Lane boundary detector

• US 7,265,657 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2005
• Issued: 09/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Nishida, Makoto, Watanabe, Akihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): GOINS, DAVETTA WOODS
• Application Number:
  US11/135,438
• Publication Number:
  US 20050273260A1
• Time in Patent Office: 833 Days
• Field of Search: 340/436, 340/435, 340/437, 340/988, 340/903, 180/168, 382/103, 382/104, 382/291, 348/169, 348/118, 701/1, 701/36, 701/45, 701/301
• US Class Current: 340/436
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/34 for indicating change of drive direction B60Q1/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/346 with automatic actuation
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

A boundary detector includes a candidate line detecting unit that detects a candidate line of a lane boundary position drawn on the road surface based on image information from a camera. The detector also includes a lane boundary position selecting unit that selects the lane boundary position based on the candidate line; an additional lane boundary position selecting unit that selects a lane boundary position of an additional lane that is added to a main lane based on the candidate line; and an additional processing unit that stops adopting the lane boundary position for a predetermined time period when the additional lane boundary position selecting unit selects a lane boundary position of the additional lane.

Claims

1. A boundary detector comprising:

a camera that is mounted on a vehicle and picks up an image of a road surface;

a candidate line detecting unit that detects a candidate line of a lane boundary position drawn on the road surface based on image information of the image supplied from the camera;

a lane boundary position selecting unit that selects the lane boundary position based on the candidate line of the lane boundary position detected by the candidate line detecting unit;

an additional lane boundary position selecting unit that selects a lane boundary position of an additional lane that is added to a main lane based on the candidate line of the lane boundary position detected by the candidate line detecting unit; and

a processing unit that stops adopting the lane boundary position selected by one of the lane boundary position selecting unit and the additional lane boundary position selecting unit for a predetermined time period when the additional lane boundary position selecting unit selects a lane boundary position of the additional lane.

2. The boundary detector according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit adopts the lane boundary position prior to the selection of the lane boundary position of the additional lane when the additional lane boundary position selecting unit selects the lane boundary position of the additional lane.

3. The boundary detector according to claim 1, wherein the additional lane boundary position selecting unit recognizes the detected lane boundary position as the lane boundary position of the additional lane one of(i) when a road curvature calculated based on the lane boundary position is larger than a first predetermined value and (ii) when a pitch angle is out of a predetermined range and the road curvature is larger than a second predetermined value smaller than the first predetermined value.

4. The boundary detector according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time period where it is stopped to adopt the lane boundary position selected by one of the lane boundary position selecting unit and the additional lane boundary position selecting unit is a time period in which the vehicle moves by a predetermined distance from a lane position of the vehicle at a time the additional lane boundary position selecting unit selects the, lane boundary position of the additional lane.

5. The boundary detector according to claim 1, wherein the additional lane is one of a right turn lane to guide the vehicle to turn right and a left turn lane to guide the vehicle to turn left at an intersection ahead along the main lane, and the predetermined time period in which it is stopped to adopt the lane boundary position selected by one of the lane boundary position selecting unit and the additional lane boundary position selecting unit is a time period until the intersection is detected.

6. A boundary detecting method comprising:

detecting a candidate line of a lane boundary position drawn on a road surface based on image information of an image supplied from a camera that is mounted on a vehicle and that picks up the image of the road surface;

selecting the lane boundary position based on the candidate line of the detected lane boundary position;

selecting a lane boundary position of an additional lane that is added to a main lane based on the candidate line of the detected lane boundary position detected; and

stopping adopting one of the lane boundary positions for a predetermined time period when a lane boundary position of the additional lane is selected.

7. The boundary detecting method according to claim 6, wherein stopping of adapting the lane boundary position includes adopting the lane boundary position prior to the selection of the lane boundary position of the additional lane when the lane boundary position of the additional lane is selected.

8. The boundary detecting method according to claim 6, wherein selecting the lane boundary position of the additional lane includes recognizing the detected lane boundary position as the lane boundary position of the additional lane one of (i) when a road curvature calculated based on the lane boundary position is larger than a first predetermined value and (ii) when a pitch angle is out of a predetermined range and the road curvature is larger than a second predetermined value smaller than the first predetermined value.

9. The boundary detecting method according to claim 6, wherein the predetermined time period where it is stopped to adopt one of the lane boundary positions is a time period in which the vehicle moves by a predetermined distance from a lane position of the vehicle at a time the lane boundary position of the additional lane is selected.

10. The boundary detecting method according to claim 6, wherein the additional lane is one of a right turn lane to guide the vehicle to turn right and a left turn lane to guide the vehicle to turn left at an intersection ahead along the main lane, and the predetermined time period in which it is stopped to adopt one of the lane boundary positions is a time period until the intersection is detected.