JP5375355B2 - Object detection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an object detection device, and more particularly to an object detection device for detecting an object around a movable body that can be deformed so that its posture changes between a plurality of tilt states.

  As a conventional object detection device, for example, a device described in Patent Document 1 is known. In this object detection device, the surroundings (front) of a moving body (vehicle) are monitored to obtain surrounding information, and an object (obstacle) around the moving body is detected based on the surrounding information. Yes.

JP 2009-073282 A

  However, when the object detection device as described above is mounted on a movable body that can be deformed so that the tilt state changes, it may be difficult to accurately detect objects around the mobile body depending on the tilt state. There is.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an object detection device that can accurately detect an object around a moving body.

  In order to solve the above problems, an object detection device according to the present invention is mounted on a movable body that can be deformed so that the posture changes between a plurality of inclined states, and detects an object around the movable body. A plurality of devices installed for each inclination state according to the inclination state, and a surrounding monitoring unit that acquires surrounding information by monitoring the surroundings, and at least one surrounding monitoring unit selected from the plurality of surrounding monitoring units An object detection unit that is selected as a monitoring unit and detects an object based on surrounding information from the selected surrounding monitoring unit, and the object detecting unit switches the selected surrounding monitoring unit according to the tilt state.

  In this object detection apparatus, a plurality of surrounding monitoring units are installed for each inclination state according to the inclination state of the moving body. Then, a surrounding object is detected based on the surrounding information by the selected surrounding monitoring unit selected from the plurality of surrounding monitoring units, and the selected surrounding monitoring unit is switched according to the inclination state of the moving body. It is done. That is, the selected surrounding monitoring unit that detects the object is selected in consideration of the tilt state of the moving body. Therefore, an object around the moving body can be detected according to the inclination state of the moving body, and an object around the moving body can be accurately detected.

  In addition, the plurality of surrounding monitoring units include a first surrounding monitoring unit installed in front of the moving body according to the first inclined state, and a moving body according to the second inclined state that is inclined forward than the first inclined state. A second surroundings monitoring unit installed in front, and the object detecting unit is a first surroundings monitoring unit when the mobile body is deformed between the first inclined state and the second inclined state. When the traveling surface is detected, it is preferable to select the second surrounding monitoring unit as the selected surrounding monitoring unit. In this case, it is possible to accurately detect objects around the moving body even during the deformation of the moving body.

  Further, the moving body may be deformed so as to tilt forward with respect to the traveling surface as the wheel base length becomes shorter. In addition, each of the plurality of surrounding monitoring units may be installed for each inclination state at an angle corresponding to the inclination state.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately detect an object around a moving body.

It is a block diagram which shows the object detection apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows a moving body. It is an expanded sectional side view which shows the front monitoring sensor of the object detection apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process in ECU of the object detection apparatus of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating switching of the front monitoring sensor when the vehicle attitude | position of a moving body is changed from the time of a long wheel base to the time of a short wheel base. It is a figure for demonstrating switching of the front monitoring sensor when the vehicle attitude | position of a moving body is changed from the time of a short wheel base to the time of a long wheel base.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same or equivalent elements will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. The terms “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, “upper”, and “lower” correspond to the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction of the moving body.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an object detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the object detection device 1 of the present embodiment is mounted on a movable body X that can be deformed so that the vehicle posture (posture) changes between a plurality of inclined states. First, the moving body X will be described.

  FIG. 2A is a side view showing the moving body in the walking mode, and FIG. 2B is a side view showing the moving body in the running mode. As shown in FIG. 2, the moving body X is a single-seater electric vehicle, and is a three-wheeled vehicle including two front wheels Tf and one rear wheel Tr. In the mobile body X, a driving force is generated by driving the driving motor, and a braking force is generated by regeneration and braking of the driving motor. The moving body X can travel on a traveling surface 21 such as a road surface, a floor, and the ground in various places such as a roadway, a sidewalk, and a work area in a facility. The moving body X is operated by operating levers and switches provided on the left and right of the seat 22 on which the driver sits.

  The moving body X includes a mechanism that varies and changes the inclination state with respect to the traveling surface 21 while varying the wheel base length (that is, the distance between the axis center of the front wheel Tf and the axis center of the rear wheel Tr). ing. The mobile body X here is deformable so as to travel in two travel modes, a walking mode (low speed mode) shown in FIG. 2 (a) and a travel mode (high speed mode) shown in FIG. 2 (b). Yes.

  The mobile body X1 in the walking mode, that is, in the short wheel base mode, can run at the walking speed of the pedestrian, and can run at a maximum of 6 km / h, for example. In addition, the moving body X1 in the walking mode has a higher center of gravity and a shorter wheelbase length than the moving body X2 in the traveling mode. Thereby, in the mobile body X1, it can turn with a small turning radius.

  On the other hand, the mobile body X2 in the travel mode, that is, in the long wheel base mode, can travel at a relatively high speed, for example, can travel at a maximum of 30 km / h. Further, the moving body X2 in the traveling mode has a lower center of gravity and a longer wheelbase length than the moving body X1 in the walking mode. Thereby, in the mobile body X2, stabilization at the time of high-speed driving | running | working is achieved.

  For example, when the switch is operated by the driver, the moving body X is deformed so that the vehicle posture changes between the walking mode and the traveling mode. Specifically, for example, when the moving body X is deformed from the walking mode to the traveling mode, the variable motor (actuator) is driven to move the rear wheel Tr relative to the front wheel Tf backward, and the wheel base length is increased. While extending (lengthening) and lowering the height and lowering the center of gravity, the moving body X is tilted backward with respect to the traveling surface 21 (the front side of the moving body X faces upward and the rear side faces downward). Deformed to face).

  On the other hand, for example, when the moving body X is deformed from the running mode to the walking mode, the variable motor is driven to move the rear wheel Tr forward relative to the front wheel Tf, while reducing (shortening) the wheelbase length. While increasing the height of the center of gravity and raising the position of the center of gravity, the moving body X is tilted forward with respect to the traveling surface 21 (deformed so that the front side of the moving body X faces downward and the rear side faces upward). ).

  The “inclined state” of the present embodiment mainly intends an inclined state in the pitch direction with respect to the traveling surface. In other words, the inclined state is intended to be a state where the traveling surface 21 is inclined by rotating around an axis extending along the left-right direction. This inclined state includes, for example, a forward inclined state, a backward inclined state, a horizontal state, and the like with respect to the traveling surface 21.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the object detection device 1 detects an obstacle (for example, a moving object such as a pedestrian or a bicycle, or a stationary object such as a power pole, a post box, or a falling object) that is an object in front of the moving object X. Is for. This object detection apparatus 1 includes a short wheelbase forward monitoring sensor (ambient monitoring unit, second ambient monitoring unit) 2, a long wheelbase forward monitoring sensor (ambient monitoring unit, first ambient monitoring unit) 3, an attitude detection sensor. 4 and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit: object detection unit) 5.

  The front monitoring sensors 2 and 3 are front monitoring sensors for detecting an obstacle ahead (moving direction) of the moving body X, and monitor the front of the moving body X. As shown in FIG. 3, the front monitoring sensors 2 and 3 are attached in front of the moving body X. Specifically, the front monitoring sensors 2 and 3 are disposed in the step unit 6 where the driver's feet are placed in front of the moving body X. These front monitoring sensors 2 and 3 are attached so as to be able to absorb vibrations generated when the moving body X travels and displacement due to the inclination of the moving body X caused by the suspension.

  As the front monitoring sensors 2 and 3 here, laser radars that monitor using laser light are used. That is, the front monitoring sensors 2 and 3 emit laser beams that are emitted toward the front while scanning left and right, receive the reflected laser beams, and output the laser beam data to the ECU 5 as laser beam signals. In some cases, the laser beam is scanned up and down.

  The front monitoring sensor 2 for the short wheel base is attached at an angle so as to face the optimum monitoring direction when the moving body X is in an inclined state at the time of the short wheel base. Specifically, the front monitoring sensor 2 for the short wheel base emits laser light along the substantially horizontal direction toward the vicinity of the traveling surface 21 when the moving body X is tilted forward, and in the vicinity of the traveling surface 21. It is mounted to monitor the space.

  The front monitoring sensor 3 for the long wheel base is attached at an angle so as to face the optimal monitoring direction when the moving body X is in the inclined state at the time of the long wheel base. Specifically, the long wheelbase front monitoring sensor 3 emits laser light in a substantially horizontal direction toward the vicinity of the traveling surface 21 when the moving body X is inclined backward, and in the vicinity of the traveling surface 21. It is mounted to monitor the space.

  In addition, there are few cases where an obstacle floats in the air, and in most cases, the obstacle exists on the traveling surface 21 so as to be continuous with the traveling surface 21 (when the obstacle extends from the traveling surface 21). Therefore, it can be said that the space near the running surface 21 is the most effective monitoring range.

  The posture detection sensor 4 is a sensor for detecting the vehicle posture of the moving body X. Here, the attitude detection sensor 4 detects the rotational speed of the variable motor that is operated to vary the wheel base length, and outputs a signal related to the rotational speed to the ECU 5 as a vehicle attitude signal.

  The ECU 5 is an electronic control unit including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and performs overall control of the object detection device 1. The ECU 5 determines the current vehicle attitude of the moving body X based on the vehicle attitude signal input from the attitude detection sensor 4 and selects one of the front monitoring sensors 2 and 3 according to the vehicle attitude. Then, an obstacle is detected based on the laser light signal from either of the selected front monitoring sensors 2 and 3 (details will be described later).

  Next, the processing of the ECU 5 of the object detection apparatus 1 described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In the object detection device 1 of the present embodiment, first, based on the vehicle attitude signal input from the attitude detection sensor 4, the current vehicle attitude is “attitude when short wheel base”, “attitude when long hole base”, Alternatively, it is determined whether the posture is changing (S1).

  When the vehicle posture is a posture at the time of the long wheel base (that is, in the traveling mode), it is possible to determine that the inclined state of the moving body X is the backward inclined state (see FIG. 5A). Therefore, the long wheel base forward monitoring sensor 3 is selected as the forward monitoring sensor used to detect the obstacle (S2). That is, in such a case, the long wheel base front monitoring sensor 3 is selected as the selected surrounding monitoring unit.

  On the other hand, when the vehicle posture is the posture at the time of the short wheel base (that is, in the walking mode), the inclined state of the moving body X can be determined as the forward inclined state (see FIG. 6A). Therefore, the short wheel base forward monitoring sensor 2 is selected as the forward monitoring sensor used for detecting the obstacle (S3). That is, in such a case, the short wheel base forward monitoring sensor 2 is selected as the selected surrounding monitoring unit.

  On the other hand, when the vehicle posture is changing (that is, during deformation), it can be determined that the inclined state of the moving body X is changing between the forward inclined state and the backward inclined state (see FIG. 5B). . Therefore, it is determined whether or not the long wheelbase front monitoring sensor 3 has detected the traveling surface 21, and the front monitoring sensor to be used is switched between the front monitoring sensors 2 and 3 based on the determination result (S4).

  Specifically, when the long wheelbase forward monitoring sensor 3 detects a predetermined amount or more of the area of the traveling surface 21, the short wheelbase forward monitoring sensor 2 is selected as the forward monitoring sensor to be used. When the long wheel base front monitoring sensor 3 does not detect the region of the traveling surface 21 more than a predetermined amount, the long wheel base front monitoring sensor 3 is selected as the front monitoring sensor to be used.

  Subsequently, an obstacle is detected based on the laser signal input from one of the front monitoring sensors 2 and 3 selected (S5). Here, based on the input laser signal, it is determined whether an obstacle exists in front of the moving body X. When there is an obstacle, the obstacle information (relative position, distance, direction, etc. with respect to the moving body X) is calculated and acquired. And the output signal containing this obstacle information is output.

  As described above, in the object detection device 1, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the vehicle posture of the moving body X is a long wheel base and the inclined state is the backward inclined state, it is optimized to this backward inclined state. A forward obstacle is detected by the long wheel base forward monitoring sensor 3. At this time, the laser light is emitted substantially horizontally from the long wheel base front monitoring sensor 3, and the monitoring range Rl is effective. Note that the monitoring range Rs of the front monitoring sensor 2 for the short wheel base is an upper monitoring range that goes to the air.

  And as shown in FIG.5 (b), when the vehicle attitude | position of the mobile body X is changed from the time of a long wheel base to the time of a short wheel base, and an inclination state is changed from a backward inclination state to a forward inclination state, The monitoring range Rl of the long wheel base front monitoring sensor 3 is also tilted downward along with the change in the tilt state.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the traveling surface 21 is detected by the long wheel base forward monitoring sensor 3, the long wheel base forward monitoring sensor 3 may not be able to exhibit sufficient forward monitoring performance. is there. Therefore, at this time, the forward monitoring sensor selected to detect the obstacle is switched from the long wheel base forward monitoring sensor 3 to the short wheel base forward monitoring sensor 2 having a high probability of detecting the obstacle. Then, a forward obstacle is detected by the short wheel base forward monitoring sensor 2.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the vehicle posture of the moving body X is a short wheel base and the inclined state is a forward inclined state, the forward monitoring for the short wheel base optimized for the forward inclined state is performed. A front obstacle is detected by the sensor 2. At this time, the laser light is emitted substantially horizontally from the front monitoring sensor 2 for the short wheel base, and the monitoring range Rs is effective. Note that the monitoring range Rl of the long wheelbase front monitoring sensor 3 is located below the traveling surface 21.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the vehicle posture of the moving body X is changed from the short wheel base time to the long wheel base time, and the tilt state is changed from the forward tilt state to the rear tilt state, The monitoring range Rs of the front monitoring sensor 2 for the short wheel base is also tilted upward in accordance with the change in the tilt state.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 6C, when the monitoring range Rs of the short wheel base forward monitoring sensor 2 is separated from the vicinity of the traveling surface 21, the short wheel base forward monitoring sensor 2 exhibits sufficient forward monitoring performance. It may not be possible. Therefore, when the traveling surface 21 is no longer detected by the front monitoring sensor 3 for the long wheel base, the front monitoring sensor selected for detecting the obstacle detects the obstacle from the front monitoring sensor 2 for the short wheel base. It is possible to switch to the forward monitoring sensor 3 for a long wheelbase having a high probability of being possible. Then, a forward obstacle is detected by the long wheel base forward monitoring sensor 3.

  As described above, according to the object detection device 1 of the present embodiment, the forward monitoring sensors 2 and 3 are switched based on the tilt state of the moving body X. That is, the forward monitoring sensor that detects an obstacle is selected in consideration of the tilt state of the moving body X. Therefore, the obstacle ahead of the moving body X can be detected according to the inclined state of the moving body X, and the obstacle can be detected with high accuracy.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as described above, when the moving body X is deformed between the forward tilt state and the rear tilt state, when the traveling surface 21 is detected by the long wheel base front monitoring sensor 3, The short wheel base forward monitoring sensor 2 is selected, and the obstacle is detected by the short wheel base forward monitoring sensor 2. Therefore, during the deformation of the moving body X, the front can be monitored within a suitable monitoring range, and it is possible to prevent the obstacle from being detected. As a result, it is possible to improve the safety by increasing the possibility of detecting an obstacle while the posture of the moving body X is changed, and to detect objects around the moving body X with higher accuracy. Become.

  If the forward monitoring sensors 2 and 3 to be used are uniformly selected from the inclined state of the moving body X, the monitoring range (angle) of the selected forward monitoring sensor may not be optimal on a slope, for example. That is, the range to be monitored for detecting an obstacle is different between the traveling surface 21 as a slope and the traveling surface 21 as a flat road. In this regard, in the present embodiment, as described above, the front monitoring sensors 2 and 3 are selected based on whether or not the traveling surface 21 is detected by the long wheel base front monitoring sensor 3 during deformation of the moving body X. doing. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the obstacle detection performance can be sufficiently exhibited even on the traveling surface 21 as a slope.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, a single-seater electric vehicle is a moving body, but the moving body is not limited, and any mobile body that can be deformed so that its posture changes between a plurality of inclined states. Good.

  Moreover, although the two front monitoring sensors 2 and 3 provided according to the inclination state are mounted in the said embodiment, the front monitoring sensor provided for every inclination state according to the inclination state is further mounted. It may be. In this case, the plurality of front monitoring sensors are appropriately switched according to the tilt state.

  In the above embodiment, the rotation number of the variable motor for changing the wheelbase length is detected by the posture detection sensor 4 and the vehicle posture (tilt state) is detected based on this rotation number. May be used to detect the wheel base length, and the vehicle attitude may be detected based on the hole base length. In short, it is only necessary to detect the tilt state of the moving body X.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the laser radar was used as the front monitoring sensors 2 and 3, other sensors, such as a camera, may be used. Further, instead of or in addition to the front monitoring sensors 2 and 3, other monitoring sensors may be mounted to monitor the periphery (rearward, side) of the moving body X.

  For example, when a rear monitoring sensor for monitoring the rear is mounted, the rear monitoring sensor may include a short wheel base rear monitoring sensor and a long wheel base rear monitoring sensor. The rear monitoring sensor for the short wheel base is attached to the rear of the moving body X at an angle so as to face the optimum monitoring direction when the moving body X is in the inclined state at the time of the short wheel base. The rear monitoring sensor for the long wheel base is attached to the rear of the moving body X at an angle so as to face the optimum monitoring direction when the moving body X is in the inclined state at the time of the long wheel base. During the deformation of the moving body X, the rear monitoring sensor to be used is selected based on whether or not the traveling surface 21 is detected by the short wheel base rear monitoring sensor.

  In the above embodiment, the inclined state is mainly intended to be the inclined state in the pitch direction, and is configured to correspond to the inclined state in the pitch direction, but is not limited to this. In the present invention, the inclined state may be an inclined state in the roll direction or the yaw direction, and may be configured to correspond to the inclined state in the roll direction or the yaw direction in the same manner as in the above embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Object detection apparatus, 2 ... Short wheel base forward monitoring sensor (ambient monitoring part, 2nd surrounding monitoring part), 3 ... Long wheel base forward monitoring sensor (ambient monitoring part, 1st surrounding monitoring part), 5 ... ECU (object detection unit), X ... moving body.

Claims (3)

An object detection device that is mounted on a movable body that can be deformed so that the posture changes between a plurality of inclined states, and that detects an object around the movable body,
A plurality of surroundings installed for each inclined state according to the inclined state, and a surrounding monitoring unit that monitors the surroundings and obtains surrounding information;
An object detection unit that selects at least one of the plurality of surrounding monitoring units as a selected surrounding monitoring unit, and detects the object based on the surrounding information by the selected surrounding monitoring unit;
The object detection unit switches the selected surroundings monitoring unit according to the tilt state ,
The plurality of surrounding monitoring units move in accordance with a first surrounding monitoring unit installed in front of the moving body according to a first inclined state and a second inclined state that is inclined forward than the first inclined state. A second surrounding monitoring unit installed in front of the body,
When the moving surface is deformed between the first inclined state and the second inclined state and the traveling surface is detected by the first surrounding monitoring unit, the object detecting unit is configured to select the selected surrounding monitoring unit. The object detection device is characterized in that when the second surrounding monitoring unit is selected and a traveling surface is not detected by the first surrounding monitoring unit, the first surrounding monitoring unit is selected as the selected surrounding monitoring unit. The moving body, according to claim 1 Symbol placement of the object detection apparatus, characterized in that deformation to anteversion with respect to the running surface according to the wheel base length is shortened. 3. The object detection device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of surrounding monitoring units is installed for each tilt state at an angle corresponding to the tilt state.

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