Vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus

• US 7,839,272 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2008
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Subaru Corp.
• Original Assignee: Fuji Heavy Industries Limited (Subaru Corp.)
• Inventors: Saito, Toru
• Primary Examiner(s): Crosland; Donnie L
• Application Number:
  US12/128,187
• Publication Number:
  US 20080309517A1
• Time in Patent Office: 909 Days
• Field of Search: 340/435
• 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 2300/302 combining image information with GPS information or vehicle data, e.g. vehicle speed, gyro, steering angle data
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/305 merging camera image with lines or icons
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/307 virtually distinguishing relevant parts of a scene from the background of the scene
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8093 for obstacle warning
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/095 Predicting travel path or likelihood of collision
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2013/0092 Image segmentation from stereoscopic image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/70 Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene

Abstract

A vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus includes an image pickup apparatus for taking an image of the surroundings of a vehicle, a preceding-vehicle detecting apparatus for detecting a preceding vehicle from the taken image, a monitored-region setting means for setting predetermined monitored regions around the preceding vehicle on the image, a predicting apparatus for predicting a brightness of an environment the preceding vehicle is going to enter, on the basis of brightnesses of pixels in the monitored regions, and an adjusting apparatus for adjusting at least one of an exposure amount of the image pickup apparatus and the brightnesses of the pixels output from the image pickup apparatus beforehand in accordance with the brightness of the environment predicted by the predicting apparatus.

Claims

1. A vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus comprising:

image pickup means for taking an image of the surroundings of a vehicle in which the vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus is mounted;

preceding-vehicle detecting means for detecting a preceding vehicle from the taken image;

monitored-region setting means for setting at least one predetermined monitored region around the preceding vehicle on the image;

predicting means for predicting a brightness of an environment the preceding vehicle is going to enter, on the basis of brightnesses of pixels in the monitored region; and

adjusting means for adjusting at least one of an exposure amount of the image pickup means and the brightnesses of the pixels output from the image pickup means beforehand in accordance with the brightness of the environment predicted by the predicting means.

2. The vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one predetermined monitored region includes a plurality of monitored regions.

3. The vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of monitored regions are set at least on upper, right, and left sides of the preceding vehicle on the image.

4. The vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predicting means predicts that the preceding vehicle is going to enter a dark environment when the brightness of the environment is less than a preset dark threshold value.

5. The vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the predicting means predicts that the preceding vehicle is going to enter the dark environment when the brightness of the environment is less than the preset dark threshold value in at least a predetermined number of monitored regions of the at least one predetermined monitored region.

6. The vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predicting means predicts that the preceding vehicle is going to enter a bright environment when the brightness of the environment is more than a preset bright threshold value.

7. The vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the predicting means predicts that the preceding vehicle is going to enter the bright environment when the brightness of the environment is more than the preset bright threshold value in at least a predetermined number of monitored regions of the at least one predetermined monitored region.

8. The vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting means makes the adjustment for a dark environment when the predicting means predicts that the preceding vehicle is going to enter the dark environment, and subsequently makes the adjustment for a bright environment when the predicting means predicts that the preceding vehicle is going to enter the bright environment.

9. The vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting means makes the adjustment until the vehicle passes a current position of the preceding vehicle on the basis of a distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle and a speed of the vehicle when the predicting means predicts that the preceding vehicle is going to enter a dark environment or a bright environment.

10. The vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the at least one predetermined monitored region includes a region including the preceding vehicle on the image,

wherein the predicting means predicts a brightness of the preceding vehicle on the basis of brightnesses of pixels in the region including the preceding vehicle, and

wherein the adjusting means makes the adjustment in accordance with the brightness of the environment predicted by the predicting means and the brightness of the preceding vehicle.

11. A vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus comprising:

image pickup means configured to take an image of the surroundings of a vehicle in which the vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus is mounted;

preceding-vehicle detecting means configured to detect a preceding vehicle from the taken image;

monitored-region setting means configured to set at least one predetermined monitored region around the preceding vehicle on the image;

predicting means configured to predict a brightness of an environment the preceding vehicle is going to enter, on the basis of brightnesses of pixels in the monitored region; and

adjusting means configured to adjust at least one of an exposure amount of the image pickup means and the brightnesses of the pixels output from the image pickup means beforehand in accordance with the brightness of the environment predicted by the predicting means.