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

Claim 2

A picked-up image preprocessing apparatus for applying predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle and installable in a lane mark recognizing apparatus for recognizing a lane mark on the traveling road based on the picked-up image, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprising: image emphasizing means for scanning the picked-up image and generating an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; and image output means for producing a picture resultant from said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means, said picture containing a lane feature quantity obtained in a predetermined processing zone set on said picked-up image, said processing zone having a size applicable to a plurality of pixels of said picked-up image with a width wider than said lane mark, said lane feature quantity corresponding to a difference between an angular momentum of respective pixels about a central pixel in said predetermined processing zone and an accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels in said predetermined processing zone, said angular momentum being defined by vectorial quantities of pixel values of said respective pixels relative to said central pixel.

Claim 3

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said lane mark is a bright portion in said picked-up image; said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means is positive when said brightness change occurs in a transition from the dark portion to the bright portion and is negative when said brightness change occurs in an opposed transition from the bright portion to the dark portion, and said angular momentum of said respective pixels is positive when said angular momentum is detected in a clockwise direction relative to said central pixel in said predetermined processing zone.

Claim 4

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said lane mark is a dark portion in said picked-up image; said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means is positive when said brightness change occurs in a transition from the bright portion to the dark portion and is negative when said brightness change occurs in an opposed transition from the dark portion to the bright portion, and said angular momentum of said respective pixels is positive when said angular momentum is detected in a clockwise direction relative to said central pixel in said predetermined processing zone.

Claim 5

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said lane mark is a dark portion in said picked-up image; said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means is negative when said brightness change occurs in a transition from the bright portion to the dark portion and is positive when said brightness change occurs in an opposed transition from the dark portion to the bright portion, and said angular momentum of said respective pixels is positive when said angular momentum is detected in a counterclockwise direction relative to said central pixel in said predetermined processing zone.

Claim 6

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said lane mark is a bright portion in said picked-up image; said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means is negative when said brightness change occurs in a transition from the dark portion to the bright portion and is positive when said brightness change occurs in an opposed transition from the bright portion to the dark portion, and said angular momentum of said respective pixels is positive when said angular momentum is detected in a counterclockwise direction relative to said central pixel in said predetermined processing zone.

Claim 7

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said predetermined processing zone has a dead zone with a predetermined width at a center thereof so that said angular momentum and said accumulative absolute value are not obtained from said dead zone.

Claim 8

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 6 , wherein said dead zone has a width widened at a lower side of said picked-up image and narrowed at an upper side of said picked-up image.

Claim 9

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 7 , wherein said width of said dead zone is determined based on a perspective transformation applied to said picked-up image.

Claim 10

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 8 , wherein said predetermined upper region including no lane mark is regarded as a region higher than an infinite position of said lane mark on said picked-up image.

Claim 11

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said predetermined processing zone has a width widened at a lower side of said picked-up image and narrowed at an upper side of said picked-up image.

Claim 12

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 10 , wherein said width of said predetermined processing zone is determined based on a perspective transformation applied to said picked-up image.

Claim 13

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with 1 , wherein said width of said predetermined processing zone is set to zero at a predetermined upper region of said picked-up image where no lane mark is present.

Claim 14

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with 1 , wherein said width of said predetermined processing zone is set to zero at a predetermined upper region of said picked-up image where no lane mark is present.

Claim 15

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said predetermined processing zone extends in a horizontal direction of said picked-up image.

Claim 16

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said predetermined processing zone is extendable in a vertical direction of said picked-up image as well as in a horizontal direction of said picked-up image.

Claim 17

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said predetermined processing zone is set along a direction normal to said lane mark on said picked-up image.

Claim 18

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 15 , wherein said predetermined processing zone is set based on a previously detected position of said lane mark in a lane mark recognizing apparatus with which said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus is incorporated.

Claim 19

A picked-up image preprocessing apparatus for applying predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle and installable in a lane mark recognizing apparatus for recognizing a lane mark on the traveling road based on the picked-up image, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprising: image emphasizing means for scanning the picked-up image and generating an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; and image output means for producing a picture resultant from said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means, said picture containing a lane feature quantity obtained in a predetermined processing zone set on said picked-up image, said processing zone having a size applicable to a plurality of pixels of said picked-up image with a width wider than said lane mark, said image output means comprising: first detecting means for detecting a symmetrical disposition of positive and negative pixel values of respective pixels about a central pixel in said predetermined processing zone; and second detecting means for obtaining an accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels in said predetermined processing zone, so that an output difference between said first detecting means and said second detecting means is obtained as said lane feature quantity.

Claim 20

A picked-up image preprocessing apparatus for applying predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle and installable in a lane mark recognizing apparatus for recognizing a lane mark on the traveling road based on the picked-up image, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprising: image emphasizing means for scanning the picked-up image and generating an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; and image output means for producing a picture resultant from said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means, said picture containing a lane feature quantity obtained in a predetermined processing zone set on said picked-up image, said processing zone having a size applicable to a plurality of pixels of said picked-up image with a width wider than said lane mark, said image output means comprising: first detecting means for detecting a symmetrical disposition of positive and negative pixel values of respective pixels about a central pixel in said predetermined processing zone; and second detecting means for obtaining an accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels in said predetermined processing zone, so that an output difference between said first detecting means and said second detecting means is obtained as said lane feature quantity.

Claim 21

A lane mark recognizing system comprising a picked-up image preprocessing apparatus and a lane mark recognizing apparatus, wherein said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus applies predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprises: image emphasizing means for scanning the picked-up image and generating an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; and image output means for producing a picture resultant from said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means, said picture containing a lane feature quantity obtained in a predetermined processing zone set on said picked-up image, said processing zone having a size applicable to a plurality of pixels of said picked-up image with a width wider than a lane mark, said image output means comprises: angular momentum detecting means for obtaining an angular momentum of respective pixels about a central pixel in said predetermined processing zone, said angular momentum being defined by vectorial quantities of pixel values of said respective pixels relative to said central pixel; and absolute value detecting means for obtaining an accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels in said predetermined processing zone, so that a difference between said angular momentum obtained by said angular momentum detecting means and said accumulative absolute value obtained by said absolute value detecting means is obtained as said lane feature quantity, and said lane mark recognizing apparatus recognizes the lane mark based on the lane feature quantity obtained by said image output means of said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus.

Claim 22

A lane mark recognizing system comprising a picked-up image preprocessing apparatus and a lane mark recognizing apparatus, wherein said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus applies predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprises: image emphasizing means for scanning the picked-up image and generating an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; and image output means for producing a picture resultant from said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means, said picture containing a lane feature quantity obtained in a predetermined processing zone set on said picked-up image, said processing zone having a size applicable to a plurality of pixels of said picked-up image with a width wider than a lane mark, said image output means comprises: angular momentum detecting means for obtaining an angular momentum of respective pixels about a central pixel in said predetermined processing zone, said angular momentum being defined by vectorial quantities of pixel values of said respective pixels relative to said central pixel; and absolute value detecting means for obtaining an accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels in said predetermined processing zone, so that a difference between said angular momentum obtained by said angular momentum detecting means and said accumulative absolute value obtained by said absolute value detecting means is obtained as said lane feature quantity, and said lane mark recognizing apparatus recognizes the lane mark based on the lane feature quantity obtained by said image output means of said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus.

Claim 23

A vehicle traveling control system comprising a picked-up image preprocessing apparatus, a lane mark recognizing apparatus, and a vehicle traveling control apparatus, wherein said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus applies predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprises: image emphasizing means for scanning the picked-up image and generating an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; and image output means for producing a picture resultant from said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means, said picture containing a lane feature quantity obtained in a predetermined processing zone set on said picked-up image, said processing zone having a size applicable to a plurality of pixels of said picked-up image with a width wider than a lane mark, said image output means comprises: angular momentum detecting means for obtaining an angular momentum of respective pixels about a central pixel in said predetermined processing zone, said angular momentum being defined by vectorial quantities of pixel values of said respective pixels relative to said central pixel; and absolute value detecting means for obtaining an accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels in said predetermined processing zone, so that a difference between said angular momentum obtained by said angular momentum detecting means and said accumulative absolute value obtained by said absolute value detecting means is obtained as said lane feature quantity, said lane mark recognizing apparatus recognizes the lane mark based on the lane feature quantity obtained by said image output means of said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus, and said vehicle traveling control apparatus controls the traveling of said vehicle according to the lane mark recognized by said lane mark recognizing apparatus.

Claim 24

A vehicle traveling control system comprising a picked-up image preprocessing apparatus, a lane mark recognizing apparatus, and a vehicle traveling control apparatus, wherein said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus applies predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprises: image emphasizing means for scanning the picked-up image and generating an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; and image output means for producing a picture resultant from said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means, said picture containing a lane feature quantity obtained in a predetermined processing zone set on said picked-up image, said processing zone having a size applicable to a plurality of pixels of said picked-up image with a width wider than a lane mark, said image output means comprises: angular momentum detecting means for obtaining an angular momentum of respective pixels about a central pixel in said predetermined processing zone, said angular momentum being defined by vectorial quantities of pixel values of said respective pixels relative to said central pixel; and absolute value detecting means for obtaining an accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels in said predetermined processing zone, so that a difference between said angular momentum obtained by said angular momentum detecting means and said accumulative absolute value obtained by said absolute value detecting means is obtained as said lane feature quantity, said lane mark recognizing apparatus recognizes the lane mark based on the lane feature quantity obtained by said image output means of said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus, and said vehicle traveling control apparatus controls the traveling of said vehicle according to the lane mark recognized by said lane mark recognizing apparatus.

Claim 25

A recording medium storing a program of a computer system, said program being used for applying predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle to recognize a lane mark on the traveling road based on the picked-up image, said predetermined preprocessing comprises the steps of: scanning the picked-up image and generating an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; setting a predetermined processing zone on said picked-up image, said processing zone having a size applicable to a plurality of pixels of said picked-up image with a width wider than said lane mark, obtaining an angular momentum of respective pixels about a central pixel in said predetermined processing zone, said angular momentum being defined by vectorial quantities of pixel values of said respective pixels relative to said central pixel; obtaining an accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels in said predetermined processing zone, and producing a picture containing a lane feature quantity, said lane feature quantity corresponding to a difference between said angular momentum and said accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels.

Claim 26

A recording medium storing a program of a computer system, said program being used for applying predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle to recognize a lane mark on the traveling road based on the picked-up image, said predetermined preprocessing comprises the steps of: scanning the picked-up image and generating an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; setting a predetermined processing zone on said picked-up image, said processing zone having a size applicable to a plurality of pixels of said picked-up image with a width wider than said lane mark, obtaining an angular momentum of respective pixels about a central pixel in said predetermined processing zone, said angular momentum being defined by vectorial quantities of pixel values of said respective pixels relative to said central pixel; obtaining an accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels in said predetermined processing zone, and producing a picture containing a lane feature quantity, said lane feature quantity corresponding to a difference between said angular momentum and said accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels.

Claim 27

A lane mark recognizing system comprising a picked-up image preprocessing apparatus and a lane mark recognizing apparatus, wherein said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus applies predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprises: image emphasizing means for scanning the picked-up image and generating an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; and image output means for producing a picture resultant from said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means, said picture containing a lane feature quantity obtained in a predetermined processing zone set on said picked-up image, said processing zone having a size applicable to a plurality of pixels of said picked-up image with a width wider than a lane mark, said image output means comprising: first detecting means for detecting a symmetrical disposition of positive and negative pixel values of respective pixels about a central pixel in said predetermined processing zone; and second detecting means for obtaining an accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels in said predetermined processing zone, so that an output difference between said first detecting means and said second detecting means is obtained as said lane feature quantity, and said lane mark recognizing apparatus recognizes the lane mark based on the lane feature quantity obtained by said image output means of said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus.

Claim 28

A lane mark recognizing system comprising a picked-up image preprocessing apparatus and a lane mark recognizing apparatus, wherein said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus applies predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprises: image emphasizing means for scanning the picked-up image and generating an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; and image output means for producing a picture resultant from said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means, said picture containing a lane feature quantity obtained in a predetermined processing zone set on said picked-up image, said processing zone having a size applicable to a plurality of pixels of said picked-up image with a width wider than a lane mark, said image output means comprising: first detecting means for detecting a symmetrical disposition of positive and negative pixel values of respective pixels about a central pixel in said predetermined processing zone; and second detecting means for obtaining an accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels in said predetermined processing zone, so that an output difference between said first detecting means and said second detecting means is obtained as said lane feature quantity, and said lane mark recognizing apparatus recognizes the lane mark based on the lane feature quantity obtained by said image output means of said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus.

Claim 29

A vehicle traveling control system comprising a picked-up image preprocessing apparatus, a lane mark recognizing apparatus, and a vehicle traveling control apparatus, wherein said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus applies predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprises: image emphasizing means for scanning the picked-up image and generating an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; and image output means for producing a picture resultant from said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means, said picture containing a lane feature quantity obtained in a predetermined processing zone set on said picked-up image, said processing zone having a size applicable to a plurality of pixels of said picked-up image with a width wider than a lane mark, said image output means comprises: first detecting means for detecting a symmetrical disposition of positive and negative pixel values of respective pixels about a central pixel in said predetermined processing zone; and second detecting means for obtaining an accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels in said predetermined processing zone, so that an output difference between said first detecting means and said second detecting means is obtained as said lane feature quantity, said lane mark recognizing apparatus recognizes the lane mark based on the lane feature quantity obtained by said image output means of said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus, and said vehicle traveling control apparatus controls the traveling of said vehicle according to the lane mark recognized by said lane mark recognizing apparatus.

Claim 30

A vehicle traveling control system comprising a picked-up image preprocessing apparatus, a lane mark recognizing apparatus, and a vehicle traveling control apparatus, wherein said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus applies predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprises: image emphasizing means for scanning the picked-up image and generating an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; and image output means for producing a picture resultant from said emphasized output of said image emphasizing means, said picture containing a lane feature quantity obtained in a predetermined processing zone set on said picked-up image, said processing zone having a size applicable to a plurality of pixels of said picked-up image with a width wider than a lane mark, said image output means comprises: first detecting means for detecting a symmetrical disposition of positive and negative pixel values of respective pixels about a central pixel in said predetermined processing zone; and second detecting means for obtaining an accumulative absolute value of said respective pixels in said predetermined processing zone, so that an output difference between said first detecting means and said second detecting means is obtained as said lane feature quantity, said lane mark recognizing apparatus recognizes the lane mark based on the lane feature quantity obtained by said image output means of said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus, and said vehicle traveling control apparatus controls the traveling of said vehicle according to the lane mark recognized by said lane mark recognizing apparatus.

Claim 31

A picked-up image preprocessing apparatus for applying predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle and installable in a lane mark recognizing apparatus for recognizing a lane mark on the traveling road based on the picked-up image, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprising: a first image filter having filtering parameters arranged in a matrix pattern applicable to a plurality of pixels on said picked-up image for producing an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; a second image filter having filtering parameters having a predetermined processing zone applicable to a plurality of pixels on said picked-up image for producing an output representing an angular momentum of respective pixels about a central pixel of said predetermined processing zone, said angular momentum being defined by vectorial quantities of pixel values of said respective pixels relative to said central pixel; a third image filter having filtering parameters having a predetermined processing zone applicable to a plurality of pixels on said picked-up image for producing an output representing an accumulative absolute value of respective pixels about a central pixel of said predetermined processing zone; and feature quantity detecting means for detecting a lane feature quantity corresponding to a difference between the output of said second image filter and the output of said third image filter.

Claim 32

A picked-up image preprocessing apparatus for applying predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle and installable in a lane mark recognizing apparatus for recognizing a lane mark on the traveling road based on the picked-up image, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprising: a first image filter having filtering parameters arranged in a matrix pattern applicable to a plurality of pixels on said picked-up image for producing an emphasized output responsive to a brightness change between a dark portion and a bright portion of the picked-up image, with a sign of said emphasized output reversing according to a transitional direction of the brightness change between the dark portion and the bright portion; a second image filter having filtering parameters having a predetermined processing zone applicable to a plurality of pixels on said picked-up image for producing an output representing an angular momentum of respective pixels about a central pixel of said predetermined processing zone, said angular momentum being defined by vectorial quantities of pixel values of said respective pixels relative to said central pixel; a third image filter having filtering parameters having a predetermined processing zone applicable to a plurality of pixels on said picked-up image for producing an output representing an accumulative absolute value of respective pixels about a central pixel of said predetermined processing zone; and feature quantity detecting means for detecting a lane feature quantity corresponding to a difference between the output of said second image filter and the output of said third image filter.

Claim 33

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 23 , wherein the predetermined processing zone of said second image filter is identical with the predetermined processing zone of said third image filter.

Claim 34

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 23 , wherein said predetermined processing zone of said second image filter and said predetermined processing zone of said third image filter are wider than said lane mark.

Claim 35

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 23 , wherein said lane mark is brighter than said road, the first image filter produces a positive emphasized output in response to a brightness change occurring in a transition from the dark portion to the bright portion and produces a negative emphasized output in response to a brightness change occurring in an opposed transition from the bright portion to the dark portion, and the second image filter produces a positive value when the angular momentum is obtained in a clockwise direction.

Claim 36

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 23 , wherein said lane mark is darker than said road, the first image filter produces a positive emphasized output in response to a brightness change occurring in a transition from the bright portion to the dark portion and produces a negative emphasized output in response to a brightness change occurring in an opposed transition from the dark portion to the bright portion, and the second image filter produces a positive value when the angular momentum is obtained in a clockwise direction.

Claim 37

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 23 , wherein said lane mark is darker than said road, the first image filter produces a negative emphasized output in response to a brightness change occurring in a transition from the bright portion to the dark portion and produces a positive emphasized output in response to a brightness change occurring in an opposed transition from the dark portion to the bright portion, and the second image filter produces a positive value when the angular momentum is obtained in a counterclockwise direction.

Claim 38

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 23 , wherein said lane mark is brighter than said road, the first image filter produces a negative emphasized output in response to a brightness change occurring in a transition from the dark portion to the bright portion and produces a positive emphasized output in response to a brightness change occurring in an opposed transition from the bright portion to the dark portion, and the second image filter produces a positive value when the angular momentum is obtained in a counterclockwise direction.

Claim 39

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 23 , wherein said second and third image filters have a dead zone with a predetermined width at a center thereof so that said angular momentum and said accumulative absolute value are not obtained from said dead zone.

Claim 40

A picked-up image preprocessing apparatus for applying predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle and installable in a lane mark recognizing apparatus for recognizing a lane mark on the traveling road based on the picked-up image, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprising: an angular momentum filter having filtering parameters having a predetermined processing zone applicable to a plurality of pixels on said picked-up image for producing an output representing an angular momentum of respective pixels about a central pixel of said predetermined processing zone, said angular momentum being defined by vectorial quantities of pixel values of said respective pixels relative to said central pixel; an accumulative absolute value filter having filtering parameters having a predetermined processing zone applicable to a plurality of pixels on said picked-up image for producing an output representing an accumulative absolute value of respective pixels about a central pixel of said predetermined processing zone; and feature quantity detecting means for detecting a lane feature quantity corresponding to a difference between the output of said angular momentum filter and the output of said accumulative absolute value filter.

Claim 41

A picked-up image preprocessing apparatus for applying predetermined preprocessing to a picked-up image of a traveling road ahead of a vehicle and installable in a lane mark recognizing apparatus for recognizing a lane mark on the traveling road based on the picked-up image, said picked-up image preprocessing apparatus comprising: an angular momentum filter having filtering parameters having a predetermined processing zone applicable to a plurality of pixels on said picked-up image for producing an output representing an angular momentum of respective pixels about a central pixel of said predetermined processing zone, said angular momentum being defined by vectorial quantities of pixel values of said respective pixels relative to said central pixel; an accumulative absolute value filter having filtering parameters having a predetermined processing zone applicable to a plurality of pixels on said picked-up image for producing an output representing an accumulative absolute value of respective pixels about a central pixel of said predetermined processing zone; and feature quantity detecting means for detecting a lane feature quantity corresponding to a difference between the output of said angular momentum filter and the output of said accumulative absolute value filter.

Claim 42

The picked-up image preprocessing apparatus in accordance with claim 31 , wherein said angular momentum filter and said accumulative absolute value filter have a dead zone with a predetermined width at a center thereof so that said angular momentum and said accumulative absolute value are not obtained from said dead zone.