US5790403A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Lane image processing system for vehicle
Assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
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Filing: 1995-07-11
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Granted: 1998-08-04
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Expires: 2015-07-11
Abstract
Abstract A lane image processing system for a vehicle to recognize the lane on which the vehicle travels. The system has a CCD camera mounted on the vehicle for viewing a roadway scene ahead of the vehicle to output image data of the roadway scene including the lane on which the vehicle travels. Obstacles such as preceding vehicle are detected and a region for image data processing is determined so as to avoid the position of the obstacle and the lane on which the vehicle travels is recognized based on the processed result. More specifically, lane boundary positions estimated up to a preceding cycle are stored as historical information and in the region Hough transformation is limited in areas determined based on the historical information and the horizon in the roadway scene.
Inventors
- 👤 Shigeto Nakayama
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 04:45
CPC Classifications
G; G05; G05D; G05D1/00; G05D1/02; G05D1/021; G05D1/0231; G05D1/0246; G05D1/0268; G05D1/0272; G06; G06V; G06V10/00; G06V10/40; G06V10/48; G06V20/00; G06V20/50; G06V20/56; G06V20/58; G06V20/588; B; B60; B60T; B60T2201/00; B60T2201/08; B60T2201/089; G05D1/0251
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
177 words
A system for processing lane images for a vehicle, including: an image sensor mounted on the vehicle for viewing a roadway scene ahead of the vehicle to output image data of the roadway scene including a lane on which the vehicle travels; image data processing means for processing the image data to output lane information; and lane recognition means for recognizing the lane on which the vehicle travels based on the output lane information; wherein the improvement comprises: obstacle position determining means for determining a position of an obstacle present in the roadway scene; nearest obstacle selecting means for selecting the position of a nearest obstacle when a plurality of obstacles are present; lane boundary position storing means for storing a lane boundary position estimated up to a preceding image data processing as historical information; processing region determining means for determining a region of the data image to be processed at least based on the detected position of the nearest obstacle and the historical information such that the region excludes the detected position of the nearest obstacle.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
177 words
A system for processing lane images for a vehicle, including: an image sensor mounted on the vehicle for viewing a roadway scene ahead of the vehicle to output image data of the roadway scene including a lane on which the vehicle travels; image data processing means for processing the image data to output lane information; and lane recognition means for recognizing the lane on which the vehicle travels based on the output lane information; wherein the improvement comprises: obstacle position determining means for determining a position of an obstacle present in the roadway scene; nearest obstacle selecting means for selecting the position of a nearest obstacle when a plurality of obstacles are present; lane boundary position storing means for storing a lane boundary position estimated up to a preceding image data processing as historical information; processing region determining means for determining a region of the data image to be processed at least based on the detected position of the nearest obstacle and the historical information such that the region excludes the detected position of the nearest obstacle.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
A system according to claim 1, wherein said processing region determining means determines the region such that the region is made up of a left half and a right half that overlap partially with each other.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
14 words
A system according to claim 2, wherein said image sensor is a CCD camera.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
87 words
A system according to claim 1, wherein said processing region determining means includes: area determining means for determining an area in the region; edge image extracting means for extracting edge images in the image date of the area; Hough transforming means for carrying out Hough transformation on the edge images; straight line detecting means for detecting one straight line from among straight lines obtained from the Hough transformation; and said lane recognition means recognizes the lane on which the vehicle travels based on the detected straight line.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
14 words
A system according to claim 4, wherein said image sensor is a CCD camera.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
14 words
A system according to claim 1, wherein said image sensor is a CCD camera.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
259 words
A system for processing lane images for a vehicle, including: an image sensor mounted on the vehicle for viewing a roadway scene ahead of the vehicle to output image data of the roadway scene including a lane on which the vehicle travels; image data processing means for processing the image data to output lane information; and lane recognition means for recognizing the lane on which the vehicle travels based on the output lane information; wherein the improvement comprises: obstacle position determining means for determining position of an obstacle present in the roadway scene; processing region determining means for determining a region of the data image to be processed at least based on the detected obstacle position such that the region excludes the detected obstacle position; said image data processing means includes area determining means for determining an area in the region, edge image extracting means for extracting edge images in the image date of the area, Hough transforming means for carrying out Hough transformation on the edge images, straight line detecting means for detecting one straight line from among straight lines obtained from the Hough transformation, and said lane recognition means recognizes the lane on which the vehicle travels based on the detected straight line; lane boundary position storing means for storing a lane boundary position estimated up to a preceding image data processing as historical information; and said area determining means determines a first area based on the historical information and a second area based on a position where a new lane boundary can be expected to appear.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
259 words
A system for processing lane images for a vehicle, including: an image sensor mounted on the vehicle for viewing a roadway scene ahead of the vehicle to output image data of the roadway scene including a lane on which the vehicle travels; image data processing means for processing the image data to output lane information; and lane recognition means for recognizing the lane on which the vehicle travels based on the output lane information; wherein the improvement comprises: obstacle position determining means for determining position of an obstacle present in the roadway scene; processing region determining means for determining a region of the data image to be processed at least based on the detected obstacle position such that the region excludes the detected obstacle position; said image data processing means includes area determining means for determining an area in the region, edge image extracting means for extracting edge images in the image date of the area, Hough transforming means for carrying out Hough transformation on the edge images, straight line detecting means for detecting one straight line from among straight lines obtained from the Hough transformation, and said lane recognition means recognizes the lane on which the vehicle travels based on the detected straight line; lane boundary position storing means for storing a lane boundary position estimated up to a preceding image data processing as historical information; and said area determining means determines a first area based on the historical information and a second area based on a position where a new lane boundary can be expected to appear.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
27 words
A system according to claim 7, wherein said area determining means determines the second area based on a position corresponding to a horizon in the roadway scene.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
64 words
A system according to claim 8, wherein said straight line detecting means includes; setting means initially setting centers of clusters of the straight lines obtained from the Hough transformation; clustering means for clustering the straight lines obtained from the Hough transformation; defining means for defining average in each cluster as new centers; and uniting means for uniting proximate cluster to detect said straight line.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
64 words
A system according to claim 7, wherein said straight line detecting means includes; setting means initially setting centers of clusters of the straight lines obtained from the Hough transformation; clustering means for clustering the straight lines obtained from the Hough transformation; defining means for defining average in each cluster as new centers; and uniting means for uniting proximate cluster to detect said straight line.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
264 words
A system for processing lane images for a vehicle, including: an image sensor mounted on the vehicle for viewing a roadway scene ahead of the vehicle to output image data of the roadway scene including a lane on which the vehicle travels; image data processing means for processing the image data to output lane information; and lane recognition means for recognizing the lane on which the vehicle travels based on the output lane information; wherein the improvement comprises: obstacle position determining means for determining position of an obstacle present in the roadway scene; processing region determining means for determining a region of the data image to be processed at least based on the detected obstacle position such that the region excludes the detected obstacle position; said image data processing means includes area determining means for determining an area in the region, edge image extracting means for extracting edge images in the image date of the area, Hough transforming means for carrying out Hough transformation on the edge images, straight line detecting means for detecting one straight line from among straight lines obtained from the Hough transformation, and said lane recognition means recognizes the lane on which the vehicle travels based on the detected straight line; wherein said straight line detecting means includes setting means initially setting centers of clusters of the straight lines obtained from the Hough transformation, clustering means for clustering the straight lines obtained from the Hough transformation, defining means for defining an average in each cluster as new centers, and uniting means for uniting proximate cluster to detect said straight line.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
264 words
A system for processing lane images for a vehicle, including: an image sensor mounted on the vehicle for viewing a roadway scene ahead of the vehicle to output image data of the roadway scene including a lane on which the vehicle travels; image data processing means for processing the image data to output lane information; and lane recognition means for recognizing the lane on which the vehicle travels based on the output lane information; wherein the improvement comprises: obstacle position determining means for determining position of an obstacle present in the roadway scene; processing region determining means for determining a region of the data image to be processed at least based on the detected obstacle position such that the region excludes the detected obstacle position; said image data processing means includes area determining means for determining an area in the region, edge image extracting means for extracting edge images in the image date of the area, Hough transforming means for carrying out Hough transformation on the edge images, straight line detecting means for detecting one straight line from among straight lines obtained from the Hough transformation, and said lane recognition means recognizes the lane on which the vehicle travels based on the detected straight line; wherein said straight line detecting means includes setting means initially setting centers of clusters of the straight lines obtained from the Hough transformation, clustering means for clustering the straight lines obtained from the Hough transformation, defining means for defining an average in each cluster as new centers, and uniting means for uniting proximate cluster to detect said straight line.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-08-03 | 2002-02-02 | 2002-08-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-08-03 | 2006-02-02 | 2006-08-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-08-03 | 2010-02-02 | 2010-08-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |