Image monitoring device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2023316482-A1
Application number	US-202318101444-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jan 25, 2023
Priority date	Mar 29, 2022
Publication date	Oct 5, 2023
Grant date	—

Abstract

An image monitoring device according to the present disclosure includes a memory and one or more hardware processors coupled to the memory and configured to function as an acquisition unit and a notification unit. The acquisition unit acquires an image of an outside of a vehicle that is captured by an imaging unit. In a case where a given condition is satisfied in the image, the notification unit notifies that dirt adheres to a lens of the imaging unit. Then, in a case where a flat region being a region, for which a difference in luminance value among pixels included in the image is small and which has flat luminance values, gets narrower in a width direction of the region as getting farther from the vehicle in the image, the notification unit does not notify that the dirt adheres to a lens of the imaging unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An image monitoring device comprising:
a memory; and one or more hardware processors coupled to the memory and configured to function as:
an acquisition unit configured to acquire an image of an outside of a vehicle that is captured by an imaging unit; and
a notification unit configured to, in a case where a given condition is satisfied in the image, notify that dirt adheres to a lens of the imaging unit, wherein,
in a case where a flat region being a region, for which a difference in luminance value among pixels included in the image is small and which has flat luminance values, gets narrower in a width direction of the region as getting farther from the vehicle in the image, the notification unit does not notify that the dirt adheres to the lens of the imaging unit.

2 . The image monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein the given condition is a case where a ratio of the region, for which the difference in luminance value among the pixels in the image is small and which has flat luminance values, is equal to or larger than a threshold.

3 . The image monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more hardware processors are configured to further function as:
a determination unit configured to determine whether or not each of a plurality of blocks in the image is the flat region, wherein in a case where a number of blocks in the flat region in a horizontal direction of the image determined by the determination unit is not increased as a distance from the vehicle increases in the image, the notification unit does not notify that the dirt adheres to the lens of the imaging unit.

4 . The image monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein, in a case where the flat region included in the image is formed toward a horizontal line from a lower portion of the image, the notification unit does not notify that the dirt adheres to the lens of the imaging unit.

5 . The image monitoring device according to claim 1 ,
wherein, in a case where the flat region included in the image is formed in a region of a ground surface of the image, the notification unit does not notify that the dirt adheres to the lens of the imaging unit.

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Tsurube Tomoyuki
• Iwata Naokazu

Classifications

• G06T7/0002 Primary

  Inspection of images, e.g. flaw detection · CPC title

• B60R1/20

  Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles · CPC title

• H04N17/002 Primary

  for television cameras · CPC title

• G06T2207/30168

  Image quality inspection · CPC title

• G06T2207/30252

  Vehicle exterior; Vicinity of vehicle · CPC title