JPH11306498A - On-board camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an onboard camera system for automatically controlling a vehicle by speedily catching signal information such as signal information or road sign information through a onboard color camera. SOLUTION: The image of a signal 2 is picked up while using a onboard color camera 1, the color information of the signal 2 provided by picking up the image is compared with the color information of the signal read out of a memory previously storing the color information of the signal and the color information of the image picked-up signal 2 is recognized. In this case, control information such as start in the case f blue, decelerated slow down in the case of yellow and stop in the case of red is fed back to the vehicle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-vehicle camera system, and more particularly to a color in-vehicle camera for obtaining traffic light information or road sign information by imaging and comparing the traffic light information or road sign information stored in the vehicle-mounted system in advance. Then, traffic signal information or road sign information is recognized, and the recognition result is fed back to the vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, it is generally known as a method of using an in-vehicle camera that a camera is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile and a video taken by the camera is used to prevent an accident of a driver. However, such an in-vehicle camera does not need to be a color camera, and can normally be used in monochrome. However, with a monochrome camera, even if a traffic light or road sign is imaged, the amount of information that it has is smaller than that of a color image. There was no problem.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and color information or a traffic sign information of a traffic light or a traffic sign obtained by imaging a traffic light or a traffic sign with a color vehicle-mounted camera is previously stored in a vehicle-mounted system. An object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle camera system that recognizes color information or road sign information of a traffic light that has been captured in comparison with stored color information or traffic sign information of a traffic light and controls a vehicle based on the recognition result. I do.

[0004]

A vehicle-mounted camera system according to the present invention firstly captures an image of a traffic signal using a color vehicle-mounted camera, and color information of the traffic signal obtained by the imaging and the traffic signal are previously stored in the vehicle-mounted system. The color information of the traffic light read from the memory where the color information is stored is compared with the color information of the traffic light, and the color information of the traffic light that has been imaged is recognized. Control information such as start when blue, deceleration slowly when yellow, stop when red, etc. Is fed back to the vehicle.

The vehicle-mounted camera system according to the present invention has a second
The image of the road sign is captured using a color vehicle-mounted camera, and the road sign information obtained by the imaging is compared with the road sign information read from the memory in which the road sign information is stored in advance in the vehicle-mounted system. The system is characterized in that the recognized road sign information is recognized, and control information such as stop, deceleration and entry prohibition is fed back to the vehicle.

[0006] With such a configuration, it is not necessary to control the vehicle after a human has visually recognized and judged each time.
The color vehicle-mounted camera can quickly catch signal information such as traffic signal information and road sign information and automatically control the vehicle.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is to capture an image of a traffic light using a color vehicle-mounted camera, and to obtain color information of the traffic light obtained by imaging and color information of the traffic light in advance in the vehicle-mounted system. Is compared with the color information of the traffic light read out from the memory where it is stored, and recognizes the color information of the traffic light that was imaged.The control information such as start when blue, deceleration slowly when yellow, and stop when red is transmitted to the vehicle. This is an in-vehicle camera system configured to provide feedback, and has an effect that a color in-vehicle camera can quickly catch signal information and automatically control a vehicle.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a road sign is imaged using a color on-vehicle camera, and the road sign information obtained by imaging and a road sign information stored in advance in a vehicle-mounted system are stored in a memory. This is an onboard camera system that compares the read road sign information, recognizes the imaged road sign information, and feeds back control information such as stop, deceleration, and no entry to the vehicle. Can quickly catch road sign information and automatically control the vehicle.

[0009] The invention described in claim 3 is the first invention.
The vehicle-mounted camera system according to the above, wherein a color vehicle-mounted camera is used to image the red color of the crossing alarm, identify a flashing red signal when the train is approaching, and notify the driver of the approach of the train. In addition, the color on-board camera can quickly catch the level crossing alarm information and notify the driver of danger.

[0010] The invention described in claim 4 is the first invention.
In the in-vehicle camera system described in the above, the brake vehicle of the preceding vehicle was imaged using a color in-vehicle camera, and the vehicle in front of the vehicle ran the brake based on the detection of the difference between the amount of red when the vehicle ran normally and when the vehicle ran. Is a vehicle-mounted camera system that detects and displays images to the driver, and the color vehicle-mounted camera can quickly catch the brake information of the vehicle ahead and inform the driver of danger with images. Has an action.

The invention described in claim 5 is the first invention.
The on-board camera system uses a color on-board camera to image the brake light of the vehicle in front, and detects the difference between the amount of red color when the vehicle is running normally and the amount of red light when the brakes are running. It is a vehicle-mounted camera system that detects and alerts the driver by voice.
The color on-vehicle camera has the effect that the brake information of the vehicle ahead can be quickly caught and the driver can be informed of the danger by voice.

The invention according to claim 6 is the first invention.
In the on-board camera system described above, various types of traffic signals are imaged using a color vehicle-mounted camera, compared with various types of traffic information read out from a memory in which various types of traffic information are stored in advance, and the various types of traffic information captured are recognized and recognized. This is an in-vehicle camera system that converts various traffic signal information into a synthesized voice signal and reports it to the driver by voice. A color vehicle-mounted camera quickly catches various traffic signal information and reports the danger to the driver by voice. It has the effect that it can be made.

[0013] Further, the invention according to claim 7 is based on claim 2.
In the in-vehicle camera system described above, various types of road sign information are imaged using a color in-vehicle camera, and compared with various road sign information read out from a memory in which various road sign information is stored in advance. This is an in-vehicle camera system that recognizes road signs and converts the recognized various road sign information into a speech synthesis signal and informs the driver by voice. A color on-board camera quickly catches the road sign information and gives the driver It has the effect that the danger can be reported by voice.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a vehicle-mounted camera system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the vehicle-mounted camera system includes:
The color vehicle-mounted camera 1 captures an image of a traffic light (a visible light source is built in and displays blue, yellow, and red) 2 seen forward, and sends color traffic light information to a vehicle-mounted system (described later).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle-mounted system. 3, a color camera 1 whose position is controlled by a camera platform 4 is provided, and an image of a traffic signal (see FIG. 1) to be imaged is taken via a lens 5. The color traffic light obtained by the imaging is amplified by the video amplifier 6 and supplied to the video filter 7. In the video filter 7, an extra information component is cut off and the A / D
The video information is supplied to the converter 8 and converted into digital data. The digitized video information is supplied to the CPU 9. In the CPU 9, the color information of the traffic signal stored in the memory 10 is read, and the comparison of the signal color information is executed. As a result, the optimal signal color information is determined, and the traffic signal information captured is recognized.

Then, the vehicle controller 11 is controlled according to the recognized traffic light information. That is, if the recognized information is a traffic light "red", it is controlled to stop, if the recognized information is a traffic light "blue", it is controlled to start, and the recognized information is a traffic light "yellow". If there is, control is performed so as to reduce the speed.

In FIG. 3, a NAVI information receiving section 12 for receiving NAVI information is provided, and upon receiving the NAVI information, the CPU 9 moves the camera platform 4 in advance so that the camera 1 faces the direction where the traffic light is installed. It is controlled so that signal information can be captured at an optimal position.

In FIG. 3, the signal information obtained from the camera 1 is displayed on the monitor 16 via the video amplifier 6 and the recognized signal information is displayed on the monitor via the character converter 13.
The information can be displayed on the speaker 16 or the recognized signal information can be reported by voice from the speaker 17 attached to the monitor 16 via the voice converter 17.

In the above description, the traffic signal has been described exclusively. However, the above-mentioned color in-vehicle camera is used to take an image of the red color of the crossing alarm, identify the blinking red signal when the train is approaching, and inform the driver of the approach of the train. Can also be reported. In addition, the brake light of the preceding vehicle is imaged using the above-mentioned color on-vehicle camera, and it is detected that the preceding vehicle has ran the brake by detecting the difference between the amount of red color when the vehicle ran normally and when the vehicle ran the brake. Thus, it is also possible to display or notify the driver by image or sound. Furthermore, various types of traffic signals are imaged using the above-mentioned color in-vehicle camera, and compared with various types of traffic signal information read out from a memory in which various types of traffic signal information are stored in advance. It is also possible to convert the traffic signal information into a voice synthesized signal and notify the driver by voice.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
1 shows a schematic configuration of an in-vehicle camera system according to an embodiment. In FIG. 2, the on-vehicle camera system includes a color in-vehicle camera 1 that captures an image of a road sign (for example, a control sign such as a vehicle entry prohibition) 3 seen in front, and converts the color road sign information into the on-vehicle system shown in FIG. Send it.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle-mounted system. In FIG. 3, a color camera 1 whose position is controlled by a camera platform 4 is provided, and images a road sign (see FIG. 2) to be imaged through a lens 5. The color road sign obtained by the imaging is image-amplified by the image amplifier 6 and supplied to the image filter 7. In the video filter 7, an extra information component is cut off, and A
Is supplied to an A / D converter 8 and the obtained video information is converted into digital data.
Supplied to In the CPU 9, the road sign information stored in the memory 10 is read, and the sign patterns are compared. As a result, the optimum sign pattern is determined, and the imaged road sign information is recognized.

Then, the vehicle controller 11 is controlled according to the recognized road sign information. In other words, the control of the vehicle according to the road sign information, for example, in the case of the example of FIG. 2, recognizes that the vehicle is prohibited from entering, and performs control to stop the vehicle to prevent the vehicle from entering.

In FIG. 3, a NAVI information receiving unit 12 for receiving NAVI information is provided, and upon receiving the NAVI information, the CPU 9 moves the camera 1 in advance so that the camera 1 faces the direction in which the road sign is installed. Is controlled so that signal information can be captured at an optimal position.

Further, in FIG. 3, the signal information obtained from the camera 1 is displayed on the monitor 16 via the video amplifier 6 and the recognized signal information is monitored via the character converter 13.
The information can be displayed on the speaker 16 or the recognized signal information can be reported by voice from the speaker 17 attached to the monitor 16 via the voice converter 17.

Although the above description has been made based on a specific road sign, various kinds of road sign information are imaged using the above-mentioned color in-vehicle camera, and various kinds of road sign information read out from a memory in which various kinds of road sign information are stored in advance. It is also possible to compare the road sign information with the road sign information, recognize the captured various road sign information, convert the recognized various road sign information into a speech synthesis signal, and notify the driver by voice.

[0027]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an image of a traffic light is taken by using a color vehicle-mounted camera, and the color information of the traffic light obtained by the imaging and the traffic light are previously stored in the vehicle-mounted system. The color information of the traffic light read from the memory where the color information is stored is compared with the color information of the traffic light, and the color information of the traffic light that has been imaged is recognized. Control information such as start when blue, deceleration slowly when yellow, stop when red, etc. Is fed back to the vehicle, and the color vehicle-mounted camera can quickly catch the signal information and automatically control the vehicle.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a road sign is imaged using a color vehicle-mounted camera, and the road sign information obtained by the imaging and the road sign information stored in advance in the vehicle-mounted system are stored in a memory. This is an onboard camera system that compares the read road sign information, recognizes the imaged road sign information, and feeds back control information such as stop, deceleration, and no entry to the vehicle. Has an effect that the vehicle can be controlled automatically by catching the road sign information quickly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle-mounted camera system according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle-mounted camera system according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle system according to first and second embodiments of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Color in-vehicle camera 2 Traffic light 3 Road sign 4 Head 5 Lens 6 Video amplifier 7 Video filter 8 A / D converter 9 CPU 10 Memory 11 Vehicle controller 12 NAVI information receiving unit 13 Character converter 14 Voice converter 15 Mixing unit 16 Monitor 17 Speaker

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Mitsumasa Sugimoto 4-3-1 Tsunashima Higashi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasunori Kito Tsunashima-Higashi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture 4-3-1, Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (7)

[Claims] An image of a traffic light is captured using a color vehicle-mounted camera, and the color information of the traffic light obtained by imaging and the color information of the traffic light read out from a memory in which the color information of the traffic light is stored in the vehicle-mounted system in advance. An in-vehicle camera system that compares and recognizes color information of an imaged traffic signal, and feeds back control information such as start when blue, deceleration slowly when yellow, and stop when red, to the vehicle. 2. An image of a road sign is taken using a color vehicle-mounted camera, and the road sign information obtained by imaging is compared with road sign information read out from a memory in which the road sign information is stored in advance in the vehicle-mounted system. An in-vehicle camera system that recognizes captured road sign information and feeds back control information such as stop, deceleration, and no entry to the vehicle. 3. The in-vehicle camera system according to claim 1, wherein the color of the take-off alarm is imaged using a color in-vehicle camera, a flashing red signal when the train is approaching is identified, and the driver is notified of the approach of the train. In-vehicle camera system. 4. The on-vehicle camera system according to claim 1, wherein a color on-vehicle camera is used to capture an image of a brake light of a preceding vehicle, and a difference between a normal driving amount and a red color amount when a brake is applied is detected. An in-vehicle camera system that detects when the vehicle ahead is running on the brakes and displays the image to the driver. 5. The on-vehicle camera system according to claim 1, wherein a color on-vehicle camera is used to capture an image of a brake light of a vehicle ahead and detect a difference between a normal driving amount and a red color amount when a brake is applied. An in-vehicle camera system that alerts the driver by voice when a vehicle brakes. 6. The on-vehicle camera system according to claim 1, wherein various traffic signals are imaged using a color on-vehicle camera.
The signal information is compared with various signal information read out from a memory in which various signal information is stored in advance, recognizes the captured various signal information, converts the recognized various signal information into a speech synthesis signal, and notifies the driver by voice. Onboard camera system. 7. The vehicle-mounted camera system according to claim 2, wherein various road sign information is imaged using a color vehicle-mounted camera, and compared with various road sign information read from a memory in which various road sign information is stored in advance. An in-vehicle camera system that recognizes various road sign information captured, converts the recognized various road sign information into a speech synthesis signal, and notifies the driver by voice.