JP2009098956A - Driving support device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a driving support device for a vehicle, capable of performing warning by appropriately determining a risk degree even when multiple pedestrians adjacently exist, and having high safety. <P>SOLUTION: The pedestrians F in a prescribed area 13 in front of one's own vehicle A are detected. The pedestrian states of the pedestrians F and the travelling state of the own vehicle A are detected, thereby setting dangerous zones 12 for each risk degree, on the basis of the states. The risk degree is determined from the state in which of the dangerous zone 12 the pedestrians F exist, to perform warning. The dangerous zones 12 are automatically changed in response to the change of the pedestrian states. The warning is automatically changed-over between display for each dangerous zone 12 and display of birds' eye view in response to the speed of the own vehicle and the state of a driver. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle driving support device for supporting safe driving.

  In connection with the present invention, for example, a vehicle driving support device that detects and notifies a pedestrian entering a traveling road ahead of the traveling vehicle is proposed (Patent Document 1).

There, a stereo camera detects a three-dimensional object that seems to be the nearest pedestrian, and determines whether the person is a pedestrian who may enter the road from the moving state of the three-dimensional object. If it does, warnings, such as lighting of LED and an audio | voice, will be performed.
JP 2005-228127 A

  However, if there are sparse target pedestrians, it would not be a problem to repeat the process for each pedestrian approaching in this way. When there are several, it is difficult to provide appropriate driving assistance.

  For example, when a pedestrian who is far away enters the traveling path first, the alarm may not be in time.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and the purpose of the present invention is, for example, even when there are a large number of target pedestrians in close proximity, the risk is appropriately determined and alarmed. Therefore, it is possible to provide a vehicle driving support device that can be operated more safely.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, an area where a pedestrian is present is divided according to the degree of risk, and an alarm is issued according to the divided area.

  Specifically, a pedestrian detection means for detecting a pedestrian in a predetermined area in front of the host vehicle, a pedestrian state detection means for detecting a pedestrian state including at least the position and movement direction of the pedestrian, A traveling state detecting means for detecting a traveling state of the vehicle; a dangerous area setting means for setting a plurality of dangerous areas for each degree of risk in front of the host vehicle based on the pedestrian state and the traveling state; and the pedestrian The risk level determination means for determining the risk level depending on which of the risk areas is present, and the alarm means for issuing a warning based on the determination result by the risk level determination means.

  According to this configuration, first, a pedestrian existing in a predetermined area in front of the host vehicle is detected. Of course, there may be a plurality of pedestrians. And while detecting pedestrian states, such as a position and a moving direction of these pedestrians, the traveling state of the own vehicle is detected. Next, based on these detected states, a plurality of danger areas are set in front of the host vehicle for each danger level. Then, it is determined in which of these dangerous areas the pedestrian is present, and an alarm is issued based on the determination result.

  In other words, instead of determining the danger level of each approaching pedestrian and issuing an alarm, all pedestrians within a predetermined area are targeted at once, and the dangerous area (based on the position, direction of movement, etc.) A danger zone) is set, and an alarm is issued depending on which danger zone each pedestrian is in.

  By doing so, even if there are a plurality of pedestrians within a predetermined area, the risk is determined and an alarm is given to all these pedestrians, so the driver is dangerous. The presence of pedestrians can be known without omission and safety is high. And since it is only necessary to determine and alarm for each danger zone instead of determining and alarming for each pedestrian, the information processing burden is relatively small and can be processed in a short time, especially when there are many pedestrians It is effective.

  The dangerous area may be automatically changed according to a change in the pedestrian state. By doing so, the degree of danger that changes from moment to moment can be more appropriately determined, and reliability is improved.

  The alarm means includes, for example, an area-specific display alarm means for displaying a different sign for each danger area, and an overall display alarm means for displaying the danger area and the pedestrian superimposed on the predetermined area. It is good to. If it is the former, since a sign corresponding to the degree of danger is displayed, the driver can be surely and directly notified of the danger. On the other hand, if it is the latter, a driver | operator can be notified at a glance of general risk.

  In particular, if the above-mentioned whole display warning means displays pedestrians within a predetermined number of people in order from the highest risk level, a limited number of high priority items are displayed, so the display becomes difficult to see. Without any discomfort or anxiety to the driver.

  The warning means may automatically switch between the display by the area-specific display warning means and the display by the whole display warning means according to the speed of the host vehicle, or may be estimated by the driver state estimation means. Depending on the state of the driver, the display by the area-specific display alarm means and the display by the overall display alarm means can be automatically switched. For example, the driver state estimation means includes attitude determination means for determining the attitude of the driver, and the region-specific display alarm means and the overall display alarm means are automatically switched according to the driver attitude. What should I do? In this way, it is possible to more appropriately warn and increase safety.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even when there are a plurality of pedestrians in close proximity, it is possible to appropriately determine the warning and alert the vehicle, and to provide a safer vehicle driving support device. Can do.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the following description of the preferred embodiment is merely illustrative in nature, and is not intended to limit the present invention, its application, or its use.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of an automobile A (vehicle, hereinafter also referred to as own vehicle A) to which the vehicle driving support device of the present invention is applied. As shown in the figure, the vehicle driving support apparatus in this embodiment includes a pedestrian detection camera 1, a vehicle speed sensor 2, a GPS 3, a navigation system 4, a head-up display 5, an alarm buzzer 6, an indoor camera 7, and a control unit 8. Etc.

  As the pedestrian detection camera 1, for example, a stereo camera composed of a pair of cameras can be used, and an image of a traveling road 9 such as a roadway ahead of the host vehicle and a sidewalk 10 adjacent thereto is photographed. Information is output to the control unit 8.

  The vehicle speed sensor 2 measures the vehicle speed of the automobile A from the number of rotations of the transmission output shaft and the like and outputs it to the control unit 8.

  A GPS (Global Positioning System) 3 is a known global positioning system, and acquires position information for specifying the current position of the automobile A. The navigation system 4 has a database storing map information, acquires map information around the current position of the car A in cooperation with the GPS 3, and outputs the information to the control unit 8.

  The head-up display (HUD) 5 and the alarm buzzer 6 are alarm devices that warn the driver based on information input from the control unit 8, and the HUD 5 projects an image on the windshield in front of the driver seat. The alarm buzzer 6 emits a warning sound.

  The indoor camera 7 is installed in order to detect the posture of the driver during driving. The indoor camera 7 photographs the driver sitting on the driver's seat and outputs the image information to the control unit 8.

  The control unit 8 is a device that is the main component of a vehicle driving support device configured by electronic members such as a CPU and a memory. In the present embodiment, the control unit 8 is integrated with a known ECU (electronic control unit) 11 that controls the automobile A. It is configured. Although details will be described later, the ECU 11 is also used for estimating the state of the driver.

  FIG. 2 shows the system configuration of the control unit 8. Various programs such as a pedestrian detection processing unit 81, a forward road shape extraction unit 82, a danger zone setting processing unit 83, a pedestrian risk degree determination processing unit 84, and an alarm processing unit 85 are installed in the control unit 8.

  The control unit 8 cooperates with the pedestrian detection camera 1, the vehicle speed sensor 2, the GPS 3, and the navigation system 4, and pedestrians such as the position, moving direction, and moving speed of the pedestrian F through the processing of these programs. Information on the driving state (running state) such as the state of F (pedestrian state), the vehicle speed and position of the host vehicle A, and the surrounding map is acquired.

  The pedestrian detection processing unit 81 detects the pedestrian F existing on the sidewalk 10 in front of the host vehicle based on the image information input from the pedestrian detection camera 1, and the pedestrian state such as its position and moving direction. Is detected.

  Specifically, the pedestrian detection processing unit 81 includes a database 81a in which a large number of matching data composed of information such as the shape of the pedestrian F is stored, and the matching data and image information are collated. By doing so, the pedestrian F is detected.

  The forward road shape extraction unit 82 extracts map information around the traveling road 9 and the sidewalk 10 in front of the own vehicle based on the position of the own vehicle A input from the GPS 3 and the map information of the navigation system 4.

  Although the details will be described later, the danger zone setting processing unit 83 divides the sidewalk 10 based on the pedestrian state and the running state, and sets the danger zone (danger area) 12 according to the degree of danger.

  The pedestrian risk level determination processing unit 84 determines the risk level depending on in which of the danger zones 12 the pedestrian F exists.

  The alarm processing unit 85 switches the content of the alarm based on various information from the vehicle speed sensor 2, the indoor camera 7, and the ECU 11, while depending on the risk determined by the pedestrian risk determination processing unit 84, the HUD 5 and the alarm buzzer 6. To alert you.

  Of the above configuration, the pedestrian detection camera 1 and the pedestrian detection processing unit 81 mainly constitute pedestrian detection means, and the vehicle speed sensor 2, the GPS 3, the navigation system 4, and the front road shape extraction unit 82 are in the running state. It constitutes a detection means, the danger zone setting processing unit 83 constitutes a pedestrian state detection means and a dangerous area setting means, and the pedestrian risk degree judgment processing unit 84 constitutes a risk degree determination means, and includes a vehicle speed sensor 2 and an indoor camera. 7, the ECU 11 and the alarm processing unit 85 constitute alarm means.

  Next, the operation of the vehicle driving support apparatus having such a configuration will be specifically described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the entire process in the vehicle driving support apparatus. When the driver enters the car A and starts driving to operate the apparatus, predetermined information is continuously input to the control unit 8 from each of the input devices such as the pedestrian detection camera 1, the vehicle speed sensor 2, and the GPS 3. (Step S10).

  Then, in the control unit 8, a process for detecting the pedestrian F is executed by the pedestrian detection processing unit 81 (step S20).

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, the pedestrian detection processing unit 81 determines whether or not the pedestrian F exists in a predetermined area 13 of the sidewalk 10 in front of the vehicle (step S30). ). Here, the predetermined area 13 is a predetermined area (adjacent area) on the sidewalk 10 or the like adjacent to a boundary line (road boundary line) L with the traveling road 9 ahead of the host vehicle. The predetermined area 13 may be changed depending on the vehicle speed, the road shape, etc., or may be fixedly set.

  And when it determines with the pedestrian F existing in the predetermined area | region 13, the danger zone setting process part 83 performs the process which sets the danger zone 12 (step S40).

  FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the danger zone setting process. First, processing for detecting the moving direction of the pedestrian F is executed (step S41).

  Specifically, for example, the position of the detected pedestrian F is specified on the coordinates set with reference to the automobile A, and the moving direction and moving speed of the pedestrian F based on the vehicle speed obtained from the vehicle speed sensor 2. Is detected. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when there are five pedestrians F in a predetermined region 13, each of the five people on the coordinates set by the X axis parallel to the traveling path 9 and the vertical Y axis. The position, moving direction, and moving speed are specified.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not there is a pedestrian F moving toward the traveling road 9 (hereinafter referred to as a moving pedestrian F) (step S42). This is because the mobile pedestrian F is more likely to enter the travel path than the pedestrian F moving along the travel path 9 and the danger level is high.

  Here, moving toward the travel path 9 means a movement having a component (for example, a negative component of the Y axis in FIG. 4) toward the travel path 9 in terms of coordinates. This includes the case of moving in an oblique direction. The above determination may be limited to a case where the moving speed of the moving pedestrian F toward the traveling path 9 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value.

  In the present embodiment, when it is determined that there is at least one moving pedestrian F, the pattern selection of the danger zone 12 is performed (steps S43 and S44). In the present embodiment, when there is a moving pedestrian F, a pattern A having a relatively high alarm intensity is selected, and if not, a pattern B having a relatively low alarm intensity is selected.

  When the pattern of the danger zone 12 is selected, map information representing the road shape ahead of the vehicle is extracted by the front road shape extraction unit 82, for example, whether it is a straight line or a curve (step S45), and the danger zone setting process is performed. The pattern of the danger zone 12 selected in accordance with the road shape in the part 83 is deformed (step S46).

  FIG. 6 shows a specific example of the danger zone 12 selected in accordance with the straight road shape. (A) is a pattern A having a relatively high risk level, and (b) is a relative risk level. Is a small pattern B. In any of the patterns, a plurality of danger zones 12 are divided according to the degree of danger in a predetermined area 13 on the sidewalk 10 by setting the point P (indicated by white circles in the figure). An alarm zone 12a, an information provision (strong) zone 12b, an information provision (weak) zone 12c, and another zone 12d are set.

  Each danger zone 12a,... Is set so as to be closer to the own vehicle A and the road boundary line L as the degree of danger is larger, and each of the danger zones 12a,. The set position of the point P is calculated (step S47), and each region 12a,... Is set larger from the road boundary line L toward the sidewalk 10 as the moving speed increases, and from the own vehicle A as the vehicle speed increases. A large value is set toward the front side (step S48). Thus, by setting the danger zone 12 comprehensively based on the position, moving direction, moving speed, and vehicle speed of the pedestrian F, it is possible to provide appropriate driving support with excellent reliability, and a plurality of walking The processing burden on the person F can be reduced.

  When the danger zone 12 is set, the pedestrian risk level determination processing unit 84 determines the risk level of the pedestrian F (step S50).

  FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the pedestrian risk degree determination process. First, the position of each pedestrian F on the coordinates is detected (step S51), and the position is compared with the set position of each point P defining each danger zone 12 (step S52). .

  Then, it is specified in which danger zone 12 each pedestrian F exists, and the degree of danger is determined (step S53). For example, referring to FIG. 8, for example, one pedestrian F existing in the alarm zone 12a is determined to have a high degree of risk, and three pedestrians F existing in the information provision (strong) zone 12b have a medium risk level. The pedestrian F present in the information provision (weak) zone 12c is determined to have a low risk level.

  When the risk level of the pedestrian F is determined, a warning is given to the driver by the warning processing unit 85 (step S60).

  FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of the alarm process. First, it is checked whether or not there is a pedestrian F other than the danger zone 12 that needs to be alarmed, that is, the other zone 12d (step S61). Then, when there is a pedestrian F other than the other zone 12d, it is determined whether or not the vehicle speed of the host vehicle A exceeds a predetermined value (step S62). The predetermined value of the vehicle speed is preferably a relatively low speed that does not interfere with safe driving even if the driver pays some attention to the HUD 5.

  When the vehicle speed does not exceed the predetermined value, as shown in FIG. 10A, the entire image of the predetermined area in front of the host vehicle as shown in the bird's-eye view is displayed on the HUD 5 (overall display). An alarm is issued (step S63).

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the map image showing the shape of the traveling road 9 and the sidewalk 10 including the predetermined area 13 in front of the host vehicle, and the image showing the set danger zone 12 Then, the image showing the detected pedestrian F is superimposed and displayed. By doing so, the driver can know at a glance the number of pedestrians F in front of the host vehicle, their positions, and the dangerous state, and can more appropriately judge the overall risk.

  At this time, if there are a large number of detected pedestrians F and it is difficult to see when all the pedestrians F are displayed, the pedestrians F present in a high-risk zone or high-risk. What is necessary is just to display within the range of a predetermined number of people in order from the pedestrian F. If it does so, a driver | operator will not be discomforted and it will be safe to be able to grasp the display accurately.

  On the other hand, when the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined value, it is instantly and accurately transmitted to the driver. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10B, the HUD 5 differs depending on the danger zone 12 where the pedestrian F exists. An alarm is issued by displaying the displayed sign (display by area).

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, when there is a pedestrian F in the warning zone 12a, the warning display of (a) in the same figure that calls the driver very strongly is displayed (step S64). , S65), when there is a pedestrian F in the information provision (strong) zone 12b, the warning display of (b) in the figure that strongly alerts the driver is displayed (steps S66, S67), information provision (Weak) When there is a pedestrian F in the zone 12c, the warning display of (c) in the figure that weakly alerts the driver is displayed (step S68). In addition, when these displays overlap, what is necessary is just to display preferentially in an order from the one with a high risk. In addition to these displays, the alarm buzzer 6 also emits a warning sound having a different alerting level for each display.

  As described above, since the alarm content is automatically switched according to the difference in the vehicle speed, it is possible to appropriately support the driver's safe driving.

(Another embodiment)
FIG. 12 shows another embodiment in which a part of the alarm processing processed by the alarm processing unit 85 is changed. In the present embodiment, not the vehicle speed difference (see step S62 in FIG. 9) but the alarm contents are switched according to the driver's state (step S100). Since other configurations are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and different points will be described below.

  Here, the state of the driver is a case where the driver's attention is reduced, for example, when the driver is tired or in a hurry. For example, the driver opens the door. It can be determined by the time (starting time) from when the engine is started to when the engine is started.

  Specifically, the ECU 11 measures the starting time and inputs it to the alarm processing unit 85. Then, the alarm processing unit 85 compares the start time with a predetermined reference start time set in advance, and determines that the driver is not in a hurry when the reference start time is exceeded, and if it is less than the reference start time In this case, it may be determined that the driver is in a hurry (step S100).

  The driver's state can also be estimated by the driver's posture.

  That is, the driver who is driving with the indoor camera 7 is photographed and the image is input to the alarm processing unit 85. Then, the warning processing unit 85 determines whether or not the vehicle is in the forward leaning posture based on the image, determines that the driver is not in a hurry when the normal sitting posture is not the forward leaning posture, and the forward leaning posture is determined. In that case, it may be determined that the driver is in a hurry (step S100).

  Then, if it is determined that the driver is not in a hurry, an alarm is given based on the entire display (step S63), and if it is determined that the driver is in a hurry, an alarm is given based on the display for each region (step S64). ~ S68). Thus, it is possible to appropriately assist the driver's safe driving by automatically switching the alarm contents according to the driver's state.

  As described above, according to the vehicle driving support device of the present invention, regardless of whether there are a plurality of pedestrians F in close proximity, the risk is appropriately determined and an alarm corresponding to the situation is given. Therefore, the reliability is high and the driver can drive with confidence.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, The other various structures are also included. That is, the travel path 9 is not limited to the roadway, and the predetermined area 13 is not necessarily on the sidewalk 10. The danger zone pattern is not limited to two types of A and B, but may be three or more types. The alarm display may be switched manually by the driver. The switching of the alarm contents may be configured independently of the vehicle speed and the driver state, or may be configured in combination.

It is the schematic of the vehicle carrying the driving assistance device for vehicles of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the driving assistance device for vehicles of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the whole process. It is a figure for demonstrating a pedestrian detection process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a dangerous zone setting process. It is a figure for demonstrating a danger zone, (a) has shown the pattern A, (b) has shown the pattern B. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a pedestrian risk degree determination process. It is a figure which shows an example of a whole display. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an alarm process. It is the conceptual diagram of the warning by HUD, (a) is the case of whole display, (b) has shown the case of the display according to area | region. It is a conceptual diagram of the display according to area | region. (A)-(c) has shown the display according to another area, respectively. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the alarm process in another embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

A car (own vehicle)
F Pedestrian 1 Pedestrian detection camera 2 Vehicle speed sensor 3 GPS
4 Navigation system 5 Head-up display 6 Alarm buzzer 7 Indoor camera 8 Control unit 9 Runway 10 Sidewalk 11 ECU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Danger zone 13 Predetermined area | region 81 Pedestrian detection process part 82 Front road shape extraction part 83 Danger zone setting process part 84 Pedestrian risk degree determination process part 85 Warning process part

Claims (8)

Pedestrian detection means for detecting a pedestrian in a predetermined area in front of the host vehicle;
Pedestrian state detecting means for detecting a pedestrian state including at least the position and moving direction of the pedestrian;
Traveling state detection means for detecting the traveling state of the host vehicle;
A dangerous area setting means for setting a plurality of dangerous areas according to the degree of danger in front of the host vehicle based on the pedestrian state and the traveling state;
A risk determination means for determining the risk according to which of the danger areas the pedestrian exists,
Alarm means for issuing an alarm based on the determination result by the risk determination means;
A vehicle driving support apparatus comprising: The vehicle driving support device according to claim 1,
The vehicular driving support apparatus, wherein the dangerous area is automatically changed according to a change in the pedestrian state. In the vehicle driving assistance device according to claim 1 or 2,
The vehicle driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the warning means includes display warning means for each area for displaying different signs for each dangerous area. The vehicle driving support device according to claim 3,
The vehicle driving support apparatus, wherein the warning means includes an overall display warning means for displaying the dangerous area and the pedestrian superimposed on the predetermined area. The vehicle driving support device according to claim 4,
The vehicle display assisting device, wherein the whole display warning means displays pedestrians within a predetermined number of people in descending order of risk. In the vehicle driving assistance device according to claim 4 or 5,
The vehicle driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display by the display alarm unit for each area and the display by the overall display alarm unit are automatically switched according to the speed of the host vehicle. In the vehicle driving assistance device according to any one of claims 4 to 6,
The alarm means has a driver state estimating means for estimating the driver's state,
The vehicle driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display by the display alarm unit for each region and the display by the overall display alarm unit are automatically switched according to the state of the driver. The vehicle driving support device according to claim 7,
The driver state estimation means includes posture determination means for determining the driver's posture,
The vehicle driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display alarm unit for each area and the overall display alarm unit are automatically switched according to the posture of the driver.

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