Display control apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11064151-B2
Application number	US-201716096042-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 25, 2017
Priority date	Apr 26, 2016
Publication date	Jul 13, 2021
Grant date	Jul 13, 2021

Abstract

An image processing unit identifies the shape of an obstacle that is identified from an area that appears in a peripheral image based on an image captured by a camera. The shape of the obstacle includes at least a tilt of a section of the obstacle in a road-surface direction. The section of the obstacle faces a vehicle. The image processing unit generates a superimposed image in which a mark image that is generated as a pattern that indicates the identified obstacle is superimposed onto a position that corresponds to the obstacle in the peripheral image. At this time, the image processing unit variably changes properties of the mark image based on the tilt of the obstacle identified by an obstacle identifying unit. The image processing unit then displays the generated superimposed image on display apparatus.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A display control apparatus that displays an image on a display apparatus that is provided inside a vehicle, the image being generated based on an image capturing a predetermined area in a periphery of the vehicle by a camera that is mounted in the vehicle, the display control apparatus comprising:
an image acquiring unit that is configured to acquire a peripheral image that is the image based on the image captured by the camera;
an obstacle identifying unit that is configured to identify a tilt of an obstacle that is identified from an area appearing in the peripheral image acquired by the image acquiring unit, the tilt of the obstacle being a tilt of the obstacle relative to the vehicle in a road-surface direction; and
a control unit that is configured to generate a superimposed image in which a mark image that is generated as a pattern indicating the obstacle identified by the obstacle identifying unit is superimposed onto a position corresponding to the obstacle in the peripheral image, and display the generated superimposed image on the display apparatus, the control unit being configured to variably change properties of the mark image based on the identified tilt of the obstacle relative to the vehicle in the road-surface direction as identified by the obstacle identifying unit.

2. A display control apparatus that displays an image on a display apparatus that is provided inside a vehicle, the image being generated based on an image capturing a predetermined area in a periphery of the vehicle by a camera that is mounted in the vehicle, the display control apparatus comprising:
an image acquiring unit that is configured to acquire a peripheral image that is the image based on the image captured by the camera;
an obstacle identifying unit that is configured to identify a tilt of an obstacle that is identified from an area appearing in the peripheral image acquired by the image acquiring unit, the tilt of the obstacle being a tilt of the obstacle relative to the vehicle in a road-surface direction; and
a control unit that is configured to generate a superimposed image in which a mark image that is generated as a pattern indicating the obstacle identified by the obstacle identifying unit is superimposed onto a position corresponding to the obstacle in the peripheral image, and display the generated superimposed image on the display apparatus,
the control unit being configured to variably change properties of the mark image based on a condition of the identified tilt of the obstacle as identified by the obstacle identifying unit.

3. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to display the mark image in a tilted mode to match the tilt of the obstacle identified by the obstacle identifying unit.

4. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to variably change a display mode of the mark image to be superimposed onto the obstacle, based on a distance measured by a distance measuring unit that is configured to measure a distance between the obstacle and the vehicle.

5. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to arrange the mark image on an image of an obstacle that is present in an area on a locus on which the vehicle is predicted to advance and an area obtained by a vehicle width of the vehicle being projected ahead of or behind the vehicle, among the obstacles identified by the obstacle identifying unit.

6. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to arrange the mark image on an image of an obstacle that is present in an area that is obtained by an area obtained by a vehicle width of the vehicle being expanded by a fixed amount being projected ahead of or behind the vehicle, among the obstacles identified by the obstacle identifying unit.

7. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to arrange the mark image in an area obtained by a border of the obstacle identified by the obstacle identifying unit being expanded.

8. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the obstacle identifying unit is configured to identify a border of the obstacle in the peripheral image based on a feature quantity in the peripheral image with reference to an image portion of the peripheral image that corresponds to an area in which an obstacle is detected by an object sensor that detects an obstacle that is present in the periphery of the vehicle; and
the control unit is configured to arrange the mark image along the border of the obstacle identified by the obstacle identifying unit.

9. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to draw the mark image such that the mark image reaches an outer edge portion of a display area of the superimposed image in a direction corresponding to an upper side of the obstacle.

10. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the image acquiring unit is configured to acquire, as the peripheral image, a bird's-eye-view image in which the image captured by the camera is changed to an image that is expressed by a bird's-eye-view; and
the control unit is configured to display the mark image so as to be superimposed onto the bird's-eye-view image and draw the mark image so as to have a shape that is extended in a radiating manner with a position of the camera as a center.

11. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to draw the mark image in a mode in which a lower end side of the obstacle is given more emphasis than an upper end side.

12. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to:
draw the mark image using a reference display color when the reference display color does not correspond to a color the same as a color of the obstacle; and
draw the mark image using a display color that differs from the reference display color, when the reference display color corresponds to a color the same as the color of the obstacle.

13. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to arrange the mark image so as to extend to an area that is closer to the vehicle than an area in which the obstacle is detected, when the obstacle corresponds to a sloped surface.

14. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to draw the mark image in a mode in which an image portion of the peripheral image that corresponds to the area in which the obstacle is detected by an object sensor that detects an obstacle is displayed more emphasized than another image portion that corresponds to the obstacle.

15. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein:
the obstacle identifying unit is configured to recognize an other vehicle as the obstacle; and
the control unit is configured to arrange the mark image, which is a pattern that indicates a vehicle, in a position in the peripheral image corresponding to the other vehicle recognized by the obstacle identifying unit so as to match a tilt of the other vehicle.

16. The display control apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to use, as the mark image, a pattern of a vehicle that is partly drawn using a transparent color or a pattern of a vehicle that is drawn using a color of the other vehicle recognized from the peripheral image.

Assignees

• Denso Corp

Inventors

• Maeda Yu
• Harada Taketo
• Matsuura Mitsuyasu
• Yanagawa Hirohiko
• Matsumoto Muneaki

Classifications

• G06V2201/08

  Detecting or categorising vehicles · CPC title

• G06V20/58 Primary

  Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads · CPC title

• G06T1/00

  General purpose image data processing · CPC title

• H04N7/18

  Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast · CPC title

• G06T7/13

  Edge detection · CPC title