Control device and vehicle

Abstract

To provide a technique which contributes that a driver grasps situation of cabin of a vehicle on which a plurality of passengers get accurately.SOLUTION: A control device prohibits closing control of a door when the door of the vehicle is open if it is detected that passengers are present within a prescribed area which is set close to the door in cabin. In addition, the control device divides and displays a picture image, imaged by an in-vehicle camera in timing when the closing button is pushed down, on a display provided on the vehicle along with a picture image in a cabin of real time imaged by the in-vehicle camera during prescribed period if the closing button is pushed down by the driver when the closing control of the door is prohibited.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to door closing control for a vehicle carrying multiple passengers.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a monitoring system for remotely monitoring the interiors of multiple vehicles with passengers aboard. In the monitoring system disclosed in Patent Document 1, images captured by cameras installed in each vehicle are displayed on a display device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-094724 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a technology that contributes to a driver accurately understanding the situation inside a vehicle carrying multiple passengers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A control device according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes: A control device for a vehicle on which a plurality of passengers ride, a predetermined area is set near a door inside the vehicle, in which closing control of the door is prohibited when the presence of a passenger inside the area is detected; The vehicle includes: a close button that is pressed by a driver of the vehicle when the driver executes a door close control; an in-vehicle camera that captures an image of the interior of the vehicle including the predetermined area; a display that displays an image of the interior of the vehicle captured by the in-vehicle camera; is provided, The control device includes a control unit, The control unit If it is detected that a passenger is present in the predetermined area when the door is in an open state, the door is prohibited from being closed; and When the driver presses the close button while the door closing control is prohibited, an image captured by the in-vehicle camera at the time the close button is pressed is displayed on the display in divided portions for a predetermined period of time together with a real-time image of the interior of the vehicle captured by the in-vehicle camera.

[0006] A vehicle according to a second aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle equipped with the control device according to the first aspect of the present disclosure. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a technology that contributes to a driver accurately understanding the situation inside a vehicle in which multiple passengers are riding. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining various devices mounted on a vehicle. [Figure 2] 2 is a diagram for explaining the state of the interior of a vehicle. Vehicle 1 is a vehicle in which a plurality of passengers board. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic hardware configuration of a control device mounted on a vehicle. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a first flowchart showing the flow of control executed by the control unit when the door of the vehicle is in an open state. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a second flowchart showing the flow of control executed by the control unit when the door of the vehicle is in an open state. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of two images displayed in a split screen on a display. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] In vehicles carrying multiple passengers (for example, route buses or shared vehicles), the doors are opened and closed by the driver. In some cases, the vehicle is provided with a close button that is operated by the driver. The close button is a button that the driver presses when the driver wants the vehicle to execute door closing control.

[0010] Furthermore, if door closing control is executed while a passenger is present near the door inside the vehicle, the passenger may be trapped in the door. In order to prevent such passengers from being trapped by the vehicle door, a predetermined area may be set near the door inside the vehicle. The predetermined area is set as an area where door closing control is prohibited when a passenger is detected inside the predetermined area. In a vehicle in which such a predetermined area is set, door closing control is prohibited when a passenger is detected in the predetermined area while the door is in an open state. When door closing control is prohibited, door closing control is not normally executed even if the driver presses the close button.

[0011] Here, a possible reason why the door closing control is not executed even though the driver pressed the close button is that the door is malfunctioning. Therefore, if the door closing control is not executed, the driver needs to check whether a passenger is present in the predetermined area to understand the reason. However, even if the door closing control is not executed because a passenger was present in the predetermined area when the driver pressed the close button, the passenger may move out of the predetermined area immediately after the driver pressed the close button. In this case, even if the driver checks the situation around the door after the passenger has moved out of the predetermined area, the driver will not be able to understand the reason why the door closing control was not executed. Therefore, in order for the driver to understand the reason why the door closing control was not executed, it is necessary for the driver to be able to check the situation around the door when the close button was pressed.

[0012] The control device according to the present disclosure is a device that controls the doors of a vehicle in which multiple passengers ride. A predetermined area is set in the interior of the vehicle near the door. The vehicle is also provided with a close button that is operated by the driver. In the control device according to the present disclosure, if a passenger is detected to be present in the predetermined area while the door is open, the control unit prohibits the door from being closed.

[0013] The vehicle is also provided with an in-vehicle camera and a display. The in-vehicle camera is a camera that captures images of the interior of the vehicle, including a predetermined area. The display displays the images of the interior of the vehicle captured by the in-vehicle camera. Therefore, the driver can understand the situation inside the vehicle by checking the images displayed on the display.

[0014] In the control device according to the present disclosure, when the driver presses the close button while door close control is prohibited, the control unit displays an image captured by the in-vehicle camera at the timing when the close button was pressed on the display for a predetermined period of time. At this time, the control unit splits and displays on the display the image captured by the in-vehicle camera at the timing when the close button was pressed together with a real-time image of the interior of the vehicle captured by the in-vehicle camera. .

[0015] By splitting two images on the display as described above, the driver can check the situation in the specified area at the time the close button was pressed, along with the real-time situation inside the vehicle. Therefore, even if a passenger moves out of the specified area immediately after the close button is pressed, the driver can understand that a passenger was present in the specified area at the time the close button was pressed. In other words, if door closing control was not executed because a passenger was present in the specified area, the driver can understand the reason why door closing control was not executed. Therefore, according to the present disclosure, the driver can accurately understand the situation inside a vehicle carrying multiple passengers.

[0016] Specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative positions of the components described in the present embodiments are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present disclosure unless otherwise specified.

[0017] <Embodiment> (General vehicle configuration) The schematic configuration of a vehicle according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating various devices mounted on the vehicle. Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating the interior of the vehicle. Vehicle 1 is a vehicle in which multiple passengers ride. For example, vehicle 1 may be a route bus, a shared vehicle, or the like.

[0018] Vehicle 1 is a vehicle driven by a driver. The driver of vehicle 1 drives vehicle 1 from the driver's seat inside the vehicle and performs various operations necessary for the operation of vehicle 1. In addition, seats for passengers are installed inside vehicle 1. However, vehicle 1 has space inside the vehicle where passengers who are not seated, i.e., passengers who are riding while standing (standing passengers), can be present.

[0019] Doors 11 are provided on the sides of vehicle 1. Doors 11 are doors for opening and closing the entrances and exits through which passengers get on and off vehicle 1. When passengers get on and off vehicle 1 while it is stopped, door 11 is in an open state. Door 11 is a sliding door that slides in the fore-and-aft direction of vehicle 1 when opening and closing. Furthermore, in vehicle 1, the floor of the space used by passengers, including the area around door 11 inside the vehicle, is formed to be approximately flat. This allows passengers of vehicle 1 to move easily inside the vehicle. Note that the doors of vehicle 1 do not necessarily have to be sliding doors. Furthermore, it is not essential that the floor inside vehicle 1 be flat.

[0020] An interior camera 15 is installed in the vehicle 1. The interior camera 15 can capture images of substantially the entire space used by passengers inside the vehicle 1. Therefore, the interior camera 15 can capture images including passengers seated in seats inside the vehicle and standing passengers. The interior camera 15 can also capture images of passengers getting on and off through the entrance and exit of the vehicle 1. A display 16 is also provided near the driver's seat of the vehicle 1. Images captured by the interior camera 15 are displayed on the display 16. Therefore, the driver of the vehicle 1 can monitor the situation inside the vehicle by the images displayed on the display 16. Basically, the display 16 displays video of the interior of the vehicle captured by the interior camera 15 in real time.

[0021] An open button 12, a close button 13, and a release switch 14 are also provided at the driver's seat of the vehicle 1. In the vehicle 1, the opening and closing control of the door 11 is executed in accordance with the operation of the open button 12 or the close button 13 by the driver. Specifically, when the open button 12 is pressed by the driver while the door 11 is in a closed state, the opening control of the door 11 is executed. When the driver presses the close button 13 while the door 11 is in the open state, the close control of the door 11 is executed. In addition, in the vehicle 1, as will be described later, the close control of the door 11 may be automatically prohibited. In a state in which the close control of the door 11 is prohibited, basically, the close control of the door 11 is not executed even if the driver presses the close button 13. However, when the close control of the door 11 is prohibited, if the driver turns on the release switch 14, the prohibition of the close control of the door 11 is released.

[0022] Here, the prohibition of the closing control of the door 11 in the vehicle 1 and the cancellation of the prohibition will be described. If the closing control of the door 11 is executed while a passenger is present near the door 11 inside the vehicle 1, the passenger may be trapped in the door 11. In particular, as described above, the door 11 in the vehicle 1 is a sliding door, and the floor surface inside the vehicle, including the area near the door 11, is formed to be approximately flat. Therefore, passengers inside the vehicle 1 can easily approach the door 11. Therefore, a situation in which a passenger may be trapped in the door 11 when the closing control of the door 11 is executed is likely to occur.

[0023] Therefore, as shown in Fig. 2, a prohibited area E0 is set in the vehicle 1 near the door 11. The prohibited area E0 is set as an area in which the control to close the door 11 is prohibited if the presence of a passenger is detected inside the prohibited area E0. Whether or not a passenger is present in the prohibited area E0 can be determined based on an image captured by the in-vehicle camera 15. If the presence of a passenger is detected in the prohibited area E0 when the door 11 is in an open state, the control to close the door 11 is prohibited.

[0024] As described above, the display 16 displays a real-time video of the interior of the vehicle captured by the in-vehicle camera 15. Therefore, if the driver presses the close button 13 but the control to close the door 11 is not executed, the image displayed on the display 16 allows the driver to check the situation around the door 11 inside the vehicle. That is, the image displayed on the display 16 allows the driver to check whether a passenger is present in the prohibited area E0. However, even if the control to close the door 11 is not executed because a passenger is present in the prohibited area E0 when the driver presses the close button 13, the passenger may move out of the prohibited area E0 immediately thereafter. In such a case, the passenger may no longer be present in the prohibited area E0 by the time the driver checks the image displayed on the display 16. In such a case, the real-time image of the interior of the vehicle displayed on the display 16 does not allow the driver to understand the reason why the control to close the door 11 was not executed.

[0025] Therefore, in the vehicle 1 according to this embodiment, when the driver presses the close button 13 while the closing control of the door 11 is prohibited because a passenger is present in the prohibited area E0, two images are split and displayed on the display 16. Specifically, when the driver presses the close button 13 while the closing control of the door 11 is prohibited, an image captured by the in-vehicle camera 15 at the timing when the close button 13 is pressed is acquired as a still image. Note that, hereinafter, the still image acquired at this time may also be referred to as a "pressing timing image." Then, the pressing timing image is split and displayed on the display 16 together with an image of the interior of the vehicle captured in real time by the in-vehicle camera 15 (hereinafter, also referred to as a "real-time image").

[0026] (Control device hardware configuration) Next, the control device mounted on the vehicle 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic hardware configuration of the control device mounted on the vehicle. The control device 100 is a device that controls the opening and closing of the doors of the vehicle 1. In the vehicle 1, the control device 100 controls the doors 11, the open button 12, the close button 13, the release switch 14, the in-vehicle camera 15, and the display. It is connected to Spray 16.

[0027] The control device 100 includes a control unit 110, a storage unit 120, and an in-vehicle communication module 130. The control unit 110 has a function of performing arithmetic processing for controlling the control device 100. The control unit 110 includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a main storage unit such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an auxiliary storage unit such as a ROM (Read Only Memory). The control unit 110 includes a device. The CPU is an example of a processor resource. The RAM and ROM are also examples of memory resources. The control unit 110 can execute any information processing based on various programs and various data. However, some or all of the functions of the control unit 110 may be realized by hardware circuits such as ASICs and FPGAs.

[0028] The storage unit 120 is configured by any storage device such as RAM, ROM, a hard disk drive, or a flash memory. The storage unit 120 may also include removable media (portable recording media). Here, removable media is, for example, a USB memory, an SD card, or a disc recording media such as a CD-ROM, a DVD disc, or a Blu-ray disc. The storage unit 120 stores programs executed by the control unit 110 and control data used to execute the programs.

[0029] The memory unit 120 also stores data 121 indicating the position and range of a prohibited area E0 set inside the vehicle 1. In the control device 100, the control unit 110 counts the number of passengers inside the vehicle and the number of standing passengers based on images captured by the in-vehicle camera 15. The counted number of passengers and the number of standing passengers 122 are then stored in the memory unit 120.

[0030] The in-vehicle communication module 130 is an interface for the control device 100 to communicate with other devices provided in the vehicle 1 using a predetermined in-vehicle communication standard. Examples of the predetermined in-vehicle communication standard include CAN (Controller Area Network) and LIN (Local Interconnect Network). The control device 100 communicates with other devices via the in-vehicle communication module 130. The vehicle 1 communicates with various devices provided in the vehicle 1 .

[0031] In the control device 100, the control unit 110 executes an opening control of the door 11 when it receives a signal indicating that the open button 12 has been pressed. In addition, the control unit 110 executes a closing control of the door 11 when it receives a signal indicating that the close button 13 has been pressed. In addition, the control unit 110 acquires an image captured by the in-vehicle camera 15 via the in-vehicle communication module 130. Furthermore, the control unit 110 displays the image captured by the in-vehicle camera 15 on the display 16.

[0032] Furthermore, the control unit 110 determines whether or not a standing passenger is present in the prohibited area E0 inside the vehicle based on an image acquired from the in-vehicle camera 15. Furthermore, when the control unit 110 detects that a standing passenger is present in the prohibited area E0 inside the vehicle, the control unit 110 prohibits the closing control of the door 11. When the closing control of the door 11 is prohibited, the control unit 110 does not execute the closing control of the door 11 even if it receives a signal indicating that the close button 13 has been pressed. Furthermore, when the control unit 110 receives a signal indicating that the release switch 14 has been turned ON while the closing control of the door 11 is prohibited, the control unit 110 releases the prohibition of the closing control of the door 11. Furthermore, when the control unit 110 detects, based on an image acquired from the in-vehicle camera 15, that a standing passenger who was present in the prohibited area E0 has moved out of the prohibited area E0, the control unit 110 releases the prohibition of the closing control of the door 11.

[0033] In this embodiment, the control device 100 does not necessarily have to be realized by a single physical configuration, but may be realized by a plurality of computers provided in the vehicle 1 and linked to each other. It may be made.

[0034] (Control Flow) Next, the control executed by the control device 100 when the vehicle 1 is stopped and the door 11 is in an open state will be described with reference to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing a first control flow executed by the control unit 110 when the door 11 of the vehicle is in an open state. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a second control flow executed by the control unit 110 when the door 11 of the vehicle is in an open state. Note that when the door 11 of the vehicle 1 is in an open state, the control unit 110 may repeatedly execute the control flow shown in Fig. 4 and the control flow shown in Fig. 5 at predetermined intervals.

[0035] First, the control flow shown in Fig. 4 will be described. In this flow, in S101, an image of the interior of the vehicle captured by the in-vehicle camera 15 is acquired. Next, in S102, based on the image of the interior of the vehicle acquired in S101, it is determined whether or not a passenger is present in the prohibited area E0 inside the vehicle. Specifically, the control unit 110 extracts standing passengers, who are not seated, from the image of the interior of the vehicle. Furthermore, the control unit 110 determines whether or not the position of the extracted standing passenger overlaps with the prohibited area E0.

[0036] If the determination in S102 is negative, i.e., if there is no passenger in the prohibited area E0 inside the vehicle, execution of this flow is temporarily terminated. In this case, the closing control of the door 11 in the vehicle 1 is not prohibited. On the other hand, if the determination in S102 is positive, i.e., if it is detected that a passenger is present in the prohibited area E0 inside the vehicle, the process of S103 is then executed. In S103, the closing control of the door 11 is prohibited. If the closing control of the door 11 is prohibited in S103, the prohibition of the closing control of the door 11 continues until the passenger moves out of the prohibited area E0 inside the vehicle or the driver turns on the release switch 14.

[0037] The vehicle 1 may be provided with a human presence sensor for detecting passengers present in the prohibited area E0 inside the vehicle. In this case, the presence of a passenger in the prohibited area E0 inside the vehicle may be detected by the detection value of the human presence sensor instead of the image of the vehicle interior captured by the in-vehicle camera 15.

[0038] Next, the control flow shown in Fig. 5 will be described. In this flow, in S201, a signal indicating that the close button 13 has been pressed is received. Next, in S202, it is determined whether or not the closing control of the door 11 is prohibited. When the control flow shown in Fig. 4 is executed, the closing control of the door 11 is prohibited, and if the prohibition continues, an affirmative determination is made in S202.

[0039] If the determination in S202 is negative, i.e., if the closing control of the door 11 is not prohibited, the process proceeds to S207. In S207, the closing control of the door 11 is executed. On the other hand, if the determination in S202 is positive, the process proceeds to S203. In S203, a pressing timing image is acquired. Next, in S204, the pressing timing image acquired in S203 is split and displayed on the display 16 together with the real-time image.

[0040] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of two images split and displayed on the display 16. As shown in FIG. 6, the display 16 displays a moving image as a real-time image, and also displays a still image as a pressing timing image in a partial area (the area at the bottom right in FIG. 6). When displaying these two images on the display 16, the control unit 110 may also display a message on the display 16, as shown in FIG. 6, urging the driver to visually check the area around the door 11 inside the vehicle 1. In this way, if the driver has pressed the close button but the door 11 has not been closed, the driver This can prompt the driver to visually check the situation inside the vehicle. As a result, it can contribute to the driver being able to more accurately understand the situation inside the vehicle. However, it is not essential that the message be displayed on the display 16.

[0041] Next, in S205, it is determined whether a signal indicating that the close button 13 has been pressed has been received. That is, it is determined whether the close button 13 has been pressed again by the driver. If the determination in S205 is negative, i.e., if the driver has not yet pressed the close button 13 again, the processing of S204 continues. That is, the split display of the real-time image and the press timing image on the display 16 continues. On the other hand, if the determination in S205 is positive, i.e., if the driver has pressed the close button 13 again, the processing of S206 is then executed. In S206, the split display on the display 16 is canceled. That is, the press timing image is erased on the display 16, and only the real-time image is displayed. At this time, if a message to the driver was displayed on the display 16 together with the split display of the two images, the display of the message is also erased in S206.

[0042] Note that while two images are split and displayed on the display 16, the driver can check the situation around the door 11 inside the vehicle 1 and determine that closing the door 11 will not pose a safety risk to passengers. In this case, the driver releases the prohibition on the close control of the door 11 to execute the close control of the door 11. That is, the driver turns on the release switch 14 and then presses the close button 13 again. As a result, the close button 13 is pressed with the prohibition on the close control of the door 11 released. In this case, the control unit 110 releases the split display of two images on the display 16 in S206 and executes the close control of the door 11.

[0043] According to the above flow, if the close button 13 is pressed while the close control of the door 11 is prohibited, a press timing image is split and displayed on the display 16 together with a real-time image until the close button 13 is pressed again. This allows the driver to check the situation in the prohibited area E0 at the time the close button 13 was pressed, along with the real-time situation inside the vehicle. Therefore, even if a passenger moves out of the prohibited area E0 immediately after the close button 13 is pressed while the close control of the door 11 is prohibited, the driver can confirm that the passenger was present in the prohibited area E0 at the time the close button 13 was pressed. Therefore, if the close control of the door 11 should not be executed because a passenger was present in the prohibited area E0 at the time the close button 13 was pressed, the driver can understand the reason why the door close control was not executed.

[0044] In the flow shown in FIG. 5, the period (split display period) during which the press timing image is split and displayed on the display 16 together with the real-time image is the period from when the close button 13 is pressed while the close control of the door 11 is prohibited until the close button 13 is pressed again. However, the split display period is not limited to this period. For example, the split display period may be a predetermined fixed period. However, by setting the split display period to the period from when the close button 13 is pressed while the close control of the door 11 is prohibited until the close button 13 is pressed again, it is possible to make the driver more likely to recognize the press timing image split and displayed on the display 16.

[0045] <Other embodiments> The above-described embodiment is merely an example, and the present disclosure may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the processes and means described in the present disclosure may be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

[0046] Furthermore, a process described as being performed by one device may be shared and executed by multiple devices. Alternatively, a process described as being performed by different devices may be executed by a single device. In a computer system, the hardware configuration (server configuration) by which each function is realized can be flexibly changed.

[0047] The present disclosure can also be realized by providing a computer program implementing the functions described in the above embodiments to a computer, and having one or more processors in the computer read and execute the program. Such a computer program may be provided to the computer via a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium connectable to the computer's system bus or via a network. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media include any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions, such as any type of disk, including magnetic disks (e.g., floppy disks, hard disk drives (HDDs), etc.), optical disks (e.g., CD-ROMs, DVDs, Blu-ray disks), read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic cards, flash memory, or optical cards. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1. Vehicle 11 Doors 12 Open button 13. Close button 14 Release switch 15. In-car camera 16··Display 100 Control device 110 Control unit 120...Storage section 130 In-vehicle communication module

Claims

1. A control device for a vehicle on which a plurality of passengers ride, a predetermined area is set near a door inside the vehicle, in which closing control of the door is prohibited when the presence of a passenger inside the area is detected; The vehicle includes: a close button that is pressed by a driver of the vehicle when the driver executes a door close control; an in-vehicle camera that captures an image of the interior of the vehicle including the predetermined area; a display that displays an image of the interior of the vehicle captured by the in-vehicle camera; is provided, The control device includes a control unit, The control unit If it is detected that a passenger is present in the predetermined area when the door is in an open state, the door is prohibited from being closed; and When the close button is pressed by the driver while the door close control is prohibited, an image captured by the in-vehicle camera at the timing when the close button is pressed is displayed on the display in a divided manner for a predetermined period of time together with a real-time image of the interior of the vehicle captured by the in-vehicle camera. Control device.

2. the predetermined period is the period until the close button is pressed again by the driver; The control device according to claim 1 .

3. The control unit a message urging the driver to visually check the area around the door inside the vehicle is displayed on the display together with the divided image for the predetermined period of time; The control device according to claim 1 .

4. In the vehicle, The floor surface of the vehicle interior including the predetermined area is substantially flat, and The door is a sliding door. The control device according to claim 1 .

5. A vehicle equipped with the control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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