Vehicle sensor device

Abstract

To provide a vehicle sensor device which detects an area according to a travel state of a vehicle while reducing a dead angle of a sensor attached to a roof of the vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle sensor device 1 includes: a sensor 10 which detects an external environment of a vehicle V; a pedestal part 20 having a movable mechanism 21 for moving the sensor 10; a vehicle information acquisition section 31 which acquires a speed of the vehicle V; and a control unit 32 which controls the movable mechanism 21. The control unit 32 controls the movable mechanism 21 so that a position of the sensor 10 is placed close to an end of a roof VR of the vehicle V when the speed of the vehicle is low compared to when the speed is high.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a sensor device for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] As a conventional technical document relating to a sensor device for a vehicle, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016 / 0334790 is known. This document shows a structure in which sensors are arranged in a central position of a roof of a vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] US Patent Application Publication No. 2016 / 0334790 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] For example, the area to be detected by the sensor may differ depending on the speed, such as when the speed is slow, the sensor detects a short-distance area close to the vehicle, and when the speed is fast, the sensor detects a long-distance area far from the vehicle. However, when the sensor is attached to the center of the roof of the vehicle, the short-distance area close to the vehicle may become a blind spot that cannot be detected by the sensor because it is blocked by the edge of the roof of the vehicle.

[0005] For this reason, the present disclosure describes a vehicle sensor device that can detect an area according to the vehicle's driving state while reducing the blind spot of a sensor attached to the roof of the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure is a sensor device for a vehicle that detects the external environment of the vehicle, comprising a sensor that detects the external environment of the vehicle, a base for attaching the sensor to the roof of the vehicle, the base having a movable mechanism for moving the sensor along a direction intersecting the vertical direction, a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires the speed of the vehicle, and a control unit that controls the movable mechanism, wherein when the speed acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit is slow, the control unit controls the movable mechanism so that the position of the sensor is closer to the edge of the vehicle roof than when the speed is fast.

[0007] This vehicle sensor device can move the sensor toward the end of the vehicle roof by the movable mechanism. This allows the vehicle sensor device to reduce the blind spot of the sensor caused by being blocked by the vehicle roof. Furthermore, when the speed is high, the vehicle sensor device moves the sensor closer to the end of the vehicle roof than when the speed is low. In other words, when the speed is low, the vehicle sensor device can make it easier for the sensor to detect a close-range area closer to the vehicle than when the speed is high. In this way, the vehicle sensor device can detect an area according to the vehicle's driving state while reducing the blind spot of the sensor attached to the vehicle roof.

[0008] In the above-mentioned sensor device for a vehicle, the movable mechanism may move the sensor along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. For example, when the vehicle starts moving in the longitudinal direction or when the vehicle is traveling at a low speed, it is required that the sensor detects a short distance area in front of the vehicle or a short distance area in the rear of the vehicle. Therefore, by making the sensor movable along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the sensor device for a vehicle can easily detect the area required as a monitoring target when the vehicle starts moving in the longitudinal direction or when the vehicle is traveling at a low speed.

[0009] In the above-mentioned sensor device for a vehicle, the base part may further have a tilting mechanism for tilting the detection direction of the sensor, and the control part may control the tilting mechanism so that the detection direction of the sensor faces downward when the speed acquired by the vehicle information acquisition part is slow compared to when the speed is fast. This allows the sensor device for a vehicle to more easily detect a short-distance area close to the vehicle when the vehicle speed is slow. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to detect an area according to the vehicle's driving state while reducing the blind spot of a sensor attached to the roof of the vehicle. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle sensor device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a side view of a vehicle on which a sensor is installed, showing a state in which the vehicle sensor device detects a long distance as a detection target area. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a side view of a vehicle on which a sensor is installed, showing a state in which the vehicle sensor device detects a short distance as a detection target area. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure around a base of the vehicle sensor device, and shows a state in which the vehicle sensor device has a long distance as a detection target area. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure around a base of the vehicle sensor device, and shows a state in which the vehicle sensor device detects a short distance as a detection target area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0013] The vehicle sensor device 1 shown in Fig. 1 is mounted on a vehicle V (see Fig. 2) and detects the external environment of the vehicle V. Note that the vehicle V may be an autonomous vehicle that runs autonomously, or may be a manually driven vehicle that is driven by a driver.

[0014] The vehicle sensor device 1 includes a sensor 10, a base 20, and a control ECU [Electronic Control Unit] 30. The sensor 10 is installed on the roof VR of the vehicle V as shown in FIG. 2. The sensor 10 is a sensor that detects the external environment of the vehicle V. As the sensor 10, various sensors such as a camera, a millimeter wave radar, and a LIDAR [Light Detection and Ranging] can be used. In this embodiment, the sensor 10 detects the area in front of the vehicle V as an example. The detection result of the sensor 10 is used for various processes such as recognition processing of people and other vehicles around the vehicle V.

[0015] The base 20 is a member for mounting the sensor 10 on the roof VR of the vehicle V. The base 20 has a movable mechanism 21 and a tilting mechanism 22. The movable mechanism 21 moves the sensor 10 in a direction intersecting the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the movable mechanism 21 moves the sensor 10 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle V, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, for example. Note that the configuration of the movable mechanism 21 is not limited as long as it can move the sensor 10.

[0016] As an example, the movable mechanism 21 may move the sensor 10 using the principle of a movable pulley as shown in Fig. 4. In this case, for example, the base 20 includes a base main body 20a fixed to the roof VR of the vehicle V, and a sensor mounting part 20b provided so as to be movable in the front-rear direction of the vehicle V relative to the base main body 20a. The sensor 10 is attached to the sensor mounting part 20b. As an example, the movable mechanism 21 includes a rotation motor 21a, a movable pulley 21b attached to the sensor mounting part 20b, and a wire 21c.

[0017] One end of the wire 21c is connected to the rotary motor 21a so as to be able to be wound up. The other end of the wire 21c is connected to the end of the sensor mounting part 20b on the rear side of the vehicle V. The middle part of the wire 21c is hung on the movable pulley 21b. The movable pulley 21b is located on the rear side of the vehicle V with respect to the rotary motor 21a and the sensor mounting part 20b. In this state, as shown in FIG. 4, the rotary motor 21a winds up the wire 21c, so that the sensor mounting part 20b moves to the front side of the vehicle V as shown in FIG. 5. That is, the movable mechanism 21 can move the sensor 10 to the front of the vehicle V. When the movable mechanism 21 moves the sensor 10 to the rear side of the vehicle V, the sensor mounting part 20b may be moved to the rear side by a rotary motor, a spring, or the like, for example.

[0018] The tilting mechanism 22 tilts the detection direction of the sensor 10. As shown in Fig. 4, for example, the tilting mechanism 22 is attached to the sensor attachment portion 20b and supports the sensor 10. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the tilting mechanism 22 tilts the detection direction (detection direction) of the sensor 10 by tilting the sensor 10. The configuration of the tilting mechanism 22 is not limited as long as it can tilt the detection direction of the sensor 10.

[0019] The control ECU 30 is an electronic control unit having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. In the control ECU 30, for example, a program stored in the ROM is loaded into the RAM, and the program loaded into the RAM is executed by the CPU, thereby realizing various functions. The control ECU 30 may be composed of multiple electronic units. The control ECU 30 is provided inside the base 20 or at a predetermined position inside the vehicle V.

[0020] The control ECU 30 functionally includes a vehicle information acquisition unit 31 and a control unit 32. The vehicle information acquisition unit 31 acquires the speed of the vehicle V. For example, the vehicle information acquisition unit 31 can acquire the detection result of a speed sensor as the speed of the vehicle V.

[0021] The control unit 32 controls the operation of the movable mechanism 21. More specifically, when the speed acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 31 is slow, the control unit 32 controls the movable mechanism 21 so that the position of the sensor 10 is closer to the edge of the roof VR of the vehicle V than when the speed is fast. For example, when the speed of the vehicle V is fast, the control unit 32 controls the operation of the movable mechanism 21 so that the sensor 10 is closer to the center of the roof VR as shown in Fig. 2. For example, when the speed of the vehicle V is slow, the control unit 32 controls the operation of the movable mechanism 21 so that the sensor 10 is closer to the edge of the roof VR as shown in Fig. 3.

[0022] Furthermore, the control unit 32 controls the operation of the tilt mechanism 22. More specifically, the control unit 32 controls the tilt mechanism 22 so that when the speed acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 31 is slow, the detection direction of the sensor 10 faces downward compared to when the speed is fast.

[0023] For example, when the speed of the vehicle V is high, the control unit 32 controls the operation of the tilt mechanism 22 so that the sensor 10 is in a tilted state capable of detecting a long-distance area (an area between a medium distance and a long distance from the vehicle V) in front of the vehicle V, as shown in Fig. 2. Here, the control unit 32 controls the operation of the tilt mechanism 22 so that the detection center L of the sensor 10 faces substantially horizontally forward. This enables the sensor 10 to detect objects and the like in the long-distance area by the detection range S of the sensor 10.

[0024] Also, for example, when the speed of the vehicle V is slow, the control unit 32 controls the operation of the tilt mechanism 22 so that the sensor 10 is in a tilted state where the sensor 10 can detect a short distance area in front of the vehicle V that is close to the vehicle V, as shown in Fig. 3. Here, the control unit 32 controls the operation of the tilt mechanism 22 so that the sensor 10 faces diagonally downward (so that the detection center L faces diagonally downward). This allows the sensor 10 to detect objects and the like in the short distance area by the detection range S of the sensor 10.

[0025] In this way, the control unit 32 controls the position and detection direction (inclination) of the sensor 10 according to the speed of the vehicle V. When the speed of the vehicle V is high as shown in FIG. 2, the sensor 10 faces horizontally forward at a position close to the center of the roof VR. Therefore, the sensor 10 can detect a long-distance area in front of the vehicle V as a detection target area. When the speed of the vehicle V is low as shown in FIG. 3, the sensor 10 faces diagonally downward at a position close to the edge of the roof VR. Therefore, the sensor 10 can detect a short-distance area in front of the vehicle V as a detection target area while preventing the detection range from being blocked by the edge of the roof VR.

[0026] In addition, cases where the speed of the vehicle V is slow include, for example, cases where the speed of the vehicle V is slow, such as when the vehicle V starts or moves slowly, and cases where the vehicle V is stopped.

[0027] As described above, the vehicle sensor device 1 can move the sensor 10 to the end side of the roof VR of the vehicle V by the movable mechanism 21. This allows the vehicle sensor device 1 to suppress the blind spot of the sensor 10 caused by being blocked by the roof VR of the vehicle V. Furthermore, when the speed of the vehicle V is fast, the vehicle sensor device 1 moves the sensor 10 so as to be closer to the end of the roof VR of the vehicle V than when the speed is slow. In other words, when the speed is slow, the vehicle sensor device 1 can make it easier for the sensor 10 to detect a close-distance area close to the vehicle V than when the speed is fast. In this way, the vehicle sensor device 1 can detect an area according to the traveling state of the vehicle V while suppressing the blind spot of the sensor 10 attached to the roof VR of the vehicle V.

[0028] Furthermore, when the speed of the vehicle V is high, the vehicle sensor device 1 positions the sensor 10 closer to the center of the roof VR of the vehicle V than when the speed is low. This allows the vehicle sensor device 1 to reduce the size of the vehicle sensor device 1 itself. Therefore, the vehicle sensor device 1 can reduce interference with surrounding objects by reducing the size of the vehicle sensor device 1 itself, and can prevent restrictions on the driving range of the vehicle V.

[0029] The movable mechanism 21 moves the sensor 10 along the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle V. For example, when the vehicle V starts moving forward or travels at a low speed, it is required that the sensor 10 detects a close-range area in front of the vehicle V. For this reason, the vehicle sensor device 1 allows the sensor 10 to move along the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle V, so that the sensor 10 can easily detect an area required as a monitoring target when the vehicle V starts moving forward or travels at a low speed.

[0030] Furthermore, when the speed of the vehicle V is slow, the vehicle sensor device 1 tilts the sensor 10 so that the detection direction of the sensor 10 faces downward compared to when the speed is fast. This allows the vehicle sensor device 1 to more easily detect the short-distance area close to the vehicle V by the sensor 10 when the speed of the vehicle V is slow.

[0031] As described above, the vehicular sensor device 1 can detect a long-distance area far from the vehicle V and a short-distance area close to the vehicle V in front of the vehicle V using a single sensor 10. This eliminates the need for the vehicular sensor device 1 to provide a sensor for each area to be detected. Therefore, the vehicular sensor device 1 can reduce the number of sensors, reduce the sensor installation work, and suppress an increase in weight.

[0032] Although the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the sensor 10 is not limited to detecting an area in front of the vehicle V. Also, for example, the moving direction of the sensor 10 by the movable mechanism 21 is not limited to the front-rear direction.

[0033] For example, the sensor 10 may detect an area behind the vehicle V. In this case, the control unit 32 can control the movable mechanism 21 so that the position of the sensor 10 is closer to the rear end of the roof VR of the vehicle V when the speed of the vehicle V is slow than when the speed is fast.

[0034] A plurality of sensors 10 may be provided on the base portion 20. The plurality of sensors 10 may be moved and the detection direction may be tilted in the same manner as in the above embodiment. In this case, the vehicle sensor device 1 can provide each of the plurality of sensors 10 with a function of detecting both long-distance and short-distance areas. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1...vehicle sensor device, 10...sensor, 20...base portion, 21...movable mechanism, 22...tilt mechanism, 30...control ECU, 31...vehicle information acquisition portion, 32...control portion, V...vehicle, VR...roof.

Claims

1. A sensor device for a vehicle that detects an external environment of a vehicle, A sensor for detecting an external environment of the vehicle; a base portion for mounting the sensor on a roof of the vehicle, the base portion having a movable mechanism for moving the sensor along a direction intersecting a vertical direction; A vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires a speed of the vehicle; A control unit for controlling the movable mechanism; Equipped with The base portion includes a base main body portion fixed to the roof, and a sensor attachment portion provided so as to be movable in a front-rear direction of the vehicle relative to the base main body portion, The sensor is attached to the sensor attachment portion, The movable mechanism moves the sensor attachment portion relative to the base main body portion along a front-rear direction of the vehicle, The control unit of the vehicle sensor device controls the movable mechanism so that when the speed acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit is slow, the extension length of the sensor mounting portion from the base main body portion is longer than when the speed is fast, thereby bringing the position of the sensor closer to the edge of the roof of the vehicle.

2. A sensor device for a vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein the movable mechanism uses a movable pulley to move the sensor mounting portion to which the sensor is attached.

3. The movable mechanism includes a rotary motor, the movable pulley attached to the sensor mounting portion, and a wire; One end of the wire is connected to the rotary motor so as to be capable of being wound thereon; The other end of the wire is connected to an end of the sensor mounting portion on the rear side of the vehicle, The intermediate portion of the wire is hung on the movable pulley, the movable pulley is located rearward of the vehicle relative to the rotary motor and the sensor mounting portion, The sensor device for a vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein the rotary motor moves the sensor attachment portion toward the front side of the vehicle by winding up the wire.

4. A sensor device for a vehicle as described in claim 3, wherein when the sensor is moved to the rear side of the vehicle, the movable mechanism moves the sensor mounting portion to the rear side of the vehicle by a spring.

5. The base portion further includes a tilting mechanism for tilting a detection direction of the sensor, The sensor device for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit controls the tilting mechanism so that when the speed acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit is slow, the detection direction of the sensor faces downward compared to when the speed is fast.

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