JPH06953U - Rear view device for automobiles - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To be able to improve traffic safety. [Configuration] Especially when the automobile 1 is traveling at a high speed, the mirror assembly 21 of the electric retractable door mirror 2 is stored in the storage position 2
1B, the camera 3 built in the mirror assembly 21 catches information behind the automobile 1 and displays it on the monitor 4 as a video signal. As a result, by installing the monitor 4 in a place where the driver's line-of-sight movement amount is small, the driver's line-of-sight movement amount is small, and the rear side of the vehicle 1 can be confirmed. Can be improved.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention is a rear-viewing device for a vehicle, in which a camera is mounted on a vehicle and information behind the vehicle is displayed as an image on a monitor installed on an instrument panel (instrument panel) and the like, and the rear side of the vehicle can be confirmed. In particular, a camera is built in the mirror assembly of an electric retractable door mirror, the mirror assembly is positioned at the retracted position, the rear information of the vehicle is captured by the camera and displayed as a video signal on the monitor. It relates to the device.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 As shown in Fig. 8, the driver's view of the vehicle during high-speed traveling and during low-medium-speed traveling is significantly different. For example, the driver's visual field A at a vehicle speed of 40 km / h is about 100 °, while the driver's visual field B at a vehicle speed of 100 km / h is about 40 °. On the other hand, as the rear-view mirror device (rear-view mirror) in today's automobiles, as shown in FIG. 8, the door mirrors 2L and 2R have become mainstream instead of the fender mirror. In the figure, 1 is an automobile, 2L and 2R are door mirrors mounted on the left and right doors 10L and 10R of the automobile 1, respectively. P is the driver's eye point.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, the above-mentioned rear confirmation using the door mirrors 2L and 2R is preferable for traffic safety because it is possible to confirm the surroundings of the vehicle, especially the left and right sides when the vehicle is traveling at low and medium speeds. Since the field of view becomes extremely narrow, the amount of movement of the driver's line of sight, especially when checking the rear by the left side door mirror 2L, increases the amount of movement of the driver's line of sight, which poses a traffic safety problem.

The object of the present invention is to position the mirror assembly of the electric retractable door mirror in the retracted position, particularly when the vehicle is traveling at high speed, and use the camera built in the mirror assembly to catch the information behind the vehicle. It is an object of the present invention to provide a rear view device for a vehicle, which can be displayed as a video signal on a monitor so that the amount of movement of the driver's line of sight can be small and the rear of the vehicle can be confirmed, thus improving traffic safety.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The present invention is equipped with an electric retractable door mirror on the left and right doors of an automobile, in which the mirror assembly is rotationally displaced between the use position and the retracted position with respect to the mirror base by driving the motor. , A mirror assembly switching part that switches between the use position and the storage position of the mirror assembly is connected, and when the mirror assembly is positioned in the storage position in the mirror assembly of the door mirror, the information behind the vehicle is caught. It has a built-in camera that converts it into a video signal, and connects to that camera a monitor that displays the camera image of the surrounding information of the car caught by the camera, and the camera can be switched on and off It is characterized by connecting the camera switching unit for performing.

[0006]

[Action]

 According to the present invention, with the above configuration, the monitor is installed within the range where the driver's line-of-sight movement is small, so that the mirror assembly of the electric retractable door mirror is located at the retracted position, especially when the vehicle is traveling at high speed. , The camera built into the mirror assembly can catch the information behind the car and display it as a video signal on the monitor. As a result, the amount of movement of the driver's line of sight is small, the driver can see behind the vehicle, and traffic safety can be improved accordingly.

[0007]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, an embodiment of a rear view device for a vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. In the figure, the same symbols as those in FIG. 8 indicate the same components. In FIG. 1, 2 is a door mirror (right door mirror 2R). This door mirror 2 is provided with a mirror base 20 fixed to a door 10R (or 10L) of an automobile 1, a mirror assembly 21 mounted on the mirror base 20 so as to be pivotally displaceable between a use position 21A and a storage position 21B. A motor (not shown) that is built in the mirror assembly 21 and that rotationally displaces the mirror assembly 21 between the use position 21A and the storage position 21B, and is mounted in the front opening of the mirror assembly 21 so as to be tiltable vertically and horizontally. And a mirror 22. In the figure, 3 is, for example, a CCD camera (hereinafter, simply referred to as a camera). When the camera 3 is placed in the mirror assembly 21 and the mirror assembly 21 is located at the storage position 21B, the information of the rear left and right 11L and 11R of the automobile 1 is captured and displayed as a video signal on the monitor 4 described later. It is a thing. In the figure, 4 is a monitor. The monitor 4 is installed in a portion of the instrument panel (instrument panel) 13 of the driver's seat 12 where the amount of movement of the driver's line of sight is small. The monitor 4 displays the information of the rear left and right 11L and 11R of the automobile 1 as a camera image on an image receiving display device (not shown) such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display device in response to a camera image signal from the camera 3. Is. FIG. 7 is an electric circuit diagram of a rear visual recognition device for an automobile according to the present invention. In the figure, 50 is a vehicle speed sensor. The vehicle speed sensor 50 outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the speed of the automobile 1 (comparative example) to a comparison circuit 52 described later. 51 is a vehicle speed setting device. The vehicle speed setting device 51 sets the vehicle speed when the information behind the automobile 1 is confirmed by the monitor 4, and outputs an electric signal to the comparison circuit 52 described later in proportion to (proportional to) the set vehicle speed. To do. Reference numeral 52 is a comparison circuit connected to the vehicle speed sensor 50 and the vehicle speed setting device 51. The comparison circuit 52 receives an electric signal proportional to the speed of the automobile 1 from the vehicle speed sensor 50 and an electric signal proportional to the set vehicle speed from the vehicle speed setting unit 51, and outputs the vehicle speed. When the electric signal from the sensor 50 becomes larger than the electric signal from the vehicle speed setting unit 51, a storage position switching drive command signal is output to the motor 23 and an operation command signal is output to the camera 3 and the monitor 4, which will be described later. If the electric signal from the vehicle speed sensor 50 becomes smaller than the electric signal from the vehicle speed setting device 51, a drive position switching drive command signal is sent to the motor 23, which will be described later, and a stop command signal is sent to the camera 3 and the monitor 4. Are output respectively. In the figure, 23 is a motor of the door mirror 2 connected to the comparison circuit 52. The motor 23 is driven by the storage position switching drive command signal from the comparison circuit 52 to move the mirror assembly 21 from the use position 21A to the storage position 21B, or the use position switching drive command signal from the comparison circuit 52. The mirror assembly 21 is rotated and displaced from the retracted position 21B to the use position 21A by being driven by. In the figure, 3 and 4 are the camera and monitor connected to the comparison circuit 52. The camera 3 and the monitor 4 are operated by the operation command signal from the comparison circuit 52, and the information of the left and right rear 11L and 11R of the vehicle 1 caught by the camera 3 is displayed on the left and right of the monitor 4 as a camera image. Each of them is a copy, or the operation is stopped by a stop command signal from the comparison circuit 52. The vehicle speed sensor 50, the vehicle speed setting device 51, and the comparison circuit 52 described above constitute a mirror assembly switching unit and a camera switching unit, respectively.

The rear visual recognition device for an automobile of the present invention in this embodiment has the above-mentioned configuration, and its operation will be described below. First, the vehicle speed of the vehicle speed setting device 51 is set to 80 km / h, for example. Next, when the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 is 80 km / h or lower and the mirror assembly 21 is located at the use position 21A, the output signal from the comparison circuit 52 is the use position switching drive command signal. And the stop command signal, the mirror assembly 21 remains in the use position 21A, and the camera 3 and the monitor 4 are stopped. In this case, the driver uses the door mirror 2 to check the left and right rear information of the automobile 1 together with the surrounding information. When the vehicle speed of the automobile 1 becomes 80 km / h or higher, the output signal from the comparison circuit 52 becomes the storage position switching drive command signal and the operation command signal, so that the mirror assembly 21 moves from the use position 21A to the storage position. At the same time as switching to 21B, the camera 3 and the monitor 4 are activated, and the information of the rear left and right 11L and 11R of the automobile 1 captured by the camera 3 is displayed on the left and right of the monitor 4 as camera images respectively. In this case, the driver will check the left and right rear information of the automobile 1 with the camera image displayed on the monitor 4. At this time, the driver's line-of-sight movement is small, and the driver can see behind the vehicle, which can improve traffic safety. Further, since the mirror assembly 21 is located at the storage position 21B when the automobile 1 travels at high speed, the protrusions from the left and right of the automobile 1 are small, and the wind noise is reduced accordingly. Moreover, the air resistance value of the entire automobile 1 becomes small, and the fuel cost can be saved.

Further, when the vehicle speed of the automobile 1 becomes a low-speed / medium-speed running of 80 km / h or less, the output signal from the comparison circuit 52 becomes a use position switching drive command signal and a stop command signal, so the mirror assembly 21 is stored. While the position 21B is switched to the use position 21A, the camera 3 and the monitor 4 are stopped. In this case, the driver uses the door mirror 2 to check the left and right rear information of the automobile 1 together with the surrounding information. FIG. 6 is a front view showing a modified example of the camera image on the monitor 4. In this example, a camera 30 is installed in the rear part of the vehicle 1, and the information 11C at the rear center of the automobile 1 captured by the camera 30 is displayed on the upper part of the monitor 4 as a camera image. The camera 30 operates in accordance with the command signal from the above-mentioned comparison circuit 52, like the cameras 3 of the left and right door mirrors 2L and 2R.

In the above embodiment, the vehicle speed sensor 50, the vehicle speed setting device 51, and the comparison circuit 52 are used to switch between the storage position 21B of the mirror assembly 21 and the use position 21A, and the operation and stop of the camera 3. The above-mentioned switching is performed automatically, but the above-described switching may be performed manually or in a combination of manual and automatic.

[0011]

[Effect of device]

 As is apparent from the above, the rear view device for a vehicle of the present invention is a camera built in the mirror assembly of the electric retractable door mirror, which is located in the retracted position, especially when the vehicle is traveling at high speed. Since the information behind the vehicle is captured and displayed as a video signal on the monitor, the amount of movement of the driver's line of sight can be set by installing the monitor at a location where the amount of movement of the driver's line of sight is small. Because it is small, you can see the back of the car and improve traffic safety.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a door mirror having a built-in camera, showing an embodiment of a rear view device for an automobile according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a door mirror.

[Figure 3] Illustration of the monitor installed in the driver's seat

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a rear visual recognition range of an automobile by the automobile rear visual recognition device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a monitor.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a modified example of the monitor.

FIG. 7 is an electric circuit diagram of a mirror assembly switching unit and a camera switching unit of the rear view device for an automobile of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a visual field range during low-speed and medium-speed traveling of an automobile and a visual field range during high-speed traveling, respectively.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Car, 2 ... Door mirror, 20 ... Mirror base, 2
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mirror assembly, 23 ... Motor, 3 and 30 ... Camera (CCD camera), 4 ... Monitor, 50 ... Vehicle speed sensor, 51 ... Vehicle speed setter, 52 ... Comparison circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An electric retractable door mirror which is mounted on left and right doors of a vehicle, and which is driven by a motor to pivotally displace the mirror assembly between a use position and a storage position with respect to a mirror base, and a mirror assembly of the door mirror. And a mirror assembly switching unit for switching between the use position and the storage position of the door mirror, which is built into the mirror assembly of the door mirror, and when the mirror assembly is positioned at the storage position, the information behind the vehicle is captured and converted into a video signal. An automotive vehicle, comprising: a camera to be converted, a monitor that displays a camera image of information on the surroundings of the vehicle caught by the camera, and a camera switching unit that switches between activation and deactivation of the camera. Rear view device.