Vehicle travel distance calculation method, vehicle travel distance calculation apparatus, vehicle current position detection method and vehicle current postition detection apparatus

• US 20070088478A1
• Filed: 10/18/2006
• Published: 04/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Mori, Toshihiro, Sugiura, Hiroaki, Kubota, Tomoki, Miyazaki, Hideto
• Application Number:
  US11/582,542
• Publication Number:
  US 20070088478A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/41
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/105 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/00 Measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, persons, animals or other moving solid bodies, e.g. using odometers, using pedometers
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 3/38 using photographic means
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/12 using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/246 using feature-based methods, e.g. the tracking of corners or segments

Abstract

A vehicle moving distance detecting method that includes the steps of obtaining a moving distance based upon pulse signals received from a vehicle speed sensor when a vehicle speed obtained based upon the pulse signals received from the vehicle speed sensor is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference vehicle speed; and acquiring a plurality of image data sets, which have been captured at different points in time using an image capturing mechanism provided to the vehicle, and obtaining the moving distance by performing image processing for the plurality of image data sets when the vehicle speed is less than the reference vehicle speed.

Claims

1. A vehicle moving distance detecting method, comprising:

obtaining a moving distance based upon pulse signals received from a vehicle speed sensor when a vehicle speed obtained based upon the pulse signals received from the vehicle speed sensor is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference vehicle speed; and

acquiring a plurality of image data sets, which have been captured at different points in time using an image capturing mechanism provided to the vehicle, and obtaining the moving distance by performing image processing for the plurality of image data sets when the vehicle speed is less than the reference vehicle speed.

7. The vehicle moving distance detecting method according to claim 1, wherein the reference vehicle speed is a minimum speed that allows for consistent pulse signals.

2. A vehicle moving distance detecting device, comprising:

a vehicle speed sensor;

an image capturing mechanism that captures peripheral images around the vehicle; and

a controller that;

determines whether a vehicle speed is less than a predetermined reference vehicle speed;

calculates a moving distance based upon pulse signals received from the vehicle speed sensor when the vehicle speed is determined to be equal to or higher than the predetermined reference vehicle speed;

acquires a plurality of image data sets captured by the image capturing mechanism at different points in time when the vehicle speed is determined to be less than the reference vehicle speed; and

calculates the moving distance based upon the plurality of image data sets acquired when the vehicle speed is determined to be less than the reference vehicle speed.

3. The vehicle moving distance detecting device according to claim 2, wherein the controller determines whether the vehicle speed is less than the reference vehicle speed based upon pulse signals received from the vehicle speed sensor.

8. The vehicle moving distance detecting device according to claim 2, wherein the reference vehicle speed is a minimum speed that allows for consistent pulse signals.

4. A current vehicle position detecting method, comprising:

updating a current position of the vehicle based on a moving distance obtained based on pulse signals received from a vehicle speed sensor when a vehicle speed obtained based upon pulse signals received from the vehicle speed sensor is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference vehicle speed;

acquiring a plurality of image data sets, which have been captured at different points in time using an image capturing mechanism provided to the vehicle, and updating the current position of the vehicle based upon the moving distance obtained by performing image processing for the plurality of image data sets when the vehicle speed is less than the reference vehicle speed.

9. The current vehicle position detecting method according to claim 4, wherein the reference vehicle speed is a minimum speed that allows for consistent pulse signals.

5. A current vehicle position detecting device, comprising:

a vehicle speed sensor;

an image capturing mechanism that captures peripheral images around the vehicle; and

a controller that;

determines whether the vehicle speed is less than a predetermined reference vehicle speed;

calculates a moving distance based upon pulse signals received from the vehicle speed sensor, and calculates a current position of the vehicle based upon the calculated moving distance when the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the reference vehicle speed;

acquires a plurality of image data sets captured by the image capturing mechanism at different points in time when the vehicle speed is less than the reference vehicle speed; and

calculates the moving distance based upon the plurality of image data sets acquired, and calculates the current position of the vehicle based upon the calculated moving distance when the vehicle speed is less than the reference vehicle speed.

6. The current vehicle position detecting device according to claim 5, wherein the controller determines whether the vehicle speed is less than the reference vehicle speed based upon pulse signals received from the vehicle speed sensor.

10. The current vehicle position detecting device according to claim 5, wherein the reference vehicle speed is a minimum speed that allows for consistent pulse signals.