Drive assist device

• US 9,219,887 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2011
• Issued: 12/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Yu, Iga, Haruka
• Primary Examiner(s): Harold, Jefferey
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAIEM, SEAN N
• Application Number:
  US13/810,926
• Publication Number:
  US 20130120578A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,573 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 1/27 providing all-round vision, e.g. using omnidirectional cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/607 from a bird's eye viewpoint
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/806 for aiding parking
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0275 by overlaying a vehicle path based on present steering angle over an image without processing that image
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0295 by overlaying a vehicle path based on present steering angle over an image without processing that image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A drive assist device includes: a overhead image generating unit that generates a vehicle periphery overhead image; a forward trajectory setting unit that sets a forward trajectory serving as an expected trajectory in the travel direction of the vehicle occurring when the turning based on a calculated steering angle; a reverse trajectory setting unit that sets a reverse trajectory serving as an expected trajectory in the travel direction of the vehicle or in the opposite direction as the travel direction of the vehicle occurring when turning based on a steering angle in the opposite direction as the calculated steering angle; and a image synthesizing unit that generates a drive assist overhead image for display in a monitor by synthesizing the forward trajectory and the reverse trajectory with the vehicle periphery overhead image.

Claims

1. A drive assist device comprising:

an overhead image generating unit that generates a vehicle periphery overhead image as a display image of the periphery of a vehicle displayed in a monitor, by performing viewpoint conversion from a captured image obtained by a camera that captures the periphery of the vehicle;

a steering angle calculation unit that calculates a steering angle of the vehicle;

a forward trajectory setting unit that sets a forward trajectory serving as an expected trajectory in the travel direction of the vehicle when turning based on the calculated steering angle calculated by the steering angle calculation unit;

a reverse trajectory setting unit that sets a reverse trajectory serving as an expected trajectory in the travel direction of the vehicle or the opposite direction as the travel direction of the vehicle when turning based on a steering angle in the opposite direction as the calculated steering angle; and

an image synthesizing unit that generates a drive assist overhead image for display in a monitor by synthesizing the forward trajectory and the reverse trajectory with the vehicle periphery overhead image, so that a vehicle image in the vehicle periphery overhead image serves as a departure point,

wherein an expected trajectory in the travel direction of the vehicle is set as the reverse trajectory during same-direction reverse-steering travel in which the steering angle is switched from one side to the opposite side while the vehicle is traveling in a single direction, and

an expected trajectory in the opposite direction as the travel direction of the vehicle is set as the reverse trajectory during opposite-direction reverse-steering travel in which the steering angle is switched from one side to the opposite side while the vehicle is traveling in the opposite direction to the current traveling direction.

2. The drive assist device according to claim 1,

wherein the steering angle in the opposite direction is the maximum steering angle in the opposite direction.

3. The drive assist device according to claim 1,

wherein when turning while traveling in reverse, the forward trajectory setting unit sets, as the forward trajectory, an outer end expected trajectory line that is the trajectory of a front end portion on the outer side of the turning vehicle, a leading end expected trajectory line that is the trajectory of a rear end portion on the outer side of the turning vehicle, and an inner end expected trajectory line that is the trajectory of a rear end portion on the inner side of the turning vehicle, and when turning while traveling forward, sets, as the forward trajectory, the outer end expected trajectory line that is the trajectory of the front end portion on the outer side of the turning vehicle, the leading end expected trajectory line that is the trajectory of a front end portion on the inner side of the turning vehicle, and the inner end expected trajectory line that is the trajectory of the rear end portion on the inner side of the turning vehicle.

4. The drive assist device according to claim 1,

wherein the forward trajectory and the reverse trajectory are displayed in the monitor in formats that are different from each other visually.

5. The drive assist device according to claim 1,

wherein the forward trajectory is stored in a trajectory image storage unit so as to be capable of being extracted by the forward trajectory setting unit as an expected trajectory line image prepared for each steering angle, and the reverse trajectory is stored in the trajectory image storage unit so as to be capable of being extracted by the reverse trajectory setting unit as an expected trajectory line image for the maximum steering angle.

6. The drive assist device according to claim 1,

wherein the drive assist overhead image is updated and displayed in the monitor each time the steering angle is changed to a predetermined angle or each time the vehicle travels a predetermined distance.

7. The drive assist device according to claim 1,

wherein during same-direction reverse-steering travel, the reverse trajectory setting unit sets, as the reverse trajectory image, the outer end expected trajectory line that is the trajectory of the front end portion on the outer side of the turning vehicle, the leading end expected trajectory line that is the trajectory of the rear end portion on the outer side of the turning vehicle, and the inner side expected trajectory line that is the trajectory of the rear end portion on the inner side of the turning vehicle, occurring when turning while traveling in reverse at a maximum steering angle -θ

max in the opposite direction as an obtained steering angle θ

; and

during opposite-direction reverse-steering travel, the reverse trajectory setting unit sets, as the reverse trajectory image, an outer end expected trajectory line D1 that is the trajectory of the front end portion on the outer side of the turning vehicle, a leading end expected trajectory line D2 that is the trajectory of the rear end portion on the outer side of the turning vehicle, and an inner end expected trajectory line D3 that is the trajectory of the rear end portion on the inner side of the turning vehicle, occurring when turning while traveling forward at a maximum steering angle -θ

max in the opposite direction as an obtained steering angle θ

.

8. The drive assist device according to claim 7,

wherein in the case where the direction into which travel has been reversed cannot be confirmed, the reverse trajectory setting unit displays the reverse trajectory image for both of the directions.