JP2019075625A - Periphery monitoring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a peripheral monitoring device in which a recognition status of a towed vehicle can be easily grasped. A peripheral monitoring device includes a CPU, an acquisition unit 44, a recognition unit 46, and a control unit 50. The acquisition unit acquires a captured image of the rear region of the towed vehicle from the towed vehicle to which the towed vehicle can be connected. The recognition unit recognizes the towed vehicle in the connected state based on the captured image. The control unit determines whether or not the towed vehicle can be detected based on the recognition result of the recognition unit, and determines the display mode of the index indicating the state of the towed vehicle or the towed vehicle according to the determination result. And display. [Selection diagram] FIG. 4

Description

  Embodiments of the present invention relate to a perimeter monitoring device.

  DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART Conventionally, the tow vehicle (tractor) which pulls a tow vehicle (trailer) is known. At the rear of the tow vehicle, there is provided a tow device including a tow bracket and a coupling ball (hitch ball), and a tow device (coupler) is provided at the tip of the tow vehicle. Then, by connecting the hitch ball and the coupler, the tow vehicle can tow the tow vehicle so that the tow vehicle can turn. The connection angle of the towed vehicle, which changes with respect to the tow vehicle, is detected, for example, by imaging the target mark attached to the front of the tow vehicle with a camera provided at the rear of the tow vehicle and recognizing it by image processing. Systems are known.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0200759

  However, in the case of the prior art, it may not be known whether the system can recognize the towed vehicle. For example, when the quality of the image in which the periphery of the target mark is dark is low, the target mark may not be sufficiently recognized (detected) by image processing. In addition, when the target mark is dirty, imaging of the target mark itself may become impossible, and in this case as well, the target mark can not be recognized. In such a case, although the towed vehicle appears in the captured image, the system can not recognize the towed vehicle, and the vehicle control (processing) including the towed vehicle is interrupted. There is a case. In such a case, the driver may not understand why the control is interrupted, which may make it difficult to grasp the situation. Therefore, it is meaningful to easily understand the control (processing) state of the system if it is possible to provide a surrounding area monitoring device in which the recognition (detection) state of the towed vehicle can be easily grasped.

  The periphery monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention, for example, an acquisition unit that acquires a captured image obtained by capturing a rear region of the tow vehicle from the tow vehicle to which the tow vehicle can be connected; It is determined whether or not the towed vehicle can be detected based on the recognition unit that recognizes the towed vehicle and the recognition result of the recognition unit, and the tow vehicle or the towed is determined according to the result of the determination. And a controller configured to determine and display a display mode of an indicator indicating a state of the vehicle. According to this configuration, for example, since it is clearly indicated whether or not the to-be-driven vehicle can be recognized, it becomes easy for the driver to grasp the situation such as what kind of control state it is.

  In addition, the control unit of the periphery monitoring device according to the embodiment may hide the index, for example, when the recognition unit can not recognize the towed vehicle. According to this configuration, for example, it becomes easy for the driver to intuitively recognize that the towed vehicle can not be recognized (for example, a disconnected state, a lost state, etc.).

  The control unit of the periphery monitoring device according to the embodiment may, for example, capture the movement position prediction line based on the current steering angle of the tow vehicle when the tow vehicle moves backward based on the steer angle of the tow vehicle. The display mode of the movement position prediction line may be made different between the time of recognition of the towed vehicle and the time of non-recognition while being displayed superimposed on the image as the index. According to this configuration, for example, when moving the tow vehicle backward, the display mode of the movement position prediction line as an index indicating the state of the tow vehicle that is easy to draw attention changes between when the tow vehicle is recognized and when it is not recognized This makes it easier for the driver to intuitively recognize that the towed vehicle can not be recognized (for example, a disconnected state, a lost state, etc.).

  In the surroundings monitoring device according to the embodiment, for example, the acquisition unit further acquires an image of the periphery of the tow vehicle, and the control unit displays a vehicle mark indicating the tow vehicle as the index. The display may be made to be superimposed on the display corresponding position of the towed vehicle in the vehicle peripheral image based on the peripheral image. According to this configuration, for example, when the recognition unit can not recognize the tow vehicle, the driver can understand that the tow vehicle is not recognized in control by the display mode of the index; Since the state of the to-be-towed vehicle can be confirmed from the image of the to-be-towed vehicle included in the vehicle, the presence or absence of the to-be-towed vehicle and the to-be-towed vehicle are connected by confirming the position where the index should be displayed When it is set, it becomes easy to recognize a connection angle etc.

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing an example of a connected state of a tow vehicle and a tow vehicle equipped with the periphery monitoring device according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a top view schematically showing an example of a connected state of the tow vehicle and the tow vehicle on which the periphery monitoring device according to the embodiment is mounted. FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram of a configuration of a surrounding area monitoring system including the surrounding area monitoring device according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram of a CPU configuration of the periphery monitoring device according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is an image of the connecting portion between the tow vehicle and the tow vehicle, which is captured by the imaging unit of the surrounding area monitoring system according to the embodiment, and the tow vehicle has a connection angle θ with respect to the tow vehicle. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the image when connected by two. FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing an example of an image showing a case where the index indicating the towed vehicle is not displayed when the towed vehicle can not be recognized in the periphery monitoring device according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an example of an image showing a case where an indicator indicating a towed vehicle is displayed when the towed vehicle is recognized in the periphery monitoring device according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing an example of a display mode of an indicator indicating the towed vehicle displayed when the towed vehicle can be recognized in the periphery monitoring device according to the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing an example of a display mode of an indicator indicating the towed vehicle displayed when the towed vehicle can not be recognized in the periphery monitoring device according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing another example of the display mode of the indicator indicating the towed vehicle displayed when the towed vehicle can not be recognized in the periphery monitoring device according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is an example of an indicator indicating the towed vehicle displayed when the towed vehicle can not be recognized and a display mode of the movement position prediction line of the tow vehicle at the time of backward movement in the periphery monitoring device according to the embodiment; It is a schematic diagram shown. FIG. 12 shows an example of an indicator indicating the towed vehicle displayed when the towed vehicle can be recognized and a display mode of the movement position prediction line of the tow vehicle at the time of backward movement in the periphery monitoring device according to the embodiment; It is a schematic diagram shown. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a display processing procedure of the index by the periphery monitoring device according to the embodiment.

  In the following, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are disclosed. The configurations of the embodiments shown below, and the operations, results, and effects provided by the configurations are examples. The present invention can be realized by configurations other than the configurations disclosed in the following embodiments, and at least one of various effects based on the basic configuration and derivative effects can be obtained. .

  FIG. 1 is a side view showing a tow vehicle 10 equipped with the periphery monitoring device of the embodiment and a tow vehicle 12 to be towed by the tow vehicle 10. In FIG. 1, the left direction in the drawing is the front with respect to the tow vehicle 10, and the right direction in the drawing is the rear with respect to the tow vehicle 10. FIG. 2 is a top view of the tow vehicle 10 and the tow vehicle 12 shown in FIG. Also, FIG. 3 is an exemplary block diagram of a configuration of a surrounding area monitoring system 100 including a surrounding area monitoring device mounted on the tow vehicle 10. As shown in FIG.

  The tow vehicle 10 may be, for example, an automobile (internal combustion engine automobile) whose source is an internal combustion engine (engine, not shown) or an automobile (electricity source) whose source is a motor (not shown). It may be a car, a fuel cell car, etc.), or may be a car (hybrid car) that uses both of them as a driving source. The tow vehicle 10 may be a sport utility vehicle (SUV) as shown in FIG. 1, or may be a so-called "pickup truck" provided with a platform behind the vehicle. Good. In addition, it may be a general passenger car. The tow vehicle 10 can carry various transmissions, and can carry various devices (systems, parts, etc.) necessary for driving an internal combustion engine or a motor. In addition, the system, number, layout, and the like of devices related to driving of the wheels 14 (front wheels 14F, rear wheels 14R) in the tow vehicle 10 can be set variously.

  A traction device 18 (hitch) for towing the towed vehicle 12 protrudes from a lower portion of, for example, a central portion in the vehicle width direction of the rear bumper 16 of the tow vehicle 10. The traction device 18 is fixed to, for example, the frame of the tow vehicle 10. As an example, the traction device 18 includes a hitch ball 18a having a spherical tip end erected vertically (in the vertical direction of the vehicle), and the tip end of the connecting member 20 fixed to the tow vehicle 12 to the hitch ball 18a. The coupler 20a provided in the part covers. As a result, the tow vehicle 10 and the tow vehicle 12 are connected, and the tow vehicle 12 can swing (turn) in the vehicle width direction with respect to the tow vehicle 10. In other words, the hitch ball 18a transmits the front / rear / left / right motion to the towed vehicle 12 (connection member 20) and receives the power of acceleration or deceleration.

  The towed vehicle 12 may be, for example, a box type including at least one of a boarding space, a living space, a storage space, etc. as shown in FIG. 1, or luggage (for example, a container, a boat, etc.) It may be a platform type on which the The towed vehicle 12 shown in FIG. 1 includes a pair of trailer wheels 22 as an example. The towed vehicle 12 of FIG. 1 is a driven vehicle provided with driven wheels and driven wheels that do not include steering wheels.

  An imaging unit 24 is provided on the lower wall of the rear hatch 10 a on the rear side of the tow vehicle 10. The imaging unit 24 is, for example, a digital camera that incorporates an imaging element such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a CMOS image sensor (CIS). The imaging unit 24 can output moving image data (captured image data) at a predetermined frame rate. The imaging unit 24 has a wide-angle lens or a fisheye lens, and can image a range of, for example, 140 ° to 220 ° in the horizontal direction. Further, the optical axis of the imaging unit 24 is set obliquely downward. Therefore, the imaging unit 24 sequentially captures an image of an area including the rear end portion of the tow vehicle 10, the connection member 20, and at least the front end portion of the tow vehicle 12 (for example, the range indicated by a two-dot chain line; see FIG. 1) Output as image data. The captured image data captured by the imaging unit 24 can be used for recognition of the towed vehicle 12 and detection of the connection state (for example, connection angle, presence / absence of connection, etc.) of the tow vehicle 10 and the tow vehicle 12. In this case, since the connection state and connection angle of the tow vehicle 10 and the tow vehicle 12 can be acquired based on the captured image data captured by the imaging unit 24, the system configuration can be simplified, and the load of arithmetic processing and image processing can be obtained. It can be reduced. The tow vehicle 10 is provided with an imaging unit 24 a that images a front region including the front bumper 16 a of the tow vehicle 10 above the front bumper 16 a of the tow vehicle 10. Then, for example, when the tow vehicle 10 is capable of traveling forward, an image indicating the situation in front of the tow vehicle 10 can be displayed on the display device 26. In addition, the tow vehicle 10 may be provided with the imaging part which images a side. Furthermore, an imaging unit may be provided on the side or the rear of the driven vehicle 12. Arithmetic processing and image processing are executed based on captured image data obtained by a plurality of imaging units to generate an image with a wider viewing angle or a virtual overhead image (planar image when the towing vehicle 10 is viewed from above ) May be generated.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, a display device 26, an audio output device 28, and the like are provided in the cabin of the tow vehicle 10. The display device 26 is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an OELD (Organic Electroluminescent Display), or the like. The audio output device 28 is a speaker as an example. Moreover, in the present embodiment, as an example, the display device 26 is covered with a transparent operation input unit 30 (for example, a touch panel or the like). The driver (user) can visually recognize the video (image) displayed on the screen of the display device 26 through the operation input unit 30. In addition, the driver operates the operation input unit 30 by touching, pushing or moving the operation input unit 30 with a finger or the like at a position corresponding to the image (image) displayed on the screen of the display device 26. ) Can be performed. Further, in the present embodiment, as an example, the display device 26, the voice output device 28, the operation input unit 30, and the like are provided in the monitor device 32 positioned at the center of the dashboard in the vehicle width direction (left and right direction). ing. The monitor device 32 can have an operation input unit (not shown) such as a switch, a dial, a joystick, or a push button. In addition, an audio output device (not shown) can be provided at another position in the vehicle compartment different from the monitor device 32, and audio is output from the audio output device 28 of the monitor device 32 and another audio output device. be able to. Further, in the present embodiment, the monitor device 32 is also used as a navigation system and an audio system as an example, but a monitor device for a periphery monitoring device may be provided separately from these systems.

  The display device 26 determines whether the towed vehicle 12 connected to the tow vehicle 10 can be recognized (detected) in, for example, the periphery monitoring system 100, and the tow vehicle 10 or the tow vehicle 10 according to the result of the determination. While displaying the index which shows the state of the towed vehicle 12, the display which changed the display mode of the index according to the recognition (detection) state of the towed vehicle 12 can be performed. For example, when the towed vehicle 12 can be recognized, a trailer icon (vehicle mark) can be displayed in a predetermined area on the screen of the display device 26 as an index indicating the state of the towed vehicle 12. In another example, information indicating the state of the tow vehicle 10 displayed on the display device 26 (for example, a movement position prediction line indicating a movement position (direction) when the tow vehicle 10 moves backward) is towed. The display mode can be changed and displayed between the time of recognition of the towed vehicle 12 and the time of non-recognition as an index indicating whether the vehicle 12 is recognized or not. Although details of the display content of the display device 26 will be described later, an image corresponding to the towed vehicle 12 captured by the imaging unit 24 and an actual image of the towed vehicle 12 can be displayed on the display device 26. The trailer icon, the movement position prediction line, and the like are displayed in association with the image and the real image.

  In addition, a display device 34 different from the display device 26 may be provided in the cabin of the tow vehicle 10. The display device 34 may be provided, for example, in the dashboard section of the dashboard. The size of the screen of the display device 34 can be smaller than the size of the screen of the display device 26. The display device 34 can simply show a trailer icon, a mark, and a message indicating the towed vehicle 12 displayed when the towed vehicle 12 connected to the tow vehicle 10 can be recognized. The amount of information displayed on the display device 34 may be smaller than the amount of information displayed on the display device 26. The display device 34 is, for example, an LCD, an OELD, or the like. Further, the display device 34 may be configured by an LED or the like.

  Further, in the periphery monitoring system 100 (periphery monitoring device), in addition to the ECU 36 (Electronic Control Unit) and the monitor device 32, the steering angle sensor 38, the shift sensor 40 and the like are electrically connected via the in-vehicle network 42 as a telecommunication line. Connected. The in-vehicle network 42 is configured as, for example, a CAN (Controller Area Network). The ECU 36 can receive the detection results of the steering angle sensor 38, the shift sensor 40 and the like, the operation signal of the operation input unit 30 and the like via the in-vehicle network 42, and can reflect the result in control.

  The ECU 36 has, for example, a CPU 36a (Central Processing Unit), a ROM 36b (Read Only Memory), a RAM 36c (Random Access Memory), an SSD 36d (Solid State Drive, flash memory), a display control unit 36e, an audio control unit 36f, and the like. ing. The CPU 36a performs various processes such as image processing related to the image displayed on the display devices 26 and 34, recognition (detection) processing of the towed vehicle 12 connected to the tow vehicle 10, display processing based on the detection result, Calculation processing and control can be performed. The CPU 36a can read a program installed and stored in a non-volatile storage device such as the ROM 36b and execute arithmetic processing according to the program. The RAM 36c temporarily stores various data used in the calculation in the CPU 36a. In addition, the display control unit 36 e mainly performs, among the arithmetic processing in the ECU 36, composition of image data displayed on the display devices 26 and 34. Further, the voice control unit 36 f mainly performs the processing of voice data output from the voice output device 28 among the calculation processing in the ECU 36. The SSD 36 d is a rewritable non-volatile storage unit, and can store data even when the power of the ECU 36 is turned off. The CPU 36a, the ROM 36b, the RAM 36c, and the like can be integrated in the same package. Further, the ECU 36 may be configured to use another logical operation processor such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) or a logic circuit instead of the CPU 36a. Also, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) may be provided instead of the SSD 36 d, and the SSD 36 d and the HDD may be provided separately from the ECU 36.

  The steering angle sensor 38 is, for example, a sensor that detects a steering amount of a steering unit such as a steering wheel of the tow vehicle 10 (a steering angle of the tow vehicle 10). The steering angle sensor 38 is configured using, for example, a Hall element or the like. The ECU 36 acquires the steering amount of the steering unit by the driver, the steering amount of each wheel 14 at the time of automatic steering, and the like from the steering angle sensor 38 and executes various controls. The steering angle sensor 38 detects the rotation angle of the rotating portion included in the steering unit. The steering angle sensor 38 is an example of an angle sensor.

  The shift sensor 40 is, for example, a sensor that detects the position of a movable portion of a shift operation unit (for example, a shift lever). The shift sensor 40 can detect the position of a lever, an arm, a button or the like as the movable portion. The shift sensor 40 may include a displacement sensor or may be configured as a switch.

  The configuration, arrangement, electrical connection form and the like of the various sensors described above are merely examples, and can be set (changed) in various ways.

  FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram of the configuration of the CPU 36a included in the ECU 36. As shown in FIG. The CPU 36a includes various modules for realizing processing of recognizing the towed vehicle 12 connected to the tow vehicle 10, displaying an index indicating the recognition result, and changing the display mode. The various modules are realized by the CPU 36 a reading a program installed and stored in a storage device such as the ROM 36 b and executing the program. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the CPU 36a includes modules such as an acquisition unit 44, a recognition unit 46, an image conversion unit 48, and a control unit 50.

  The acquisition unit 44 displays, for example, a trailer icon as an index indicating whether or not the towed vehicle 12 is recognized, and indicates that the tow vehicle 12 is recognized, and the moving direction of the tow vehicle 10, etc. Various pieces of information used to display a guide line (for example, a reference line, a movement position prediction line, etc.) indicating. The acquisition unit 44 includes, for example, an image acquisition unit 44a, a steering angle acquisition unit 44b, a shift position acquisition unit 44c, a connection angle acquisition unit 44d, a monitoring request acquisition unit 44e, and the like.

  The image acquisition unit 44a acquires a rear image (image of a rear area) of the tow vehicle 10 captured by the imaging unit 24 installed at the rear of the tow vehicle 10. FIG. 5 is an example of an image P (rear image) based on captured image data captured by the imaging unit 24. The imaging unit 24 is fixed to the rear of the tow vehicle 10, and the imaging direction and the imaging range are fixed. Therefore, the rear bumper 16 of the tow vehicle 10, the tow unit 18 (hitch ball 18a), and the like appear at a predetermined position (lower end region in the case of FIG. 5) of the image P captured by the imaging unit 24. Further, when the towed vehicle 12 is connected to the tow vehicle 10, in the image P, a part of the front portion of the towed vehicle 12 and the connecting member 20 (coupler 20a) are in a predetermined area based on the rear bumper 16 and the like. It will be reflected. In the image P shown in FIG. 5, the connecting member 20 (the towed vehicle 12, the coupler 20 a) turns, for example, in the direction of the arrow T1 (bent and towed) with the towing device 18 (hitch ball 18 a) of the tow vehicle 10 as a fulcrum (The angle between the vehicle center axis M and the connection center axis N) is shown. In this case, the towed vehicle 12 is turning (turned) to the left as viewed from the driver's seat of the tow vehicle 10. The CPU 36a can perform recognition of the towed vehicle 12 and detection of the connection angle θ by performing image processing on the image P. In addition, the image acquisition unit 44a can acquire the forward image of the tow vehicle 10 captured by the imaging unit 24a provided in the front bumper 16a of the tow vehicle 10. The CPU 36a is, for example, when the tow vehicle 10 travels forward. The forward image captured by the imaging unit 24 a can be displayed on the display device 26. The image acquisition unit 44a may further acquire captured image data from an imaging unit that captures left and right side images of the tow vehicle 10. Thus, the CPU 36a generates a vehicle peripheral image (for example, a bird's-eye view image) indicating the peripheral situation of the tow vehicle 10 by acquiring the front image and the left and right side images in addition to the backward image by the image acquisition unit 44a. can do.

  The steering angle acquisition unit 44 b acquires the steering angle of the tow vehicle 10 detected by the steering angle sensor 38. That is, the steering angle in the direction in which the driver is about to drive the tow vehicle 10 (towed vehicle 12) is acquired. Further, the shift position acquisition unit 44c acquires whether the tow vehicle 10 can move forward or backward based on the position of the movable portion of the shift operation unit output from the shift sensor 40. The steering angle acquisition unit 44b may identify whether the current steering angle is the steering angle in the forward possible state or the steering angle in the reverse possible state by referring to the acquisition result of the shift position acquisition unit 44c. The connection angle acquisition unit 44 d is a connection angle when the towed vehicle 12 is connected to the tow vehicle 10, that is, the connection member 20 (connection central axis N) of the tow vehicle 12 with respect to the vehicle central axis M of the tow vehicle 10. Get the angle. The connection angle acquisition unit 44d can detect the connection member 20 (connection center axis N) by performing image processing on the image P (see FIG. 5) acquired by the image acquisition unit 44a. The connection angle acquisition unit 44d detects the displacement angle of the turning direction (arrow T1 or arrow T2) of the connection member 20 (connection center axis N) with respect to the vehicle center axis M to detect the tow vehicle 10 and the tow vehicle 12 Can be obtained. In another embodiment, when the traction device 18 includes an angle detection sensor, the connection angle acquisition unit 44 d may acquire the connection angle θ based on the detection value of the angle detection sensor.

  The monitoring request acquisition unit 44e acquires information indicating whether the shift to the periphery monitoring mode for monitoring whether the towed vehicle 12 is recognized is requested to the periphery monitoring system 100. The monitoring request acquisition unit 44e can receive, for example, via the operation input unit 30 operated by the driver, a signal indicating whether a shift to the periphery monitoring mode is requested.

  The recognition unit 46 recognizes the towed vehicle 12 that can be connected to the tow vehicle 10 by performing known image processing on the image P (rear image) captured by the imaging unit 24 acquired by the image acquisition unit 44 a Detect). The recognition unit 46 recognizes the shape of the towed vehicle 12 by comparison with the sample shapes stored in, for example, the ROM 36 b or the SSD 36 d, and determines that the tow vehicle 12 is present in a predetermined area in the image P It can be considered that the towed vehicle 12 is connected to the tow vehicle 10, that is, the perimeter monitoring system 100 recognizes the tow vehicle 12. Further, when the recognition unit 46 detects a target mark attached to a part of the towed vehicle 12, for example, the front end face, in a predetermined area in the image P, the towed vehicle 12 is connected to the tow vehicle 10 In other words, it may be regarded as recognizing. In another embodiment, the recognition unit 46 detects the rod-like connecting member 20 connected to the pulling device 18 in the image P, whereby the towed vehicle 12 is connected to the towing vehicle 10, that is, the recognition It may be considered that Therefore, when the recognition unit 46 can not detect at least one of the towed vehicle 12, the target mark, and the connecting member 20 in the image P, the towing vehicle 12 is not recognized (not detected). Even when the recognition unit 46 detects an image in the image P that matches the shapes of the towed vehicle 12, the target mark, the connecting member 20, etc., the image may be displayed in a predetermined area (for example, the rear bumper 16). If it is not included in the reference direction and position), it is determined that the towed vehicle 12 exists in the periphery of the tow vehicle 10 but is not connected to the tow vehicle 10. Also in this case, the recognition unit 46 It is determined that the vehicle 12 is in a non-recognition (non-detection) state.

  The image conversion unit 48 is a captured image data of a rear image of the tow vehicle 10 captured by the imaging unit 24, a captured image data of a forward image of the tow vehicle 10 captured by the imaging unit 24a, and the left and right lateral imaging units By performing viewpoint conversion and combining the captured image data and the like of the left and right side images, it is possible to convert the tow vehicle 10 into an overhead image as viewed from above. 6 and 7 show the bird's-eye view image P1 converted by the image conversion unit 48 and the actual image P2 captured by the imaging unit 24 or the imaging unit 24a (in the case of FIGS. 6 and 7, the image captured by the imaging unit 24a An example is shown in which a real image P2) of a forward image is displayed in parallel on the screen 26a of the display device 26. When the control state of the periphery monitoring system 100 shifts to the periphery monitoring mode, the screen 26a of the display device 26 is switched from the navigation screen or audio screen normally displayed to the periphery monitoring screen as shown in FIG. When the towed vehicle 12 is shown in the captured image data captured by the imaging unit 24 as shown in FIG. 5 while the host vehicle image 10p corresponding to the towed vehicle 10 is displayed in the overhead image P1, the trailer image 12p is included. In this case, when the towed vehicle 12 captured by the imaging unit 24 is converted into two-dimensional data, it becomes a trailer image 12p extending backward. In the rear image captured by the imaging unit 24 of the present embodiment, only the rear bumper 16 and the traction device 18 appear in the tow vehicle 10. Moreover, in addition to a back image when producing | generating the bird's-eye view image P1, only a part of tow vehicle 10 is contained also in the front image and left and right side images which are used. Therefore, information (shape data) related to the vehicle image 10p can not be acquired from each captured image data. Therefore, when the overhead image P1 is displayed, the image conversion unit 48 reads the display data of the vehicle image 10p stored in advance in the ROM 36b or the like, and displays the readout data superimposed on the overhead image P1 (two-dimensional data). As a result, on the overhead image P1 (vehicle peripheral image), it is possible to display an image in which the vehicle image 10p and the trailer image 12p are connected. Note that the image conversion unit 48 converts, for example, only the captured image data of the rear image from three-dimensional data into two-dimensional data, and a simple overhead image P1 as viewed from above the rear portion of the tow vehicle 10 It may be generated and displayed on the display device 26, and similar effects can be obtained.

  The control unit 50 mainly performs, for example, an index mode control unit 50a, a guide line generation unit 50b, and a display switching unit 50c in order to execute control of elements to be superimposed and displayed on the screen 26a of the display device 26 in execution of the periphery monitoring mode. Etc modules.

  The indicator mode control unit 50a executes display control of an indicator indicating whether or not the towed vehicle 12 connected to the tow vehicle 10 can be recognized based on the recognition result of the recognition unit 46, and Control can be performed to change the display mode of the index according to the recognition state.

  8 to 10 show trailer icons 52a (vehicle marks as indicators 52 indicating whether or not the tow vehicle 12 connected to the tow vehicle 10 can be recognized whose display mode is controlled by the index mode control unit 50a). Is a display example of. When the towed vehicle 12 is recognized, the trailer icon 52a is displayed in a connected state at the rear of the vehicle image 10p, as shown in FIG. In this case, for example, the trailer icon 52a is lit and displayed, and a state in which the trailer icon 52a is connected to the vehicle image 10p is clearly indicated. That is, it can be clearly displayed that the towed vehicle 12 is in the recognition (detection) state.

  FIG. 9 shows a trailer icon 52 a displayed when the towed vehicle 12 connected to the tow vehicle 10 can not be recognized in the recognition unit 46. In this case, the trailer icon 52a is displayed in a blinking manner, for example, to facilitate attention to the trailer icon 52a. That is, it can be clearly displayed that the towed vehicle 12 can not be recognized. If the towed vehicle 12 can not be recognized, the trailer icon 52a may be hidden. In the peripheral monitoring mode mainly performing monitoring of the connection state of the towed vehicle 12, the own vehicle image 10p and the trailer icon 52a that should be displayed if the towed vehicle 12 is connected to the tow vehicle 10 are the own vehicle images Since only 10p is displayed (the trailer icon 52a is not displayed), it is easy to give the driver a strong impression, and it is easier to recognize that the towed vehicle 12 is in the non-recognition (non-detection) state. Become.

  FIG. 10 shows another trailer icon 52a displayed in the recognition unit 46 when the towed vehicle 12 connected to the tow vehicle 10 can not be recognized. In this case, the vehicle image 10p and the trailer icon 52a are displayed in the same manner as at the time of recognition in FIG. 8, but the display mode of the trailer icon 52a is different from that at the time of recognition. In the case of the example of FIG. 10, a highlight mark 52b, for example, "?" Is attached to the trailer icon 52a to make it easy to recognize that the towed vehicle 12 is in the non-recognition state. The display mode of the trailer icon 52a at the time of non-recognition shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 is an example, and can be changed as appropriate if it is distinguished from the display mode at the time of recognition shown in FIG. For example, when changing the display mode of the trailer icon 52a, the index mode control unit 50a changes the display color of the trailer icon 52a, changes (for example, decreases) display brightness, or changes the transmittance (for example, transmittance) Can be high), and similar effects can be obtained. Also, the display modes described above may be combined. For example, the example of FIG. 9 and the example of FIG. 10 may be combined, and the highlight mark 52b may be added to the trailer icon 52a in the blinking display to further emphasize the non-recognition.

  Such an indicator 52 (trailer icon 52a) is displayed on the overhead image P1 (vehicle peripheral image) of the screen 26a of the display device 26 as shown in FIG. 7 when the towed vehicle 12 is recognized by the recognition unit 46. Is displayed. As described above, when the towed vehicle 12 is connected to the tow vehicle 10, the relative position between the own vehicle image 10p and the trailer image 12p is determined. Then, when the towed vehicle 12 can be recognized by the recognition unit 46, the connection angle acquiring unit 44d can acquire the connecting angle θ of the towed vehicle 12 recognized on the captured image data with respect to the tow vehicle 10. Therefore, the index mode control unit 50a changes the connection angle of the index 52 (trailer icon 52a) with respect to the vehicle image 10p displayed in the overhead image P1 according to the connection angle θ between the tow vehicle 10 and the tow vehicle 12 It can be superimposed and displayed in the state where it is made. In the case of FIG. 7, the tow vehicle 10 and the tow vehicle 12 are connected in a straight line in a straight state (the vehicle center axis M of the tow vehicle 10 and the connection center axis N of the tow vehicle 12 overlap in the front and rear direction) State: The vehicle image 10p, the trailer icon 52a and the trailer image 12p in the case of FIG. 5) are displayed. In this case, the trailer image 12p displayed as being connected to the host vehicle image 10p at a connection angle θ and the trailer icon displayed as connected to the host vehicle image 10p at a connection angle θ It is displayed overlapping with 52a. That is, the trailer icon 52a is superimposed on the display corresponding position of the towed vehicle 12 in the overhead image P1 (captured image). Therefore, the driver who confirms the overhead view image P1 can easily understand that the trailer image 12p and the trailer icon 52a indicate the same thing, and the sense of incongruity that the periphery monitoring system 100 recognizes the towed vehicle 12 Makes it easier to understand. In this manner, when the recognition unit 46 can not recognize the towed vehicle 12, the driver is made to understand that the towed vehicle 12 is not recognized in terms of control by the display mode (for example, non-display) of the trailer icon 52 a Cheap. Furthermore, by confirming the position where the trailer icon 52a is to be displayed on the bird's-eye view image P1, that is, the position of the trailer image 12p at the rear of the own vehicle image 10p, the presence or absence of the actual towed vehicle 12 and the towed vehicle 12 When it is connected, it becomes easy to recognize connection angle (theta) etc. simply.

  On the other hand, when the recognition unit 46 can not recognize the towed vehicle 12, the index mode control unit 50a changes the display mode of the index 52 (trailer icon 52a). For example, as described in FIG. 9, the indicator 52 (trailer icon 52a) is not displayed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the overhead image P1 can be clearly distinguished from the overhead image P1 of FIG. As can be seen from the comparison between FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, in the periphery monitoring mode, the trailer icon 52 a that should be displayed if the towed vehicle 12 is connected to the tow vehicle 10 is hidden. This makes it easy to give a strong impression, and makes it easy to recognize that the towed vehicle 12 is in the non-recognition state.

  As described above, the trailer image is an overhead image P1 even when the recognition unit 46 can not recognize the towed vehicle 12 in the surrounding area monitoring system 100 even though the towed vehicle 12 is connected to the tow vehicle 10. 12p may be visible. That is, even when the quality of the rear image captured by the imaging unit 24 is not good enough that the to-be-driven vehicle 12 can not be visually recognized in the image processing, the trailer image 12p may be able to be confirmed by the overhead image P1 although it may be unclear. . As a result, by allowing the driver to confirm the bird's-eye view image P1 (vehicle peripheral image), it is possible to confirm the state of the to-be-towed vehicle 12 from the image of the tow vehicle 12 contained in the bird's-eye view image P1. As a result, for example, the presence or absence of connection of the towed vehicle 12 and an approximate connection posture can be recognized.

  The index mode control unit 50a may display the indicator 54 for simply displaying the index 52 (trailer icon 52a) at a part of the overhead image P1 or at a position where the driver can easily view. In the case of FIG. 6, FIG. 7, the indicator 54 is arrange | positioned in the upper right position of the bird's-eye view image P1. The indicator 54 is composed of a tractor indicator 54a and a trailer indicator 54b. When the recognition unit 46 recognizes the towed vehicle 12, as shown in FIG. 7, the tractor indicator 54a and the trailer indicator 54b are lit, for example. Is displayed. On the other hand, when the recognition unit 46 does not recognize the towed vehicle 12, only the tractor indicator 54a is displayed, for example, as shown in FIG. In this case, for example, displaying the indicator 54 at a higher luminance than the luminance of the overhead image P1 makes it easy for the driver to intuitively understand the recognition state of the driven vehicle 12.

  The recognition unit 46 determines “not recognized” when the towed vehicle 12 can not be recognized as a result of performing image processing on the rear image captured by the imaging unit 24. That is, the recognition unit 46 can not recognize the tow vehicle 12 because the tow vehicle 10 is not connected to the tow vehicle 10 and the tow vehicle 12 can not be recognized although the tow vehicle 12 is connected to the tow vehicle 10 In any case, it is determined as "not recognized". Therefore, the indicator mode control unit 50a can accurately notify the driver of the fact that the to-be-driven vehicle 12 can not be recognized by the display mode of the trailer icon 52a or the indicator 54.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the guide line generation unit 50 b is a movement position prediction line indicating a direction in which the tow vehicle 10 or the wheels 14 travel when the tow vehicle 10 is caused to travel based on the current steering angle of the tow vehicle 10. A guide line such as a reference line indicating the distance from the end of the tow vehicle 10 and the guide of the vehicle width is generated. For example, when the guide line generation unit 50b acquires a signal indicating that the tow vehicle 10 is not in a backward travelable state based on the acquisition result of the shift position acquisition unit 44c (for example, the shift position is P (parking)) N (Neutral), D (Drive), etc., as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, generates a reference line 56 which is an example of a guide line, which is directed to a direction according to the steering angle of the tow vehicle 10 in the real image P2. Do. The reference line 56 is displayed, for example, by a vehicle width guide line 56a of the tow vehicle 10 extending in the traveling direction based on the steering angle of the tow vehicle 10 and a small piece projecting in a vehicle width direction from a part of the vehicle width guide line 56a. The distance reference lines 56b, 56c, 56d and so on indicate the distance from the front bumper 16a of the tow vehicle 10 to the front. Distance reference line 56b is a distance of, for example, 0.5 m from front bumper 16a, distance reference line 56c is a distance of, for example, 1.0 m from front bumper 16a, distance reference line 56d is a distance of for example 2.5 m from front bumper 16a. Is displayed at the position corresponding to Note that the display mode of the reference line 56 is an example, and for example, the distance reference lines 56b, 56c, and 56d may be displayed as lines connected across the left and right vehicle width guide lines 56a, or the distance reference lines The sense of distance may be recognized by changing the display color of the area divided by 56b, 56c, 56d. Further, the length in front of the reference line 56 can be appropriately selected, and may be 2.5 m or more or less than 2.5 m. Also, although three distance reference lines 56b, 56c, 56d are shown, it may be less than three or four or more. Also, the interval can be changed.

  FIGS. 11 and 12 show the movement position prediction line 58, which is an example of a guide line generated by the guide line generation unit 50b, in the actual image P2 of the screen 26a of the display device 26 when the tow vehicle 10 is in the backward traveling possible state. It is a display example which shows the case where it is superimposed-displayed. When the guide line generation unit 50b acquires a signal (signal indicating R (reverse)) indicating that the tow vehicle 10 can travel backward based on the acquisition result of the shift position acquisition unit 44c, as illustrated in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, a movement position prediction line 58 is generated in the actual image P <b> 2 to indicate the trajectory (which indicates the movement prediction position of the tow vehicle 10) of the tow vehicle 10. The movement position prediction line 58 may include a locus indicating the direction in which the rear wheel 14R of the tow vehicle 10 moves. In the following description, a movement position prediction line 58 including a locus along which the rear wheel 14R of the tow vehicle 10 moves is shown as an example. The movement position prediction line 58 is, for example, a tire locus line 58a indicating a movement prediction position of the rear wheel 14R based on the steering angle of the tow vehicle 10, and a distance reference line 58b indicating a distance behind the tow vehicle 10 from the rear bumper 16 , 58c, 58d and the like. The distance reference line 58b corresponds to a separation distance of, for example, 0.5 m from the rear bumper 16, the distance reference line 58c corresponds to a separation distance of, for example, 1.0 m from the rear bumper 16, and the distance reference line 58d corresponds to a separation distance of, for example, 2.5 m from the rear bumper 16. Indicates the position. In another embodiment, an extension line of a vehicle center line extending in the front-rear direction of the tow vehicle 10 may be used as the movement position prediction line 58. In this case, a line may extend rearward from the rear bumper 16, and a line similar to the distance reference lines 58b, 58c, and 58d may be attached thereto. Further, the distance reference lines 58 b, 58 c, 58 d may be similar to the rear corner portions of the rear bumpers 16 and 10.

  In the case of the present embodiment, the guide line generation unit 50b can provide the driver with the recognition result of the recognition unit 46 by changing the display mode of the movement position prediction line 58 on the screen 26a of the display device 26. FIG. 11 illustrates a display example of the screen 26 a of the display device 26 when the recognition unit 46 can not recognize the towed vehicle 12 in a state where the tow vehicle 10 can travel backward in the periphery monitoring mode. In the case of FIG. 11, the towed vehicle 12 can not be recognized by the recognition unit 46 even though the towed vehicle 12 appears in the rear image captured by the imaging unit 24. Therefore, in the overhead image P1, the trailer image 12p corresponding to the to-be-drawn vehicle 12 is displayed in an attitude in which the trailer image 12p is turned to the right although it is unclear. In addition, although the tow vehicle 12 is unclear, it is also displayed on the actual image P2. An indicator 54 (trailer icon 52a) indicating that the towed vehicle 12 can not be recognized is displayed in the overhead image P1, and an indicator 54 including a tractor indicator 54a and a trailer indicator 54b indicating a non-recognition state is displayed. It is displayed. In this case, the indicator 52 (trailer icon 52a) can not recognize the towed vehicle 12 and can not detect the connection angle θ. Therefore, for example, in the state in series with the host vehicle image 10p, the luminance is higher than the host vehicle image 10p. It is displayed in a lowered state or in a state in which the transmittance is higher than the vehicle image 10p. When the pulling device 18 or the like is provided with an angle detection sensor or the like, although the towed vehicle 12 can not be recognized by the recognition unit 46, the trailer icon 52a or the trailer indicator 54b is used when the connection angle θ can be detected. It may be displayed in a posture inclined according to the connection angle θ.

  In this case, in order to clearly show that the recognition unit 46 does not recognize the towed vehicle 12, the surrounding area monitoring system 100 is displayed when the towed vehicle 12 is not connected to the real image P 2 at the time of backward movement. And the movement position prediction line 58 in the normal display mode extending to a predetermined rear position (for example, 2.5 m). That is, the movement position prediction line 58 including the distance reference lines 58b, 58c and 58d is displayed. By performing such a normal display of the movement position prediction line 58, it is possible to make it easy for the driver who has confirmed the screen 26a to understand that the surrounding area monitoring system 100 does not recognize the towed vehicle 12. Since the recognition unit 46 can not recognize the tow vehicle 12 even if the tow vehicle 12 does not exist around the tow vehicle 10, the guide line generation unit 50b generates the movement position prediction line 58 of the normal display mode. The superimposed image is displayed on the image P2.

  On the other hand, when the recognition unit 46 recognizes the tow vehicle 12 when the tow vehicle 10 can travel backward in the state of transition to the periphery monitoring mode, as shown in FIG. A clear trailer image 12p corresponding to the vehicle 12 is displayed in the attitude of turning to the right. In addition, the towed vehicle 12 is clearly displayed on the actual image P2. Further, in the overhead image P1, an index 52 (trailer icon 52a) indicating that the towed vehicle 12 can be recognized is displayed. In this case, since the connection angle acquisition unit 44d can obtain the connection angle θ between the tow vehicle 10 and the tow vehicle 12 by image processing, the index 52 (trailer icon 52a) has a posture corresponding to the connection angle θ. It can be linked to the own vehicle image 10 p and displayed. Similarly, an indicator 54 configured of a tractor indicator 54a and a trailer indicator 54b indicating a recognition state may be displayed in a connected posture based on the connected angle θ.

  In this case, the surrounding area monitoring system 100 is displayed when the towed vehicle 12 is connected to the actual image P2 in order to clearly show that the recognition unit 46 recognizes the towed vehicle 12. A movement position prediction line 58 of a short display mode extending to a rear position (for example, 1.0 m) not overlapping the towed vehicle 12 is displayed. In this case, only the tire locus line 58a extending to the distance reference line 58c and the distance reference line 58c is displayed as the movement position prediction line 58. By displaying the movement position prediction line 58 in such a short display mode, it is possible to make it easy for the driver who has confirmed the screen 26 a to understand that the surrounding area monitoring system 100 recognizes the towed vehicle 12. . In addition, since the movement position prediction line 58 in the short display mode does not overlap the towed vehicle 12, the visibility of the actual image P2 is improved, and the recognized connection posture of the towed vehicle 12 and the backward movement of the towing vehicle 10 are realized. The traveling direction can be easily recognized. In particular, the tire locus line 58a of the movement position prediction line 58 in a shortened display mode not overlapping with the towed vehicle 12 is displayed with an appropriate length (for example, 1.0 m) to recognize the direction of the tire locus line 58a. This makes it easy to understand the direction in which the tow vehicle 10 is heading, that is, the current steering direction (steering angle direction) of the tow vehicle 10. As a result, in order to turn the driven vehicle 12 in a desired direction, it can be made easy to determine in which direction the steering angle should be changed.

  Returning to FIG. 4, when the monitor request acquisition unit 44e acquires a request for transition to the surrounding area monitor mode, the display switching unit 50c causes the screen 26a of the display device 26 to be displayed as shown in FIG. Switch to the peripheral monitoring screen as shown in 12. In addition, when the monitoring request acquisition unit 44e acquires the termination request of the periphery monitoring mode, the display switching unit 50c restores the periphery display screen to the normal display screen. In the periphery monitoring mode, the actual image P2 captured by the imaging unit 24 or the imaging unit 24a corresponding to the traveling direction of the tow vehicle 10 is displayed based on the traveling direction of the tow vehicle 10 detected by the shift position acquisition unit 44c. Switch the screen 26a to. The display switching unit 50 c switches the display mode of the indicator 52 (trailer icon 52 a), the display mode of the indicator 54, and the display mode of the movement position prediction line 58 based on the recognition result of the recognition unit 46.

  An example of a display processing procedure in periphery monitoring by the periphery monitoring system 100 configured as described above will be described using the flowchart in FIG.

  First, the CPU 36a checks whether the monitoring request acquisition unit 44e acquires a request for transition to the periphery monitoring mode by the driver operating the operation input unit 30, for example. If the monitoring request acquisition unit 44e has not acquired a request for transition to the periphery monitoring mode (No in S100), the CPU 36a once ends this flow. On the other hand, when the monitoring request acquisition unit 44e acquires the transition request to the surrounding area monitoring mode (Yes in S100), the CPU 36a receives the rear image captured by the imaging unit 24 via the image acquisition unit 44a and the imaging unit 24a. A forward image to be captured is acquired (S102). Subsequently, the CPU 36a generates a bird's-eye view image P1 using the rear image acquired by the image acquisition unit 44a and the front image or side image obtained by imaging the periphery of the tow vehicle 10, and the display switching unit 50c causes the periphery monitoring screen to be displayed. It displays (S104). That is, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, from the normal display screen (for example, the navigation screen or the audio screen) displayed on the screen 26a of the display device 26 before the display switching unit 50c receives the transition request to the periphery monitoring mode. It switches to the periphery monitoring screen comprised by the bird's-eye view image P1 and the real image P2.

  Subsequently, the CPU 36a acquires the steering angle of the tow vehicle 10 detected by the steering angle sensor 38 via the steering angle acquisition unit 44b (S106). Then, the CPU 36a causes the recognition unit 46 to execute image processing on the rear image acquired by the image acquisition unit 44a, and causes the towed vehicle 12 to be recognized. Then, when the towed vehicle 12 can be recognized by the recognition unit 46 (Yes in S108), the CPU 36a causes the index mode control unit 50a to display the overhead image P1 generated by the image conversion unit 48 as shown in FIG. A trailer icon 52a indicating that the towed vehicle 12 is recognized is displayed (S110). At this time, as described in FIG. 5, the connection angle acquisition unit 44 d acquires the connection angle θ of the towed vehicle 12 with respect to the tow vehicle 10. The index mode control unit 50a determines the attitude (connection angle) of the trailer icon 52a displayed on the overhead image P1 with respect to the vehicle image 10p based on the connection angle θ acquired by the connection angle acquisition unit 44d, and the vehicle image 10p And the trailer icon 52a are displayed in a connected state. The index mode control unit 50a also determines the connection angle between the tractor indicator 54a and the trailer indicator 54b in the indicator 54 based on the connection angle θ acquired by the connection angle acquisition unit 44d. Thus, in the case where the towed vehicle 12 can be recognized by the recognition unit 46, for example, in the case where the connection angle θ between the tow vehicle 10 and the towed vehicle 12 is approximately 0, the overhead image P1 is as shown in FIG. It becomes an image. Further, in the case of the connecting angle θ ≠ 0, the overhead image P1 is an image as shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, when the towed vehicle 12 can not be recognized by the recognition unit 46 (No in S108), the CPU 36a does not recognize the tow vehicle 12 in the overhead image P1 generated by the image conversion unit 48 by the index mode control unit 50a. The trailer icon 52a is hidden so as to indicate that (S112). Further, the index mode control unit 50a displays the indicator 54 of only the tractor indicator 54a indicating that the towed vehicle 12 is not recognized in the overhead image P1 (see the overhead image P1 in FIG. 6). At this time, the indicator mode control unit 50a may display a trailer icon 52a indicating that the towed vehicle 12 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is not recognized in the overhead image P1 (see FIG. 11 overhead view image P1).

  Subsequently, the CPU 36a confirms the direction (forward or backward) in which the towing vehicle 10 is currently going to advance, based on the acquisition result of the shift position acquisition unit 44c. In a case where the shift position acquisition unit 44c acquires a signal indicating that the driver is moving the tow vehicle 10 to the “R range” in an attempt to move the towing vehicle 10 backward (Yes in S114), the recognition unit 46 When the vehicle recognizes the towed vehicle 12 (Yes in S116), the guide line generation unit 50b generates a guide line at the time of towing (S118). That is, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, a movement position prediction line 58 in a shortened display mode extending to a position of 1.0 m behind the tow vehicle 10 is generated. In this case, the guide line generation unit 50b calculates the turning trajectory of the tow vehicle 10 based on the steering angle of the tow vehicle 10 acquired by the steering angle acquisition unit 44b, and the tire locus line 58a of the rear wheel 14R of the tow vehicle 10 To determine the drawing direction of the movement position prediction line 58. On the other hand, in S116, when the recognition unit 46 does not recognize the towed vehicle 12 (No in S116), the guide line generation unit 50b generates a guide line during non-traction (S120). That is, as shown in FIG. 11, for example, the movement position prediction line 58 in the normal display mode extending to a position 2.5 m behind the tow vehicle 10 is generated. Also in this case, the guide line generation unit 50b calculates the turning trajectory of the tow vehicle 10 based on the steering angle of the tow vehicle 10 acquired by the steering angle acquisition unit 44b, and the tire locus line of the rear wheel 14R of the tow vehicle 10 The drawing direction of the movement position prediction line 58 is determined by calculating 58a. When the movement position prediction line 58 is generated by the guide line generation unit 50b, the CPU 36a superimposes the movement position prediction line 58 (guide line) on the actual image P2 indicating the rear (S122), as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. Screen 26 a is displayed on the display device 26.

  Then, when the monitoring request acquisition unit 44e acquires the peripheral monitoring mode end request (Yes in S124), the CPU 36a causes the display switching unit 50c, for example, when the driver operates the end switch using the operation input unit 30. The normal display screen is displayed (returned) on the screen 26a of the display device 26 (S126). For example, the screen 26a is switched to a navigation screen or an audio screen, and the series of peripheral monitoring processing is temporarily ended.

  In S124, when the monitoring request acquisition unit 44e does not acquire the peripheral monitoring mode end request (No in S124), the CPU 36a proceeds to S102 and continues the peripheral monitoring process.

  In S114, when the driver is not trying to cause the towing vehicle 10 to travel backward, that is, when the shift position acquisition unit 44c acquires a signal indicating that the shift operation unit is being moved to other than the “R range” ( The guide line generation unit 50b generates a reference line 56 for front display, and displays the reference line 56 superimposed on the front actual image P2 (S128). That is, the screen 26 a as shown in FIG. 6 or 7 is displayed on the display device 26. Also in this case, the guide line generation unit 50b calculates the turning trajectory of the tow vehicle 10 based on the steering angle of the tow vehicle 10 acquired by the steering angle acquisition unit 44b, and determines the drawing direction of the reference line 56. After displaying the reference line 56 on the screen 26a, the CPU 36a proceeds to the process of S124, determines whether or not to finish the periphery monitoring process, and executes the above-described process.

  The flowchart shown in FIG. 13 is an example, and it is sufficient if the driver can be notified of information indicating whether or not the surrounding area monitoring system 100 recognizes the towed vehicle 12, and processing steps can be replaced or increased or decreased as appropriate. You can get the effect of

  As described above, according to the surroundings monitoring system 100 of the present embodiment, it is clearly indicated whether or not the towed vehicle 12 can be recognized in the surroundings monitoring system 100, so the control (processing) status of the surroundings monitoring system 100 can be It is easy to make it understand and it makes it easy to give the driver a sense of security.

  In the embodiment described above, an example is shown in which the display device 26 is used to notify whether or not the surrounding area monitoring system 100 recognizes the towed vehicle 12. However, for example, the content to be displayed on the overhead image P1 is displayed It may be simply displayed using the device 34, and the same effect can be obtained. Further, when the surrounding area monitoring system 100 notifies whether the towed vehicle 12 is recognized or not, in addition to the visual notification as described above, even if the auditory notification is performed by voice using the voice output device 28 As a result, the driver can more clearly grasp the recognition state of the towed vehicle 12 in the surrounding area monitoring system 100.

  Although the example which displays the display area of the bird's-eye view image P1 smaller than the display area of the real image P2 on the display device 26 is shown in the embodiment described above, the bird's-eye view image P1 may be displayed larger than the real image P2. In this case, the recognition state of the driven vehicle 12 can be more clearly understood by the driver. Further, the overhead image P1 may be displayed on the display device 34, and only the actual image P2 may be displayed on the display device 26. In this case, the display area of the real image P2 can be secured widely, and the visibility of the real image P2 can be improved. In addition, when the display device 34 is disposed at a position where the line of sight of the driver while driving can be viewed without much movement (for example, the dashboard panel portion of the dashboard), the visibility of the overhead image P1 should be improved. Can. Further, only the overhead image P1 may be displayed on the display device 26, and similarly, the visibility of the overhead image P1 can be improved.

  The peripheral monitoring program executed by the CPU 36a of the present embodiment is a file in an installable format or an executable format, and is a computer such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). It may be configured to be recorded and provided on a readable recording medium.

  Furthermore, the periphery monitoring program may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. Further, the periphery monitoring program executed in the present embodiment may be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  While the embodiments and variations of the present invention have been described, these embodiments and variations are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and the gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Tow vehicle, 10p ... Self-vehicle image, 12 ... Tow vehicle, 12p ... Trailer image, 18 ... Tow apparatus, 20 ... Connection member, 24, 24a ... Imaging part, 26, 34 ... Display apparatus, 26a ... Screen, 36: ECU, 36a: CPU, 44: acquisition unit, 44a: image acquisition unit, 44b: steering angle acquisition unit, 44c: shift position acquisition unit, 44d: connection angle acquisition unit, 44e: monitoring request acquisition unit, 46: recognition Reference numeral 48 image conversion unit 50 control unit 50a indicator mode control unit 50b guide line generation unit 50c display switching unit 52 indicator 52a trailer icon 54 indicator 54a tractor indicator , 54 b ... trailer indicator, 56 ... reference line, 58 ... movement position prediction line, 100 ... perimeter monitoring system.

Claims (4)

An acquisition unit configured to acquire a captured image obtained by imaging a rear region of the tow vehicle from the tow vehicle to which the tow vehicle can be connected;
A recognition unit that recognizes the towed vehicle in a connected state based on the captured image;
Whether or not the towed vehicle can be detected is determined based on the recognition result of the recognition unit, and a display mode of an indicator indicating the state of the tow vehicle or the towed vehicle according to the result of the determination A control unit to determine and display;
Peripheral monitoring device provided with   The surrounding area monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit hides the index when the recognition unit can not recognize the towed vehicle.   The control unit superimposes a movement position prediction line based on the current steering angle of the tow vehicle on the captured image as the index, when the tow vehicle moves backward based on the steer angle of the tow vehicle, and The surrounding area monitoring device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the display mode of the movement position prediction line is made different between when the tow vehicle is recognized and when it is not recognized. The acquisition unit further acquires an image around the tow vehicle,
When displaying the vehicle mark indicating the towed vehicle as the index, the control unit causes the display corresponding position of the towed vehicle in the vehicle peripheral image based on the peripheral image to be superimposed and displayed. The surrounding area monitoring device according to any one of the above.

Images