Road surface drawing device, road surface drawing method, and road surface drawing program

Abstract

The objective is to provide a road surface drawing device, a road surface drawing method, and a road surface drawing program that can effectively alert pedestrians around a vehicle. [Solution] The lighting controller 18 controls the lighting fixture 12 to draw images on the road surface behind the vehicle when the vehicle is reversing, drawing images of at least two predetermined shapes on the road surface behind the vehicle. When the sensor 16 detects a person in the vicinity of the vehicle 22, the lighting controller performs a lighting operation that controls the lighting fixture 12 to change the drawing pattern of part or all of the image closer to the person.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a road surface drawing device, a road surface drawing method, and a road surface drawing program.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle road surface drawing device that projects an image based on a drawing pattern onto a road surface, including a road surface drawing unit that irradiates light onto the road surface to project an image, a control unit that controls the projection of the image by the road surface drawing unit, and an operation state acquisition unit that acquires the operation state of the vehicle. When the control unit determines that the operation state is a reverse operation, it controls the road surface drawing unit in a reverse mode, and when it determines that the operation state is not a reverse operation, it turns off the road surface drawing unit. A vehicle road surface drawing device is disclosed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration for performing road surface drawing on the road surface behind the vehicle during reverse, but there is room for improvement in order to make the behavior of the vehicle known to pedestrians around the vehicle.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and an object thereof is to provide a road surface drawing device, a road surface drawing method, and a road surface drawing program that can effectively prompt attention to pedestrians around the vehicle.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The road surface drawing device according to the first embodiment includes a drawing unit that draws images of at least two predetermined shapes on the road surface behind a vehicle, and a control unit that controls the drawing unit to draw the images when the vehicle is reversing, and controls the drawing unit to change the drawing pattern of part or all of the images closer to the person when a person is detected by a detection unit that detects a person around the vehicle.

[0007] According to the first embodiment, the drawing unit draws images of at least two predetermined shapes on the road surface behind the vehicle.

[0008] Furthermore, the control unit controls the drawing unit to draw an image when the vehicle is reversing, and when the detection unit detects a person around the vehicle, the drawing unit is controlled to change the drawing pattern of part or all of the image closest to the person. This makes it possible to effectively alert pedestrians around the vehicle.

[0009] In the road surface drawing device according to the second embodiment, the control unit controls the drawing unit to blink the image closest to the person, as in the road surface drawing device according to the first embodiment.

[0010] According to the second embodiment, the flashing of the drawn image can effectively draw the attention of pedestrians.

[0011] The road surface drawing device according to the third embodiment is a road surface drawing device according to the first or second embodiment, wherein the drawing unit draws a dotted line image as the image, and the control unit controls the drawing unit to draw the dotted line image closer to the person sequentially toward the rear of the vehicle or toward the front of the vehicle.

[0012] According to the third embodiment, the dotted line image can be drawn sequentially toward the rear or front of the vehicle, thereby more effectively alerting pedestrians.

[0013] The road surface drawing method according to the fourth embodiment involves a computer controlling a drawing unit to draw images of at least two predetermined shapes on the road surface behind a vehicle when the vehicle is reversing, and when a detection unit for detecting people around the vehicle detects a person, the computer controlling the drawing unit to change the drawing pattern of part or all of the image closer to the person.

[0014] According to the fourth embodiment, a road surface marking method can be provided that can effectively draw attention to pedestrians around a vehicle.

[0015] The road surface drawing program according to the fifth embodiment causes a computer to control a drawing unit to draw images of at least two predetermined shapes on the road surface behind a vehicle when the vehicle is reversing, and to execute a process to control the drawing unit to change the drawing pattern of part or all of the image closer to the person when a detection unit for detecting people around the vehicle detects the person.

[0016] According to the fifth embodiment, a road surface drawing program can be provided that can effectively alert pedestrians around a vehicle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] As described above, the present invention provides a road surface drawing device, a road surface drawing method, and a road surface drawing program that can effectively alert pedestrians around a vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0018] [Figure 1] This block diagram shows the schematic configuration of the road surface drawing device according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of drawing a dotted line image of two point-shaped lines on a road surface. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of a lighting controller. [Figure 4]It is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the lamp lighting process performed by the lamp controller of the road surface drawing device according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] It is a flowchart showing a modification example of the flow of the lamp lighting process performed by the lamp controller of the road surface drawing device according to this embodiment. [Figure 6] It is a diagram showing an example of sequential lighting (sequential lighting) toward the rear of the vehicle. [Figure 7] It is a diagram showing an example of displaying an arc-shaped image on the road surface behind the vehicle.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the road surface drawing device according to this embodiment.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, the road surface drawing device 10 according to this embodiment includes a lamp 12 as an example of a drawing unit, a reverse detection unit 14, a sensor 16 as an example of a detection unit, and a lamp controller 18 as an example of a control unit.

[0021] The lamp 12 draws at least two or more images of a predetermined shape on the road surface behind the vehicle 22. Hereinafter, as an example, as shown in FIG. 2, an example in which the lamp 12 draws two dotted-line images 24 of a dotted-line shape will be described, but the images of the predetermined shape to be drawn are not limited to this. Also, the number of images to be drawn is not limited to two, and may be three or more. FIG. 2 shows an example of drawing two dotted-line images 24 of a dotted-line shape on the road surface.

[0022] The reverse detection unit 14 detects the reverse of the vehicle 22 and outputs the detection result to the lamp controller 18. The reverse detection unit 14 may apply, for example, a shift position sensor or a back switch.

[0023] Sensor 16 is installed on the vehicle 22 and detects people 26 in the vicinity of the vehicle 22, outputting the detection result to the lighting controller 18. For example, sensor 16 can detect people 26 behind the vehicle 22 as an example of the vicinity of the vehicle 22. Sensor 16 can also detect people 26 in the vicinity of the vehicle 22 using various sensors, such as ultrasonic sensors like clearance sonar or motion sensors like infrared sensors. Alternatively, the presence or absence of people 26 may be detected from images captured by a camera.

[0024] The lighting controller 18 controls the lighting fixture 12 based on the detection results of the sensor 16 to control the drawing of the dotted line image 24 on the road surface behind the vehicle 22.

[0025] As shown in Figure 3, the lighting controller 18 is composed of a general-purpose microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 18A, ROM (Read Only Memory) 18B, RAM (Random Access Memory) 18C, storage 18D, interface (I / F) 18E, and bus 18F. Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of the lighting controller 18.

[0026] The CPU 18A is the central processing unit and controls the overall operation of the device by executing various programs. The ROM 18B stores various control programs, such as the lighting program that performs the lighting process described later, as well as various parameters. The RAM 18C is used as a work area when the CPU 18A executes various programs. The storage 18D is composed of various storage units such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), and flash memory, and stores various data and application programs. The I / F 18E is connectable to the vehicle network and transmits and receives various data with other ECUs connected to the vehicle network. All of the above parts of the lighting controller 18 are electrically interconnected by the bus 18F.

[0027] In this embodiment, the CPU 18A executes a lighting program stored in the ROM 18B, thereby controlling the lighting device 12 to draw images of at least two predetermined shapes on the road surface behind the vehicle 22 when the vehicle 22 is reversing. When the sensor 16 detects a person 26 around the vehicle 22, the lighting process controls the lighting device 12 to change the drawing pattern of part or all of the image closer to the person 26. For example, when the vehicle 22 is reversing, as shown on the left side of Figure 2, the lighting device 12 draws a dotted line image 24 in the shape of a dotted line on the road surface behind the vehicle 22. Furthermore, when a person 26 is detected, as shown on the right side of Figure 2, the lighting device 12 is controlled to make the dotted line image 24 closer to the person 26 (the dotted line image 24 on the left in Figure 2) blink. This allows the system to alert pedestrians around the vehicle 22. Note that the dotted lines in Figure 2 indicate blinking.

[0028] Next, we will describe the specific processes performed by the road surface drawing device 10 according to this embodiment, which is configured as described above. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the lighting process performed by the lighting controller 18 of the road surface drawing device 10 according to this embodiment. Note that the process in Figure 4 starts, for example, when the reversing detection unit 14 detects that the vehicle 22 is reversing.

[0029] In step 100, the CPU 18A draws a dotted line image 24 on the road surface behind the vehicle 22 and proceeds to step 102. For example, the light fixture 12 is turned on to draw the dotted line image 24 on the road surface as shown on the left side of Figure 2. At this time, the image is drawn by keeping the light fixture 12 constantly on to draw the dotted line image 24.

[0030] In step 102, the CPU 18A determines whether or not it has detected a person 26 in the vicinity. This determination is made by determining whether or not the sensor 16 has detected a person 26 in the vicinity of the vehicle 22. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to step 104; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 106.

[0031] In step 104, the CPU 18A flashes the dotted line image 24 closest to the detected person 26 and proceeds to step 110. For example, as shown on the right side of Figure 2, the light fixture 12 is controlled to flash the dotted line image 24 closest to the person 26. The flashing of the dotted line image 24 drawn on the road surface can alert pedestrians around the vehicle 22.

[0032] On the other hand, in step 106, the CPU 18A determines whether the dotted line image 24 drawn on the road surface is flashing. This determination determines whether step 104 has already been performed and the dotted line image 24 is flashing. If this determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 108; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 110.

[0033] In step 108, the CPU 18A changes the drawing of the dotted line image 24 to a constantly illuminated state and proceeds to step 110. That is, it controls the light fixture 12 so that the blinking dotted line image 24 is constantly illuminated.

[0034] In step 110, the CPU 18A determines whether or not to turn off the illumination of the light fixture 12. This determination is made, for example, by determining whether or not the reverse detection unit 14 has detected that the vehicle 22 is not reversing. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step 102 and the above processing is repeated; if the determination is positive, the process proceeds to step 112.

[0035] In step 112, the CPU 18A terminates the drawing of the dotted line image 24 on the road surface by turning off the light fixture 12, thereby ending the series of light fixture lighting processes.

[0036] Next, a modified example of the lighting process will be described. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing a modified example of the lighting process performed by the lighting controller 18 of the road surface drawing device 10 according to this embodiment. Note that the process in Figure 5 is started, for example, when the reversing detection unit 14 detects that the vehicle 22 is reversing.

[0037] In the above embodiment, when the vehicle 22 is detected to be moving backward, the light 12 is turned on to draw an image on the road surface behind the vehicle 22. In the modified version, the above light illuminating process is performed only when instructed by an occupant via the switch 20 shown by the dotted line in Figure 1. If there is no instruction, the image is drawn on the road surface and the light is turned on only when a person 26 is detected, thereby suppressing the unnecessary illumination of the light 12.

[0038] In step 200, the CPU 18A determines whether or not road surface drawing has been instructed. This determination includes, for example, whether the automatic headlight lever, as an example of a switch 20, has been operated, or whether a dedicated switch 20 for instructing road surface drawing has been operated. If the determination is affirmative, the system proceeds to step 202; otherwise, it proceeds to step 204. Note that if the automatic headlight lever is used as the road surface drawing switch 20, the flashing of the headlights when reversing is detected is prohibited.

[0039] In step 202, the CPU 18A performs the lighting process described above to complete the series of modified lighting processes. That is, it performs the processes described in steps 100 to 112 above.

[0040] Meanwhile, in step 204, the CPU 18A determines whether or not it has detected a person 26 in the vicinity. This determination is made by determining whether or not the sensor 16 has detected a person 26 in the vicinity of the vehicle 22. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 206; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 208.

[0041] In step 206, the CPU 18A flashes the dotted line image 24 closer to the person 26 and keeps the one further away constantly lit, then proceeds to step 208. For example, as shown on the right side of Figure 2, the lighting device 12 is controlled to flash the dotted line image 24 closer to the person 26 and keep the one further away constantly lit. The illumination and flashing of the dotted line image 24 drawn on the road surface can alert pedestrians around the vehicle 22.

[0042] In step 208, the CPU 18A determines whether or not to turn off the illumination of the light fixture 12. This determination is made, for example, by determining whether or not the reverse detection unit 14 has detected that the vehicle 22 is not reversing. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step 200 and the above processing is repeated; if the determination is positive, the process proceeds to step 210.

[0043] In step 210, the CPU 18A determines whether or not it is currently drawing the dotted line image 24. If the determination is positive, the process proceeds to step 212; otherwise, the series of modified lamp lighting processes are terminated.

[0044] In step 212, the CPU 18A terminates the drawing of the dotted line image 24 on the road surface by turning off the light fixture 12, thereby ending the series of modified light fixture lighting processes.

[0045] In the above embodiment, when a person 26 is detected, the display mode is changed by flashing the dotted line image 24 closest to the person 26. However, the display mode is not limited to this. For example, instead of flashing the entire dotted line image 24, only a part of it may flash, or the display mode may be changed by changing the color, etc. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 6, the lights may be lit sequentially toward the rear of the vehicle. Alternatively, the lights may be lit sequentially toward the front of the vehicle. Alternatively, sequential lighting may be combined with other display modes such as flashing.

[0046] Furthermore, although the above embodiment describes an example in which the light fixture 12 is turned on to draw a dotted line image 24, the shape of the image is not limited to a dotted line shape. For example, as shown in Figure 7, an arc-shaped image 28 may be displayed, a sector-shaped image may be displayed, or an image of another shape may be displayed.

[0047] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the lights 12 are turned on when the vehicle 22 is reversing, and when a person 26 is detected around the vehicle, the system is controlled to flash the image closest to the person 26, but it is not limited to this. For example, the lights 12 may simply be turned on when reversing, or the lights 12 may be turned on when instructed to be turned on by an occupant via a switch 20 or the like when reversing. In this case, the switch 20 may be a dedicated switch or an automatic light lever. In the case of an automatic light lever, flashing the headlights when reversing is prohibited.

[0048] Furthermore, although the processing performed by the lighting controller 18 in each of the above embodiments has been described as software processing performed by executing a program, it is not limited to this. For example, it may be processing performed by hardware such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). Alternatively, it may be processing that combines both software and hardware. In the case of software processing, the program may be stored on various storage media and distributed.

[0049] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above, and it is of course possible to implement it in various modified forms without departing from its spirit. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 10 Road drawing device 12 Lighting equipment (drawing part) 14 Reverse detection unit 16. Sensor (detection unit) 18. Lighting controller (control unit) 20 switches 22 vehicles 24 dotted line image 26 people 28 Arc Images

Claims

1. A drawing unit that draws images of at least two predetermined shapes on the road surface behind the vehicle, A control unit controls the drawing unit to draw the image when the vehicle is reversing, and when a detection unit that detects a person around the vehicle detects the person, controls the drawing unit to change the drawing pattern of part or all of the image closer to the person. A road surface marking device including a road marking device.

2. The road surface drawing device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the drawing unit to make the image closest to the person blink.

3. The road surface drawing device according to claim 1, wherein the drawing unit draws a dotted line image as the image, and the control unit controls the drawing unit to draw the dotted line image closest to the person sequentially toward the rear of the vehicle or toward the front of the vehicle.

4. Computers When the vehicle is reversing, the drawing unit is controlled to draw images of at least two predetermined shapes on the road surface behind the vehicle. A road surface drawing method that, when a person is detected by a detection unit that detects people around a vehicle, controls a drawing unit to change the drawing pattern of part or all of the image closest to the person.

5. On the computer, When the vehicle is reversing, the drawing unit is controlled to draw images of at least two predetermined shapes on the road surface behind the vehicle. A road surface drawing program for causing a drawing unit to execute a process to control the drawing unit such that, when a person is detected by a detection unit that detects a person around a vehicle, the drawing pattern of part or all of the image closest to the person changes.

Images