Patent Application
20110141282
The present invention relates to an intersection situation recognition system for supporting safety confirmation during driving of a vehicle, and in particular relates to an intersection situation recognition system as a safety system capable of recognizing a situation of movement of vehicles, pedestrians and the like at a blind intersection or on a road positioned in a blind spot by a curve.
In general, at a blind curve and an intersection such as a T-shaped intersection or a crossroad, there is installed a safety device for supporting the securement of visibility such as a convex mirror or the like in order to allow vehicles such a bicycle, a motorcycle, and an automobile to safely pass therethrough.
In addition, there is developed a safety confirmation device in which a camera is incorporated in a front bumper of an automobile, an image of a road in a blind spot is picked up by using the camera, and the picked-up image is displayed on an in-vehicle monitor for car navigation or the like. According to this device, even when it is not possible to grasp the situation of a road that remains in a blind spot unless the automobile enters to some extent such as an intersection, only if the front bumper of the automobile is caused to enter the intersection, the road in the blind spot can be viewed in advance.
Further, there is devised a system in which, instead of incorporating the camera in the automobile, a camera is installed at an intersection, an image of a road positioned in a blind spot from the automobile is picked up, and the picked-up image is transmitted by wireless communication to the automobile that is about to pass through the intersection. With this system, it becomes possible to avoid a crash between automobiles at an intersection and a physical injury resulting from sudden running into the intersection of a child or the like.
However, in the case of the safety device such as the convex mirror or the like, there have occurred problems such as that the safe device is installed at a position that is difficult to see from a running automobile, that the safety device is difficult to see due to a problem with its installation angle, and that the road situation can not be recognized because of the reflection of light such as sunlight or the like.
In addition, in the case of the safety confirmation device with the camera incorporated in the front bumper of the automobile, although the road situation is easily grasped because the safety confirmation requires only viewing of the in-vehicle monitor, there has occurred a problem that at least the front bumper needs to enter the intersection so that it is not possible to completely avoid the crash and the like.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-101566, since the automobile receives the image from the camera installed at the intersection, it is possible to grasp the road situation without causing the automobile to enter the intersection. However, since a method for determining, among innumerable intersections, from which intersection the automobile is receiving the image picked up by the camera is not described, there is a possibility that the automobile is receiving an image of a road other than a road at the intersection that the automobile is about to enter.
Despite the situation in which another automobile or a pedestrian is about to enter the intersection that the automobile is about to enter from a direction in a blind spot, when the received image is an image of another intersection, and no vehicle or pedestrian is seen in the image, a driver considers that the intersection is safe and drives the automobile into the intersection. In this case, it is extremely highly possible that a traffic accident occurs, which is extremely dangerous.
The present invention has been achieved in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an intersection situation recognition system capable of reliably grasping a situation of a road in a blind spot when vehicles such as an automobile and the like pass through an intersection.
In order to solve the above-described problem, an intersection situation recognition system of the present invention includes an image pickup device installed in a vicinity of an intersection, and for picking up an image of a direction not visible from a vehicle that is about to enter the intersection and transmitting the picked-up image to the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection, and an in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection, and for receiving and displaying the image from the image pickup device installed in the vicinity of the intersection.
The in-vehicle device has a vehicle position detection unit for detecting a position of the vehicle in which the in-vehicle device is mounted and a running direction thereof, an image pickup device retrieval unit for determining the intersection that the vehicle is about to enter from the position of the vehicle and the running direction thereof detected by the vehicle position detection unit, and retrieving an image pickup device identification number in correspondence to the image pickup device installed in the vicinity of the determined intersection, an in-vehicle device-side transmission unit for transmitting the image pickup device identification number retrieved by the image pickup device retrieval unit to the image pickup device installed in the vicinity of the intersection, an in-vehicle device-side reception unit for receiving the image and an image pickup device identification number transmitted from the image pickup device installed in the vicinity of the intersection, an in-vehicle device-side identification number comparison unit for comparing the image pickup device identification number received by the in-vehicle device-side reception unit with the image pickup device identification number retrieved by the image pickup device retrieval unit, and detecting a match between the image pickup device identification numbers, and a display device for displaying the image received from the image pickup device in correspondence to the image pickup device identification numbers between which the match is detected by the in-vehicle device-side identification number comparison unit.
In addition, the image pickup device has an image pickup device identification number setting unit for setting the unique image pickup device identification number, an image pickup unit for picking up an image of an intersection situation, an image pickup device-side reception unit for receiving the image pickup device identification number transmitted from the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection, an image pickup device-side identification number comparison unit for comparing the image pickup device identification number received by the image pickup device-side reception unit with the unique image pickup device identification number set in the image pickup device, and detecting a match between the image pickup device identification numbers, a transmission judgment unit for judging whether or not transmission is permitted in accordance with a result of the match detection by the image pickup device-side identification number comparison unit, and an image pickup device-side transmission unit for transmitting the image picked up by the image pickup unit and the unique image pickup device identification number to the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection when the image pickup device identification numbers match with each other and the transmission judgment unit judges that the transmission is permitted.
According to the configuration, since the situation of a road in a blind spot can be grasped before the vehicle enters the intersection, it is possible to significantly reduce the possibility of occurrence of a crash or a physical injury. In addition, since the image pickup device is assigned with the image pickup device identification number, it is possible to identify the image pickup device installed at the intersection that the vehicle is about to enter without misrecognition. Consequently, the situation of the road in the blind spot can be reliably grasped.
In the intersection situation recognition system having the above-described configuration, the image pickup device retrieval unit preferably pre-records positional information, an image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification number of the image pickup device in association with each other.
According to the configuration, it is not necessary to constantly transmit the positional information, the image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification number of the image pickup device from the image pickup device to a surrounding area to inform the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle running in the surrounding area of them, and it is possible to retrieve the identification number of the image pickup device installed at the intersection that the vehicle is about to enter only on the in-vehicle device side.
In addition, in the intersection situation recognition system having the above-described configuration, the image pickup device preferably has a transmission unit for transmitting image pickup device installation information including positional information, an image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification number of the image pickup device to a surrounding area, and the in-vehicle device preferably has an image pickup device installation information reception unit for receiving the image pickup device installation information including the positional information, the image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification information of the image pickup device.
According to the configuration, even when a new image pickup device is additionally installed at the intersection, the in-vehicle device can automatically obtain the image pickup device installation information including the positional information, the image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification number of the image pickup device only by the running of the vehicle in which the in-vehicle device is mounted in the vicinity of the intersection. As a result, it is not necessary to perform additional work such as periodically asking an in-vehicle device manufacturer or a dealer to update the image pickup device installation information in the image pickup device retrieval unit of the in-vehicle device, or downloading the image pickup device information on the Internet to update the image pickup device retrieval unit using the data.
Further, in the intersection situation recognition system having the above-described configuration, the image pickup device retrieval unit preferably records the positional information, the image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification number of the image pickup device received by the image pickup device installation information reception unit in association with each other.
According to the configuration, since it is possible to record the positional information, the image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification number of the image pickup device as a database once the vehicle runs through the intersection, it is possible to quickly retrieve the image pickup device installed at the intersection when the vehicle enters the intersection.
Moreover, in the intersection situation recognition system having the above-described configuration, the in-vehicle device preferably has a priority judgment unit for assigning priorities to a plurality of image pickup devices based on an image pickup direction of the plurality of image pickup devices and the running direction of the vehicle in which the in-vehicle device is mounted in a state where the plurality of image pickup devices are installed at the intersection that the vehicle is about to enter, the in-vehicle device-side transmission unit preferably transmits the priorities of the plurality of image pickup devices assigned by the priority judgment unit in association with the image pickup device identification number, the image pickup device-side reception unit preferably receives the priorities of the image pickup devices from the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection, and the image pickup device preferably further has an image quality determination unit for determining an image quality of the image to be transmitted to the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection in accordance with the priorities of the image pickup devices received by the image pickup device-side reception unit, and an image processing unit for performing image processing on the image picked up by the image pickup unit in accordance with the image quality determined in the image quality determination unit.
According to the configuration, since the image of the image pickup direction having high priority is displayed with high image quality and the image having low priority is displayed with low image quality, it becomes possible to recognize the situation of the intersection with increased accuracy, and the safety when the vehicle passes through the intersection can be enhanced.
Furthermore, in the intersection situation recognition system having the above-described configuration, the priority judgment unit preferably assigns the priorities in accordance with route guidance of a route guidance device mounted in the vehicle in which the in-vehicle device is mounted.
In addition, in the intersection situation recognition system having the above-described configuration, the priority judgment unit preferably assigns the priorities in accordance with a direction of a direction indicator of the vehicle in which the in-vehicle device is mounted.
Further, in the intersection situation recognition system having the above-described configuration, the in-vehicle device preferably has an in-vehicle device identification number setting unit for setting a unique in-vehicle device identification number, the in-vehicle device-side transmission unit preferably transmits the unique in-vehicle device identification number to the image pickup device installed in the vicinity of the intersection, the image pickup device-side reception unit preferably receives the in-vehicle device identification number transmitted from the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection, the image pickup device-side transmission unit preferably transmits the in-vehicle device identification number to the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection, the in-vehicle device-side reception unit preferably receives the in-vehicle device identification number transmitted from the image pickup device installed in the vicinity of the intersection, the in-vehicle device-side identification number comparison unit preferably compares the in-vehicle device identification number received by the in-vehicle device-side reception unit with the in-vehicle device identification number unique to the in-vehicle device, and detects a match between the in-vehicle device identification numbers, and the display device preferably displays the image received from the image pickup device in correspondence to the image pickup device identification numbers between which the match is detected by the in-vehicle device-side identification number comparison unit when the match between the in-vehicle device identification number received by the in-vehicle device-side reception unit and the in-vehicle device identification number unique to the in-vehicle device is detected by the in-vehicle device-side identification number comparison unit.
According to the configuration, it is possible to avoid the displaying of the image transmitted to the in-vehicle device mounted in another vehicle running in the same intersection by mistake.
Moreover, in the intersection situation recognition system having the above-described configuration, the display device preferably displays the received image on an entire screen.
According to the configuration, since the image of the intersection can be displayed largely, the situation of the intersection is easily recognized.
Furthermore, in the intersection situation recognition system having the above-described configuration, the display device preferably divides a screen, and displays the received image on a part of the screen and displays another image on a remaining portion of the screen simultaneously with the received image.
According to the configuration, the display device can be effectively used for other purposes.
In addition, in the intersection situation recognition system having the above-described configuration, the another image is preferably an image showing route guidance.
According to the configuration, the route guidance can be displayed using the display device.
Further, in the intersection situation recognition system having the above-described configuration, the display device preferably displays route guidance on a screen, and displays the received image on the screen in overlapping relation on the route guidance.
According to the configuration, the image pickup direction of the intersection image can be recognized on the route guidance screen.
Moreover, in the intersection situation recognition system having the above-described configuration, the in-vehicle device preferably requests the image pickup device installed in the vicinity of the intersection to pick up an image of the intersection when the vehicle in which the in-vehicle device is mounted is about to enter the intersection, and the image pickup device preferably performs image pickup only when the request for the image pickup is made from the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection.
According to the configuration, since a configuration can be adopted in which the image pickup is not performed while no vehicle passes by, power consumption can be reduced.
Furthermore, in the intersection situation recognition system having the above-described configuration, the image pickup device preferably has a transmission rate measurement unit for measuring a transmission rate between the image pickup device and the in-vehicle device, and preferably performs at least one of a change of an image process content, a change of a bit rate of an image, and a change of an image size stepwise in accordance with the transmission rate as a measurement result by the transmission rate measurement unit.
According to the configuration, even when the transmission rate between the image pickup device and the in-vehicle device is reduced, the intersection image can be transmitted from the image pickup device to the in-vehicle device in real time.
An image pickup device of the present invention is installed in an vicinity of an intersection, picks up an image of a direction not visible from a vehicle that is about to enter the intersection, and transmits the picked-up image to the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection.
The image pickup device has an image pickup device identification number setting unit for setting a unique image pickup device identification number, an image pickup unit for picking up an image of an intersection situation, an image pickup device-side reception unit for receiving an image pickup device identification number transmitted from an in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection, an image pickup device-side identification number comparison unit for comparing the image pickup device identification number received by the image pickup device-side reception unit with the unique image pickup device identification number set in the image pickup device and detecting a match between the image pickup device identification numbers, a transmission judgment unit for judging whether or not transmission is permitted in accordance with a result of the match detection by the image pickup device-side identification number comparison unit, and an image pickup device-side transmission unit for transmitting the image picked up by the image pickup unit and the unique image pickup device identification number to the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection when the image pickup device identification numbers match with each other and the transmission judgment unit judges that the transmission is permitted.
According to the configuration, since the situation of the road in the blind spot can be grasped before the vehicle enters the intersection by configuring the intersection situation recognition system in combination with the in-vehicle device of the present invention, it is possible to significantly reduce the possibility of occurrence of the crash or the physical injury. In addition, since the image pickup device is assigned with the image pickup device identification number, it is possible to identify the image pickup device installed at the intersection that the vehicle is about to enter without misrecognition. Consequently, the situation of the road in the blind spot can be reliably grasped.
In addition, in the above-described image pickup device of the present invention, the image pickup device-side reception unit preferably receives an in-vehicle device identification number transmitted from the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection, and the image pickup device-side transmission unit preferably transmits the in-vehicle device identification number to the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection.
According to the configuration, it is possible to avoid the displaying of the image transmitted to the in-vehicle device mounted in another vehicle running in the same intersection by mistake.
Further, the image pickup device of the present invention preferably includes a transmission unit for transmitting image pickup device installation information including positional information, an image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification number of the image pickup device to a surrounding area.
According to the configuration, even when a new image pickup device is additionally installed at the intersection, the in-vehicle device can automatically obtain the image pickup device installation information including the positional information, the image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification number of the pickup device only by the running of the vehicle in which the in-vehicle device is mounted in the vicinity of the intersection so that it is not necessary to perform additional work such as periodically asking the in-vehicle device manufacturer or the dealer to update the image pickup device installation information in the image pickup device retrieval unit of the in-vehicle device, or downloading the image pickup device information on the Internet to update the image pickup device retrieval unit using the data.
Moreover, in the image pickup device of the present invention, the image pickup device-side reception unit preferably receives a priority of the image pickup device from the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection, and the image pickup device of the present invention preferably further includes an image quality determination unit for determining an image quality of the image to be transmitted to the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection in accordance with the priority of the image pickup device received by the image pickup device-side reception unit, and an image processing unit for performing image processing on the image picked up by the image pickup unit in accordance with the image quality determined by the image quality determination unit.
According to the configuration, since the image of the image pickup direction having high priority is displayed with high image quality and the image having low priority is displayed with low image quality, it becomes possible to recognize the situation of the intersection with increased accuracy, and the safety when the vehicle passes through the intersection can be enhanced.
Furthermore, the image pickup device of the present invention preferably performs image pickup only when a request for the image pickup is made from the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle that is about to enter the intersection.
According to the configuration, since the configuration can be adopted in which the image pickup is not performed while no vehicle passes by, power consumption can be reduced.
In addition, the image pickup device of the present invention preferably further includes a transmission rate measurement unit for measuring a transmission rate between the image pickup device and the in-vehicle device, wherein at least one of a change of an image process content, a change of a bit rate of an image, and a change of an image size is preferably performed stepwise in accordance with the transmission rate as a measurement result by the transmission rate measurement unit.
According to the configuration, even when the transmission rate between the image pickup device and the in-vehicle device is reduced, the intersection image can be transmitted from the image pickup device to the in-vehicle device in real time.
An in-vehicle device of the present invention is mounted in a vehicle that is about to enter an intersection, and receives and displays an image from an image pickup device installed in a vicinity of the intersection.
The in-vehicle device includes a vehicle position detection unit for detecting a position of the vehicle in which the in-vehicle device is amounted and a running direction thereof, an image pickup device retrieval unit for determining the intersection that the vehicle is about to enter from the position of the vehicle and the running direction thereof, and retrieving an image pickup device identification number in correspondence to the image pickup device installed in the vicinity of the determined intersection, an in-vehicle device-side transmission unit for transmitting the image pickup device identification number retrieved by the image pickup device retrieval unit to the image pickup device installed in the vicinity of the intersection, an in-vehicle device-side reception unit for receiving the image and an image pickup device identification number transmitted from the image pickup device installed in the vicinity of the intersection, an in-vehicle device-side identification number comparison unit for comparing the image pickup device identification number received by the in-vehicle device-side reception unit with the image pickup device identification number retrieved by the image pickup device retrieval unit, and detecting a match between the image pickup device identification numbers, and a display device for displaying the image received from the image pickup device in correspondence to the image pickup device identification numbers between which the match is detected by the in-vehicle device-side identification number comparison unit.
According to the configuration, since the situation of the road in the blind spot can be grasped before the vehicle enters the intersection by configuring the intersection situation recognition system in combination with the image pickup device of the present invention, it is possible to significantly reduce the possibility of occurrence of the crash or the physical injury. In addition, since the image pickup device is assigned with the image pickup device identification number, it is possible to identify the image pickup device installed at the intersection that the vehicle is about to enter without misrecognition. Consequently, the situation of the road in the blind spot can be reliably grasped.
In the above-described in-vehicle device of the present invention, the image pickup device retrieval unit preferably pre-records positional information, an image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification number of the image pickup device in association with each other.
According to the configuration, it is not necessary to constantly transmit the positional information, the image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification number of the image pickup device from the image pickup device to a surrounding area to inform the in-vehicle device mounted in the vehicle running in the surrounding area of them, and it is possible to retrieve the identification number of the image pickup device installed at the intersection that the vehicle is about to enter only on the in-vehicle device side.
The above-described in-vehicle device of the present invention preferably further includes an image pickup device installation information reception unit for receiving image pickup device installation information including positional information, an image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification number of the image pickup device.
According to the configuration, even when a new image pickup device is additionally installed at the intersection, the in-vehicle device can automatically obtain the image pickup device installation information including the positional information, the image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification number of the image pickup device only by the running of the vehicle in which the in-vehicle device is mounted in the vicinity of the intersection so that it is not necessary to perform additional work such as periodically asking the in-vehicle device manufacturer or the dealer to update the image pickup device installation information in the image pickup device retrieval unit, or downloading the image pickup device information on the Internet to update the image pickup device retrieval unit using the data.
In the above-described in-vehicle device of the present invention, the image pickup device retrieval unit preferably records the positional information, the image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification number of the image pickup device received by the image pickup device installation information reception unit in association with each other.
According to the configuration, since it is possible to record the positional information, the image pickup direction, and the image pickup device identification number of the image pickup device as a database once the vehicle runs through the intersection, it is possible to quickly retrieve the image pickup device installed at the intersection when the vehicle enters the intersection.
The above-described in-vehicle device of the present invention preferably further includes a priority judgment unit for assigning priorities to a plurality of image pickup devices based on an image pickup direction of the plurality of image pickup devices and the running direction of the vehicle in which the in-vehicle device is mounted in a state where the plurality of image pickup devices are installed at the intersection that the vehicle is about to enter, wherein the in-vehicle device-side transmission unit preferably transmits the priorities of the plurality of image pickup devices assigned by the priority judgment unit in association with the image pickup device identification number.
According to the configuration, since the image of the image pickup device having high priority can be preferentially displayed in accordance with the running direction of the vehicle, the safety when the vehicle passes through the intersection can be enhanced.
In the above-described in-vehicle device of the present invention, the priority judgment unit preferably assigns the priorities in accordance with route guidance of a route guidance device mounted in the vehicle in which the in-vehicle device is mounted.
In the above-described in-vehicle device of the present invention, the priority judgment unit preferably assigns the priorities in accordance with a direction of a direction indicator of the vehicle in which the in-vehicle device is mounted.
The above-described in-vehicle device of the present invention preferably further includes an in-vehicle device identification number setting unit for setting a unique in-vehicle device identification number, wherein the in-vehicle device-side transmission unit preferably transmits the unique in-vehicle device identification number to the image pickup device installed in the vicinity of the intersection, the in-vehicle device-side reception unit preferably receives the in-vehicle device identification number transmitted from the image pickup device installed in the vicinity of the intersection, the in-vehicle device-side identification number comparison unit preferably compares the in-vehicle device identification number received by the in-vehicle device-side reception unit with the in-vehicle device identification number unique to the in-vehicle device, and detects a match between the in-vehicle device identification numbers, and the display device preferably displays the image received from the image pickup device in correspondence to the image pickup device identification numbers between which the match is detected by the in-vehicle device-side identification number comparison unit when the match between the in-vehicle device identification number received by the in-vehicle device-side reception unit and the in-vehicle device identification number unique to the in-vehicle device is detected by the in-vehicle device-side identification number comparison unit.
According to the configuration, it is possible to avoid the displaying of the image transmitted to the in-vehicle device mounted in another vehicle running in the same intersection by mistake.
In the above-described in-vehicle device of the present invention, the display device preferably displays the received image on an entire screen.
According to the configuration, since the image of the intersection can be displayed largely, the situation of the intersection is easily recognized.
In the above-described in-vehicle device of the present invention, the display device preferably divides a screen, and displays the received image on a part of the screen and displays another image on a remaining portion of the screen simultaneously with the received image.
According to the configuration, the display device can be effectively used for other purposes.
In the above-described in-vehicle device of the present invention, the another image is preferably an image showing route guidance.
According to the configuration, the route guidance can be displayed using the display device.
In the above-described in-vehicle device of the present invention, the display device preferably displays route guidance on a screen, and displays the received image on the screen in overlapping relation on the route guidance.
According to the configuration, the image pickup direction of the intersection image can be recognized on the route guidance screen.
The above-described in-vehicle device of the present invention preferably requests the image pickup device installed in the vicinity of the intersection to pick up an image of the intersection when the vehicle in which the in-vehicle device is mounted is about to enter the intersection.
According to the configuration, since the configuration can be adopted in which the image pickup is not performed while no vehicle passes by, power consumption can be reduced.
According to the present invention, since the situation of the road in the blind spot can be grasped before the vehicle enters the intersection, it is possible to significantly reduce the possibility of occurrence of the crash or the physical injury. In addition, since the image pickup device is assigned with the image pickup deice identification number, it is possible to identify the image pickup device installed at the intersection that the vehicle is about to enter without misrecognition. Consequently, the situation of the road in the blind spot can be reliably grasped.
A description will be given hereinbelow of embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. It is to be noted that the embodiments described below are only illustrative, and various modifications including modified embodiments described later can be made.
The intersection situation recognition system in the present first embodiment includes an image pickup device 101 and an in-vehicle device 108. The image pickup device 101 and the in-vehicle device 108 have their respective unique identification numbers (IDs). For the communication between the in-vehicle device 108 and the image pickup device 101, wireless communication using light, radio waves or the like is utilized. It is to be noted that the term “identification number” includes identification codes made of signs other than numbers or combinations of numbers and the signs other than numbers.
The image pickup device 101 includes an image pickup unit 102 having a lens, an image pickup element, and an analog front end for converting an picked-up image to a digital picked-up image signal, an image processing unit 103 for performing specific processing (color correction, YC processing, and MPEG/JPEG compression) on the image signal from the image pickup unit 102, a reception unit 107 for receiving the identification number (ID) from the in-vehicle device 108, an ID comparison unit 106 for comparing the ID received by the reception unit 107 with an ID set in the image pickup device 101, a transmission judgment unit 104 for judging whether or not the image is transmitted to the in-vehicle device 108 according to the comparison result of the ID comparison unit 106, and a transmission unit 105 for transmitting the image and the ID of the image pickup device 101.
The in-vehicle device 108 includes a vehicle position detection unit 114 for detecting a position and a running direction of a vehicle in which the in-vehicle device 108 is mounted, an image pickup device retrieval unit 113 for retrieving the ID of the image pickup device 101 installed at an intersection that the vehicle is about to enter, a transmission unit 112 for transmitting the ID retrieved by the image pickup device retrieval unit 113 to the image pickup device 101, a reception unit 109 for receiving the image and the ID of the image pickup device 101 from the image pickup device 101, an ID comparison unit 110 for comparing the received ID of the image pickup device 101 with the ID of the image pickup device 101 installed at the intersection that the vehicle is about to enter, and a display device 111 for displaying the image received from the image pickup device 101. In the image pickup device retrieval unit 113, the position and the ID of each of the image pickup devices 101 installed nationwide are pre-recorded.
Next, an ID of the image pickup device 101 installed at the intersection that the vehicle is about to enter is retrieved using the image pickup device retrieval unit 113 (image pickup device retrieval step 202). When a plurality of image pickup devices 101 are installed at the intersection, only a necessary ID of the image pickup device 101 is retrieved. For example, the image from an image pickup device 101 that is picking up the image of the road on which the vehicle is running is not necessary so that the image pickup device 101 is not retrieved.
When the retrieval of the ID is completed, the ID is transmitted to the image pickup device 101 (ID transmission step 203).
When the image pickup device 101 receives the ID (ID reception step 213), the image pickup device 101 compares an ID set in the image pickup device 101 with the received ID (ID comparison step 214). Herein, the reason for the comparison of the IDs is to transmit only the image of the image pickup device 101 needed by the in-vehicle device 108. The reason for the comparison thereof is that, when an image pickup device in the vicinity of the image pickup device 101 needed by the in-vehicle device 108 receives the ID, a wrong image is transmitted to the in-vehicle device 108.
When the IDs match with each other (ID match 215), information indicating that image transmission is permitted is transferred to the transmission judgment unit 104. At this point, the image pickup device 101 is performing image pickup (image pickup step 211) and image processing (image processing step 212), and is picking up the image to be transmitted.
Next, it is judged whether or not the transmission is permitted in the transmission judgment unit 104 (transmission permission judgment step 216). When the IDs match with each other in the ID comparison unit 106, the transmission is permitted. When the transmission is permitted, the ID of the image pickup device 101 and the picked-up image are transmitted to the in-vehicle device 108 (image and ID transmission step 217).
When the in-vehicle device 108 receives the ID and the image (image and ID reception step 204), the received ID is compared with the retrieved ID in the ID comparison unit 110 to find out whether or not the IDs match with each other (ID comparison step 205). When the IDs match with each other, the matching ID is displayed on the display device 111 (display step 206).
Although a display device dedicated to the present system may be used as the display device 111, a monitor of an existing car navigation system may simply be used.
Examples of a display method will be described. The description will be given on the basis of an example of an intersection situation shown in
As the first example of the display, there is a method of displaying the received image on the entire screen of the display device.
The second example is a method of displaying by dividing the screen of the display device into, e.g., two.
Next, a description will be given by using an example of the intersection situation in
The next display example is a method of displaying the car navigation system image on the entire display screen of the display device 401, and displaying the received image in overlapping relation on the car navigation system image. The description will be given by using
In the foregoing, although the description has been given on the assumption that the positions and IDs of the image pickup devices installed nationwide are pre-recorded in the image pickup device retrieval unit 113, a description will be given herein of an embodiment in a case where the positions and IDs are not pre-recorded.
The image pickup device 101A has a configuration in which the transmission unit 901 for transmitting positional information, the image pickup direction, and the ID of the image pickup device 101A to a surrounding area is added to the image pickup device 101 in
The in-vehicle device 108A has a configuration in which the image pickup device installation information reception unit 902 for receiving the positional information, the image pickup direction, and the ID of the image pickup device transmitted by the image pickup device 101A is added to the in-vehicle device 108 in
With the operation described above, the necessity for the step of pre-recording the image pickup device information in the image pickup device retrieval unit 903 in the manufacturing stage of the in-vehicle device 108A is obviated. In addition, even when the image pickup device information is pre-recorded, in a case where the image pickup device 101A is newly installed, additional work such as asking an in-vehicle device manufacturer or a dealer to update the image pickup device information, or downloading the image pickup device information on the Internet to update the image pickup device retrieval unit 903 using the data is required in the first embodiment, but the additional work is not required in the second embodiment.
In the first embodiment, when the images are received from a plurality of image pickup devices, all of the images are displayed in the same manner. However, as shown in
The in-vehicle device 108B has a configuration in which the priority judgment unit 1201 is newly provided, and the transmission unit 1202 transmits not only the ID of the image pickup device retrieved by the image pickup device retrieval unit 113 but also the priority judged by the priority judgment unit 1201 and the ID of the in-vehicle device 108B. In addition, in the above-described configuration, the reception unit 1207 receives not only the ID and the image of the image pickup device but also the ID of the in-vehicle device, and the ID comparison unit 1208 compares not only the IDs of the image pickup device but also the IDs of the in-vehicle device.
The image pickup device 101B has a configuration in which the image quality determination unit 1204 is additionally provided, the reception unit 1203 receives the ID of the image pickup device, the ID of the in-vehicle device, and the priority, the image processing unit 1205 creates an image having image quality in accordance with the result of the image quality determination unit 1204, and the transmission unit 1206 transmits the image, the ID of the image pickup device, and the ID of the in-vehicle device. When the priority is “low”, the image processing unit 1205 creates an image having low image quality, while when the priority is “high”, the image processing unit 1205 creates an image having high image quality.
Herein, the reason for the comparison of the IDs of the in-vehicle device will be described by using
Since the preceding vehicle 1303 plans to move straight through the intersection 1307, as shown in
In the situation described above, when the preceding vehicle 1303 has received the image having low image quality created for the following vehicle 1304 by the image pickup device 1302, the image having low image quality is displayed on the display device of the preceding vehicle 1303 so that the preceding vehicle 1303 may not be able to grasp the road situation in detail, which is dangerous. Consequently, it is necessary to compare the IDs of the in-vehicle device and not to display the image when the IDs do not match with each other.
First, the position and the running direction of the vehicle in which the in-vehicle device 108B is mounted are detected by the vehicle position detection unit 114 of the in-vehicle device 108B (vehicle position detection step 1401). When the position and the running direction of the vehicle are detected, it becomes possible to determine the intersection that the vehicle is about to enter.
Next, the ID of the image pickup device 101B installed at the intersection that the vehicle is about to enter is retrieved by the image pickup device retrieval unit 113 (image pickup device retrieval step 1402).
When the retrieval of the ID is completed, the priority is determined by the priority judgment unit 1201 (priority judgment step 1403). Specifically, the running direction is firstly detected from the route guidance of the car navigation system or a direction indicator of the vehicle. The priority is determined in accordance with the detected running direction. For example, in
When the determination of the priority is completed, the determined priority, the ID retrieved by the image pickup device retrieval unit 113, and the ID set in the in-vehicle device (in-vehicle device 108B) are transmitted to the image pickup device 101B (ID and priority transmission step 1404).
When the reception unit 1203 of the image pickup device 101 B receives the ID and the priority (ID and priority reception step 1411), the ID set in the image pickup device (image pickup device 101B) is compared with the received ID of the image pickup device (ID comparison step 1412).
When the IDs match with each other, information indicating that image transmission is permitted is transferred to the transmission judgment unit 104, and at the same time the received priority is transferred to the image quality determination unit 1204 (ID match 1413). In the image quality determination unit 1204, the image quality is determined in accordance with the received priority (image quality determination step 1414). An example of the image quality determination includes a case where a bit rate or a frame rate are increased when the priority is “high”, and the bit rate or the frame rate are lowered when the priority is “low”. At this point, the image pickup is performed in the image pickup unit 102 (image pickup step 1415).
In Accordance with the image quality determined in the image quality determination unit 1204, the image processing unit 1205 performs image processing (image processing step 1416).
Next, it is judged whether or not the transmission is permitted in the transmission judgment unit 104 (transmission permission judgment step 1417). When the IDs match with each other in the ID comparison unit 106, the transmission is permitted. When the transmission is permitted, the ID of the image pickup device (image pickup device 101B), the received ID of the in-vehicle device 108B, and the picked-up image are transmitted from the transmission unit 1206 to the in-vehicle device 108B (image and ID transmission step 1418).
When the reception unit 1207 of the in-vehicle device 108B receives the IDs and the image (image and ID reception step 1405), the received ID of the image pickup device 101B and the ID retrieved in the image pickup device retrieval unit 113 are compared with each other to determine whether or not the IDs match with each other, and the received ID of the in-vehicle device 108B and the ID of the device (in-vehicle device) are compared with each other to determine whether or not the IDs match with each other (ID comparison step 1406). When both of the IDs match with each other, (ID match 1407), the matching IDs are displayed on the display device 111 (display step 1408).
As the display method, the screen division display or the overlap display described in the first embodiment can also be adopted. In addition, as in the second embodiment, the configuration may also be adopted in which the transmission unit for transmitting the positional information, the image pickup direction, and the ID of the device (image pickup device) to the surrounding area is additionally provided in the image pickup device, and the image pickup deice installation information reception unit for receiving the positional information, the image pickup direction, and the ID of the image pickup device that are transmitted by the image pickup device is additionally provided in the in-vehicle device.
When real time characteristics are impaired by a reduction in transmission rate between the image pickup device and the in-vehicle device, the possibility of occurrence of accidents is increased, which is extremely dangerous.
This embodiment is characterized in that the transmission rate measurement unit 1501 for measuring the transmission rate between the image pickup device 101C and the in-vehicle device 108 is provided in the image pickup device 101C.
When the transmission rate is not less than a specific rate, it is judged that the image data can be transmitted without delay, and a normal process is performed.
When the transmission rate is reduced to be less than the specific rate, it is judged that the transmission of the image data is delayed and real time characteristics are thereby impaired, and the real time characteristics are secured by lowering the image quality to reduce the data size of the image, or reducing the process content in the image pickup device.
When the transmission rate is further reduced, the amount of processing is further reduced by performing both of the image quality adjustment and the process reduction to secure the real time characteristics.
By making stepwise judgment in this manner, it becomes possible to transmit an easily visible image in correspondence to the transmission (transfer) rate to the in-vehicle device while securing the real time characteristics.
When the measured transmission rate is a rate B (not less than b Mbps and less than a Mbps) (b<a), it is judged that the transmission rate is reduced so that the real time characteristics are impaired when the normal process is performed, and a process for lowering the bit rate of the image data is performed (process 1). Although the image quality of the image is reduced by lowering the bit rate, the size of the data to be transmitted is also reduced so that the transmission period can be shortened and the real time characteristics can be secured.
When the transmission rate is further reduced to be a rate C (not less than c Mbps and less than b Mbps) (c<b), and the real time characteristics can be be secured only by performing the process for lowering the bit rate, the ID comparison process in the ID comparison unit 106 and the transmission judgment in the transmission judgment unit 104 are not performed, and a state where the transmission is permitted at any time is maintained (process 2). By reducing the process content in the image pickup device 101C to preferentially perform the transmission process in this manner, the transmission rate is increased, and the real time characteristics are thereby secured.
In the example of
In the fourth embodiment, although the configuration is adopted in which the transmission rate measurement unit is added to the first embodiment, it is also possible to add the transmission rate measurement unit to the second embodiment or the third embodiment, and the same effect as that in the above-described fourth embodiment is obtained in either case.
At this point, when a configuration is adopted in which the image pickup device starts the image pickup after the image pickup device receives the ID and the priority from the in-vehicle device, i.e., the image pickup is performed after the in-vehicle device requests the image, the image pickup device can be adapted not to perform the image pickup while no vehicle passes by so that power consumption can be reduced.
In addition, with regard to installation positions of the image pickup device, if the image pickup device is installed on a post for a convex minor that is actually installed or on the upper portion of the convex mirror, it is not necessary to newly provide a post for the image pickup device. Further, if the image pickup device is installed on a traffic signal, concern over power supply is eliminated.
Furthermore, in a ease where only one image pickup device is installed at an intersection, it is not necessary to use priority information.
Moreover, in a case where the configuration is not adopted in which the image quality is changed by using the priority information, it is not necessary to transmit the in-vehicle device identification number from the in-vehicle device.
Since the intersection situation can be reliably grasped without entry into the intersection according to the present invention, the present invention can be used at least in a traffic safety system.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-216499 | Aug 2008 | JP | national |
This application is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2009/002145, filed May 15, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2009/002145 is entitled to the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-216499, file on Aug. 26, 2008, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2009/002145 | May 2009 | US |
| Child | 13032306 | US |
