JP2008120230A - Illumination device linked with face orientation, and illumination method linked with face orientation - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent wasteful illumination, and illuminate the front side of a vehicle appropriately according to the orientation of the face. <P>SOLUTION: A face-facing camera 12 images the face of a vehicle driver, and a CPU 25 recognizes the driver's face and determines the orientation of the face. The CPU 25 controls a light control section 18 so as to perform illumination by bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 in association with the orientation of the driver's face. The CPU 25 acquires positional information on a crossing provided with a traffic light, information on the current position of the vehicle, information on a vehicle speed, information on braking, and information on a gear shift position respectively from a map database 19, a GPS receiver 16, a vehicle speed sensor 13, a brake switch 14, and a shift sensor 15. When the CPU 25 determines based on these pieces of information that the vehicle is stopped near the crossing provided with the traffic light, the CPU 25 decides to prohibit illumination by the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 and sends signals for prohibiting the turning-on of the lights to a light control section 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a face direction interlocking illumination device and a face direction interlocking illumination method.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a face direction interlocking illumination device that turns on a light in conjunction with a driver's face direction (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 3203951 (page 4-8, FIG. 1)

  However, with conventional face-to-face illuminating devices, the lights are turned on according to the direction of the face even when the driver is not driving, such as when the driver is watching the surrounding scenery, signboards, people walking on the sidewalk, etc. End up. Such lighting is a waste of electric power and is not preferable.

  In addition, it is not preferable to turn on the light when the driver is looking at the room mirror or the navigation screen because it is a waste of electric power.

  Also, when driving at night, if the face moves little and it is recognized that there is a pedestrian in the vicinity, the face to the pedestrian will not face and if the light is turned on according to the face direction The effect of preventing oversight cannot be achieved.

  Furthermore, if the light is constantly lit according to the face direction, the driver gets used to the lighting of the light and the attention is reduced. Thus, if the bending light is not properly turned on, the effect is reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a face-direction interlocking illumination device and a face-direction interlocking illumination method capable of preventing useless illumination.

  It is another object of the present invention to provide a face direction interlocking illumination device and a face direction interlocking illumination method capable of appropriately illuminating the front of the vehicle according to the face direction.

In order to achieve this object, a face orientation interlocking illumination device according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided.
Imaging means for imaging the face of the driver of the vehicle;
Face orientation determination means for determining whether or not the driver has face orientation by determining the face orientation direction of the driver from the front based on an image obtained by imaging of the imaging means;
Illumination means for performing illumination;
Driving information acquisition means for acquiring driving information of the vehicle;
Whether the lighting is performed or the lighting is prohibited based on the driving information of the vehicle acquired by the driving information acquiring unit when the face direction determining unit determines that there is a face direction from the front of the driver. Lighting determination means for determining
When the illumination determination unit determines to perform illumination, the illumination unit is controlled to perform illumination, and when the illumination determination unit determines to prohibit illumination, the lighting control to prohibit illumination of the illumination unit Means.

With intersection information storage means for storing the position information of the intersection with a vehicle stop condition,
The driving information acquisition means
Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the vehicle as driving information of the vehicle;
Vehicle speed information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle speed information of the vehicle as driving information of the vehicle,
Brake information acquisition means for acquiring brake information of the vehicle as driving information of the vehicle;
Gear position information acquisition means for acquiring gear position information of the vehicle as driving information of the vehicle;
The illumination determination means determines that the position of the vehicle is near the intersection based on the position information of the vehicle acquired by the position information acquisition means and the position information of the intersection stored by the intersection information storage means. When it is determined that the vehicle speed is zero based on the vehicle speed information acquired by the vehicle speed information acquisition means, and when it is determined that the brake is turned on based on the brake information acquired by the brake information acquisition means When the gear position is determined to be one of parking, reverse, and neutral based on the gear position information acquired by the gear position information acquisition unit, the illumination unit is prohibited from illuminating. Then, it may be determined.

  The lighting determination unit is configured such that when the face direction from the front of the driver determined by the face direction determination unit corresponds to the installation position of the installation object installed in the vehicle, It may be determined that illumination is prohibited.

The installed object installed in the vehicle is a navigation device,
The illumination determination unit determines that the illumination unit is prohibited from lighting when the face direction from the front of the driver determined by the face direction determination unit corresponds to the installation position of the navigation device. You may do it.

The installation object installed in the vehicle is a room mirror,
The illumination determination means determines that the illumination of the illumination means is prohibited when the face direction from the front of the driver determined by the face direction determination means corresponds to the installation position of the room mirror. You may do it.

Road information storage means for storing road information on the road through which the vehicle passes,
The face orientation determining means determines the position of the face orientation based on the road information stored in the road information storage means when it is determined that there is a face orientation from the front of the driver during daytime driving of the vehicle. And determine whether or not there is a face orientation from the front of the driver when traveling at the determined position at night,
The illumination determination means determines that the face orientation determination means has no face orientation from the front of the driver at a position where it is determined that the driver face orientation is during the daytime travel when the vehicle is traveling at night. Sometimes, it may be determined that illumination is performed.

  The face orientation determining means stores, in the road information storage means, the position information of the position determined to have the face orientation when it is determined that the face is facing from the front of the driver during daytime driving of the vehicle. When it is determined that there is a face direction from the front of the driver during daytime driving of the vehicle, the position of the face direction is determined based on a history of position information stored in the road information storage means. You may do it.

An illumination lighting condition for lighting the illumination means and an illumination lighting prohibition condition for prohibiting lighting of the illumination means are stored as conditions set in advance based on the driver's face orientation angle and the driving information of the vehicle. Lighting condition storage means,
The lighting determination unit is stored in the lighting condition storage unit based on the driver's face direction angle acquired by the face direction angle acquisition unit and the driving information of the vehicle acquired by the driving information acquisition unit. It may be determined whether to turn on the lighting means or to turn off the lighting means with reference to the lighting lighting condition and the lighting lighting prohibition condition.

A face-oriented interlocking illumination device according to a second aspect of the present invention is:
Imaging means for imaging the face of the driver of the vehicle;
Face orientation determination means for detecting the driver's line of sight based on an image obtained by imaging of the image pickup means, and determining whether the driver's face direction is based on the detected driver's line of sight; ,
Illumination means for performing illumination;
Driving information acquisition means for acquiring driving information of the vehicle;
When the face orientation determination means detects a change in line of sight from the front of the driver, whether to perform the illumination or prohibit the illumination based on the driving information of the vehicle acquired by the driving information acquisition means Lighting determination means for determining;
When the illumination determination unit determines to perform illumination, the illumination unit is controlled to perform illumination, and when the illumination determination unit determines to prohibit illumination, the lighting control to prohibit illumination of the illumination unit Means.

The face direction interlocking illumination method according to the third aspect of the present invention is:
Imaging the face of the driver of the vehicle;
Based on the image obtained by imaging, the step of determining the face direction from the front of the driver to determine whether or not there is the face direction;
Obtaining driving information of the vehicle;
When determining that there is a face direction from the front of the driver, determining whether to perform the illumination or prohibit the illumination based on the acquired driving information of the vehicle;
When it is determined that the illumination is to be performed, control is performed so that the illumination is performed, and when it is determined that the illumination is prohibited, the step of prohibiting the illumination is provided.

  According to the present invention, useless illumination can be prevented. In addition, the front of the vehicle can be appropriately illuminated according to the face direction.

Hereinafter, a face direction interlocking illumination device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Embodiment 1)
The configuration of the face-direction interlocking illumination device according to Embodiment 1 is shown in FIG.
The face direction interlocking illumination device according to the first embodiment includes an infrared illumination unit 11, a face direction camera 12, a vehicle speed sensor 13, a brake switch 14, a shift sensor 15, a GPS receiver 16, and a bending light 17-1. -17-4, the light control part 18, map DB19, and ECU20.

  This face direction interlocking lighting device lights the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 in conjunction with the face direction of the driver of the vehicle. Under conditions where lighting is not required, such as when the signal is stopped, the bending light 17- The lighting of 1 to 17-4 is prohibited.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the infrared illumination unit 11 is for illuminating the face of the driver 52 in the vehicle 51 with infrared rays. The infrared illumination unit 11 is on a dashboard or a steering wheel in front of the driver 52 in the vehicle 51. It is installed near.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the face-facing camera 12 is a camera that images the face of the driver 52 illuminated by the infrared illumination unit 11, and the face-facing camera 12 shows the face of the driver 52 even when driving at night. An infrared camera is used so that an image can be taken. The face-facing camera 12 is installed in the vicinity of the infrared illumination unit 11, detects infrared rays generated from the driver 52, and images the face of the driver 52.

  The vehicle speed sensor 13 is a sensor that detects the vehicle speed of the vehicle 51 and acquires information on the detected vehicle speed as driving information of the vehicle 51. The brake switch 14 is a switch that acquires brake information of the vehicle 51 as driving information of the vehicle 51. The brake switch 14 is turned on when a brake is applied.

  The shift sensor 15 acquires gear position information as driving information. The shift sensor 15 detects that the gear position is one of parking, reverse, neutral, and drive.

  A GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 16 acquires position information of the vehicle 51 as driving information of the vehicle 51 using radio waves from GPS satellites.

  The GPS receiver 16 is provided in the navigation device 53. The navigation device 53 is an electronic device that guides the driving route to the current position and the destination for the driver 52 during operation of the vehicle 51, and is installed in front of the driver 52 as shown in FIG. Is done.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the navigation device 53 includes the GPS receiver 16, a navigation switch 53a, and a display 53b. The navigation switch 53 a is a switch for operating the navigation device 53. The display 53b performs guidance display of the current position of the vehicle 51 and the travel route to the destination.

  A room mirror 54 is installed in the upper part of the vehicle 51 in front of the front glass.

  The bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 are lights that are turned on and illuminate in a direction in which the driver 52 of the vehicle 51 faces. As shown in FIG. Installed.

  As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 are respectively seen from the driver 52 side as a leftward region Sp1, a leftward front region Sp2, and a rightward front region Sp3 of the vehicle 51. The light is irradiated to the area Sp4 in the right direction. Regions Sp1 to Sp4 are regions that cannot be covered by the headlamp.

  The light control unit 18 is for controlling lighting and non-lighting of the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4. When the light control signal is supplied from the CPU 25 of the ECU 20 so as to illuminate the driver 52 with the face direction of the driver 52 designated as the illumination direction, the light control unit 18 includes the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4. Then, lighting control of the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 is performed so as to turn on the lights corresponding to the designated illumination direction.

  On the other hand, when the light lighting prohibition signal for prohibiting illumination is supplied from the CPU 25, the light control unit 18 turns off all the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4.

  The map DB (database) 19 stores position information of intersections where traffic lights are installed as intersections with vehicle stop conditions and intersections where stop lines are marked.

  An ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 20 is an electronic control device for controlling the entire face-oriented illumination device, and includes an image memory 21, an image processing unit 22, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 23, and a RAM (Random Access). Memory) 24 and CPU (Central Processing Unit) 25 are provided.

  The image memory 21 is a storage device for storing image data obtained by photographing with the face-facing camera 12 and image data subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 22.

  The image processing unit 22 acquires image data obtained by photographing with the face-facing camera 12 from the image memory 21 and performs image processing.

  The image processing unit 22 acquires a face image of the driver 52 from the image memory 21 as image processing, performs a Sobel filter process on the acquired face image, and performs horizontal edges (upper and lower side edges) and vertical edges. Detect the left and right sides of the face.

  The image processing unit 22 obtains an edge image 52p of the face of the driver 52 as shown in FIG. 5A by performing such image processing. The image processing unit 22 stores the data of the edge image 52p in the image memory 21.

  The ROM 23 is used for storing program data and the like for the CPU 25 to execute each process described later. The RAM 24 is a working memory for storing data necessary for processing by the CPU 25.

The CPU 25 is for controlling the face direction interlocking illumination device.
First, the CPU 25 controls the infrared illumination unit 11 and the face-facing camera 12 to acquire a face image of the driver 52.

  The CPU 25 recognizes the face of the driver 52 based on a face image 52p as shown in FIG. 5A subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 22.

  The CPU 25 determines whether or not the driver 52 is facing the face. In order to make this determination, the CPU 25 determines, from the edge image 52p of the face of the driver 52, the upper eyebrows, the current eye, the lower mouth, the lower chin, and the center point of the eyeball, respectively, as shown in FIG. Feature points 52a, 52b, 52c, 52d, and 52e are acquired.

  CPU25 will acquire the space | interval between each acquired feature point 52a, 52b, 52c, 52d, if each feature point 52a, 52b, 52c, 52d, 52e is acquired.

  Assume that the edge images 52p shown in FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are those when the driver 52 is facing the front, facing downward, and facing upward, respectively. The interval x between the feature points 52a and 52b, the interval y between the feature points 52b and 52c, and the interval z between the feature points 52c and 52d are the edge images 52p shown in FIGS. 6 (a), 6 (b), and 6 (c). And each is different.

  When facing downward (FIG. 6B), when facing upward (FIG. 6C), the interval x is compared with the spacing x when facing front (FIG. 6A). And get smaller.

  Further, the interval z when facing upward (FIG. 6C) is larger than the interval z when facing downward (FIG. 6B).

  In this way, the CPU 25 compares the intervals x, y, and z to determine the face orientation direction of the driver 52 to determine the presence or absence of the face orientation from the front of the driver 52.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6A, the CPU 25 determines the face orientation of the driver 52 in the left-right direction based on the distances u1, u2 between the center line of the face and the left and right ends.

  If u1 = u2, the CPU 25 determines that the driver 52 is facing the front in the left-right direction. If u1> u2, the CPU 25 determines that the driver 52 is facing left. If u1 <u2, the CPU 25 determines that the driver 52 is facing right.

  The CPU 25 obtains a relationship between the difference between the intervals u1 and u2 and the face orientation detection angle δ through experiments or the like in advance.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the CPU 25 designates the face orientation detection angle δ as the face orientation direction, designates this face orientation direction as the illumination direction, and supplies a light lighting signal to the light control unit 18.

  That is, when the face orientation detection angle δ is δL1 to δL2, the CPU 25 designates the face orientation detection angles δL1 to δL2 as the illumination direction and supplies a light lighting signal to the light control unit 18. When the illumination direction is designated in this way, the light control unit 18 turns on the bending light 17-1.

  When the face orientation detection angle δ is δL2 to δL3, the CPU 25 designates the face orientation detection angles δL2 to δL3 as illumination directions and supplies a light lighting signal to the light control unit 18. When the illumination direction is designated in this way, the light control unit 18 turns on the bending light 17-2.

  When the face direction detection angle δ is δR1 to δR2, the CPU 25 designates the face direction detection angles δR1 to δR2 as the illumination direction and supplies a light lighting signal to the light control unit 18. When the illumination direction is designated in this way, the light control unit 18 turns on the bending light 17-4.

  When the face orientation detection angle δ is δR2 to δR3, the CPU 25 designates the face orientation detection angles δR2 to δR3 as the illumination direction and supplies a light lighting signal to the light control unit 18. When the illumination direction is designated in this way, the light control unit 18 turns on the bending light 17-3.

  Even if the CPU 25 determines that the face is facing, the bending light 17 is used when the vehicle 51 is stopped waiting for a signal, when the display 53b of the navigation device 53 is viewed, or when the room mirror 54 is viewed. It is determined that it is not necessary to light −1 to 17-4, and lighting of the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 is prohibited.

  The CPU 25 executes a signal stop determination process as will be described later in order to determine whether or not the vehicle 51 has stopped waiting for a signal. In this process, the CPU 25 acquires the position information of the intersection where the traffic signal is installed from the map DB 19 and acquires the current position information of the vehicle 51 from the GPS receiver 16.

  Further, the CPU 25 acquires vehicle speed information of the vehicle 51 from the vehicle speed sensor 13, acquires brake information from the brake switch 14, and acquires gear position information from the shift sensor 15.

  Next, in order to determine whether or not the CPU 25 is viewing the display 53b of the navigation device 53, the CPU 25 executes a navigation viewing determination process as described later. In this process, the CPU 25 acquires operation information of the navigation switch 53a of the navigation device 53, and determines whether or not the face of the driver 52 is facing downward based on the intervals x, y, and z.

  Next, the CPU 25 executes a mirror look determination process as described later in order to determine whether or not the room mirror 54 is being viewed. In this process, the CPU 25 determines the upward direction of the driver 52 based on the intervals x, y, and z.

  When it is determined that the lighting of the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 is prohibited, the CPU 25 supplies a light lighting prohibition signal to the light control unit 18.

Next, the operation of the face direction interlocking illumination device according to the first embodiment will be described.
The CPU 25 reads the program data of the face-direction interlocking illumination process stored in the ROM 23, and executes this process according to the flowchart shown in FIG.
The CPU 25 controls the infrared illumination unit 11 and the face-facing camera 12 to acquire a face image of the driver 52 (step S11).

  The CPU 25 acquires the face edge image 52p of the driver 52 from the image memory 21, and recognizes the face of the driver 52 based on the edge image 52p (step S12).

  The CPU 25 determines the face orientation of the driver 52 based on the edge image 52p (step S13).

  The CPU 25 determines whether or not there is a face orientation (step S14).

  When it is determined that there is a face orientation (step S14; Yes), the CPU 25 executes a signal stop determination process. The CPU 25 executes this process according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  CPU25 acquires the positional information on the intersection where the traffic signal was installed from map DB19 (step S31).

  CPU25 acquires the present position information on vehicles 51 from GPS receiver 16 (Step S32).

  CPU25 acquires vehicle speed information from vehicle speed sensor 13 (Step S33). CPU25 acquires brake information from brake switch 14 (Step S34). CPU25 acquires gear position information from shift sensor 15 (Step S35).

  The CPU 25 determines whether or not the current position of the vehicle 51 is an intersection with a signal (step S36).

  When it is determined that the intersection has a signal (step S36; Yes), the CPU 25 is based on the vehicle speed information acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 13, the brake information acquired from the brake switch 14, and the gear position position information acquired from the shift sensor 15. It is determined whether or not the vehicle 51 is stopped (step S37).

  If the vehicle speed is 0 (zero), the brake is on, or the gear position is one of parking, reverse, and neutral, the CPU 25 determines that the vehicle 51 is stopped (step S37; Yes).

  On the other hand, when the vehicle speed is not 0, when the brake is off, or when the gear position is the drive position, the CPU 25 determines that the vehicle 51 is not stopped (step S37; No).

  When it is determined that the vehicle 51 is stopped (Yes in step S37), the CPU 25 sets a signal stop determination flag to 1 and stores this flag value in the RAM 23 (step S38).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that it is not an intersection where a traffic light is installed (step S36; No), when it is determined that the vehicle is not stopped (step S35; No), the CPU 25 sets 0 to the signal stop determination flag. This flag value is stored in the RAM 23 (step S37).

  When executing the signal stop determination process in this way, the CPU 25 determines whether or not the signal is stopped based on the flag value of the signal stop determination flag stored in the RAM 23 (step S16).

  When the signal stop determination flag is 1, the CPU 25 determines that the signal stop is in progress (step S16; Yes). In this case, the CPU 25 performs a navigation look determination process (step S17). The CPU 25 executes this process according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  CPU25 acquires the operation information of navigation switch 53a of navigation device 53 (Step S41).

  The CPU 25 determines whether the navigation switch 53a is being operated based on the acquired operation information of the navigation switch 53a (step S42).

  If it is determined that the navigation switch 53a is being operated (step S42; Yes), the CPU 25 sets a navigation screen confirmation determination flag to 1 and stores this flag value in the RAM 23 (step S44).

  On the other hand, when determining that the navigation switch 53a is not being operated (step S42; No), the CPU 25 determines whether or not the face of the driver 52 is facing downward (step S43).

  When it is determined that the face of the driver 52 is facing downward (step S43; Yes), the CPU 25 sets a navigation screen confirmation determination flag to 1 and stores this flag value in the RAM 23 (step S44).

  When it is determined that the face of the driver 52 is not downward (step S43; No), the CPU 25 sets a navigation screen confirmation determination flag to 0 and stores this flag value in the RAM 23 (step S45).

  When the CPU 25 executes the navigation viewing determination process in this way, it determines whether or not the navigation screen is being confirmed based on the flag value of the navigation screen confirmation determination flag stored in the RAM 23 (step S18).

  When the flag value of the navigation screen confirmation determination flag is 0, the CPU 25 determines that the screen of the display 53b of the navigation device 53 is not being confirmed (step S18; No). In this case, the CPU 25 executes a mirror look determination process (step S19). The CPU 25 executes this process according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The CPU 25 acquires the edge image 52p of the driver 52 from the image memory 21, and determines whether or not the face of the driver 52 is upward (step S51).

  When determining that the face of the driver 52 is facing upward (step S51; Yes), the CPU 25 sets the flag value of the mirror confirmation determination flag to 1, and stores this flag value in the RAM 23 (step S52).

  When it is determined that the face of the driver 52 is not upward (step S51; No), the CPU 25 sets a mirror confirmation determination flag to 0 and stores this flag value in the RAM 23 (step S53).

  The CPU 25 determines whether or not the room mirror 54 is being confirmed based on the flag value of the mirror confirmation determination flag stored in the RAM 23 (step S20).

  If it is determined that the room mirror 54 is not being confirmed (step S20; No), the CPU 25 designates the face direction of the driver 52 as the illumination direction and supplies a light lighting signal to the light control unit 18 (step S21). ).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the driver 52 is not facing (Step S14; No), when it is determined that the signal is not stopped (Step S16; No), when it is determined that the navigation screen is being confirmed (Step S14). If it is determined that the room mirror 54 is being confirmed (step S20; Yes), the CPU 25 supplies a light lighting prohibition signal to the light control unit 18 (step S22). Then, the CPU 25 ends the face direction interlocking illumination process.

Next, a specific operation of the face direction interlocking illumination device according to the first embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 12A, when the vehicle 51 passes an intersection where no traffic signal is installed, the current position information of the vehicle 51 acquired from the GPS receiver 16 and the traffic signal acquired from the map DB 19 are installed. It does not correspond to the position information of the intersection. Further, the vehicle speed is not 0, the brake is on, or the gear position is one of parking, reverse, and neutral positions.

  In this case, when the face of the driver 52 faces the left pedestrian crossing, the CPU 25 determines that the face of the driver 52 is facing (step S14; Yes), and is not being confirmed by the navigation device 53 (step S18; No) If the room mirror 54 is not being confirmed (step S20; No), the direction of the face of the driver 52 is designated as the illumination direction, and a light lighting signal is supplied to the light control unit 18 (step S21).

  When the lighting direction is designated and this light lighting signal is supplied, the light control unit 18 controls the lighting of the bending lamp 16-1. The bending lamp 16-1 is lit to illuminate the area Sp1 on the left front side of the vehicle 51.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12B, when the vehicle 51 stops near the intersection where the traffic signal is installed (step S16; Yes), the current position information of the vehicle 51 acquired from the GPS receiver 16 and the road It corresponds to the position information of the intersection where the traffic signal obtained from the DB is installed. Further, the vehicle speed is 0, the brake is off, or the gear position is the drive position.

  In this case, even if the driver 52 turns to the left and vaguely looks at the surrounding scenery, signs, and people walking on the sidewalk, the CPU 25 is not driving and the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 It is determined that lighting is prohibited because lighting is not necessary.

  If CPU25 determines in this way, it will supply a light lighting prohibition signal to the light control part 18 (step S22). The light control unit 18 is supplied with the light lighting prohibition signal and turns off the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 13, when the face of the driver 52 faces the direction of the navigation device 53 (Step S18; Yes), the CPU 25 determines that the face of the driver 52 is present (Step S18). S14; Yes), the face of the driver 52 faces downward, and the face direction of the driver 52 corresponds to the position where the navigation device 53 is installed. Therefore, the CPU 25 determines that lighting of the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 is not necessary and lighting is prohibited.

  If CPU25 determines in this way, it will supply the light control part 18 with a light lighting prohibition signal. The light control unit 18 is supplied with the light lighting prohibition signal and turns off the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 (step S22).

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 14, when the face of the driver 52 faces the direction of the room mirror 54 (Step S20; Yes), the CPU 25 determines that the face of the driver 52 is present (Step S20). S14; Yes), the face of the driver 52 is upward, and the face direction of the driver 52 corresponds to the position where the room mirror 54 is installed. Therefore, the CPU 25 determines that lighting of the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 is not necessary and lighting is prohibited.

  If CPU25 determines in this way, it will supply the light control part 18 with a light lighting prohibition signal. The light control unit 18 is supplied with the light lighting prohibition signal and turns off the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 (step S22).

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the CPU 25 looks at the display 53b of the navigation device 53 when the vehicle 51 is parked waiting for a signal even when the driver 52 faces. When the room mirror 54 is viewed, the lighting of the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 is prohibited.

  Therefore, useless illumination of the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 can be prevented, and power consumption can be reduced. Further, the front of the vehicle 51 can be appropriately illuminated according to the direction of the face.

(Embodiment 2)
The face direction interlocking illumination device according to the second embodiment turns on the bending light when passing through the same point as in the daytime when traveling at night and the driver does not face.

FIG. 15 shows the configuration of the face-direction interlocking illumination device according to the second embodiment.
The face orientation interlocking illumination device includes a light lighting switch 31. The light lighting switch 31 is for turning on the light to turn it on and turning it off to turn off the light.

  The CPU 25 acquires the on / off state of the light lighting switch 31 and determines whether it is daytime driving or nighttime driving based on the acquired state.

  The ROM 23 also stores program data for daytime running processing and nighttime running processing.

Next, the operation of the face-direction interlocking illumination device according to the second embodiment will be described.
When the light lighting switch 31 is off, the CPU 25 determines the switch state of the light lighting switch 31, reads the program data of the daytime running process stored in the ROM 23, and executes this process according to the flowchart shown in FIG. To do.

The CPU 25 controls the infrared illumination unit 11 and the face-facing camera 12 to acquire a face image of the driver 52 (Step S61).
The CPU 25 acquires the face edge image 52p of the driver 52 from the image memory 21, and recognizes the face of the driver 52 based on the edge image 52p (step S62).

  The CPU 25 determines the face orientation of the driver 52 based on the edge image 52p (step S63).

  The CPU 25 determines whether or not the driver 52 has faced based on the edge image 52p (step S64).

  When it is determined that the driver 52 has faced and it is determined that the face angle exceeds a preset threshold (step S64; Yes), the CPU 25 indicates a local point indicating the local point where the face is facing. Data is written in the map DB 19 (step S65), and the daytime running process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the driver 52 has not faced (step S64; No), the CPU 25 ends the daytime running process without writing the local point data in the map DB 19.

  When the light lighting switch 31 is turned on, the CPU 25 discriminates the switch state of the light lighting switch 31, reads out the program data of the nighttime running process stored in the ROM 23, and executes this process according to the flowchart shown in FIG. To do.

  The CPU 25 controls the infrared illumination unit 11 and the face-facing camera 12 to acquire a face image (step S71).

  The CPU 25 acquires the face edge image 52p of the driver 52 from the image memory 21, and recognizes the face of the driver 52 based on the edge image 52p (step S72).

  The CPU 25 determines the face orientation of the driver 52 based on the edge image 52p (step S73).

  CPU25 reads the history of field point data from map DB19 (Step S74).

The CPU 25 determines whether the driver 52 is facing the face (step S75).
When it is determined that the driver 52 has the face orientation (step S75; Yes), the CPU 25 designates the driver 52 face orientation detection angle δ as the illumination direction, and supplies a light lighting signal to the light control unit 18 (step). S77).

  When it is determined that there is no face orientation of the driver 52 (step S75; No), the CPU 25 determines whether there is a face orientation history based on the read history of the local point data (step S76).

  When it is determined that there is a history of the face orientation of the driver 52 (step S76; Yes), the CPU 25 designates the face orientation detection angle δ of the driver 52 as an illumination direction and supplies a light lighting signal to the light control unit 18. (Step S77).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no history of the driver's 52 face orientation (step S76; No), the CPU 25 supplies a light lighting prohibition signal to the light control unit 18 (step S78), and ends the nighttime running process. Let

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, when driving at night, when passing through the same point as in the daytime, when the driver 52 does not face, the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 are turned on. It was made to light up.

  Therefore, an oversight of a pedestrian or the like when traveling at night can be prevented, and the front of the vehicle 51 can be appropriately illuminated according to the direction of the face. Further, since the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 are not always turned on, the driver 52 can be alerted.

  Further, even if the CPU 25 determines that there is no face orientation, if there is a history of local point data with the face orientation, the CPU 25 recognizes that there is a pedestrian in the vicinity when traveling at night with little facial movement. It was determined that the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 were turned on, and if there was no history, the lights were turned off.

  For this reason, the lighting control of the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 can be appropriately performed even during night driving with little movement of the face.

In carrying out the present invention, various forms are conceivable and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
For example, in the above embodiment, the infrared camera is used as the face-facing camera 12. However, a visible light camera can be used as the face-facing camera 12. However, it is necessary to provide an illumination device that illuminates the face of the driver 52 when traveling at night.

  In the first and second embodiments, the face orientation of the driver 52 is determined as determination of illumination by the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 and prohibition of illumination. However, the line of sight of the driver 52 may be detected, and the detected line of sight of the driver 52 may be used for this determination.

  When detecting the line of sight, the face angle and eyeball angle of the driver 52 are discriminated from the face image obtained by the face-facing camera 12 with the driver 52 facing the front. When detecting the angle of the eyeball, the CPU 25 calculates the angle of the line of sight from the relative positional relationship between the pupil center of the eyeball and the Purkinje image, for example.

  In the first embodiment, the intersection when the lighting of the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 is prohibited is described as an intersection where a traffic light is installed. However, the intersection may be an intersection with a stop line even if no traffic light is installed.

  In the first and second embodiments, the plurality of bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 are described as being fixedly attached to the front surface of the vehicle 51. However, if the lighting direction of the bending light is variable, only one bending light may be used. In this case, the light control unit 18 changes the direction of the bending light according to the illumination direction designated by the CPU 25.

  In Embodiments 1 and 2 described above, the CPU executes each process according to a flowchart. However, the ROM 24 stores in advance a table indicating the condition of turning off the light with the face orientation as shown in FIG. 18A and the night face orientation determination condition as shown in FIG. Referring to this table, lighting by the bending lights 17-1 to 17-4 and prohibition of lighting may be determined.

  In the above-described embodiment, the program is described as being stored in advance in a memory or the like. However, a program for operating the face-linked illumination device as the whole or a part of the device or executing the above-described processing is stored in a flexible disk, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read-Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk (MO) or Magneto Optical Disk (MO) is stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium, which is installed on another computer and operated as the above-mentioned means, or the above-described steps are executed. Also good.

  Furthermore, the program may be stored in a disk device or the like included in a server device on the Internet, and may be downloaded onto a computer by being superimposed on a carrier wave, for example.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the face direction interlocking illumination apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the inside of a vehicle. It is a figure which shows a navigation apparatus. It is a figure which shows a bending light, (a) shows the attachment position of the vehicle of a bending light, (b) shows the area | region which illuminates light, when each lights. It is a figure which shows a driver | operator's face image, (a) shows the edge image of the face image obtained by the image processing part performing image processing, (b) shows each feature point of an edge image. It is a figure which shows a driver | operator's face orientation determination, (a) shows the face image in case a driver is facing the front, (b) shows the face image in case a driver is facing down. (C) shows a face image when the driver is facing up. It is a figure which shows the relationship between face direction detection angle and lighting of a bending light. It is a flowchart which shows the face direction interlocking | linkage illumination process which CPU shown in FIG. 1 performs. It is a flowchart which shows the signal stop determination process which CPU shown in FIG. 1 performs. It is a flowchart which shows the navigation look determination process which CPU shown in FIG. 1 performs. It is a flowchart which shows the mirror viewing determination process which CPU shown in FIG. 1 performs. It is a figure which shows the specific operation | movement of the face direction interlocking illumination apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1, (a) shows operation | movement when a vehicle passes the intersection in which the traffic light is not installed, (b) is a traffic light. The operation when the vehicle is stopped near the intersection where is installed. It is a figure which shows that a driver | operator is confirming a navigation apparatus as a specific operation | movement of the face direction interlocking illumination apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows that a driver | operator is confirming a room mirror as a specific operation | movement of the face direction interlocking illumination apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the face direction interlocking illumination apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the daytime driving | running | working process which CPU shown in FIG. 15 performs. It is a flowchart which shows the night time driving | running | working process which CPU shown in FIG. 15 performs. It is a figure which shows the table memorize | stored in ROM as an application example of a face direction interlocking illumination apparatus, (a) shows the conditions which do not turn on a light with face direction, (b) is a night face direction determination Indicates conditions.

Explanation of symbols

12 Face-facing camera (imaging means)
13 vehicle speed sensor (driving information acquisition means, vehicle speed information acquisition means)
14 Brake switch (driving information acquisition means, brake information acquisition means)
15 Shift sensor (driving information acquisition means, gear position information acquisition means)
16 GPS receiver (driving information acquisition means, position information acquisition means)
17-1 to 17-4 Bending light (lighting means)
19 Map DB (intersection information storage means, road information storage means)
25 CPU (face orientation determination means, illumination determination means, lighting control means)
51 Vehicle 52 Driver 53 Navigation Device 53a Navigation Switch 54 Room Mirror

Claims (10)

Imaging means for imaging the face of the driver of the vehicle;
Face orientation determination means for determining whether or not the driver has face orientation by determining the face orientation direction of the driver from the front based on an image obtained by imaging of the imaging means;
Illumination means for performing illumination;
Driving information acquisition means for acquiring driving information of the vehicle;
Whether the lighting is performed or the lighting is prohibited based on the driving information of the vehicle acquired by the driving information acquiring unit when the face direction determining unit determines that there is a face direction from the front of the driver. Lighting determination means for determining
When the illumination determination unit determines to perform illumination, the illumination unit is controlled to perform illumination, and when the illumination determination unit determines to prohibit illumination, the lighting control to prohibit illumination of the illumination unit Means, and
A face orientation interlocking illumination device characterized by the above. With intersection information storage means for storing the position information of the intersection with a vehicle stop condition,
The driving information acquisition means
Position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of the vehicle as driving information of the vehicle;
Vehicle speed information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle speed information of the vehicle as driving information of the vehicle;
Brake information acquisition means for acquiring brake information of the vehicle as driving information of the vehicle;
Gear position information acquisition means for acquiring gear position information of the vehicle as driving information of the vehicle;
With
The illumination determination means determines that the position of the vehicle is near the intersection based on the position information of the vehicle acquired by the position information acquisition means and the position information of the intersection stored by the intersection information storage means. When it is determined that the vehicle speed is zero based on the vehicle speed information acquired by the vehicle speed information acquisition means, and when it is determined that the brake is turned on based on the brake information acquired by the brake information acquisition means When the gear position is determined to be one of parking, reverse, and neutral based on the gear position information acquired by the gear position information acquisition unit, the illumination unit is prohibited from illuminating. It is determined that
The face direction interlocking illumination device according to claim 1. The lighting determination unit is configured such that when the face direction from the front of the driver determined by the face direction determination unit corresponds to the installation position of the installation object installed in the vehicle, Determine that lighting is prohibited,
The face-oriented interlocking illumination device according to claim 1 or 2. The installed object installed in the vehicle is a navigation device,
The illumination determination unit determines that the illumination unit is prohibited from lighting when the face direction from the front of the driver determined by the face direction determination unit corresponds to the installation position of the navigation device. ,
The face direction interlocking illumination device according to claim 3. The installation object installed in the vehicle is a room mirror,
The illumination determination means determines that the illumination of the illumination means is prohibited when the face direction from the front of the driver determined by the face direction determination means corresponds to the installation position of the room mirror. ,
5. The face direction interlocking illumination device according to claim 3, wherein the face direction interlocking illumination device is provided. Road information storage means for storing road information on the road through which the vehicle passes,
The face orientation determining means determines the position of the face orientation based on the road information stored in the road information storage means when it is determined that there is a face orientation from the front of the driver during daytime driving of the vehicle. And determine whether or not there is a face orientation from the front of the driver when traveling at the determined position at night,
The illumination determination means determines that the face orientation determination means has no face orientation from the front of the driver at a position where it is determined that the driver face orientation is during the daytime travel when the vehicle is traveling at night. When you decide to do lighting,
The face direction interlocking illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the face direction interlocking illumination device is provided. The face orientation determining means stores, in the road information storage means, the position information of the position determined to have the face orientation when it is determined that the face is facing from the front of the driver during daytime driving of the vehicle. When it is determined that there is a face direction from the front of the driver during daytime driving of the vehicle, the position of the face direction is determined based on a history of position information stored in the road information storage means. ,
The face direction interlocking illumination device according to claim 6. An illumination lighting condition for lighting the illumination unit and an illumination lighting prohibition condition for prohibiting lighting of the illumination unit are stored as conditions set in advance based on the driver's face direction angle and the driving information of the vehicle. Lighting condition storage means,
The lighting determination unit is stored in the lighting condition storage unit based on the driver's face direction angle acquired by the face direction angle acquisition unit and the driving information of the vehicle acquired by the driving information acquisition unit. Determining whether to turn on the lighting means or prohibit lighting of the lighting means with reference to the lighting lighting condition and the lighting lighting prohibition condition;
The face direction interlocking illumination device according to claim 1, wherein the face direction interlocking illumination device is provided. Imaging means for imaging the face of the driver of the vehicle;
Face orientation determination means for detecting the driver's line of sight based on an image obtained by imaging of the image pickup means, and determining whether the driver's face direction is based on the detected driver's line of sight; ,
Illumination means for performing illumination;
Driving information acquisition means for acquiring driving information of the vehicle;
When the face orientation determination means detects a change in line of sight from the front of the driver, whether to perform the illumination or prohibit the illumination based on the driving information of the vehicle acquired by the driving information acquisition means Lighting determination means for determining;
When the illumination determination unit determines to perform illumination, the illumination unit is controlled to perform illumination, and when the illumination determination unit determines to prohibit illumination, the lighting control to prohibit illumination of the illumination unit Means, and
A face orientation interlocking illumination device characterized by the above. Imaging the face of the driver of the vehicle;
Based on the image obtained by imaging, the step of determining the face direction from the front of the driver to determine whether or not there is the face direction;
Obtaining driving information of the vehicle;
When determining that there is a face direction from the front of the driver, determining whether to perform the illumination or prohibit the illumination based on the acquired driving information of the vehicle;
When it is determined to perform the illumination, it is controlled to perform the illumination, and when it is determined to prohibit the illumination, the step of prohibiting the illumination is provided.
A face-oriented illumination method characterized by that.

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