Lane recognition device

• US 8,306,269 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2010
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Nakamori, Takuma, Aoki, Tomoyoshi, Tanaka, Jun, Kobayashi, Sachio
• Primary Examiner(s): Bella, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): HEIDEMANN, JASON E
• Application Number:
  US12/715,898
• Publication Number:
  US 20100231718A1
• Time in Patent Office: 980 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 382/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road

Abstract

The lane mark recognition device is equipped with a lane mark detecting unit which executes a lane mark detection process in each predetermined control cycle, and adds a detection presence/absence data to a ring buffer, a detection presence/absence data addition inhibiting unit which inhibits addition of the detection presence/absence data to the ring buffer when the vehicle is traveling in the intersection, and a lane mark position recognizing unit which recognizes a relative position of the vehicle and the lane mark, when the lane mark is detected in the situation where a lane mark detection rate calculated from the data of the ring buffer is higher than a reliability threshold value.

Claims

1. A lane recognition device, comprising:

a lane mark detecting unit which executes a processing of detecting a lane mark partitioning a traffic lane of a road from an image of the road in the surrounding of a vehicle captured by a camera mounted on the vehicle in each predetermined control cycle;

a data storing unit which sequentially adds and stores a detection presence/absence data indicating presence/absence of detection of the lane mark in each control cycle;

a lane mark detection rate calculating unit which calculates a lane mark detection rate which is an average detection rate of the lane mark from the latest detection presence/absence data to the detection presence/absence data prior to the same by a predetermined number that are stored in the data storing unit;

a lane mark position recognizing unit which recognizes a relative position of the vehicle and the lane mark on the basis of the detection result of the lane mark by the lane mark detecting unit, when the lane mark detection rate is higher than a predetermined reliability threshold value; and

a traveling state detecting unit which detects the fact that the vehicle has passed through an intersection or a branching or a converging section of the road;

wherein when it is detected by the traveling state detecting unit that the vehicle has passed through the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road, the lane mark position recognizing unit recognizes the relative position of the vehicle and the lane mark even if the lane mark detection rate is equal to or lower than the reliability threshold value, from the point in time when the passing through is detected until a predetermined condition is satisfied, and during the period other than the period from the point in time when the passing through is detected until the predetermined condition is satisfied, the lane mark position recognizing unit stops recognition of the relative position of the vehicle and the lane mark when the lane mark detection rate is equal to or lower than the reliability threshold value.

2. The lane recognition device according to claim 1,

wherein when a lane mark detected state in which right and left lane marks of the road are detected by the lane mark detecting unit is switched to a lane mark undetected state in which at least one of the right and left lane marks of the road is not detected by the lane mark detecting unit, the traveling state detecting unit calculates a trajectory of the vehicle from a first point in time when the lane mark detected state is switched to the lane mark undetected state until a second point in time when it is subsequently returned to the lane mark detected state, and

the traveling state detecting unit detects that the vehicle has passed through the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road, when an amount of change of the trajectory in the road width direction is equal to or less than a predetermined width direction amount of change threshold value.

3. The lane recognition device according to claim 2,

wherein the traveling state detecting unit detects that the vehicle has passed through the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road, when the amount of change of the trajectory in the road width direction is equal to or less than the predetermined width direction amount of change threshold value, and also, a difference between a width between the right and left lane marks of the road detected by the lane mark detecting unit immediately before the first point in time and the width between the right and left lane marks of the road detected by the lane mark detecting unit at the second point in time is equal to or less than a predetermined road width change threshold value.

4. The lane recognition device according to claim 2,

wherein the lane recognition device comprises a vehicle speed sensor which detects a traveling speed of the vehicle, and

the traveling state detecting unit detects that the vehicle has passed through the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road, when the amount of change of the trajectory in the road width direction is equal to or less than the predetermined width direction amount of change threshold value, and also, the lapsed time from the first point in time to the second point in time is shorter than an anticipated passing time of the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road calculated using an assumed value of a passing distance of the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road and the traveling speed of the vehicle detected by the vehicle speed sensor.

5. The lane recognition device according to claim 2,

wherein the lane recognition device comprises a vehicle speed sensor which detects a traveling speed of the vehicle, and

a yaw rate sensor which detects a yaw rate of the vehicle, and

the traveling state detecting unit calculates the trajectory of the vehicle from the first point in time to the second point in time, using the traveling speed of the vehicle detected by the vehicle speed sensor, and the yaw rate of the vehicle detected by the yaw rate sensor.

6. The lane recognition device according to claim 1,

wherein when a lane mark detected state in which right and left lane marks of the road are detected by the lane mark detecting unit is switched to a lane mark undetected state in which at least one of the right and left lane marks of the road is not detected by the lane mark detecting unit, the traveling state detecting unit calculates a trajectory of the vehicle from a first point in time when the lane mark detected state is switched to the lane mark undetected state until a second point in time when it is subsequently returned to the lane mark detected state, and

the traveling state detecting unit detects that the vehicle has passed through the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road, when an amount of change of a direction of the trajectory between the first point in time and the second point in time is equal to or less than a predetermined direction of movement threshold value.

7. The lane recognition device according to claim 6,

wherein the traveling state detecting unit detects that the vehicle has passed through the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road, when an amount of change of the direction of the trajectory between the first point in time and the second point in time is equal to or less than the predetermined direction of movement threshold value, and also, a difference between a width between the right and left lane marks of the road detected by the lane mark detecting unit immediately before the first point in time and the width between the right and left lane marks of the road detected by the lane mark detecting unit at the second point in time is equal to or less than a predetermined road width change threshold value.

8. The lane recognition device according to claim 6,

wherein the lane recognition device comprises the vehicle speed sensor which detects the traveling speed of the vehicle, and

the traveling state detecting unit detects that the vehicle has passed through the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road, when an amount of change of the direction of the trajectory between the first point in time and the second point in time is equal to or less than the predetermined direction of movement threshold value, and also, the lapsed time from the first point in time to the second point in time is shorter than an anticipated passing time of the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road calculated using an assumed value of a passing distance of the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road and the traveling speed of the vehicle detected by the vehicle speed sensor.

9. The lane recognition device according to claim 1,

wherein the lane recognition device comprises a torque sensor which detects a torque applied to a steering of the vehicle, and

when a lane mark detected state in which right and left lane marks of the road are detected by the lane mark detecting unit is switched to a lane mark undetected state in which at least one of the right and left lane marks of the road is not detected by the lane mark detecting unit, the traveling state detecting unit detects that the vehicle has passed through the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road when a maximum value of the torque detected by the torque sensor between a first point in time when the lane mark detected state is switched to the lane mark undetected state and a second point in time when it is subsequently returned to the lane mark detected state is equal to or less than a predetermined torque threshold value, or when an amount of change of the torque detected by the torque sensor between the first point in time and the second point in time is equal to or less than a predetermined torque amount of change threshold value.

10. The lane recognition device according to claim 1,

wherein the lane recognition device comprises a steering angle sensor which detects a steering angle of the vehicle, and

when a lane mark detected state in which right and left lane marks of the road are detected by the lane mark detecting unit is switched to a lane mark undetected state in which at least one of the right and left lane marks of the road is not detected by the lane mark detecting unit, the traveling state detecting unit detects that the vehicle has passed through the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road when a maximum value of the steering angle of the vehicle detected by the steering angle sensor between a first point in time when the lane mark detected state is switched to the lane mark undetected state and a second point in time when it is subsequently returned to the lane mark detected state is equal to or less than a predetermined steering angle threshold value, or when an amount of change of the steering angle of the vehicle detected by the steering angle sensor between the first point in time and the second point in time is equal to or less than a predetermined steering angle amount of change threshold value.

11. The lane recognition device according to claim 1,

wherein the vehicle includes at least a pair of the right and left wheels,

the lane recognition device comprises a rotational speed difference detecting unit which detects a rotational speed difference between the right and left wheels, and

when a lane mark detected state in which right and left lane marks of the road are detected by the lane mark detecting unit is switched to a lane mark undetected state in which at least one of the right and left lane marks of the road is not detected by the lane mark detecting unit, the traveling state detecting unit detects that the vehicle has passed through the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road when a maximum value of the rotational speed difference of the right and left wheels detected by the rotating speed difference detecting unit between a first point in time when the lane mark detected state is switched to the lane mark undetected state and a second point in time when it is subsequently returned to the lane mark detected state is equal to or less than a predetermined rotational speed difference threshold value, or when an amount of change of the rotational speed difference of the right and left wheels detected by the rotational speed difference detecting unit between the first point in time and the second point in time is equal to or less than a predetermined wheel speed difference amount of change threshold value.

12. The lane recognition device according to claim 1,

wherein when a lane mark detected state in which right and left lane marks of the road are detected by the lane mark detecting unit is switched to a lane mark undetected state in which at least one of the right and left lane marks of the road is not detected by the lane mark detecting unit,

the traveling state detecting unit detects that the vehicle has passed through the intersection or the branching or the converging section of the road, when a difference between the relative position of the vehicle and the lane mark recognized by the lane mark position recognizing unit on the basis of the detection result of the lane mark by the lane mark detecting unit immediately before a first point in time when the lane mark detected state is switched to the lane mark undetected state, and the relative position of the vehicle and the lane mark recognized by the lane mark position recognizing unit on the basis of the detection result of the lane mark by the lane mark detecting unit at a second point in time when it is subsequently switched to the lane mark detected state, is equal to or less than a predetermined relative position difference threshold value.