JPH04138950A - Picture detecting device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an effective picture not influenced by a wiper picture by processing only a scanning line part, crossing the picture of a wiper, by using a mask when a wiper is inputted as a detecting picture to a picture processing means during detection of a picture by a television camera mounted on a car. CONSTITUTION:The picture of a wiper 2 under wiping operation is detected by a television camera device 5 and the picture of the wiper 2 is masked in a way that the number of ineffective scanning lines crossing scanning lines by which a picture signal is composed is set to n-lines. Thereby, in a CPU 65 of a picture processing circuit 6, scanning line numbers j+1 and j+n in a scanning line range are calculated based on a drive angle theta of the wiper 2 detected by an angle sensor 4. From a detecting picture signal, a horizontal synchronous signal is detected by a horizontal synchronous detecting circuit 61, scanning line numbers 1 - maximum value N contained in a detecting horizontal synchronous signal are counted, in order, from a low value by means of a scanning line counter 62 to transmit a result to the CPU 65. Regarding a detecting picture, mask processing is applied on only a scanning line in a mask range in which a counting value (a) is computed to output a result as blank data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a vehicle image detection device, and particularly to a device for detecting and processing images from a TV camera attached to a vehicle.

(Prior Art and Problems) Conventionally, a TV camera as an image detection means is attached to a vehicle to detect the state of obstacles on the road ahead or behind the vehicle, thereby issuing a warning regarding driving operation or automatically Research and development has been conducted on systems that perform brake and steering operations.

In this case, the TV camera can be installed either outside the car or inside the car, but in the former case, raindrops and dust may adhere to the lens surface during rainy weather, making it difficult to obtain clear images. There is a drawback that there is no

A device for removing raindrops and dust adhering to the lens surface of a TV camera is proposed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 59/25528. There is a problem in that the camera lens must be rotated, which takes time and images during that time cannot be used.

Furthermore, when the TV camera is mounted outside the vehicle, the TV camera itself is exposed to drippings and dust, which leads to problems in that its functions tend to deteriorate and its lifespan is shortened.

Therefore, we installed the TV camera inside the car (front/rear glass,
Although it is preferable to attach it to the window screen, canopy) than outside the vehicle, in this case,
This time, the image of the wiper used to remove raindrops and dust is shown on TV.
If the wiper image is included in the camera's detection image and image processing is performed as it is, the screen containing the wiper image will be invalid as an image because the context with the previous and subsequent screens will be interrupted, and a clear image for automatic vehicle driving will not be obtained. Furthermore, there is a problem in that time is wasted on unnecessary image processing even though the screen is invalid.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image detection device for a vehicle that detects an image by installing a TV camera inside the vehicle, so that an effective image can be obtained without being affected by a wiper image.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle image detection device according to the present invention includes a drive means for a vehicle wiper, a means for detecting a drive angle of the drive means, and a means for detecting a drive angle of the wiper in front of the wiper. Means for detecting an image consisting of vertical scanning lines from inside the vehicle, calculating a mask range where the wiper intersects among all the scanning lines of the detected image from the drive angle, and masking only the image of the scanning lines in the mask range. and image processing means for processing and outputting blank data.

Further, in the present invention, instead of the above-described mask processing, the image processing means converts only the image of the scanning line in the mask range using still image data of the corresponding scanning line in the latest detected image that does not include the image of the wiper. You can also perform replacement processing.

[For production]

In the vehicle image detection device according to the present invention, first, an image detection means provided inside the vehicle detects an image in front of the wiper and constantly sends it to the image processing means in order to monitor the situation in front of the vehicle. In this case, the scanning line of the image detected by the image detection means is determined by the movement (wiping) of the wiper as shown in FIG.
It is preset in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction.

On the other hand, the wiper is driven by a driving means, and the angle of the wiper during wiping is detected by an angle sensor and sent to the image processing means.

Here, since the wiper has a certain width as shown by diagonal lines in the same figure, the image processing means that captures the detected image from the image detecting means crosses the wiper detected image in the scanning line that makes up the detected image. The scanning lines within the masking range are meaningless in image processing, and in order to mask them, the scanning lines within the masking range are determined by calculation based on the driving angle of the driving means detected by the driving angle detecting means.

Then, the image processing means further performs mask processing on only the scanning lines in the mask range calculated as described above for the detected image of the image detection means, and outputs it as blank data.
Detected images for other scanning lines are output as data.

As a result, when the wiper is captured as a detected image into the image processing means, the scanning line portions that do not intersect with the wiper image are output as is, and only the intersecting scanning line portions are masked and output. .

Therefore, image data in which the influence of the wiper image is nullified can be obtained.

Further, in the present invention, the image processing means can replace the part of the scanning line range to be masked with the latest still detected image of the effective scanning line part that does not include the wiper image, without performing the above masking process. can.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a vehicle image detection device according to the present invention. (rear) window glass, 2 is a vehicle wiper for wiping away raindrops or dust attached to this glass 1, 3 is wiper 2
a wiper motor as a driving means, 4 an angle sensor as a detection means for detecting the driving angle of the wiper motor 3, 5 a TV camera device for detecting an image in front of the wiper 2, and 6 an angle signal from the angle sensor. An image processing circuit is shown as an image processing means for determining the scanning line range to be masked and masking the scanning line portion of the masking range with respect to the image signal obtained by the TV left camera 5.

The image processing circuit 6 also includes a horizontal synchronization detection circuit 61 that detects a horizontal synchronization signal of the image signal from the TV left camera 5, and a horizontal synchronization signal detected by the horizontal synchronization detection circuit 61 to detect the scanning line of the detected image signal. A scanning line counter 62 that counts numbers, an A/D converter 63 that A/D converts pixels between each scanning line, a buffer memory 64 that stores output data from the A/D converter 63, and a counter 62. A/D receives the scanning line number from the angle sensor 4 and the wiper angle θ from the angle sensor 4.
CPU that controls the converter 63 and the hasher memory 64
65.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4 showing the mask processing algorithm of the image processing circuit 6.

The TV left camera position 5 captures an image A (first
(see figure) and constantly sends out image signals to the image processing circuit 7 (step Sl in Fig. 4).

On the other hand, the wiper 2 is electrically driven by a wiper motor 3, and at the same time, an angle sensor 4 linked to the wiper motor 3 detects a signal indicating the angle θ of the wiper 2 and sends it to an image processing circuit 6. Step S2).

In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the camera position is set in advance so that the scanning line direction of the TV left camera position 5 is perpendicular to the movement (wiping) direction of this wiper 2 (shown with diagonal lines). ing.

Next, the image of the wiper 2 during the wiping operation is detected by the TV left camera 5. For example, when the wiper image is located at the shaded position in FIG. In order to mask the number of invalid scanning lines that intersect with the scanning line as n, the CPU 6 of the image processing circuit 6
5, the scanning line numbers j+1 and J of this scanning line range are determined based on the drive angle θ of the wiper 2 detected by the angle sensor 4.
+n (step s3). At this time, depending on the mutual positional relationship between the wiper 2 and the TV left camera position 5,
Since the driving angle when the wiper 2 passes through the imaging surface i1 shown by the dashed-dotted line in FIG. This will tell you whether the image of wiper 2 will appear at that position.

Below, a method of calculating the above scanning line numbers j+1 and j+n from the drive angle θ of the wiper 2 will be explained based on FIG.

In the same figure, the dimensions of the imaging surface are lateral L1. Assuming that the vertical distance is L2 and the distance between the rotation center of the wiper 2 and the origin position 0 of the imaging surface is H, first, the origin of the scan where the wiper 2 is considered to intersect, the range of %Ij+1 to j+n (indicated by diagonal lines) Horizontal path from position 0 lit i I! , are respectively expressed by the following equations.

j! + = (H(Lx /2) l t a nθ1
! x = (H+ (Lx /2)) tanθ
That is, if the horizontal distance of the imaging surface is composed of N scanning lines, the position of the scanning line of the image of the wiper 2 will be between distances 11 and 42.

Therefore, the scanning line number j+1 corresponding to the distance l, ~12
and j+n are L, and N,! , and j+1 and j22 and j+
Since n corresponds to each other, each is expressed by the following formula.

j+l=N ((1/2)-(f+/L,))j+
n=N ((1/2) (j!z /L+) )
Here, in reality, the wiper 2 may be provided with a margin for the above j11 and j+n in consideration of wobbling due to deformation of its arms and blades.

Then, among all the scanning lines constituting the image signal output from the TV left camera position 5, the masking process described below is performed on the range of scanning lines to be masked (j+1st to j+nth) determined as above. do.

First, the horizontal synchronization detection circuit 61 of the image processing circuit 6 detects a horizontal synchronization signal from the detected image signal of the TV camera device 5 (step S4).

Next, scan line number 1 included in the detected horizontal synchronization signal
~ The scanning line counter 62 counts in order from the youngest within the maximum value N and transmits it to the CPU 65, whereby the CPU 65
Count value a is j+1≦a≦j+n, a<j+1 and j
The following processing is performed separately for cases where +n<a (step S5).

First, when the count (+!a is j+1≦a≦jten),
A blank data string for each pixel of the scanning line is stored in the buffer memory 64 (step S6).

Note that if the actual wiper image is detected as "0" data, the blank data may be "1" data, which is the opposite. In addition, various blank data can be used if determined in advance.

Further, the CPU 65 determines that the count value a is a<j+1 and j
When +n<a, each pixel in the scanning line is converted to an A/D converter 6.
3 (step S7), and the data string after A/D conversion is stored in the buffer memory 64 in correspondence with the scanning line.
(step S8).

The buffer memory 64 sequentially reads out the stored data strings for each scanning line under the control of the CPU 65 (step S9), and outputs the masked image data for one screen. Since is blank data, it is excluded from consideration in later data processing, so no processing error occurs.

Note that each scanning line constituting the image shown in FIG.
The SC method is composed of 525 (=N) scanning lines. At this time, the range of scanning lines 1 to j11 and j+n to 525 is transmitted as an effective image area where the image of the wiper 2 is not captured.

Next, a method of the present invention will be described in which, instead of converting the masked scanning line portion into blank data in the above-described mask processing, this portion is replaced with data before being masked. Note that the flow of processing at this time is illustrated by broken lines.

At this time, when the count value a is a<j+1 and j+n<a, the CPU 65 stores each pixel data string for each scanning line after A/D conversion stored in the buffer memory 64 for one screen frame. The frame memory 66 stores only the number of frames (step 311).

That is, the pixel data for each scanning line stored in the frame memory 66 is the latest unmasked data.

Therefore, the CPU 65 determines that the count value a is j+1≦a≦j+
When n, the scanning line counter 6 is read from the frame memory 66.
The pixel data string of the scanning line corresponding to the value 2 is read out (step 512).

Then, the read pixel data string is transferred to the buffer memory 6 again.
4 (step 513).

Thereafter, by outputting the contents of the buffer memory 64 as described above (step S9), the data before being masked is transplanted to the scanning line portion to be masked.

In this way, the image of the wiper that has entered the detected image is masked and displayed blank, or is replaced with the image data immediately before being masked, and the part where the wiper is not visible (unmasked) is It will be output from the buffer memory 64 as valid.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the vehicle image detection device according to the present invention, the wiper in all the scanning lines of the image detected from inside the vehicle is composed of scanning lines perpendicular to the moving direction of the wiper in front of the wiper. Either the intersecting mask range is calculated from the drive angle of the wiper, and only the image of the scanning line in that mask range is masked and output as data, or instead of the mask processing, only the image of the scanning line in the mask range is transmitted to the wiper. Since the configuration is configured to transplant the still image data of the corresponding scanning line in the latest detected image that does not include the image of This can be kept within the minimum possible range, and wasteful processing time can be eliminated in image processing, recognition, etc. performed on the obtained image data.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of the vehicle image detection device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is for explaining the relationship between the wiper image and the scanning line of the TV camera device in the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the method of determining the scanning line range to be masked according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the mask processing algorithm in the embodiment. In the figure, 2 is a wiper, 3 is a wiper motor, 4 is an angle sensor, 5 is a TV camera device, 6 is an image processing circuit,
are shown respectively. In the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A means for driving a vehicle wiper, a means for detecting the driving angle of the drive means, a means for detecting from inside the vehicle an image consisting of a scanning line perpendicular to the direction of movement of the wiper in front of the wiper, and the detection. The mask range that the wiper intersects among all the scan lines of the image is calculated from the drive angle, and only the image of the scan lines in the mask range is masked and blanked.
An image detection device for a vehicle, comprising: an image processing means for outputting data. (2) In the vehicle image detection device according to claim 1, the image processing means converts only the image of the scanning line in the mask range instead of the mask processing into the latest detected image that does not include the wiper image. A vehicle image detection device characterized by performing a process of replacing with still image data of a corresponding scanning line.