JP7124472B2 - Vehicle driving support device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle driving assistance device.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-100001 describes switching whether or not to display information on a road sign recognized from a front image on an identification information display device based on the running state of a forward vehicle traveling in the same direction as the own vehicle. there is

Japanese Patent No. 6084598

However, with the device disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is not possible to accurately determine that there is no forward vehicle, and unnecessary road sign information is displayed on the identification information display device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle driving support system capable of informing a driver of only necessary objects.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an imaging unit that captures an image in front of a vehicle, a notification unit that notifies a driver of an object, and a driver that recognizes the object from the image and uses the notification unit to and a control unit for notifying the driver of the vehicle, wherein the control unit divides the image into at least two regions, weights each of the divided regions, and divides the image into at least two A case where there is a first condition that the same type of object is recognized in the area and a second condition that the same type of object is different, and both the first condition and the second condition are satisfied. Secondly, the content of the object in the region with the higher weight is validated .

Thus, according to the present invention, only necessary objects can be notified to the driver.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle driving support system according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a method of changing the boundary threshold value of the vehicle driving support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the vehicle entry prohibition sign notification process of the vehicle driving support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the speed limit sign notification process of the vehicle driving support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a road map showing an example for explaining the vehicle entry prohibition sign notification processing of the vehicle driving support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an image in front of the vehicle for explaining the vehicle entry prohibition sign notification processing of the vehicle driving support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a road map showing an example for explaining the speed limit sign notification processing of the vehicle driving support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an image in front of the vehicle for explaining the speed limit sign notification processing of the vehicle driving support system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

A driving assistance device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an imaging unit that captures an image in front of a vehicle, a notification unit that notifies a driver of an object, a notification unit that recognizes an object from the image, and a notification unit. and a control unit for informing the driver by the control unit, wherein the control unit divides the image into at least two regions, and in each region, an object to be recognized or an object to be recognized At least one of the recognition methods is configured to be different.

As a result, the vehicle driving support system according to the embodiment of the present invention can notify the driver of only necessary objects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A vehicle driving support system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 equipped with a vehicle driving support system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an imaging unit 2, a notification unit 3, a communication unit 4, a map information management unit 5, and a control unit 6. Consists of

The imaging unit 2 is configured by, for example, a camera, and images the front of the vehicle 1 . The imaging unit 2 outputs the captured image to the control unit 6 .

The notification unit 3 includes, for example, a monitor device, a speaker, a lamp, a meter, a buzzer, etc., and notifies the driver of various types of information through sight, hearing, and the like.

The communication unit 4 communicates with a server device outside the vehicle, a roadside communication device installed near the road, and the like to transmit and receive information.

The map information management unit 5 is a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, a hard disk device, an input port, and an output port. made up of units.

The ROM of the map information management unit 5 stores various control constants, various maps, and the like, as well as a program for causing the computer unit to function as the map information management unit 5 . That is, the computer unit functions as the map information management section 5 by the CPU executing the program stored in the ROM.

An input port of the map information management unit 5 is connected to various sensors including a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 53 and an acceleration sensor (not shown).

The GNSS receiver 53 receives radio waves from GNSS satellites via a GNSS antenna (not shown), and acquires the latitude, longitude, etc. of the current position from information included in the received radio waves. The acceleration sensor detects acceleration of the vehicle 1 .

The map information management unit 5 and the control unit 6 mutually transmit and receive signals such as control signals via an in-vehicle LAN (Local Area Network) conforming to standards such as CAN (Controller Area Network).

The map information management unit 5 functions as a static information storage unit 51 that manages static map information including road sign information, traffic light information, road lane information, etc., stored in a hard disk device, for example.

The map information management unit 5 receives road traffic information, road regulation information, road construction information, congestion information, accident information, ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) information, and weather information from a server device, a roadside communication device, etc. via the communication unit 4. It functions as a dynamic information acquisition unit 52 that acquires dynamic information such as.

The map information management unit 5 can detect the current position of the vehicle using the GNSS receiver 53 and the acceleration sensor described above. , traffic information such as congestion information and accident information, weather information, and the like are transmitted to the control unit 6 .

The control section 6 is composed of a computer unit having a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, an input port, and an output port.

The ROM of the controller 6 stores a program for causing the computer unit to function as the controller 6 together with various control constants, various maps, and the like. That is, the computer unit functions as the control section 6 by the CPU executing the program stored in the ROM.

Input ports of the control unit 6 are connected to various sensors including the imaging unit 2 , a steering angle sensor 101 , an accelerator opening sensor 102 and a vehicle speed sensor 103 . Various controlled objects including the notification unit 3 are connected to the output port of the control unit 6 .

A steering angle sensor 101 detects a steering angle of a steering wheel (not shown) operated by the driver. The accelerator opening sensor 102 detects the accelerator opening, which is the opening of an accelerator pedal (not shown) operated by the driver. Vehicle speed sensor 103 detects the speed of vehicle 1 .

The control unit 6 functions as an image reading unit 61 that reads image data captured by the imaging unit 2 . The control unit 6 functions as an image processing unit 62 that performs predetermined image processing on the image data read by the image reading unit 61 .

The control unit 6 functions as a detection processing unit 63 that sets an object to be recognized, etc., when predetermined recognition processing is performed from image data that has undergone image processing by the image processing unit 62 .

Based on the settings of the detection processing unit 63, the control unit 6 recognizes road signs, characters, signboards, people, automobiles, automobile traffic lights, pedestrian traffic lights, tollgate gates, road lanes, etc. from the image data. It functions as the recognition processing unit 64 .

The control unit 6 functions as an output processing unit 65 that uses the notification unit 3 to notify the driver of the recognized object based on the recognition result of the recognition processing unit 64 .

The control unit 6 divides the display image of the image data image-processed by the image processing unit 62 into at least two regions, and sets a weight for each region.

The control unit 6 performs processing using only the information recognized in the area with the high set weight value.

For example, the control unit 6 recognizes the same type of object, such as a speed limit sign, in at least two areas of the divided area, and recognizes the same type of object with different contents, such as the speed limit of the speed limit sign. If they are different, the content of the region with the higher weight value is valid.

The same type means that the regulatory sign type units such as speed limit signs and vehicle entry prohibition signs are the same. In addition, the difference in content means that speed limit signs have different speed limits, vehicle entry prohibition signs have auxiliary signs, and the like.

The control unit 6 may vary the object to be recognized in each area, the method of recognizing the object, and the process to be performed when the object is recognized, according to the set weight value.

For example, the control unit 6 divides the display image of the image data into two left and right regions, increases the weight value of the left region, and decreases the weight value of the right region.

The control unit 6, for example, performs processing using only the road signs recognized in the left region with a high weight value.

For example, the control unit 6 recognizes the road sign in the left region with a high weight value, but does not recognize the road sign in the right region with a low weight value.

The standards for installing road signs differ from country to country, but the basic principle is to install road signs on the side of roads.

Therefore, by doing so, the road sign installed on the side road on the left side can be recognized, and the necessary road sign can be notified to the driver.

In addition, it is possible to suppress the recognition of the road sign on the right side where the road sign unrelated to the own vehicle is installed, thereby suppressing the notification of unnecessary road signs to the driver.

Since recognition of the road sign on the right side is suppressed, the load of recognition processing of the control unit 6 can be reduced.

For example, based on the position information from the GNSS receiver 53, the control unit 6 determines the driving lane (right-hand traffic or left-hand traffic) of the vehicle 1 at the current position, and determines the weight value of the area divided by the driving lane. change.

By doing so, it is possible to change the weight value according to the driving lane (right-hand traffic or left-hand traffic) that changes depending on the country, and notify the driver of the necessary road signs. In addition, it is possible to suppress notifying the driver of unnecessary road signs.

When dividing the area, it is not necessary to divide at the center of the left and right, and it is sufficient to divide at a preset ratio. It may be divided vertically instead of horizontally.

For example, when the display image is divided into two areas on the left and right sides, the control unit 6 stores the number of pixels from the left end of the position where the display image is divided as the boundary threshold value. The control unit 6 may change the boundary threshold according to the driving state of the vehicle 1 .

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 6 changes the horizontal boundary threshold for dividing the display image into left and right regions according to the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor 101 .

As shown in FIG. 2, when the steering angle indicates that the steering wheel is being steered in the left direction, the control unit 6 sets the lateral boundary threshold to the arrow indicated as "left" in the figure so that the area on the left side becomes wider. change direction. When the steering angle indicates that the steering wheel is being steered in the right direction, the control unit 6 changes the lateral boundary threshold in the direction of the arrow labeled "right" in the figure so that the area on the right side becomes wider.

By doing so, when the direction of travel of the vehicle 1 is changed, the road sign in the direction of travel can be well recognized. When the steering angle indicates that the vehicle is being steered in the right direction, the recognition of the road sign in the left area may be stopped and the recognition of the road sign may be performed only in the right area.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 6 changes the vertical boundary threshold for dividing the display image into two upper and lower regions according to the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 103 .

As shown in FIG. 2, when the vehicle speed decreases, the control unit 6 changes the vertical boundary threshold in the direction of the arrow labeled "low vehicle speed" so that the lower area becomes wider. . When the vehicle speed increases, the control unit 6 changes the vertical boundary threshold in the direction of the arrow labeled "high vehicle speed" so that the upper region becomes wider.

By doing so, when the vehicle speed is changed, the road sign in the traveling direction can be well recognized.

The higher the vehicle speed, the wider the upper area, so by lowering the weight of the upper area, the road signs displayed on the electronic bulletin board installed above the road are not recognized. can be done. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the traffic information such as the wide area information from being reported as the current location information.

The vehicle entry prohibition sign notification processing by the vehicle driving support system according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the vehicle entry prohibition sign notification process described below is started when the control unit 6 starts the process.

In step S1, the control unit 6 reads an image in front of the vehicle 1 from the imaging unit 2, and performs recognition processing of a no-vehicle entry sign.

In step S<b>2 , the control unit 6 refers to the weight of the divided regions of the image in front of the vehicle 1 captured by the imaging unit 2 .

In step S3, the control unit 6 determines whether or not the vehicle has passed a no entry sign based on the recognition result. Here, if the vehicle entry prohibition sign is not recognized, it is determined that the vehicle entry prohibition sign is not passed.

If it is determined that the vehicle has passed the no-entry sign, in step S4, the control unit 6 determines whether or not the no-vehicle-no-entry sign that has passed is a valid sign for the own vehicle, based on the weight of the divided areas of the image. . That is, it is determined whether or not the vehicle entry prohibition sign that has passed has been recognized in a region with a high weight value.

If it is determined that the passing vehicle entry prohibition sign is valid for the host vehicle, the control unit 6 causes the notification unit 3 to display a warning in step S5.

In step S6, the control unit 6 determines whether or not a predetermined end condition is satisfied. The termination conditions include that the driver has selected to stop the warning display, that the vehicle 1 has stopped, and the like.

If it is determined in step S6 that the predetermined end condition is not satisfied, the control section 6 returns the process to step S5 and repeats the process.

If it is determined in step S4 that the vehicle entry prohibition sign that the vehicle has passed is not a valid sign, or if it is determined in step S6 that a predetermined termination condition is satisfied, in step S7, the control unit 6 The warning display by the notification unit 3 is terminated, and the process is terminated.

When it is determined in step S3 that the vehicle entry prohibition sign has not been passed, in step S8, the control unit 6 determines whether or not a predetermined end condition is satisfied. Termination conditions include failure to recognize a no-vehicle entry sign, vehicle 1 stopping, and the like.

If it is determined in step S8 that the predetermined termination condition is not satisfied, the control section 6 returns the process to step S1 and repeats the process.

When it is determined in step S8 that the predetermined termination condition is satisfied, in step S7, the control section 6 terminates the warning display by the notification section 3 and terminates the process.

A speed limit sign notification process performed by the vehicle driving support system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the speed limit sign notification processing described below is executed when the speed limit sign is recognized in both of the left and right divided image regions by the recognition processing of the control unit 6 .

In step S<b>11 , the control unit 6 refers to the weight of the divided regions of the image in front of the vehicle 1 captured by the imaging unit 2 .

In step S12, the control unit 6 determines whether or not the speed limit of the speed limit sign recognized from the image in front of the vehicle 1 is the same in the left and right areas. If it is determined that the speed limit is the same in the left and right areas, the control unit 6 causes the notification unit 3 to display the recognized speed limit sign in step S13.

When it is determined in step S12 that the speed limit is not the same in the left and right areas, the control unit 6 causes the notification unit 3 to display only the speed limit signs in the areas with high weight values in step S14.

In step S15, the control unit 6 terminates the display by the notification unit 3 when a predetermined termination condition is satisfied, and terminates the process. The termination conditions include failure to recognize the speed limit sign, vehicle 1 stopping, and the like.

The operation of such vehicle entry prohibition sign notification processing will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG.

An image in front of the vehicle 1 taken by the imaging unit 2 of the vehicle 1 running on the road shown in FIG. 5 is as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, the vehicle entry prohibition sign shown on the right side is for prohibiting entry into the oncoming lane on the right side. is notified to the driver.

In this embodiment, in FIG. 6, the image in front of the vehicle 1 is divided into left and right by a dashed line, and the weight value of the left area is increased. Therefore, since processing is performed only with the vehicle entry prohibited sign recognized in the left area, it is possible to suppress notifying the driver of an unnecessary road sign in such a case.

Further, when the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor 101 indicates that the steering wheel is being steered to the right, the control unit 6 increases the value of the right weight. In this way, when the steering wheel is turned to the right to enter the oncoming lane on the right side, the vehicle entry prohibition sign can be notified to the driver, and the necessary road sign can be notified to the driver. .

The operation of the speed limit sign notification process of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG.

An image in front of the vehicle 1 taken by the imaging unit 2 of the vehicle 1 running on the road shown in FIG. 7 is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 8, the speed limit sign shown on the right side is for the road on the right side, and if this speed limit sign is recognized and processed, the driver will be notified of an unnecessary road sign.

In this embodiment, in FIG. 8, the image in front of the vehicle 1 is divided into left and right by a dashed line, and the weight value of the left area is increased. For this reason, even if an object with the same type of regulation information is recognized, processing is performed only with the speed limit sign recognized in the left area. In addition to notifying the driver, it is possible to suppress notifying the driver of unnecessary road signs in the right area.

In this embodiment, the case of recognizing and notifying a road sign is shown, but it can also be applied to the case of recognizing a signboard, a person, a car, a traffic light for a vehicle, a traffic light for pedestrians, etc. as an object and notifying the driver. can.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the control unit 6 performs various determinations and calculations based on various sensor information has been described. may be determined or calculated, the determination result or calculation result may be received by the communication unit 4, and various controls may be performed using the received determination result or calculation result.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed, it will be apparent that modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. All such modifications and equivalents are intended to be included in the following claims.

1 vehicle 2 imaging unit 3 reporting unit 6 control unit 53 GNSS receiver 64 recognition processing unit 65 output processing unit 101 steering angle sensor 102 accelerator opening sensor 103 vehicle speed sensor

Claims (3)

an imaging unit that captures an image in front of the vehicle;
a notification unit that notifies the driver of the object;
and a control unit that recognizes the object from the image and causes the notification unit to notify the driver,
The control unit divides the image into at least two regions and weights each of the divided regions;
a first condition that the object of the same type is recognized in at least two of the regions;
and a second condition in which the contents of the objects of the same type are different,
A driving support device for a vehicle that validates the content of the object in the region with a high weight when both the first condition and the second condition are satisfied . 2. The vehicle driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit has a boundary threshold for dividing the image, and changes the boundary threshold according to the driving state of the vehicle. 3. The vehicle driving support device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit changes the weighting of the regions based on the current position of the vehicle.

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