JP6481970B2 - Driver shooting device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a driver photographing apparatus, and more particularly, to a driver photographing apparatus for photographing a driver in a vehicle in which an in-vehicle device is provided at a center portion in the vehicle width direction of an instrument panel.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, it is known that a camera that captures a driver's face is provided in a vehicle compartment in order to monitor the drinking or driving state of a vehicle driver.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a face imaging camera that captures the face of a driver is disposed on the back side of a half mirror in a rearview mirror with the vehicle traveling direction rearward.
Patent Document 2 discloses that a driver monitor camera for recognizing the driver's face state is provided on the upper part of the column cover of the steering wheel.

JP 2010-000941 A JP 2010-186251 A

However, when the camera is provided on the rearview mirror as described in Patent Document 1 described above, the driver's face will be out of the imaging range of the camera unless the angle of the rearview mirror is adjusted appropriately.
Further, when a camera on a column cover is provided as described in Patent Document 2, the driver's face may be hidden behind the driver's arm by the driver's steering operation. Moreover, if the camera is protruded on the column cover as a separate body, the design of the entire instrument panel is deteriorated.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and provides a driver photographing apparatus that can reliably photograph a passenger's face without impairing the design of an instrument panel. For the purpose.

To achieve the above object, the driver imaging apparatus of the present invention, there is provided a driver photographing apparatus for photographing a driver in a vehicle-vehicle device is provided in the vehicle width direction central portion of the instrument panel, vehicle The device is a display device having a display unit directed toward the occupant side, and is built in the in-vehicle device, the camera lens having the incident surface directed toward the driver side, and the in-vehicle device, and the exit surface on the driver side. a light emitting portion that is directed, with a camera lens is provided in an end portion in the vehicle width direction the driver's seat side of the vehicle-mounted device, the light emitting portion, that is provided at an end portion in the vehicle width direction the passenger side of the vehicle-mounted device In addition, the display unit is located between the camera lens and the light emitting unit in the vehicle width direction .
In the present invention configured as described above, since the camera lens and the light emitting unit are built in the in-vehicle device provided in the center in the vehicle width direction of the instrument panel without a shield between the driver and the driver, Regardless of whether or not the driver can be photographed reliably, deterioration of the design of the instrument panel can be avoided.

In the present invention, preferably, the in-vehicle device is a display device erected from the upper surface of the instrument panel.
In the present invention configured as described above, since the camera lens is built in the display device arranged closer to the occupant's face than other in-vehicle devices, the occupant can be photographed more clearly. it can.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the in-vehicle device has an outer frame adjacent to at least a part of the outer edge of the display unit , and the camera lens is built in a portion of the outer frame on the side of the driver's seat and emits light The part is built in a portion of the outer frame on the passenger seat side in the vehicle width direction.
In the present invention configured as described above, the camera lens and the light emitting unit can be arranged by utilizing the dead space in the outer frame of the in-vehicle device, thereby suppressing the enlargement of the in-vehicle device and the camera lens and The light emitting unit can be built in the in-vehicle device.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the driver photographing apparatus photographs at least the eyes of the driver.
In the present invention configured as described above, the eyes of the driver are photographed by the camera lens provided at the vehicle width direction driver seat side end of the in-vehicle device, and the vehicle width direction passenger seat side end of the in-vehicle device. Since the driver's eyes are illuminated by the provided light emitting unit, the camera lens and the light emitting unit can be separated from each other to photograph the driver's eyes. Thereby, the illumination light of the light emitting part reflected by the retina of the driver's eye does not enter the camera lens, and so-called red-eye phenomenon can be prevented.

In the present invention, preferably, the in-vehicle device has an outer frame that is provided on an upper portion of the instrument panel and is adjacent to at least a part of the outer edge of the display unit , and the camera lens operates in the vehicle width direction of the outer frame. The light emitting section is built in the portion on the passenger seat side in the vehicle width direction and the lower side in the vertical direction of the outer frame.
In the present invention configured as described above, the camera lens built in the in-vehicle device and the light emitting unit can be separated from each other, thereby preventing the red-eye phenomenon more reliably.

  According to the driver photographing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reliably photograph a passenger's face without impairing the design of the instrument panel.

It is a front view of the whole instrument panel of the vehicle carrying the driver imaging device by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the display apparatus provided in the instrument panel. It is a front view of the whole instrument panel of the vehicle carrying the driver imaging device by 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the whole instrument panel of the vehicle carrying the driver imaging device by 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the whole instrument panel of the vehicle carrying the driver imaging device by 4th Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, a driver photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First, the outline of the driver photographing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a front view of the entire instrument panel of a vehicle equipped with a driver photographing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an instrument panel 4 extending in the vehicle width direction is provided below the front windshield 2 at the front portion of the passenger compartment 1. An opening is formed in the driver seat side portion (left side portion in FIG. 1) of the rear surface of the instrument panel 4 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the column shaft 6 is inserted through the opening. A steering wheel 8 is attached. A display 10 (display device, in-vehicle device) is erected on the upper surface of the instrument panel 4 in the center in the vehicle width direction.

The driver photographing apparatus 12 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a camera 14 built in the display 10 and photographs a driver using the camera 14. The driver's face image photographed by the driver photographing device 12 is used for detecting the driving state of the driver and estimating the emotion.
For example, it is possible to detect the degree of eyelid fall and the degree of pupil opening based on the driver's face image, and to estimate the driver's sleepiness based on these detected values.
Further, it is possible to detect the direction of the line of sight and the moving speed of the line of sight based on the driver's face image, and to determine the presence or absence of the side-view driving based on these detection values.
It is also possible to detect whether the mouth angle is rising or the presence of wrinkles on the basis of the driver's face image, and to determine whether the driver is smiling based on these detected values.

  Next, a specific configuration of the driver photographing apparatus 12 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a front view of the display 10 provided in the instrument panel 4 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the display 10 includes a display unit 16 and an outer frame 18 that surrounds the outer edge of the display unit 16. As the display unit 16, for example, a touch panel display in which a touch screen is provided on the front surface of a flat display such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display can be used. The outer frame 18 is fixed to the upper surface of the center portion in the vehicle width direction of the instrument panel 4, holds the outer edge of the display portion 16, and also has a function as a decorative plate that hides the outer peripheral portion of the display portion 16.

The driver photographing device 12 includes a camera 14 and a light emitting unit 20 built in the display 10.
The camera 14 includes a camera lens 22 having an incident surface directed toward the occupant, and an image sensor (for example, a CCD or a CMOS) (not shown) that converts incident light imaged by the camera lens 22 into an electrical signal. The camera lens 22 is built in the end of the outer frame 18 of the display 10 on the side of the driver's seat in the vehicle width direction and on the upper side in the vertical direction (the upper left end of the display 10 in FIG. 2). The outer frame 18 is not exposed to the outside. The camera lens 22 is oriented so that the eyes of the driver are included in the field of view of the camera lens 22.

  The light emitting unit 20 is for illuminating the occupant to be photographed, and has a light emitting element (for example, a near infrared LED) not shown. The light emitting unit 20 is built in an end of the outer frame 18 of the display 10 on the side of the passenger seat in the vehicle width direction and on the lower side in the vertical direction (the lower right end of the display 10 in FIG. 2). The light emitting unit 20 itself is not exposed to the outside of the outer frame 18 of the display 10. The light emission surface of the light emitting element is directed to the driver side. The light emitting element is controlled to emit light when the shutter of the camera 14 is open according to the brightness of the shooting environment.

  As described above, the camera lens 22 is provided at the end of the outer frame 18 of the display 10 in the vehicle width direction on the driver seat side and in the upper side in the vertical direction. Side and the lower end in the vertical direction. That is, in the display 10, the light emitting unit 20 is provided at a position sufficiently separated from the camera lens 22 (for example, a position separated by 5 cm or more). Reflected in a direction away from the camera lens 22. Therefore, the illumination light reflected by the retina does not directly enter the camera lens 22, and so-called red-eye phenomenon can be prevented.

  In the outer frame 18 of the display 10, a transparent cover or film is disposed on a portion that covers the camera lens 22 and the light emitting unit 20 from the driver's seat side (the rear side in the front-rear direction of the vehicle). The camera lens 22 and the light-emitting unit 20 are protected from contact and dirt. The transmittance of the cover or film covering the light emitting unit 20 may be set lower than the transmittance of the cover or film covering the camera lens 22.

  Next, a specific configuration of the driver photographing apparatus 12 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view of the entire instrument panel 4 of the vehicle equipped with the driver photographing device 12 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The instrument panel 4 according to the second embodiment is configured similarly to the first embodiment described above except for the arrangement of the display 10.
In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the display 10 is fitted in an opening formed at the center of the instrument panel 4 in the vehicle width direction and at the upper part of the rear surface in the vehicle front-rear direction. In this case, the display unit 16 of the display 10 may not necessarily be held by the outer frame 18, and may be held by another holding member inside the instrument panel 4. The outer frame 18 of the display 10 is disposed so as to be substantially flush with the surface of the instrument panel 4, and closes the gap between the outer peripheral portion of the display unit 16 and the opening of the instrument panel 4.

Also in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the camera lens 22 of the driver photographing device 12 has an end of the outer frame 18 of the display 10 on the driver seat side in the vehicle width direction and on the upper side in the vertical direction (in FIG. 3). The camera lens 22 itself is not exposed to the outside of the outer frame 18 of the display 10.
In addition, the light emitting unit 20 is built in an end portion of the outer frame 18 of the display 10 in the vehicle width direction on the passenger seat side and the lower side in the vertical direction (in FIG. 3, the lower right end of the display 10). The external frame 18 of the display 10 is not exposed outside.

  Next, a specific configuration of the driver photographing apparatus 12 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view of the entire instrument panel 4 of the vehicle equipped with the driver photographing device 12 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

The instrument panel 4 according to the third embodiment is configured in the same manner as the first embodiment and the second embodiment described above except for the arrangement of the display 10.
In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the display 10 is erected on the upper surface of the instrument panel 4 between the center portion of the instrument panel 4 in the vehicle width direction and the column shaft 6. The outer frame 18 of the display 10 is fixed to the upper surface of the instrument panel 4 and holds the outer edge of the display unit 16.

Also in the third embodiment, as in the first and second embodiments, the camera lens 22 of the driver photographing device 12 is an end of the outer frame 18 of the display 10 on the driver seat side in the vehicle width direction and on the upper side in the vertical direction. (The upper left end of the display 10 in FIG. 4) is built in, and the camera lens 22 itself is not exposed to the outside of the outer frame 18 of the display 10.
In addition, the light emitting unit 20 is built in an end of the outer frame 18 of the display 10 on the side of the passenger seat in the vehicle width direction and on the lower side in the vertical direction (the lower right end of the display 10 in FIG. 4). The external frame 18 of the display 10 is not exposed outside.

  Next, a specific configuration of the driver photographing apparatus 12 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view of the entire instrument panel 4 of the vehicle equipped with the driver photographing device 12 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

The instrument panel 4 and the display 10 according to the fourth embodiment are configured in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above.
In the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a hazard lamp switch 24 (on-vehicle device) is formed in an opening formed in the center of the instrument panel 4 in the vehicle width direction and on the rear surface in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Is inserted. The hazard lamp switch 24 is a switch for switching ON / OFF of the hazard lamp, and includes a switch body 26 and outer frames 28 adjacent to both ends of the switch body 26 in the vehicle width direction. The switch body 26 is not necessarily held by the outer frame 28 and may be held by another holding member inside the instrument panel 4. The outer frame 28 of the hazard lamp switch 24 is disposed so as to be substantially flush with the surface of the instrument panel 4, and closes the gap between the both ends of the switch body 26 in the vehicle width direction and the opening of the instrument panel 4. .

In the fourth embodiment, the camera lens 22 of the driver photographing apparatus 12 is configured such that the outer frame 28 of the hazard lamp switch 24 has an end on the driver seat side in the vehicle width direction and on the upper side in the vertical direction (in FIG. ) So that the camera lens 22 itself is not exposed outside the outer frame 28.
Further, the light emitting unit 20 is built in an end of the outer frame 28 of the hazard lamp switch 24 in the vehicle width direction on the passenger seat side and on the lower side in the vertical direction (the lower right end of the hazard lamp switch 24 in FIG. 5). The part 20 itself is not exposed to the outside of the outer frame 28.

Next, further modifications of the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the above-described embodiment, the camera lens 22 is built into the outer frame 18 and 28 of the display 10 and the hazard lamp switch 24 at the end in the vehicle width direction on the driver seat side and the upper side in the vertical direction. Although it has been described that it is built in the end portion on the passenger seat side in the vehicle width direction and the lower side in the vertical direction of 28, a different arrangement may be adopted.
For example, the camera lens 22 is built in the end of the outer frame 18, 28 on the driver side in the vehicle width direction and the upper side in the vertical direction, and the light emitting unit 20 is on the passenger seat side in the vehicle width direction in the outer frame 18, 28 and on the upper side in the vertical direction. You may make it incorporate in an edge part. Alternatively, the camera lens 22 is built into the end of the outer frames 18 and 28 on the side of the driver seat in the vehicle width direction and the lower side in the vertical direction, and the light emitting unit 20 is on the passenger seat side of the outer frames 18 and 28 and in the vertical direction. You may make it incorporate in the edge part of the side.
Further, the camera lens 22 and the light emitting unit 20 are incorporated in the display 10 and the hazard lamp switch 24 at a portion different from the outer frames 18 and 28 (for example, a gap between the display unit 16 and the switch body 26 and the outer frames 18 and 28). You may do it.

  In the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the camera lens 22 and the light emitting unit 20 are built in the display 10 and the hazard lamp switch 24. However, other in-vehicle devices (for example, air outlets, audio devices, various switches) Etc.).

  Next, functions and effects of the above-described embodiment of the present invention and the driver photographing apparatus 12 according to a modification of the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  First, since the camera lens 22 and the light emitting unit 20 are built in the display 10 and the hazard lamp switch 24 provided at the center in the vehicle width direction of the instrument panel 4 without an obstacle between the driver and the driver, it can be used day or night. Therefore, the driver can be surely photographed and the deterioration of the design of the instrument panel 4 can be avoided.

  In addition, since the camera lens 22 is built in the display 10 erected on the upper surface of the instrument panel 4 close to the occupant's face as compared with other in-vehicle devices, the occupant can be photographed more clearly.

  The camera lens 22 is built in the vehicle width direction driver seat side of the outer frames 18 and 28 of the display 10 and the hazard lamp switch 24, and the light emitting unit 20 is on the passenger seat side of the outer frames 18 and 28 in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, the camera lens 22 and the light emitting unit 20 can be disposed by utilizing the dead space in the outer frames 18 and 28 of the display 10 and the hazard lamp switch 24. The camera lens 22 and the light emitting unit 20 can be incorporated in the display 10 or the hazard lamp switch 24 while suppressing the enlargement of the lamp switch 24.

  The driver photographing device 12 photographs the eyes of the driver with a camera lens 22 provided at the end of the display 10 and the hazard lamp switch 24 on the driver seat side, and the vehicle width of the display 10 and the hazard lamp switch 24 is Since the driver's eyes are illuminated by the light emitting unit 20 provided at the end on the direction passenger seat side, the camera lens 22 and the light emitting unit 20 can be separated from each other to photograph the driver's eyes. Thereby, the illumination light of the light emitting unit 20 reflected by the retina of the driver's eye does not enter the camera lens 22, and so-called red-eye phenomenon can be prevented.

  The display 10 and the hazard lamp switch 24 are provided on the upper portion of the instrument panel 4 and have a main body and outer frames 18 and 28 adjacent to at least a part of the outer edge of the main body. The frame 18, 28 is built in the vehicle width direction driver's seat side and the upper part in the vertical direction, and the light emitting unit 20 is built in the vehicle width direction passenger seat side and the vertical direction lower part of the outer frames 18, 28. Therefore, the camera lens 22 incorporated in the in-vehicle device and the light emitting unit 20 can be further separated, thereby preventing the red-eye phenomenon more reliably.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car compartment 2 Front windshield 4 Instrument panel 6 Column shaft 8 Steering wheel 10 Display 12 Driver imaging device 14 Camera 16 Display part 18 Outer frame 20 Light emitting part 22 Camera lens 24 Hazard lamp switch 26 Switch main body 28 Outer frame

Claims (7)

A driver photographing device for photographing a driver in a vehicle in which an in-vehicle device is provided in the vehicle width direction center portion of the instrument panel,
The in-vehicle device is a display device provided with a display unit directed to the passenger side,
A camera lens built in the in-vehicle device and having an incident surface directed toward the driver;
A light emitting part built in the in-vehicle device and having an emission surface directed to the driver side,
Said camera lens, said provided at an end portion in the vehicle width direction the driver's seat side of the vehicle-mounted device, the light emitting unit, the provided at an end portion in the vehicle width direction the passenger side of the vehicle-mounted device Rutotomoni, wherein the display unit , Located in the vehicle width direction between the camera lens and the light emitting unit,
A driver photographing apparatus characterized by that.   The driver photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the in-vehicle device is a display device that is erected from an upper surface of the instrument panel. The in-vehicle device has an outer frame adjacent to at least a part of the outer edge of the display unit ,
The camera lens is built in the vehicle width direction driver seat side portion of the outer frame,
The light emitting unit is built in a portion of the outer frame on the passenger seat side in the vehicle width direction,
The driver photographing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.   The driver photographing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the driver photographing apparatus photographs at least a driver's eyes. The in-vehicle device is provided on an upper portion of the instrument panel and has an outer frame adjacent to at least a part of an outer edge of the display unit ,
The camera lens is built in the vehicle width direction driver seat side and the upper side in the vertical direction of the outer frame,
The light emitting unit is built in the passenger width side passenger seat side and the lower side in the vertical direction of the outer frame,
The driver imaging device according to claim 4. 6. The driver photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit is separated from the camera lens by a predetermined distance so that a red-eye phenomenon does not occur in an image captured by the driver photographing apparatus. The driver photographing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined distance is 5 cm or more.

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