KR101883743B1 - Apparatus and method for providing vehicle air conditioning system based on vision recognition - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vehicle air conditioning system, and more particularly, to a vehicle air conditioning system including an image acquiring unit acquiring a peripheral image of a first vehicle; A traveling environment recognition unit for recognizing a traveling environment of the first vehicle from the acquired peripheral images; And a control unit for converting the driving environment into an air pollution index by using an air pollution index conversion DB and comparing the air pollution index with a reference value to automatically control the air circulation manner of the first vehicle A vehicle air conditioning system based on image recognition is disclosed.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle air-conditioning apparatus based on image recognition, and a vehicle air-

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle air-conditioning system, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for automatically controlling a vehicle air-conditioning system by recognizing an image around the vehicle and using the recognized information.

2. Description of the Related Art [0002] Recently, as artificial intelligence technologies such as image processing and deep learning are developed, a method of recognizing information on images acquired by a camera or the like without using human's direct judgment and utilizing the images secondarily is widely used .

These technologies are also applied to the road traffic field, so that it is possible to recognize a vehicle license plate, a vehicle silhouette, a shape of a headlight, etc. to synthesize the appearance of a vehicle, and furthermore to determine a specific vehicle type.

On the other hand, conventionally, an air conditioning system used in a vehicle is controlled by a person through an artificial operation, and recently, the air conditioning system is automatically controlled based on the degree of air pollution measured by an air sensor installed in the vehicle.

However, since the contaminated air is sensed at the intake port of the vehicle, it is recognized that the air measured by the air sensor is contaminated air, and then the air circulation mode of the vehicle is changed from the outside air mode to the exhaust mode There is a problem that the outside air partially flows into the inside of the vehicle before the complete switching.

Korean Patent No. 10-0880919 (Announcement of Mar. 4, 2009) Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0048539 (published April 24, 2014)

An object of the present invention is to provide a device for acquiring a peripheral image of a vehicle, recognizing the driving environment of the vehicle using the obtained image, and controlling the vehicle air conditioning system accordingly, The main purpose is to provide a method.

The image recognition based vehicle air conditioning system according to the present invention comprises:

An image acquiring unit acquiring a peripheral image of the first vehicle; A traveling environment recognition unit for recognizing a traveling environment of the first vehicle from the acquired peripheral images; And a control unit for converting the driving environment into an air pollution index using the air pollution index conversion DB and comparing the air pollution index with a reference value to automatically control the air circulation method of the first vehicle.

Here, the traveling environment may include information on a second vehicle included in the obtained peripheral image.

Wherein the control unit converts the air pollution index by assigning a weight according to a distance that the second vehicle is separated from the first vehicle.

At this time, the second vehicle may be a vehicle in a certain distance range from the first vehicle.

In addition, the traveling environment may include information on a facility included in the obtained peripheral image.

Wherein the control unit controls the air circulation system of the first vehicle to be in an admission mode when the converted air pollution index is equal to or greater than the reference value and, when the converted air pollution index is less than the reference value, Can be controlled in the outside air mode.

Wherein the control unit variably controls the degree of outdoor air based on a difference between the converted air pollution index and the reference value when the air circulation mode of the first vehicle is controlled in the outdoor air mode. Based vehicle air conditioning system.

The image recognition-based vehicle air conditioning system may further include an air sensor for measuring an air pollution degree in the first vehicle, wherein the control unit calculates the reference value based on the degree of air pollution in the first vehicle can do.

The image recognition based vehicle air conditioning system may further include a filter for filtering the air introduced into the first vehicle from the outside, and the control unit may calculate the reference value based on the performance of the filter .

In the image recognition based vehicle air conditioning method according to the present invention,

The image recognition based vehicle air conditioning system mounted on the first vehicle acquiring the peripheral image of the first vehicle; Recognizing the driving environment of the first vehicle from the obtained peripheral image; And controlling the air circulation system of the first vehicle to the outside air mode or the air pollution mode by converting the traveling environment into an air pollution index using the air pollution index conversion DB and comparing the air pollution index with a reference value .

Here, the traveling environment may include at least one of information on the second vehicle and information on the facilities included in the obtained peripheral image.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is not necessary for the human recognition and action to directly intervene, and the vehicle air conditioning system can be controlled more quickly than the conventional air sensor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of an image recognition-based vehicle air conditioning method according to the present invention.
2 shows an example of a vehicle surroundings image obtained according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 illustrates a method of selecting only nearby vehicles within a specific distance range in a vehicle surroundings image obtained according to the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling the air circulation mode of the vehicle in the control unit according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 shows a configuration of a vehicle recognition system based on image recognition according to the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention is capable of various modifications and various embodiments, and specific embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The following examples are provided to aid in a comprehensive understanding of the methods, apparatus, and / or systems described herein. However, this is merely an example and the present invention is not limited thereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. The following terms are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, and may be changed according to the intention or custom of the user, the operator, and the like. Therefore, the definition should be based on the contents throughout this specification. The terms used in the detailed description are intended only to describe embodiments of the invention and should in no way be limiting. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the singular form of a term includes plural forms of meaning. In this description, the expressions "comprising" or "comprising" are intended to indicate certain features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts or combinations thereof, Should not be construed to preclude the presence or possibility of other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, portions or combinations thereof.

It is also to be understood that the terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms, and the terms may be used to distinguish one component from another .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of an image recognition based vehicle air conditioning system and a vehicle air conditioning system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of an image recognition-based vehicle air conditioning method according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image recognition based vehicle air conditioning method according to the present invention includes a step S100 of acquiring a peripheral image, a step S200 of recognizing a traveling environment, and a step S300 of controlling an air circulation method. . ≪ / RTI >

First, in step S100, the image recognition-based vehicle air conditioning system 100 mounted on the first vehicle can acquire a peripheral image of the first vehicle. 2 (a) and 2 (b) are examples of the forward image of the first vehicle acquired by the first vehicle.

In general, since the air intake port is installed in the front portion of the vehicle, the object of the present invention can be achieved only by grasping the driving environment in front of the vehicle. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, And a back image. Further, in order to obtain a wider viewing angle, it is preferable to use a wide-angle lens or the like for an apparatus for acquiring an image in each direction.

In step S200, the driving environment around the first vehicle can be recognized from the obtained peripheral image. Here, the traveling environment may include various factors that affect the degree of air pollution around the first vehicle. For example, it may include information about a second vehicle that travels together around the first vehicle and generates soot, information about a facility on the roadside, and the like.

Hereinafter, a method of recognizing information on at least one second vehicle around the first vehicle in the traveling environment of the first vehicle will be described. Here, the second vehicle may include not only ordinary passenger cars, but also special purpose vehicles such as motorcycles and excavators.

The information on the second vehicle may include the number of second vehicles included in the acquired image, the vehicle type, and the like. This is because the greater the number of vehicles, the greater the amount of soot discharged, and the difference in fuel consumption, fuel consumption, and exhaust gas emission amount depending on each vehicle type.

2 (a), the number of the second vehicles is four, and the types of vehicles are recognized as a1, a2, a3, and a4, respectively. In the image of FIG. 2 (b), the number of the second vehicles is six, and the types of the vehicles can be recognized as b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, and b6, respectively. Here, the vehicle type may include the model name of the vehicle and / or the type of fuel used in the vehicle.

Further, in the case of a second vehicle that is too far from the first vehicle or is running on the side or rear of the first vehicle, it may be regarded as not directly affecting the driving environment of the first vehicle, In order to reduce the amount of computation in the step of recognizing the driving environment for the purpose of the present invention for controlling the air circulation manner of the vehicle in a rapid response to the environment, the second vehicle may be limited to a vehicle within a certain distance range from the first vehicle have.

3, all of the second vehicles are recognized as six vehicles (21 to 26) in the peripheral image acquired by the first vehicle 10, but the category of the second vehicle is recognized as a specific distance from the first vehicle 10 The second vehicle is recognized as three vehicles (21 to 23). In this case, it is preferable to first grasp the distance from the obtained peripheral image to the second vehicle, and then grasp the information such as the vehicle type only for the vehicle within the specific distance range.

Hereinafter, a method of recognizing information on at least one facility on the roadside among the traveling environment of the first vehicle will be described. Here, the facility may include not only a roadside structure but also a road structure.

The information on the facilities may include the number, size, and type of the facilities. This is generally based on the fact that facilities, particularly large urban areas with many buildings, have high vehicle traffic and therefore higher air pollution. In recognizing the driving environment, the information about the facility is used as an indirect indicator relative to the information about the second vehicle.

A method of recognizing the information on the facility can be applied to FIG. 2. In the image of FIG. 2 (a), buildings a11, a12, a13 and the like can be recognized. In the image of FIG. 2 (b) Can be recognized.

The information about the second vehicle and the information about the facility have been separately described. However, the information about the second vehicle and the information about the facilities may both be recognized as the driving environment according to the present invention.

In addition, a specific method of recognizing the information on the second vehicle and the information on the facility can be performed using known techniques, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In step S300, it is possible to numerically convert the recognized driving environment into the air pollution index using the preset air pollution index conversion DB, and control the air circulation method of the first vehicle by comparing the air pollution index with a reference value.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a vehicle air circulation system according to the present invention (S300).

4, the air pollution index is compared with the air pollution index conversion DB (S310), the air pollution index is compared with a reference value (S320), and the air pollution mode (S331) Or an outside air mode (S332). Here, the air pollution index means a value obtained by quantifying the degree of air pollution around the first vehicle by using the traveling environment recognized in the previous step (S200).

In step S310, the traveling environment may be converted to an air pollution index using information stored in the air pollution index conversion DB.

The air pollution index conversion DB matches the air pollution degree according to information such as air pollution degree according to each vehicle type, number and size of facilities, and the like. The air pollution degree according to the vehicle type means a value calculated in consideration of fuel type, exhaust amount, fuel consumption, production year, exhaust gas emission amount, etc. according to each vehicle type. Also, the air pollution degree according to the information such as the number and size of the facilities is a value calculated considering the correlation between the number and size of buildings on the roadside and air pollution degree. The air pollution index conversion DB can be periodically updated through a learning technique.

Hereinafter, a simple air pollution index conversion example according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 2 (a).

As described above, the vehicle type of the second vehicle in Fig. 2 (a) was recognized as a1, a2, a3, and a4, respectively. The air pollution levels for the a1, a2, a3 and a4 are assigned to x1, x2, x3 and x4, respectively, and the weight according to the distances from the first vehicle to the second vehicles is d1 , d2, d3, d4. The air pollution degree from the information on the buildings a11, a12 and a13 is y1. In this case, the air pollution index converted from the traveling environment of the first vehicle can be simply converted to (x1 * d1) + (x2 * d2) + (x3 * d3) + (x4 * d4) + y1. However, the method of converting the air pollution index is not limited to the above example.

In step S320, the converted air pollution index is compared with a preset reference value to determine whether to introduce the outside air into the first vehicle. The reference value is not a fixed value but may be an adaptive / flexible value depending on the user's arbitrary adjustment or the performance of the filter for filtering the air pollution degree inside the first vehicle and / . It is preferable that, if the air inside the first vehicle is worse than the outside air even if the converted air pollution index is equal to or more than the reference value, the outside air is introduced into the inside of the vehicle to lower the degree of air pollution inside the vehicle. If the filter is high-performance, it is preferable that the reference value is set to a higher value so that the image recognition-based vehicular air-conditioning system according to the present invention is controlled to the maximum outside air mode. Table 1 below is an example of the filter class.

If the calculated air pollution index is less than the reference value, the air circulation mode of the first vehicle is controlled to the outside air mode (S332). In this case, the air pollution index is differentially controlled according to the difference between the air pollution index and the reference value You may. In other words, the greater the deviation between the air pollution index and the reference value, the more the external air inflow per unit time can be increased. On the other hand, if the air pollution index is equal to or greater than the reference value, the air circulation method of the first vehicle can be controlled in the admission mode (S331).

FIG. 5 illustrates a configuration of an image recognition based vehicle air conditioning system 100 according to the present invention.

5, the image recognition based vehicle air conditioning system 100 according to the present invention includes an image acquisition unit 110, a travel environment recognition unit 120, a controller 130, an air sensor 140, (150).

The image acquisition unit 110 acquires a peripheral image of the first vehicle in real time. The image obtaining unit 110 may obtain one or more images of left, right, front, and rear of the vehicle.

The traveling environment recognition unit 120 analyzes the acquired image and recognizes the traveling environment around the first vehicle, for example, information about the second vehicle in the vicinity of the first vehicle, information about the facility, and the like . Specifically, the number of the second vehicles included in the acquired image, the number of the vehicles, the number of the various facilities, the size and the type, and the like can be recognized. A specific method of recognizing the information on the second vehicle and the information on the facility can be performed using known techniques, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The control unit 130 converts the recognized driving environment into an air pollution index by using the air pollution index conversion DB 160 and automatically compares the detected air environment pollution index with a reference value to automatically control the air circulation method of the first vehicle. Specifically, when the converted air pollution index is equal to or greater than the reference value, the air circulation system of the first vehicle is controlled to be in an admission mode, and when the air pollution index is less than the reference value, Mode can be controlled. Also, the reference value may be re-calculated fluidly / adaptively according to the degree of air pollution inside the first vehicle measured by the air sensor 140 and / or the performance of the filter 150, and the like.

The air sensor 140 may measure the degree of air pollution inside the first vehicle for calculating the reference value, and may provide the information to the controller 130.

The filter 150 may filter the air flowing into the first vehicle from the outside.

The air pollution index conversion DB 160 is assigned an air pollution index conversion value according to the number of second vehicles, the number of vehicles, the number of facilities, and the size, and may be periodically updated.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments described in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical spirit of the present invention, but are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents thereof should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

100: Vehicle air-conditioning system based on image recognition
110:
120: Driving environment recognition unit
130:
140: air sensor
150: filter

Claims (12)

An image acquiring unit acquiring a peripheral image of the first vehicle;
A traveling environment recognition unit for recognizing a traveling environment of the first vehicle, the traveling environment recognition information including information about a second vehicle and information about the facility from the obtained peripheral image;
An air sensor for measuring an air pollution degree inside the first vehicle; And
Calculating a reference value based on the degree of air pollution in the first vehicle, converting the driving environment into an air pollution index using an air pollution index conversion DB, comparing the air pollution index with the reference value, And a control unit for automatically controlling the air circulation mode of the air-
The traveling environment recognition unit
Recognizing the number and type of the second vehicle as information on the second vehicle, recognizing the number, size, and type of various facilities as information on the facility,
The control unit
The air pollution degree according to the vehicle type matched with the information about the second vehicle and the air pollution degree according to the facility matching the information about the facility are extracted using the air pollution index conversion DB, Converting the traveling environment into the air pollution index,
The air pollution index conversion DB
Wherein a value calculated in consideration of the number of buildings on the roadside and a correlation between the size and the air pollution degree is stored as air pollution degree according to the facility.
delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein,
Wherein the second vehicle is provided with a weight according to a distance from the first vehicle, and converts the air pollution index into the air pollution index.
The method according to claim 1,
The second vehicle includes:
Wherein the vehicle is a vehicle within a specific distance range from the first vehicle.
delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein,
Controlling the air circulation mode of the first vehicle to be in an admission mode when the converted air pollution index is equal to or greater than the reference value,
And controls the air circulation mode of the first vehicle to be in an outside air mode when the converted air pollution index is less than the reference value.
The method according to claim 6,
Wherein,
Wherein the degree of outside air is differentially controlled based on a difference between the converted air pollution index and the reference value when the air circulation mode of the first vehicle is controlled in the outside air mode.
delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the image recognition based vehicle air conditioning system comprises:
Further comprising a filter for filtering the air entering the interior of the first vehicle from outside,
Wherein,
And the reference value is calculated based on the performance of the filter.
The image recognition based vehicle air conditioning system mounted on the first vehicle acquiring the peripheral image of the first vehicle;
Recognizing the driving environment of the first vehicle from the obtained peripheral image, including information on the second vehicle and information on the facilities surrounding the first vehicle;
Measuring a degree of air pollution inside the first vehicle; And
Calculating a reference value based on the degree of air pollution in the first vehicle, converting the driving environment into an air pollution index using an air pollution index conversion DB, comparing the air pollution index with a reference value, And controlling the air circulation mode to be in an outside air mode or an air conditioner mode,
The step of recognizing the traveling environment
Recognizes the number and type of the second vehicle as information on the second vehicle, recognizes the number, size, and type of the various facilities as information on the facility,
The step of controlling
The air pollution degree according to the vehicle type matched with the information about the second vehicle and the air pollution degree according to the facility matching the information about the facility are extracted using the air pollution index conversion DB, Converting the traveling environment into the air pollution index,
The air pollution index conversion DB
Wherein a value calculated in consideration of a correlation between the number and size of buildings on the roadside and air pollution degree is stored as air pollution degree according to the facility.
delete An image acquiring unit acquiring a peripheral image of the first vehicle;
A traveling environment recognition unit for recognizing a traveling environment of the first vehicle, the traveling environment recognition information including information about a second vehicle and information about the facility from the obtained peripheral image;
A filter for filtering the air introduced from the outside to the inside of the first vehicle; And
Calculating a reference value higher as the performance of the filter is higher, converting the running environment into an air pollution index by using an air pollution index conversion database, comparing the air pollution index with the reference value, And a control unit for automatically switching or maintaining the air circulation mode of the first vehicle to the admission mode,
The traveling environment recognition unit
Recognizing the number and type of the second vehicle as information on the second vehicle, recognizing the number, size, and type of various facilities as information on the facility,
The control unit
The air pollution degree according to the vehicle type matched with the information about the second vehicle and the air pollution degree according to the facility matching the information about the facility are extracted using the air pollution index conversion DB, Converting the traveling environment into the air pollution index,
The air pollution index conversion DB
Wherein a value calculated in consideration of the number of buildings on the roadside and a correlation between the size and the air pollution degree is stored as air pollution degree according to the facility.

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