JP3468622B2 - Vehicle view device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle view device for displaying the left and right fields of view of the front of a vehicle on a monitor in a vehicle compartment, for example, at an intersection with poor visibility.

[0002]

Related Background Art This type of viewing device is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-77538. This known view device is provided with one surveillance camera attached to the front part of the vehicle, images left and right fields of view of the vehicle with this surveillance camera, and obtains these left and right images, that is, the left and right nose view images. It is supposed to be displayed on the monitor inside the vehicle at the same time. Therefore, when the vehicle starts to enter an intersection with poor visibility, if the viewing device is activated, the driver can check the condition of the intersection from the left and right nose view images displayed on the monitor, and pass the intersection safely. You can

Further, since the left and right nose view images at the intersection are obtained by picking up with one surveillance camera, not only the structure of the view device becomes simple, but also the cost thereof becomes low.

[0004]

In the above-described known view device, when strong light such as the sun is reflected in one of the left and right nose view images from the surveillance camera, the left and right nose view images are displayed between the left and right nose view images. And the visibility of these nose-view images deteriorates. In this case, even if the automatic iris function is added to the surveillance camera, if the illuminance of one nose view image is high, the automatic iris function will judge that the entire left and right screens are too bright and squeeze the lens, The other nose view screen disappears on the monitor.

The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to determine the illuminance of images such as the sun and shade in both images picked up by one monitor camera. It is an object of the present invention to provide a view device for a vehicle that can clearly display both images on a monitor even if they are significantly different.

[0006]

The above-mentioned object is achieved by a vehicle view device according to the present invention, wherein the device according to claim 1 is mounted on a vehicle and is mounted on the vehicle by means of one monitor camera. In addition to a camera unit that captures a field of view as a composite image, a monitor that is arranged in the vehicle interior, and that displays the composite image captured by the camera unit,
Each of the upper and lower parts from the left and right of the image area of the composite image
Further, the left and right regions excluding the boundary portions of the left and right image regions are respectively extracted as target regions for aperture adjustment in the monitor camera, and the aperture of the monitor camera is controlled based on the illuminance of the both target regions extracted. And a control unit for controlling.

According to the apparatus of claim 1, not only the upper and lower parts of the left and right image regions but also the left and right image regions in the composite image
As a result of controlling the aperture of the monitor camera based on the illuminance of only the right and left target areas excluding the boundary portion , at least only the target areas in the composite image are clearly displayed on the monitor. Here, the composite image is a video image of the left and right views of the front of the vehicle, and in this case, the device functions as a nose view device.

[0008] The apparatus of 請 Motomeko 2 further detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of lighting of the headlights in a vehicle, on the basis of the detection result in the detecting means, and adjusting means for adjusting the image output level of the monitor camera I have it. According to the device of claim 2 , when the headlight of the vehicle is turned on at night or in bad weather, the headlight of the vehicle is turned on,
The image output level of the monitor camera is increased, and the left and right nose view images on the monitor become clear.

Further, in the apparatus according to the first aspect , the extraction means is a boundary between the upper and lower parts and the left and right image areas from the composite image.
Since the part excluding the field part is extracted as both target areas, the part excluding the left and right upper and lower parts and the boundary part, that is, the part of the visual field most necessary for the left and right safety confirmation is clearly displayed on the monitor. It will be.

In the apparatus of claim 3 , the control means calculates the average illuminance of both target areas, and the calculating means calculates the aperture control amount of the monitor camera based on the average illuminance difference between both target areas. In addition, in the case of the device of claim 4 , a detection means for detecting the maximum illuminance in both target areas, and a calculation for calculating the aperture control amount of the monitor camera based on the detected maximum illuminance. And means.

According to the apparatus of claims 3 and 4 , in any case, the aperture of the monitor camera is adjusted with reference to the illuminance of the target area.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a vehicle equipped with a view device of the present invention, in which case the view device is applied as a nose view device. A camera unit 2 is attached to the front part of the vehicle body of the vehicle, for example, the center of the front bumper, and the camera unit 2 is capable of simultaneously capturing the left and right front parts of the vehicle. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, when the vehicle starts to enter a stop intersection where visibility is poor, the camera unit 2 can temporarily image the left and right of the stop intersection, and the left and right imaging fields of view are LV and RV. Indicated by.

The mounting of the camera unit 2 will be described in more detail. A plate frame 6 is mounted in the center of the front bumper 4 so as to project forward, and the camera unit 2 is arranged on the upper surface of the plate frame 6. ing. A number plate 8 is mounted in the plate frame 6. Camera unit 2
Includes a mirror housing 10. The mirror housing 10 has a tapered front portion and a rear portion having a pair of side surfaces facing left and right. Rectangular windows are opened on these side surfaces, and a transparent synthetic glass window glass 12 is mounted on these windows.

As is clear from the internal structure of the camera unit 2 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a pair of mirrors 14 is housed in the mirror housing 10 and these mirrors 1
4 are arranged in a mountain shape toward the front of the vehicle so as to intersect each other. The pair of mirrors 14 have their reflecting surfaces directed toward the corresponding window glass 12, and the crossing angle α of these mirrors 14 is appropriately set according to the above-mentioned imaging visual fields LV and RV.

An intermediate mirror 16 is housed in the mirror housing 10. The intermediate mirror 16 is located in front of the pair of mirrors 14 and faces the mirrors 14, and its reflecting surface is predetermined. Is inclined downward at an angle of. One monitor camera 18 is arranged below the intermediate mirror 16, and the monitor camera 18 is supported by the mirror housing 10 in a state where the lens portion on the upper side thereof projects into the mirror housing 10 from below. And its lower part is supported in the plate frame 6. Although the monitor camera 18 is not shown,
It includes an optical system having a lens and a CCD image pickup device.

According to the above-described camera unit 2, the light incident through the left and right window glasses 12 is reflected by the left and right mirrors 14 toward the intermediate mirror 16, and is further reflected by the intermediate mirror 16 to be monitored. It is incident on the camera 18. Therefore, the left-right inverted images respectively reflected on the left and right mirrors 14 are again left-right inverted by the intermediate mirror 16 and picked up by the monitor camera 18, whereby the monitor camera 18 synthesizes the left and right images at the front of the vehicle, that is, the combined images. Left and right nose view images can be obtained. here,
In the left and right nose view images, a part of the plate frame 6 is always reflected in the lower part thereof.

Further, the camera unit 2 is the monitor camera 1
Aperture adjustment mechanism 20 for adjusting the aperture of the lens in FIG.
And an output level adjusting mechanism 22 for adjusting the output charge level of the CCD image pickup device, that is, the image output level of the monitor camera 18, and these adjusting mechanisms 20 and 22 are shown in FIG. As is apparent from FIG. 5, the left and right nose view images output from the monitor camera 18 are supplied to the monitor 26 via the controller 24, and accordingly,
The monitor 26 can display left and right nose view images at the same time. The monitor 26 is arranged in the vehicle compartment toward the driver. When the monitor 26 has an automatic brightness adjustment mechanism, the controller 24 is connected to the monitor 26 via a control signal line.

Further, a lighting switch 28 is electrically connected to the controller 24. The lighting switch 28 is a switch for turning on / off the headlights of the vehicle, and the controller 24 can receive an on / off signal from the lighting switch 28 .

Referring to FIG. 6, a control routine executed by the controller 24 is shown, and this control routine will be described below. : Control Routine: The control routine is executed when the vehicle begins to enter an intersection with poor visibility such as a stop intersection, and first, the controller 24 determines whether or not the headlights of the vehicle are lit, that is, turned on. (Step S1). Specifically, when the controller 24 receives the ON signal from the lighting switch 28, the controller 24 determines that the headlight is turned on, and in this case, the monitor camera 1
8 output adjustment and monitor brightness adjustment are executed (step S2). That is, the controller 24 supplies a control signal to the above-mentioned output level adjusting mechanism 22, and the output level adjusting mechanism 22 raises the image output level of the monitor camera 18 based on the control signal. Further, the controller 24 supplies a control signal to the monitor 26, and the monitor 26 reduces the brightness thereof, for example, in response to the supply signal.

After that, the controller 24 executes the next step S3. However, if the determination result of step S1 is false (No), the step S2 is bypassed and step S3 is executed. Left and right nose view images from the camera 18 are captured. The controller 24 extracts the target area from the input left and right nose view images (step S4). Here, the target area is set to the area excluding the upper and lower portions of the left and right nose view images and the boundary portion of the left and right nose view images, and the plate frame 6 is set in the removed lower area. The reflection of is included.

To explain this point in more detail, when the left and right nose view images obtained by the monitor camera 18 are shown in FIG. 7, the left and right regions surrounded by broken lines in FIG. The target area OV of 1 contains sufficient information of the intersection required by the driver. FIG. 8 shows the left and right nose view images in which a region other than the target region OV is shaded. As is clear from a comparison of FIGS. 7 and 8, the areas other than the left and right target areas OV include the above-described reflection portions of the plate frame 6, so that the plate frames 6 are included in these left and right target areas OV. The reflected light from does not enter,
Also, it is less likely that strong light from the sun or the like at a high position will be inserted.

Next, the controller 24 calculates the average illuminance in each of the extracted left and right target areas OV (step S5), and then obtains the calculated left and right target areas OV.
Based on the average illuminance difference of V, the aperture control amount of the monitor camera 18 is calculated and output (step S6). Here, when calculating the aperture control amount, when the road is driving on the left side, the average illuminance of the target area on the right side is preferentially taken into consideration. The illuminance may be considered preferentially.

The aperture control amount thus obtained is supplied from the controller 24 to the aperture adjustment mechanism 20 described above, and the aperture adjustment mechanism 20 adjusts the aperture of the lens in the monitor camera 18 based on the aperture control amount. Further, the controller 24 outputs the left and right nose view images to the monitor 26 based on the diaphragm control amount, and the left and right nose view images as shown in FIG. 7 are displayed on the monitor 26 (step S8).

Therefore, when the vehicle starts entering the intersection, the driver can safely pass through the intersection after confirming the situation of the intersection from the left and right nose view images displayed on the monitor 26. Illumination of the target area OV aperture of the monitor camera 18 as described above is in the left and right nose-view image, that is, because it is adjusted based on the average luminance difference between the left and right, right and left nose view such as sunlit and shade Even if the illuminance difference in the image is large, at least the target area OV in the left and right nose view images has a good image quality and is clearly displayed. Therefore, the driver can easily understand the situation at the intersection.

In a dark environment such as at night, the image output level from the monitor camera 18 is increased. Therefore, even in such a situation, the left and right nose view images can be clearly displayed on the monitor 26. It can be displayed and its visibility is not reduced. Furthermore, the monitor camera 18
Since the brightness of the monitor 26 is also adjusted in conjunction with the output adjustment of the above, the nose view image on the monitor 26 can be stably obtained regardless of day or night.

In the above-described embodiment, the aperture control amount is calculated based on the average illuminance difference of the target area OV in the left and right nose view images, but in the control routine of FIG. 6, instead of steps S5 and S6. Alternatively, steps S9 and S10 may be performed to calculate and output the aperture control amount. In this case, in step S9, the maximum illuminances in the left and right target areas OV are detected, and the aperture control amount is calculated based on these maximum illuminances (step S10). Specifically, the aperture control amount can be calculated on the basis of the left and right maximum illuminance difference and the average value of the left and right maximum illuminance differences.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the nose view device, but can be applied to all view devices in which visual fields in different directions are picked up by a single monitor camera and both picked up images are displayed on the monitor. .

[0028]

As described above, the claims of the present invention
According to the vehicle view device of No. 1 , when adjusting the aperture of the monitor camera, the left and right image regions in the composite image obtained by capturing the left and right fields of view of the front of the vehicle, that is, the left and right nose view images, respectively. Since the aperture is adjusted based on the illuminance of both target areas extracted from the upper and lower parts and the boundary part , the difference in illuminance is large in both images, such as in the sun or shade. However, both target areas can be clearly displayed on the monitor, and the sharpness of both nose view images is not substantially reduced. More specifically, since there is little insertion of strong light such as the sun or reflected light from the side of the vehicle into the target area, in the left and right nose view images, all of the intersection information necessary for the driver is projected in those target areas. Therefore, the visibility of the target area is very high, and the function as a nose view device is fully exerted.

According to the apparatus of the second aspect , the image output level of the monitor camera is increased in response to the lighting of the headlight in a dark environment such as at night, so that the left and right nose view images are displayed regardless of day or night. It can be projected stably on the monitor. According to the apparatus of claims 3 and 4 , the diaphragm of the monitor camera is adjusted with reference to the extracted illuminance of both target areas.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a vehicle that has begun to enter a stop intersection.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of a front bumper of a vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a camera unit.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a camera unit.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a nose view device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the functions of the controller in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a nose view image captured by a monitor camera at an intersection.

8 is a diagram showing a region other than a target region in the nose view image of FIG. 7 with diagonal lines.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 camera unit 4 Number plate 6 plate frame 14 mirror 16 Middle mirror 18 monitor camera 20 Aperture adjustment mechanism 22 Output level adjustment mechanism 24 controller 26 monitors 28 Lighting switch

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshinori Yoshiichi 5-3-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (72) Inventor Tadashi Sugawara 5-33-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo No. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (72) Inventor Takahiro Maemura 5-3-8, Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (56) Reference JP-A-6-344827 (JP, A) JP-A-6-105194 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60R 1/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A camera unit mounted on a vehicle for capturing a left-side field of view and a right-side field of view of a front part of the vehicle as a composite image by one monitor camera; and a composite unit arranged in a vehicle compartment and imaged by the camera unit. In a device having a monitor for displaying an image , upper and lower parts of the left and right image areas of the composite image, respectively .
Extraction means for extracting the left and right regions excluding the boundary portion of the left and right image regions as target regions for aperture adjustment in the monitor camera, and the aperture of the monitor camera based on the extracted illuminance of both target regions. And a control means for controlling the vehicle. 2. A detection means for detecting whether or not a headlight is turned on in a vehicle, and an adjustment means for adjusting an image output level of the monitor camera based on a detection result of the detection means. the features of claim 1
The view device of the vehicle according to. 3. The control means includes a calculating means for calculating an average illuminance of the both target areas and a calculating means for calculating an aperture control amount of the monitor camera based on the average illuminance difference between the both target areas. The view device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein. 4. The control means includes a detection means for detecting the maximum illuminance in the both target areas, and a calculation means for calculating an aperture control amount of the monitor camera based on the detected maximum illuminance. The view device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2 .