JP5803505B2 - Video processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a video processing apparatus that captures a camera video obtained by photographing the periphery of a vehicle and outputs a video signal obtained by performing video processing on the camera video.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a color imaging apparatus in which an optical member that reduces a light amount of a specific wavelength is inserted into a light beam incident on a color imaging element so that high color reproducibility of a color image can be obtained (for example, Patent Document 1).

  Further, the brightness of the external background illumination around the image display means is measured, and the brightness of the external background illumination and a preset tristimulus value are compared with the reflectance of the image display means, and based on this comparison result The control signal for compensating the brightness and saturation of the image is generated, and the brightness and saturation of the image display means are compensated according to the control signal, and the human light adaptation sensitivity according to the change of the background illumination is considered. Some display images (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2003-102029 A JP 2007-97191 A

  By the way, in an in-vehicle camera mounted on a vehicle, a shooting area is fixed, and a colored light source such as a red tail lamp or an orange street light of a preceding vehicle may be greatly captured. When the surroundings of the vehicle are dark and a colored light source appears large in the camera image of the in-vehicle camera, and the color of the colored light source is outside the pull-in range of the auto white balance that is the basic function of the camera, the surroundings of the light source are colored. A flare phenomenon occurs in which the area expands. When such flare coloration occurs, the entire camera image becomes a light source color, and the image appears to be deteriorated.

  Therefore, by applying the technique described in Patent Document 1, an optical member that reduces the wavelength of light of a colored light source such as a red tail lamp or an orange street light of a preceding vehicle in a light beam incident on a color image sensor. By inserting, it is possible to suppress the coloring of the flare part, but in this case, since the wavelength of the light of the colored light source is always reduced, the coloring is performed in a situation where the flare phenomenon does not occur. There is a problem that the wavelength of light from the light source is reduced and the image quality deteriorates.

  The device described in Patent Document 2 measures the brightness of the external background illumination around the image display means, and compensates the brightness and saturation of the video using the brightness of the external background illumination. It does not suppress the coloring of the flare part that occurs when a colored light source appears in the camera image of the in-vehicle camera.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to suppress coloring of a flare portion caused by a colored light source appearing in a camera image without deteriorating image quality in a situation where a flare phenomenon does not occur. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is a video processing apparatus that captures a camera video obtained by photographing the periphery of a vehicle and outputs a video signal obtained by performing video processing on the camera video. Specific light source detection means for performing image recognition processing to detect a specific light source, vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle information including a distance to the specific light source when the specific light source is detected by the specific light source detection means, and a vehicle A situation determination unit that determines whether or not a flare caused by a specific light source occurs in a camera image using information, and a situation determination unit that determines if a flare due to a specific light source occurs in the camera image Image quality adjustment means for adjusting the image quality of the camera image so as to reduce the influence of flare caused by the light source, and a video signal whose image quality has been adjusted by the image quality adjustment means is output. It is characterized by comprising a video signal output means.

  According to such a configuration, when a specific light source is detected, vehicle information including the distance to the specific light source is acquired, and whether or not a flare due to the specific light source occurs in the camera image using the vehicle information. If it is determined that the flare caused by the specific light source occurs in the camera image, the image quality of the camera image is adjusted so as to reduce the influence of the flare caused by the specific light source, and a video signal with the adjusted image quality is output. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the coloring of the flare portion caused by the colored light source appearing in the camera image without degrading the image quality under the situation where the flare phenomenon does not occur.

  In addition, as in the invention described in claim 2, there is provided a brightness determination unit that determines whether or not the brightness around the vehicle is less than a reference value, and the vehicle information acquisition unit includes the brightness around the vehicle by the brightness determination unit. If the specific light source is detected by the specific light source detection means and the specific light source is detected, vehicle information including the distance to the specific light source may be acquired.

It is preferable as defined in claim 3, the image quality adjustment unit identifies the adjustment amount of the image quality adjustment for the camera image to reduce the effect of flare by a particular light source, a video signal output means, the image quality adjustment the camera image adjustment amount specified by manual stage may be configured to output a video signal image quality adjustment.

The invention according to claim 4, if a particular light source is detected by the specific light source detecting means, with a specific light source type specifying means for specifying the type of the specific light source, the image quality adjustment Seite stage, of a specific light source It is characterized in that the amount of image quality adjustment is changed according to the type.

  As described above, when a specific light source is detected, the type of the specific light source is specified, and the adjustment amount of the image quality adjustment is changed according to the type of the specific light source, thereby adjusting the image quality adjustment according to the type of the specific light source. It is possible to set the amount to an appropriate value.

The invention described in Claim 5 is provided with a distance measuring means for measuring a distance between a particular source, the image quality adjustment Seite stage, to increase the amount of adjustment of the image quality adjustment as the distance between a particular source is shortened It is a feature.

  When the distance to the specific light source is shortened, the effect of flare due to the specific light source increases. However, in the configuration described above, the amount of image quality adjustment increases as the distance to the specific light source decreases. It is possible.

Further, the invention according to claim 6, status determination unit is further configured to predict whether flare is generated by a specific source on the camera image based on vehicle information, the image quality adjustment Seite stage, situation determining means When the flare caused by the specific light source is predicted to occur in the camera video, the image quality adjustment amount for the camera video is specified so as to reduce the influence of the flare caused by the specific light source.

  According to such a configuration, the situation determination unit further predicts whether or not flare due to the specific light source occurs in the camera image based on the vehicle information, and the image quality adjustment amount identification unit is configured to predict the camera image by the situation determination unit. If the flare caused by a specific light source is predicted to occur, the image quality adjustment adjustment amount for the camera image is specified so as to reduce the effect of the flare caused by the specific light source. It is.

  The adjustment amount of the image quality adjustment can be a reduction amount of saturation with respect to the camera image as in the invention described in claim 7, and the three primary color signals in the camera image as in the invention described in claim 8. It is also possible to adjust the mixing ratio.

  In the invention according to claim 9, the specific light source detection means has a database storing a standard pattern in which feature points of light sources emitting light of yellow to red color are extracted, and using this database The specific light source pattern recognition is performed to detect the specific light source.

  According to such a configuration, it has a database storing a standard pattern in which feature points of light sources emitting yellow to red light are extracted. Using this database, pattern recognition of a specific light source is performed, and a specific pattern is identified. Since the light source is detected, the light source that emits red light with high accuracy can be detected as the specific light source.

  Focusing on the fact that the light source that causes the color flare is below a certain frequency included in the camera image, the specific light source detection means, as in the invention according to claim 10, When it is determined that the subject is a yellow to red component and the color density of the subject is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold, the subject can be detected as a specific light source.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the video processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating flare. It is a flowchart of the video processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the video processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the video processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The video processing device 20 takes in a camera video obtained by photographing the periphery of the vehicle from the in-vehicle camera 10 and outputs a video signal obtained by performing video processing on the camera video to the in-vehicle video display device 30. The video processing apparatus 20 is connected to the in-vehicle camera 10 via the connection cable 1 and to the in-vehicle video display apparatus 30 via the connection cable 2.

  The in-vehicle camera 10 includes an optical system member 11, an image sensor 12, and an image processing circuit 13.

  The image sensor 12 forms an image of light incident from an object via an optical system member 11 such as an optical lens on a light receiving surface, photoelectrically converts light and dark by the light imaged on the light receiving surface into an amount of electric charge, This amount of charge is converted into an electrical signal. In the present embodiment, a CMOS image sensor is used as the image sensor 12.

  The image processing circuit 13 performs various types of image processing on the electrical signal output from the image sensor 12 and outputs a video signal according to a predetermined format.

  The video processing device 20 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, an I / O, and the like, and the CPU performs various processes according to programs stored in the ROM.

  The video processing device 20 captures a camera video obtained by photographing the periphery of the vehicle from the in-vehicle camera 10 and outputs a video signal obtained by performing video processing on the camera video to the in-vehicle video display device 30.

  The illuminance sensor 20a detects the illuminance around the vehicle and outputs an illuminance signal corresponding to the illuminance around the vehicle.

  The laser radar 20b measures the distance to the object located in front of the vehicle, and outputs information representing the distance to the object located in front of the vehicle to the video processing device 20. The laser radar 20b in the present embodiment measures the distance from each object in front of the vehicle by scanning the laser irradiation direction two-dimensionally, and represents the distance from each object and the measurement direction. Ranging information associated with (XY coordinates) is output.

  The video processing device 20 can specify the distance from each unit included in the camera video of the in-vehicle camera 10 using the distance measurement information output from the laser radar 20b. For example, the distance between the mounted vehicle and the tail lamp of the preceding vehicle and the distance between the mounted vehicle and the street light can be specified separately.

  The vehicle-mounted video display device 30 has a display such as a liquid crystal display, and displays a video corresponding to a video signal input from the vehicle-mounted camera 10 via the video processing device 20 on the display.

  By the way, when a colored light source appears large in a camera image, a flare phenomenon occurs in which a colored region spreads around the light source. FIG. 2 shows that the camera image includes the tail lamp (brake lamp) and sodium lamp of the preceding vehicle as the specific light source, and flare F1 due to the tail lamp of the preceding vehicle and flare F2 due to the sodium lamp are generated. Show. Actually, the tail lamp and flare F1 of the preceding vehicle are red, and the sodium lamp and flare F2 are orange. The flare as shown in this figure occurs when the illuminance around the vehicle is low, and does not occur in an environment where other light sources such as sunlight are dominant.

  When the image processing apparatus 20 performs image recognition processing on the camera image to detect a specific light source that causes a colored flare and determines that the flare caused by the specific light source is generated, the flare caused by the specific light source is detected. An adjustment amount of image quality adjustment for the camera image is specified so as to reduce the influence of the camera image, and a process of outputting a video signal obtained by adjusting the image quality of the camera image with this adjustment amount is performed.

  Note that a light source that emits red light such as red or orange is likely to cause a colored flare, and therefore, in the present embodiment, a light source that emits red light is detected as a specific light source. Specifically, the video processing device 20 has a database that stores a standard pattern in which feature points of a specific light source that causes a colored flare such as a tail lamp of a preceding vehicle and a sodium lamp as a street light are extracted. Using this database, pattern recognition of a specific light source that causes flare is performed, and a specific light source that causes flare is detected. Note that the video processing device 20 performs pattern recognition in consideration of not only the shape but also the luminance level and color.

  Also, to reduce (remove) the effects of colored areas (flares) that spread around specific light sources in the camera image, the image quality adjustment amount for the camera image was specified, and the camera image was adjusted with the specified adjustment amount. The video signal is output to the in-vehicle video display device 30.

  In the present embodiment, processing for adjusting the saturation of the camera image is performed so as to reduce the influence of a colored region (flare) that spreads around the specific light source in the camera image.

  Here, saturation is one of color attributes and represents a measure of color vividness. Saturation can be reduced by suppressing the two color signals CbCr in the YCbCr color space represented by using the luminance signal Y and the two color signals CbCr. Decreasing the saturation brings the image closer to achromatic, and increasing the saturation brings the image closer to the extreme color.

  By reducing the saturation, it is possible to reduce or eliminate flare coloring in the camera image. However, if the saturation is decreased more than necessary, the entire screen of the in-vehicle image display device 30 becomes a monochrome image, It gives a strange feeling to the recognized occupant. Therefore, the flare coloring in the camera image is reduced so as not to give the passenger a sense of incongruity, and the brightness of the image displayed on the in-vehicle image display device 30 and the brightness around the vehicle visually recognized by the passenger are reduced. It is preferable to specify the amount of reduction in saturation so as to be comparable.

  FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of the video processing apparatus 20. When the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on in accordance with the operation of the occupant, the in-vehicle camera 10, the image processing device 20, the in-vehicle image display device 30, the illuminance sensor 20b, and the laserator 20b are in an operating state, and the image processing device 20 is shown in FIG. The process shown in 3 is periodically performed.

  First, it is determined whether the illuminance around the vehicle is less than a reference value (S100). The illuminance around the vehicle can be specified based on the illuminance signal input from the illuminance sensor 20.

  Next, it is determined whether or not a specific light source that causes color flare by performing image recognition processing on the camera video is detected (S102).

  Here, when the specific light source that causes flare is not detected, the determination in S102 is NO, and the process returns to S100. If a specific light source that causes a colored flare is detected, the determination in S102 is YES, and then the type of the specific light source is specified (S104). Specifically, the above-mentioned database is used to perform pattern recognition of a specific light source that causes a colored flare to occur, and a specific light source that causes a colored flare to be specified. By such pattern recognition, the tail lamp (brake lamp), street lamp, etc. of the preceding vehicle are specified as the specific light source.

  Next, vehicle information is acquired from the mounted vehicle (S106). The vehicle information includes information for specifying the distance L to the specific light source, information indicating the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle, information indicating the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle, and information indicating the relative speed with the preceding vehicle. In the present embodiment, the distance L between the vehicle and the tail lamp of the preceding vehicle is specified based on information representing the distance L between the vehicle and the specific light source input from the laser radar 20b. When a sodium lamp is specified as the specific light source, the distance from the sodium lamp is specified.

  Next, it is determined whether or not a flare due to a specific light source occurs in the camera image using the vehicle information (S108). In the present embodiment, when the distance L between the vehicle and the specific light source is less than the reference value and the ratio of the size of the specific light source included in the camera image is equal to or greater than a specified value (for example, 20% of all pixels), the camera It is determined that the flare caused by the specific light source occurs in the video.

  Here, when the distance L between the vehicle and the specific light source is greater than or equal to the reference value, or when the ratio of the size of the specific light source included in the camera image is less than a specified value (for example, 20% of all pixels), the process of S108 The determination is no and the process returns to S100.

  However, if the distance L between the vehicle and the specific light source is less than the reference value and the ratio of the size of the specific light source included in the camera image is equal to or greater than a specified value (for example, 20% of all pixels), the determination in S108 is It becomes YES and progresses to S110.

  In next S110 and S118, the distance L between the mounted vehicle and the specific light source is determined. In S110, it is determined whether or not the distance L between the mounted vehicle and the specific light source is larger than the reference value L2. In S118, it is determined whether or not the distance L between the mounted vehicle and the specific light source is equal to or less than a reference value L2 and longer than a reference value L1 shorter than the reference value L2.

  Here, when the distance to the preceding vehicle is long and the distance L to the specific light source is longer than the reference value L2, the determination in S110 is YES, and then the saturation reduction amount Y1 is specified (S112). Specifically, the colored flare in the camera image is reduced so as not to give the passenger a sense of incongruity, and the brightness of the image displayed on the in-vehicle image display device 30 and the brightness around the vehicle visually recognized by the passenger The saturation reduction amount Y1 is specified so that the lengths are the same. Note that when the distance to the preceding vehicle is long, the saturation reduction amount Y1 is a relatively small value because the influence of flare by the specific light source is small compared to the case where the distance to the preceding vehicle is short. In addition, the amount of reduction in saturation is varied depending on the type of the specific light source as well as the distance L to the specific light source. Note that as the saturation reduction amount, an optimum value determined based on various data obtained through experiments or the like is used.

  Next, image quality adjustment is performed using the saturation reduction amount Y1 specified in S112 (S114). That is, the video signal in which the saturation of the camera image is reduced by the saturation reduction amount Y1 specified in S112 is output to the in-vehicle video display device.

  As a result, the video displayed on the in-vehicle video display device is less affected by flare caused by the specific light source while maintaining a saturation that does not give the passenger a sense of incongruity.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the specific light source is not detected (S116). If the specific light source is not detected, the determination in S116 is NO and the process returns to S106.

  When the distance L between the preceding vehicle is equal to or smaller than the reference value X2, and the distance L between the mounted vehicle and the specific light source is equal to or smaller than the reference value L2 and shorter than the reference value L1, the determination in S118 is made. Next, the saturation reduction amount Y2 is specified (S120). The saturation reduction amount Y2 is larger than the saturation reduction amount Y1. That is, since the distance L to the preceding vehicle is shortened and the influence of flare by the specific light source is relatively large, the saturation reduction amount Y2 that is larger than the saturation reduction amount Y1 is specified.

  Next, image quality adjustment is performed using the saturation reduction amount Y2 specified in S120 (S122). That is, the video signal in which the saturation of the camera image is reduced by the saturation reduction amount Y2 specified in S120 is output to the in-vehicle video display device.

  As a result, the video displayed on the in-vehicle video display device is less affected by flare caused by the specific light source while maintaining a saturation that does not give the passenger a sense of incongruity.

  If the distance L to the preceding vehicle is equal to or less than the reference value X1, the determination in S118 is NO, and then the saturation reduction amount Y3 is specified (S124). The saturation reduction amount Y3 is larger than the saturation reduction amount Y2. That is, since the distance L to the preceding vehicle is shortened and the influence of flare by the specific light source is relatively large, the saturation reduction amount Y3 that is larger than the saturation reduction amount Y2 is specified.

  Next, image quality adjustment is performed using the saturation reduction amount Y3 specified in S124 (S126). That is, a video signal in which the saturation of the camera image is reduced by the saturation reduction amount Y3 specified in S124 is output to the vehicle-mounted video display device.

  As a result, the video displayed on the in-vehicle video display device maintains the brightness that does not give the passenger a sense of incongruity, and the influence of flare caused by the specific light source is reduced.

  If the specific light source is no longer detected, the determination in S116 is YES, and the process returns to S100.

  As the distance L to the preceding vehicle becomes shorter, the influence of flare of the specific light source increases. However, as described above, the saturation reduction amount (adjustment amount for image quality adjustment) increases as the distance L to the preceding vehicle becomes shorter. Therefore, the video displayed on the in-vehicle video display device is reduced in the influence of flare caused by the specific light source while maintaining a saturation that does not give the passenger a sense of incongruity.

  Further, for example, when a sodium lamp is specified as the type of the specific light source in S106, the influence of flare caused by the sodium lamp is reduced (removed) in S112, S120, and S124, and the passenger does not feel uncomfortable. Specify the amount of saturation reduction.

  In this way, by varying the saturation reduction amount according to the type of the specific light source, it is possible to reduce (remove) the influence of flare caused by the specific light source and not give the passenger an uncomfortable feeling.

  According to the configuration described above, when a specific light source is detected, vehicle information including the distance to the specific light source is acquired, and it is determined whether or not a flare due to the specific light source occurs in the camera image using the vehicle information. However, when it is determined that the flare caused by the specific light source occurs in the camera image, the image quality of the camera image is adjusted so as to reduce the influence of the flare due to the specific light source, and a video signal with the adjusted image quality is output. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the coloring of the flare portion caused by the colored light source appearing in the camera image without degrading the image quality in a situation where the colored flare phenomenon does not occur.

  Further, as described above, it is determined whether or not the brightness around the vehicle is less than the reference value, and when the brightness around the vehicle is determined to be less than the reference value and a specific light source is detected, the specific light source Vehicle information including the distance to the camera image, and using the vehicle information to determine whether or not a flare due to a specific light source occurs in the camera image, it is determined that the flare due to the specific light source occurs in the camera image In this case, it is possible to adjust the image quality of the camera image so as to remove the influence of flare caused by the specific light source, and output the image signal with the adjusted image quality.

  In addition, as described above, the adjustment amount of the image quality adjustment for the camera image is specified so as to reduce the influence of the flare caused by the specific light source, and the video signal output means uses the adjustment amount specified by the image quality adjustment amount specification means. It is also possible to output a video signal whose image quality is adjusted.

  Also, when a specific light source is detected, the type of the specific light source is specified, and the adjustment amount of the image quality adjustment is changed according to the type of the specific light source. Therefore, the adjustment amount of the image quality adjustment is appropriately set according to the type of the specific light source. It is possible to set to any value.

  Also, when the distance to the specific light source is shortened, the effect of flare due to the specific light source increases, but with the configuration described above, the amount of image quality adjustment increases as the distance to the specific light source decreases. It is possible to remove.

  It also has a database that stores standard patterns that extract feature points of light sources that emit red light, and uses this database to recognize specific light sources and detect specific light sources. A light source that often emits red light can be detected as a specific light source.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the saturation reduction amounts Y1 to Y3 are specified so as to remove the influence of flare caused by the specific light source in S112, S114, S120, S122, S124, and S126 of the flowchart shown in FIG. The image quality adjustment of the camera image is performed with the specified saturation reduction amounts Y1 to Y3. However, in this embodiment, the RGB color balance adjustment amount in the camera image (in order to remove the influence of flare caused by the specific light source) The adjustment amount of the mixing ratio of the three primary color signals is specified, and the image quality of the camera image is adjusted with this RGB color balance.

  Here, the RGB color balance is a mixing ratio of red (R), green (G), and blue (B), which are the three primary colors. When the colored illumination is red, suppressing the red color (R) can reduce the influence of the colored flare, and when the colored illumination is orange, the red color (R) and the green color (G) are suppressed. As a result, the influence of the colored flare can be reduced. Specifically, the specific component can be suppressed by multiplying the specific component of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) by a coefficient K (K ≦ 1).

  When adjusting the RGB color balance, the colored flare in the camera image is reduced so that the occupant does not feel uncomfortable, and the brightness of the image displayed on the in-vehicle image display device 30 is visually recognized by the occupant. It is preferable to specify the adjustment amount of the RGB color balance so that the brightness around the vehicle is the same.

  FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the video processing apparatus 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This flowchart differs from the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 in S212, S214, S220, S222, S224, and S226.

  That is, in S212, the flare in the camera image is removed so as not to give the passenger a sense of incongruity, and the brightness of the image displayed on the in-vehicle image display device 30 and the brightness of the vehicle periphery visually recognized by the passenger are An RGB color balance adjustment amount (Y1 ′) that is comparable is specified, and in S214, a specific specific component of the RGB color balance of the camera image with the RGB color balance adjustment amount (Y1 ′) specified in S212. Is output to the in-vehicle video display device.

  In S220, the colored flare in the camera image is reduced so as not to give the passenger a sense of incongruity, and the brightness of the image displayed on the in-vehicle image display device 30 and the brightness of the surroundings of the vehicle visually recognized by the passenger In step S222, the RGB color balance adjustment amount (Y2 ′) specified in step S220 is specified, and the RGB color balance adjustment amount (Y2 ′) specified in step S220 is specified. The video signal in which the specific component is suppressed is output to the in-vehicle video display device. The RGB color balance adjustment amount (Y2 ') is larger than the RGB color balance adjustment amount (Y1').

  In S224, the colored flare in the camera image is reduced so as not to give the passenger a sense of incongruity, and the brightness of the image displayed on the in-vehicle image display device 30 and the brightness of the periphery of the vehicle visually recognized by the passenger In step S226, the RGB color balance adjustment amount (Y3 ′) is specified. In step S226, the RGB color balance adjustment amount (Y3 ′) specified in step S224 is used to specify the RGB color balance of the camera image. The video signal in which the specific component is suppressed is output to the in-vehicle video display device. Note that the RGB color balance adjustment amount (Y3 ') is larger than the RGB color balance adjustment amount (Y2').

  As described above, when it is determined that the flare caused by the specific light source occurs in the camera image, the adjustment amount of the RGB color balance for the camera image is specified so as to reduce the influence of the flare caused by the specific light source. Since the video signal is output after adjusting the image quality of the camera image with the adjusted amount, coloring of the flare caused by the colored light source appearing in the camera image is suppressed without degrading the image quality in a situation where no flare phenomenon occurs. can do.

  Also, when the distance to the specific light source is shortened, the effect of flare due to the specific light source increases, but with the configuration described above, the amount of image quality adjustment increases as the distance to the specific light source decreases. It is possible to reduce.

(Other embodiments)
In the first and second embodiments, the configuration in which the vehicle-mounted camera 10 and the vehicle-mounted video display device 30 are connected to the video processing device 20 has been shown. However, the vehicle-mounted camera 10 and the video processing device 20 may be integrated, and the video You may comprise the processing apparatus 20 and the vehicle-mounted image display apparatus 30 as integral.

  Moreover, in the said 1st, 2nd embodiment, although the image processing circuit 13 was provided in the vehicle-mounted camera 10, you may comprise so that the image processing circuit 13 may be provided in the video processing apparatus 20. FIG.

  In the first and second embodiments, the distance from the object in front of the vehicle is measured using the laser radar 20b. However, the distance is not limited to the laser radar 20b. For example, a millimeter wave radar or sonar is used. You may use and measure the distance with the object ahead of vehicles.

  Moreover, in the said 1st, 2nd embodiment, although the structure which detects the brightness around a vehicle using an illuminance sensor was shown, it is comprised so that the brightness around a vehicle may be detected using sensors other than an illuminance sensor. May be. Further, the brightness around the vehicle may be detected by using a headlight switch or an on / off state of the vehicle width lamp, a numerical value for determining an exposure amount in exposure control which is a basic function of the camera, and the like. .

  In the first and second embodiments, when the brightness around the vehicle is determined to be less than the reference value and a specific light source is detected, vehicle information including the distance to the specific light source is acquired. However, for example, the determination whether or not the brightness around the vehicle is less than the reference value is omitted, and when the specific light source is detected, the vehicle information including the distance to the specific light source is acquired. May be.

  In the above embodiment, in S108, the distance L between the specific light source and the distance between the vehicle and the specific light source is less than the reference value, and the ratio of the size of the specific light source included in the camera image is a specified value (for example, In the case of 20% or more of all pixels), it is determined whether or not the camera image is in a state where flare due to a specific light source occurs. However, the present invention is not limited to such an example, and is included in vehicle information, for example. Whether or not a flare due to a specific light source occurs in the camera image using at least one of information indicating the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle, information indicating the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle, and information indicating the relative speed with the preceding vehicle May be determined.

  In the above embodiment, in S108, it is determined whether or not a flare caused by a specific light source occurs in the camera image using vehicle information, and it is determined that the flare due to the specific light source occurs in the camera image. In S112, S120, S124, S212, S220, and S224, the configuration for specifying the adjustment amount of the image quality adjustment for the camera image so as to remove the influence of the flare caused by the specific light source is shown. If the flare caused by the specific light source is predicted in the camera image using the vehicle information, and if it is predicted that the flare due to the specific light source occurs in the camera image, the process proceeds to S112, S120, S124, S212, S220, and S224. The amount of image quality adjustment for the camera image is specified to eliminate the influence of flare caused by a specific light source. It may be configured to. Note that the determination of whether or not the flare caused by the specific light source is predicted to occur in the camera image is, for example, the brightness and the specification around the vehicle in the determination of whether or not the flare due to the specific light source occurs in the camera image. This can be realized by increasing the determination threshold for the distance to the light source. In S108, it is determined whether or not the flare due to the specific light source occurs in the camera image using the vehicle information without determining whether or not the flare due to the specific light source occurs in the camera image using the vehicle information. You may make it predict.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the tail lamp (brake lamp) is detected as the specific light source has been described. For example, depending on the state in which the tail lamp is lit and the driver's brake operation, a brake with higher brightness is provided. The state in which the lamp is lit may be recognized and recognized, and the adjustment amount of the image quality adjustment in the lighting state of the tail lamp may be different from the adjustment amount in the image quality adjustment in the lighting state of the brake lamp. In this case, the adjustment amount of the image quality adjustment in the lighting state of the brake lamp with high brightness may be made larger than the adjustment amount of the image quality adjustment in the lighting state of the tail lamp.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the tail lamp (brake lamp) is detected as the specific light source has been described. For example, the winker is recognized as the specific light source, and the image quality adjustment is performed so as to reduce the influence of flicker of the winker. It may be. When blinking is repeated like a blinker, if the adjustment amount of the image quality adjustment differs between the blinker lighting state and the unlighting state, the image quality adjustment amount (color The image quality is adjusted with such an image quality adjustment amount that the influence of flare is reduced with the blinker turned on. Is preferred.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the image sensor 12 was comprised using the CMOS image sensor, you may comprise the image sensor 12 using a CCD image sensor, for example.

  In the above embodiment, the light source that emits red light is detected as the specific light source. However, for example, a light source that emits yellow to red light may be detected as the specific light source.

  The first and second embodiments have a database that stores a standard pattern in which feature points of a light source that emits red light are extracted. Pattern recognition of a specific light source is performed using this database. Detecting a specific light source, for example, paying attention to the fact that the light source that causes color flare is below a certain frequency included in the camera image, and is a subject of yellow to red components below the certain frequency included in the camera image. In addition, when it is determined that the color density of the subject is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the subject may be detected as a specific light source.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the saturation reduction amount is varied depending on the distance L to the specific light source and the type of the specific light source. However, in the second embodiment, the distance L to the specific light source and the specific light source The adjustment amount of the RGB color balance may be varied depending on the type. In addition, the amount of image quality adjustment for reducing the influence of colored flare depending on the degree of brightness around the vehicle, the emission color of the specific light source, and the like as well as the distance L to the specific light source and the type of the specific light source ( Saturation reduction amount and RGB color balance adjustment amount) may be varied.

  Moreover, you may comprise so that the adjustment amount of image quality adjustment (saturation, RGB color balance) for reducing the influence by the colored flare according to the vehicle speed of the own vehicle may be changed. For example, when the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is equal to or less than a reference value (for example, 10 km / h), the adjustment amount for image quality adjustment (saturation, RGB color balance) is smaller than when the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is faster than the reference value. You may make it do.

  Also, the vehicle speed information is acquired from the preceding vehicle, and the adjustment amount of image quality adjustment (saturation, RGB color balance) for removing the influence of flare is changed according to the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle. Also good.

  The correspondence relationship between the configuration of the above embodiment and the configuration of the claims will be described. S100 corresponds to brightness determination means, S102 corresponds to specific light source detection means, and S106 corresponds to vehicle information acquisition means. S108 corresponds to the situation determination means, S112, S120, S124, S212, S220, and S224 correspond to the image quality adjustment means, and S114, S122, S126, S214, S222, and S226 correspond to the video signal output means. S104 corresponds to specific light source type specifying means.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 In-vehicle camera 11 Optical system member 12 Image sensor 20 Image processing apparatus 20a Illuminance sensor 20b Laser radar 30 In-vehicle image display apparatus

Claims (10)

A video processing device that captures a camera video captured around a vehicle and outputs a video signal obtained by performing video processing on the camera video,
Specific light source detection means for performing image recognition processing on the camera video to detect a specific light source;
Vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle information including the distance to the specific light source when the specific light source is detected by the specific light source detection means;
Situation determination means for determining whether or not a flare caused by the specific light source occurs in the camera image using the vehicle information;
Image quality adjusting means for adjusting the image quality of the camera video so as to reduce the influence of flare caused by the specific light source when the situation determining means determines that the flare caused by the specific light source occurs in the camera video; ,
And a video signal output means for outputting a video signal whose image quality has been adjusted by the image quality adjusting means. Brightness determination means for determining whether the brightness around the vehicle is less than a reference value;
The vehicle information acquisition unit determines that the brightness around the vehicle is less than a reference value by the brightness determination unit and a specific light source is detected by the specific light source detection unit. The video processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein vehicle information including a distance is acquired. The image quality adjusting means specifies an adjustment amount of image quality adjustment for the camera image so as to reduce the influence of flare caused by the specific light source,
It said video signal output means, the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that outputs a video signal of the camera image and the image quality adjustment by the adjustment amount specified by the image quality adjustment Seite stage. When the specific light source is detected by the specific light source detection means, comprising a specific light source type specifying means for specifying the type of the specific light source,
The image quality adjustment Seite stage image processing apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that changing the adjustment amount of the image quality adjustment according to the type of the specific light source. The image quality adjustment Seite stage image processing apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the distance between the specific light source to increase the amount of adjustment of the image quality adjustment as shorter. The situation determination means further predicts whether or not flare due to the specific light source occurs in the camera video based on the vehicle information,
The image quality adjustment Seite stage, if the flare by the particular light source to the camera image is predicted to be generated by the status determination unit, of the image quality adjustment for the camera image so as to reduce the influence of the flare by the particular light source 6. The video processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein an adjustment amount is specified. The video processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the adjustment amount of the image quality adjustment is a reduction amount of saturation with respect to the camera video. The video processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the adjustment amount of the image quality adjustment is an adjustment amount of a mixing ratio of three primary color signals in the camera video.   The specific light source detection means has a database storing a standard pattern in which feature points of light sources emitting yellow to red light are extracted, and performs pattern recognition of the specific light source using this database, The video processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a specific light source is detected.   When the specific light source detection unit determines that the subject is a yellow to red component of a certain frequency or less included in the camera image and the color density of the subject is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, The video processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a subject is detected as the specific light source.

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