TRAFFIC SIGN DETERMINATION DEVICE

• US 20160275792A1
• Filed: 03/15/2016
• Published: 09/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: TAKIGUCHI, Hirotaka, YOKOCHI, Yuji
• Granted Patent: US 9,704,395 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/582 of traffic signs
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09623 Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle G08G1/0967 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09626 where the origin of the information is within the own vehicle, e.g. a local storage device, digital map

Abstract

A traffic sign determination device includes: an image recognition section which detects a first traffic regulation sign by performing an image recognition process on an image of an area in front of a vehicle picked up by an imaging section provided on the vehicle; a map information acquisition section which, using a position of the vehicle, acquires a road link, including a second road at the position of the vehicle, from a storage section; and a traffic sign determination section which, upon detection of a current first traffic regulation sign on a current road link, determines, until the vehicle passes an end point of the current road link, that a current traffic regulation sign to be notified to an occupant of the vehicle is the current first traffic regulation sign detected on the current road link.

Claims

1. A traffic sign determination device comprising:

an image recognition section which detects a first traffic regulation sign by performing an image recognition process on an image of an area in front of a vehicle picked up by an imaging section provided on the vehicle;

a map information acquisition section which, using a position of the vehicle, acquires a road link, including a second traffic regulation sign at the position of the vehicle, from a map data storage section storing map data that includes road link information related to roads constituting a map; and

a traffic sign determination section which, when a current first traffic regulation sign is detected on a current road link, determines, until the position of the vehicle passes an end point of the current road link, that a current traffic regulation sign to be notified to an occupant of the vehicle is the current first traffic regulation sign detected on the current road link.

2. The traffic sign determination device according to claim 1, wherein the traffic sign determination section determines whether or not the current first traffic regulation sign detected on the current road link agrees with a current second traffic regulation sign acquired on the current road link by the map information acquisition section, and

wherein, when the current first traffic regulation sign does not agree with the current second traffic regulation sign, the traffic sign determination section selects the current first traffic regulation sign as the current traffic regulation sign to be notified to the occupant of the vehicle.

3. The traffic sign determination device according to claim 1, wherein, when the current second traffic regulation sign changes on the current road link after detection of the current first traffic regulation sign on the current road link, the traffic sign determination section stops determining the current traffic regulation sign to be notified to the occupant of the vehicle and cancels the selection of the first traffic regulation sign as the current traffic regulation sign.

4. The traffic sign determination device according to claim 1, wherein, when a current second traffic regulation sign is acquired on the current road link before detection of the current first traffic regulation sign on the current road link, the traffic sign determination section does not select the current second traffic regulation sign as the current traffic regulation sign to be notified to the occupant of the vehicle.

5. A traffic sign determination method comprising:

detecting a first traffic regulation sign by performing an image recognition process on an image of an area in front of a vehicle picked up by an imaging section provided on the vehicle;

using a position of the vehicle to acquire a road link, including a second traffic regulation sign at the position of the vehicle, from a map data storage section storing map data that includes road link information related to roads constituting a map;

when a current first traffic regulation sign is detected on a current road link, determining whether or not the current first traffic regulation sign detected on the current road link agrees with a current second traffic regulation sign acquired on the current road link; and

when the current first traffic regulation sign does not agree with the current second traffic regulation sign, selecting the current first traffic regulation sign as the current traffic regulation sign to be notified to an occupant of the vehicle, until the position of the vehicle passes an end point of the current road link.