Vehicle traveling state determining apparatus

• US 7,369,942 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2005
• Issued: 05/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi FUSO Truck & Bus Corporation (Daimler Truck Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi FUSO Truck & Bus Corporation (Daimler Truck Holding AG)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Keiichi, Ihara, Toru
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Cuong
• Application Number:
  US11/076,435
• Publication Number:
  US 20050203706A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,154 Days
• Field of Search: 701/300, 701/301, 348/118, 382/104, 382/107, 180167-169, 180/272, 280/734, 280/735
• US Class Current: 701/301
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/22 initiated by contact of vehicle, e.g. bumper, with an external object, e.g. another vehicle , or by means of contactless obstacle detectors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/00 Input parameters relating to infrastructure
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2400/3015 Optical cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30252 Vehicle exterior; Vicinity of vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/269 using gradient-based methods
• 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 1/163 involving continuous checking

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle traveling state determining apparatus including a camera which picks up an image of a road surface in a direction in which a vehicle is traveling, and zigzag state detecting section for determining a zigzag amount on the basis of the road surface image picked up using the camera, wherein the zigzag state detecting section is comprised of speed vector calculating section for calculating a speed vector of the road surface image by comparing a last road surface image picked up using the camera with a current road surface image picked up using the camera, and determining section for determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling in a zigzag line on the basis of the speed vector of the road surface image calculated by the speed vector detecting section.

Claims

1. A vehicle traveling state determining apparatus comprising:

a camera which picks up an image of a road surface in a direction in which a vehicle is traveling; and

zigzag state detecting section configured to determine a zigzag amount on the basis of the road surface image picked up using the camera,

wherein the zigzag state detecting section is comprised of;

speed vector calculating section configured to calculate a speed vector of the road surface image by comparing a last road surface image picked up using the camera with a current road surface image picked up using the camera; and

determining section configured to determine whether or not the vehicle is traveling in a zigzag line on the basis of the speed vector of the road surface image calculated by the speed vector detecting section.

2. The vehicle traveling state determining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the zigzag state detecting section determines the zigzag amount on the basis of image data in front of the road surface image picked up using the camera.

3. The vehicle traveling state determining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determining section is comprised of:

calculating section configured to calculate a differential speed vector by comparing the speed vector detected by the speed vector detecting section with a speed vector for perfectly rectilinear traveling;

horizontal component value calculating section configured to determine a horizontal component value of the differential speed vector calculated by the calculating section; and

zigzag amount calculating section configured to calculate the zigzag amount of the vehicle on the basis of an average value of the horizontal component value of the differential speed vector calculated by the horizontal component value calculating section,

wherein the determining section determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling in a zigzag line on the basis of the zigzag amount calculated by the zigzag amount calculating section.

4. The vehicle traveling state determining apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the determining section determines that the vehicle is traveling in a zigzag line if the zigzag amount is determined to be at at least a reference level.

5. The vehicle traveling state determining apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the reference level is determined by averaging the zigzag amount for a specified time from start of driving.

6. The vehicle traveling state determining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the zigzag state detecting section comprises edge detecting section configured to detect an edge in the picked-up road surface image, and the speed vector is calculated on the basis of a gray value of the edge.