In-vehicle device

• US 10,095,934 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2014
• Issued: 10/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Original Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Inventors: Takemura, Masayuki, Kiyohara, Masahiro, Muramatsu, Shoji, Irie, Kota, Akiyama, Yasuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Huang, Frank F
• Application Number:
  US14/904,997
• Publication Number:
  US 20160162740A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,579 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/00 Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/95 Computational photography systems, e.g. light-field imaging systems

Abstract

An in-vehicle device includes: an image acquisition unit that obtains a captured image from a camera that captures, via a camera lens, an image of a surrounding environment around a vehicle; an accumulation detection unit that individually detects a plurality of types of accumulation settled at the camera lens based upon the captured image; an image recognition unit that recognizes an object image, expressing a specific object present in the surrounding environment, in the captured image; a detection results integrating unit that calculates integrated detection results by integrating a plurality of sets of detection results based upon various sets of detection results pertaining to detection of the plurality of types of accumulation provided by the accumulation detection unit; and an operation control unit that controls operation executed by the image recognition unit based upon the integrated detection results.

Claims

1. An in-vehicle device, comprising:

an image acquisition unit that obtains a captured image from a camera that captures, via a camera lens, an image of a surrounding environment around a vehicle;

an accumulation detection unit that individually detects a plurality of types of accumulation settled at the camera lens based upon the captured image and generates a plurality of sets of detection results, each corresponding to one of the plurality of types of accumulation;

an image recognition unit that recognizes an object image, expressing a specific object present in the surrounding environment, in the captured image;

an integrated unit that receives a plurality of sets of detection results from the accumulation detection unit and forwards the received plurality of detection results to the image recognition unit via an operation control unit,

wherein;

the image recognition unit under control of the operation control unit processes the plurality of sets of detection results, and the integrating unit individually projects the plurality of sets of detection results provided by the accumulation detection unit onto a single coordinate system and sets composite coordinates on the coordinate system based upon a plurality of sets of coordinates obtained through projection and whether the composite coordinates are closer to a first coordinate axis or to a second coordinate axis.

2. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, wherein:

the coordinate system indicates the first coordinate axis pertaining to a lens transmission factor affected by the accumulations and the second coordinate axis pertaining to an accumulation area occupied by accumulations settled on the camera lens; and

the plurality of sets of detection results provided by the accumulation detection unit are each represented by the lens transmission factor and the accumulation area, and a range to be assumed for coordinates determined based upon the detection results represented by two values is individually set in correspondence to each of the plurality of types of accumulation.

3. An in-vehicle device according to claim 2, wherein:

when the composite coordinates fall into a range defined by an operation selection range set in advance within the range determined by the first coordinate axis and the second coordinate axis, the operation control unit suspends recognition of the object image expressing the specific object by the image recognition unit.

4. An in-vehicle device according to claim 2, wherein:

when the composite coordinates fall into a range defined by an operation selection range set in advance within the range determined by the first coordinate axis and the second coordinate axis, the operation control unit engages a removal device in operation to remove accumulations from the camera lens.

5. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, wherein:

the accumulation detection unit further calculates reliability indices each corresponding to a length of time over which one of the plurality of types of accumulation has been continuously detected; and

the detection results integrating unit calculates the integrated detection results by using the reliability indices calculated by the accumulation detection unit as well.

6. The in-vehicle device according to claim 5, further comprising:

an environment detection unit that detects an environment in which the reliability indices are bound to decrease due to a factor related to at least one of;

a light source environment around the vehicle, a traveling road upon which the vehicle is traveling and weather; and

a reliability index correction unit that individually corrects, based upon the environment detected by the environment detection unit, the reliability indices calculated by the accumulation detection unit.

7. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an information detection unit that obtains information pertaining to traveling conditions that include at least a speed of the vehicle or a yaw rate of the vehicle; and

a detection suspending unit that suspends, based upon the information pertaining to the traveling conditions obtained by the information detection unit, detection of some accumulation among the plurality of types of accumulation, wherein;

the detection results integrating unit calculates the integrated detection results based upon accumulation detection results pertaining to accumulations, among the plurality of types of accumulation, detection of which has not been suspended by the detection suspending unit.

8. The in-vehicle device according to claim 7, further comprising:

a stationary state decision-making unit that determines, based upon the information pertaining to the speed of the vehicle obtained by the information detection unit, that the vehicle is in a stationary state; and

an initializing unit that initializes the detection results provided by the accumulation detection unit when the vehicle, determined to have been continuously in a stationary state over a length of time equal to or greater than a predetermined time length by the stationary state decision-making unit, starts up.