Driving support device, driving support method, and program

• US 8,559,675 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2010
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nogami, Tateaki, Waki, Yuki, Iwai, Kazuhiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Bhatnagar, Anand
• Assistant Examiner(s): PARK, SOO JIN
• Application Number:
  US13/147,730
• Publication Number:
  US 20110293145A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,279 Days
• Field of Search: 382/104, 382/106, 382/107, 180167-169, 340/435, 340/436
• US Class Current: 382/106
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/00 Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/26 to the rear of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/305 merging camera image with lines or icons
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/307 virtually distinguishing relevant parts of a scene from the background of the scene
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/804 for lane monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8066 for monitoring rearward traffic
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/00 2D [Two Dimensional] image generation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

A driving support device includes an image-capturer that captures side rear images of a vehicle, a distance measurer that measures a distance between the vehicle and another vehicle, and a vehicle detector that detects the another vehicle in the captured images. A superimposed image generator calculates a distance of units of the vehicle length based on information concerning the vehicle length stored in a vehicle length information storage and the distance to the another vehicle detected by the distance measurer, and generates a superimposed image based on the calculated distance. A display image generator synthesizes the generated superimposed image on a side peripheral image including the captured side rear images, and displays the image on a display installed in a position at which the field of front vision of the driver is not obstructed.

Claims

1. A drive support apparatus that is mounted on a subject vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

an imager that captures a side peripheral image of the subject vehicle;

a vehicle detector that detects other vehicles in the captured side peripheral image;

a distance detector that detects distances between the subject vehicle and the other vehicles;

a subject vehicle length information storage that stores an entire length of the subject vehicle as subject vehicle length information;

a superimposed image generator that calculates a distance of a subject vehicle length unit based on the subject vehicle length information stored in the subject vehicle length information storage and the distances from the subject vehicle to the other vehicles detected by the distance detector, and generates a superimposed image based on the calculated distance;

a display image generator that synthesizes the superimposed image generated by the superimposed image generator on the captured side peripheral image, and generates a display image; and

a display in the subject vehicle and displays the display image generated by the display image generator,

wherein the superimposed image generator generates the superimposed image including a concatenation of frames configured with a line segment parallel to a width direction of a road and a line segment parallel to a road direction, and

the superimposed image generator makes each of the frames have a length along the road direction corresponding to the entire length of the subject vehicle on the basis of the subject vehicle length information.

2. The drive support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the side peripheral image of the subject vehicle includes at least one of a side rear image and a side front image of the subject vehicle.

3. The drive support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the superimposed image generator generates the superimposed image including the concatenation of frames drawn on a road surface of a lane adjacent to a present lane on the side peripheral image.

4. The drive support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the superimposed image generator generates the superimposed image including the concatenation of a predetermined number of frames which are lined rearward starting from a position of a rear end of the subject vehicle in the side peripheral image.

5. The drive support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the superimposed image generator generates the superimposed image including the concatenation of frames when the distances from the subject vehicle to the other vehicles are included within a distance represented by the concatenation of frames.

6. The drive support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the superimposed image generator generates the frames only in a region ahead of the other vehicles, as the superimposed image.

7. The drive support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the superimposed image generator generates, in a region farther than the other vehicles, only a connection portion of a first line segment that is parallel to a width direction of a road and at a side close to a present lane, and a second line segment that is connected to and perpendicular to the first line segment, as a part of the superimposed image.

8. The drive support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the superimposed image generator further generates another superimposed image that has compartments and symbols, each of the compartments having a length corresponding to the subject vehicle length unit and including a first line segment viewed in a vehicle traverse direction, the symbols representing the subject vehicle and the other vehicles and being displayed on the first line segment.

9. The drive support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

when a front end of an other vehicle is not ahead of a rear end of the subject vehicle, the superimposed image generator further generates a first superimposed image that has compartments and symbols, each of the compartments having a length corresponding to the subject vehicle length unit and including a first line segment viewed in a vehicle traverse direction, the symbols representing the subject vehicle and the other vehicle displayed on the first line segment;

and

when the front end of the other vehicle is ahead of a rear end of the subject vehicle, the superimposed image generator generates a second superimposed image, which is different from the first superimposed image, and in which the symbols of the other vehicles are not displayed and the symbol of the subject vehicle is highlighted.

10. The drive support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display image selector that selects an image to be displayed on the display, based on a predetermined selection condition, from a plurality of images captured by the imager.

11. The drive support apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the selection condition includes information based on a distance from the subject vehicle, a relative speed relative to the subject vehicle, and time to collision (TTC).

12. A driving support method that supports a driver to drive a subject vehicle, the method comprising:

capturing a side peripheral image of the subject vehicle;

detecting other vehicles in the captured side peripheral image;

detecting distances between the subject vehicle and the other vehicles;

storing an entire length of the subject vehicle as subject vehicle length information in advance;

calculating a distance of a subject vehicle length unit based on the subject vehicle length information and the detected distances from the subject vehicle to the other vehicles;

generating a superimposed image based on the calculated distance;

synthesizing the generated superimposed image on the captured side peripheral image and generating the display image; and

displaying the generated display image,

wherein the generating generates the superimposed image including a concatenation of frames configured with a line segment parallel to a width direction of a road and a line segment parallel to a road direction, and

the generating makes each of the frames have a length along the road direction corresponding to the entire length of the subject vehicle on the basis of the subject vehicle length information.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that stores a program causing a computer to execute the driving support method according to claim 12.