Image processing apparatus

• US 7,370,975 B2
• Filed: 11/28/2005
• Issued: 05/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arriver Software AB (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Taniguchi, Fuminori, Nagaoka, Nobuharu
• Primary Examiner(s): KOVAL, MELISSA J
• Application Number:
  US11/287,751
• Publication Number:
  US 20060114272A1
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• Field of Search: 396/69, 396/96, 348/143, 348/148, 348/169, 382/218, 382/219, 382/103, 382/107, 353/69, 353/70, 353/121, 353/122, 430/435
• US Class Current: 353/69
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

An image processing apparatus which includes: an imaging device; a reference luminance property storage device that stores a predetermined reference luminance property; a luminance property calculating device that calculates a luminance property of the imaging device from an image obtained by the imaging device; a comparing device that compares the reference luminance property and the luminance property; a displacement determining device that determines whether or not the luminance property has relative displacement with respect to the reference luminance property based on a comparison result of the comparing device; and a luminance property correcting device that corrects the luminance property, wherein, when the luminance property is determined by the displacement determining device to have relative displacement with respect to the reference luminance property, the luminance property correcting device corrects the luminance property so as to become equivalent to the reference luminance property.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

an imaging device;

a reference luminance property storage device that stores a predetermined reference luminance property;

a luminance property calculating device that calculates a luminance property of the imaging device from an image obtained by the imaging device;

a comparing device that compares the reference luminance property stored in the reference luminance property storage device and the luminance property calculated by the luminance property calculating device;

a displacement determining device that determines whether or not the luminance property of the imaging device has relative displacement with respect to the reference luminance property based on a comparison result of the comparing device; and

a luminance property correcting device that makes a correction of the luminance property of the imaging device,

the luminance property correcting device is configured to correct the luminance property of the imaging device so as to become equivalent to the reference luminance property when the luminance property of the imaging device determined by the displacement determining device has relative displacement with respect to the reference luminance property.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a correction possibility determining device that determines whether or not it is possible to correct the luminance property of the imaging device by the luminance property correcting device based on a determination result by the displacement determining device; and

an informing device that outputs an alarm when the correction is determined by the correction possibility determining device to be impossible.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined reference luminance property includes a gray scale bar disposed on the image obtained by the imaging device.