JP2003168198A - Vehicle lane decision apparatus and vehicle controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle lane decision apparatus and a vehicle controller which can properly set a prescribed reference line for a vehicle from a plurality of marking lines which are detected and adjacent to each other. <P>SOLUTION: The marking lines drawn on the surface of a road is detected from a picture taken with a camera, and the marking lines to be a pair of white lines dividing a traveling lane are extracted from them. Then, the interval between the pair of marking lines extracted as the white lines is detected. Under a situation where the interval between the pair of marking lines extracted as the white lines is detected, when the plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are detected on at least one side of the road from the picture taken from the camera, based on the interval between the pair of marking lines as the white lines detected at the point of time, a pair of marking lines having an interval closest to the interval are extracted as the white lines. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle road determination device and a vehicle control device, and more particularly to detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle travels and using it as a predetermined reference line. The present invention relates to a suitable vehicle road determination device and vehicle control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, JP-A-5-10497.
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6, there is known a vehicle running road determination device that detects a marking line drawn on a road surface based on a captured image of the front or rear of the vehicle. This device detects a lateral displacement of the vehicle with reference to the detected marking line, and issues an alarm when it is determined that the vehicle tends to deviate from the track.

[0003]

By the way, as marking lines drawn on the road surface on which a vehicle travels, in addition to white lines, yellow lines, etc. which separate each lane (hereinafter, these lines are collectively referred to as white lines). , There is a broken line adjacent to the inside of the line (hereinafter, this line is referred to as a travel guide line) provided to call attention to an occupant. In this way, when the traveling guide line is drawn together with the white line in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling or the adjacent lane, there are a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other in each of the pair of white lines. Also, at the merging portion of the lane, there are a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other on one side of the white line. Further, even in the provisional service section where the road with two lanes is originally a road with two lanes on each side but is temporarily a road with one lane on each side, there are a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other on the opposite lane side. To do.

When there are a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other on at least one side of the pair of left and right white lines on the road surface, the lateral displacement of the vehicle is detected based on which of the plurality of marking lines. The detection result varies depending on whether or not to do so. In this respect, if the lateral displacement of the vehicle is not detected with reference to an appropriate marking line, the deviation of the vehicle from the road will be erroneously determined. However, the above conventional device does not consider that at least one marking line of the pair of white lines is multi-layered, and the relationship between the vehicle and the reference line is erroneously detected, so that the vehicle deviates from the running path. May be erroneously determined.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and when a plurality of marking lines are detected on at least one side of a pair of marking lines, an appropriate marking on a vehicle is obtained from the plurality of marking lines. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle road determination device and a vehicle control device that can set a line as a reference line.

[0006]

The above-mentioned object is defined in claim 1.
The marking line detecting means for detecting the marking line drawn on the road surface on which the vehicle is traveling, and the reference line setting means for setting the marking line detected by the marking line detecting means as a predetermined reference line. In the vehicle lane determination device comprising, the reference line setting means, after setting the one marking line detected by the marking line detecting means as the predetermined reference line, together with the one marking line Even when another marking line adjacent to the one marking line is detected, this is achieved by the vehicular traveling road determination device that continues setting the one marking line as the predetermined reference line.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, even after the detected one marking line is set as a predetermined reference line, another marking line adjacent to the one marking line is also newly detected. , The setting of the one marking line as a predetermined reference line is continued. Therefore, even if another marking line adjacent to the marking line set as the predetermined reference line is detected, it is possible to set an appropriate marking line in the vehicle as the predetermined reference line from a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other. it can.

By the way, after one marking line is set as a predetermined reference line from a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other, one marking line is likely to appear in the vicinity of the position at the time of setting, while the other marking line is It is hard to appear near the position.

Therefore, as described in claim 2, in the vehicular traveling path determination device according to claim 1, the reference line setting means detects the one marking line and the other marking line by the marking line detecting means. After continuing the setting of the one marking line as the predetermined reference line as a result of detection, a plurality of first areas including the one marking line and a plurality of second areas including the other marking line Setting the area and setting the marking line as the predetermined reference line based on the first area among the plurality of areas, the detection load of one marking line can be reduced. It will be possible.

In this case, as described in claim 3,
3. The vehicle runway determination device according to claim 2, wherein the reference line setting means determines the predetermined one of the marking lines as a result of the marking line detecting means detecting the other marking line together with the one marking line. After continuing setting as the reference line of
The setting of the plurality of areas may be canceled after the other marking lines disappear.

By the way, if the map database of the navigation device includes presence / absence information indicating whether or not a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are drawn on the road surface, the marking line detecting means detects a plurality of adjacent marking lines. When a marking line is detected, by collating with the presence / absence information, it is possible to determine erroneous detection of a plurality of marking lines by the marking line detecting means.

Therefore, as described in claim 4, in the vehicle running road determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, a plurality of adjacent marking lines are drawn based on the map database of the navigation device. A vehicle position discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the vehicle is located on the road, and the reference line setting means is provided under the situation where the vehicle position discriminating means discriminates that the vehicle is located on the road. When the other marking lines are detected together with the one marking line by the marking line detecting means, if the setting of the one marking line as the predetermined reference line is continued,
The accuracy of setting the reference line can be improved.

In this case, as described in claim 5,
5. The vehicle runway determination device according to claim 4, wherein the reference line setting means determines the one marking by the marking line detection means in a situation where the vehicle position determination means no longer determines that the vehicle is located on the road. When the other marking line is detected together with the line, if the setting of the one marking line as the predetermined reference line is continued, the marking line detecting means can be used even if the map database is not the latest one. Thus, it is possible to reliably detect a plurality of marking lines drawn on the road surface and set an appropriate marking line in the vehicle as a predetermined reference line.

The reference line setting means may change the detection condition in the marking line detection means under the situation where the vehicle position determination means determines that the vehicle is located on the road. . Specifically, the detection probability of the marking line may be increased by relaxing the detection condition in the marking line detecting means. If the detection conditions are simply loosened under normal circumstances, noise will increase and the probability of false detection will increase, but under the circumstances where it is determined that the vehicle is located on the road, other marking lines may exist. Since the property is higher than in the normal state, the accuracy of setting the reference line can be improved by changing the detection condition in this way.

Further, as described in claim 6, the above object is to provide a marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, and the marking detected by the marking line detecting means. A reference line setting means for setting a line as a predetermined reference line, wherein the reference line setting means comprises a pair of marking lines detected by the marking line detecting means. After setting as a reference line, if a plurality of marking lines are detected on at least one side of the pair of marking lines, based on the interval between the pair of marking lines that have been set as the predetermined reference line, This is achieved by a vehicular traveling road determination device that sets any one of the plurality of marking lines as the predetermined reference line.

In a sixth aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of marking lines are detected on at least one side of the pair of marking lines after the detected pair of marking lines are set as a predetermined reference line. Any one of the marking lines is set as the predetermined reference line based on the interval between the pair of marking lines set as the predetermined reference line. Generally, there is little change in the distance between the white lines that are on both sides of the lane drawn on the road surface and that separate the lanes that serve as the reference lines of the vehicle. Therefore, according to the present invention, even if a plurality of marking lines are detected on at least one side, the marking line to be the reference line of the vehicle can be appropriately set.

Further, it is preferable that the interval between the pair of marking lines is continuously detected and the marking line to be the reference line is set based on this interval.

By the way, when the vehicle enters, for example, a service area or a parking area of an automobile road, it is not necessary to perform vehicle control using the reference line thereafter. On the other hand, after that, when the vehicle returns to the road so as to travel the automobile exclusive road having the same reference line interval again, it is necessary to perform the vehicle control using the reference line again. At this time, if the intervals between the predetermined reference lines on both sides of the road are to be set again, if a plurality of marking lines are detected on at least one side of the road immediately after the vehicle returns to the motorway, the reference Since there is no gap between the marking lines that should be the lines, it is difficult to set the marking lines that should be the reference lines of the vehicle.

Therefore, as described in claim 7, in the vehicle running road determination device according to claim 6, vehicle control means for performing predetermined vehicle control using the predetermined reference line when a predetermined condition is satisfied. And storing the distance between the pair of marking lines set as the predetermined reference line when the predetermined vehicle control by the vehicle control means is stopped because the predetermined condition is not satisfied. When the predetermined condition is satisfied after the predetermined vehicle control by the interval storage means and the vehicle control means is stopped, the road condition on which the vehicle is traveling is stopped by the predetermined vehicle control. And a road condition discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the road condition on which the vehicle is traveling is determined by the road condition discriminating means. If it is determined that the road conditions are substantially the same as when the control was stopped, then the interval stored by the interval storage means is used for setting the predetermined reference line. Even if a plurality of marking lines are detected on at least one side immediately after the control is restarted, the setting of the reference line can be realized early.

In this case, if the traveling distance from the stop of the vehicle control to the start of the vehicle control is short, or if the elapsed time is short, the map database of the navigation device is used to determine the stop time and the start time. If it is determined that the vehicles are traveling on the same road, it can be determined that the conditions of the substantially same road are formed at the time of stopping and at the time of starting, and it is not necessary to reset the interval of the predetermined reference line.

Therefore, as described in claim 8, in the vehicle running road determination device according to claim 7, the road condition determination means is started after the predetermined vehicle control by the vehicle control means is stopped. When the travel distance of the vehicle that has traveled up to is less than or equal to a predetermined distance, it may be determined that the road conditions are substantially the same, and as described in claim 9, the vehicle for the vehicle according to claim 7 or 8. In the traveling lane determination device, the road condition determination unit substantially matches the road conditions when the elapsed time required from the stop of the predetermined vehicle control by the vehicle control unit to the start of the predetermined vehicle control is a predetermined time or less. Then, the determination may be made, and further, as described in claim 10, in the vehicle running road determination device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, the road condition determination means is Using the map database Geshon device, may be road conditions to determine whether substantially coincide.

Further, as described in claim 11, the above object is to provide a marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, and the marking detected by the marking line detecting means. A reference line setting device for setting a line as a predetermined reference line, wherein the reference line setting means is a plurality of at least one side of the pair of marking lines by the marking line detecting means. In the situation where the marking line is detected, when the vehicle speed is higher than a predetermined value, the distance between the pair of marking lines becomes larger than when the vehicle speed is lower than the predetermined value. Is set as the predetermined reference line.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, under the condition that a plurality of marking lines are detected on at least one side, when the vehicle speed is higher than a predetermined value, the pair of marking lines is less than the predetermined value. One of the marking lines is set as a reference line so that the interval becomes large. The distance between the white lines that should be the reference line of the vehicle on the motorway is larger than that on the general road. Further, a vehicle traveling on an automobile road generally travels at a higher speed than a vehicle traveling on an ordinary road. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to properly set the predetermined reference line by discriminating the vehicle exclusive road and the general road from the vehicle speed.

Further, as described in claim 12, the above object is to provide a marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, and the marking detected by the marking line detecting means. And a reference line setting means for setting a line as a predetermined reference line, wherein the reference line setting means includes two marking lines for each of the pair of marking lines by the marking line detecting means. Is detected by each of the two marking lines, the outer marking line is set as the predetermined reference line.

According to the twelfth aspect of the invention, when two marking lines are detected on both sides, the outer marking line of the two marking lines is set as the reference line. When two marking lines are detected on both sides, it can be determined that there is a high possibility that a so-called running guide line is drawn inside the white line that should be the reference line of the vehicle. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately set the predetermined reference line in the vehicle from the two marking lines detected on both sides.

Further, as described in claim 13, the above object is to provide a marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is running, and the marking detected by the marking line detecting means. A vehicle runway determination device comprising: a reference line setting means for setting a line as a predetermined reference line, the vehicle position determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle is located on a road having two or more lanes on each side. The reference line setting means detects three marking lines on at least one side of the pair of marking lines by the marking line detecting means in a situation where the vehicle position judging means judges that the vehicle is located on the road. In the case of the above, it is achieved by a vehicular traveling road determination device that sets the middle marking line among the three marking lines as the predetermined reference line.

In the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle is located on a road having two or more lanes on each side, the middle marking line among the three detected marking lines is set as the reference line. If three marking lines are detected in a situation where the vehicle is traveling on a road with two lanes on each side, there is a high possibility that a driving guide line is drawn in each lane, and one marking that should be the reference line of the vehicle It can be judged that there are running guide lines on both sides of the line. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately set the predetermined reference line in the vehicle from the three detected marking lines.

Further, as described in claim 14, the above object is to provide a marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, and the marking detected by the marking line detecting means. And a reference line setting means for setting a line as a predetermined reference line, the vehicle position determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle is located on a provisional service road with one lane on each side. The reference line setting means, when the vehicle position determining means determines that the vehicle is located on the road, when the marking line detecting means detects two marking lines on the opposite lane side. This is achieved by a vehicular traveling road determination device that sets an inner marking line of the two marking lines as the predetermined reference line.

In the invention as set forth in claim 14, when the vehicle is located on the temporary service road with one lane on each side, the inner marking line of the two marking lines detected on the opposite lane side is set as the reference line. To be done. When two marking lines are detected on the opposite lane side on the temporary service road with one lane on each side, the marking line on the inside is a white line that should be the reference line of the vehicle. Therefore, according to the present invention, the predetermined reference line in the vehicle can be appropriately set from the two marking lines detected on the provisional service road.

In the present invention, the "provisional service road" is a road which originally has two lanes on one side but is temporarily one lane on one side.

If the number of lanes of the road on which the vehicle is traveling and the provisional service road are included in the map database of the navigation device if the information indicating the number of lanes of the road and the presence / absence of the provisional service road is included, the database is based on the database. Can be detected. Further, whether the number of lanes on the road on which the vehicle is traveling is 1 or 2 or more is determined as a result of detecting the relative speed of another vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane by image processing by a camera or capturing by a sensor or at night. If so, it can be detected based on whether or not the traveling direction of the own vehicle matches the traveling directions of other vehicles as a result of recognizing the presence or absence of the tail lamp.

Therefore, as described in claim 15, in the vehicle running road determination device according to claim 13 or 14, the vehicle position determination means locates the vehicle on the road based on the map database of the navigation device. It is also possible to determine whether or not it is the case. Further, as described in claim 16, in the vehicle running road determination device according to any one of claims 13 to 15, the vehicle position determination means includes:
It may be determined whether or not the host vehicle is located on the road based on the traveling direction of another vehicle traveling in the lane adjacent to the lane in which the subject vehicle is traveling.

Further, as described in claim 17, the above object is to provide a marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, and the marking detected by the marking line detecting means. A reference line setting means for setting a line as a predetermined reference line, wherein the reference line setting means detects a plurality of marking lines on the opposite lane side by the marking line detecting means. And when a single marking line is detected on the side opposite to the opposite lane side, the vehicle runway determination device sets the innermost marking line among the plurality of marking lines as the predetermined reference line. To be achieved.

In the seventeenth aspect of the invention, when a plurality of marking lines are detected on the opposite lane side and a single marking line is detected on the opposite side, the innermost one of the plural marking lines on the opposite lane side. The marking line of is set as the reference line. If multiple marking lines are detected on the opposite lane side and a single marking line is detected on the opposite side, it can be determined that the road is likely to be a so-called temporary service section, and the innermost The marking line can be a white line that should be the reference line of the vehicle. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately set the predetermined reference line in the vehicle from the plurality of detected marking lines.

In the provisional service section, the white line which should be the reference line of the vehicle is drawn as a solid line on the road surface.

Therefore, as described in claim 18, in the vehicle running road determination device according to claim 17, when the reference line setting means draws the innermost marking line as a solid line on the road surface. In addition, the innermost marking line may be set as the predetermined reference line.

Further, as described in claim 19, the above object is to provide a marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, and the marking detected by the marking line detecting means. Under the situation where a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are detected by the marking line detecting means and the marking line detecting means for judging whether or not a line is drawn on the road surface by a broken line, When the innermost marking line is discriminated by the line drawing discriminating means as a dashed line on the road surface, the marking line adjacent to the outermost innermost marking line is set as a predetermined reference line. And a reference line setting means for controlling the vehicle.

In the nineteenth aspect of the present invention, when the innermost marking line of the detected plural marking lines is drawn by a broken line on the road surface, the marking line adjacent to the outside of the marking line is the reference line. Is set as. Generally, a running guide line adjacent to a white line which should be a reference line of a vehicle is drawn by a broken line, and no marking line exists inside the running guide line.
Therefore, the marking line that is adjacent to the outside of the marking line that is drawn on the innermost side with a broken line is a marking line that should be the reference line of the vehicle. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately set the predetermined reference line in the vehicle from the plurality of detected marking lines.

Further, as described in claim 20, the above object is to provide a marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, and the marking detected by the marking line detecting means. In a situation where a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are detected by the marking line detecting means and a line drawing judging means for judging whether a line is drawn on the road surface by a broken line or a solid line. Among the plurality of marking lines, a broken line marking line which is judged to be drawn on the road surface by the line drawing judging means and a solid line marking line which is judged to be drawn as a solid line coexist. In this case, it is achieved by a vehicular traveling road determination device including a reference line setting unit that sets the solid marking line as a predetermined reference line.

According to the twentieth aspect of the invention, when the broken line marking line and the solid line marking line coexist among the plurality of detected marking lines, the solid line marking line is set as the reference line. Generally, the traveling guide line is drawn by a broken line, while the marking line that should be the reference line of the vehicle is often drawn by a solid line. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately set the predetermined reference line in the vehicle from the plurality of detected marking lines.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, the marking line detecting means for detecting the marking line drawn on the road surface on which the vehicle is traveling, and the marking line detected by the marking line detecting means are used for predetermined determination. And a vehicle control means for performing vehicle control of the vehicle control means, wherein the plurality of marking lines are detected by at least one side of the pair of marking lines by the marking line detecting means. The vehicle control device that suspends / prohibits the predetermined vehicle control by is effective in avoiding a situation in which the predetermined vehicle control malfunctions.

In the twenty-first aspect of the invention, when a plurality of marking lines are detected on at least one side of the pair of marking lines, predetermined vehicle control is stopped / prohibited. If the marking lines on one side are multiplexed, the detection accuracy of the reference line, which is the reference for the predetermined vehicle control, tends to decrease. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably avoid a situation in which a predetermined vehicle control malfunctions.

[0043]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a vehicle running road determination apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1
As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle running road determination device 20 includes a camera 22 arranged near the bumper at the rear of the vehicle, for example.
The camera 22 photographs the field of view of a predetermined area including the road surface extending from the rear part to the rear of the vehicle, and outputs an image signal according to the imaged field of view.

The camera 22 has the A / A of the image processing device 24.
The D conversion unit 26 is connected. The image signal output from the camera 22 is supplied to the A / D conversion unit 26 and converted into a digital signal. A frame memory 28 is connected to the A / D conversion unit 26. The digital signal from the A / D converter 26 is supplied to the frame memory 28. The frame memory 28 is composed of a plurality of RAMs corresponding to the respective pixels of the CCD image pickup device of the camera 22, and stores the digital signal from the A / D conversion unit 26. An image processing unit 30 is connected to the frame memory 28. The image processing unit 30, based on the image signal digitized and stored in the frame memory 28, is a broken line that divides each lane (that is, a traveling lane) among the marking lines drawn on the road surface of the road, as described in detail later. And a white line, a yellow line, etc. indicated by a solid line or a solid line (hereinafter, these lines are collectively referred to simply as a white line) are extracted and determined.

In the image processing device 24, a CPU 34, a ROM 36 in which a predetermined control program is stored, and a RAM for storing a calculation result in the CPU 34 via a bus 32.
38 and an I / O interface 40 for inputting / outputting a predetermined control device such as an alarm buzzer and a warning lamp are connected. The CPU 34 is supplied with white line information extracted by the image processing device 24. CPU3
4 detects the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line based on the information supplied from the image processing device 24, and determines whether or not the vehicle is likely to depart from the traveling lane delimited by the white line. The CPU 34 controls the I / O interface 4 when the vehicle is about to depart from the driving lane.
The above-mentioned predetermined control device is controlled via 0. This alerts the driver of the vehicle that the vehicle is likely to depart from the driving lane. Less than,
This control is referred to as runway departure control.

A map database 42 is also connected to the image processing device 24 via a bus 32. In the map database 42, together with information on roads laid all over the country, lane information indicating how many lanes the traveling lane of the road is on one side, provisional service part information indicating whether the road is a provisional service part, and Guidance line information indicating whether or not a driving guidance line described later is drawn in the driving lane of the road and whether or not other driving lanes join the driving lane of the road are stored. The road information stored in the map database 42 is supplied to a navigation device (not shown) and is provided to the driver by a display monitor included in the navigation device. The image processing device 24 extracts the white line based on the lane information and the provisional service part information stored in the map database 42, as will be described later.
The presence / absence of a traveling guide line and a lane merge is determined based on the guide line information.

A vehicle speed sensor 44 is further connected to the image processing device 24 via a bus 32. The vehicle speed sensor 44 outputs an electric signal according to the speed of the vehicle. CP
The U34 detects the vehicle speed SPD based on the output signal of the vehicle speed sensor 44, and detects the vehicle speed for a section from when the control of the predetermined control device via the I / O 40 is stopped until the next start. The traveling distance of the section is calculated by integrating the SPD. Also, CPU3
4, the vehicle speed SPD by the vehicle speed sensor 44 is, for example, 5
When the vehicle speed exceeds a certain value such as 0 km / h or when the switch provided in the vehicle compartment is operated by the vehicle driver, execution of the above-mentioned road departure control is permitted.

Next, a method for extracting the white line drawn on the road surface from the image picked up by the camera 22 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 shows a vehicle track determination device 2 according to this embodiment.
The flowchart of an example of the control routine performed in the image processing unit 30 of 0 is shown. Further, FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the processing contents in the process of extracting the white line from the image captured by the camera 22 in the present embodiment. The routine shown in FIG. 2 is a routine that is started each time the processing is completed. When the routine shown in FIG. 2 is started, the process of step 100 is first executed.

In step 100, the frame memory 28
The process of inputting the imaged image captured by the camera 22 stored in is executed. For example, when the vehicle 50 is located on the road 52 at substantially the center of the traveling lane 58 which is divided into white lines 54 and 56, a captured image as shown in FIG. 3A is input. When the processing of step 100 is completed, the following steps 102 to 106 are performed on the input captured image.
The preprocessing shown in is executed.

In step 102, since the image picked up by the camera 22 is distorted, a process for correcting the distortion of the input picked-up image is executed.

Since the position (height) of the camera 22 arranged in the vehicle and the pointing direction (angle) of the camera 22 are predetermined, the image taken by the camera 22 can be converted into an image from another viewpoint. . Therefore, step 104
Then, the image captured by the camera 22 is converted from the image captured with the camera 22 as the viewpoint (hereinafter referred to as the original captured image) to the image captured with the point in the vertical direction of the road surface as the viewpoint (hereinafter referred to as the vertical captured image). Processing is performed. For example, when the process of step 104 is executed, the image captured by the camera 22 as shown in FIG. 3A is converted into the vertically captured image as shown in FIG. 3B. At this time, the positions and directions of the white lines 54 and 56 in the vertically captured image are determined by the camera 22.
Is determined according to the original captured image by

In step 106, the above step 104
By performing edge processing in the horizontal direction on the vertical captured image obtained as a result of the conversion, each point that constitutes the marking line drawn on the road surface that appears in the vertical captured image in the vertical direction is The process of extracting is executed.

In step 108, the above step 106
Voting-type pattern matching processing is executed for the image consisting of the points extracted in step. That is, for each point, a parameter indicating the position at the lowest point of the vertical captured image of a straight line connecting with other points and the angle with respect to the horizontal direction is calculated, and from all the points among the parameters of the position and the angle, The peak value with a large number of votes of is extracted as a candidate for the marking line (FIGS. 3C and 3D). At this time, it is assumed that a plurality of candidates may appear on one side of the traveling lane as shown in FIG. 3 (D).

After the input of the imaged image by the camera 22 is started, if the marking line of the traveling lane on which the vehicle is traveling has not been found yet, the process of step 110 is executed after the process of step 108. In step 110, when the captured image includes white lines separating the driving lanes on both sides, the peaks are combined to calculate the interval between both white lines, the yaw angle, the pitch angle, and the total number of votes. The optimum combination of peaks from the combination is modeled as a driving lane.

On the other hand, when the marking line of the driving lane has already been found and the driving lane is modeled,
The process of step 112 is executed after the process of step 108. In step 112, it is searched whether or not the peak value extracted in step 108 exists in the range near the peak of the position and angle of the white line that divides the already discovered traveling lane. When the peak values on both sides are both within the range as a search result, the model of the driving lane is updated. Step 110 or 11 above
When the process of 2 is completed, the process of step 114 is then executed.

In step 114, the above step 110
Or the detection status of the driving lane model acquired in 112,
That is, the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white lines on both sides is determined. Then, in step 116, the above step 114
The process of outputting the result determined by is executed. When the processing of step 116 is executed, thereafter, the output from the image processing device 24 is supplied to the CPU 34. When the process of this step 116 is completed, the routine of this time is ended.

According to the routine shown in FIG. 2, the white line drawn on the road surface of the road is detected from the image picked up by the camera 22, and the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line is detected based on the position of the detected white line. Can be determined. In this way, when the vehicle lateral displacement determination device 20 determines the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line of the traveling lane, the CPU 34
Detects the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white lines on both sides based on the lateral displacement. If any of the lateral displacements is less than or equal to the predetermined value, it is determined that the vehicle is likely to deviate from the driving lane, and the I / O interface 40 instructs the alarm buzzer and the alarm lamp to operate. Emit. Therefore, the CPU 34 can execute the road departure control by the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line supplied from the vehicle road determination device 20.

4 to 7 are views schematically showing patterns of marking lines drawn on the road surface of the road 52 on which the vehicle 50 travels. 4 (A) to 7 (A) show images taken by the camera 22 mounted on the vehicle 50, and FIGS. 4 (B) to 7 (B) show the same images. The situation when the road shown in (A) is viewed from above is shown.

As shown in FIG. 4, on the road surface of the road 52,
In addition to the white lines 54, 56 that delimit the traveling lane 58, a broken line (hereinafter, this line is referred to as a traveling guide line) 60 adjacent to the inside of each of the white lines 54, 56 on both sides (ie, the lane center side), 62 may be drawn as a marking line. These running guide lines 60 and 62 are provided near the entrance and exit of the tunnel, at sharp curves, etc., and have the role of calling attention to the occupants. On the road 52 having two or more lanes on each side, as shown in FIG. 5, the traveling guide lines 60 and 62 are drawn on the traveling lane 58 on which the vehicle travels, and the traveling guide line 66 is also displayed on the adjacent traveling lane 64. Sometimes drawn as a line. In the road in which the traveling guide line is drawn on the road surface together with the white line that divides the traveling lane, a plurality of marking lines (multiple lines) adjacent to each other are present in each of the pair of white lines. In particular, on a road having three or more lanes on each side, there are three marking lines adjacent to each other in each of the pair of white lines.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, in the lane junction where the traveling lane 70 that joins the traveling lane 58 exists, the white line 72 of the traveling lane 70 is located on one of the white lines 54 and 56 that divide the traveling lane 58. By approaching,
There are multiple marking lines adjacent to each other. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, the road 58 is originally a road with two lanes on each side, but is temporarily a road with one lane on each side.
In such a road, the white lines 54 and 76 of the respective traveling lanes 58 and 74 are drawn so as to sandwich the poles 78 provided at regular intervals on the opposite lane side so that a plurality of adjacent lanes are adjacent to each other. There is a marking line.

When there are a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other on at least one side of the white line that delimits the traveling lane, the image processing unit 30 of the image processing device 24 causes the image processing unit 30 of the image processing device 24 to draw its own line. In addition to the white line on the driving lane, other marking lines are also detected. By the way, in order to properly perform the road departure control, the image processing unit 30 needs to use the white line of its own driving lane as a reference for determining the lateral displacement of the vehicle. The determination result differs depending on which of the marking lines is used as the reference for determining the lateral displacement of the vehicle. That is, if a marking line different from the white line of the own driving lane is used for the determination of the vehicle lateral displacement, the determination result will be incorrect. Therefore, if the image processing unit 30 does not extract the white line of its own traveling lane as the reference line for the lateral displacement of the vehicle, a situation may occur in which no warning or warning is issued even though the vehicle deviates from the traveling road. The deviation control malfunctions.

Therefore, the system of the present embodiment uses the camera 2
When a plurality of marking lines that are adjacent to each other are detected from the imaged image by 2, the appropriate marking line of the own vehicle is extracted and set as a white line to prevent malfunction of the road deviation control. Hereinafter, the white line extraction / setting method in this embodiment will be described.

When the vehicle is traveling on a road on which a driving guide line is drawn or a road on which a lane junction exists,
Only white lines are drawn on both sides of the driving lane on the road surface in front of the driving guide line and the lane junction, so if the road departure control has already been executed, the white line drawn on the road will already be displayed. It should have been extracted and recognized. Generally, even on roads with driving guidance lines and lane junctions,
The width of the driving lane, that is, the distance between the two white lines is almost unchanged. Therefore, during the run-away control, the interval between marking lines extracted as white lines is constantly monitored, and when a white line separating the driving lane of the own vehicle is detected as a marking line, a white line due to a driving guide line or a lane junction is detected. In addition, the intervals of the respective combinations of the plurality of marking lines are respectively compared with the intervals of the white lines monitored as described above, and if the combination closest to the intervals of the white lines is extracted as a white line, they are adjacent to each other. Even if a plurality of marking lines are detected, it is possible to set an appropriate white line for controlling the departure deviation of the own vehicle and accurately determine the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line.

That is, since the traveling guide line is provided inside the white line, when the traveling guide line is drawn in the traveling lane in which the own vehicle travels, the detected marking lines other than the combination of the white lines. The intervals between the combinations are all shorter than the interval between the pair of regular white lines, that is, the pair of marking lines detected as the white lines. Therefore,
When multiple marking lines that are adjacent to each other are detected by the vehicle traveling on the road on which the driving guide line is drawn, the distance becomes shorter than the distance between the pair of marking lines detected as the white line by a predetermined distance or more. If at least one of the combinations of intervals is excluded, it is possible to extract a pair of marking lines that should be white lines. For example, in the situation shown in FIG. 4, the image processing unit 30 of the image processing device 24.
Is the four marking lines 54 from the image captured by the camera 22,
56, 60, 62 are detected. When the white lines 54 and 56 are detected as white lines before the four marking lines are detected, each marking line 5 other than the combination of the marking lines 54 and 56 is detected.
The intervals of the combination of 4, 56, 60, 62 are all shorter than the interval of the white lines 54, 56. Therefore, under such circumstances, the four marking lines 54, 56, 60, 6
When 2 is detected, the marking line 6 which is a traveling guide line
By eliminating 0 and 62, the marking lines 54 and 56 can be continuously extracted as a pair of white lines, and the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white lines drawn on the road surface can be accurately determined. Become.

Further, when the traveling guide line is drawn only in the traveling lane adjacent to the traveling lane in which the own vehicle is traveling, each of the detected marking lines other than the combination of the marking lines 54 and 56 is detected. The interval according to the combination is longer or shorter than the interval between the pair of marking lines that has been detected as the white line. Therefore, when a plurality of marking lines that are adjacent to each other are detected by the vehicle traveling on the road on which the traveling guide line is drawn, the distance is a predetermined distance or more than the distance between the pair of marking lines that are detected as white lines. If at least one of the combinations of the shorter intervals is eliminated and one of the combinations of the shorter intervals is eliminated,
It is possible to extract the marking lines that should be a pair of white lines.

Further, since the white line at the lane merging section approaches one of the white lines that delimit the traveling lane of the own vehicle, the marking lines 54 and 56 of the marking lines detected at the lane merging section.
The interval of each combination other than the combination with is longer or shorter than the interval of the pair of marking lines detected as the white line. Therefore, when a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are detected by the vehicle traveling in the lane merging portion, a combination of intervals longer than the distance between the pair of marking lines detected as white lines by a predetermined distance or more is selected. If one of them is eliminated and one of the combinations of the intervals that become shorter than the predetermined distance is eliminated, it is possible to extract the marking lines that should be a pair of regular white lines. For example, in FIG.
Under the situation shown in FIG.
Three marking lines 54, 56, 72 are detected from the imaged image of 2. If white lines 54 and 56 are detected as white lines before the detection of the three marking lines, the marking lines 54 and 56 are detected.
The spacing due to the combination of the marking lines 54, 56 and 72 other than the combination with is longer than the spacing between the white lines 54 and 56 in the case of the marking lines 54 and 72, and in the case of the marking lines 56 and 72. It becomes shorter than the interval between the white lines 54 and 56.
Therefore, under such circumstances, the three marking lines 54, 5
When 6 and 72 are detected, the marking line 72, which is the white line of the traveling lane that merges, is eliminated, so that the marking line 5
It is possible to continuously extract 4, 56 as a pair of white lines.

Here, in the above-mentioned road departure control, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, specifically, when the vehicle speed SPD exceeds a certain value such as 50 km / h, or a switch provided in the vehicle compartment. Is executed by the vehicle driver. Therefore, for example, when the vehicle enters the service area or the parking area from the main line of the motorway running while executing the road departure control, the execution of the road departure control is stopped / prohibited. After that, when the vehicle returns to the main road of the motorway, the running deviation control is permitted again. When the execution of the runway deviation control is restarted, the camera 22 in the vehicle runway determination device 20 is restarted.
By re-extracting the marking lines that should be a pair of white lines from the image captured by, and re-monitoring the spacing between the marking lines extracted as the white lines, immediately after returning to the main line of the vehicle, at least one side of the road When a plurality of adjacent marking lines are detected, an appropriate marking line may not be extracted as a white line in an early stage.

Since the vehicle-only road on which the vehicle travels before using the service area and the parking area and the vehicle-only road on which the vehicle travels after use are usually the same, the distance between the white lines on both sides separating the traveling lanes of the road is , And before and after the use are almost the same. Therefore, when the road departure control is stopped, the distance between the marking lines as white lines monitored at that time is stored, and when the road departure control is subsequently started, the road at the time when the road is stopped is stored. If it is decided to use the interval stored when the roads match as the interval between the marking lines that should be white lines, at least one side of the road immediately after returning to the road. Even when the marking lines adjacent to each other are detected in, it is possible to early extract an appropriate marking line as a white line.

In the present embodiment, the image processing device 24
Is a map database 4 that stores national road information.
2 is connected. Therefore, by using the road information of the map database 42, the road at the time of stopping the runway departure control (that is, at the time of leaving the road) and the road at the start of the next runway departure control (when entering the road) are It may be determined whether or not they match. Also,
The distance traveled and the time elapsed until the vehicle returns to the road again after leaving the road when the vehicle enters the service area or the like on the motorway are not so long. Therefore, by comparing the mileage or the elapsed time of the vehicle from the time when the road departure control is stopped to the time when the next road departure control is started, the road at the start and the road at the start are matched by comparing with the predetermined threshold value. It is also possible to determine the presence or absence of.

As shown in FIG. 5, on a road having two or more lanes on each side, a traveling guide line may be drawn in the traveling lane in which the own vehicle travels and a traveling guide line may be drawn in the adjacent traveling lane. is there. That is, three marking lines may appear on at least one side of the traveling lane in which the own vehicle travels. In the case of three lanes on one side, three marking lines may appear on both sides of the own driving lane. Under this circumstance, if the white line is extracted based on the method based on the interval between the pair of marking lines described above, as shown in FIG. 5, the running guide line 60 and the white line 56 inside the white line 54 that delimits its own running lane.
By the fact that the distance between the outside of the vehicle (that is, the side opposite to the center of the lane) in combination with the traveling guide wire 66 substantially matches the distance between the pair of marking lines detected as the white line,
The running guide lines 60 and 66 may be mistakenly extracted as white lines.

On roads with two or more lanes on each side,
The travel guide lines drawn on each travel lane exist in substantially the same range. That is, the start position of each traveling guide line is the same place, and the end position is the same place. Therefore, when the three marking lines 62, 56, 66 appear on at least one side of the own driving lane 58 as shown in FIG. 5, the outermost marking line 66 is the adjacent driving lane 6
The innermost marking line 6 is a running guide line provided in No. 4
Reference numeral 2 is a traveling guide line provided in the own traveling lane 58, and the marking line 56 in the middle thereof is a white line of both traveling lanes. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the own vehicle is located on a road with two or more lanes on each side, and whether or not the vehicle is traveling on a road with two or more lanes on each side. 3 on at least one side
If three marking lines are detected as white lines when three marking lines are detected, it is possible to control the road deviation in the own vehicle even when three marking lines adjacent to each other are detected. An appropriate white line can be set, and the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line drawn on the road surface can be accurately determined.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, in a road having a provisional service part, since a section of one lane on one side occupies most of the road, there are two white lines demarcating the running lanes drawn on the road surface.
There is no such thing as books. Therefore, it is difficult to extract, as a white line, the marking line detected based on the image captured by the camera 22 from the beginning of traveling of the vehicle.
It is difficult to detect the interval between white lines. Therefore, it is not appropriate to extract the white line on the road having the provisional service part based on the method based on the interval between the pair of marking lines.

The temporary service section is a road with one lane on each side. Further, in the provisional service unit, two white lines of the own driving lane and two white lines of the traveling lane of the oncoming vehicle are always adjacent to each other on the opposite lane side. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the road on which the vehicle is traveling is the provisional service section, and in the situation where the vehicle is traveling in the provisional service section, two marking lines are detected on the opposite lane side of the own driving lane. In this case, if the marking line inside is extracted as the white line of its own driving lane, even if two marking lines adjacent to each other are detected in the provisional service section, the track deviation control is performed on the provisional service section. An appropriate white line can be set for this purpose, and the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line drawn on the road surface can be accurately determined. For example, under the situation shown in FIG.
The image processing unit 30 detects the two marking lines 54 and 76 provided on the opposite lane side from the image picked up by the camera 22, and also detects the one marking line 56 provided on the opposite side. Therefore, when the two marking lines 54 and 76 are detected on the opposite lane side in the provisional service section, the marking line 7 on the outside is detected.
If 6 is eliminated and the inner marking line 54 is extracted as a white line, the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line drawn on the road surface can be accurately determined.

As described above, the image processing device 24 includes
A map database 42 storing lane information and provisional service section information is connected. Therefore, by using the lane information and the provisional service section information of the map database 42, it is determined whether the vehicle is traveling on a road having two or more lanes on each side and whether the vehicle is traveling on the provisional service section. You can do it.

Whether or not the road is a one-lane road on one side and whether or not the road is a two-lane or more road on one side is determined by a vehicle traveling on a traveling lane adjacent to its own traveling lane (hereinafter referred to as an adjacent vehicle). It can be determined based on the traveling direction of (referred to as). That is, when the relative speed between the own vehicle and the adjacent vehicle does not change for a certain period of time or when the taillights of the adjacent vehicle can be recognized, it can be determined that the two are running in parallel, and the traveling directions are the same. Since it can be determined, it can be determined that the road has two or more lanes on each side.
On the other hand, the relative speed with respect to the adjacent vehicle on the opposite lane side is higher than the vehicle speed SPD of the own vehicle or the front lamp of the adjacent vehicle can be recognized but the tail lamp cannot be recognized, and there is an object to be the adjacent vehicle on the opposite side. If you do not, your vehicle and the adjacent vehicle are passing each other,
That is, it can be determined that the traveling directions do not match, and it can be determined that the vehicle is traveling on a road with one lane on each side. Further, the detection of the relative speed and the recognition of the lamp can be detected by a vehicle speed sensor or image processing by the camera 22. Therefore,
The relative speed with respect to the adjacent vehicle and the presence / absence of a ramp are detected by image processing by the vehicle speed sensor or the camera 22, etc., and based on the result, whether the road is a road with one lane on one side or two lanes on each side It may be determined whether or not.

In the provisional service section, in the normal state, there are two marking lines on the opposite lane side and 1 on the opposite side.
There are two marking lines. At this time, when there is a traveling guide line in the oncoming lane, there are three marking lines on the oncoming lane side. Also, in the case where a driving guide line is drawn only on the opposite lane on a road with one lane on each side, normally there are two marking lines on the opposite lane side and one marking line on the opposite side. . That is, the innermost marking line on the opposite lane side is a white line for the own driving lane. Therefore, when multiple marking lines are detected on the opposite lane side of the own driving lane and a single marking line is detected on the opposite side, the innermost marking line among the plural marking lines is the white line. As a result, even if a plurality of marking lines that are adjacent to each other on the opposite lane side are detected, it is possible to set an appropriate white line for controlling the road deviation in the own vehicle, and It is possible to accurately determine the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the drawn white line.

The white lines that delimit the driving lanes in the temporary service section are drawn as solid lines. Therefore, when the vehicle is located in the provisional service section, etc., it is determined whether the innermost marking line among the detected marking lines on the opposite lane side is represented by a solid line. If the line is extracted as a white line, the white line extraction accuracy can be improved. Hereinafter, a method for determining whether the detected marking line is represented by a solid line or a broken line will be described.

When the marking line drawn on the road surface is parallel to the vehicle, the camera 22 mounted on the vehicle
By performing the edge processing in the horizontal direction on the vertically captured image converted from the original captured image by, the marking line appearing in the vertical captured image in the vertical direction can be extracted. On the other hand, the marking line has a width of, for example, about 10 to 20 cm. Therefore, when the marking line is drawn on the road surface by a broken line, the broken marking line has a horizontal line extending in the horizontal direction in the vertical captured image. Therefore, the straight line detection is performed by performing the above-mentioned horizontal edge processing on the vertically captured image,
A straight line is detected by performing edge processing in the vertical direction, and based on whether or not the straight lines obtained by both edge processing substantially match, a marking line that appears in a vertical broken line in the vertically captured image (hereinafter, a broken marking line). Only) or only the marking lines appearing as solid lines (hereinafter referred to as solid marking lines) can be extracted.

Here, the traveling guide line is on the road surface,
It is drawn with a broken line inside the white line. Therefore, in the image captured by the camera 22 on the road surface, a broken marking line appears inside the traveling lane, and a solid or broken marking line appears adjacent to the outside. Therefore, when a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are detected and the innermost marking line is composed of broken lines, the marking lines outside the marking lines should be extracted as white lines that separate the driving lanes. Then, it is possible to set an appropriate white line for controlling the deviation of the road in the own vehicle, and it is possible to accurately determine the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line drawn on the road surface.

The white line that delimits the driving lane is often drawn as a solid line on the road surface. Therefore, when a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are detected and a solid marking line and a broken marking line coexist, the solid marking line should be extracted as a white line separating the driving lanes. Then, it is possible to set an appropriate white line for controlling the deviation of the road in the own vehicle, and it is possible to accurately determine the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line drawn on the road surface.

FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing a situation in which a running guide line is drawn inside a white line. As described above, the travel guide line is drawn on the road surface inside the white line by a broken line. As shown in FIG. 8, the distance W between the white lines 54 and 56
1 is preset to, for example, about 3 to 4 m, and
A distance W2 between the traveling guide lines 60 and 62 on the inner side is set to, for example, about 1.5 to 3 m. Therefore, the spacing between the white lines and the spacing between the guide lines are stored in advance, and when a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are detected on at least one side of the driving lane, a plurality of markings detected on both sides of the driving lane are detected. If the combination that most closely resembles the stored white line spacing is extracted as the white line among the spacings of each combination of lines, even if a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are detected, the vehicle runs on its own road. It is possible to set an appropriate white line for the deviation control and accurately determine the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line.

FIG. 9 shows a flow chart of an example of a control routine executed in the image processing apparatus 24 of this embodiment in order to realize the above function. The routine shown in FIG. 9 is a routine that is started each time the processing is completed. When the routine shown in FIG. 9 is started, first, step 140
The process of is executed.

In step 140, the frame memory 28
The process of inputting the imaged image captured by the camera 22 stored in is executed. In Step 142, the above Step 1
Edge processing is performed on the captured image input at 40. In step 144, a process of detecting a straight line (marking line) shown in the captured image is performed from the information obtained in the process of step 142.

In step 146, the above step 144
It is determined whether or not there is a combination of the marking lines (hereinafter, referred to as a first straight line pair) having an interval of about 1.5 to 3 m in the marking lines detected in (1). As a result, when it is determined that the first straight line pair does not exist, this routine is ended. On the other hand, when the first straight line pair is present, it is highly likely that the pair is a traveling guide line. Therefore, when such a determination is made, the process of step 148 is executed next.

In step 148, it is judged whether or not there is a combination of marking lines (hereinafter, referred to as a second straight line pair) having an interval of about 3 to 4 m outside the first straight line pair. As a result, when it is determined that the second straight line pair does not exist, this routine is ended. On the other hand, when the second straight line pair is present, it is highly likely that the pair is a white line drawn outside the travel guide line. Therefore,
If an affirmative decision is made in this step 148,
Next, at step 150, it is determined that the first pair is a traveling guide line and the second pair is a white line. When the process of step 150 ends, the routine of this time is ended.

According to the routine shown in FIG. 9, when a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are detected, a white line and a running guide line are set for the plurality of marking lines based on a preset interval. Can be distinguished. For this reason, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to set an appropriate white line in performing the road departure control, and it is possible to accurately determine the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line drawn on the road surface.

The interval between the white lines on the motorway is larger than that on the general road. Also, in general, the vehicle is, for example, 60 km / km in the case of a motorway.
Driving at a high speed exceeding h, for example, 50k on a general road
Drive at a speed that does not reach m / h. Accordingly, the vehicle speed SP is set to the reference interval for distinguishing the white line and the runway guide line.
If it is changed according to D, specifically, the interval is increased when the vehicle travels at a speed SPD exceeding a predetermined value, and the interval is decreased when the vehicle travels at a speed SPD equal to or less than the predetermined value. By doing so, it is possible to improve the accuracy of setting the white line.

In addition, for example, on a three-lane road, a driving guide line is not drawn on each of the driving lanes adjacent to both sides of the driving lane in the middle, but a driving guide line is drawn only on the own driving lane. There is no road. On the other hand, on the other hand, no travel guide line is drawn in the own travel lane, and there is no road in which a travel guide line is drawn in each of the other travel lanes. Therefore, when only two marking lines appear on both sides of the own driving lane as shown in FIG. 8, the inside marking line is the driving guide line of the own driving lane and the outside marking line is It is the white line of my own driving lane. Therefore, if two marking lines are detected on both sides of the own driving lane and the outer marking lines are extracted as white lines, it is possible to set an appropriate white line for executing the road deviation control. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line drawn on the road surface.

By the way, since the vehicle does not rapidly move laterally with respect to the traveling lane during normal traveling, the position of the marking line displayed in the image picked up by the camera 22 changes from the previous processing to the current processing. It does not change significantly in the horizontal direction in the image, and even after the appropriate white line for the road departure control is set, the position of the marking line to be the white line does not change significantly in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, the white lines in the driving guide lines and lane junctions are adjacent to the white lines of their own driving lane only in a specific area on the road, so in the process where the vehicle enters the specific area from before this specific area, It suddenly appears inside or outside the white line. That is, the marking line detected by the image processing device 24 changes from only the white line of its own driving lane to the white line and a new running guide line.

In this respect, the position and angle of the white line of the traveling lane in the image picked up by the camera 22 hardly change between immediately before and after the traveling guide line and the like appear. Further, the traveling guide line and the like appear at a position separated from the white line by a predetermined distance. Therefore, when a plurality of marking lines that are adjacent to each other are detected on at least one side of the driving lane under the condition that an appropriate white line is set for the road departure control, the marking detected as the white line at that time. If the marking line closest to the position of the line is set as the white line, even if the running guide line drawn adjacent to the white line is detected, the running guide line and the like separated from the white line by a predetermined distance can be detected. By leaking from the candidate as the white line, it becomes possible to continue setting the appropriate white line for the road departure control.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a white line setting method based on an image picked up by the camera 22. The position and angle of the white line of the traveling lane in the image captured by the camera 22 hardly change significantly for each image processing. That is, during the next processing after the white line is set based on the image captured by the camera 22, the white line is likely to appear near the position of the set white line. Therefore,
A predetermined area in the vicinity of the position of the marking line set as a white line (area indicated by a broken line in FIG. 10) is set as an area for white line detection, and the marking line detected in the predetermined area is extracted as a white line. For example, it is possible to reduce the processing load for setting the white line based on the image picked up by the camera 22 and to set an appropriate white line for the road departure control. The predetermined area is an area that occupies a certain range from the relationship between the position and the angle of the marking line set as the white line.

At this time, when a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are detected, the vehicle travels with a predetermined area (hereinafter referred to as a first area) near the position of the marking line set as a white line. A predetermined area (hereinafter referred to as a second area) near the position of another marking line such as a guide line may be set, and the marking line detected in the first area may be extracted as a white line. In such a configuration, when other marking lines such as a traveling taxiway are no longer detected, those area settings are canceled and a normal state, that is, a white line is extracted from the marking lines detected in the entire area. Good.

By the way, the image processing device 24 is connected to a map database 42 in which guide line information is stored. Therefore, using the guide line information of the map database 42, it is determined whether or not the vehicle travels on a road on which a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are drawn, and as a result, it is determined that the vehicle travels on the road. When a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are detected under such a situation, if the marking line closest to the position of the marking line detected as the white line at that time is set as the white line, the camera 22
It is possible to prevent the white line from being erroneously set due to noise or the like when the marking line is detected from the captured image by. Therefore, the accuracy of determining the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line is improved,
It is possible to reliably prevent erroneous operation of the road deviation control.

At this time, as a result of determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling on a road in which a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are drawn by using the guide line information of the map database 42, Even if it is determined that the vehicle is not running, if multiple marking lines adjacent to each other are detected, the marking line closest to the position of the marking line detected as the white line at that time is set as the white line. It may be set.

By the way, in the above embodiment, the detection of the marking line (straight line) displayed in the image picked up by the camera 22 is realized by performing edge processing in the horizontal direction on the picked up image. . However, it may be difficult to detect the marking line by the edge processing in the horizontal direction due to the fading of the marking line drawn on the road surface, the pattern of the marking line, or the way the light hits. Therefore, it is difficult to say that the above configuration alone is sufficient to detect the marking line drawn on the road surface. That is, if the marking lines on the road surface are detected only based on the edge processing in the horizontal direction, a white line will appear even if a plurality of marking lines (that is, multiple lines) adjacent to each other are drawn on the road surface. There is a possibility that it will not be detected, and it may not be possible to set an appropriate white line for the road departure control.

Marking lines may be drawn as dashed lines on the road surface. The dashed marking line has a horizontal line extending in the horizontal direction in the vertical captured image converted from the original captured image by the camera 22 when the vehicle is positioned in parallel. Therefore, as a method of detecting the marking line, it is effective to perform edge processing in the horizontal direction on the above-mentioned captured image and perform edge processing in the vertical direction in addition to the edge processing. That is, by performing edge processing in the vertical direction on the vertically captured image, each point forming the marking line drawn on the road surface that appears in the vertical captured image in the horizontal direction is extracted, and each point is extracted. Straight line detection is performed by performing Hough conversion processing and the like.

When the edge processing in the vertical direction is performed on the dashed marking line drawn on the road surface, horizontal edges are regularly detected at regular intervals. On the other hand, when the edge processing in the vertical direction is performed on the fading of the marking line, a horizontal edge having no regularity is detected. Therefore, regardless of the result of the edge processing in the horizontal direction, if the horizontal edges regularly appear at regular intervals as a result of the edge processing in the vertical direction, it is determined that the marking lines that configure them are present. Then, even if it is determined that there is no straight line extending in the vertical direction by the edge processing in the horizontal direction, it is possible to reliably detect the marking line drawn on the road surface.
Therefore, all of the multiple lines drawn on the road surface can be detected with high accuracy, and it is possible to avoid a situation in which an appropriate white line for the road departure control is not set.

FIG. 11 shows a flow chart of an example of a control routine executed in the image processing apparatus 24 of this embodiment in order to realize the above function. The routine shown in FIG. 11 is a routine that is started each time the processing is completed. When the routine shown in FIG. 11 is started, the process of step 160 is first executed.

In step 160, the frame memory 28
The process of inputting the imaged image captured by the camera 22 stored in is executed. In step 162, the above step 1
Edge processing in the horizontal direction is performed on the captured image input at 60. In step 164, in step 16
The edge processing in the vertical direction is performed on the captured image input with 0. In step 166, the above step 16
2, a process of detecting a straight line (marking line) shown in the captured image is performed from the information obtained by the process, and when a multiple line is drawn on the road surface, the determination of the multiple line is performed. Is done.

In step 168, a process for extracting a predetermined marking line as a white line from the marking lines detected in step 166 is executed according to the above-described method. In step 170, the lateral displacement of the vehicle is determined based on the position of the marking line as the white line extracted in step 168. Then, in step 172, the road departure control is executed based on the lateral displacement of the vehicle with respect to the white line determined in step 170. When the processing of this step 172 ends, the routine of this time is ended.

According to the routine shown in FIG. 11, by performing the edge processing in the horizontal direction and the edge processing in the vertical direction on the image picked up by the camera 22, it is possible to reliably detect the marking line shown in the picked up image. be able to. Therefore, according to such a configuration, all of the marking lines drawn on the road surface can be accurately detected, and it is possible to reliably avoid the situation in which an appropriate white line for the road departure control is not set.

By the way, in the above-described embodiment, the image processing device 24 of the vehicle road determination device 20 is replaced by the camera 22.
The "marking line detecting means" described in the claims by detecting the marking line drawn on the road surface of the road based on the imaged image by the reference becomes a reference of the lateral displacement of the vehicle from the detected marking line. The "reference line setting means" described in the claims is realized by extracting the marking lines.

In the above embodiment, when a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are detected, one of the marking lines is extracted as a white line and the extracted marking lines are used as a reference. Although the lateral displacement of the vehicle is determined and the road departure control is performed, the white line extraction may be stopped / prohibited and the execution of the road departure control may be stopped / prohibited in such a case. In this case, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the marking line is erroneously extracted as a white line, and it is possible to reliably prevent a malfunction of the track deviation control due to the erroneous marking line.

[0105]

As described above, claims 1, 3, 6, and 1 are provided.
According to the inventions of 2 to 20, it is possible to appropriately set the reference line in the vehicle from a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the load of detecting the marking line which should be the reference line of the vehicle.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine the erroneous detection of a plurality of marking lines by the marking line detecting means, and it is possible to improve the accuracy of setting the reference line.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of marking lines drawn on the road surface can be reliably detected even if the map database is not the latest one.

According to the seventh to tenth aspects of the present invention, the setting of the reference line from a plurality of marking lines can be realized early after the predetermined vehicle control is restarted.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to properly set the reference line in the vehicle from a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other while distinguishing the road for exclusive use of the automobile from the general road.

According to the twenty-first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reliably avoid a situation in which the predetermined vehicle control malfunctions.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a vehicle traveling road determination apparatus that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a control routine executed in the vehicle running road determination device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining processing contents in a process of extracting a white line from an image captured by a camera in the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a pattern of marking lines drawn on a road surface of a road on which a vehicle travels.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a pattern of marking lines drawn on a road surface of a road on which a vehicle travels.

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a pattern of marking lines drawn on a road surface of a road on which a vehicle travels.

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing a pattern of marking lines drawn on a road surface of a road on which a vehicle travels.

FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically illustrating a situation in which a traveling guide line is drawn inside a white line.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a control routine executed in the vehicle running road determination device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a white line setting method based on an image captured by a camera.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a control routine executed in the vehicle running road determination apparatus according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols] 20 Vehicle track determination device 22 camera 24 Image processing device 30 Image processing unit 34 CPU 42 map database 44 vehicle speed sensor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G06T 1/00 330 G06T 1/00 330A 7/60 200 7/60 200J G08B 21/00 G08B 21/00 U (72) Inventor Makoto Nishida 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Toyota Motor Corporation (72) Inventor Hisashi Satonaka 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Toyota Motor Corporation (72) Inventor, Kakinami Toshiaki 2-1, Asahi-cho, Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Sohiro Takayama, 2-chome, Asahi-cho, Kariya City, Aichi Prefecture Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Yoshiki Ninomiya Aichi, Aichi Prefecture Nagakute-cho, Gunma-City, Nagaminami 1 41 Yokomichi Toyota Central Research Institute Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takahashi Shin Aichi-gun, Nagakute-machi 1 in 41, Yokomichi Yokomichi F-term in the Toyota Central Research Institute Co., Ltd. (reference) FA03 FA06 FA66 FA73

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. A marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is running, and a reference line setting means for setting the marking line detected by the marking line detecting means as a predetermined reference line. In the vehicle running road determination device comprising, the reference line setting means, after setting the one marking line detected by the marking line detecting means as the predetermined reference line, together with the one marking line A vehicular traveling road determination apparatus, characterized in that the setting of the one marking line as the predetermined reference line is continued even when another marking line adjacent to the one marking line is detected. 2. The reference line setting means sets the one marking line as the predetermined reference line as a result of the one marking line detected by the marking line detecting means together with the other marking line. After continuing, the first line including the one marking line
Area and a second area including the other marking line, and setting the marking line as the predetermined reference line based on the first area of the plurality of areas. The vehicle traveling road determination device according to claim 1. 3. The reference line setting means sets the one marking line as the predetermined reference line as a result of the other marking line being detected together with the one marking line by the marking line detecting means. 3. The vehicular runway determination device according to claim 2, wherein the setting of the plurality of regions is canceled after the other marking lines disappear after continuing. 4. A vehicle position discriminating means for discriminating whether or not a vehicle is located on a road on which a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are drawn based on a map database of the navigation device, and the reference line setting. In a case where the marking line detecting means detects the one marking line and the other marking line under the situation where the vehicle position judging means judges that the vehicle is located on the road, 4. The vehicular traveling road determination device according to claim 1, wherein the setting of the marking line as the predetermined reference line is continued. 5. The reference line setting means, together with the one marking line by the marking line detecting means, under the situation where the vehicle position judging means no longer judges that the vehicle is located on the road. Is detected,
5. The vehicular runway determination device according to claim 4, wherein the setting of the one marking line as the predetermined reference line is continued. 6. A marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is running, and a reference line setting means for setting the marking line detected by the marking line detecting means as a predetermined reference line. In the vehicle running road determination device, the reference line setting means, after setting the pair of marking lines detected by the marking line detecting means as the predetermined reference line, the pair of marking lines When a plurality of marking lines are detected on at least one side, based on the interval between the pair of marking lines that has been set as the predetermined reference line, one of the plurality of marking lines is set to the predetermined one. A vehicle running road determination device characterized by being set as a reference line. 7. A vehicle control means for performing a predetermined vehicle control using the predetermined reference line when a predetermined condition is satisfied,
When the predetermined vehicle control by the vehicle control means is stopped because the predetermined condition is not satisfied,
Interval storage means for storing an interval between the pair of marking lines that has been set as the predetermined reference line, and start when the predetermined condition is satisfied after the predetermined vehicle control by the vehicle control means is stopped And a road condition determining unit that determines whether or not the road condition on which the vehicle is traveling substantially matches the road condition when the predetermined vehicle control is stopped, and the reference line setting unit is If the road condition determining means determines that the road condition on which the vehicle is traveling is substantially the same as the road condition when the predetermined vehicle control is stopped, then the distance stored in the space storing means is stored. 7. The vehicle running road determination device according to claim 6, wherein the interval is used for setting as the predetermined reference line. 8. The road condition determination means determines whether the road condition is equal to or less than a predetermined distance when the travel distance of the vehicle that has traveled from when the predetermined vehicle control by the vehicle control means is stopped to when the predetermined vehicle control is started. 8. The vehicular traveling road determination device according to claim 7, wherein it is determined that they substantially match. 9. The road condition determining means substantially matches the road conditions when an elapsed time from when the predetermined vehicle control by the vehicle control means is stopped to when the predetermined vehicle control is started is a predetermined time or less. 9. The vehicle running road determination device according to claim 7, wherein the determination is made. 10. The road condition discrimination means discriminates whether or not the road conditions are substantially coincident with each other by using a map database of the navigation device. Vehicle track determination device. 11. A marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is running, and a reference line setting means for setting the marking line detected by the marking line detecting means as a predetermined reference line. In the situation where a plurality of marking lines are detected on at least one side of the pair of marking lines by the marking line detecting means, the vehicle speed is predetermined. One of the plurality of marking lines is set as the predetermined reference line so that the interval between the pair of marking lines becomes larger when the value exceeds the value than when the value is less than the predetermined value. Vehicle road determination device. 12. A marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is running, and a reference line setting means for setting the marking line detected by the marking line detecting means as a predetermined reference line. In the case where two marking lines are detected by each of the pair of marking lines by the marking line detecting unit, the reference line setting unit includes the two marking lines, respectively. A vehicular traveling road determination apparatus, wherein an outer marking line of the marking lines is set as the predetermined reference line. 13. A marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, and a reference line setting means for setting the marking line detected by the marking line detecting means as a predetermined reference line. And a vehicle position discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the vehicle is located on a road having two or more lanes on each side, wherein the reference line setting means is the vehicle position discriminating means. When the marking line detecting means detects three marking lines on at least one side of the pair of marking lines under the situation where it is determined that the vehicle is located on the road by the
A vehicle runway determination device characterized in that the middle marking line of the two marking lines is set as the predetermined reference line. 14. A marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, and a reference line setting means for setting the marking line detected by the marking line detecting means as a predetermined reference line. And a vehicle position discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the vehicle is located on a provisional service road with one lane on each side, wherein the reference line setting means has the vehicle position discriminating means. When the marking line detecting means detects two marking lines on the side of the oncoming lane in a situation where the means determines that the vehicle is located on the road, the marking line on the inner side of the two marking lines is selected. A vehicle runway determination device characterized by being set as the predetermined reference line. 15. The vehicle runway determination according to claim 13, wherein the vehicle position determination means determines whether or not the vehicle is located on the road based on a map database of a navigation device. apparatus. 16. The vehicle position determining means determines whether or not the own vehicle is located on the road based on a traveling direction of another vehicle traveling in a lane adjacent to a lane in which the own vehicle is traveling. The vehicle running road determination device according to any one of claims 13 to 15. 17. A marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, and a reference line setting means for setting the marking line detected by the marking line detecting means as a predetermined reference line. And a reference line setting means in which a plurality of marking lines are detected on the opposite lane side by the marking line detection means and a single opposite side is provided on the opposite side. A vehicle runway determination device characterized in that, when a marking line is detected, the innermost marking line of the plurality of marking lines is set as the predetermined reference line. 18. The reference line setting means sets the innermost marking line as the predetermined reference line when the innermost marking line is drawn as a solid line on the road surface. The vehicle traveling road determination device according to claim 17. 19. A marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, and whether the marking line detected by the marking line detecting means is drawn on the road surface by a broken line. In a situation in which a plurality of marking lines adjacent to each other are detected by the line drawing determination means for determining whether or not the marking line detection means detects the innermost marking line among the plurality of marking lines by the line drawing determination means. When it is determined that the marking line is drawn on the road surface by a broken line, a reference line setting unit that sets a marking line adjacent to the outside of the marking line on the innermost side as a predetermined reference line, is provided. Vehicle road determination device. 20. A marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, and the marking line detected by the marking line detecting means is drawn on the road surface by a broken line, or In a situation where a plurality of marking lines that are adjacent to each other are detected by the marking line detecting means, the drawing determination means that determines whether or not the drawing is a solid line When a broken line marking line that is determined to be drawn as a broken line by the means and a solid line marking line that is determined to be drawn as a solid line coexist, the solid line marking line is used as a predetermined reference line. A vehicle running road determination apparatus comprising: a reference line setting means for setting. 21. A marking line detecting means for detecting a marking line drawn on a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, and a vehicle control means for performing a predetermined vehicle control using the marking line detected by the marking line detecting means. And a plurality of marking lines are detected on at least one side of the pair of marking lines by the marking line detection means, the predetermined vehicle control by the vehicle control means is stopped. -Vehicle control device characterized by prohibition.