JPH08268156A - Vehicle rear confirming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To eliminate hazardous conditions by directing a camera downward when a gear position is in a reverse one, directing the camera upward when the gear position is out of the reverse one, and only when a vehicle speed is equal to or more or less than a definite one while a direction indicating operation is performed to make a right turn, and directing the camera downward at the time other than the times of the cases. CONSTITUTION: When it is detected by a gear position sensor 1 that a gear position is in a reverse one, s camera 6 is directed downward with a camera rotating section 5 controlled by a control unit 4. When the gear position is out of the reverse one while a vehicle speed is found by a vehicle speed sensor 2 to have been equal to or more than or less than a definite one, and when it is also detected by a direction indicating operation sensor 3 that a direction indicating operation is performed to make a right turn, or only when a vehicle is in hazardous conditions, the camera 6 is directed upward with the camera rotating section 5 controlled by the control unit 4. The camera 6 is directed downward at the time other than the times of the aforesaid cases.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle rear confirmation device, and more particularly to a device for confirming the rear safety of a vehicle at the time of backward movement.

[0001]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventionally known vehicle rear confirmation device, there is one disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-67539. In this conventional technique, a side mirror is controlled so as to face downward when backing up. However, the control of the side mirrors alone is not sufficient to confirm the rear safety, especially in the case of large vehicles.

For this reason, a camera is installed at the rear of the vehicle,
A technique for monitoring an image behind a vehicle with a monitor provided in a driver's seat has come to be used.

As such a conventional technique, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 61-61 is known.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 132442, the rear camera is controlled to face upward when the vehicle speed is high, and the camera is controlled to face downward when the vehicle speed is low or stopped.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-122487 or 62-122844, when the gear enters the reverse position, this is detected to control the camera downward.

[0005]

Each of the above-mentioned conventional vehicle rear confirmation devices has the following drawbacks.

(1) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-122487 or No. 62-122844 In these prior arts, the camera faces downward when moving backward, which is effective for approaching an obstacle behind. .

However, when starting up a slope,
As shown in FIG. 6, even when it is desired to check the distance between the vehicle 40 and the vehicle 40 behind the host vehicle 30, since the gear is in the forward position and not in the reverse position, the camera 50 faces upward and the diagonal line A situation occurs in which the rear vehicle 40 enters the blind spot indicated by and cannot be confirmed.

(2) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-132442 In the case of this prior art, the camera is facing down at low speed or at a stop, so that it is effective for safety confirmation in both cases of retreating and starting on a slope. Is.

However, as shown in FIG.
When the van-type truck 60 stopped at D starts
Since the camera 50 is facing downward, he does not notice the motorcycle 70 or the like traveling in the blind spot area (hatched portion) of the truck 60, and despite the fact that the motorcycle 70 is trying to pass, the truck 60 moves to the right. There are dangerous cases.

Further, the camera 50 is located at the end of the traffic jam on the highway and is stopped in a hazard state.
If is downward, you will not be able to see the approach of the following vehicle and you will be anxious.

Therefore, the present invention eliminates a dangerous situation by controlling the orientation of the camera in consideration of the vehicle speed and the traveling direction of the vehicle in the device for confirming the rear of the vehicle by the monitor image from the camera installed at the rear of the vehicle. The purpose is to

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, in a vehicle rear confirmation device according to the present invention, a gear position detecting means, a vehicle speed detecting means, a rear camera, and a rotating means of the rear camera. , Direction indicating operation detecting means, and when the gear position is in the reverse position, the rotating means is controlled to direct the camera downward, and when the gear position is not in the reverse position, the vehicle speed is a certain value or more or the vehicle speed is constant. Control for controlling the rotating means to make the camera face upward only when the value is less than or equal to the value and the direction indicating operation is a right turn or a hazard state, and otherwise controls the rotating means to make the camera face downward. And a unit.

[0013]

According to the present invention, when the gear position detected by the gear position detecting means is the reverse position, the control unit controls the rotating means to keep the rear camera downward, so that the gear is not in the reverse position and the vehicle speed is constant. When the value is higher than the value, the camera is controlled upward.

Even if the gear position is not the reverse position and the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than a certain value, the camera is controlled upward when the direction indicating operation is turned right or the hazard operation is performed. This is to ensure the safety when the vehicle turns right or when there is a stop hazard, by making it possible to clearly see the rear when a following vehicle is present in the blind spot zone (hatched portion) as shown in FIG. 7.

A summary of this is shown in Table 1 below.

[Table 1]

Further, according to the present invention, the control unit can adjust the brightness of the monitor screen to the dark when the camera faces upward as compared to when the camera faces downward.

The control unit can also prevent the monitor screen from becoming whitish by narrowing the aperture of the camera in advance when the camera is turned from downward to upward.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a vehicle rear confirmation device according to the present invention. In this embodiment, 1 is a gear position (shift lever position) sensor, 2 is a vehicle speed sensor, and 3 is a direction indicator. 4 is a control unit for inputting the output signals of these sensors 1 to 3 and performing a predetermined arithmetic processing.
Is a camera rotation unit that rotates the rear camera 6 provided at the rear of the vehicle in response to the output signal from the vehicle, and 7 is a monitor that displays a captured image of the camera 6 and that receives brightness adjustment from the control unit 4. The control unit 4 can also adjust the diaphragm of the camera 6.
Further, the vehicle speed sensor 2 is ON / OF which is understood to be below a certain vehicle speed
It may output an F signal.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 2. First, the control unit 4 judges whether the gear position is the reverse position by the output signal from the gear position sensor 1. (Step S1), when it is found that the reverse position is reached,
At all times, the camera rotation unit 5 is controlled to make the camera 6 face down (step S4).

At this time, the downward screen which is sent from the camera 6 to the monitor 7 and is projected is shown in FIG. 3 (1).

When it is determined in step S1 that the gear position is not the reverse position, it is determined whether the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed sensor 2 is below a certain value (step S2). The constant value is a reference value for determining the low speed state or the vehicle stop state.

As a result of this judgment, when it is found that the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a certain value, that is, during the general traveling, the camera 6 is controlled upward by the camera rotating portion 5 (step S5).

FIG. 3B shows an upward screen which is sent from the camera 6 to the monitor 7 and is projected at this time.

On the other hand, when it is found that the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than a certain value, the control unit 4 further determines from the output signal of the direction indicator sensor 3 whether or not the direction indicating operation is "turn right" (step). S3).

As a result of this determination, when it is found that the "right turn" operation is being performed, the camera rotating unit 5 controls the camera 6 to face upward (see FIG. 3 (2)) (step S4). This is applied when starting from the road shoulder.

The determination in step S3 may be made as to whether or not the direction indicator has performed a "hazard" operation instead of a "right turn" operation. This is for facilitating the safety confirmation behind the vehicle, for example, at the end of the traffic jam as described above.

Table 1 above summarizes the above steps S1 to S5.

Further, FIG. 3 (3) shows a rear vehicle 4 in the immediate vicinity when the camera 6 is directed downward as shown in FIG. 3 (1).
The viewing angle α displayed on the monitor 7 is 0, and (2) in the same figure.
As you can see, with the camera 6 facing up,
A viewing angle β of 0 is displayed on the monitor 7.

If the turn signal is "turn left" and the vehicle is stopped, it is not necessary to turn the camera upward. Considering the operational durability of the actuator, it is better to reduce unnecessary operations, and in this case it is not necessary to face the camera upward.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the camera rotating portion 5 shown in FIG. 1, which is roughly divided into a mechanism portion 11 and an electric circuit portion 21, and the mechanism portion 11 is an actuator. A solenoid 12, a spring 13 for returning the solenoid 12 to a constant position when the solenoid 12 is deenergized, a movable shaft 14 connected to the solenoid 12, and a movable shaft 14 connected to the movable shaft 14. Camera 6
A fulcrum 15 for rotating the camera and a stopper 1 for the camera 6.
6 and an adjusting unit 17 for adjusting the moving width of the movable shaft 14.
It consists of and.

Further, the circuit section 21 includes a transistor 2 for inputting a control signal from the control unit 4 to the base.
2 and a relay 23 having a coil connected between the collector of the transistor 22 and the power supply 24, and the contact of the relay 23 is connected between the power supply 24 and the mechanical section 11.

In operation, the control unit 4
When the control signal from is at H level (upward), the transistor 22 of the electric circuit section 21 is turned on,
The relay 23 is energized and its contact is turned on, and a current flows through the solenoid 12 of the mechanical section 11 to excite it.

As a result, the solenoid 12 is pulled downward in the figure, so that the movable shaft 14 moves downward against the force of the spring 13, thereby rotating the camera 6 about the fulcrum 15.

As a result, the camera 6 is controlled upward.

On the other hand, when the control signal from the control unit 4 is at L level (downward), the transistor 22 of the electric circuit section 21 is turned off and the relay 23 is turned on.
Is deenergized, its contact is turned off, and no current flows through the solenoid 12 of the mechanism section 11.

As a result, the solenoid 12 is pulled upward by the force of the spring, the movable shaft 14 also moves upward, and the stopper 16 with the fulcrum 15 as the center.
The camera 6 is rotated downward until it hits.

In the above embodiment, further,
When the control signal from the control unit 4 is applied to the monitor 7 and the control signal is at the H level (see FIG. 5 (1)), the camera 6 faces upward, and the brightness of the screen of the monitor 7 is too strong. The brightness can be adjusted so that the screen of 7 becomes dark.

This can be realized by applying a known technique for detecting the operation of the small lamp and switching the brightness of the image as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-123946.

The control signal from the control unit 4 is also given to the camera 6, and when the control signal changes from the L level (see FIG. 5 (1)) to the H level (or vice versa, from the H level to the L level). When), that is, camera 6
Is changed from downward to upward (or upward to downward), the input image is expected to be bright (or dark). Therefore, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to make it narrower (or wider) than the width of the diaphragm just before by a certain ratio so that the screen of the monitor 7 does not become whitish (or dark).

[0039]

As described above, according to the vehicle rear confirmation apparatus according to the present invention, when the gear position is the reverse position, the rotating means is controlled to direct the camera downward, and when the gear position is not the reverse position, the vehicle speed is changed. Only when the vehicle speed is equal to or greater than a certain value or the vehicle speed is less than or equal to a certain value and the direction indicating operation is in the right turn or the hazard state, the rotating means is controlled to direct the camera upward, otherwise the rotating means is controlled. Since the camera is configured to face downward, a downward screen is obtained when moving backward or when starting on a slope, and an upward screen is obtained when starting from a road shoulder, etc., and a screen suitable for each situation is displayed. You will be able to confirm.

Since the monitor screen tends to be dark when the camera is directed downward and bright when it is directed upward, a camera control signal is given to the monitor or the camera so that the monitor screen is bright when the camera is facing downward and is directed upward. By adjusting the brightness and the like to be darker in the case of, it is possible to reduce various discomforts that occur when the camera is switched in the vertical direction.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a vehicle rearward confirmation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a control procedure of a control unit in the vehicle rear confirmation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a monitor screen in the vehicle rear confirmation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a camera rotation unit used in the vehicle rear confirmation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a graph diagram for explaining aperture control of a camera used in the vehicle rear confirmation device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a drawback (1) of the conventional technique.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a drawback (2) of the conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Gear Position Sensor 2 Vehicle Speed Sensor 3 Direction Indicator Sensor 4 Control Unit 5 Camera Rotating Unit 6 Rear Shooting Camera 7 Monitor In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A gear position detecting means, a vehicle speed detecting means, a rear camera, a rotating means for the rear camera, a direction indicating operation detecting means, and the rotating means when the gear position is a reverse position. Then, the camera is turned downward, and when the gear position is not the reverse position, the turning means is provided only when the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a certain value or the vehicle speed is equal to or less than a certain value and the direction indicating operation is right turn or a hazard state. And a control unit that controls the camera so that the camera faces upward and otherwise controls the rotating means so that the camera faces downward. 2. The rear of the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control unit outputs a control signal for adjusting the brightness so that the monitor screen is darker when the camera is facing upward than when the camera is facing downward. Confirmation device. 3. The rear of the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control unit narrows the aperture of the camera in advance so that the monitor screen does not become whitish when the camera is turned from downward to upward. Confirmation device.