JP7727766B2 - Periphery monitoring device, program, and periphery monitoring method - Google Patents

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on Japanese Application No. 2022-016503, filed on February 4, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to a periphery monitoring device , a program , and a periphery monitoring method .

One known example of this type of surroundings monitoring device is one that alerts the driver when a detection device detects an approaching vehicle approaching from behind the vehicle in an adjacent lane next to the lane in which the vehicle is traveling (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2016-85567 A

For example, when a vehicle is stopped and an occupant of the vehicle opens a side door, a situation may arise in which the detection device detects an approaching object from behind the vehicle. In this case, the situation when the side door is opened may not be taken into consideration and an alert may be issued to the occupant. This may result in an unnecessary alert being issued to the occupant, even though the possibility of contact with an approaching object is low when the side door is opened, which may be annoying to the occupant.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its main purpose is to provide a periphery monitoring device , a program , and a periphery monitoring method that can properly perform contact prevention operations against approaching objects.

The present disclosure provides:
The present invention is applied to a vehicle equipped with a detection device that detects objects around the vehicle,
A surroundings monitoring device that, when an approaching object approaching from behind a vehicle is detected by the detection device, performs a contact prevention operation to prevent contact with the approaching object due to opening of a side door of the vehicle,
an acquisition unit that acquires contact warning information that indicates a degree of possibility of contact with the approaching object when the side door of the host vehicle is opened;
a setting unit that sets an implementation area in which the contact prevention operation is to be performed around the host vehicle based on the contact warning information;
Equipped with.

When an approaching object approaches from behind the vehicle, opening a side door of the vehicle may result in contact with the approaching object, and a contact prevention operation is performed to prevent such contact. In this case, the possibility of contact with the approaching vehicle due to the opening of the side door may vary depending on various conditions.

In the above configuration, contact warning information indicating the degree of possibility of contact with an approaching object when a side door of the vehicle is opened is acquired, and an implementation area in which contact prevention operation is performed around the vehicle is set based on the contact warning information. This allows contact prevention operation to be performed appropriately depending on the degree of possibility of contact between the side door and an approaching object.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a perimeter monitoring system. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detection area around a host vehicle; FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a method for setting a warning area. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a method for setting a warning area. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for contact suppression control. FIG. 6 is a time chart for explaining the contact suppression control in more detail. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of contact suppression control in the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method for setting a surveillance area in the third embodiment; FIG. 9 is a time chart for explaining the contact prevention control in more detail.

(First embodiment)
A periphery monitoring system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is mounted on a vehicle and monitors objects approaching from the rear and sides of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 1, the perimeter monitoring system 10 according to the embodiment includes a radar device 21, an imaging device 22, a vehicle speed sensor 23, a steering angle sensor 24, a yaw rate sensor 25, a receiving device 26, an ECU 30, and a controlled device 31. In this embodiment, the radar device 21 corresponds to the detection device, and the ECU 30 corresponds to the perimeter monitoring device.

The radar device 21 is, for example, a well-known millimeter-wave radar that transmits high-frequency signals in the millimeter wave band. The radar device 21 is installed, for example, at the rear end of the vehicle, and defines an area within a predetermined detection angle as the detection range in which objects can be detected, and detects the position of objects within the detection range. Specifically, the radar device 21 transmits search waves at a predetermined cycle and receives reflected waves using multiple antennas. The radar device 21 calculates the distance to the object based on the transmission time of the search waves and the reception time of the reflected waves. The radar device 21 also calculates the relative speed based on the frequency of the reflected waves reflected by the object, which has changed due to the Doppler effect. Additionally, the radar device 21 calculates the azimuth of the object based on the phase difference of the reflected waves received by the multiple antennas. The radar device 21 outputs detection data such as the distance to the object, relative speed, and azimuth of the object to the ECU 30.

As shown in Figure 2, radar devices 21 are installed at one location on the left and one on the right rear end of the vehicle 40, and detect objects behind and to the rear sides of the vehicle 40. Radar device 21L installed on the left rear end of the vehicle 40 detects objects in detection area 70L. Radar device 21R installed on the right rear end of the vehicle 40 detects objects in detection area 70R.

The imaging device 22 may be a monocular camera such as a CCD camera, CMOS image sensor, or near-infrared camera, or it may be a stereo camera. Only one imaging device 22 may be installed on the vehicle, or multiple imaging devices may be installed. The imaging device 22 is attached, for example, at a predetermined height in the center of the vehicle's width direction, and captures images of an area extending within a predetermined angular range toward the rear of the vehicle from a bird's-eye view. The imaging device 22 sequentially outputs the captured images to the ECU 30.

The vehicle speed sensor 23 is a sensor that detects the traveling speed of the host vehicle 40 and outputs a traveling speed signal corresponding to the traveling speed of the host vehicle 40 to the ECU 30. The steering angle sensor 24 is a sensor that detects the steering angle of the steering wheel and outputs a steering angle signal corresponding to changes in the steering angle to the ECU 30. The yaw rate sensor 25 is a sensor that detects the turning angular velocity of the host vehicle 40 and outputs a yaw rate signal corresponding to the turning angular velocity of the host vehicle 40 to the ECU 30.

The receiver 26 is a receiver of a positioning signal from a satellite positioning system, such as a GPS receiver. The receiver 26 receives a positioning signal corresponding to the current position of the vehicle 40 and outputs the received positioning signal to the ECU 30.

The functions provided by ECU 30 can be provided by software recorded in a physical memory device and a computer that executes the software, by software alone, by hardware alone, or a combination of these. For example, if ECU 30 is provided by electronic circuits that are hardware, it can be provided by digital circuits including numerous logic circuits, or by analog circuits. For example, ECU 30 executes programs stored on a non-transitory tangible storage medium that serves as its own memory unit. The programs include programs for each of the arithmetic processes described below. Execution of the programs results in the execution of a method corresponding to the programs. The memory unit is, for example, non-volatile memory. Note that the programs stored in the memory unit can be updated, for example, via a network such as the Internet.

When an approaching object approaches from behind the vehicle 40, the ECU 30 performs a contact prevention operation to prevent contact with the approaching object when a side door of the vehicle 40 is opened, depending on whether a predetermined implementation condition is met. In this embodiment, the implementation condition for the contact prevention operation is met when an approaching object is present within a warning area set on the rear side of the vehicle 40 and the predicted time to collision (TTC) for the approaching object falls below a predetermined threshold. Approaching objects include vehicles such as four-wheeled automobiles, motorcycles, and bicycles, as well as pedestrians.

Specifically, the ECU 30 sets an alert area to the rear and both left and right sides of the vehicle 40, at least partially overlapping with the detection areas 70 (70L, 70R) of each radar device 21 (21L, 21R), and determines whether an approaching object detected by the radar device 21 is present within the alert area. The ECU 30 also calculates a collision prediction time (TTC) based on the relative distance and relative speed between the approaching object and the vehicle 40, and determines whether the TTC of the approaching object has fallen below a predetermined threshold. If an approaching object is present within the alert area and the collision prediction time (TTC) has fallen below the predetermined threshold, the ECU 30 performs approach suppression operation to prevent contact with the approaching object.

In this embodiment, the controlled device 31 includes an alarm device 32, a door lock device 33, a brake device 34, and a steering device 35. The alarm device 32 is a device that issues an alarm to the occupants of the vehicle 40, and is, for example, a device that issues an auditory alert such as a speaker or buzzer installed in the vehicle cabin, or a device that issues a visual alert such as a display or warning light. For example, the alarm device 32 issues an alert to the occupants of the vehicle 40 by emitting an alarm sound, illuminating an indicator provided on the door mirror or instrument panel, or notifying the occupants of the vehicle 40 of the locked state of the vehicle doors. In this embodiment, the alarm issued by the alarm device 32 corresponds to a contact suppression operation.

The door lock device 33 is a device that locks the doors so that they cannot be opened from inside the vehicle, and door locking operation restricts disembarking from the vehicle 40. The brake device 34 is a device that brakes the vehicle 40 by operating a hydraulic actuator or the like. The steering device 35 is a device that steers the vehicle 40 by operating a steering motor or the like.

In addition, in this embodiment, an alarm is issued as a contact prevention operation for each side door installed on the vehicle 40. Specifically, the ECU 30 notifies the driver by voice or indicator display using the alarm device 32 which side door is most likely to be contacted if opened.

However, in some cases, an in-vehicle alert is issued to occupants of the vehicle 40 without taking into consideration the circumstances under which a side door is opened. In such cases, even though the possibility of contact with an approaching object is low when the side door is opened, an unnecessary in-vehicle alert is issued to occupants, which may be annoying to the occupants.

In this embodiment, therefore, in order to properly provide in-vehicle warnings to occupants of the host vehicle 40, contact alert information indicating the degree of possibility of contact with an approaching object when a side door of the host vehicle 40 is opened is acquired, and a warning area (implementation area) in which contact suppression operation is performed is set around the host vehicle 40 based on the contact alert information. Furthermore, if the host vehicle 40 has multiple side doors in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, contact alert information for each door is acquired, and a warning area is set for each door based on the contact alert information for each door. The configuration for setting the warning area around the host vehicle 40 is explained in detail below.

First, an overview of how to set a warning area will be explained using Figures 3 and 4. Note that the warning area in which contact suppression operation is performed around the host vehicle 40 can be set on both the left and right sides of the host vehicle 40, but here we will explain a warning area set on the right side of the host vehicle 40. In Figure 3, another vehicle 50 is the approaching object, and in Figure 4, a person 51 is the approaching object, but these approaching objects are arbitrary.

As shown in Figure 3, the vehicle 40 has side doors, a front door 41 and a rear door 42. The front door 41 is a swing door with the front end of the door as the center of rotation, and the rear door 42 is a slide door that can slide back and forth along the side of the vehicle body. Figure 3 shows the state in which each door 41, 42 is open. When each door 41, 42 is open, the protrusion width W2 of the rear door 42 to the side of the vehicle is smaller than the protrusion width W1 of the front door 41 to the side of the vehicle (W1 > W2).

Here, when another vehicle 50 approaches from behind the host vehicle 40, the possibility that the other vehicle 50 will come into contact with each of the doors 41, 42 in an open state is considered to differ for each door 41, 42. In other words, the front door 41, which is a swing door, has a large protrusion width W1, so the possibility of contact with the other vehicle 50 is relatively high, while the rear door 42, which is a sliding door, has a small protrusion width W2, so the possibility of contact with the other vehicle 50 is relatively low. Therefore, in this embodiment, a warning area is set for each door 41, 42 depending on the difference in the protrusion width of each door 41, 42 in an open state.

In other words, the ECU 30 acquires, as contact alert information, protrusion width information regarding the protrusion width to the side of the vehicle when each door 41, 42 is opened, and sets the vehicle width in the alert area based on the protrusion width information. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, an alert area RA with a width WA is set for the front door 41, and an alert area RB with a width WB is set for the rear door 42 (WA > WB). Note that the protrusion width information regarding the protrusion width of each door 41, 42 may be the protrusion widths W1, W2 of each door 41, 42, or may be information indicating the door type (swing or sliding) of each door 41, 42.

The ECU 30 also acquires position information for each door 41, 42 in the vehicle length direction of the host vehicle 40 as contact warning information, and sets the front end position of each warning area RA, RB in the vehicle length direction based on that position information. In this case, as shown in Figure 3, the front end position of the warning area RA on the front door 41 side is FA, and the front end position of the warning area RB on the rear door 42 side is FB. It is preferable that the rear end positions of each warning area RA, RB are the same. Each warning area RA, RB is set in a strip shape that follows the road shape, and for example, it is preferable that the length of the warning area RA in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle is approximately 70 m. Note that Figure 3 shows an example in which the road around the host vehicle 40 is a straight road and each warning area RA, RB is set in a rectangular strip shape.

As described above, the vehicle 40 is provided with left and right radar devices 21L, 21R at the rear end of the vehicle 40, and each radar device 21L, 21R defines a detection area 70L, 70R (see Figure 2). In this case, it is possible that each security area RA, RB includes a non-detection area to the side of each door 41, 42, where object detection by the radar device 21L, 21R is not possible. If an approaching object moves from the detection area of the radar device 21L, 21R into the non-detection area within the security area RA, RB, there is a concern that contact prevention operations such as issuing an alarm will be stopped even though the approaching object is present within the security area RA, RB.

In this embodiment, therefore, in the surveillance areas RA and RB, there are non-detection areas to the sides of the side doors where object detection is not performed by the radar devices 21L and 21R, and if an approaching object detected by the radar devices 21L and 21R within the surveillance areas RA and RB moves into the non-detection area, contact prevention operation is continued in the non-detection area. Specifically, if an approaching object moves from the radar detection area to the non-detection area within the surveillance areas RA and RB, an extension time for continuing the contact prevention operation is set, and the contact prevention operation is continued for the period until the extension time has elapsed.

Figure 4 shows the alert area RB on the rear door 42 side and the detection area 70R of the right-side radar device 21R. The alert area RB includes a non-detection area where object detection by the radar device 21R is impossible. In this state, assume that a person 51, an approaching object, passes by the right side of the vehicle 40. Note that Figure 4 shows the state in which the presence range of the person 51 is recognized as a rectangular area.

Person 51 approaches vehicle 40 from behind and enters warning area RB. In this case, when radar device 21R detects person 51 in warning area RB, a warning is issued to the occupants as a contact prevention operation. When person 51 then moves to the side of vehicle 40, radar device 21R switches from detecting person 51 in warning area RB to not detecting it. At this time, even if person 51 is in the non-detection area, contact prevention operation continues until person 51 completely leaves warning area RB.

When person 51 moves to position A1 on the side of vehicle 40, the radar becomes undetectable. When person 51 then moves to position A2, he or she passes outside of the alert area RB. In this case, the distance D1 from when person 51 passes outside of the alert area RB after becoming undetectable by radar is the distance from the boundary between radar detection and undetection to the front end position FB of the alert area RB. The time it takes for person 51 to pass outside of the alert area RB after becoming undetectable by radar can be calculated from distance D1 and the movement speed of person 51, and contact prevention operation is continued based on this time. Contact prevention operation of rear door 42 is stopped when person 51 moves to position A2.

Note that the contact prevention operation of the front door 41 is carried out for a longer period of time than the contact prevention operation of the rear door 42. In other words, the contact prevention operation of the front door 41 continues even after the person 51 has moved to position A2, and is stopped when the person 51 has moved to position A3.

Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for contact prevention control, which is performed by the ECU 30 at a predetermined interval. Note that this processing is performed equally on the left and right sides of the vehicle 40, but for convenience, the contact prevention operation on the right side of the vehicle 40 will be described, as in Figures 3 and 4.

In step S11, side door protrusion width information and door position information are acquired as contact warning information. In step S12, warning areas RA and RB are set based on the side door protrusion width information and door position information. At this time, warning areas RA and RB are set for each door 41 and 42 based on, for example, the front and rear door positions on the sides of the vehicle 40 and door type information (swing type/slide type information) (see Figure 3).

In step S13, it is determined whether an approaching object has moved from the radar detection area to the non-detection area within the warning areas RA and RB, and the implementation of contact prevention operation has been extended due to this movement. Specifically, it is determined whether the value of the extension counter C, described below, is greater than 0 and the object detection flag F is off. The object detection flag F is initially off and is switched on when an object is detected by the radar devices 21L and 21R within the warning areas RA and RB. If the extension counter C is 0 or the object detection flag F is on, and step S13 is negative, the process proceeds to step S14. If step S13 is positive, the process proceeds to step S28.

In step S14, it is determined whether the object detection flag F is on. If the object detection flag F is off, proceed to step S15; if the object detection flag F is on, proceed to step S25.

In step S15, it is determined whether an object has been detected by the radar devices 21L, 21R within the surveillance areas RA, RB. Since the widths of the surveillance areas RA, RB may differ for the front and rear doors 41, 42, it is advisable to determine whether an object has been detected for each surveillance area RA, RB for each door 41, 42. If an object has not been detected within the surveillance areas RA, RB, the process proceeds to step S16; if an object has been detected within the surveillance areas RA, RB, the process proceeds to step S18.

In step S16, the object detection flag F is turned off, and in the following step S17, an alarm is not issued as an alarm suppression operation. After that, this process is temporarily terminated.

In step S18, the object detection flag F is turned on. In step S19, the collision prediction time TTC is calculated based on the relative distance and relative speed between the approaching object and the vehicle 40, and in the following step S20, it is determined whether the collision prediction time TTC has fallen below the threshold value TH. If the collision prediction time TTC has fallen below the threshold value TH, the process proceeds to step S21.

Here, the predicted time to collision (TTC) is determined based on the rear end of the host vehicle 40 and is calculated as the time it takes for an approaching object to reach the rear end of the host vehicle 40 in the longitudinal direction of the host vehicle 40. Furthermore, the time it takes for an approaching object to reach the front door 41 differs from the time it takes for the approaching object to reach the rear door 42. Therefore, a first threshold value TH1 for the front door 41 and a second threshold value TH2 for the rear door 42 are defined as thresholds TH, and collision determination is performed based on the predicted time to collision (TTC) for each door 41, 42. Because the rear door 42 is closer than the front door 41 to an approaching object approaching from behind, it is preferable that TH2 > TH1. In this case, if TTC < TH1, an alarm for the front door 41 is issued, and if TTC < TH2, an alarm for the rear door 42 is issued.

In addition, instead of calculating the collision prediction time TTC based on the rear end of the vehicle 40, it is also possible to calculate the collision prediction time TTC based on the mounting position of the radar device 21 on the vehicle 40.

In step S21, the distance D1 from the boundary between radar detection and non-detection to the front end of the surveillance area in the direction of movement of the approaching object is calculated, i.e., the distance until the approaching object leaves the surveillance area. In this case, if surveillance areas RA and RB are set as shown in Figure 3, the distance D1 should be calculated for each surveillance area RA and RB.

In step S22, the movement speed of the approaching object is acquired as information about the approaching object. At this time, the movement speed of the approaching object may be calculated based on the detection results of the radar device 21 or the imaging device 22, or the type of approaching object may be determined using camera images, etc., and a specified speed determined for each type may be set as the movement speed of the approaching object.

In step S23, an extension time for extending the implementation of the contact prevention operation is calculated based on the distance D1 and the movement speed of the approaching object, and the extension time is set in extension counter C, which is a decrement counter. At this time, an extension time for the front door 41 and an extension time for the rear door 42 are determined taking into account the difference in distance D1 between the front door 41 and the rear door 42. These extension times are then set in extension counter C1 for the front door 41 and extension counter C2 for the rear door 42, respectively. It is also possible to set the extension time for the contact prevention operation to a fixed time regardless of the movement speed of the approaching object. Then, the process proceeds to step S24, and an alarm is issued.

On the other hand, if the object detection flag F is on and step S14 is answered affirmatively, proceed to step S25 to determine whether an approaching object has moved from the radar detection area to the non-detection area within each of the alert areas RA and RB. For example, in Figure 4, if a person 51, acting as an approaching object, moves from the radar detection area to the non-detection area within the alert area RB, step S25 is answered affirmatively.

In step S26, the object detection flag F is turned off. In step S27, it is determined whether the value of the extension counter C is greater than 0. If the value of the extension counter C is greater than 0, the process proceeds to step S24; if the value of the extension counter C is 0, the process proceeds to step S17.

If step S13 is positive, proceed to step S28. In step S28, the extension counter C is decremented, and proceed to step S24. Thereafter, the extension counter C is decremented repeatedly. When the extension counter C reaches 0, step S13 is negative, and proceeds to step S17 via steps S14 to S16, where the contact prevention operation is stopped. At this time, the alarm for the front door 41 and the alarm for the rear door 42 are controlled separately.

Figure 6 is a time chart to explain contact prevention control in more detail. Here, we assume a situation in which the host vehicle 40 is stopped and an approaching object passes by its side.

In Figure 6, at time t1, the radar device 21 detects an approaching object within the warning areas RA and RB, and upon detection of the approaching object, the object detection flag F is switched from OFF to ON. At this point, the extension counter C is 0.

Thereafter, as the approaching object moves from the rear to the front of the vehicle 40, the predicted time to collision TTC gradually decreases. At time t2, the predicted time to collision TTC reaches the second threshold value TH2 for the rear door 42, causing an alarm for the rear door 42 and setting an extension counter C2 for the rear door 42. At time t3, the predicted time to collision TTC reaches the first threshold value TH1 for the front door 41, causing an alarm for the front door 41 and setting an extension counter C1 for the front door 41.

At time t4, the approaching object reaches the rear end position of the vehicle 40, causing the collision prediction time TTC to become 0.

Then, at time t5, as an approaching object moves from the radar detection area to the non-detection area within each of the surveillance areas RA and RB, the object detection flag F is switched off. Also, after time t5, the values of the counters C1 and C2 are gradually decremented.

From time t5 onwards, the contact prevention operation continues for approaching objects within the alert areas RA and RB, even if detection by the radar device 21 has stopped. In this case, the extension time for the contact prevention operation is set based on the movement speed of the approaching object, so the contact prevention operation continues while taking into account the time required for the approaching object to pass through.

Then, at time t6, the extension counter C2 for the rear door 42 becomes 0, and the alarm for the rear door 42 is stopped. In this case, the situation becomes such that opening the rear door 42 will not result in contact with an approaching object, and the alarm for the rear door 42 is immediately stopped. Also, at time t7, the extension counter C1 for the front door 41 becomes 0, and the alarm for the front door 41 is stopped. In this case, the situation becomes such that opening the front door 41 will not result in contact with an approaching object, and the alarm for the front door 41 is immediately stopped.

According to the present embodiment described above, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

Contact warning information indicating the degree of possibility of contact with an approaching object when a side door of the vehicle 40 is opened is acquired, and based on that contact warning information, warning areas RA and RB (implementation areas) in which contact prevention operations are performed around the vehicle 40 are set. This allows contact prevention operations to be performed appropriately depending on the degree of possibility of contact between the side door and an approaching object.

Protrusion width information regarding the width of the vehicle's lateral protrusion is acquired, and the widths WA and WB of the warning areas RA and RB are set based on that protrusion width information. This prevents unnecessary contact prevention operations from being performed on side doors, which have a short protrusion width and therefore a low likelihood of contact with an approaching object.

The system acquires position information for the side doors of the vehicle 40 in the vehicle length direction (i.e., the position information for each door 41, 42), and sets the front end positions FA, FB in the vehicle length direction of the warning areas RA, RB based on that position information. This makes it possible to set appropriate warning areas RA, RB for each door 41, 42 according to the possibility of contact with an approaching object. This allows for accurate contact prevention operation.

When the warning areas RA and RB include a non-detection area where the radar device 21 does not detect objects to the side of the side door for which position information has been acquired, and an approaching object detected by the radar device 21 within the warning areas RA and RB moves into the non-detection area, contact prevention operation is continued in the non-detection area. In this case, when contact prevention operation is being performed due to an approaching object entering each warning area RA and RB from behind the vehicle 40, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience of the contact prevention operation being stopped even though the approaching object is present to the side of the side door.

When an approaching object detected by the radar device 21 within the alert areas RA and RB moves into a non-detection area, an extension time is set for continuing the contact prevention operation, and the contact prevention operation continues until the extension time has elapsed. In particular, the movement speed of the approaching object is acquired, and the extension time is set based on that movement speed. This makes it possible to accurately determine the period from when the approaching object becomes undetectable within the alert areas RA and RB until it leaves the alert areas RA and RB, and to appropriately implement the contact prevention operation.

Based on the contact alert information for each door 41, 42, alert areas RA, RB are set for each door 41, 42. This allows the vehicle 40 to appropriately perform contact prevention operations while taking into account the different possibilities of contact with an approaching object for each door 41, 42.

Second Embodiment
The second embodiment will be described, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the presence or absence of an occupant's intention to exit the vehicle is determined in the host vehicle 40, and if it is determined that the intention information is present, the implementation of the contact prevention operation is changed. Furthermore, as the contact prevention operation, if an approaching object is in a first proximity state relative to the host vehicle 40, a warning is issued to the occupant of the host vehicle 40, and if the approaching object is in a second proximity state closer to the host vehicle 40 than the first proximity state, the doors of the host vehicle 40 are locked. Furthermore, if it is determined that the occupant intends to exit the vehicle when the approaching object is in the first proximity state, a warning is issued to the approaching object in addition to the warning to the occupant.

The first approach state is a state in which the predicted time to collision (TTC) of the approaching object falls below a first threshold value (TH11). In this case, a warning is issued by the door indicator (also referred to as the alarm device 32) and a first extension counter (C11) is set. The second approach state is a state in which the predicted time to collision (TTC) of the approaching object falls below a second threshold value (TH12) that is smaller than the first threshold value (TH11). In this case, the door is locked by the door lock device 33 and a second extension counter (C12) is set. The specific configuration will be explained using Figure 7. Note that Figure 7 is a partial modification of the process of Figure 5 described above, with steps S20 and S21 replaced with steps S31 to S36.

In Figure 7, after calculating the collision prediction time TTC in step S19, the process proceeds to step S31. In step S31, it is determined whether the collision prediction time TTC has fallen below the second threshold value TH12. If the collision prediction time TTC is below the second threshold value TH12, the process proceeds to step S32, where the second extension counter C12 is set. In step S33, the door is locked by the door lock device 33 as a contact prevention operation.

In addition, in step S34, it is determined whether the collision prediction time TTC has fallen below the first threshold value TH11. If the collision prediction time TTC is below the first threshold value TH11, the process proceeds to step S35, where the first extension counter C11 is set. When the collision prediction time TTC gradually decreases due to the movement of an approaching object, step S34 is first answered yes, and then step S31 is answered yes.

In step S36, it is determined whether the occupant of the vehicle 40 intends to exit the vehicle. For example, whether the occupant intends to exit the vehicle may be determined based on whether the side door is open. If the occupant does not intend to exit the vehicle, the process proceeds to step S37, where a door indicator is used to warn the occupant as a contact prevention operation. If the occupant intends to exit the vehicle, the process proceeds to step S38, where a door indicator is used to warn the occupant and a courtesy lamp is turned on to alert an approaching object as a contact prevention operation. The courtesy lamp is a device located below the side door of the vehicle 40 that displays notification information on the road surface. By turning on the courtesy lamp, an approaching object is notified that the side door of the vehicle 40 has been opened. The courtesy lamp can also be flashed to emphasize the alert to the approaching object. In other words, in steps S36 to S38, the implementation of the contact prevention operation is changed based on the occupant's intention to exit the vehicle.

According to steps S36 to S38, when a side door is opened while an alarm is activated in response to the detection of an approaching object, an alarm is sounded not only to the occupants of the vehicle 40 but also to the approaching object, allowing for more appropriate contact prevention operations. In other words, if the occupants intend to exit the vehicle, it is necessary to alert the approaching object to prevent contact, and by changing the implementation of the contact prevention operations, appropriate contact prevention operations can be performed.

In addition, even if an alarm is issued to the occupants of the vehicle 40, it is possible that the occupants may open the door if there is still a margin of contact with an approaching object (i.e., a state before the door is locked).However, by issuing a warning to the approaching object, safety can be increased when the door of the vehicle 40 is opened.

The system may be configured to determine whether a passenger intends to exit the vehicle based on contact with the door handle of a side door. If a passenger intends to exit the vehicle, the system may be configured to issue a warning of an approaching object using a light-emitting device installed in the door mirror, or to issue a warning of an approaching object using audio.

(Third embodiment)
The third embodiment will be described, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the processing performed when continuing the contact prevention operation is changed.

In this embodiment, in the processing of step S25 in Figure 5, if an approaching object reaches the rear end line LE defined by the rear end position of the vehicle 40 within the warning areas RA and RB, the approaching object is considered to have moved from the radar detection area to the non-detection area. The rear end line LE is a straight line extending in the vehicle width direction from the rear end position of the vehicle 40, and is the position where the collision prediction time TTC for the approaching object becomes 0. Below, the processing when continuing contact prevention operation is explained in detail using Figure 8.

In Figure 8, as in Figure 4, a situation is assumed in which a person 51 passes on the right side of the vehicle 40. When the person 51 moves to position A11 in the figure, the front end of the range in which the person 51 exists reaches the rear end line LE of the vehicle 40. When the person 51 then moves to position A12 in the figure, he or she passes outside the warning area RB.

In this embodiment, contact prevention operation is continued from the time when the front end position of the person 51's presence range reaches the rear end line LE of the vehicle 40 until the rear end position of the person 51's presence range reaches the front end position FB of the warning area RB. In this case, the time for which contact prevention operation is continued can be calculated from the distance D2 and the movement speed of the person 51. Here, the distance D2 is the sum of the distance from the rear end position FC of the vehicle 40 to the front end position FB of the warning area RB and the width of the person 51 in the vehicle length direction. The width of the person 51 in the vehicle length direction may be a value calculated based on the person 51's presence range.

Note that Figure 8 shows an example in which an approaching object, a person 51, passes on the right side of the vehicle 40, but the approaching object may be a four-wheeled vehicle, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc. in addition to a person 51. In this case, the type of approaching object may be determined, and a set value determined for each type may be used as the width of the approaching object in the vehicle length direction.

Figure 9 is a time chart to explain contact suppression control in more detail. Here, we assume a situation similar to that shown in Figure 6 above.

In Figure 9, the processing from time t1 to before time t4 is the same as in Figure 6. At time t4, the front end position of the approaching object's presence range reaches the rear end line LE of the vehicle 40, and the collision prediction time TTC becomes 0. This causes the object detection flag F to be switched off. Furthermore, after time t4, the values of each counter C1, C2 are gradually decremented. Thereafter, at time t5, the extension counter C2 for the rear door 42 becomes 0, and the alarm for the rear door 42 is stopped. Furthermore, at time t6, the extension counter C1 for the front door 41 becomes 0, and the alarm for the front door 41 is stopped.

According to this embodiment, when an approaching object reaches the rear end line LE of the vehicle 40 within the warning areas RA and RB, it is determined that the approaching object will move from the radar detection area to the non-detection area. This allows the determination that the approaching object will move from the radar detection area to the non-detection area to be made at the time the approaching object is present within the radar detection area. Therefore, it is possible to more accurately carry out the continuation processing of the contact suppression operation than when it is determined that the approaching object has actually moved from the radar detection area to the non-detection area.

When detecting objects using the radar device 21, there is a concern that detecting the rear end position of an object's presence range may result in lower reliability of object detection compared to detecting the front end position. Therefore, continuation of contact prevention operation is implemented when the front end position of the person 51's presence range reaches the rear end line LE of the vehicle 40. This increases the reliability of object detection compared to detecting the rear end position of the person 51's presence range, while also making it possible to determine that an approaching object is moving from the radar detection range to the non-detection range. As a result, continuation of contact prevention operation can be implemented accurately.

In this embodiment, the time for which the contact prevention operation is continued can also be the time from when the rear end position of the person 51's presence range reaches the rear end line LE of the vehicle 40 until the rear end position of the person 51's presence range reaches the front end position FB of the warning area RB. In this case, the time for which the contact prevention operation is continued can be calculated from the distance from the rear end position FC of the vehicle 40 to the front end position FB of the warning area RB and the movement speed of the person 51.

(Other embodiments)
The above embodiment may be modified as follows, for example.

- Visibility information regarding the visibility of the side door from an approaching object may be acquired as contact warning information, and a warning area may be set based on that visibility information. Specifically, the following configuration may be used.

In step S11 of Figure 5, the ECU 30 acquires weather information as visibility information in addition to side door protrusion width information and door position information. In step S12, the ECU 30 sets alert areas RA and RB based on the side door protrusion width information, door position information, and weather information. In bad weather, such as rain, snow, strong winds, or fog, the visibility of the side doors from approaching objects decreases compared to good weather. Therefore, in bad weather, the width and length of the alert areas RA and RB are increased compared to good weather.

In step S11 of FIG. 5, the ECU 30 acquires time-of-day information as visibility information, in addition to side door protrusion width information and door position information. At this time, time-of-day information indicating which time-of-day it is currently in among multiple time-of-day periods is acquired. In addition, in step S12, the ECU 30 sets alert areas RA and RB based on the side door protrusion width information, door position information, and time-of-day information. During dark outdoor hours, such as after sunset, the visibility of the side doors from approaching objects is reduced compared to bright outdoor hours. Therefore, during dark outdoor hours, the width and length of the alert areas RA and RB are increased compared to bright outdoor hours.

- The alert area may be set depending on who the occupants of the vehicle 40 are. Specifically, the ECU 30 determines whether the occupants of the vehicle 40 are designated occupants (e.g., children or elderly people) who are assumed to be less safe when getting in and out of the vehicle, and if the occupant is a designated occupant, the alert area is made larger (width and length) than if the occupant is not a designated occupant. The occupant may be determined, for example, based on communication information from a mobile device carried by each occupant, based on images from an in-vehicle camera, or based on information input by the user.

In addition, if a child seat is installed in the vehicle 40, it is possible to make the security area (width and length) for the boarding door in which the child seat is installed larger than for other doors.

- In the above embodiment, in step S20 of Figure 5, the relationship between the first threshold value TH1 for the front door 41 and the second threshold value TH2 for the rear door 42 is TH2 > TH1, but this may be changed. Specifically, TH1 = TH2 may be used. In this case, when TTC < TH1 = TH2, an alarm is issued for the front door 41 and an alarm is issued for the rear door 42.

- In the above embodiment, in step S23 of Figure 5, an extension counter C1 for the front door 41 and an extension counter C2 for the rear door 42 are respectively set, but this may be changed. Specifically, a common extension counter may be set for the front door 41 and the rear door 42. In this case, when the common extension counter for the front door 41 and the rear door 42 reaches 0, the alarm for the front door 41 and the alarm for the rear door 42 are stopped.

- In the above embodiment, the contact prevention operation against a vehicle approaching from behind the vehicle is configured to issue an alarm using the alarm device 32, but this may be changed. For example, the contact prevention operation may be configured to perform any of the following: door locking using the door lock device 33, braking the vehicle 40 using the brake device 34, or steering the vehicle 40 using the steering device 35.

- It is also possible to obtain contact warning information not only when the vehicle 40 is stopped, but also when the vehicle 40 is moving, and based on that contact warning information, set an implementation area around the vehicle 40 in which contact prevention operations will be performed.

- The vehicle 40 may be configured to determine whether or not there is an occupant in each seat within the vehicle cabin, and issue a warning or other contact prevention operation depending on the occupant's seating position. For example, the occupant's seating position may be determined using a weight sensor or an interior camera installed in each seat within the vehicle cabin. Specifically, when there is an occupant only in the driver's seat of the vehicle 40, the ECU 30 issues a warning or other contact prevention operation only for the driver's door. Furthermore, when there are occupants in the driver's seat and the seat behind the driver's seat of the vehicle 40, the ECU 30 issues a warning or other contact prevention operation only for the side doors of the seats occupied by those occupants.

- Detection of approaching objects may be performed using an imaging device 22, an ultrasonic sensor, LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging/Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), etc. instead of a radar device 21.

- The vehicle control device and method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a special-purpose computer provided by configuring a processor and memory programmed to execute one or more functions embodied in a computer program. Alternatively, the vehicle control device and method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a special-purpose computer provided by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the vehicle control device and method described in the present disclosure may be realized by one or more special-purpose computers configured by combining a processor and memory programmed to execute one or more functions with a processor configured with one or more hardware logic circuits. Furthermore, the computer program may be stored on a computer-readable non-transitory tangible recording medium as instructions executed by a computer.

While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to those exemplary embodiments or structures. The present disclosure also encompasses various modifications and variations within the scope of equivalents. In addition, various combinations and forms, including only one element, more than one element, or less than one element, are also within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

The following describes characteristic configurations extracted from the above-described embodiments.
[Configuration 1]
The present invention is applied to a vehicle equipped with a detection device (21, 22) that detects an object around the vehicle,
In a surroundings monitoring device (30), when an approaching object approaching from behind a vehicle (40) is detected by the detection device, a contact suppression operation is performed to suppress contact with the approaching object due to opening of a side door of the vehicle,
an acquisition unit that acquires contact warning information that indicates a degree of possibility of contact with the approaching object when the side door of the host vehicle is opened;
a setting unit that sets an implementation area in which the contact prevention operation is to be performed around the host vehicle based on the contact warning information;
A perimeter monitoring device comprising:
[Configuration 2]
the acquisition unit acquires, as the contact warning information, protrusion width information relating to a protrusion width to the side of the host vehicle when the side door is opened,
2. The periphery monitoring device according to configuration 1, wherein the setting unit sets a width of the host vehicle in the implementation area in a vehicle width direction based on the protrusion width information.
[Configuration 3]
the acquisition unit acquires position information of the side door in a vehicle length direction of the host vehicle as the contact warning information,
The surroundings monitoring device according to configuration 1 or 2, wherein the setting unit sets a front end position in the vehicle length direction in the implementation area based on the position information.
[Configuration 4]
the detection device detects an object in a predetermined area including a rear area of the vehicle;
The periphery monitoring device of configuration 3 is further provided with an operation control unit that, in the implementation area, there is a non-detection area to the side of the side door from which the position information is acquired, in which object detection by the detection device is not performed, and that continues the contact suppression operation in the non-detection area when the approaching object detected by the detection device in the implementation area moves into the non-detection area.
[Configuration 5]
The operation control unit, when the non-detection area exists to the side of the side door from which the position information was acquired in the implementation area and the approaching object detected by the detection device within the implementation area moves into the non-detection area, sets an extension time for continuing the contact prevention operation and continues the contact prevention operation for a period until the extension time has elapsed, is a perimeter monitoring device as described in configuration 4.
[Configuration 6]
The periphery monitoring device according to configuration 5, wherein the operation control unit acquires a movement speed of the approaching object detected by the detection device within the implementation area, and sets the extension time based on the movement speed.
[Configuration 7]
The surroundings monitoring device according to any one of configurations 4 to 6, wherein the operation control unit considers the approaching object to be moving into the non-detection area when the approaching object detected by the detection device within the implementation area reaches a rear end line extending in the vehicle width direction from the rear end position of the vehicle.
[Configuration 8]
The vehicle has a plurality of doors (41, 42) in a front-rear direction of the vehicle as the side doors,
the acquisition unit acquires the contact warning information for each of the doors,
8. The perimeter monitoring device according to any one of configurations 1 to 7, wherein the setting unit sets the implementation area for each of the doors based on the contact warning information of each of the doors.
[Configuration 9]
the acquisition unit acquires visibility degree information regarding a visibility degree of the side door from the approaching object as the contact warning information,
9. The periphery monitoring device according to any one of configurations 1 to 8, wherein the setting unit sets the implementation area based on the visibility information.
[Configuration 10]
a determination unit for determining whether or not a passenger in the vehicle intends to get off;
a mode change unit that changes a mode of the contact prevention operation when it is determined that the driver has the intention to dismount;
10. The periphery monitoring device according to any one of configurations 1 to 9, comprising:
[Configuration 11]
the contact suppression operation is to issue a warning to a passenger of the host vehicle when the approaching object is in a first approach state with respect to the host vehicle, and to lock the doors of the host vehicle when the approaching object is in a second approach state that is closer to the host vehicle than the first approach state,
The surroundings monitoring device described in configuration 10, wherein the mode change unit issues an alert to the approaching object in addition to alerting the occupant when it is determined that the occupant intends to disembark while the approaching object is in the first approach state.

Claims (10)

The present invention is applied to a vehicle equipped with a detection device (21, 22) that detects an object in a predetermined area around the vehicle, including the rear of the vehicle ,
In a surroundings monitoring device (30), when an approaching object approaching from behind a vehicle (40) is detected by the detection device, a contact suppression operation is performed to suppress contact with the approaching object due to opening of a side door of the vehicle,
an acquisition unit that acquires position information of the side door in a vehicle length direction of the host vehicle as contact warning information that indicates a degree of possibility of contact with the approaching object when the side door of the host vehicle is opened ;
a setting unit that sets an implementation area in which the contact prevention operation is to be performed around the host vehicle based on the contact warning information;
an operation control unit that, when a non-detection area in which object detection by the detection device is not performed exists to the side of the side door for which the position information is acquired in the implementation area and the approaching object detected by the detection device in the implementation area moves to the non-detection area, sets an extension time for continuing the contact prevention operation and continues the contact prevention operation in the non-detection area for a period until the extension time has elapsed;
Equipped with
The operation control unit of the surroundings monitoring device considers the approaching object to be moving into the non-detection area when the approaching object detected by the detection device within the implementation area reaches a rear end line extending from the rear end position of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction . the acquisition unit acquires, as the contact warning information, protrusion width information relating to a protrusion width to the side of the host vehicle when the side door is opened,
The surroundings monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein the setting unit sets a width of the host vehicle in the implementation area in a vehicle width direction based on the protrusion width information. The surroundings monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein the setting unit sets a front end position in the vehicle length direction in the implementation area based on the position information. The periphery monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein the operation control unit acquires a moving speed of the approaching object detected by the detection device within the implementation area, and sets the extension time based on the moving speed. The vehicle has a plurality of doors (41, 42) in a front-rear direction of the vehicle as the side doors,
the acquisition unit acquires the contact warning information for each of the doors,
5. The perimeter monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein the setting unit sets the implementation area for each of the doors based on the contact warning information for each of the doors. the acquisition unit acquires visibility degree information regarding a visibility degree of the side door from the approaching object as the contact warning information,
5. The perimeter monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein the setting unit sets the implementation area based on the visibility information. a determination unit for determining whether or not a passenger in the vehicle intends to get off;
a mode change unit that changes a mode of the contact prevention operation when it is determined that the driver has the intention to dismount;
The periphery monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , comprising: the contact suppression operation is to issue a warning to a passenger of the host vehicle when the approaching object is in a first approach state with respect to the host vehicle, and to lock the doors of the host vehicle when the approaching object is in a second approach state that is closer to the host vehicle than the first approach state,
8. The surroundings monitoring device according to claim 7, wherein the mode change unit issues an alert to the approaching object in addition to issuing an alert to the occupant when it is determined that the occupant has an intention to disembark while the approaching object is in the first approach state. The present invention is applied to a vehicle equipped with a detection device (21, 22) that detects an object in a predetermined area around the vehicle, including the rear of the vehicle ,
A program executed by a computer (30) for performing a contact prevention operation to prevent a side door of a host vehicle (40) from coming into contact with the approaching object when the detection device detects the approaching object from behind the host vehicle (40), comprising:
an acquiring step of acquiring position information of the side door in a vehicle length direction of the host vehicle as contact warning information indicating a degree of possibility of contact with the approaching object when the side door of the host vehicle is opened;
a setting step of setting an implementation area in which the contact prevention operation is to be performed around the host vehicle based on the contact warning information;
an operation control step of setting an extension time for continuing the contact prevention operation and continuing the contact prevention operation in the non-detection area until the extension time has elapsed when a non-detection area in which object detection by the detection device is not performed exists to the side of the side door for which the position information has been acquired in the implementation area and the approaching object detected by the detection device in the implementation area moves into the non-detection area;
Including,
In the operation control step, when the approaching object detected by the detection device within the implementation area reaches a rear end line extending in the vehicle width direction from the rear end position of the vehicle, the program considers the approaching object to be moving into the non-detection area . The present invention is applied to a vehicle equipped with a detection device (21, 22) that detects an object in a predetermined area around the vehicle, including the rear of the vehicle,
In a periphery monitoring method, when an approaching object approaching from behind a vehicle (40) is detected by the detection device, a contact suppression operation is performed to suppress contact with the approaching object by opening a side door of the vehicle,
an acquiring step of acquiring position information of the side door in a vehicle length direction of the host vehicle as contact warning information indicating a degree of possibility of contact with the approaching object when the side door of the host vehicle is opened;
a setting step of setting an implementation area in which the contact prevention operation is to be performed around the host vehicle based on the contact warning information;
an operation control step of setting an extension time for continuing the contact prevention operation and continuing the contact prevention operation in the non-detection area until the extension time has elapsed when a non-detection area in which object detection by the detection device is not performed exists to the side of the side door for which the position information has been acquired in the implementation area and the approaching object detected by the detection device in the implementation area moves into the non-detection area;
Including,
In the operation control step, when the approaching object detected by the detection device within the implementation area reaches a rear end line extending in the vehicle width direction from the rear end position of the vehicle, the approaching object is deemed to move into the non-detection area.