Denso Corporation

Nippondenso Co., Ltd.

Katsuhiko Hibino

Noriaki Shirai

Takao Nishimura

Akira Kurahashi

Mitsufumi Hashimoto

Mamoru Shimamoto

Hiroshi Ishikawa

Masayuki Imanishi

Motoshi Suzuki

Tetsuji Kozaki

Tatsuhiko Futamura

Tatsuya Oike

Hiroki Nakano

Hideaki Yasui

Yusuke Nakagawa

A control apparatus for a vehicle-mounted camera system equipped with a vehicle-mounted camera which captures an image of surroundings of a vehicle includes a margin-of-communication obtainer and a restriction determiner. The margin-of-communication obtainer works to determine a value of the margin of differential signaling between the vehicle-mounted camera and the control apparatus. When the value of the margin of differential signaling is lower than a restriction threshold value, the restriction determiner restricts at least one of a communication characteristic of the differential signaling, an application using the captured image, a frame rate in the vehicle-mounted camera, and an image-capturing area. This achieves the control apparatus for the vehicle-mounted camera system which is high in robustness in the differential signaling.

Controller for in-vehicle camera

A headlight control apparatus that controls an illumination state of a headlight that illuminates an area ahead of a vehicle includes an illuminance sensor that detects luminance around the vehicle, an illumination control section that switches on or off the headlight in accordance with the luminance detected by the illuminance sensor, a forward detection sensor that detects an object that is present within a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle, and a dimming control section that dims the headlight when the forward detection sensor detects an object after start of the vehicle.

Headlight control apparatus

A camera system mounted on a vehicle includes a first substrate including an image sensor that generates image information by photoelectric conversion and a first communication unit, and a second substrate including a second communication unit for performing wireless communication with the first communication unit and a first information processing section at least capable of recognition processing for recognizing a situation outside the vehicle based on the image information acquired via the second communication unit.

Camera system

A target recognition apparatus of one embodiment is installed in a vehicle, and includes a data acquisition means which acquires received data from a transceiver having a plurality of transmission and receiving channels which transmit and receive radar waves; an image acquisition means which acquires image data from an image sensor which picks up an image of a state around an own vehicle; and a detection means which detects a target which has reflected the radar waves based on the received data and the image data.

Target recognition apparatus

A headlight control apparatusthat controls an illumination state of a headlightthat illuminates an area ahead of a vehicle includes an illuminance sensorthat detects luminance around the vehicle, an illumination control sectionthat switches on or off the headlightin accordance with the luminance detected by the illuminance sensor, a forward detection sensorthat detects an object that is present within a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle, and a dimming control sectionthat dims the headlightwhen the forward detection sensordetects an object after start of the vehicle.

A vehicular lighting apparatus includes a front detection sensor, a driving support ECU, a headlight ECU, a leveling motor and a headlight. When a subject vehicle is determined as being in an automatic following state with respect to a forward vehicle or a vehicle-to-vehicle distance between the subject vehicle and the forward vehicle is determined by a vehicle-to-vehicle distance determining portion as being short, the vehicular lighting apparatus changes. If a high-beam lamp or a low-beam lamp is illuminating, the illumination state changes such that the low-beam lamp illuminates more downward than normal. Consequently, it becomes possible to lower the degree of dazzling an occupant of the forward vehicle. Moreover, if a daytime running lamp is illuminating, the vehicular lighting apparatus turns the daytime running lamp off. Consequently, it becomes possible to lower a battery load of the subject vehicle.

Vehicular lighting apparatus

In a lane boundary detection device, a plurality of edge components are extracted from a captured image capturing the periphery of the own vehicle. Candidates of a curve (including straight lines) that is to be the boundary of a driving area are extracted as boundary candidates based on the placement of the plurality of edge components. Then, an angle formed by a tangent in a predetermined section of each extracted boundary candidate and a vertical line in the captured image is calculated. Boundary candidates of which the formed angle is less than an angle reference value are set to have low probability. The boundary candidate having the highest probability among the boundary candidates is set as the boundary of the driving area.

Boundary detection device for vehicles

An image filter produces an emphasized output in response to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of a picked-up image, with a sign of the emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion. An image filter produces an output representing an angular momentum of respective pixels about a central pixel in a predetermined processing zone set on the picked-up image. The angular momentum is defined by vectorial quantities of pixel values. An image filter produces an output representing an accumulative absolute value of the respective pixels in the predetermined processing zone. An output difference between the image filters and is obtained as an index representing a lane mark.

Apparatus and method for preprocessing a picked-up image, lane mark recognizing system, related vehicle traveling control system, and recording media

The present invention aims to facilitate easy correction of the center axis of an obstacle detecting apparatus for a vehicle by calculating deflection of the center axis with respect to the vehicle. Each of most obstacles recognized as moving objects is a preceding vehicle,and when the subject vehicle,is moving straight, the preceding vehicle,is detected in a position straight ahead of the subject vehicle,If the optical axis,of the transmitting/receiving section,is oriented straight ahead of the subject vehicle,the preceding vehicle,will be detected on the optical axis,On the other hand, when the optical axis,deviates from the center axis of the vehicle, the preceding vehicle,is detected in a position deviated from the optical axis,by an angle &thgr; m. In this case, the value &thgr; of deflection of optical axis,is equal to &minus;&thgr; m. In addition, by determining whether or not the relative velocity vector component of an obstacle is within a given range, the accuracy of calculation can be bettered with data of vehicles moving in an adjacent lane and data of vehicles moving along a curve being removed.

Apparatus for calculating deflection of central axis of an obstacle detecting apparatus mounted on a vehicle and apparatus for correcting the deflection of central axis, and system for controlling distance to a preceding vehicle traveling ahead

An estimated travelling curve La (radius Rea) of a system vehicle is obtained based on a first group of sampling data (X1, Y1) through (X5, Y5). Alarm area WA1a is set as a region surrounded by a pair of circular arcs parallel shifted from curve La by .+-.1 m and a pair of straight lines (Y=Y1 and Y=Y5). Similarly, an estimated travelling curve Lb (radius Reb) is obtained based on a second group of sampling data (X3, Y3) through (X5, Y5). Alarm area WA1b is set as a region surrounded by a pair of circular arcs parallel shifted from curve Lb by .+-.1 m and straight lines (Y=Y1 and Y=Y5). At the entrance and exit of a curved road, values of radii Rea and Reb are differentiated. Hence, the collision judgement is performed by using different alarm areas WA1a and WA1b.

Automotive anti-collision and alarm system

In an obstacle recognition system for a vehicle, transmission wave is irradiated per given angle for recognizing an obstacle ahead of the subject vehicle based on angle/distance data obtained from received reflected wave. A position of the obstacle is estimated based on a previously recognized position of the obstacle. The estimated position of the obstacle and an actually recognized position of the obstacle are compared so as to determine whether the obstacle currently recognized is identical with the obstacle previously recognized. Relative acceleration is derived for the obstacle which has been determined plural times to be identical with the previously recognized obstacle. When the derived relative acceleration is outside a given range, the corresponding obstacle is excluded from objects of further obstacle recognition.

Obstacle recognition system for vehicle

An obstacle warning system for a vehicle includes a distance measuring device for emitting a transmission wave or laser light in a given angular range in a direction of a width of the vehicle in a scanning manner, and for detecting a distance between the vehicle and an obstacle in correspondence with a scan angle on the basis of a reflected wave or reflected light from the obstacle. A relative position calculating device calculates a relative position of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle on the basis of the distance detected by the distance measuring device and a corresponding scan angle. A radius calculating device calculates a radius of an estimated relative curved path of the vehicle with respect to the obstacle on the basis of relative positions of at least two points of the obstacle which are calculated by the relative position calculating device. A warning area setting device sets a given warning area on the basis of the width of the vehicle and the radius calculated by the radius calculating device. A warning device executes a given warning process if the obstacle remains in the warning area for a given period of time.

Obstacle warning system for a vehicle

As provided here, an obstacle warning system for a vehicle is capable of issuing an alarm accurately according to the curved state of a road. When the road is curved, the system sets the correction time counter on the basis of the following conditions: whether or not the curvature radius of the curved road is small; whether or not a guardrail is detected immediately ahead of the vehicle; whether or not an erroneously-recognized object, such as a set of guardrail reflectors exhibiting large relative acceleration is immediately ahead of the vehicle; and whether or not the number of obstacles recognized reaches a value indicating that the vehicle is approaching a curved section of the road. When a stationary object enters the field of view indicating that there is a possibility of a collision, the obstacle warning system corrects the warning distance in response to the value of the correction time counter, thus making it possible to avoid a false alarm during cornering.

An intervehicle distance control system for automotive vehicles is provided which includes a laser scanning type distance sensor for scanning a laser beam in a width-wise direction of a system vehicle to determine relative positions and relative angles of objects within a forward detectable zone and determines same lane probabilities that the objects exist in the same lane of a road as the system vehicle using a variable probability distribution based on the relative positions and the relative angles of the objects. A target preceding vehicle is then selected from the objects based on the same lane probabilities for controlling the speed of the system vehicle to maintain a distance to the target preceding vehicle constant.

System for controlling distance to a vehicle traveling ahead based on an

A measuring apparatus for measuring an actual distance between vehicles and comparing the measured distance with a reference distance. The reference distance (SL) is obtained on the basis of: a personal space (VR.multidot.TIMEK) being an uneasy distance peculiar to a driver and obtained in accordance with the own vehicle speed; a free running distance (VRR.multidot.TIMEN) corresponding to a response time of a driver's braking operation and a relative speed between two vehicles; a braking distance (VRR.sup.2 /(2.multidot.GR)) corresponding to a depressing strength of a braking pedal in the driver's braking operation and the relative speed; and an acceleration change distance (.alpha.G.multidot.GA) corresponding to a relative acceleration between the two vehicles, using the following equation:

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Anjo, Japan

Katsuhiko Hibino