JP2010170401A - Target detecting device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the frequent occurrence of unnecessary alarms, since a target located at a remote spot becomes the object of an alarm, when a traveling direction is changed due to right and left turn, or the like, from a state such that a monitoring direction and the traveling direction are in reverse. <P>SOLUTION: When a target as the object of an alarm is extracted, when a target exists within a prescribed angle range with own vehicle traveling as a reference, the prescribed angle range in a remote region to a second reference distance (1,100m) is made narrower than an angle range (±80 degrees), in a proximity region within a first reference distance (600m) from own vehicle location, and as for the prescribed angle range in the remote region, the prescribed angle range in the second reference distance is narrowest with ±50 degrees, and when the traveling direction of a vehicle and the monitoring direction of the target has a positional relation, such that they cross at a right angle from a relation between the prescribed angle range, in the traveling direction of the vehicle and the monitoring region, of ±40 degrees, in the monitoring direction of the target, the region within the prescribed angle range in the traveling direction and the monitoring region of the target are prevented from overlapping each other in a target detecting device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a target detection apparatus and a program for detecting a surrounding target based on the current position of a vehicle. More specifically, the present invention relates to detecting a target existing around the position of the vehicle. This is related to the improvement of the range and conditions to be detected.

  Stores and holds position information of a target to be detected by a vehicle speed measuring device or the like, and issues an alarm when the current position of the vehicle detected by GPS and the position of the target are in a predetermined positional relationship. There is a target detection device as described above (for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the case of the target detection apparatus described in Patent Document 1 above, for example, when the detection target and the current position of the vehicle reach a set distance (for example, 1 km, 500 m, etc.), “500 m ahead, XX. (XX indicates that an alarm by voice such as information (loop coil or the like) for specifying a target is output, or the information on the display is output and displayed as text.

  These target detection devices, for example, inform the driver of the approach to the vehicle speed measurement device, thereby contributing to preventing the driver from unintentionally overspeeding. In particular, since the vehicle speed measuring device is generally installed in a place where the speed is likely to be exceeded, it is possible to alert the driver to the overspeed in a dangerous place. .

  In addition, the predetermined positional relationship between the current position of the host vehicle and the target is usually within a predetermined angle range with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle in addition to the distance to the target approaching the set range. May exist in the domain. This is because it is preferable that the target object that requires warning has a high possibility that the traveling vehicle will approach and pass afterwards. For example, for a target object that exists behind the traveling direction of the own vehicle. This is because it is desirable not to warn even if the distance is short.

  Furthermore, in normal vehicle travel, it is common to turn right and left at an intersection and turn 90 degrees. Therefore, for example, even if there is no target on the currently traveling road, the target is present on the road that is running after turning right and left as described above and close to the intersection. Even when the vehicle is on, it is preferable to detect it before turning right and left and issue an alarm. Therefore, in this type of apparatus, the region within a predetermined angle range with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle is set to ± 90 degrees. As a result, for example, when the vehicle's mark and the target's mark are drawn at the respective positions with the front of the vehicle traveling in front of the display screen on the display screen, An alarm target mark is drawn above the horizontal line of the display screen including the mark.

Utility model registration No. 3070388

  By the way, the vehicle speed measuring device which is one of the targets has a direction to monitor. That is, when the vehicle speed measuring device monitors the up lane of the road, the vehicle traveling in the down lane may not necessarily know the existence of the vehicle speed measuring device. Therefore, in the case of a target with such a monitoring direction, information specifying the monitoring area is registered in association with the distance to the target and an area within a predetermined angle range with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle. In addition to the above, it is also a condition that the vehicle is present in the target monitoring area, and when these three conditions are satisfied, it is determined that there is a target to be alarmed and an alarm is issued.

  At this time, if the target is a vehicle speed measuring device that emits a desired microwave, the monitoring area of the target is a range in which the emitted microwave reaches and the speed is measured, and has a certain width. There is. Therefore, the monitoring area of the target is defined by, for example, the monitoring direction of the target and the angle range on the left and right with respect to the monitoring direction (± Y degrees: Y may be changed for each target or may be fixed). The wide area can be defined using various methods such as defining the two ends of the monitoring area in two directions.

  That is, the distance between the current position of the host vehicle and the target (condition 1), the monitoring area based on the target (condition 2), and the predetermined angle range with respect to the traveling direction based on the current position of the host vehicle When all three conditions in the region (condition 3) are satisfied, the target is determined as a detection target, and control is performed to issue a predetermined alarm. Note that, for example, whether or not the target exists in a region within a predetermined angle range (for example, ± 90 degrees) with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle (condition 3) is determined by the direction of the host vehicle traveling direction from the host vehicle Judgment can be made by determining whether or not it is within ± 90 degrees with respect to the orientation of the seen target.

  As described above, when the presence / absence of a target to be alarmed is determined based on three conditions, the following problems occur. For example, when the condition 3 is in a range of ± 90 degrees with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle and the condition 2 is in a range of ± 40 degrees to the left and right of the monitoring direction, as shown in FIG. Even when the monitoring direction of the target is orthogonal, if the distance between both of the conditions 1 is satisfied, the target is detected and a warning is issued. And as shown in FIG.1 (b), even when the target object exists beside the own vehicle, it can continue issuing a warning. Therefore, the position of the vehicle in FIG. 1B is a crossroad, and when the vehicle turns right at this point, the target is present in the direction of travel after the right turn. Can know.

  However, for example, when the vehicle speed measuring device that is the target is located behind the traveling direction of the host vehicle, the vehicle turns right / left within the range in which conditions 1 and 2 at a distant position such as 1 km from the host vehicle position are satisfied. Then, the condition 3 is satisfied and an alarm is generated. This is because this type of vehicle speed measuring device is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the direction of the road because the monitoring direction is slightly toward the center of the lane, or when a right / left turn is actually made, This is due to various factors such as turning 90 degrees or more without changing the course, or the road itself being not arranged neatly like a grid. In that case, the traveling direction of the vehicle after a right turn / left turn and the monitoring direction of the vehicle speed measuring device are different by 90 degrees, and in view of the fact that the traveling direction has been rotated 90 degrees immediately before that, and that it is far away, The necessity of issuing an alarm as a target to be alarmed up to the vehicle speed measuring device is low, and the alarm concerned may be an obstacle to the user.

  In addition, these types of target detection devices of recent years have a warning system that draws the mark of the own vehicle and the mark of the target at positions on the screen corresponding to the respective positions as the display screen becomes larger. It has been. The target is also classified according to its type, and when a target with a high importance is detected, focusing control may be performed to pay attention to the mark of the target. And, if this focusing moves the map or changes the scaling, especially in a distant position, when the traveling direction and the monitoring direction differ by nearly 90 degrees, the change during the focusing is large, and the processing load Is big. In spite of such a large processing load, a target in which the traveling direction and the monitoring direction are different by nearly 90 degrees at a distant position as described above is not so important for warning. Since the meaning of the alarm is low, there is doubt about alarming as with other vehicle speed measuring devices.

  Furthermore, when the number of data to be registered increases, there is an increase in the number of situations that are detected as target objects to be alarmed and issue alarms, especially in the city center, etc. is there.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention relates to (1) position detecting means for detecting the position of the own vehicle, position information of a target object to be detected, and information for specifying a monitoring area of the target object. A database to be stored, an extraction means for extracting a target existing around the vehicle based on the current position information detected by the position detection means, and the position information of the target stored in the database; Alarm control means for performing control to output alarm information about the target extracted by the extraction means to the output means. Then, the extraction means is configured such that the distance between the current position and the position of the target is within a preset designated distance (condition 1), the own vehicle exists in the target monitoring area (condition 2), and When the target exists within a predetermined range including the vehicle traveling direction, it is extracted as a target to be alarmed (condition 3), and the vehicle traveling direction and the target monitoring direction are orthogonal to each other. When the vehicle is in the positional relationship, the monitoring area and the predetermined range are set so that the vehicle does not exist in the monitoring area or the target does not exist in the predetermined range.

  In this way, it is almost impossible to extract a target that exists in the lateral direction of the subject vehicle so that the monitoring direction of the subject is orthogonal to (or less than) the traveling direction of the subject vehicle as a target to be detected. In addition, for example, when the monitoring direction of the target existing behind the traveling direction of the host vehicle and the traveling direction of the vehicle are in the same direction (the vehicle travels in the opposite lane to the lane monitored by the target). In such a case, it is not necessary to become a target object to be alarmed even if a turn is performed by turning right and left and changing the course by 90 degrees. Therefore, it can suppress that the useless alarm which is not so meaningful occurs frequently.

  (2) The orthogonal positional relationship is a positional relationship at the specified distance set in advance, or (3) the orthogonal positional relationship is the vehicle traveling direction and the target monitoring direction. The formed angle can be 90 degrees or less. (4) Further, the monitoring area may be within a predetermined angle range based on the monitoring direction of the target, and the predetermined range may be a predetermined angle range based on the traveling direction of the host vehicle. . Setting the range in this way is preferable because the range can be easily specified by the direction and angle.

(5) The predetermined range is a predetermined angle range based on the traveling direction of the own vehicle, and the first predetermined range is the first range than the proximity region within the first reference distance from the vehicle position. A far region from a reference distance to a second reference distance (far from the first reference distance) is narrowed, and the predetermined angle range in the far region is the narrowest predetermined angle range at the second reference distance, and the traveling direction of the vehicle And the monitoring direction of the target object may be set so that the region within a predetermined angle range with respect to the traveling direction and the monitoring region of the target object do not overlap. Here, since the predetermined angle range at the second reference distance only needs to be the narrowest, the entire distant region may be the same angle range (narrower than the angle range of the close region), or the close region ( It may be gradually increased as it approaches the current position of the host vehicle, or may gradually increase gradually as it approaches the proximity region (the current position of the host vehicle) as in the embodiment. . Further, setting the area within the predetermined angle range with respect to the traveling direction and the monitoring area of the target does not overlap, in other words, the boundary line of the range based on the traveling direction and the boundary of the monitoring area of the target It can be said that the lines do not touch or intersect.

  The predetermined angle in the far field only needs to be the narrowest at the farthest second reference distance, and the range from the second reference distance to the first reference distance must be narrower than the angle range at the second reference distance. However, since the range of the predetermined angle with respect to the traveling direction suddenly changes between the near area and the far area (around the first reference distance), it is more preferable stepwise. It should be widened continuously. In addition, although the predetermined angle in the proximity region is constant in the embodiment, it may be appropriately changed in this proximity region.

  In this way, when the target is located far away from the host vehicle position by the second reference distance, the target monitoring direction is orthogonal (or less than orthogonal) to the traveling direction of the host vehicle. The target existing in the lateral direction of the host vehicle is hardly extracted as the target to be detected. In addition, for example, when the monitoring direction of the target existing behind the traveling direction of the host vehicle and the traveling direction of the vehicle are in the same direction (the vehicle travels in the opposite lane to the lane monitored by the target). In such a case, the target object to be alarmed does not have to be obtained even when a turn is performed by turning right and left at a distant position and changing the course by 90 degrees. Therefore, it can suppress that the useless alarm which is not so meaningful occurs frequently. In the proximity area, by widening the predetermined angle range with respect to the traveling direction, as described above, the target on the road having a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle is extracted as a target to be detected. (The number of cases that are extracted increases). By changing the direction of travel, the target suddenly appears (extracts), and it is possible to suppress warnings from occurring (the target in advance before changing the course). Can detect objects and alert them).

  (6) On the premise of the invention of (5), the predetermined angular range in the far region is such that the angular range at the second reference distance is the narrowest and gradually becomes wider as the first reference distance is approached. It is good to set. In this case, more preferably, the predetermined angle range at the first reference distance at the far distance is equal to the predetermined angle at the first reference distance in the close region.

  (7) On the premise of the invention of (5) or (6), the alarm by the alarm control means is a first mode for alarming a target extracted within the first reference distance, and the second There is a second mode in which a warning is given to a target extracted within a reference distance, and the first mode may be set to be easier to perceive than the second mode. The setting easy to perceive means that the first mode is more conspicuous, for example, by changing the drawing mode (shape, size, color, etc.) of the symbol of the target displayed on the display unit or zooming up. Various methods can be used, such as setting to change the way of output such as, or changing only the voice in the second mode, and changing the notification mode itself, such as voice + display unit in the first mode. In the approach area within the first reference distance, the presence of the user can be more noticed.

  (8) On the premise of the inventions of the above (5) to (7), there is provided speed detecting means for detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle. When the traveling speed is high, the second speed is higher than when the traveling speed is slow. The reference distance may be set long and the predetermined angle range may be set narrow. For example, the speed detecting means may calculate the travel distance and the time taken based on the received GPS signal, and may calculate the traveling speed therefrom, or may determine the speed separately. Further, the speed detecting means of the present invention may obtain a specific speed, or may detect whether the speed is relatively fast or slow. When the traveling speed is high, the moving distance per unit time becomes long. Therefore, the second reference distance is also made long so that a target existing at a farther place can be detected. And, for example, in places where the traveling speed is fast compared to ordinary roads such as highways, the roads are not so curved and there are few places that are curved, and the course is greatly changed like turning left and right at intersections on ordinary roads. Therefore, the predetermined angle range is narrowed to suppress detection of a target in a place other than the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling.

  (9) On the premise of the above inventions (5) to (8), the monitoring area of the target is a range of ± N degrees with respect to the monitoring direction set for the target (in the embodiment, N = 40), the predetermined angle range at the second reference distance may be ± (90−N) degrees. In this way, while expanding the area to be detected at the second reference distance, even if there is the above problem (direction change (rotation in the traveling direction)), the target whose traveling direction and monitoring direction were opposite before the rotation Can be prevented from being recognized as an alarm target.

(10) Based on the above inventions (5) to (9), the predetermined angle range at the first reference distance is ± M degrees, the first reference distance is X1 [m], and the second reference distance is X2 [ m], the predetermined distance range at a position X [m] away from the current position of the far field is
−M degree + ((X−X1) / (X2−X1) × (MN) degree)
~ M degree + ((X-X1) / (X2-X1) x (MN) degree)
It is good to do. In this way, a relatively wide detection range is obtained in the proximity area, and the target existing in the surroundings can be extracted more reliably, and the traveling direction and the monitoring direction are orthogonal to each other in the far area. Extraction of low / unnecessary items can be suppressed as much as possible. In the embodiment, a region corresponding to X1 = 600, X2 = 1100, M = 50, and N = 40 and satisfying the above conditional expression in this case is a region surrounded by a thick line shown in FIG.

  (11) A program of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to realize the function as the target object detection device according to any one of (1) to (10).

  In the present invention, when the traveling direction changes due to a right or left turn or the like, for example, a target that exists at a far distance where the traveling direction before the change and the monitoring direction of the target are orthogonal or less than that has changed the traveling direction (rotation) The possibility that it will be recognized as a detection object later becomes low, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of unnecessary alarms. As described above, the target existing at the close distance is reliably extracted as the alarm target while reducing the possibility that the target existing at the far distance is extracted as the target of the alarm target. As a result, no warning is given to a relatively unimportant target, and the processing load for warning is reduced. Furthermore, even if the number of registered target data increases, the number of targets detected as target objects to be alarmed does not increase so much and it is possible to suppress frequent alarm states even in central Tokyo.

It is a figure explaining the detection of the target of a conventional system. It is a figure which shows suitable one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the display mode of a display part. It is a figure which shows an example of the display mode of a display part. It is a figure explaining a function. It is a figure explaining a function. It is a figure explaining a function. It is a figure explaining a function. It is a figure explaining a function.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, a GPS receiver 1, which is a position detecting means, a microwave receiver 2, and a wireless receiver 3 are provided as receivers for receiving various radio waves and the like. The GPS receiver 1 receives a GPS signal, obtains a current position from the received GPS signal, and sends position information (longitude, latitude) of the obtained current position to the control unit 4.

  The microwave receiver 2 receives microwaves in a predetermined frequency band, and detects the signal level of the received microwaves when receiving microwaves in the set frequency band. Specifically, the RSSI voltage corresponding to the signal level and the electric field strength is used. The predetermined frequency band is, for example, a frequency band including a microwave frequency emitted from the vehicle speed measuring device. The wireless receiver 3 receives incoming radio waves in a predetermined frequency band. For example, the predetermined frequency may be a radio frequency band used when the emergency vehicle notifies the base station of the vehicle position.

  The control unit 4 executes predetermined processing based on information input from the various receivers described above, and outputs predetermined alarms and messages using output devices (display unit 6, alarm lamp 7, speaker 8, etc.). Output. The predetermined process for determining the alarm content based on the information input from the receiver can use the same basic process as in the conventional technique. That is, when a signal having a certain condition is received / acquired, a corresponding alarm is output. Note that alarms using the speaker 8 include a buzzer and a voice.

  The alarm based on the position information (current position information of the host vehicle) detected by the GPS receiver 1 related to the present invention will be further described. In the database 5, the type of monitoring and the position information (longitude: latitude) of the target to be detected (traffic monitoring point such as a traffic monitoring device, facility or other target related to traffic such as a road station) Is stored as an associated table structure. Further, when the target has a monitoring direction / monitoring area as in the vehicle speed measuring device, information for specifying the monitoring area is registered in association with each other. In this embodiment, the direction of the monitoring direction is registered as information for specifying the monitoring area. The monitoring area is constant within a range of ± 40 degrees to the left and right of the monitoring direction. Therefore, the information registered in association with each target is only the monitoring direction as described above.

  Information regarding these targets is registered for certain targets at the time of shipment. This data can be updated by various known methods. The database 5 can be realized by a nonvolatile memory (for example, EEPROM) in the microcomputer of the control unit 4 or externally attached to the microcomputer. Furthermore, the database 5 also stores road map data.

  3 and 4 show an example of a display mode displayed on the display unit 6. In the present embodiment, the display unit 6 is realized using, for example, an organic EL display or a liquid crystal display. The display screen of the display unit 6 is, for example, 2.4 inches, and is smaller than the display screen in a general navigation device. Therefore, if information about each target is drawn on the display screen as in the navigation device. Too much information and difficult to see. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the layout of the area shown below is adopted for the display screen, and the mode of drawing in each area is appropriately set.

  First, the layout of the screen area adopts a configuration in which a strip-shaped icon display area R2 is arranged below the rectangular main display area R1 that occupies most of the screen area. The icon display area R2 includes an icon indicating the operation state of the apparatus such as an icon I1 indicating that GPS is being received, and an icon indicating the setting / mode of the apparatus such as an icon I2 indicating microwave reception sensitivity. . In addition, there are icons for notifying the type of target that is a detection target. Such a display is output by a control command from the control unit 4. Further, the current time is drawn on the right end of the icon display area R2. The date and other information may be drawn instead of the time.

  The main display area R1 mainly indicates the positional relationship between the target and the vehicle, and is an area for displaying an object having a predetermined shape at each position. When a plurality of targets are present in the displayed space, the objects of the plurality of targets are respectively drawn. In FIG. 3, since the target does not exist, only an object indicating the own vehicle position (hereinafter referred to as “own vehicle object”) is drawn. An object of a target object (POI: “Point Of Interest”) that is a notification target is referred to as a POI object. Each object is represented in three dimensions (solid).

  The vehicle object Gob of the present embodiment is composed of a triangular pyramid or a quadrangular pyramid polygon. When the control unit 4 draws the own vehicle object Gob, the apex of the triangular pyramid or the quadrangular pyramid is directed forward in the traveling direction of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the surface of the polygon of the vehicle object Gob is patterned with two-color (for example, red and white) two-tone stripes (parallel to the traveling direction). Thereby, the advancing direction can be known at a glance by the synergistic effect of the shape and the pattern. These objects are drawn in such a manner that a space where a 3D object is arranged in a three-dimensional (3D) space is photographed as a two-dimensional image with a virtual camera, and the photographed 2D image is displayed on a display unit. It can be realized by a known technique. This is the same for an object for a target to be described later.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, as a display mode for the main display area R1, a circular display area is set and a scale is displayed. This scale displays a predetermined number of concentric arc-shaped scales S1 and a linear scale S2 extending in the vertical direction on the display screen of the display unit 6 so that the radius of each arc can be seen at a glance. I made it. Each scale has a scale. In the example shown in the figure, the scale scale (radius) is “500 m” and “1000 m” from the center side (since the third outermost scale is only partially drawn in this example, The scale is not drawn). Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the virtual camera is installed in the sky and is drawn in a state in which the viewpoint is projected obliquely downward, the scale S1 is drawn in an elliptical shape.

  Further, the display screen in the main display region R1 displays the traveling direction of the host vehicle as viewed above the screen of the display unit 6. This is based on the position information of the own vehicle given from the GPS receiver 1, the control unit 4 obtains the traveling direction of the own vehicle, obtains the position of each target with the traveling direction facing upward, This can be dealt with by displaying what exists in the display area at the corresponding position.

  The vehicle object Gob is arranged at the center, and a target within a predetermined range (for example, within a range of 1100 m) is stored in the database 5 with the current position detected by the GPS receiver 1 as the center, as will be described later. A search is performed based on the position information, and the relative positional relationship between the vehicle position and the target position is displayed on the display unit 6. This function is called a radar scope display function. By doing so, the distance to the target can be known at a glance.

  When a target is detected around the host vehicle, the control unit 4 draws and outputs an event generation screen as shown in FIG. 4 corresponding to the detected type of the target. That is, the POI object Iob that is an object for the target is drawn at a position on the screen corresponding to the existence position. The POI object Iob is usually a simple shape such as a sphere or a cube. The surface is given a predetermined color and a symbol (alphabet, mark, etc.) indicating the type of the target. Since the display mode (shape) of these POI objects Iob has a simple shape, it is referred to as a simple object.

  Further, in the present embodiment, one object (target) having a condition among the POI objects Iob becomes a warning target, and information related to the warning target is prepared at a position above the main display area R1. Drawing in the message area ME. This message area ME is an area indicating a name (“H system” in FIG. 4) for identifying the type of the target to be alarmed and a distance to the target (“713m” in FIG. 4). .

  Further, the display mode (shape) of the alarm target object (alarm target object Kob) is changed. Specifically, the display mode of the alarm target object Kob has a three-dimensional shape imitating that of an actual target. In this way, it is also called a real object because it has a shape imitating an actual target. In FIG. 4, since the alarm target is a vehicle speed measuring device called an H system, the alarm target object Kob is drawn as a real object having the shape of the vehicle speed measuring device.

  Further, an instruction object Sob made up of a pair of small cubes is arranged above the alarm target object Kob so as to notify the user of the presence and position of the alarm target object Kob (the target of the alarm target). I have to. The pointing object Sob is revolved while a pair of small cubes rotate around the center of the alarm target object Kob. It is possible to draw more attention from the revolving movement in this way. Furthermore, the surface of each cube is divided into two by the diagonal line on the upper surface, and each region is drawn with different colors (for example, red and white according to the vehicle object). By painting the surface in two colors in this way, it can be clearly seen that the surface is rotating, so the presence of the alarm target object Kob can be noticed even if each cube is rotating. By letting the user pay attention in this way, for example, it is possible to easily and quickly notify that a place where safe driving should be approached more carefully than usual in accident-prone areas, etc. Providing and reporting information for driving can be performed appropriately.

  Note that, when there is no alarm target object that specifies and indicates the location, the instruction object Sob may be drawn above the own vehicle object Gob, for example, as shown in FIG. Here, there is no alarm target object Kob that specifies and specifies a place, not only when the target itself does not exist, but also with various radio waves (microwave (radar), car location) even if the target exists. In some cases, it is possible to detect the presence of a target object in the vicinity, such as reception of a wireless signal, but it is impossible to specify a specific place.

Here, in the present embodiment, the following three conditions are prepared as detection conditions for a target that is a candidate for an alarm target based on position information, and a target that is a candidate for an alarm target when all three conditions are satisfied Judge as a thing.
(Condition 1) The host vehicle exists within the specified distance set for each type of target. → The distance between the detected host vehicle position and the position of each target registered in the database 5 is obtained. Satisfied when the calculated distance is within the specified distance for the target: Target for all 360 degrees with respect to the vehicle (Condition 2) The vehicle must be within the range of ± 40 degrees to the left and right. → If the line connecting the position of the vehicle and the position of the target object is within the range of ± 40 degrees to the left and right of the monitoring direction, the condition is satisfied ( Condition 3) The predetermined angle range based on the traveling direction of the host vehicle is within ± 80 degrees with respect to a proximity region within a first reference distance (for example, 600 m) from the host vehicle position, and from the first reference distance Second reference distance (farther than the first reference distance: for example, 1100 m For the far region, depending on the distance X [m], then the following range, narrowing the lateral acceptance angle toward the distant.

−80 degrees + ((X−600) / 500 × 30 degrees)
~ 80 degrees-((X-600) / 500 x 30 degrees)
Thereby, the range of ± 50 degrees becomes effective at the time of the second reference distance (1100 m). This is the case when the target having a monitoring direction enters at a right angle with respect to the target direction at an edge of 1100 m ± 40 degrees. And the area | region enclosed with the thick line shown in FIG.

  That is, when the vehicle traveling direction and the target monitoring direction are orthogonal to each other at the second reference distance, the boundary line of the range based on the traveling direction and the boundary of the target monitoring region The lines are not touching or intersecting. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the current position of the host vehicle is G, and the position of +50 degrees that is the maximum angle range based on the traveling direction of the host vehicle (upward in the figure) at the second reference distance (1100 m). And the monitoring direction of the target I is leftward in the figure, and the angle α between the traveling direction and the monitoring direction is 90 degrees. In this case, as is apparent from the figure, one boundary line (+50 degree boundary line) of the range based on the traveling direction of the host vehicle and one boundary line (monitoring direction −40 degrees) of the target monitoring area. Border line) is in contact (located on the same straight line). Then, if the range satisfying the conditions 2 and 3 includes the boundary line, that is, if the condition 2 is a range of ± 40 degrees or less and the condition 3 is a range of ± 50 degrees or less, If condition 3 is satisfied and condition 1 is longer than the second reference distance, the target object is an alarm target. From this state, if the monitoring direction of the target I is rotated clockwise in the figure, the angle α formed by the traveling direction and the monitoring direction becomes an acute angle, and the host vehicle G is located outside the monitoring region based on the monitoring direction. It will not become a target for warning without satisfying 2. Conversely, when the monitoring direction of the target I is rotated counterclockwise in the figure, the formed angle α becomes an obtuse angle, and both the conditions 2 and 3 are satisfied.

  Further, it is assumed that the position of the target I has moved on the circumference of the second reference distance while the monitoring direction of the target remains horizontal (the monitoring direction and the traveling direction are orthogonal to each other) from the illustrated state. First, assuming a case of moving in the clockwise direction, the angle range with respect to the traveling direction is larger than 50 degrees, so Condition 3 is not satisfied (Condition 2 is satisfied), and the target is not a warning target. Conversely, assuming that the position of the target I has moved in the counterclockwise direction, the host vehicle will be outside the range of −40 degrees from the monitoring direction, and the target to be alarmed without satisfying the condition 2 It doesn't become a thing. Therefore, when the traveling direction and the monitoring direction are different by nearly 90 degrees at the far position, the target object to be alarmed is not recognized.

  Note that if the condition 2 area and / or the condition 3 area does not include a boundary line, that is, if the condition 2 is less than ± 40 degrees and / or the condition 3 is less than ± 50 degrees, in the illustrated example, the boundary line is Since it does not satisfy the conditions set in the area not included, it will not be the target of the alarm target.

  By adopting such a configuration (setting), a target having a monitoring direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle existing in the distance (condition 1 is fulfilled) does not satisfy the conditions of conditions 2 & 3 as a target to be alarmed. It is not extracted, and it can suppress that a warning is frequently issued in the place where many targets exist, such as a downtown area.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, if the target object I exists in the proximity region and within a range of ± 80 degrees with respect to the traveling direction, and the positional relationship is such that the traveling direction and the monitoring direction are orthogonal to each other. To do. In this case, since all of the conditions 1, 2, and 3 are satisfied, it is determined that the target is an alarm target and is extracted. In this way, even if the target is located in the same lateral direction, it may or may not fall under the target of the warning target (proximity region) or not (depending on the distance from the current position of the vehicle) 2 reference distances). Furthermore, although not shown in the figure, in a far region from the first reference distance to the second reference distance, the predetermined angle range based on the traveling direction gradually changes and becomes narrower as the vehicle is farther away from the current position. The range in which the target located in the horizontal direction is recognized as the target to be alarmed becomes gradually narrower from the first reference distance side to the second reference distance side.

  Furthermore, the direction of travel is rotated 90 degrees by turning right or left when the direction of monitoring the target located behind the current position of the vehicle and the direction of travel of the vehicle are the same (substantially the same). Even in such a case, since the above state is obtained after the rotation, the target does not need to be extracted as an alarm target when the target is at a distant position. In other words, each range is set so that an alarm is not issued even if the traveling direction of the host vehicle rotates 90 degrees from the current traveling direction. In other words, the alarm range extracted as the target to be alarmed is set so that a useless alarm accompanying the rotation in the traveling direction is not made. In this embodiment, since the monitoring area is set to ± 40 degrees in the monitoring direction, the predetermined angle range with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle at the second reference distance is set to ± 50 degrees. Therefore, when the angle of the monitoring area is changed, the angle range with respect to the traveling direction of the own vehicle is also changed accordingly. Furthermore, when the monitoring area is set to ± 40 degrees in the monitoring direction as in the present embodiment, the angle range at the second reference distance may be an arbitrary angle less than 50 degrees. Also in this case, the above-described effects can be achieved.

  That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 8A, the monitoring direction of the target I located at a far distance on the rear side (oblique right rear side in the figure) of the current position of the host vehicle G is the same as the traveling direction of the vehicle. In this case, at least the condition 3 is not satisfied, so that the target object is not an alarm target. However, in the case of FIG. 8A, conditions 1 and 2 are satisfied. From this state, when turning right and the traveling direction is rotated 90 degrees clockwise, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the traveling direction and the monitoring direction are orthogonal to each other, and the target I is positioned diagonally forward of the traveling direction. It becomes a relationship. Also in this case, since the target I is at a far distance, the condition 3 is not satisfied (the conditions 1 and 2 are satisfied), and therefore, the target I is not determined as the target to be alarmed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9A, when the target object I is located obliquely behind in the proximity region, the condition 3 is not satisfied, so that it is not a target object to be alarmed as described above. However, when turning right from this state and the traveling direction is rotated 90 degrees, since the angle range based on the traveling direction is wide in the adjacent region, the condition 3 is satisfied, and the conditions 1 and 2 are also satisfied. It is judged. In this way, in the case of a nearby target object, it can be extracted as a target object to be alarmed along with the rotation in the traveling direction, but in the case of a long distance, so as not to be extracted as a target object to be alarmed. it can.

  In the far region between the second reference distance and the first reference distance, the region of the predetermined angle range based on the traveling direction gradually increases as the vehicle approaches the first reference distance on the own vehicle side. However, the “angle range” is gradually reduced from 90 degrees so that an alarm is not generated even if it rotates by a predetermined angle from the current traveling direction.

  Therefore, when the traveling direction of the host vehicle is rotated from the current traveling direction, the rotation angle at which the warning is not issued is the largest at the point of the second reference distance, and the angle range gradually becomes narrower as the first reference distance is approached. The angle below the first reference distance is the smallest angle.

  When extracted as a candidate for a target to be alarmed based on the above three conditions, the control unit 4 performs a predetermined alarm. As the predetermined alarm, for example, a voice message can be output from the speaker 8 or the display mode of the target object drawn on the display unit 6 can be changed. In addition, when drawing on the display unit 6, there may be a plurality of targets that satisfy the three conditions in the display screen. In such a case, an actual alarm (sound output, change of object display mode, etc.) may be performed for any one (for example, the nearest target), and all the applicable display modes of the object may be used. You may make it change about a target object. Furthermore, although it is an aspect of an alarm, when a target existing in the near area is detected, an aspect that is easier to perceive than an alarm for an object in a distant area may be used. Furthermore, even if not all of the three conditions are satisfied, for example, when the condition 1 is satisfied and is present in the display screen of the display unit, it is not the target object of the alarm, but the target in another form Notifying the presence of an object is not prevented. Another mode is, for example, a display mode different from the target object to be alarmed (such as making it a simpler shape like a small dot, making the color inconspicuous such as gray, or making it light) can do.

  In the above-described embodiment, as the condition 2, the monitoring area is fixed within the range of ± 40 degrees with respect to the monitoring direction and with the monitoring direction regardless of the type of the target. May be different. In addition, the range is set, for example, to set the radius of the fan, the central angle of the fan (the sum of the left and right angles with respect to the monitoring direction) is other than 40 degrees, and the shape itself is a shape other than the fan shape. You may make it do. Then, it may be determined that the condition 2 is satisfied when the vehicle is in the monitoring area. These pieces of information may be stored in the database 5 for each type of target or for each target, and the condition 2 determination process may be performed for each target.

  Similarly, in the above-described embodiment, as the condition 3, the predetermined angle range based on the traveling direction of the host vehicle is fixed within a range of ± 80 degrees in the proximity region, but may be larger than ± 80 degrees. It can be small. However, even when making it smaller, it is to make it larger than the angle range of the far region. Further, the left and right sides may be different from each other without being in the same angular range with reference to the traveling direction. Furthermore, in the embodiment, at the same distance from the own vehicle, since it is within a predetermined angle range based on the traveling direction of the own vehicle, the range is a fan shape, but may be an arbitrary shape other than the fan shape. .

  Furthermore, the second reference distance may be changed depending on the vehicle speed. For example, when the vehicle speed exceeds a reference value (for example, 80 km), it is longer (for example, 2100 m) than the normal distance (1100 m in the above example). At this time, the angle range with respect to the traveling direction is also narrowed. In this way, it is possible to detect a distant target at an early stage in a place where the vehicle is traveling at a high speed such as an expressway, and to suppress the possibility of detecting a target in a place other than the traveling expressway. can do.

  In addition, as the setting of the condition 2, in the present embodiment and the modified example, an angle (± 40 degrees or the like) for defining the monitoring direction and the monitoring area is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the area It is also possible to have two directions that define the distance between the two directions.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 GPS receiver 2 Microwave receiver 3 Wireless receiver 4 Control part 5 Database 6 Display part 7 Lamp 8 Speaker

Claims (11)

Position detecting means for detecting the position of the own vehicle;
A database that stores the positional information of the target object to be detected and the information that specifies the monitoring area of the target object in association with each other;
Based on the current position information detected by the position detection means and the position information and monitoring area of the target stored in the database, an extraction means for extracting a target existing around the own vehicle;
Alarm control means for performing control to output alarm information about the target extracted by the extraction means to the output means,
The extraction means is configured such that the distance between the current position and the target position is within a preset designated distance, the own vehicle is present in the target monitoring area, and within a predetermined range including the own vehicle traveling direction. If the target exists, it will be extracted as the target for the alarm,
When the vehicle traveling direction and the target monitoring direction are orthogonal to each other, the monitoring area is set so that the own vehicle does not exist in the monitoring area or the target does not exist in the predetermined range. And the target detection apparatus characterized by setting the said predetermined range.   The target object detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the orthogonal positional relationship is a positional relationship at the preset designated distance.   2. The target object detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an angle formed by the traveling direction of the vehicle and the monitoring direction of the target object is 90 degrees or less in the positional relationship such that the orthogonality is present. The monitoring area is within a predetermined angle range based on the monitoring direction of the target;
The target detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined range is a predetermined angle range based on a traveling direction of the host vehicle. The predetermined range is a predetermined angle range based on the traveling direction of the own vehicle,
Within the predetermined angle range, a distant area from the first reference distance to the second reference distance (distant from the first reference distance) is narrower than the proximity area within the first reference distance from the vehicle position, and the distant area The target detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined angle range in the region is the narrowest predetermined angle range in the second reference distance.   6. The target according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined angle range in the far region is set such that the angle range at the second reference distance is the narrowest and gradually becomes wider as the first reference distance is approached. Object detection device.   The alarm by the alarm control means includes a first mode for alarming a target extracted within the first reference distance and a second mode for alarming for a target extracted within the second reference distance. The target detection apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first aspect is more easily perceived than the second aspect. Provided with speed detecting means for detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle;
8. The method according to claim 5, wherein when the traveling speed is high, the second reference distance is set longer than when the traveling speed is low, and the predetermined angle range is set narrower. The target object detection apparatus described in 1. The monitoring area of the target is a range of ± N degrees with respect to the monitoring direction set for the target,
The target detection apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined angle range at the second reference distance is ± (90−N) degrees. The predetermined angle range at the first reference distance is ± M degrees, the first reference distance is X1 [m], and the second reference distance is X2 [m]. The predetermined distance range at a distant position is
−M degree + ((X−X1) / (X2−X1) × (MN) degree)
~ M degree + ((X-X1) / (X2-X1) x (MN) degree)
The target object detection apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein   The program for making a computer implement | achieve the function as a target object detection apparatus in any one of Claims 1-10.