Vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus

• US 20060204039A1
• Filed: 02/27/2006
• Published: 09/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Ikeyama, Masahiro, Maemura, Takahiro, Sasane, Shigeya
• Granted Patent: US 7,925,441 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/104
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/022 Collision avoidance systems
• 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 10/18 including control of braking systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/04 Traffic conditions

Abstract

A vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus is comprised of a camera installed in the front or rear of a vehicle, for picking up images of side view of the vehicle; a feature point detecting section that detects feature points in the side images and calculates the motion vectors of the detected feature points; a moving object detecting section that detects a set of a plurality of feature points approaching the vehicle in the side images as an approaching object based on the calculated motion vectors of the feature points; a feature point tracking section that tracks the feature points of the detected approaching object; and a passage time calculating section that calculates the time at which the approaching object passes the front or rear of the vehicle from the feature points of the approaching object tracked by the feature point tracking section.

Claims

1. A vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus comprising:

a camera installed in a front or rear of a vehicle, for picking up images of a side view of the vehicle;

feature point detecting means for detecting feature points in the side images and calculating motion vectors of the detected feature points;

approaching object detecting means for detecting an object having a vector in such a direction as to approach the vehicle in the side images as an approaching object based on the calculated motion vectors of the feature points;

feature point tracking means for tracking the feature points of the detected approaching object; and

passage time calculating means for calculating a time at which the approaching object passes the front or rear of the vehicle from the feature points of the approaching object tracked by said feature point tracking means.

2. A vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said feature point detecting means obtains the motion vectors by calculating optical flows of the feature points in the side images.

3. A vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising approach notifying means for notifying a driver that the approaching object is approaching by generating an audible alarm, and wherein said approaching notifying means notifies the driver that the approaching object is approaching when said passage time calculating means determines that the approaching object is expected to pass the front or rear of the vehicle within a predetermined period of time.

4. A vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

speed detecting means for detecting a speed of the vehicle; and

brake control means for controlling a brake of the vehicle to stop the vehicle when the speed detected by said speed detecting means is equal to or less than a predetermined speed and said passage time calculating means determines that the approaching object is expected to pass the front or rear of the vehicle within a predetermined period of time.