mounted on the vehicle and includes a door courtesy switch input that recognizes the door courtesy switch. The ECU 2 including the input of the door courtesy switch is an ECU in which the input of the door courtesy switch is performed, and recognizes the open / closed state of the door of the vehicle. When the ECU 1 also serves as an input to the door courtesy switch, the ECU 2 may not be provided. In the present embodiment, the fact that an occupant gets into the vehicle means that the door is closed from the open state of the vehicle.

  Two types of surrounding monitoring means are mounted on the vehicle. One is a front camera 3 attached to the front bumper 11 of the vehicle, a back camera 4 attached to the rear bumper 12, and a fisheye camera 5 attached to both the left and right door mirrors 13. The front camera 3 and the back camera 4 can photograph the front and rear regions of the vehicle as shown by the hatched lines in FIG. The fish-eye camera 5 can shoot a wide area, and can shoot almost the entire area on both the left and right sides of the vehicle as shown by the oblique lines in FIG. Thus, the surroundings of the vehicle can be photographed by these cameras 3, 4, and 5.

  The other is the back sonar 6 and the corner sonar 7. The back sonar 7 is attached to the rear bumper 12, and the corner sonar 7 is attached to both ends of the front bumper 11 and the rear bumper 12, respectively.

  Two types of notifying means are mounted on the vehicle. One is a monitor (display device) 8 that displays camera images taken by the cameras 3, 4, and 5. This monitor 8 is a car navigation monitor. On the display screen of the monitor 8, the screens are sequentially switched or the screen is divided, and the camera images from the cameras 3, 4, and 5 are displayed.

  The other is a buzzer 9a that notifies the detection results of the back sonar 6 and the corner sonar 7 by sound and a display 9b that displays the lamp by lighting.

  The control means is an ECU 10 mounted on the vehicle. The ECU 10 receives detection result signals from the door lock centralized control ECU 1 and the ECU 2 including the door courtesy switch input, and in accordance with those results, the cameras 3, 4, 5. Control of activation of the back sonar 6 and corner sonar 7, display by the monitor 8, the buzzer 9a, the display 9b, and the like.

  Note that a battery (not shown) is mounted on the vehicle, and each means described above is operated by being supplied with power from the battery.

  Next, the operation of the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus configured as described above will be described. FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the notification process of the periphery monitoring result executed by the ECU 10.

  First, in step 21, the door lock centralized management ECU 1 determines whether or not the vehicle has changed from the door lock state to the unlock state. This determination is always executed by power supply from the battery, and this determination is always executed repeatedly when the door is locked.

  On the other hand, when the user changes the door from the locked state to the unlocked state, the door lock centralized management ECU 1 recognizes this, and a signal to that effect is transmitted from the door lock centralized management ECU 1 to the ECU 10. Then, the process proceeds to Step 22.

  In step 22, the ECU 10 receives a signal indicating that the door is unlocked from the door lock central control ECU 1, thereby transmitting an activation instruction signal to each of the cameras 3, 4, 5 and the sonars 5, 6. To do. In response to this, the cameras 3, 4, 5 and the sonars 5, 6 are activated. Here, the activation means that the power is turned on. Thereby, the surroundings monitoring of the vehicle by each camera 3, 4, 5 and each sonar 5, 6 will be in a standby state.

  Next, in step 23, it is determined by the ECU 2 including the door courtesy switch input whether the door is changed from the open state to the closed state.

  Therefore, when the user unlocks the door but the door is not opened, or when the door remains open and the door is not closed, it is determined as No, and each camera 3, 4, 5 and each sonar 5, 6 remain activated.

  On the other hand, when the user opens the door, sits on the seat, and closes the door, the ECU 2 including the door courtesy switch input recognizes that the door has changed from the opened state to determine Yes. At this time, a signal to that effect is transmitted from the ECU 2 including the door courtesy switch input to the ECU 10. Thereafter, the process proceeds to steps 24 and 25.

  In step 24, the ECU 10 receives a signal indicating that the door is closed from the ECU 2 including the door courtesy switch input, and transmits an operation instruction signal to the monitor 8 in response to the signal. As a result, the monitor 8 is activated, and images taken by the cameras 3, 4, and 5 are displayed on the display screen of the monitor 8. At this time, the images captured by the cameras 3, 4, and 5 are sequentially switched or displayed on the display screen in a divided manner. Note that the image photographed by the back camera 4 at this time is displayed on the monitor 8 in the case of a so-called automatic vehicle, even though the shift position is the position “P”. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 26.

  On the other hand, in step 25, after the ECU 10 receives a signal indicating that the door is closed from the ECU 2 including the door courtesy switch input, the ECU 10 receives an operation instruction signal for each of the sonars 6 and 7 in response to the signal. Send. Thereby, each sonar 6 and 7 radiates an ultrasonic wave, and detects the presence or absence of an obstacle. The sonars 6 and 7 at this time are also operated in the case of a so-called automatic vehicle even though the shift position is at the position “P”.

  Subsequently, the detection results of the sonars 6 and 7 are notified to the user by the buzzer 9a and the display 9b. Note that the notification to the user by the buzzer 9a and the display device 9b is not only when the obstacle is detected by detecting the obstacle, such as when the obstacle is detected, or when the obstacle is detected. If no error is detected, it means that there is no obstacle such as the buzzer 9a is not turned off. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 26.

  Steps 26 and 27 are processes executed after IG is turned on as in the conventional case. In step 26, the ECU that recognizes the neutral start switch determines whether or not the shift position has changed. If it is determined that the position of the shift position has changed, the process proceeds to step 27. If it is determined that there has been no change, steps 24 and 25 remain executed.

  In step 27, the ECU that recognizes the neutral start switch transmits a signal indicating the position of the shift position to the ECU 10. In response to this, the ECU 10 transmits a predetermined operation instruction to the monitor 8, the back sonar 6, and the corner sonar 7.

  Specifically, after the user turns on the IG and the shift position is set to “R”, the video of the back camera 4 is displayed on the monitor 8 and the back sonar 6 and the corner sonar 7 are also operated. When the shift position is “D”, the image of the front camera 3 is displayed on the monitor 8 and the corner sonar 7 is operated.

  In this way, the notification processing of the vehicle periphery monitoring result by the ECU 10 of the vehicle periphery monitoring device is performed.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, when the vehicle is changed from the door lock state to the unlock state in Step 21, the first detection result that the door lock central management ECU 1 is in the unlock state is transmitted to the ECU 10. . In response to the first detection result, in step 22, the ECU 10 activates the cameras 3, 4, 5 and the sonars 6, 7.

  In step 23, when the door is changed from the open state to the closed state, the ECU 2 including the door courtesy switch input transmits a second detection result indicating that the door is in the closed state. In response to the second detection result, in steps 24 and 25, the ECU 10 uses the monitor 8, buzzer 9 a, and display 9 b to display the results of monitoring the surroundings of the vehicle by the cameras 3, 4, 5 and sonar 6, 7. I am trying to inform you.

As described above, in this embodiment, the start timing of each of the cameras 3, 4, 5 and the sonars 6, 7 is set when the vehicle is changed from the door locked state to the unlocked state. In addition, the timing of notification to the user by the monitor 8, the buzzer 9a, and the display 9b is set when the door is changed from the open state to the closed state. Thus, for example, it is possible to notify the situation around the vehicle such as a child immediately behind the vehicle. That is, the driver can be alerted in advance of the situation around the vehicle (before the vehicle starts to move) even if the vehicle does not have the conditions to start moving, such as when the IG is turned on or the shift position is moved.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, when displaying a camera image on a monitor of a car navigation system, even if the car navigation system itself takes a long time to start, the user can be prompted at an earlier stage than the conventional vehicle periphery monitoring device. The vehicle surrounding situation can be notified. Similarly, when the shift position is moved, even if there is a time lag in the display of the back camera image, etc., the vehicle surrounding situation is notified to the user at an earlier stage than the conventional vehicle periphery monitoring device. be able to.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the vehicle periphery can be detected at an early stage compared to the vehicle periphery monitoring device that did not notify the vehicle periphery condition unless the vehicle starts to move as in the prior art. The situation can be notified to the user. Therefore, it can suppress that a user starts moving a car carelessly, and the safety | security at the time of vehicle start can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, the ECU 10 is described as a single unit. However, the ECU 10 may be integrated with other control means such as the monitor 8.

(Other embodiments)
In the first embodiment, the case where the door lock centralized management ECU 1 is used as the first detection unit has been described. However, as long as the user's behavior before the IG is turned on can be recognized, Things can also be used.

  For example, in a vehicle equipped with a smart key system (SMARTKEY SYSTEM (registered trademark)) as the first detection means, an ECU for a smart system that collates an ID code can be used. In this case, when an occupant intends to get on the vehicle, the smart system ECU receives the ID code signal from the smart key and then the collation between the ID code and the ID code registered in advance is completed. means.

  Further, the ECU 2 including the door courtesy switch input can also be used as the first detection means. In this case, when an occupant tries to get into the vehicle, it means that the door is opened from the closed state. The ECU 2 including the door courtesy switch input can also be used as the second detection means. In this case, the ECU 2 including the door courtesy switch input also serves as the first and second detection means.

  In addition, the passenger trying to get on the vehicle may be anything as long as the user's behavior before turning on the IG, but from the viewpoint of preventing the battery from running out, the state in which the verification with the smart key system has been completed, the door unlocked state The door is preferably open. In addition, in the state where collation with the smart key system is completed, the periphery monitoring means may be activated even when passing by the side of the vehicle. Therefore, it is more preferable to set the door unlocked state and the door open state.

  In 1st Embodiment, although the case where ECU2 containing a door courtesy switch input was used as a 2nd detection means was demonstrated, a user's behavior after getting into a car and before turning on IG can be recognized. As long as it can detect the state before the change of the shift position, another can be used as follows.

  For example, as the second detection means, a sheet detection means for detecting that the user is seated on the seat can be used. In this case, the fact that the occupant gets on the vehicle means that the user is seated on the seat.

  Moreover, IG itself can also be used as a 2nd detection means. In this case, the fact that the occupant gets on the vehicle means that the user turns on the IG.

  In the first embodiment, the case where the cameras 3, 4, 5 and the sonars 6 and 7 are used as the surrounding monitoring means has been described. However, only the cameras 3, 4, and 5 are used, or the sonar 6, 7 can also be used.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the periphery monitoring control process which ECU10 in the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus in FIG. 1 performs.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Door lock central control ECU, 2 ... ECU including door courtesy switch input,
3 ... Front camera, 4 ... Back camera, 5 ... Fisheye camera,
6 ... Back sonar, 7 ... Corner sonar, 8 ... Monitor,
9a ... buzzer, 9b ... indicator, 10 ... ECU.

Claims (2)

First detecting means (1) for detecting that an occupant is about to get on the vehicle by recognizing that the door is in an unlocked state ;
A second detection means (2) for detecting that the occupant has entered the vehicle by recognizing that the door is closed from the open state ;
A peripheral monitoring unit which monitors a periphery of the vehicle,
And notification means for notifying the monitoring result of the peripheral monitoring unit in the passenger,
The first detection result from the first detection means is received, the periphery monitoring means is activated in accordance with the first detection result, the second detection result from the second detection means is received, and the second detection result is received. Control means (10) for controlling the notification means to notify the occupant of the monitoring result by the periphery monitoring means according to the detection result of
The periphery monitoring means comprises an ultrasonic sensor (6, 7) for detecting the presence or absence of an obstacle by emitting ultrasonic der Rukoto vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus according to claim. Before SL informing means the vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a buzzer for notifying the detection result of the obstacle by the ultrasonic sensor (9a) or indicator (9b).

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