JP5321711B2 - Vehicle periphery monitoring device and video display method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle periphery monitoring device and an image display method for displaying images of a vehicle rear side and a vehicle rear side and presenting them to a vehicle driver.

  Conventionally, in order to ensure that the vehicle driver can accurately grasp the situation at the rear of the vehicle and the side of the rear of the vehicle with a small amount of line of sight while securing the field of view of the blind spot of the rear mirror and door mirror of the automobile, In addition, it has been proposed to take a video of the rear side of the vehicle with an in-vehicle camera and display it on a display installed inside the vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 1 uses a rear camera installed at the rear end of the vehicle and two side cameras installed on the left and right door mirrors of the vehicle, respectively, to capture an image behind the vehicle and an image behind the vehicle. A vehicle periphery monitoring device is described in which these images are arranged in the horizontal direction and displayed on a single display inside the vehicle.

JP 2003-81014 A

  By the way, in this type of vehicle periphery monitoring device, it is desirable to be able to display an image of the widest possible region behind the vehicle and the rear side of the vehicle for the purpose of periphery monitoring. However, the display inside the vehicle has a limited display area, and in order to display images of a wide area behind and behind the vehicle side by side on this display, the display image size is reduced accordingly. There is a need. For this reason, for example, when an image showing the following vehicle is displayed on the display as an image behind the vehicle, the following vehicle is displayed smaller than the case where the following vehicle is confirmed by the room mirror, and the vehicle driver can display the following vehicle. May not be recognized correctly and may be erroneously recognized as being far away from the actual distance.

  The present invention was devised to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and displays a relatively wide area image of the rear side of the vehicle and the rear side of the vehicle. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle periphery monitoring device and a video display method that enable a vehicle driver to grasp a video with a sense of distance.

  The present invention displays an image of the rear of the vehicle photographed by the image photographing means on a display area located at the center in the lateral direction of the image display means inside the vehicle, and display areas located at both lateral ends of the image display means. In addition, the above-described problem is solved by displaying the image of the rear side of the vehicle photographed by the image photographing means in a compressed manner rather than the image behind the vehicle.

  According to the present invention, the video behind the vehicle is displayed in a compressed manner rather than the video behind the vehicle, so that the area for displaying the video behind the vehicle can be made larger in the display area of the video display means. In addition, it is possible to efficiently display a wide range of images within the limited display area of the image display means, and to display the images behind the vehicle so that the vehicle driver can grasp the images with a sense of correct distance. Can do.

It is a schematic diagram showing the area | region of the vehicle rear and vehicle rear side which can be confirmed with a room mirror and a door mirror on either side. It is a figure which shows an example of the display area of the image | video display means (display) inside a vehicle. The figure which shows the example of a video at the time of image | photographing back image | video PB, the right back side image | video PR, and the left back side image | video PL as one wide-angle image | video with the image | video size matched with the size of the display area of an image | video display means (display). It is. It is a figure which shows a mirror reflected image at the time of confirming the mode behind a vehicle with a room mirror. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the image | video displayed on a video display means (display) in the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the other example of a display of the image | video displayed on an image | video display means (display). It is a figure which shows the other example of a display of the image | video displayed on an image | video display means (display). It is a figure which shows the other example of a display of the image | video displayed on an image | video display means (display). It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the imaging | video imaging means (vehicle-mounted camera) with which the periphery monitoring apparatus for vehicles of 1st Embodiment is provided. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the video imaging means (vehicle-mounted camera) with which the periphery monitoring apparatus for vehicles of 2nd Embodiment is provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  The present invention is applied to a vehicle periphery monitoring device configured to display images of a vehicle rear side and a vehicle rear side image captured by an in-vehicle camera (video imaging unit) on a display (video display unit) installed inside the vehicle. The First, prior to the description of a specific embodiment of a vehicle periphery monitoring device to which the present invention is applied, a vehicle rear image (hereinafter referred to as a rear image PB) displayed on a display and a vehicle rear side image (hereinafter referred to as a rear image). The right rear side image of the right side of the vehicle is referred to as a right rear side image PR, and the rear side image of the left side of the vehicle is referred to as a left rear side image PL). The configuration of the display area of the display that displays the side image PR and the left rear side image PL will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 shows the rear and rear of a vehicle in which a driver of a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as own vehicle V) on which a vehicle periphery monitoring device to which the present invention is applied can be confirmed by a room mirror and left and right door mirrors of the own vehicle V. It is a schematic diagram showing the area | region of a side. The area indicated by A1 in FIG. 1 is the area that can be confirmed by the room mirror, the area indicated by A2 in FIG. 1 is the area that can be confirmed by the right door mirror, and the area indicated by A3 in FIG. 1 is the left door mirror. This is an area that can be confirmed. In addition, when confirming the area behind the vehicle and the rear side of the vehicle with the room mirror and the left and right door mirrors, a blind spot area is actually generated that cannot be confirmed behind the vehicle body structure. Ignore and explain. In practice, the areas A1, A2, and A3 that can be confirmed by the rearview mirror and the left and right door mirrors vary depending on the angle of the rearview mirror and the left and right door mirrors and the eye position (eye point) of the driver. Now, it is assumed that the average position is fixed.

  In the vehicle periphery monitoring device to which the present invention is applied, the rear image PB displayed on the display refers to an image showing an area in a predetermined range centered on an extension line obtained by extending the front and rear axes of the vehicle to the rear of the vehicle. The image of the area A1 behind the vehicle in the range that the driver of the host vehicle V can check with the room mirror. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the rear image PB travels in a succeeding vehicle V1 that travels in the same lane as the host vehicle V is traveling, or in an adjacent lane that is about 20 m or more behind the host vehicle V. This is an image that allows confirmation of the following vehicle V2 and the like.

  Further, the right rear side image PR is an image showing a right adjacent region adjacent to a region behind the vehicle that is the target of the rear image PB as described above, and at least the driver of the host vehicle V is a right door mirror. The image of the area | region containing area | region A2 of the vehicle right rear side of the range which can be confirmed by this is said. That is, the right rear side image PR is a succeeding vehicle that is traveling at a position relatively close to the own vehicle V on the adjacent lane on the right side of the lane in which the own vehicle V is traveling, as shown in FIG. It is an image that can confirm V3.

  The left rear side image PL is an image showing a left adjacent region adjacent to a region behind the vehicle that is the target of the rear image PB as described above, and at least the driver of the host vehicle V is left side mirror. The area | region image | video of the area | region containing the area | region A3 of the vehicle left rear side of the range which can be confirmed is said. That is, the left rear side image PL is a succeeding vehicle traveling at a position relatively close to the own vehicle V on the adjacent lane on the left side of the lane in which the own vehicle V is traveling as shown in FIG. It is a video that can confirm V4.

  It should be noted that the area behind the vehicle that is the target of the rear image PB does not necessarily have to completely coincide with the area A1 behind the vehicle that can be confirmed by the driver of the host vehicle V using the rearview mirror. It may be set larger or smaller. Also in this case, the right rear side video PR is an image of an area adjacent to the right side of the area projected as the rear video PB, and the left rear side video PL is adjacent to the left side of the area projected as the rear video PB. It becomes the image of the area. Further, the size of the area that becomes the video range of the right rear side video PB and the left rear side video PL may be set to a size including at least the areas A2 and A3, but the right rear side video PB and the left As will be described later, the rear side image PL is more compressed than the rear image PB and displayed on the display, so it is desirable that the rear side image PL is set to such a size that the visibility is not extremely deteriorated by this compression.

  Here, taking as an example the case where the succeeding vehicle V1 is traveling about 2 m behind the host vehicle V in the lane in which the host vehicle V is traveling, the rear image PB, the right rear side image PR, the left rear side An outline of a method for displaying the video image PL on the display will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display area of the display. FIG. 3 illustrates a rear video PB, a right rear side video PR, and a left rear side video PL with a video size that matches the size of the display area of the display. FIG. 4 is a mirror reflection image when the state behind the vehicle is confirmed by a room mirror.

  When the following vehicle V1 is traveling about 2 m behind the host vehicle V, when the driver of the host vehicle V confirms the state behind the vehicle with the rear view mirror, the mirror reflection image of the rear view mirror is as shown in FIG. The succeeding vehicle V1 is confirmed with a relatively large size. The mirror reflection image of the rearview mirror is familiar to the driver from the usual. From the size of the following vehicle V1 in the mirror reflection image, the driver can perceive the approximate distance to the following vehicle V1. On the other hand, when a wide area on the rear side and the rear side of the vehicle is photographed as a wide-angle image by an in-vehicle camera installed at the rear of the host vehicle V in accordance with the size of the display area shown in FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. In the wide-angle video, the following vehicle V1 is confirmed with a small size. If the wide-angle video is displayed on the display as it is, the following vehicle V1 in the video is too small compared to the case where the driver of the host vehicle V confirms the following vehicle V1 with a room mirror that is familiar to the user. The driver cannot correctly recognize the sense of distance from the succeeding vehicle V1, and erroneously recognizes that the vehicle is located farther than the actual vehicle.

  Therefore, in the vehicle periphery monitoring device to which the present invention is applied, the rear image PB whose image range is the rear of the host vehicle V confirmed by the rearview mirror is displayed on the display with a video representation close to the mirror reflection image by the rearview mirror. To do. Specifically, for example, the rear video PB is converted into a video size corresponding to the mirror reflection image of the room mirror. As shown in FIG. 2, a relatively wide display area (hereinafter referred to as the central display area D1) is taken at the center in the horizontal direction of the display, and a mirror reflection image of the room mirror is displayed in the central display area D1 of the display. The rear video PB converted to the video size corresponding to is displayed. Here, the image size corresponding to the mirror reflection image of the room mirror does not necessarily mean the image size of the size that matches the mirror reflection image, but a distance close to the sense of distance obtained from the mirror reflection image of the room mirror. Any video size that can provide a sense can be used. When the wide-angle video shown in FIG. 2 is used, a video portion corresponding to the rear video PB is cut out from the wide-angle video, and the distance sense close to the sense of distance obtained from the mirror reflection image of the room mirror can be obtained. The image is enlarged to the image size, and then displayed in the central display area D1 of the display.

  Further, in order to be able to display the right rear side image PR and the left rear side image PL in addition to the rear image PB in the limited display area of the display, the right rear side image PR and the left rear side are displayed. The direction video PL is displayed as a video compressed more than the rear video PB in a display area (hereinafter referred to as the outer display areas D2 and D3) located outside the center display area D1 (both ends in the horizontal direction) of the display. To do.

  Here, when the image displayed on the display is expressed as an image that matches the mirror reflection image of the room mirror or the left and right door mirrors, the image captured by the in-vehicle camera is reversed left and right. That is, the mirror reflection images of the room mirror and the left and right door mirrors are images that are reversed left and right as compared to the case of viewing in the shooting direction of the in-vehicle camera (corresponding to the case where the driver looks back from the vehicle). Therefore, the image captured by the in-vehicle camera is reversed left and right to match the mirror reflection image, the rear image PB is displayed in the center display region D1 of the display, and the right rear side is displayed in the outer display region D2 located on the right side of the center display region D1. The left rear side image PL is displayed in the outer display area D3 located on the left side of the image PR and the center display area D1. When the video displayed on the display is expressed as a video expression that matches the shooting direction of the in-vehicle camera, the right rear side image PR is displayed on the left outer display area without flipping the video shot by the in-vehicle camera. D3 may be displayed, and the left rear side image PL may be displayed in the right outer display area D2.

  An image display example by the vehicle periphery monitoring device to which the present invention is applied is shown in FIG. In the vehicle periphery monitoring device to which the present invention is applied, as described above, the rear video PB is displayed in the central display area D1 of the display with the video size corresponding to the mirror reflection image of the rearview mirror, and the outer display area of the display In D2 and D3, the right rear side image PR and the left rear side image PL are compressed and displayed as compared with the rear image PB. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, a wide range of images can be efficiently displayed within the limited display area of the display, and the vehicle driver can view the images with a sense of distance with respect to the rear image PB. It is possible to display so that it can be grasped.

  The display example shown in FIG. 5 is an example in which the right rear side image PR and the left rear side image PL are compressed only in the horizontal direction, but the right rear side image PR and the left rear side image PL are compressed. The compression may be performed both in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the distortion of the right rear side image PR and the left rear side image PL can be suppressed to reduce the sense of discomfort as an image. Further, the lateral compression of the right rear side video PR and the left rear side video PL may be performed at a constant compression rate, but gradually compressed from the inside adjacent to the rear video PB toward the outside. If the rate is increased, it is possible to secure a certain degree of continuity as a video with the rear video PB.

  Further, when the aspect ratio of the central display area D1 of the display is different from the aspect ratio of the room mirror and the vertical size is larger than the horizontal size of the central display area D1, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the central display area D1 It is also effective to allow the driver to recognize the video range corresponding to the mirror reflection image by the rearview mirror by superimposing a frame figure F corresponding to the shape of the rearview mirror on the rear video PB displayed on the screen. is there. Thereby, the distance sensation obtained from the rear image PB can be made closer to the distance interval obtained from the mirror reflection image of the room mirror.

  In the example described above, the rear video PB has a video size corresponding to the mirror reflection image of the rearview mirror, thereby realizing a video expression close to the mirror reflection image by the rearview mirror. However, the rear video PB is displayed. When the size of the center display area D1 of the display to be greatly different from the size of the room mirror, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, only the image range corresponding to the mirror reflection image by the room mirror is centered at the same aspect ratio as the room mirror. By converting the display area D1 according to the size of the display area D1 and displaying it in the central display area D1, an image expression close to a mirror reflection image by a room mirror may be realized. Also in this case, the right rear side image PR and the left rear side image PL are compressed more than the rear image PB and displayed on the outer display areas D2 and D3, thereby efficiently displaying a wide range of images. It becomes possible.

  Next, as a specific embodiment of a vehicle periphery monitoring device to which the present invention is applied, an example in which the present invention is applied to a vehicle periphery monitoring device including three in-vehicle cameras (first embodiment), The example (2nd Embodiment) which applied this invention with respect to the vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus provided with a single vehicle-mounted camera is demonstrated concretely.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement example of the in-vehicle cameras included in the vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the first embodiment. The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the first embodiment includes a rear camera (rear camera) 1 installed at a rear portion of the host vehicle V, and a host vehicle V as video shooting means for shooting images of the rear side and the rear side of the vehicle. There are three in-vehicle cameras, a right side camera (side camera) 2 installed on the right side of the vehicle and a left side camera (side camera) 3 installed on the left side of the host vehicle V. In addition, the vehicle periphery monitoring device includes a video processing unit 10 that generates a video for display from captured images of the three in-vehicle cameras 1, 2, 3, a central display area D 1, and right and left outer display areas D 2. , D3, and a display (video display means) 4 for displaying a display video generated by the video processing unit 10.

  The rear camera 1 is installed at a predetermined position at the rear of the vehicle such as a roof spoiler. In the rear camera 1, for example, it is possible to capture a video of a relatively wide area behind the host vehicle V indicated by B1 in FIG. 10 (hereinafter, this area is referred to as a rear imaging area B1). The above-described region A1 that is the image range of the rear image PB is a part of the rear image capturing region B1 that is an object to be imaged by the rear camera 1. That is, the rear image PB is an image obtained by cutting out a part of the image captured by the rear camera 1.

  The right side camera 2 is installed at a predetermined position on the right side of the vehicle, such as a right door mirror. In the right side camera 2, for example, an image of a relatively wide area (hereinafter, this area is referred to as a right imaging area B2) from the right side of the host vehicle V to the rear side of the host vehicle V indicated by B2 in FIG. Is possible. The above-described region that is the image range of the right rear side image PR is a part of the right image capturing region B2 that is the object to be imaged by the right side camera 2. That is, the right rear side video PR is a video obtained by cutting out a part of the video shot by the right side camera 2.

  The left side camera 3 is installed at a predetermined position on the left side of the vehicle such as a left door mirror. In the left side camera 3, for example, an image of a relatively wide area (hereinafter, this area is referred to as a left imaging area B3) from the left side of the host vehicle V to the rear of the host vehicle V indicated by B3 in FIG. Is possible. The above-described region that is the image range of the left rear side image PL is a part of the left image capturing region B3 that is the object to be imaged by the left side camera 3. That is, the left rear side video PL is a video obtained by cutting out a part of the video shot by the left side camera 3.

  These three in-vehicle cameras 1, 2, and 3 each have an optical system composed of a lens and a light receiving element, and light incident through the lens is received by a light receiving element such as a CCD or CMOS and converted into an electrical signal. Then, the captured video is output as a video signal digitized for each pixel. Video signals output from these three in-vehicle cameras 1, 2, 3 are input to the video processing unit 10.

  The video processing unit 10 processes video signals from the three in-vehicle cameras 1, 2, and 3 to generate a display video to be displayed on the display 4. As shown in FIG. A first video conversion unit 12, a second video conversion unit 13, and a video composition / output unit 14.

  The video input unit 11 inputs video captured by the three in-vehicle cameras 1, 2, and 3, and includes three input video frame memories 21, 22, and 23 configured by RAM. The input video frame memory 21 is a frame memory corresponding to the rear camera 1, the input video frame memory 22 is a frame memory corresponding to the right side camera 2, and the input video frame memory 23 is a frame memory corresponding to the left side camera 3. Images taken by the rear camera 1, right side camera 2, and left side camera 3 are digitized according to the size of the input video frame and stored in the input video frame memories 21, 22, and 23 in units of frames. .

  The first video conversion unit 12 cuts out a video portion that becomes the rear video PB from the video of the rear shooting area B1 shot by the rear camera 1, and this is behind the vehicle that the driver of the host vehicle V visually recognizes with the room mirror. The image is converted into a video size corresponding to the mirror reflection image, and includes a calculation unit 24 and a rear video frame memory 25.

  The calculation unit 24 of the first video conversion unit 12 uses the pixel data of the captured video of the rear camera 1 stored in the input video frame memory 21 of the video input unit 11 for each frame in each of the rear video frame memory 25 according to the definition table. The rear video PB is generated from the video captured by the rear camera 1 by rearranging the pixels. Here, since the rear video PB is a video obtained by cutting out a part of the video captured by the rear camera 1, the video size is larger than the mirror reflection image of the rear of the vehicle visually recognized by the vehicle driver with the room mirror of the host vehicle V. It is often small. In such a case, the video clipped from the video shot by the rear camera 1 is enlarged to the video size corresponding to the mirror reflection image by the room mirror.

  The relationship between the captured video of the rear camera 1 and the rear video PB is described in the definition table. In other words, the definition table defines the correspondence relationship between each pixel stored in the rear video frame memory 25 and which location in the coordinate system (camera coordinate system) of the input video frame memory 21. Here, the location in the coordinate system of the input video frame memory 21 to which each pixel of the rear video frame memory 25 corresponds is not necessarily an integer value. When the video size is enlarged, a real value between pixels is set. May take. In this case, for example, pixel interpolation is performed by a known video interpolation method such as the nearest neighbor method, the bilinear method, or the bicubic method.

  The second video conversion unit 13 cuts out a video portion that becomes the right rear side video PR from the video of the right side shooting area B2 shot by the right side camera 2, and also the left side shooting area B3 shot by the left side camera 3. The video portion that becomes the left rear side video PL is cut out from the video, and the cut out video is converted into a video compressed from the rear video PB. The arithmetic unit 26 corresponding to the right rear side video PR and the right A rear side video frame memory 27, a calculation unit 28 corresponding to the left rear side video PL, and a left rear side video frame memory 29 are provided.

  The computing unit 26 corresponding to the right rear side video PR uses the right rear side pixel data of the captured video of the right side camera 2 stored in the input video frame memory 22 of the video input unit 11 in units of frames according to the definition table. By rearranging the pixels in the video frame memory 27, the right rear side video PR is generated from the video shot by the right side camera 2. At this time, the right rear side video PR is a video compressed at least in the horizontal direction as compared with the rear video PB. This video compression is realized by thinning out pixel data according to a definition table that defines the correspondence between each pixel in the right rear side video frame memory 27 and the location in the coordinate system of the input video frame memory 22.

  Also, the calculation unit 28 corresponding to the left rear side video PL converts the pixel data of the video shot by the left side camera 3 stored in the input video frame memory 23 of the video input unit 11 in units of frames according to the definition table. By rearranging the pixels in the side image frame memory 29, the right rear side image PL is generated from the captured image of the left side camera 3. At this time, as with the right rear side image PR, the left rear side image PL is also a video compressed at least in the horizontal direction compared to the rear image PB. This video compression is realized by thinning out pixel data according to a definition table that defines the correspondence between each pixel in the left rear side video frame memory 29 and the location in the coordinate system of the input video frame memory 23.

  The video composition / output unit 14 synthesizes the rear video PB generated by the first video conversion unit 12 with the right rear side video PR and the left rear side video PL generated by the second video conversion unit 13. This is output to the display 4 as one display video, and includes a calculation unit 30 and an output video frame memory 31.

  The arithmetic unit 30 of the video composition / output unit 14 includes the pixel data of the rear video PB stored in the rear video frame memory 25 of the first video conversion unit 12 and the right rear side video frame memory of the second video conversion unit 13. 27, the pixel data of the right rear side video PR stored in 27 and the pixel data of the left rear side video PL stored in the left rear side video frame memory 29 of the second video conversion unit 13 are defined as a video composition definition. By rearranging them in the output video frame memory 31 according to the table, one display video is generated by synthesizing the rear video PB, the right rear side video PR, and the left rear side video PL. In the video composition definition table, each pixel of the output video frame memory 31 corresponding to the layout of the display area of the display 4, that is, the central display area D1 and the outer display areas D2 and D3 of the display 4, The correspondence relationship of which frame memory corresponds to which side of the side video frame memory 27 and the left rear side video frame memory 29 is defined. By rearranging the pixels according to the video composition definition table, a display video in which the right rear side video PR and the left rear side video PL are arranged on both the left and right sides of the rear video PB is generated, and the output video frame memory 31 is generated. Stored in

  The video data of the display video stored in the output video frame memory 31 of the video synthesis / output unit 14 is output to the display 4 as needed. Thereby, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a display video in which the right rear side video PR and the left rear side video PL are arranged on both the left and right sides of the rear video PB is displayed on the display 4. That is, in the central display area D1 located at the center in the horizontal direction of the display 4, the rear video PB is displayed with a video size corresponding to the mirror reflection image of the rearview mirror, and the outer display areas D2, located at both ends in the horizontal direction. In D3, the right rear side video PR and the left rear side video PL are each displayed as a video compressed more than the rear video PB.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the right rear side image PR and the left rear side image PL are displayed as images compressed in both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, the second of the video processing unit 10 is displayed. The definition table used by the calculation units 26 and 28 of the video conversion unit 13 is changed, and the pixel data of the input video frame memories 22 and 23 are re-stored in the right rear side video frame memory 27 and the left rear side video frame memory 29. When arranging, pixel data may be thinned out in the vertical direction of the video.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the frame graphic F corresponding to the shape of the room mirror is superimposed and displayed on the rear video PB, the calculation unit 31 of the video synthesis / output unit 14 outputs the output video frame memory 31. When the video data of the display video is stored in the frame image F, the frame figure F corresponding to the shape of the room mirror stored in advance is superimposed on the position that becomes the boundary of the field of view range of the room mirror on the rear video PB. You just have to do it.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 8, when the rear video PB is displayed with the same aspect ratio as the room mirror, the definition table used by the calculation unit 24 of the first video conversion unit 12 is changed to change the room mirror. Only pixel data in the video range corresponding to the mirror reflection image may be extracted from the input video frame memory 21 and rearranged in the rear video frame memory 25.

  As described above in detail with reference to specific examples, according to the vehicle periphery monitoring device of the present embodiment, the room mirror is placed in the relatively wide central display area D1 located in the center in the horizontal direction of the display 4. The rear image PB is displayed with the image size corresponding to the mirror reflection image, and the right rear side image PR and the left rear side image PL are displayed on the outer display regions D2 and D3 located outside the central display region D1. Since it is displayed as a more compressed image, it is possible to efficiently display a wide range of images behind and behind the host vehicle V within the limited display area of the display 4 and The rear rear video PB can be displayed so that the driver of the host vehicle V can grasp the video with a sense of correct distance.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement example of the in-vehicle cameras included in the vehicle periphery monitoring device according to the second embodiment. In the vehicle periphery monitoring device of the second embodiment, images of the vehicle rear side and the vehicle rear side are taken by a single vehicle-mounted camera (wide-angle rear camera 41) installed at the rear of the host vehicle V. In addition, the video processing unit 10 that generates video for display includes an input video frame memory 42 corresponding to the wide-angle rear camera 41 in the video input unit 11 instead of the input video frame memories 21, 22, and 23. Yes. Since the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, the same configuration as that of the first embodiment will be described below using the same reference numerals.

  As with the rear camera 1 described in the first embodiment, the wide-angle rear camera 41 is installed at a predetermined position at the rear of the vehicle such as a roof spoiler. With this wide-angle rear camera 41, for example, it is possible to capture a wide-angle image of a wide area behind and behind the host vehicle V indicated by C1 in FIG. 12 (hereinafter, this area is referred to as a wide-angle imaging area C1). ing. The above-described area A1 that is the video range of the rear video PB and the areas A2 and A3 that are the video ranges of the right rear side video PR and the left rear side video PL are the wide-angle shootings that are to be shot by the wide-angle rear camera 41. It is a part of the region C1. That is, the rear image PB, the right rear side image PR, and the left rear side image PL are images obtained by cutting out a part of the image captured by the wide-angle rear camera 41.

  The wide-angle rear camera 41 has an optical system composed of a lens and a light receiving element, receives light incident through the lens by a light receiving element such as a CCD or a CMOS, converts it into an electrical signal, and takes a photographed image for each pixel. Is output as a digitized video signal. The video shot by the wide-angle rear camera 1 is digitized and stored in an input video frame memory 42 provided in the video input unit 11 of the video processing unit 10 in units of frames.

  Similar to the first video conversion unit 12 described in the first embodiment, the first video conversion unit 12 of the video processing unit 10 includes a calculation unit 24 and a rear video frame memory 25 and is photographed by the wide-angle rear camera 41. Then, a video portion that becomes the rear video PB is cut out from the video of the wide-angle shooting area C1 stored in the input video frame memory 42, and this corresponds to the mirror reflection image of the rear of the vehicle that the driver of the host vehicle V visually recognizes with the rearview mirror. Convert to the video size you want. The processing by the calculation unit 24 of the first video conversion unit 12 is the first embodiment described above except that the video portion that becomes the rear video PB is cut out from the video of the wide-angle shooting area C1 shot by the wide-angle rear camera 41. Since it is the same as that of a form, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Similarly to the second video conversion unit 13 described in the first embodiment, the second video conversion unit 13 includes calculation units 26 and 28, a right rear side video frame memory 27, and a left rear side video frame memory 29. A video portion that becomes the right rear side video PR and a video portion that becomes the left rear side video PL from the video of the wide angle shooting area C1 that is shot by the wide angle rear camera 41 and stored in the input video frame memory 42. Are cut out, and the cut out videos are converted into videos compressed more than the rear video PB. The processing by the calculation units 26 and 28 of the second video conversion unit 12 becomes a video part that becomes the right rear side video PR and the left rear side video PL from the video of the wide-angle shooting area C1 shot by the wide-angle rear camera 41. Since it is the same as that of 1st Embodiment mentioned above except making it cut out the image | video part, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Similar to the video composition / output unit 14 described in the first embodiment, the video composition / output unit 14 includes a calculation unit 30 and an output video frame memory 31, and the rear video generated by the first video conversion unit 12. The PB, the right rear side video PR and the left rear side video PL generated by the second video conversion unit 13 are combined and output to the display 4 as one display video. Thereby, as illustrated in FIG. 5, a display video in which the right rear side video PR and the left rear side video PL are arranged on both the left and right sides of the rear video PB is displayed on the display 4. That is, in the central display area D1 located at the center in the horizontal direction of the display 4, the rear video PB is displayed with a video size corresponding to the mirror reflection image of the rearview mirror, and the outer display areas D2, located at both ends in the horizontal direction. In D3, the right rear side video PR and the left rear side video PL are each displayed as a video compressed more than the rear video PB.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the right rear side image PR and the left rear side image PL are displayed as images compressed in both the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, the same as in the first embodiment. In addition, the definition table used by the calculation units 26 and 28 of the second video conversion unit 13 of the video processing unit 10 is changed, and the pixel data of the input video frame memories 22 and 23 is changed to the right rear side video frame memory 27 and the left. When rearranging in the rear side video frame memory 29, pixel data may be thinned out also in the vertical direction of the video.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when a frame graphic corresponding to the shape of the rearview mirror is superimposed on the rear video PB and displayed, the calculation of the video composition / output unit 14 is performed as in the first embodiment. When the unit 31 stores the video data of the display video in the output video frame memory 31, the shape of the room mirror stored in advance with respect to the position that becomes the boundary of the field of view range of the room mirror on the rear video PB It is sufficient to superimpose a frame figure corresponding to.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 8, when the rear video PB is displayed with the same aspect ratio as the room mirror, the definition used by the calculation unit 24 of the first video conversion unit 12 is the same as in the first embodiment. The table may be changed so that only pixel data in the video range corresponding to the mirror reflection image of the rearview mirror is extracted from the input video frame memory 21 and rearranged in the rear video frame memory 25.

  As described above in detail with reference to specific examples, according to the vehicle periphery monitoring device of the present embodiment, the room mirror is placed in the relatively wide central display area D1 located in the center in the horizontal direction of the display 4. The rear image PB is displayed with the image size corresponding to the mirror reflection image, and the right rear side image PR and the left rear side image PL are displayed on the outer display regions D2 and D3 located outside the central display region D1. Since it is displayed as a more compressed image, it is possible to efficiently display a wide range of images behind and behind the host vehicle V within the limited display area of the display 4 and The rear rear video PB can be displayed so that the driver of the host vehicle V can grasp the video with a sense of correct distance.

  As described above, the first and second embodiments have been described as specific examples of the vehicle periphery monitoring device to which the present invention is applied. However, each of the above embodiments is an application example of the present invention. The technical scope is not intended to be limited to the contents described in the above embodiments. That is, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the specific technical matters disclosed in the above embodiments, but includes various modifications, changes, alternative techniques, and the like that can be easily derived from this disclosure.

  For example, in each of the above embodiments, the video processing unit 10 processes the video captured by the in-vehicle cameras 1, 2, 3 or the wide-angle rear camera 41, which is the video imaging means, so that the rear video PB and the right rear side video PR are processed. The left rear side video PL is generated respectively, but the video photographing means side generates the rear video PB, the right rear side video PR, and the left rear side video PL, respectively. It is also possible to modify such that the video for display is generated by simply combining the images. For example, in the case of the configuration of the first embodiment, each of the in-vehicle cameras 1, 2, and 3 is provided with a zoom function, and the zoom adjustment is individually performed for each of the in-vehicle cameras 1, 2, and 3. It is also possible to generate the rear video PB, the right rear side video PR, and the left rear side video PL, respectively. Further, in the case of the configuration of the second embodiment, the captured video of the wide-angle rear camera 41 is divided into three regions, and video enlargement and compression processing is executed as internal processing of the wide-angle rear camera 41 for each region. Thus, it is also possible to generate the rear video PB, the right rear side video PR, and the left rear side video PL, respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rear camera 2 Right side camera 3 Left side camera 4 Display 10 Image | video processing unit 12 1st image | video conversion part 13 2nd image | video conversion part 14 Image | video synthetic | combination output part 41 Wide-angle rear camera D1 Central display area D2, D3 Outer display area PB Rear image PR Right rear side image PL Left rear side image

Claims (11)

Image capturing means for capturing images of the rear side and the rear side of the vehicle;
Video processing means for converting each of the video behind the vehicle and the video behind the vehicle taken by the video photography means,
A center display area located in the center in the lateral direction, and outer display areas located on both ends in the lateral direction, displaying an image of the rear of the vehicle converted by the image processing means in the center display area, and Video display means for displaying an image of the rear side of the vehicle converted into an image compressed by the video processing means in the outer display area than the image of the rear of the vehicle ;
The vehicle periphery monitoring device , wherein the video processing means cuts a part of the video behind the vehicle into the video size of the central display area and converts it into the video size of the central display area . Image capturing means for capturing images of the rear side and the rear side of the vehicle;
Video processing means for converting each of the video behind the vehicle and the video behind the vehicle taken by the video photography means,
A center display area located in the center in the lateral direction, and outer display areas located on both ends in the lateral direction, displaying an image of the rear of the vehicle converted by the image processing means in the center display area, and Video display means for displaying an image of the rear side of the vehicle converted into an image compressed by the video processing means in the outer display area than the image of the rear of the vehicle ;
The vehicle periphery monitoring device, wherein the image processing means enlarges the image behind the vehicle and converts the image size of the image behind the vehicle into the image size of the central display area. The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit enlarges an image behind the vehicle. The video photographing means includes
A rear camera that captures an image of the rear of the vehicle from the rear of the vehicle;
The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a side camera that captures an image of the rear side of the vehicle from a side portion of the vehicle. The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to claim 4 , wherein the side camera is installed on a door mirror of the vehicle. The vehicle rearrangement monitoring device according to claim 4, wherein the rear camera is installed at a predetermined position on a rear portion of the vehicle. The vehicle periphery monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the video photographing means is composed of a single camera. A vehicle periphery monitoring device for displaying images of a vehicle rear and a vehicle rear side image captured by a video imaging unit on a video display unit inside the vehicle,
A part of the video behind the vehicle is cut out to the video size of the display area in the display area located in the horizontal center of the video display means, and the video behind the vehicle converted to the video size of the display area is displayed. In addition, the vehicle periphery monitoring device is characterized in that the image of the rear side of the vehicle is displayed in a display area positioned at both lateral ends of the image display means, more compressed than the image of the rear of the vehicle. A vehicle periphery monitoring device for displaying images of a vehicle rear and a vehicle rear side image captured by a video imaging unit on a video display unit inside the vehicle,
An image of the rear of the vehicle obtained by enlarging the image of the rear of the vehicle and converting the image size of the image of the rear of the vehicle into the image size of the display region is displayed in a display region located in the horizontal center of the image display means. A vehicle periphery monitor characterized in that the vehicle rear side image is displayed in a display area located at both lateral ends of the image display means in a compressed manner than the image behind the vehicle. apparatus. A part of the video behind the vehicle photographed by the video photographing means is cut into a video size of the display area in a display area located in the horizontal center of the video display means inside the vehicle, and converted to the video size of the display area In addition to displaying, in the display area located on both sides in the lateral direction of the video display means, the video of the rear side of the vehicle photographed by the video photography means is displayed more compressed than the video behind the vehicle. Video display method. The rear image of the vehicle photographed by the video photographing means is enlarged to the display area located in the center in the horizontal direction of the video display means inside the vehicle, and the video size of the video behind the vehicle is converted into the video size of the display area. In addition, the rear image of the vehicle photographed by the image photographing means is displayed in a display area located at both lateral ends of the image display means in a compressed manner than the image behind the vehicle. Video display method.