JP4947649B2 - Image processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that processes an image obtained by photographing the periphery of a vehicle.

In recent years, a system for monitoring the periphery of a vehicle has been proposed in order to improve the safety of the vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a system, a camera is attached to a driver's blind spot such as the rear of the vehicle, and an image obtained by photographing the periphery of the vehicle with the camera is provided. By viewing this image, the driver can eliminate the blind spot from the driver's seat and check the presence of obstacles around the vehicle.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-175482

  However, when a camera having the same angle of view is mounted on different vehicles, the mounting position differs depending on the vehicle, so that the shooting range is also different, which causes a problem when images are provided to the driver. For example, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, when the camera 200 having the same angle of view is attached near the center of the rear part of the vehicle 250 (FIG. 13) and when attached near the upper end of the rear part of the vehicle 252 (FIG. 14) 13), in FIG. 13, the shooting range of the camera 200 is an appropriate range around the vehicle, but in FIG. 14, the shooting range is too wide and the image of the part that the driver wants to see becomes small. Problems arise.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to provide an image processing apparatus capable of providing a driver with an image in an appropriate range around a vehicle.

An image processing apparatus for processing an image obtained by photographing the periphery of a vehicle according to the present invention, a camera attached to the vehicle and photographing the periphery of the vehicle to generate image data, and the image data, A cutout range setting unit that sets a cutout range corresponding to a predetermined range around the vehicle, and an image data cutout unit that cuts out the image data generated by the camera in the cutout range set by the cutout range setting unit. Image display processing means for displaying an image corresponding to the image data cut out by the image data cut-out means on a display unit, vehicle type acquisition means for acquiring the vehicle type, and the mounting position of the camera in the vehicle. Camera acquisition position acquisition means for acquiring, the cutout range setting means is the acquisition The type of the vehicle which, on the basis of the mounting position of the camera, and setting the clipping range corresponding to a predetermined range around the vehicle.

According to this configuration, an image corresponding to the cut-out image data is set by setting a cut-out range corresponding to a predetermined range around the vehicle for image data generated when the camera captures the vicinity of the vehicle. Is displayed on the display unit so that the driver can see only an image in a predetermined range around the vehicle regardless of the shooting range of the camera, and the driver can view an image in an appropriate range around the vehicle. Can be provided. The height of the camera from the road surface around the vehicle can be specified from the type of the vehicle and the mounting position of the camera such as the roof top and the bumper. Further, based on the height, By setting the cutout range corresponding to the predetermined range, an appropriate cutout range can be set.

  In the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, the cutout range setting unit sets a cutout range corresponding to a predetermined range around the vehicle based on a height of the camera from a road surface around the vehicle. You may do it.

  According to this configuration, the higher the height of the camera from the road surface around the vehicle, the wider the shooting range of the camera. Based on the height of the camera from the road surface around the vehicle, By setting the cutout range corresponding to the predetermined range, an appropriate cutout range can be set.

  The image processing apparatus according to the present invention further includes an attachment angle acquisition unit that acquires an attachment angle of the camera in the vehicle, and the cutout range setting unit is based on the acquired attachment angle of the camera. A cutout range corresponding to a predetermined range around the vehicle may be set.

  According to this configuration, when the camera mounting angle is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, the cutout range corresponding to the predetermined range around the vehicle is set in consideration of the camera mounting angle. Thus, it is possible to set an appropriate cutout range.

  According to the present invention, the driver can view only an image in a predetermined range around the vehicle regardless of the shooting range of the camera, and can provide the driver with an image in an appropriate range around the vehicle. It becomes.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  An image processing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 is incorporated in a navigation device or an audio device mounted on a vehicle, and includes an electronic control unit (ECU) 102, a memory 106, a touch panel display 110, and a camera 150. Is done.

  The ECU 102 corresponds to a cutout range setting unit, an image data cutout unit, an image display processing unit, a vehicle type acquisition unit, a camera attachment position acquisition unit, and an attachment angle acquisition unit. To control. The memory 106 stores various information necessary for displaying an image around the vehicle. The touch panel display 110 displays an image and functions as a touch panel type operation unit.

  The camera 150 is attached to the vehicle. The camera 150 includes a wide-angle lens (not shown), has a predetermined wide angle of view, and generates image data by photographing the periphery of the vehicle. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state in which the camera 150 is attached to the vehicle. In FIG. 2A, the camera 150 is attached to a tailgate that is the rear center of the vehicle 250. On the other hand, in FIG. 2B, the camera 150 is attached to the roof top that is the rear upper end of the vehicle 252. The image processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment cuts out image data in an appropriate range and cuts out the image data when the mounting position of the camera 150 is different, in other words, when the shooting range of the camera 150 is different. Can be displayed on the touch panel display 110.

  Hereinafter, the operation of cutting out image data will be described with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of extracting image data in the image processing apparatus 100.

  The ECU 102 in the image processing apparatus 100 determines whether or not the user has instructed setting of a mode for cutting out image data (S101). Specifically, the ECU 102 reads the menu screen image data from the memory 106 and causes the touch panel display 110 to display a menu screen as shown in FIG. Furthermore, when the user touches the “setting change” display area 201 on the menu screen shown in FIG. 4A, the ECU 102 recognizes that the user has instructed to change the setting based on the contact position. Then, the image data for the menu screen is read from the memory 106 and the menu screen as shown in FIG. 4B is displayed on the touch panel display 110. Further, when the user touches the display area 202 of “cutout mode” on the menu screen shown in FIG. 4B, the ECU 102 instructs the user to set the image cutout mode based on the contact position. It is determined that

  When the user instructs the setting of the image data cutout mode, the ECU 102 sets the image data cutout mode according to the instruction. First, the ECU 102 sets the vehicle type of the vehicle to which the camera 150 is attached (S102). Specifically, the ECU 102 reads the setting screen image data from the memory 106 and causes the touch panel display 110 to display a setting screen as shown in FIG. Further, when the user touches the “car type” display area 211 on the setting screen, the ECU 102 reads out the car type information from the memory 106, and based on the car type information, as shown in FIG. Then, a display area 215 for a list of vehicle types such as sedan and compact is displayed on the setting screen. Thereafter, when the user brings a finger or the like into contact with any one of the vehicle type list display areas 215, the ECU 102 sets the vehicle type based on the contact position.

  Next, the ECU 102 sets the attachment position of the camera 150 (S103). Specifically, on the setting screen shown in FIG. 5, when the user touches the display area 212 of “camera position” with a finger or the like, the ECU 102 reads information on the camera attachment position from the memory 106, and the camera attachment position As shown in FIG. 6, a display area 216 of a list of camera mounting positions such as a roof top and a tail gate is displayed on the setting screen. Thereafter, when the user brings a finger or the like into contact with any one of the display areas 216 of the camera attachment position list, the ECU 102 sets the camera attachment position based on the contact position.

  Next, the ECU 102 sets the mounting angle of the camera 150 (inclination from the vertical direction with respect to the shooting direction of the camera 150) (S104). Specifically, when the user touches the display area 213 of “camera angle” on the setting screen shown in FIG. 5, the ECU 102 displays the angle setting on the setting screen as shown in FIG. 7. A region 217 is displayed. Thereafter, when the user brings a finger or the like into contact with the button areas 221 and 222 in the angle setting display area 217, the ECU 102 sets the mounting angle of the camera 150 by increasing or decreasing based on the contact position.

  Next, the ECU 102 sets an area (display area) to be displayed on the touch panel display 110 among images obtained by photographing with the camera 150 (S105). Specifically, when the user touches the display area 214 of “display area” on the setting screen shown in FIG. 5, the ECU 102 sets the display area on the setting screen as shown in FIG. 8. A display area 218 is displayed. Thereafter, when the user brings a finger or the like into contact with the button areas 223 and 224 in the angle setting display area 218, the ECU 102 sets the horizontal width of the display area to be increased or decreased based on the contact position.

In this way, the vehicle type, the mounting position of the camera 150, the mounting angle and the display area of the camera 150 is set, then, ECU 102 obtains the height from the road surface of the camera 150 (S106). The height of the camera 150 from the road surface is uniquely specified based on the vehicle type and the mounting position of the camera 150. Specifically, the ECU 102 reads out the height acquisition table as shown in FIG. 9 from the memory 106, the height acquisition table, the vehicle type set in S102, and the mounting position of the camera 150 set in S103. Based on the above, the height of the camera 150 from the road surface is acquired.

  Next, the ECU 102 sets a cut-out range for image data of the entire shooting range of the camera 150 that is generated by the camera 150 shooting the periphery of the vehicle (S107). Specifically, the ECU 102 sets the cutout range based on the horizontal width of the display area set in S105. At this time, the ECU 102 increases the cutout range as the horizontal width of the display area increases.

  Here, as the inclination from the vertical direction with respect to the shooting direction of the camera 150 set in S104 is larger, the camera 150 is shooting far away, so the shooting range of the camera 150 becomes wider, and the image is displayed on the image. The width of the display area becomes narrower. Therefore, the ECU 102 needs to reduce the cutout range of the image data corresponding to the horizontal width of the display area as the inclination of the camera 150 from the vertical direction with respect to the shooting direction increases. Further, the higher the height of the camera 150 from the road surface acquired in S106 is, the farther the camera 150 will shoot, so the shooting range of the camera 150 becomes wider and the width of the display area on the image becomes narrower. Become. Therefore, the ECU 102 needs to reduce the cutout range of the image data corresponding to the horizontal width of the display area as the height of the camera 150 from the road surface is higher.

  10 and 11 are diagrams illustrating an example of calculation of the cutout range. In the case of FIGS. 10 and 11, the predetermined angle of view θ of the camera 150, the height a from the road surface of the camera 150, and the display area (horizontal width) b are specified. The cutout range can be uniquely specified.

  That is, the shooting range (horizontal width) c of the camera 150 is expressed as c = 2a × tan (θ / 2) by the angle of view θ and the height a of the camera 150. Then, assuming that the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the image corresponding to the cutout range of the image data is x and the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the image corresponding to the entire shooting range of the camera 150 is p, x: p = b: 2a × tan (Θ / 2) holds. Here, the number of pixels p in the horizontal direction of the image corresponding to the entire shooting range of the camera 150 is known, and the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the image corresponding to the cutout range of the image data x = bp / (2a × tan (θ / 2)). If the shooting direction of the camera 150 is tilted with respect to the vertical direction, the larger the tilt is, the smaller the number x of pixels in the horizontal direction of the image corresponding to the cutout range of the image data.

  The aspect ratio of the image is fixed. Let y be the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the image corresponding to the cutout range of the image data, and q be the number of pixels in the vertical direction (known) corresponding to the entire shooting range of the camera 150. For example, as in the horizontal direction, the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the image corresponding to the cutout range is y = bq / (2a × tan (θ / 2)). The area corresponding to the above-described vertical pixel count x and horizontal pixel count y in the central portion of the image corresponding to the entire shooting range of the camera 150 is the cutout range of the image data. The image data cutout range is specified by the coordinates of the four corners of the image data cutout range in the image corresponding to the image data of the entire shooting range of the camera 150.

  10 and 11, the height of the camera 150 from the road surface is low in FIG. 10 and high in FIG. 11. Therefore, the photographing range of the camera 150 is narrow in FIG. 10 and wide in FIG. In this case, when the horizontal widths of the display areas set in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are the same, the cutout range occupying the shooting range is large in FIG. 10, and the cutout range occupying the shooting range is small in FIG. Become.

  Again, referring back to FIG. After setting the cutout range of the image data, the ECU 102 inputs the image data generated by the camera 150. The input image data corresponds to the entire shooting range of the camera 150. Further, the ECU 102 extracts the input image data corresponding to the cutout range set in S107, and causes the touch panel display 110 to display an image corresponding to the extracted image data (cutout range image) (S108). .

  Next, the ECU 102 determines whether or not the cutout range of the image data has been determined by the user who has seen the cutout range image displayed on the touch panel display 110 (S109). For example, in S108, the ECU 102 displays the “determined” and “change” display areas together with the image of the cutout range, and when the user touches the display area “determined” with a finger or the like, the ECU 102 When it is determined that the cutout range of the image data is determined based on the contact position and the user touches the display area of “change” with a finger or the like, the ECU 102 determines the image data based on the contact position. It is determined that the cutout range is not determined.

  When the cutout range of the image data is not fixed, the operation after the determination (S101) on whether or not the image data cutout mode setting has been instructed is repeated. On the other hand, when the cutout range of the image data is determined, the ECU 102 determines the information on the cutout range of the image data set in S107 (the coordinates of the four corners of the cutout range in the image corresponding to the image data of the entire shooting range of the camera 150). ) Is stored in the memory 106 (S110). Thereafter, the ECU 102 cuts out the image data of the entire shooting range of the camera 150 input from the camera 150 based on the information of the cut-out range of the image data stored in the memory 106, and corresponds to the cut-out image data. An image is displayed on the touch panel display 110.

  As described above, the image processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment sets the cutout range corresponding to the display area around the vehicle, and cuts out the image data generated when the camera 150 captures the vicinity of the vehicle. By displaying an image corresponding to the clipped image data on the touch panel display 110, the driver can view only the image in the display area around the vehicle regardless of the shooting range of the camera 150. For example, as shown in FIG. 12A, when the shooting range of the camera 150 is too wide, the image of the part that the driver wants to see may become small, but the image processing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment. Accordingly, by performing the cut-out, as shown in FIG. 12B, an image of only the display area is displayed, and the driver can see only the image of the display area around the vehicle. It is possible to provide an appropriate image around the vehicle.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image data clipping range is set based on the mounting angle of the camera 150 (tilt from the vertical direction with respect to the shooting direction of the camera 150), but in particular, the shooting direction of the camera 150 is vertical. If the direction matches the direction, the cutout range of the image data may be set without considering the mounting angle of the camera 150.

  In the above-described embodiment, the vehicle type such as sedan or compact is set as the vehicle type, but a specific vehicle name may be set. In this case, the vehicle name as the vehicle type is set in the height acquisition table shown in FIG. 9, and the height is specified by the vehicle name and the mounting position of the camera 150. Furthermore, instead of obtaining the height of the camera 150 from the road surface based on the vehicle type and the mounting position of the camera 150, the height may be set directly. In this case, the operations of S102 and S103 in FIG. 3 are unnecessary, and the height acquisition table shown in FIG. 9 is also unnecessary.

  As described above, the image processing apparatus according to the present invention can provide an image of an appropriate range around the vehicle to the driver, and is useful as an image processing apparatus.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the image processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the attachment state of the camera with respect to a vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of an image processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of a menu screen. It is a figure which shows the 1st example of the screen for a setting. It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of the screen for a setting. It is a figure which shows the 3rd example of the screen for a setting. It is a figure which shows the 4th example of the screen for a setting. It is a figure which shows an example of the table for height acquisition. It is a figure which shows the 1st example of calculation of a cutting-out range. It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of calculation of the cutout range. It is a figure which shows an example of the image before clipping, and an example of the image after clipping. It is a figure which shows the 1st example of the attachment state of the camera with respect to the conventional vehicle. It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of the attachment state of the camera with respect to the conventional vehicle.

Explanation of symbols

100 image processing apparatus 102 ECU
106 Memory 110 Touch panel display 150 Camera

Claims (3)

An image processing apparatus that processes an image obtained by photographing the periphery of a vehicle,
A camera that is attached to the vehicle and shoots the periphery of the vehicle to generate image data;
For the image data, a cutout range setting means for setting a cutout range corresponding to a predetermined range around the vehicle;
Image data cutout means for cutting out the image data generated by the camera in the cutout range set by the cutout range setting means;
Image display processing means for displaying on the display unit an image corresponding to the image data cut out by the image data cut-out means ;
Vehicle type acquisition means for acquiring the type of the vehicle;
Camera mounting position acquisition means for acquiring the mounting position of the camera in the vehicle,
The cutout range setting means sets a cutout range corresponding to a predetermined range around the vehicle based on the acquired type of the vehicle and a mounting position of the camera. .   The cutout range setting unit sets a cutout range corresponding to a predetermined range around the vehicle based on a height of the camera from a road surface around the vehicle. Image processing device. An attachment angle obtaining means for obtaining an attachment angle of the camera in the vehicle;
The image processing according to claim 1, wherein the cutout range setting unit sets a cutout range corresponding to a predetermined range around the vehicle based on the acquired attachment angle of the camera. apparatus.

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