Vehicle surrounding monitoring system and vehicle surrounding monitoring method

• US 8,009,869 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2007
• Issued: 08/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kumon, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ahmed; Samir A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rashidian; Mehdi
• Application Number:
  US11/783,630
• Publication Number:
  US 20080129539A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,602 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/104, 382/173, 382/190, 382/196, 382/206, 382/270, 382/286, 382/195, 3404255-490, 340/500, 340/907, 340/588, 340/630, 340/578, 340/945, 340601-602, 340/628, 340/901, 340/932.2, 340/933, 348113-122, 348/165, 348/143, 348/154, 348/65, 348628-630, 348/370, 348/E5.022, 348/162, 345473-475, 356/436, 356/437, 356/438, 250/564
• US Class Current: 382/104
• 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 1/27 providing all-round vision, e.g. using omnidirectional cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/105 using multiple cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/301 combining image information with other obstacle sensor information, e.g. using RADAR/LIDAR/SONAR sensors for estimating risk of collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/304 using merged images, e.g. merging camera image with stored images
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/607 from a bird's eye viewpoint

Abstract

A vehicle surrounding monitoring system includes an image-capturing portion, a storage portion, a display-image generation portion, and a display portion. The image-capturing portion captures the image of at least a portion of the area surrounding the vehicle. The storage portion stores the image captured by the image-capturing portion. The display-image generation portion generates a synthesized image for display using a latest image that is captured by the image-capturing portion, and a previous image that is captured before the latest image is captured. The synthesized image is displayed on the display portion. The display-image generation portion decreases the level of visibility of an image region relating to the previous image, according to an elapsed time after the previous image is captured.

Claims

1. A vehicle surrounding monitoring system comprising:

an image-capturing portion that captures an image of at least a portion of an area surrounding a vehicle;

a storage portion that stores the image captured by the image-capturing portion;

a display-image generation portion that generates a synthesized image for display using a latest image that is captured by the image-capturing portion, and a previous image that is captured before the latest image is captured; and

a display portion on which the synthesized image is displayed, wherein the display-image generation portion decreases a level of visibility of an image region relating to the previous image while an elapsed time after the previous image is captured increases, and

wherein the display-image generation portion is configured to determine the level of visibility of the image region relating to the previous image based on an amount of elapsed time after the previous image is captured.

2. The vehicle surrounding monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the display-image generation portion generates the synthesized image using a plurality of previous images that are captured at different time points.

3. The vehicle surrounding monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein when the display-image generation portion generates the synthesized images in a plurality of frames using a certain previous image, the display-image generation portion gradually decreases a level of visibility of an image region relating to the certain previous image in each of the synthesized images in the plurality of frames, according to an elapsed time after the certain previous image is captured.

4. The vehicle surrounding monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the display-image generation portion decreases the level of visibility of the image region relating to the previous image, by correcting at least one of a contrast ratio and a luminance.

5. The vehicle surrounding monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising

a vehicle-image storage portion that stores a vehicle image in advance, wherein the vehicle image stored in the vehicle-image storage portion is disposed in the synthesized image, and displayed on the display portion.

6. The vehicle surrounding monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising

an overhead-image transformation portion that transforms the image captured by the image-capturing portion into an overhead image by performing preprocessing, wherein the storage portion stores the overhead image into which the image is transformed by the overhead-image transformation portion by performing the preprocessing.

7. The vehicle surrounding monitoring system according to claim 6, wherein the preprocessing performed by the overhead-image transformation portion includes at least one of coordinate transformation, distortion correction, and perspective correction.

8. The vehicle surrounding monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein when an image of a certain portion of the area surrounding the vehicle is not included in an image region relating to the latest image, the previous image of the certain portion is used.

9. The vehicle surrounding monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein:

the image-capturing portion is provided in plurality; and

when the images captured by the plurality of image-capturing portions partially overlap with each other, the plurality of image-capturing portions captures the images in cooperation with each other.

10. The vehicle surrounding monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising

a door-state determination portion that determines an opened/closed state of at least one of doors of the vehicle, wherein:

the image-capturing portion is disposed in the at least one of the doors; and

the storage portion stores an image captured by the image-capturing portion disposed in the at least one of the doors, based on the opened/closed state of the at least one of the doors.

11. The vehicle surrounding monitoring system according to claim 10, wherein the door-state determination portion determines the opened/closed state of the at least one of the doors, by monitoring a manner in which the image captured by the image-capturing portion disposed in the at least one of the doors changes when a frame is changed.

12. The vehicle surrounding monitoring system according to claim 10, further comprising

a vehicle-image storage portion that stores in advance a plurality of vehicle images showing different opened/closed states of the at least one of the doors, wherein a vehicle image among the plurality of vehicle images is read out from the vehicle-image storage portion, according to a determination made by the door-state determination portion.

13. A vehicle surrounding monitoring method comprising:

capturing an image of at least a portion of an area surrounding a vehicle;

storing the image that is captured;

generating a synthesized image using a latest image that is captured, and a previous image that is captured before the latest image is captured;

displaying the synthesized image; and

decreasing a level of visibility of an image region relating to the previous image while an elapsed time after the previous image is captured increases,

wherein the level of visibility of the image region relating to the previous image is based on an amount of elapsed time after the previous image is captured.

14. The vehicle surrounding monitoring method according to claim 13, wherein the synthesized image is generated using a plurality of previous images that are captured at different time points.

15. The vehicle surrounding monitoring method according to claim 13, wherein when the synthesized images in a plurality of frames are generated using a certain previous image, a level of visibility of an image region relating to the certain previous image in each of the synthesized images in the plurality of frames is decreased according to the elapsed time after the certain previous image is captured.

16. The vehicle surrounding monitoring method according to claim 13, wherein the level of visibility of the image region relating to the previous image is decreased by correcting at least one of a contrast ratio and a luminance.

17. A vehicle surrounding monitoring system comprising:

image-capturing means for capturing an image of at least a portion of an area surrounding a vehicle;

storage means for storing the image captured by the image-capturing means;

display-image generation means for generating a synthesized image for display using a latest image that is captured by the image-capturing means, and a previous image that is captured before the latest image is captured; and

display means on which the synthesized image is displayed,

wherein the display-image generation means decreases a level of visibility of an image region relating to the previous image while an elapsed time after the previous image is captured increases, and

wherein the display-image generation means is configured to determine the level of visibility of the image region relating to the previous image based on an amount of elapsed time after the previous image is captured.