VEHICULAR IMAGE SENSING SYSTEM
First Claim
1. An image sensing system for a vehicle, said image sensing system comprising:
- an imaging sensor comprising a two-dimensional CMOS array of light sensing photosensor elements;
wherein said imaging sensor has a forward field of view to the exterior of a windshield of a vehicle equipped with said image sensing system;
wherein said imaging sensor views through the windshield of the equipped vehicle at a region of the windshield that is swept by a windshield wiper of the equipped vehicle;
wherein said imaging sensor is operable to capture image data;
wherein said imaging sensor is operable to capture frames of image data at a plurality of exposure periods;
a control comprising an image processor;
wherein said image sensing system identifies objects in said forward field of view of said imaging sensor via processing of said captured image data by said image processor;
wherein identification of objects is based at least in part on at least one of (i) shape, (ii) luminance, (iii) geometry, (iv) spatial location, (v) motion and (vi) spectral characteristic; and
wherein objects identified by said image sensing system comprise at least one of (i) headlights of approaching vehicles, (ii) taillights of leading vehicles, (iii) lane markers on a road being traveled by the equipped vehicle, (iv) traffic signs, (v) traffic lights, (vi) stop signs and (vii) caution signs.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An image sensing system for a vehicle includes an imaging sensor having an array of light sensing photosensor elements. The imaging sensor views through the windshield of the equipped vehicle at a region of the windshield that is swept by a windshield wiper of the equipped vehicle. The imaging sensor is operable to capture image data and is operable to capture frames of image data at a plurality of exposure periods. The image sensing system identifies objects in the forward field of view of the imaging sensor via processing of the captured image data by an image processor. The objects identified by the image sensing system may include at least one of (i) headlights of approaching vehicles, (ii) taillights of leading vehicles, (iii) lane markers on a road being traveled by the equipped vehicle, (iv) traffic signs, (v) traffic lights, (vi) stop signs and/or (vii) caution signs.
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Citations
105 Claims
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1. An image sensing system for a vehicle, said image sensing system comprising:
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an imaging sensor comprising a two-dimensional CMOS array of light sensing photosensor elements; wherein said imaging sensor has a forward field of view to the exterior of a windshield of a vehicle equipped with said image sensing system; wherein said imaging sensor views through the windshield of the equipped vehicle at a region of the windshield that is swept by a windshield wiper of the equipped vehicle; wherein said imaging sensor is operable to capture image data; wherein said imaging sensor is operable to capture frames of image data at a plurality of exposure periods; a control comprising an image processor; wherein said image sensing system identifies objects in said forward field of view of said imaging sensor via processing of said captured image data by said image processor; wherein identification of objects is based at least in part on at least one of (i) shape, (ii) luminance, (iii) geometry, (iv) spatial location, (v) motion and (vi) spectral characteristic; and wherein objects identified by said image sensing system comprise at least one of (i) headlights of approaching vehicles, (ii) taillights of leading vehicles, (iii) lane markers on a road being traveled by the equipped vehicle, (iv) traffic signs, (v) traffic lights, (vi) stop signs and (vii) caution signs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. An image sensing system for a vehicle, said image sensing system comprising:
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an imaging sensor comprising a two-dimensional CMOS array of light sensing photosensor elements; wherein said imaging sensor is at or proximate to an in-cabin surface of a windshield of a vehicle equipped with said image sensing system, and wherein said imaging sensor has a forward field of view to the exterior of the equipped vehicle through the windshield of the equipped vehicle; wherein said imaging sensor views through the windshield of the equipped vehicle at a region of the windshield that is swept by a windshield wiper of the equipped vehicle; wherein said imaging sensor is operable to capture image data; wherein said imaging sensor is operable to capture frames of image data at a plurality of exposure periods; wherein a red spectral filter is disposed at some of said light sensing photosensor elements and wherein a red spectral filter is not disposed at others of said light sensing photosensor elements and wherein at least one of (a) said others of said light sensing photosensor elements are neighbors of said red filtered light sensing photosensor elements and (b) said others of said light sensing photosensor elements are immediately adjacent to said red filtered light sensing photosensor elements; a control comprising an image processor; wherein said image sensing system identifies objects in said forward field of view of said imaging sensor via processing of said captured image data by said image processor; wherein said objects comprise at least one of (i) headlights of approaching vehicles, (ii) taillights of leading vehicles, (iii) lane markers on a road being traveled by the equipped vehicle, (iv) signs and (v) streetlights; wherein identification of objects is based at least in part on at least one of (i) shape, (ii) luminance, (iii) geometry, (iv) spatial location, (v) motion and (vi) spectral characteristic; and wherein said control, responsive to processing of said captured image data by said image processor, generates at least one control output for controlling a headlight of the equipped vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78)
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79. An image sensing system for a vehicle, said image sensing system comprising:
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an imaging sensor comprising a two-dimensional CMOS array of light sensing photosensor elements; wherein said imaging sensor is at or proximate to an in-cabin surface of a windshield of a vehicle equipped with said image sensing system, and wherein said imaging sensor has a forward field of view to the exterior of the equipped vehicle through the windshield of the equipped vehicle; wherein said imaging sensor views through the windshield of the equipped vehicle at a region of the windshield that is swept by a windshield wiper of the equipped vehicle; a control comprising an image processor; wherein said image sensing system identifies objects in said forward field of view of said imaging sensor via processing of said captured image data by said image processor; wherein identification of objects is based at least in part on at least one of (i) shape, (ii) luminance, (iii) geometry, (iv) spatial location, (v) motion and (vi) spectral characteristic; and wherein objects identified by said image sensing system comprise at least one of (i) traffic signs, (ii) traffic lights, (iii) stop signs and (iv) caution signs. - View Dependent Claims (80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89)
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90. An image sensing system for a vehicle, said image sensing system comprising:
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an imaging sensor comprising a two-dimensional CMOS array of light sensing photosensor elements; wherein said imaging sensor has a forward field of view to the exterior of a windshield of a vehicle equipped with said image sensing system; wherein said imaging sensor views through the windshield of the equipped vehicle at a region of the windshield that is swept by a windshield wiper of the equipped vehicle; wherein said imaging sensor is operable to capture image data; a control comprising an image processor; wherein said image sensing system identifies objects in said forward field of view of said imaging sensor via processing of said captured image data by said image processor; wherein said array of light sensing photosensor elements comprises at least 262,144 photosensor elements; and wherein said image sensing system includes an exposure control which determines an accumulation period of time said imaging sensor senses light when capturing a frame of image data and wherein said exposure control defines a plurality of accumulation periods and wherein at least one of (a) said plurality of accumulation periods comprises a first accumulation period for a first frame of captured image data and a second accumulation period for a second frame of captured image data and wherein said first accumulation period is a longer time period than said second accumulation period, (b) said plurality of accumulation periods comprises a first accumulation period for a first frame of captured image data and a second accumulation period for a second frame of captured image data and wherein said first accumulation period is a longer time period than said second accumulation period said first frame is used when detecting leading vehicle taillights and wherein said second frame is used when detecting approaching vehicle headlights, (c) said exposure control is adaptive and wherein at least one of (i) an accumulation period for a frame of captured image data is set on a priority basis, and (ii) an accumulation period for a frame of captured image data is determined in response to what said image sensing system is sensing to be present in the forward field of view of said imaging sensor, and (d) said exposure control maintains an accumulation period until an object of interest is at least tentatively detected and wherein said exposure control changes to a different accumulation period when an object of interest is at least tentatively detected. - View Dependent Claims (91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105)
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Specification