Vehicle driving support system

• US 20060129292A1
• Filed: 12/07/2005
• Published: 06/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ohkubo, Hitomi
• Application Number:
  US11/296,857
• Publication Number:
  US 20060129292A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/38
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention

Abstract

A vehicle driving support system is provided which can identify the existence of an object in a surrounding area of the vehicle which may possibly collide with the vehicle. The system comprises a camera for photographing the surrounding area of a vehicle, a road surface projector for projecting an image of the area photographed onto a road surface image, a three-dimensional image sensor and a height measurement section for detecting the height of an object existing in the surrounding area, a height comparator for comparing the height detected with a reference value, a collision detector for detecting a collision risk point whose height is higher than the reference value, an image modifier for emphasizing the collision risk point in the image generated by the road surface projector, and a display processor and display for displaying the image modified.

Claims

1. A vehicle driving support system comprising:

a camera operable to photograph an area surrounding a vehicle, the area including a road surface;

a road surface projector operable to project an image of the area photographed by the camera to generate a projected image;

a height detector operable to detect a height of an object existing in the area surrounding the vehicle;

a height comparator operable to compare the height of the object with a reference value;

a collision detector operable to detect a collision risk point associated with the object if the height of the object is determined to be approximately equal to or higher than the reference value by the height comparator;

an image modifier operable to modify the projected image to emphasize the collision risk point; and

a display operable to display the projected image after modification.

2. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the collision detector is operable to detect the collision risk point using the reference value corresponding to a height of lowermost parts of left and right doors of the vehicle.

3. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the collision detector is operable to detect the collision risk point using the reference value corresponding to a minimum road clearance of the vehicle.

4. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, further comprising a reference value section operable to set the reference value in response to an operation of a user.

5. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, further comprising a warning sound generator operable to generate a warning sound when the collision risk point is detected by the collision detector.

6. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the camera is installed on at least one of left, right, front, and rear sides of the vehicle so as to photograph the area with a viewing angle of approximately 180 degrees through a wide-angle lens.

7. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the emphasis of the collision risk point involves causing the collision risk point to flash while a color of the collision risk point is changed at certain intervals.

8. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the emphasis of the collision risk point involves causing a numeric value indicative of a height of the collision risk point to flash while a color of the numeric value is changed at certain intervals.

9. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the emphasis of the collision risk point involves coloring a numeric value indicative of the height of the collision risk point.

10. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 9, further comprising a warning sound generator operable to generate a warning sound when the collision risk point is detected.

11. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 9, wherein the collision detector is operable to detect the collision risk point using the reference value corresponding to a minimum road clearance of the vehicle.

12. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 9, further comprising a reference value section operable to set the reference value in response to an operation of a user.

13. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 9, wherein the camera is installed on at least one of left, right, front, and rear sides of the vehicle so as to photograph the area with a viewing angle of approximately 180 degrees through the wide-angle lens.

14. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 9, wherein the collision detector is operable to detect the collision risk point using the reference value corresponding to the height of the lowermost parts of the left and right doors of the vehicle.

15. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 14, wherein a design value associated with a type of the vehicle is used as the reference value.

16. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the emphasis of the collision risk point involves coloring the collision risk point in a color other than that of the surrounding area.

17. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 16, wherein the coloring uses a plurality of colors depending upon the likelihood that the object will collide with the vehicle.

18. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 16, wherein the coloring involves coloring in a first color a first collision risk point associated with a first object, and coloring in a second color a second collision risk point associated with a second object, the first and second colors indicate that the system has determined that the first object is more likely to collide with the vehicle than the second object.

19. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 16, wherein the collision detector is operable to detect the collision risk point using the reference value corresponding to the height of the lowermost parts of the left and right doors of the vehicle.

20. The vehicle driving support system according to claim 16, wherein the collision detector is operable to detect the collision risk point using the reference value corresponding to a minimum road clearance of the vehicle.

21. A vehicle driving support system comprising:

a projector operable to generate a projection that includes an object located in an area surrounding a vehicle;

a height detector operable to detect a height of the object;

a height comparator operable to compare the height of the object with a reference value; and

an image modifier operable to modify the projection to emphasize the object if the height of the object is determined to be approximately equal to or higher than the reference value.

22. A method of supporting vehicle driving comprising:

detecting an object in an area surrounding a vehicle;

projecting the object onto a road surface image;

determining a height of the object;

comparing the height of the object with a reference value; and

modifying the projection to emphasize the object if the height of the object is determined to be approximately equal to or higher than the reference value.