JPH0664479A - On-vehicle left and right confirming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an on-vehicle left and right confirming device in which the style and the aerodynamic property are not hurt, a fear of damage aacident is low, and a sense of incompatibility resulting from the difference of elevation of visual point to an image to be monitored is little, by making a design to retreat a camera to the position not to be observed from the outer side when it is unnecessary to use, and to allow to photograph the fields of view at both the left and the right sides, from a desired height, when it is necessary to use. CONSTITUTION:A camera head 2 (3) in which an image pickup element 8 is built in and a condenser lens 10 is exposed laterally, a cylindrical body 6 (7) which is set allowable to project and retreat at the foremost part of a vehicle while the camera head 2 (3) is fixed to the upper end, and a display device to allow to display the image taken by the camera head 2 (3) and set near the operator seat, are provided to this on-vehicle left and right confirming device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted left / right confirmation device used for compensating a driver's blind spot in a place with poor visibility.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When driving a car and approaching a crossroad with poor visibility, the driver has to move the vehicle forward to a position where the road conditions on the left and right can be confirmed. It had entered.

Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 8, a camera capable of photographing the visual field on the right-hand side in the traveling direction is installed on the right front part of the bonnet, and a camera capable of photographing the visual field on the left-hand side in the traveling direction is arranged on the bonnet. A vehicle-mounted left / right confirmation device has been proposed which is installed in the left front part and allows images in both the left and right directions captured by both cameras to be monitored in the vehicle.

The vehicle-mounted left / right confirmation device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-51144 discloses a right-hand side field and a left-hand side field of view in the traveling direction through a mirror, a prism or the like at the front center of the bonnet. A camera capable of shooting is installed.

[0005]

However, if a device such as a camera is mounted on the front portion of the hood of a vehicle as in the above-mentioned conventional example, not only the styling and aerodynamic performance are significantly impaired, but also foreign matter is erroneously removed. There was a high risk of damaging the device by hitting it. Also, in order for this type of vehicle-mounted left-right confirmation device to function effectively, it is necessary to install equipment such as cameras at the front of the vehicle as much as possible, but the front of the bonnet is low and If a high-priced device is installed, the field of view in the front is obstructed. Therefore, in the above-described conventional example, the right field of view and the left field of view viewed from a position considerably lower than the driver's viewpoint were eventually taken. As a result, it was easy for the driver to feel a sense of discomfort because the image from the eye level, which is unfamiliar to me, was monitored on the display.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and its object is to maintain the styling and aerodynamic performance, to reduce the risk of damage accident, and to monitor the difference in the height of the viewpoint. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle-mounted left-right confirmation device in which there is little discomfort caused by.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera head having a built-in image pickup element and a condenser lens exposed sideways, and a camera head fixed to the upper end to the front of the vehicle. This is achieved by including a cylindrical body that is installed so as to be projectable and retractable, and a display that is capable of displaying an image based on the image signal transmitted from the camera head and that is installed near the driver's seat in the vehicle.

[0008]

According to the above means, the cylindrical body can be retracted from the projecting position when it is not needed, and the camera head can be retracted to a position where it is not visible to the eye, so that styling and aerodynamic performance are impaired or foreign matter is accidentally hit. The camera head can be installed at the desired height at the front of the vehicle by protruding the tubular body upward or diagonally upward when necessary, so that the height close to the driver's viewpoint can be achieved. From this, it is possible to take a picture of the field of view in both the left and right directions, and when the driver approaches a place with poor visibility, the driver can grasp the road conditions on the left and right at an early stage.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 6 are for explaining one embodiment of an on-vehicle left / right confirmation device according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a camera head and a tubular body, and FIG. 2 is a tubular body. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a photographing range of a camera head when turning right, and FIG. It is a front view of the indicator which is monitoring the road condition of FIG.

The on-vehicle left / right confirmation device shown in these figures is
The expandable and contractable first tubular body 6 standing on the right end of the front bumper 1a of the vehicle 1 in the traveling direction, the camera head 2 for the left visual field fixed to the upper end of the tubular body 6, and the front bumper 1a. A second cylindrical body 7 which is erected at the left end in the direction of travel and is expandable and contractible, a camera head 3 for the right field of view fixed to the upper end of the cylindrical body 7, and the first and second cylindrical bodies. The camera head 2 is mainly configured by a driving means for expanding and contracting 6, 7 and 7, a control box 4 having a built-in signal switching circuit and the like, and a display 5 installed near the driver's seat in the vehicle. , 3 are transmitted to the display device 5 via the control box 4, an image based on this video signal is monitored on the display device 5.

Each of the camera heads 2 and 3 used here forms an image of the external light incident on the lateral condenser lens 10 on the image pickup device 8 such as a CCD through the prism 9. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the first and second cylindrical bodies 6 and 7 are extended to a predetermined length, each condensing lens 10 can see the right visual field or the left visual field from a position higher than the bonnet 1b. Is set to. Therefore,
At this time, the optical signal of the right field of view or the left field of view entering the condenser lens 10 is converted into an electric signal by the image sensor 8, and this electric signal is transmitted to the control box 4 and the display 5 as a video signal. It will be.

In each of the first and second cylindrical members 6 and 7, a plurality of cylindrical members 14 made of metal and having different diameters are concentrically combined so that adjacent cylindrical members 14 can slide. Adopting the folded structure, each tubular body 6,7
The entire length can be expanded and contracted by driving the drive wire 15 inserted into the inside of the motor with a motor (not shown). Since the adjacent cylindrical members 14 are circumferentially regulated in position by irregularities (not shown) provided on the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface, the cylindrical bodies 6 and 7 do not rotate when they expand and contract, and therefore, The condenser lens 10 of the camera head 2 always faces the left-hand side in the traveling direction, and the condenser lens 10 of the camera head 3 always faces the right-hand side in the traveling direction.

Next, the control system of the vehicle-mounted left / right confirmation device will be briefly described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the video signals (electrical signals) of the camera heads 2 and 3 are first transmitted to the left / right division circuit 4a of the control box 4, and two types of video based on the video signals are converted into one image. After the processing for displaying on one screen is performed, it is transmitted to the display device 5 via the signal switching circuit 4b which switches on / off based on the signal of the external circuit 11 such as the vehicle speed detection circuit and the navigation circuit. On the LCD display screen or the CRT screen of the display device 5, the images taken by the camera heads 2 and 3 are monitored (see FIG. 6). In other words, the left and right visual field monitors are necessary for grasping the surrounding road conditions during low-speed traveling. Therefore, when the vehicle 1 is at a predetermined speed (for example, 15 km / hour) or more, based on the signal from the vehicle speed detection circuit. The monitor is automatically stopped and the display 5
When displaying navigation information such as a map with
The monitor is automatically stopped based on the signal from the navigation circuit.

In the vehicle 1 equipped with such an on-vehicle left / right confirmation device, the first and second cylindrical bodies 6 provided at the left and right ends of the front bumper 1a when approaching a crossroad with poor visibility. , 7 can be projected upward by a predetermined amount, the fields of view in both the left and right directions can be photographed by the camera heads 2 and 3 from the forefront part of the vehicle 1, so that the driver can see the left and right road conditions that cannot be seen from the driver's seat. It can be grasped at an early stage. Moreover, even if each of the condensing lenses 10 extends the both tubular bodies 6 and 7 to the height where the left and right visual fields can be seen through the bonnet 1b, the front field of view seen from the inside of the vehicle is not obstructed, so that the two camera heads 2, 3 Since the viewpoint of the image captured by the camera can be brought closer to the eye level of the driver, the driver may feel discomfort with the images in both the left and right directions monitored by the display 5. The advantage is that the road conditions on the left and right can be grasped instantly and accurately.

In addition, this vehicle-mounted left / right confirmation device has the widest field of view on the left-hand side in the traveling direction when viewed from the vehicle 1, as long as the first and second cylindrical bodies 6 and 7 are projected upward by a predetermined amount. The camera head 2 for the left field of view is installed at a position where the right field of view can be captured in the widest range, so that when the vehicle 1 turns right or The driver's blind spot is reduced when making a left turn, and safety is greatly improved. In particular, it is easier to avoid collision accidents that often occur when encountering a motorcycle when making a right turn. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, even when another vehicle 12 is parked diagonally forward when the vehicle 1 is turned right, the motorcycle 13 for coming into the left view of the motorcycle 13 that pops out from the shade on the right side of the vehicle 12 in the figure. It can be detected in advance by the head 2.

Furthermore, this on-vehicle left / right confirmation device is
When unnecessary, the first and second cylindrical bodies 6 and 7 can be retracted (contracted) from the projecting position to retract both camera heads 2 and 3 to a position that is invisible to the eyes, and thus styling and aerodynamics. The performance is not impaired, and damage and theft are less likely to occur.

In the above embodiment, in order to obtain the right and left visual fields as wide as possible, the camera head 2 for the left visual field is arranged on the right side of the front part of the vehicle 1 and the camera head 3 for the right visual field is provided on the left side. However, if it is not necessary to have a particularly wide field of view, both camera heads 2 and 3 may be arranged in the opposite manner to the above-mentioned embodiment, and each condenser lens 10 may be exposed outward. In addition, both camera heads 2 and 3 may be integrated and fixed to the upper end of a common tubular body, and this tubular body may be installed near the center of the frontmost part of the vehicle so that it can project and retract.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the expandable / contractible folding structure is used as the cylindrical body to which the camera head is attached. However, even if the cylindrical structure is not the folding structure, the cylindrical body may be projected / retreated at the frontmost portion of the vehicle. It is possible to secure the evacuation space for the tubular body at the frontmost part of the vehicle, and move the tubular body to bury it in the evacuation space when unnecessary.

If two display units are installed in the vehicle and the images taken by the camera heads 2 and 3 are monitored by different display units, the control box 4 does not need a left and right dividing circuit. Needless to say.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of a camera head according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which members which can be regarded as equivalent to those in FIG.

The camera head 16 used in this embodiment
Is an ultra-thin type in which the image pickup device 8 is directly mounted on the camera driver board 17 so as to face the condensing lens 10. The camera head 16 is fixed to the upper end of the tubular body 18 made of a strong material. The tubular body 18 is installed at the frontmost portion of the vehicle so that it can project and retract. Therefore, the optical system of the camera head is simplified as compared with the above embodiment, and a clearer image can be monitored.

[0024]

As described above, the cylindrical body having the camera head fixed to the upper end thereof is installed at the frontmost portion of the vehicle so as to be projectable and retractable, and the camera head provides a visual field on the right-hand side and the left-hand side in the traveling direction when necessary. According to the present invention, in which the image is captured and monitored in the vehicle, the viewpoint of the image captured by the camera head can be brought close to the eye level of the driver, so that the difference in the height of the viewpoint of the image monitored by the display device. You will not feel any discomfort caused by, and since you can monitor the left and right views from the front of the vehicle, the driver can grasp the left and right road conditions at an early stage when approaching a place with poor visibility, Therefore, it is possible to provide a large on-vehicle left and right confirmation device that contributes to improved safety.
Moreover, this on-vehicle left / right confirmation device can retract the tubular body from the protruding position and retract the camera head to a position where it is not visible to the eye when not needed, so styling and aerodynamic performance are not impaired at all, and damage accidents occur. It has the excellent effect of preventing theft and accidents.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a camera head and a tubular body according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a front portion of the vehicle showing a mounting position of a tubular body in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control system of the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a shooting range of the camera head when turning right according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view of an indicator for monitoring the road condition of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing the internal structure of a camera head according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a vehicle front portion showing a vehicle-mounted left-right confirmation device according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vehicle 1a Front bumper 2,3,16 Camera head 4 Control box 5 Display 6,7,18 Cylindrical body 8 Imaging element 10 Condensing lens 14 Cylindrical member 15 Drive wire

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Haruya Ara 4630 Shimotakanezawa, Haga-cho, Haga-gun, Tochigi Prefecture Honda R & D Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A camera head having a built-in image pickup element and laterally exposing a condenser lens, and a tubular body fixed to the upper end portion of the camera head so as to be projected and retractable at the frontmost portion of the vehicle. An in-vehicle left / right confirmation device, comprising: a display capable of displaying an image based on an image signal transmitted from the camera head and installed near a driver's seat in a vehicle. 2. The in-vehicle left-right confirmation device according to claim 1, wherein the tubular body has a folding structure capable of expanding and contracting.