JP2007034693A - Safe driving support system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically detect a red signal of a traffic signal in a traveling direction of own vehicle to perform control related to stoppage or the like. <P>SOLUTION: A safe driving support system 1 is provided with a processor 3 and a forward monitor camera 4 which is installed in a vehicle for photographing in the traveling direction to output a photographed image. The processor 3 is provided with a red signal detection part 3a for extracting a red color luminance part from the photographed image by the forward monitor camera 4 to detect a red signal of the traffic signal, a traffic-signal-on-the-course determination part 3b for determining whether or not the traffic signal is a traffic signal existing in the course of own vehicle when the red signal has been detected, and a correspondence control part 3d for performing correspondence control related to vehicle stoppage or the like when the traffic-signal-on-the-course determination part 3b has determined that the traffic signal is the one existing in the course of own vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a safe driving support device that supports safe driving by determining a signal state of a traffic light and performing control related to stopping of a vehicle and the like.

When driving a vehicle, forgetting to check the red light of the traffic light or delaying the confirmation may lead to an accident, so the operating state of the traffic light uses considerable nerves. In addition, traffic lights may enter the field of view continuously, or at a specific intersection, the traffic light corresponding to the direction of travel may be in a similar direction with other traffic lights, and the red light of the traffic light in the direction in which the host vehicle is traveling will be mistaken. There is a risk of In addition, although it describes in patent document 1 as a technique which detects a traffic light during driving | running | working of a vehicle, this calculates a horizontal distance when detecting objects, such as a traffic light, and uses the calculated distance. It corrects the current position of the host vehicle and has nothing to do with the present invention.
Japanese Patent No. 3381212

When driving a vehicle, it is dangerous if the vehicle enters with a red traffic light, and it is preferable to prevent this.
Therefore, the present invention is to provide a safe driving support device capable of automatically detecting a red signal of a traffic light in the traveling direction of the host vehicle and performing control related to stopping or the like.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a safe driving support device that supports a safe driving by determining a signal state of a traffic light to control a stop of the vehicle and the like. Image pickup means for picking up an image and outputting a picked-up image; a red signal detection means for extracting a red light emitting portion from a picked-up image by the image pickup means to detect a red signal of the traffic light; and the red signal detection means for detecting the red signal. A traffic signal determining means for determining whether or not the traffic signal is on the course of the host vehicle when detected, and a traffic signal existing on the path of the host vehicle by the traffic signal determining means on the path. When it is determined, the control unit is configured to include response control means for performing response control related to vehicle stoppage or the like.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, the red signal detecting means extracts the red light emitting portion from the image picked up by the image pickup means and detects that it is a red signal. When a red signal is detected by the red signal detecting means, the traffic signal determining means determines whether or not the traffic signal is a signal present on the course of the host vehicle. When the traffic signal determination means determines that the traffic signal is a traffic signal that exists on the path of the host vehicle, that is, when the traveling direction of the host vehicle is a red signal, the response control unit stops the vehicle, etc. The corresponding processing is performed. In this way, when the traffic light in the traveling direction of the host vehicle is a red signal, this can be automatically detected, and corresponding control relating to vehicle stop can be performed. In particular, since the light emission state of the traffic light is detected, the traffic light can be detected even when visibility is poor or at night. In other words, when the traffic signal itself is detected by the imaging means, there may be a case where the visibility is poor or at night, the clear imaging of the traffic signal may not be obtained. Even if it is bad or at night, the light emission state of the red light emitter can be favorably imaged by the imaging means, so that the presence of the traffic light can be well detected.

  In this case, the traffic signal determination unit on the route calculates the ellipticity of the contour of the red light emitting unit extracted from the image captured by the imaging unit, and the traffic signal exists on the route of the host vehicle based on the calculated ellipticity. You may make it determine with it being a traffic signal (invention of Claim 2). In this way, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the detected red traffic light is a traffic light in the traveling direction. That is, each light emitter of the traffic light is close to a perfect circle when present in the front direction from the own vehicle, and the ellipticity of each light emitter increases as the angle seen from the own vehicle shifts to the left and right. In other words, the lower the ellipticity of the red light emitting part imaged by the imaging means (the closer it is to a perfect circle), the more it can be determined that the vehicle is in front of the host vehicle, in other words, in the traveling direction of the host vehicle. To do.

  The on-route traffic light determination means may determine the ellipticity of the contour of the lower portion of the red light emitting section (invention of claim 3). If it does in this way, it can judge accurately whether it is a traffic signal which exists on the course of the own vehicle, without being influenced by eaves of a traffic signal. That is, normally, an eave is attached to the upper part of the light emitter of the traffic light. When the light emitter is viewed from an oblique direction, the eaves may block the upper part of the outline of the light emitter. Therefore, when determining the ellipticity of the contour of the red light emitting part in the captured image, if the ellipticity of the lower portion of the contour that is not affected by the eaves is used, the traffic signal present on the course of the host vehicle regardless of the eaves of the traffic signal Whether or not can be determined with high accuracy.

  In addition, the navigation apparatus has a map data storage means, a vehicle position detection means, and the like, and is capable of guiding a route from the current position of the vehicle to a target position. It is good also as a structure which determines whether the said traffic signal is a traffic signal which exists on the course of the own vehicle using this navigation apparatus, when operating (invention of Claim 4). If it does in this way, it can judge accurately whether it is a traffic signal which exists on the course of the own vehicle using a navigation device.

  The red signal detecting means may detect a red signal based on the extracted luminance of the red light emitting part and / or the height of the red light emitting part (invention of claim 5). In this way, a red signal can be reliably detected.

  In addition, when the red signal detecting means detects a plurality of red signals, the red signal detecting means compares the sizes and heights of the red light emitting sections corresponding to the red signals, and arranges the red signals in order of closeness to the host vehicle. The traffic light determination means on the route may determine whether or not the traffic light is present on the route of the own vehicle in order from the traffic light of the red signal close to the own vehicle (Claim 6). . In this way, even if a plurality of red signals are detected, it is possible to recognize red signals that are close to the host vehicle, and it is possible to determine whether or not the traffic lights are present on the route in order from the red signal that is closest to the host vehicle. Thus, the determination process can be optimized.

  In addition, the traffic signal determination unit on the route may include a direction determination unit that determines a right diagonal direction and a left diagonal direction of the traffic signal based on a right / left area ratio of the red light emitting unit in the captured image (invention of claim 7). . In this way, the direction of the traffic light can be satisfactorily determined using the eaves of the traffic light. That is, as described above, usually, an eave is attached to the upper part of the light emitter of the traffic light, and when the traffic light is inclined rightward when viewed from the host vehicle, the eaves portion is on the upper left side of the light emitter of the traffic light. Since it is covered, the red light emitting part in the captured image has a light emission area on the left half smaller than that on the right half. On the contrary, when the traffic light is tilted to the left, the eaves part covers the upper right side of the light emitter of the traffic light. Therefore, the red light-emitting portion in the captured image has a light emission area on the right half smaller than that on the left half. . Therefore, according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the on-track traffic signal determining means includes the direction determining means for determining the right oblique direction and the left oblique direction of the traffic light from the left-right area ratio of the red light emitting portion in the captured image. Therefore, the direction of the traffic light can be satisfactorily determined using the eaves of the traffic light.

  Further, the response control means may be configured to execute warning or stop control as response control relating to vehicle stop or the like when the host vehicle is not prepared for stop (invention of claim 8). When the traffic light in the traveling direction of the host vehicle is a red signal, a warning can be given to the user (driver) or the vehicle can be stopped.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the safe driving support apparatus 1 by functional blocks. The safe driving support device 1 is mounted on a vehicle 2 (see FIG. 3), and includes a processing device 3, a front monitoring camera 4, a host vehicle position detection device 5, a map data storage unit 6, a display device 7, and a voice output device 8. The vehicle control unit 9, the vehicle speed sensor 10, and the input device 12 are provided.

  The processing device 3 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, various A / D converters, and the like. The processing device 3 functionally includes a red signal detection unit 3a as red signal detection means, The on-road signal determination unit 3b as a traffic signal determination unit, a navigation processing unit 3c, a response control unit 3d as a response control unit, and an output control unit 3e are configured.

  The front monitoring camera 4 corresponds to an image pickup means and includes a CCD camera or the like. The vehicle 2 is provided so that the traveling direction can be imaged. The own vehicle position detecting device 5 serving as the own vehicle position detecting unit, the map data storing unit 6 serving as the map data storing unit, and the navigation processing unit 3c constitute a navigation device 11. The own vehicle position detection device 5 includes a GPS receiver, a gyro, and the like, and detects the own vehicle position. The map data storage unit 6 stores map data required as a navigation device, which is composed of a recording medium such as a CD or a DVD, and a drive device (not shown) such as a CD drive or a DVD drive. The data information is input to the navigation processing unit 3c via. When there is a destination setting from the input device 12, the navigation processing unit 3c calculates a route from the vehicle position to the destination, displays the map and the vehicle position on the display device 7, and displays the display device 7 and the voice. A route to the destination is displayed and voiced by the output device 8.

Even when there is no destination setting from the input device 12, the vehicle position is displayed together with the map when a map display request is made.
The display device 7 displays a map, a vehicle position (vehicle mark), a route identification mark for route guidance, and the like during traveling. The audio output device 8 serving as a notification unit is constituted by a speaker, for example. When there is a forced brake command from the response control unit 3d, the vehicle control unit 9 issues an operation command to the vehicle brake device.
The vehicle speed sensor 10 detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 2, and the vehicle speed detection signal is used by the navigation processing unit 3c and the correspondence control unit 3d. The input device 12 includes a touch panel switch, a remote control switch, etc. in the display device 7.

  Now, functions of the red signal detection unit 3a, the traffic signal determination unit 3b, the navigation processing unit 3c, the correspondence control unit 3d, and the output control unit 3e in the processing device 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This flowchart starts when the start key of the host vehicle 2 is turned on, for example. First, in step P1, a captured image (imaging result) is read from the front monitoring camera 4, and a red light emitting unit is extracted from this captured image in step P2. In Step P3, the traffic light is determined based on the luminance and size φ (see FIG. 7) of the extracted red light emitting portion or the heights ha and hb (see FIG. 7) and the shape (perfect circle and ellipse) on the image. It is determined whether or not the red light emitter is in a light emitting state (whether it is a red signal) (red signal detecting means). The heights ha and hb are suitable as a red signal determination element because the light emitter of the traffic light is at a relatively high position.

  In step P4, when a plurality of red signals are extracted, the distance of each red signal with respect to the host vehicle 2 is determined and recognized in the order closer to the host vehicle 2. This is determined to be closer to the host vehicle 2 as the size of the red light emitting unit is larger and the height on the captured image is higher. In step P5, the red light emitting portion that is the closest red signal is set.

  In Step P6, the direction of the traffic light that is close (first in this case) is determined. That is, the traffic signal determination unit 3b on the route calculates the ellipticity (vertical length) of the lower part of the outline of the red light emitting unit in the captured image captured by the front monitoring camera 4, and the traffic signal is determined based on the calculated ellipticity. Determine the direction.

  Here, the purpose of determining the ellipticity will be described. When the light emitter of the traffic light is opposed to the host vehicle 2, the contour of the light emitter is almost a perfect circle, but it is oblique to either the left or right. It becomes a vertically long ellipse. Accordingly, it is possible to determine that the traffic signal is oblique by determining the ellipticity (the perfect circle has an ellipticity (vertical length) of approximately “1”, and the elliptical shape of a vertically long ellipse is greater (ellipsity “1” or higher)). Each light emitter of the traffic light is close to a perfect circle when present in the front direction from the own vehicle, and the ellipticity of each light emitter increases as the angle seen from the own vehicle shifts to the left and right. That is, as the ellipticity of the red light emitting unit is lower (closer to a perfect circle), it can be determined that the red light emitting unit exists in the front direction of the host vehicle, in other words, in the traveling direction of the host vehicle. And the angle of the said traffic signal with respect to the own vehicle 2 can also be determined by the said ellipticity.

  The purpose of using the ellipticity of the lower part of the contour of the light emitter is as follows. That is, as can be seen from FIG. 5, an eave (indicated by symbol F) is usually attached to the upper part of the light emitter of the traffic light. The eaves may block. Therefore, when determining the ellipticity of the contour of the illuminant, if the ellipticity of the lower portion of the contour that is not affected by the eaves is used, it is possible to accurately determine whether the traffic signal is present on the course of the host vehicle. It can be done.

  Furthermore, in this step P6, it is determined whether the light emitter of the traffic light is rightward or leftward among the diagonal directions. That is, as described above, an eave is usually attached to the upper part of the light emitter of the traffic light. As can be seen from FIG. 5, when the traffic light is inclined rightward when viewed from the host vehicle, Therefore, in the red light emitting part (indicated by symbol R in FIG. 4) in the captured image of the front monitoring camera 4, the left half light emitting area is smaller than the right half light emitting area. On the contrary, when the traffic light is tilted to the left, the eaves part covers the upper right side of the light emitter of the traffic light. Therefore, the red light-emitting portion in the captured image has a light emission area on the right half smaller than that on the left half. . Therefore, it is possible to determine the right diagonal direction and left diagonal direction of the traffic light from the left / right area ratio of the red light emitting portion in the image image.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3, a case is considered where there are traffic lights S1, S2, and S3 when the vehicle 2 is traveling. In this case, the traffic light S1 is a traffic signal (traffic signal on the route) corresponding to the roadway W1 on which the host vehicle 2 is traveling. This traffic light S1 is seen in front when viewed from the front monitoring camera 4 (own vehicle 2). That is, they are in opposite directions. Another traffic light S2 is a traffic light corresponding to another roadway W2. When viewed from the front monitoring camera 4, the traffic light S <b> 2 is in an obliquely leftward state. Still another traffic light S3 is a traffic light corresponding to another roadway W3. When viewed from the front monitoring camera 4, the traffic light S <b> 3 is in an obliquely rightward state. The direction of the red light emitter of these traffic lights can be determined well as can be seen from the above description.

  After Step P6, in Step P7, it is determined whether or not the navigation device 11 is operating. That is, it is determined whether or not the navigation device 11 is performing route guidance when the user sets the destination. When the navigation device 11 is not in operation, the process proceeds to Step P8, and it is determined whether or not the red signal that is close is a traffic signal on the path. This determination is performed as follows. In other words, if the red light emitting unit on the captured image is in the facing direction, it is determined that the traffic signal of the red signal that is close is the traffic signal on the path.

  If it is determined in this step P8 that the red signal at hand is a traffic signal on the course ("YES"), the vehicle stop preparation state is determined in step P9. That is, in consideration of the distance to the traffic signal on the route and the current vehicle speed (signal from the vehicle speed sensor 10), it is determined whether or not the vehicle can be stopped by the traffic signal. This determination can be made, for example, “almost no urgency” (there is no need to brake immediately, or there is sufficient braking), “somewhat urgent” (immediate braking Judgment should be made in three stages: “highly urgent” (it is better to force a braking command to the vehicle). Here, as the category of “almost no urgency”, it may be considered that the vehicle speed is sufficiently low, and in this case, an unpleasant warning when the user already recognizes a red light is eliminated. Can do. Furthermore, as a category of the above “almost no urgency”, it may be taken into account that the own vehicle 2 has detected a red signal after being quickly bent by approximately 90 degrees (detected by a gyro etc.). It is possible to eliminate an unnecessary warning when a traffic light immediately after turning in the intersection (another traffic light in the same intersection) is red.

If it is “almost no urgency” (“YES” in step P10), the process returns to step P1 without warning or forced braking. If it is “somewhat urgent” (“NO” in step P10 and “YES” in step P11), in step P12, the voice output device 8 is made to output a voice indicating “prompt to brake”. (Warning) and the display device 7 display (warning) of the same meaning, and if it is “high urgency” (“NO” in Step P11), the process proceeds to Step P13, and the sound is the same as described above. The output device 8 and the display device 7 are warned to the effect of “prompt braking”, and a forced brake command is output to the vehicle control unit 9. In this case, the vehicle control unit 9 receives the forced brake command and outputs a brake execution command for operating the brake device of the vehicle, and the vehicle brake device executes the brake operation.
In step P8, when there is no red signal near the vehicle ("NO"), the next closest red signal is set in step P14, and the angle / orientation determination process in step P6 is performed. Then execute again.

  If it is determined in step P7 that the navigation device 11 is operating, the distance and angle between the traffic light on the map data and the host vehicle 2 are calculated in step P15. In step P16, the navigation device 11 is calculated. The function of No. 11 is used to determine whether or not a nearby red traffic light is on the path. That is, the distance and angle between the traffic light on the map data calculated in step P15 and the host vehicle 2, and the distance, direction and angle of the red light emitting unit from the host vehicle 2 in the image data (the direction and angle are detected in step P6 described above). Is determined to match, and if they match, it is determined whether or not the corresponding traffic signal is present on the route set by the navigation device 11, and if it is present on the set route, the red If it is determined that the traffic light in the signal state is on the route and does not exist on the setting route, it is determined that the traffic signal in the immediate red light state is not on the route, the next is set in step P14, and the process returns to step P6.

  The above-described determination method will be described with reference to FIGS. While the navigation device 11 is in operation, the position of the host vehicle 2 and the positions of the traffic lights A and B are known, and the distances La and Lb from the host vehicle 2 to the traffic lights A and B, and further from the host vehicle 2 are seen. The angles θa and θb with respect to the traffic lights A and B are also known, and a route (indicated by an arrow K) is set. On the other hand, in the image data picked up by the front monitoring camera 4, as shown in FIG. 7, the red signals of the traffic lights A and B are recognized as the red light emitting portions Ha and Hb. 2, the distance between the red light emitting portions Ha and Hb is calculated from the heights ha and hb, and the direction and angle have been determined in step P6.

  Then, the distances La and Lb on the map data in the navigation device 11 coincide with the calculated distance on the image data, the angles θa and θb (including left and right directions), and the image data The traffic lights A and B in the red signal state are recognized because the direction and the angle calculated in the above match. If the traffic lights A and B in the red signal state are on the setting route K, it is determined as the traffic light in the red signal state on the route.

3 and 4, when the navigation device 11 is operating, it is similarly determined whether or not a nearby traffic light in a red signal state is on the path.
Steps P4 to P8 and Steps P14 to P16 show the function of the on-route signal determining unit 3b, which is the on-route signal determining unit.
If it is determined in step P16 that the traffic light in the near red signal state is on the route (“YES”), the process proceeds to step P9 described above, and it is determined that the traffic light in the near red signal state is not on the route. If so ("NO"), the process returns to Step P6 via Step P14 described above.

  According to such a present Example, when the red signal detection part 3a in the processing apparatus 3 extracts a red light emission part based on the image picked up by the front monitoring camera 4 and detects a red signal, the on-route signal determination part 3b However, it is determined whether or not the traffic signal is a traffic signal present on the course of the host vehicle 2. When the traffic signal determination unit 3b determines that the traffic signal is a traffic signal present on the path of the host vehicle 2, that is, when the traveling direction of the host vehicle 2 is a red signal, the response control unit 3d. Performs a response process for stopping the vehicle. In this way, when the traffic light in the traveling direction of the host vehicle 2 is a red signal, this can be automatically detected, and corresponding control relating to vehicle stop and the like can be performed.

  In particular, since the light emission state of the light emitter of the traffic light is detected, the traffic light can be detected even when visibility is poor or at night. That is, when trying to detect the traffic light itself with the front monitoring camera 4, there may be a case where the visibility is poor or at night, a clear imaging of the traffic light may not be obtained, but when detecting the light emission state of the traffic light, Even when the field of view is somewhat poor or at night, the light emission state of the red illuminant can be well imaged by the front monitoring camera 4, and thus the presence of the traffic light can be detected well.

In this case, the traffic signal determination unit 3b on the route calculates the ellipticity of the contour of the red light emitting unit, and determines that the traffic signal is a traffic signal present on the route of the host vehicle 2 based on the calculated ellipticity. Therefore, it can be accurately determined whether or not the red light emitter in the light emitting state is a traffic signal in the traveling direction.
In particular, since the traffic signal determining unit 3b determines the ellipticity of the contour of the lower portion of the red light emitting unit, even if there is a eaves above the light emitting body of the traffic light, the route of the host vehicle 2 is determined. It is possible to accurately determine whether or not the traffic signal exists above.

  In addition, the navigation apparatus 11 includes a map data storage unit 6, a host vehicle position detection device 5, and the like that can guide the route from the current position of the host vehicle 2 to the target position. When the navigation device 11 is in operation, the navigation device 11 is used to determine whether or not the traffic signal is a traffic signal that exists on the course of the host vehicle 2. Therefore, the navigation device 11 is used. Thus, it can be accurately determined whether or not the traffic signal is present on the course of the host vehicle 2.

  In addition, since the red signal detection unit 3a detects the red signal based on the brightness of the extracted red light emitting unit and / or the height of the red light emitting unit in the captured image, the red signal can be reliably detected. .

  In addition, when the red signal detection unit 3a detects a plurality of red signals, the red light emitting units corresponding to the red signals are compared in size and height, and the red signals are arranged in the order closer to the host vehicle. And the traffic signal determination unit 3b determines whether the traffic signal is present on the path of the host vehicle in order from the traffic signal of the red signal closest to the host vehicle 2. Even if it is detected, a red signal close to the host vehicle can be detected, and it can be determined in order from the closest to the host vehicle 2 whether or not it is a traffic signal present on the course, and the determination process can be optimized.

Further, since the on-route traffic signal determination unit 3b includes direction determination means for determining the right diagonal direction and left diagonal direction of the traffic signal based on the left / right area ratio of the red light emitting unit in the captured image, the eaves of the traffic signal are used. The direction of the traffic light can be determined well.
In addition, the response control unit 3d performs warning or stop control as response control related to vehicle stop or the like when the host vehicle 2 is not ready to stop ("emergency level is slightly present" or "emergency level is high"). Therefore, when the traffic light in the traveling direction of the host vehicle 2 is a red signal, a warning can be given to the user (driver) or the vehicle can be stopped.
In addition, this invention is not restricted to the Example mentioned above, It can implement by changing variously within the range which does not deviate from a summary. For example, in step P, the size (diameter) φ (see FIG. 7) is used as an element for detecting a red signal, but if it is not a perfect circle, the size sh (see FIG. 7) in the vertical direction may be used.

The block diagram which shows the functional structure of the whole safe driving assistance apparatus which shows one Example of this invention. Flow chart showing control contents of processing device Plan view of road for action explanation The figure which shows the captured image imaged from the own vehicle in FIG. Schematic of the traffic light part seen from the host vehicle in FIG. Plan of another road for action explanation The figure which shows the captured image imaged from the own vehicle in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawing, 1 is a safe driving support device, 2 is a vehicle, 3 is a processing device, 3a is a red signal detection unit (red signal detection means), 3b is a traffic signal determination unit (traffic signal determination unit), and 3d corresponds. Control unit (corresponding control unit), 4 is a front monitoring camera (imaging unit), 5 is a vehicle position detection device (vehicle position detection unit), 6 is a map data storage unit (map data storage unit), and 7 is a display device. , 8 is an audio output device, and 9 is a vehicle control unit.

Claims (8)

A safe driving support device that assists safe driving by determining the light emission state of a traffic light and controlling the stop of the vehicle,
Imaging means provided in the vehicle for imaging the traveling direction and outputting a captured image;
A red signal detecting means for detecting a red signal of a traffic light by extracting a red light emitting portion from an image captured by the imaging means;
On-road signal determining means for determining whether or not the signal is present on the course of the host vehicle when the red signal is detected by the red signal detecting means;
A safe driving support apparatus, comprising: response control means for performing response control relating to vehicle stoppage or the like when it is determined by the traffic signal determination means that the vehicle is on the path of the host vehicle. In the safe driving assistance device according to claim 1,
The traffic signal determination unit on the route is a traffic signal that determines the ellipticity of the contour of the red light emitting part extracted from the image captured by the imaging unit, and the traffic signal is present on the route of the host vehicle based on the calculated ellipticity. A safe driving support device characterized in that In the safe driving assistance device according to claim 2,
The traffic signal determining means on the route calculates the ellipticity of the contour of the lower part of the red light emitting part. In the safe driving assistance device according to claims 1 to 3,
It has a navigation device that has map data storage means, own vehicle position detection means, etc., and that can guide the route from the current position of the own vehicle to the target position,
The traffic signal determining means determines whether the traffic signal is a traffic signal present on the path of the host vehicle using the navigation device when the navigation device is operating. Support device. In the safe driving assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The red signal detecting means detects a red signal based on the luminance of the extracted red light emitting unit and / or the height of the red light emitting unit in the captured image. In the safe driving assistance apparatus in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 5,
When the red signal detecting means detects a plurality of red signals, it compares the sizes and heights of the red light emitting sections corresponding to the respective red signals, and recognizes each red signal from the closest order to the host vehicle. And
The traffic signal determining means determines whether or not the traffic signal is present on the path of the host vehicle in order from a red signal near the host vehicle. In the safe driving assistance apparatus in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 6,
The traffic signal determining means on the route includes a direction determining means for determining the right / left direction of the traffic light from the left / right area ratio of the red light emitting portion in the captured image. In the safe driving assistance apparatus in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 7,
The said corresponding | compatible control means performs warning or stop control as the corresponding | compatible control regarding a vehicle stop etc. when the stop preparation of the own vehicle is not made, The safe driving assistance apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

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