Vehicle-use surroundings monitoring system

• US 6,556,133 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2002
• Issued: 04/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yazaki Corporation
• Inventors: Ogura, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Daniel J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAM, LAM P
• Application Number:
  US10/120,545
• Publication Number:
  US 20020149476A1
• Time in Patent Office: 382 Days
• Field of Search: 340/901, 340/903, 340/435, 340/436, 340/937, 367/909, 701/300-302, 348/148, 348/149
• US Class Current: 340/435
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/00 Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/26 to the rear of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/30 characterised by the type of image processing
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/302 combining image information with GPS information or vehicle data, e.g. vehicle speed, gyro, steering angle data
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/304 using merged images, e.g. merging camera image with stored images
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/804 for lane monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8066 for monitoring rearward traffic
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/784 using a mosaic of detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/255 Detecting or recognising potential candidate objects based on visual cues, e.g. shapes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A vehicle-use surroundings monitoring system is provided, wherein a driver is prevented from driving without acknowledging that the detection of an approaching vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane area cannot be carried out because the driver is informed of the existence of an abnormally approaching following vehicle obstructing to image-take the adjacent lanes. An existence judging means (3a-3) judges the existence of the abnormally approaching following vehicle traveling on the subject lane and obstructing to image-take the adjacent lanes by an image-taking means. When the existence judging means (3a-3) judges that the abnormally approaching following vehicle exists, an alarm generating means (5) issues an alarm.

Claims

1. A vehicle-use surroundings monitoring system comprising:

an image-taking means installed on a subject vehicle to take an image of surroundings of the subject vehicle to obtain a taken-image;

an approaching vehicle detecting means to detect, by image-processing the taken-image, an approaching vehicle approaching the subject vehicle from an adjacent lane area;

a danger judging means to judge dangerousness about the approaching vehicle detected;

an existence judging means to judge an existence of an abnormally approaching following vehicle traveling on an subject lane ahead of or behind the subject vehicle and obstructing to image-take the adjacent lane area by the image-taking means; and

an alarm generating means to give out an alarm when the existence judging means judges that the abnormally approaching following vehicle exists.

2. The vehicle-use surroundings monitoring system as set forth in claim 1, wherein

the existence judging means has an imaged vehicle detecting means to image-process the taken-image in order to detect an image-taken vehicle having been image-taken by the image-taking means, and

the existence of the abnormally approaching following vehicle is judged based on the image-taken vehicle detected.

3. The vehicle-use surroundings monitoring system as set forth in claim 2, wherein

the imaged vehicle detecting means has

a storing means having stored vehicle images giving shape of respective vehicles,

an extracting means to extract a vehicle candidate image to be a candidate of the image-taken vehicle from the taken-image, and

a similarity calculating means to calculate a similarity-degree between the vehicle images and the vehicle candidate image, and

the image-taken vehicle is detected when the similarity-degree is not less than a predetermined value.

4. The vehicle-use surroundings monitoring system as set forth in claim 3, wherein

the storing means stores two or more kinds of vehicle images on one frame memory in order, and

the similarity calculating means shifts the vehicle candidate image on the frame memory, executes a matching with each of the vehicle images, and calculates the similarity-degree.

5. The vehicle-use surroundings monitoring system as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

an area specifyng means to specify an area, where an image-taking is obstructed by the abnormally approaching following vehicle, in the adjacent lane area when the existence judging means judges that the abnormally approaching following vehicle exists, and

the danger judging means judges a degree of danger about the approaching vehicle traveling on the adjacent lane area except the area specified.

6. The vehicle-use surroundings monitoring system as set forth in claim 5, wherein

an specifying by the area specifying means is executed before a detection by the approaching vehicle detecting means, and

the approaching vehicle detecting means image-processes the adjacent lane area except the area specified and detects the approaching vehicle.

7. The vehicle-use surroundings monitoring system as set forth claim 1, wherein

the approaching vehicle detecting means has

an area setting means to set the adjacent lane area on the taken-image based on separation lines provided on a road surface and

an optical flow detecting means to detect, as an optical flow, a movement of a same point in two adjacent lane areas obtained by the image-taking means with an interval of a specified time, and

the danger judging means judges the dangerousness based on a size of the optical flow detected by the optical flow detecting means.

8. The vehicle-use surroundings monitoring system as set forth claim 2, wherein

the approaching vehicle detecting means has

an area setting means to set the adjacent lane area on the taken-image based on separation lines provided on a road surface and

an optical flow detecting means to detect, as an optical flow, a movement of a same point in two adjacent lane areas obtained by the image-taking means with an interval of a specified time, and

the danger judging means judges the dangerousness based on a size of the optical flow detected by the optical flow detecting means.

9. The vehicle-use surroundings monitoring system as set forth claim 3, wherein

the approaching vehicle detecting means has

an area setting means to set the adjacent lane area on the taken-image based on separation lines provided on a road surface and

an optical flow detecting means to detect, as an optical flow, a movement of a same point in two adjacent lane areas obtained by the image-taking means with an interval of a specified time, and

the danger judging means judges the dangerousness based on a size of the optical flow detected by the optical flow detecting means.

10. The vehicle-use surroundings monitoring system as set forth claim 4, wherein

the approaching vehicle detecting means has

an area setting means to set the adjacent lane area on the taken-image based on separation lines provided on a road surface and

an optical flow detecting means to detect, as an optical flow, a movement of a same point in two adjacent lane areas obtained by the image-taking means with an interval of a specified time, and

the danger judging means judges the dangerousness based on a size of the optical flow detected by the optical flow detecting means.

11. The vehicle-use surroundings monitoring system as set forth claim 5, wherein

the approaching vehicle detecting means has

an area setting means to set the adjacent lane area on the taken-image based on separation lines provided on a road surface and

an optical flow detecting means to detect, as an optical flow, a movement of a same point in two adjacent lane areas obtained by the image-taking means with an interval of a specified time, and

the danger judging means judges the dangerousness based on a size of the optical flow detected by the optical flow detecting means.

12. The vehicle-use surroundings monitoring system as set forth claim 6, wherein

the approaching vehicle detecting means has

an area setting means to set the adjacent lane area on the taken-image based on separation lines provided on a road surface and

an optical flow detecting means to detect, as an optical flow, a movement of a same point in two adjacent lane areas obtained by the image-taking means with an interval of a specified time, and

the danger judging means judges the dangerousness based on a size of the optical flow detected by the optical flow detecting means.