JP3199380U - Automobile pillar visualization device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle pillar visualization device that can visualize a blind spot caused by a front pillar of a vehicle with a simple device. An image display monitor 10 that is mounted on a front pillar in a vehicle and that can cover the entire front pillar, and an out-of-vehicle camera that is installed at a predetermined location outside the vehicle and that can capture a blind spot area due to the front pillar as viewed from the driver. 20 and a control unit 30 that processes a video image taken by the vehicle camera 20 and creates a display video image by determining a display range and correcting an inclination based on the equipment mode of the image display monitor 10. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle pillar visualization device that assists the field of view by making a blind spot due to a front pillar of a vehicle visible, thereby contributing to safe driving.

  Pillars (front pillars) are arranged on both sides of the windshield of the automobile. The presence of such pillars obstructs a part of the field of view, and the driver's line of sight ahead of the pillar becomes a blind spot, so the driver is unaware of the existence of other vehicles that are located diagonally forward of the vehicle. A serious accident may be caused. In the first place, the driver is required to pay a high degree of attention to the blind spot for driving, but if possible, it is desired to minimize the blind spot of the automobile.

  In order to assist the blind spot caused by such pillars, the camera that acquires the primary image data, and the secondary image data viewed from the driver by converting the viewpoint of the primary image data, and the left side as viewed from the driver A controller for preparing left A-pillar image data corresponding to the A pillar and right A-pillar image data corresponding to the right A-pillar, and a first portion of the secondary image data corresponding to the left blind spot area and the left blind spot peripheral area Right side A pillar image data which is displayed together with the left side A pillar image data transparently superimposed and the second part of the secondary image data corresponding to the right side blind spot region and the right side blind spot peripheral region is transparently superimposed. In addition, a technical proposal of “a visual assistance system for a vehicle and a vehicle including the system” is provided. (Patent Document 1).

  However, according to the technical proposal described in Patent Document 1, blind spot image data is displayed on an image display device provided at a position different from the pillar, and the driver's line of sight is completely different from the blind spot. Since it is necessary to check the image in the direction of, the driver feels uncomfortable because of the difference between the desired direction and the viewing direction.

  In addition, as a proposal to provide an image display device on the pillar, an image display that displays a camera attached to the outer mirror device and a rear view photographed by the camera so that a passenger seated in the passenger seat can see A technical proposal of “automobile” in which an image display device is attached to a vehicle interior portion of a front pillar has been made (Patent Document 2).

  However, the technical proposal described in Patent Document 2 is a technical proposal for the passenger seat to visually recognize the rear, and does not relate to the blind spot visual assistance by the driver's pillar.

  Also, as a proposal to project an image on the pillar, a retroreflecting surface is formed on the inner surface of the pillar at a position that obstructs the view of the vehicle driver sitting in the driver's seat in the passenger compartment, and the vehicle driver's line of sight on the driver's seat A camera that shoots the outside of the pillar from approximately the same direction as the camera is mounted on the vehicle outside the passenger compartment, and a projector that irradiates the image captured by the camera toward the retroreflective surface of the pillar in real time Technical proposals have been made on a “vehicle vision assistance device” that is fixedly arranged in a passenger compartment at a position close to the eyes of a person (Patent Document 3).

  However, according to the technical proposal described in Patent Document 3, it is possible to visually recognize the blind spot due to the pillar with an image, and to enable the driver to visually recognize the line of sight without changing the direction of the blind spot. However, since it is necessary to provide a projector and a screen (retroreflective surface) for projecting the image, it is a large-scale device as a whole, and the visibility of the projected image is affected by the brightness of the surroundings. In addition, there is a possibility that projection may be impossible due to an obstacle between the projector and the screen.

JP 2012-34076 A JP 2009-119915 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-199934

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an automobile pillar visualization device that can visualize a blind spot caused by a front pillar of an automobile with a simple device.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an automobile pillar visualization device according to the present invention is provided with an image display monitor mounted on a front pillar in a vehicle and capable of covering the entire front pillar, and a driver installed at a predetermined location outside the vehicle. A camera outside the vehicle that can capture the blind spot area due to the front pillar, and a display image is created by processing the image captured by the camera outside the vehicle and determining the display range and correcting the tilt based on the equipment display monitor And a control unit.

  The vehicle pillar visualization apparatus according to the present invention includes an in-vehicle camera that measures the position of the driver's eyes, and the control unit creates a display image based on the position of the driver's eyes measured by the in-vehicle camera. A configuration may be employed.

  Furthermore, the automobile pillar visualization device according to the present invention includes a lightness measuring device for measuring the lightness in the vehicle, and the control unit determines the brightness of the display image according to the lightness in the vehicle measured by the lightness measuring device. Can also be adopted.

  According to the automobile pillar visualization device according to the present invention, the blind spot by the front pillar of the automobile is visualized as it is, so that the driver can take a normal driving posture without looking at the driver's gaze in another direction. As a result, it is possible to ensure the entire field of view at all times, and there is an unprecedented excellent effect that contributes to safe driving and accident prevention.

  In addition, according to the automobile pillar visualization device according to the present invention, only the blind spot due to the front pillar of the automobile is displayed as it is on the image display monitor through the video processing by the control unit, so that the other side of the front pillar can actually be seen. Since it is displayed as it is, it has an excellent effect that it can match the surrounding scenery that can be visually recognized and the driver can secure an overall view without feeling uncomfortable.

It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows embodiment of the motor vehicle pillar visualization apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a vehicle interior figure which shows embodiment of the automobile pillar visualization apparatus which concerns on this invention. 1 is a vehicle exterior view showing an embodiment of an automobile pillar visualization device according to the present invention.

The automobile pillar visualization device 1 according to the present invention includes an image display monitor 10 that is mounted on the front pillar 41 in the vehicle and can cover the entire front pillar 41, and is installed at a predetermined location outside the vehicle and viewed from the front of the driver. The outside camera 20 capable of photographing the blind spot area by the pillar 41 and the image captured by the outside camera 20 are processed, and the display range is determined and the inclination is corrected based on the equipment mode of the image display monitor 10. The greatest feature is that it comprises a control unit 30 to be created.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of an automobile pillar visualization device 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the structure and aspect shown to the following embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of the technical idea of this invention, it can change arbitrarily.

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing an embodiment of an automobile pillar visualization device 1 according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an interior view showing an embodiment of the automobile pillar visualization device according to the present invention, and FIG. It is a vehicle exterior view which shows embodiment of the automobile pillar visualization apparatus which concerns.
That is, the automobile pillar visualization device 1 according to the present invention includes an image display monitor 10, a camera 20 outside the vehicle, and a control unit 30.

  The image display monitor 10 is mounted on the front pillar 41 in the vehicle 40, and a blind spot area beyond the front pillar 41 that cannot be visually recognized by the driver is displayed on the image display monitor 10. The image display monitor 10 employs a liquid crystal or other panel type monitor system, and is configured to cover the entire front pillar 41.

  The image display monitor 10 is mounted on at least one of the front pillars 41 existing on the left and right sides of the automobile 40. However, the blind spot due to the front pillar 41 is left and right for the driver. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, both left and right front pillars 41 are preferably provided.

  The vehicle exterior camera 20 is installed at a predetermined location outside the vehicle in the automobile 40 and captures a blind spot area on the other side of the front pillar 41 that cannot be visually recognized by the driver. The installation location of the outside camera 20 is not particularly limited as long as it can perform its function. For example, the upper surface portion and base portion of the door mirror, the lowermost end portion of the front pillar 41 outside the vehicle, the top surface portion of the automobile 41, and the like. It can be installed as appropriate in consideration of air resistance during travel. Note that FIG. 3 shows the case where the outside camera 20 is installed at the base of the door mirror.

  The camera 20 outside the vehicle is required for each image display monitor 10, and when adopting a mode in which the image display monitor 10 is mounted on both the left and right front pillars 41, one image display monitor 10 is provided. A total of two external cameras 20 are required.

  The control unit 30 creates a video to be displayed on the image display monitor 10, appropriately processes the video taken by the vehicle camera 20, and displays an optimal video on the image display monitor 10. It is. Specifically, the image display monitor 10 is also mounted in an inclined state depending on the inclination angle of the front pillar 41 in the automobile 40, but the image is captured by the outside camera 20 based on the installation mode of the image display monitor 10. A video is created so that the blind spot area on the other side of the front pillar 41 is displayed as it is by determining the range to be displayed from the video and correcting the tilt when displaying the video. It is.

  In the automobile pillar visualization device 1 according to the present invention having the above-described configuration, as shown in FIG. 2, an aspect including an in-vehicle camera 22 that measures the position of the driver's eyes can be considered. By providing such an in-vehicle camera 22, the position of the driver's eyes is constantly measured, and an image to be displayed by the control unit 30 is created based on the measured eye position. In other words, if the driver changes, the position of the eyes varies depending on the driver's body shape (sitting height, etc.), and even the same driver does not always drive in a constant posture, The position of the eye changes every moment due to the change. If the position of the eye is different, the area constituting the blind spot also changes. Therefore, when a video of a certain area is always displayed on the image display monitor 10, it is not necessarily a blind spot area for all drivers. It will not be possible. Therefore, the in-vehicle camera 22 that measures the position of the driver's eyes is provided, and by displaying an image based on the measured eye position, it is possible to reliably display the blind spot area. In addition, there is no limitation in particular about the location provided with this in-vehicle camera 22, For example, the aspect which can be attached to a room mirror, a sun visor, etc. can be considered.

  Further, in the automobile pillar visualization device 1 according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, an aspect including a lightness measuring device 24 for measuring the lightness in the vehicle can be considered. By providing the lightness measuring device 24, the lightness inside the vehicle 40 is measured, and the brightness of the image displayed by the control unit 30 is determined according to the measured lightness. That is, since the visibility of the image display monitor 10 changes according to the brightness in the vehicle, visibility is ensured by displaying an image based on the measured brightness. In addition, there is no limitation in particular about the location provided with this brightness measuring device 24, For example, the aspect which can be attached to a windshield, a vehicle interior ceiling, a room mirror etc. can be considered.

Regarding the automobile pillar visualization device 1 according to the present invention configured as described above, the system configuration of the entire device will be described next.
The image display monitor 10 is installed inside the front pillar 41 of the automobile 40, and the outside camera 20 is installed at a predetermined location outside the automobile 40, for example, at the base of a door mirror. The image display monitor 10 and the vehicle exterior camera 20 are connected to the control unit 30 via wired or wireless communication means, respectively, and images taken by the vehicle exterior camera 20 are sent to the control unit 30 and processed by the control unit 30. The received video is sent to the image display monitor 10.

  In the case where the in-vehicle camera 22 is provided, the in-vehicle camera 22 is connected to the control unit 30 by wired or wireless communication means, and the position information of the driver's eyes measured by the in-vehicle camera 22 is the control unit. 30 and contribute to video processing.

  When the lightness measuring device 24 is provided, the lightness measuring device 24 is connected to the control unit 30 by wired or wireless communication means, and the lightness information in the vehicle measured by the lightness measuring device 24 is stored in the control unit. 30 and contribute to video processing.

In addition, about the image display monitor 10, the exterior camera 20, the control part 30, the interior camera 22, and the brightness measuring device 24 which comprise this invention, it can acquire from the battery of the motor vehicle 40 about the power supply which operates them. Needless to explain.
Further, the present invention was devised to visualize the blind spot of the front pillar 41 of the automobile 40. However, the present invention can be applied to visualization of other blind spots including the intermediate pillar and the rear pillar of the automobile 40.

  The automobile pillar visualization device 1 according to the present invention can be incorporated at the stage of newly manufacturing the automobile 40, and can be retrofitted to the existing automobile 40, and can be manufactured at a low cost as a whole apparatus. Therefore, the industrial applicability of the automobile pillar visualization device 1 according to the present discussion is considered to be extremely high.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automobile pillar visualization apparatus 10 Image display monitor 20 Outside camera 22 Inside camera 24 Lightness measuring device 30 Control part 40 Automobile 41 Front pillar

Claims (3)

  An image display monitor that is mounted on the front pillar inside the vehicle and that can cover the entire front pillar, an outside camera that is installed at a predetermined location outside the vehicle and that can photograph the blind spot area due to the front pillar when viewed from the driver, and the outside of the vehicle An automobile pillar visualization device comprising: a control unit that processes a video imaged by a camera and generates a display video image by determining a display range and correcting an inclination based on an equipment mode of an image display monitor.   The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising an in-vehicle camera that measures a position of the driver's eyes, wherein the control unit creates a display image based on the position of the driver's eyes measured by the in-vehicle camera. Pillar visualization device.   The lightness measuring device which measures the lightness in a vehicle is provided, The said control part determines the brightness of a display image according to the lightness in a vehicle measured by this lightness measuring device, The Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. The described automobile pillar visualization device.