Vehicle control apparatus and vehicle control method

• US 9,598,105 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2013
• Issued: 03/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Sakakibara, Haruki, Yamamoto, Kinji, Hirata, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Jingge
• Application Number:
  US14/095,510
• Publication Number:
  US 20140160275A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,204 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 2300/303 using joined images, e.g. multiple camera images
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/027 Parking aids, e.g. instruction means
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/029 Steering assistants using warnings or proposing actions to the driver without influencing the steering system

Abstract

A vehicle control apparatus includes: an acquiring unit configured to acquire a plurality of items of image information of images photographed by a plurality of image pickup units provided on a vehicle as an outside environment of the vehicle and whose image picked-up areas are partly overlapped with each other; a correcting unit configured to compare a position of a first overlapped area included in one of two items of image information of images whose image picked-up areas are overlapped with each other with a position of a second overlapped area of the other image information, and if the position of the first overlapped area is closer to a center of a display area of the image information, correct the other image information so as to cause the luminance of the second overlapped area to match the luminance of the first overlapped area.

Claims

1. A vehicle control apparatus comprising:

an acquirer configured to acquire a plurality of items of image information of images photographed by a plurality of image pickup units provided on a vehicle as an outside environment of the vehicle and whose image picked-up areas are partly overlapped with each other, a plurality of items including a first overlapped area included in one of two items of image information of images whose image picked-up areas are overlapped and a second overlapped area of another image information; and

a corrector configured to correct the other image information, if a position of the first overlapped area is closer to a center of a display area of the image information, so as to cause the luminance of the second overlapped area to match the luminance of the first overlapped area,

wherein all lenses used in the plurality of image pickup units are the same, and

wherein angles of view of all the image pickup units are the same.

2. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a generator configured to generate an overhead video looking down at an outside environment of the vehicle from above on the basis of the plurality of items of image information corrected by the corrector.

3. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the overhead video generated by the generator is segmented for each of the plurality of items of image information.

4. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the corrector further corrects the luminance of the second overlapped area after the correction to have a value between the luminance of the first overlapped area and the luminance of the second overlapped area before the correction.

5. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in a case where a first image picked-up area of the image information of the picked up image of the outside environment of a front from a front end portion of the vehicle or of the image information of the picked up image of an outside environment of a rear portion from a rear end portion of the vehicle is partly overlapped with a second image picked up area of the image information of the image picked up sideward from the side surface portion of the vehicle, the corrector corrects the image information of the image picked up from the side surface portion so as to cause the luminance of the overlapped area of the second image picked-up area to match the luminance of the overlapped area of the first image picked-up area.

6. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein in a case where a first image picked-up area of the image information of the picked up image of the outside environment of a front from a front end portion of the vehicle or of the image information of the picked up image of an outside environment of a rear portion from a rear end portion of the vehicle is partly overlapped with a second image picked up area of the image information of the image picked up sideward from the side surface portion of the vehicle, the corrector corrects the image information of the image picked up from the side surface portion so as to cause the luminance of the overlapped area of the second image picked-up area to match the luminance of the overlapped area of the first image picked-up area.

7. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein in a case where a first image picked-up area of the image information of the picked up image of the outside environment of a front from a front end portion of the vehicle or of the image information of the picked up image of an outside environment of a rear portion from a rear end portion of the vehicle is partly overlapped with a second image picked up area of the image information of the image picked up sideward from the side surface portion of the vehicle, the corrector corrects the image information of the image picked up from the side surface portion so as to cause the luminance of the overlapped area of the second image picked-up area to match the luminance of the overlapped area of the first image picked-up area.

8. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein in a case where a first image picked-up area of the image information of the picked up image of the outside environment of a front from a front end portion of the vehicle or of the image information of the picked up image of an outside environment of a rear portion from a rear end portion of the vehicle is partly overlapped with a second image picked up area of the image information of the image picked up sideward from the side surface portion of the vehicle, the corrector corrects the image information of the image picked up from the side surface portion so as to cause the luminance of the overlapped area of the second image picked-up area to match the luminance of the overlapped area of the first image picked-up area.

9. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when a difference between the luminance of the first overlapped area and the luminance of the second overlapped area exceeds a predetermined value, the corrector is configured so that a correcting value is restricted by being multiplied by a coefficient.

10. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of image information is a front image data or a rear image data, and the other image information is a side image data, and the corrector corrects the side image data so as to cause the luminance of the side image data to match the luminance of the front image data or the rear image data.

11. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the corrector is configured to correct the other image information so as to cause the luminance of the second overlapped area to match the luminance of the first overlapped area based on the difference of average luminance between the first overlapped area and the second overlapped area.

12. A vehicle control method comprising:

acquiring information of a plurality of images photographed by a plurality of image pickup units provided on a vehicle as an outside environment of the vehicle and whose image picked-up areas are partly overlapped, wherein the two items of image information, a plurality of items including a first overlapped area included in one of two items of image information of images whose image picked-up areas are overlapped and a second overlapped area of another image information; and

correcting the other image information, if a position of the first overlapped area is closer to a center of a display area of the image information, so as to cause the luminance of the second overlapped area to match the luminance of the first overlapped area,

wherein all lenses used in the plurality of image pickup units are the same, and

wherein angles of view of all the image pickup units are the same.

13. The vehicle control method according to claim 12, wherein when a difference between the luminance of the first overlapped area and the luminance of the second overlapped area exceeds a predetermined value, a correcting value is restricted by being multiplied by a coefficient.