Vehicle surroundings monitoring device

• US 9,473,718 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2013
• Issued: 10/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Original Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Inventors: Kiyohara, Masahiro, Muramatsu, Shoji, Takemura, Masayuki, Irie, Kota
• Primary Examiner(s): Tissire, Abdelaaziz
• Application Number:
  US14/411,768
• Publication Number:
  US 20150172582A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,208 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/0848 Cleaning devices for cameras on vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60S 1/56 specially adapted for cleaning other parts or devices than front windows or windscreens rear-view mirror arrangements mounted on vehicle exterior including cleaning devices B60R1/0602
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 13/0015 characterised by the lens design
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/16 Anti-collision systems road vehicle drive control systems for predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision otherwise than by control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/00 Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/811 by dust removal, e.g. from surfaces of the image sensor or processing of the image signal output by the electronic image sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/71 Charge-coupled device [CCD] sensors; Charge-transfer registers specially adapted for CCD sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/713 Transfer or readout registers; Split readout registers or multiple readout registers

Abstract

A vehicle surroundings monitoring device includes: a captured image acquisition unit that acquires an image of surroundings of a vehicle by an image capturing unit mounted on the vehicle; an attachment detection unit that decides a state in which foreign matter adheres to a lens of the image capturing unit; a state decision unit that decides that the lens is in a lens state in which performance of image recognition is reduced in case that the attachment detection unit decides that the foreign matter adheres to the lens; a lens state recording unit that records the lens state in a recording unit upon termination of a system; and a lens state read-out unit that reads out the lens state recorded in the recording unit upon start of the system.

Claims

1. A vehicle surroundings monitoring device comprising:

at least one processor executing stored instructions to;

acquire an image of surroundings of a vehicle by a camera mounted on the vehicle;

decide a state in which foreign matter adheres to a lens of the camera;

decide that the lens is in a lens state in which performance of image recognition is reduced based on the decision that the foreign matter adheres to the lens of the camera, wherein the lens state includes a state that image recognition is inoperable;

record the lens state and information as to whether or not image recognition is inoperable in memory upon termination of a system;

read out the lens state and the information as to whether or not the image recognition is inoperable recorded in memory upon start of the system; and

output a start signal that commands start of a wash based upon the decision that the lens is in the lens state in which performance of image recognition is reduced.

2. The vehicle surroundings monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor executing stored instructions to:

decide whether or not operation of the image recognition of the image is possible based upon the lens state read out.

3. The vehicle surroundings monitoring device according to claim 2, wherein

the start signal that commands start of the wash is based upon a result of the decision of whether or not operation of the image recognition of the image is possible.

4. The vehicle surroundings monitoring device according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one processor executing stored instructions to:

perform one or more of;

(i) a vehicle detection processing, (ii) a pedestrian detection processing, (iii) a lane line recognition processing, and (iv) a traffic mark recognition processing in case that operation of the image recognition is possible.

5. The vehicle surroundings monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor executing stored instructions to:

decide a surrounding light source environment based on the acquired image and decides the state in which the foreign matter adheres to the lens of the camera based on the surrounding light source environment;

record information about the lens state and the surrounding light source environment upon termination of the system; and

read out the information about the lens state and the surrounding light source environment recorded in the memory upon start of the system.

6. The vehicle surroundings monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one processor executing stored instructions to:

detect attachment that adheres to the lens of the camera;

decide whether or not the detected attachment that adheres to the lens of the camera increased; and

output the start signal that commands start of the wash that washes the lens of the camera based on the decision that the attachment that adheres to the lens of the camera increased, and output no start signal that commands start of the wash that washes the lens of the camera based on the decision that the attachment that adheres to the lens of the camera increased.

7. The vehicle surroundings monitoring device according to claim 6, wherein the at least one processor executing stored instructions to:

upon termination of the system, record in memory a state of the detected attachment that adheres to the lens of the camera,

upon start of the system, read out the state of the attachment that adheres to the lens of the camera recorded in memory,

upon start of the system, detect the attachment that adheres to the lens of the camera,

decide upon start of the system whether or not the detected attachment that adheres to the lens of the camera increased as compared with that upon termination of the system, based upon the state of the detected attachment that adheres to the lens of the camera detection upon start of the system and the read out state of the attachment that adheres to the lens of the camera; and

upon start of the system, decide whether or not the start signal commands start of the device wash.