JP2005115531A - ETC lane detection apparatus and ETC lane detection method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ETC lane detection apparatus and an ETC lane detection method capable of promptly notifying a user of a malfunction of an ETC in-vehicle device and avoiding a situation where a vehicle flow on the ETC lane is delayed.
SOLUTION: A road imaging device 1 captures a situation of a traveling road, a viewpoint conversion device 2 performs predetermined viewpoint conversion processing on image information captured by the road imaging device 1, and an ETC lane detection processing unit 3 performs viewpoint conversion. It is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling in the ETC lane based on the image after the conversion processing by the device 2, and it is determined whether or not the ETC card is mounted by the ETC card presence / absence detection function of the ETC on-vehicle device 6. Is determined not to be installed and when it is determined that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane, the notification determination processing unit 5 is informed via the notification device 7 that the ETC lane cannot be traveled. Notify that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention promptly informs the user of problems such as the inability to use an ETC in-vehicle device in an ETC system (Electronic Toll Collection System) that automatically collects tolls on toll roads. The present invention relates to an ETC lane detection apparatus and an ETC lane detection method capable of avoiding a situation in which the flow of vehicles on the lane is stagnant.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the spread of ETC in-vehicle devices necessary for using an ETC system for wireless settlement without stopping at a toll gate on a toll road has been rapidly progressing. In this ETC system, the main purpose is to shorten the time, so if a situation occurs where the toll collection cannot be performed properly due to a malfunction on the ETC in-vehicle device side, the malfunction will be promptly dealt with. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid a situation in which the flow of vehicles on the ETC lane is delayed.

For example, in the “automatic toll collection system” disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-86055 (Patent Document 1), an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle communicates with an inspection facility provided outside the lane. A technique for detecting and notifying that an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle passing through a lane is abnormal has been proposed. In other words, this conventional example detects an abnormality through communication between a road communication device (inspection equipment) installed on the road and an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle, and attempts to appropriately deal with the abnormality. .
JP-A-11-86055

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, since it is configured to detect an abnormality in communication with the vehicle-mounted device using a road communication device (inspection equipment), equipment costs are incurred on the roadside. There was a problem.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem. The object of the present invention is to detect an ETC lane from an existing in-vehicle camera without requiring any additional equipment on the roadside, and to provide an ETC. Provided are an ETC lane detection device and an ETC lane detection method capable of promptly notifying a user of a malfunction such as an in-vehicle device being unusable and avoiding a situation in which a vehicle flow on the ETC lane is delayed. There is.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned object, the present invention comprises an imaging means, a viewpoint conversion means, an ETC lane determination means, an ETC card determination means, and a notification means. The viewpoint conversion unit performs a predetermined viewpoint conversion process on the image information captured by the imaging unit, and the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane based on the image after the conversion process by the viewpoint conversion unit by the ETC lane determination unit. The ETC card determination means determines whether or not an ETC card is attached to the ETC on-vehicle device of the vehicle, and the ETC card determination means determines that the ETC card is not attached. In addition, when the ETC lane determining means determines that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane, the notifying device indicates that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane. Characterized in that it informs the fact.

  In the ETC lane detection apparatus and the ETC lane detection method according to the present invention, it is determined by the ETC card determination means (ETC card determination step) that the ETC card is not installed, and the ETC lane determination means (ETC lane determination step). When it is determined that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane, the notification means (notification step) notifies that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane, so that the ETC in-vehicle device is in an unusable state. A user can be notified quickly without incurring costs, and a situation in which the flow of vehicles on the ETC lane is delayed can be avoided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the ETC lane detection apparatus and the ETC lane detection method of the present invention will be described in detail in the order of [first embodiment] and [second embodiment] with reference to the drawings.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ETC lane detection apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the ETC lane detection device of this embodiment includes a road imaging device 1, a viewpoint conversion device 2, a processing device 4 having an ETC lane detection processing unit 3 and a notification determination processing unit 5, and an ETC in-vehicle device 6. The notification device 7 is provided.

  First, the road imaging device 1 corresponds to the imaging means referred to in the claims, and images the situation of the traveling road of the vehicle. As the road imaging device 1, an existing in-vehicle camera, that is, a front view camera (front camera) or a rear view camera (rear camera) is used. It can be used as a front-view camera, or by effectively using a rear-view camera that is not used during forward travel, a separate camera can be installed without impairing the appearance, and new costs can be increased. Can be suppressed. The present invention can be realized by using either the front view camera or the rear view camera. However, the ETC lane may be short depending on the toll gate of the toll road. In such a case, the rear view camera Since the recognition may be difficult, it is desirable to use a front view camera.

  Next, the viewpoint conversion device 2 corresponds to a viewpoint conversion unit, and performs predetermined viewpoint conversion processing on image information captured by the road imaging device 1. Here, the viewpoint changing process refers to converting an image captured by the road imaging device 1 into a corresponding image (top-down overhead image) when the image is looked down from a predetermined height by performing coordinate conversion processing. . The overhead image generation technique is a known technique. For example, JP-A-3-99952, JP-A-9-171348, JP-A-2001-1114048, JP-A-2001-116567, JP-A-2003. -149711.

  Next, the ETC in-vehicle device 6 has a function of detecting an abnormality or card presence and notifying the processing device 4. This card presence / absence detection function corresponds to an ETC card determination means, and determines whether or not an ETC card is attached to the ETC in-vehicle device 6. The abnormality of the ETC in-vehicle device 6 includes, for example, communication failure and communication antenna abnormality. Currently, in many cases, such information is grasped by the car navigation, so that the state of the ETC in-vehicle device 6 can be grasped in conjunction with the car navigation. Moreover, since the camera and the ETC in-vehicle device 6 are connected to the existing vehicle mainly in the car navigation, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to add an extra harness.

  Next, the processing device 4 having the ETC lane detection processing unit 3 and the notification determination processing unit 5 is specifically realized by a CPU, an MPU, or the like, and the ETC lane detection processing unit 3 and the notification determination processing unit 5 are the CPU or the like. Realized as a program executed above. The ETC lane detection processing unit 3 corresponds to an ETC lane determination unit, and determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane based on the image subjected to the viewpoint conversion process by the viewpoint conversion device 2.

  The notification determination processing unit 5 and the notification device 7 correspond to notification means, and the ETC card is not attached based on the detection result by the card presence / absence detection function of the ETC in-vehicle device 6 and the determination result by the ETC lane detection processing unit 3. When it is determined that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane, the user is notified via the notification device 7 that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane. Here, as a notification method to the user, any method can be used as long as the user can recognize it by appealing to the user's five senses, for example, a screen display linked with a car navigation, a voice output through a speaker, or There are various methods such as a method of giving a vibration to experience. That is, the notification device 7 is realized in a form corresponding to these methods.

  Based on the configuration of the ETC lane detection apparatus of the present embodiment described above, the ETC lane detection method of the present embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the ETC lane detection method of this embodiment.

  First, in step S11, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling forward. Here, whether the vehicle is moving forward or backward is determined by the presence or absence of a vehicle speed pulse and a reverse signal. It should be noted that it is easier to receive a signal from the car navigation system.

  Next, in step S12, the detection of the ETC lane by the ETC lane detection processing unit 3 is started using the determination that the vehicle is traveling forward in step S11 as a trigger. As described above, the ETC lane detection is for determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling in the ETC lane based on the image subjected to the viewpoint conversion process by the viewpoint conversion device 2. The specific method of viewpoint conversion processing by ETC 2 and ETC lane detection will be described in detail.

  First, the viewpoint conversion process by the viewpoint conversion apparatus 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A illustrates an image before viewpoint conversion, and FIG. 3B illustrates an image after viewpoint conversion. As described above, the viewpoint change process converts the captured image into a viewpoint image that looks down from a predetermined height by performing a coordinate conversion process. In FIG. Point A in the image is coordinate-converted to point A ′ in the image after the viewpoint conversion, and similarly, point B is coordinate-converted to point B ′ and point C is point-converted to point C ′. By such coordinate conversion, as shown in FIG. 3B, it looks as if seen from directly above.

  Next, ETC lane detection will be described. As a specific method of ETC lane detection, a general edge detection or color integration detection method is used. In this embodiment, since the image after the viewpoint conversion process is detected, there is an advantage that processes such as edge detection and color integration are one-dimensional processes and are easy.

  First, as a method using edge detection, for example, a road symbol written on the ETC lane is registered in advance in the ETC vehicle-mounted device, and the difference from the road symbol captured by the road imaging device 1 is compared. A method of detection is conceivable. In this case, it is necessary to provide a threshold value for determining how many ETC road symbols are detected when the ETC lane is determined to be traveling. Since it is not always possible to detect road symbols with fading or shadows, it is determined that the ETC lane is running when a threshold is set and a number of road symbols greater than the threshold is detected. Thus, the detection accuracy can be improved.

  Further, as a method using color integration detection, for example, there is a method of integrating the degree occupied in the captured image from the traveling direction and the lateral direction. It is possible to determine the distance traveled by integrating the traveling direction and the traveling state on the ETC lane by integrating the lateral direction, and prevent malfunctions such as determining that the ETC lane is traveling just across the ETC lane. Is possible. In addition, since the integrated amount and the travel distance amount are in a proportional relationship, a method of detecting when a predetermined distance (for example, 3 [m]) is traveled can be detected by performing an experiment in advance and setting a threshold value. Is also possible.

  Since the ETC lane is repeatedly painted directly on the road with a special road symbol or blue-purple color, these edge detection and color integration detection methods are effective.

  Next, returning to the flowchart of FIG. 2, in step S13, the ETC lane detection processing unit 3 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane.

  If it is determined in step S13 that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane, the process proceeds to step S14, and the notification determination processing unit 5 determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the ETC in-vehicle device 6 based on the notification from the ETC in-vehicle device 6. . For example, when an abnormal state such as no response is notified from the ETC in-vehicle device 6, the process proceeds to step S16, and when the abnormal state is not notified, the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, the notification determination processing unit 5 determines whether an ETC card is inserted or not based on a notification from the ETC in-vehicle device 6. If no ETC card has been inserted, the process proceeds to step S16, and if an ETC card has been inserted, the process ends.

  If there is an abnormality in the ETC in-vehicle device 6 or if there is no abnormality in the ETC in-vehicle device 6 and the ETC card is not inserted, in step S16, information indicating that the vehicle cannot travel on the ETC lane is notified. The user is notified via the device 7. As a notification timing, it is desirable to notify immediately after traveling a few meters after a series of processing ends. This is because the vehicle user intends to enter the ETC gate and needs to give a margin to avoid danger by informing as soon as possible.

  Even if the user is informed that he / she cannot travel on the ETC lane, if the user is about to enter the ETC gate, he / she can relax the accelerator to avoid a collision with the gate. Eventually, the vehicle may be forcibly stopped. In addition, it is possible to notify secondary vehicles through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, or to notify the ETC gate of abnormal information, thereby temporarily blocking the gate and contributing to the prevention of secondary disasters. It is.

  As described above, in the ETC lane detection device and the ETC lane detection method of this embodiment, the road imaging device 1 (imaging step) images the situation of the traveling road of the vehicle, and the viewpoint conversion device 2 (viewpoint conversion step). Then, a predetermined viewpoint conversion process is performed on the image information captured by the road imaging apparatus 1 (imaging step), and after the conversion process by the viewpoint conversion apparatus 2 (viewpoint conversion step) is performed by the ETC lane detection processing unit 3 (ETC lane determination step). It is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane based on the image of ETC, and it is determined whether or not the ETC card is mounted by the ETC card presence / absence detection function (ETC card determination step) of the ETC on-vehicle device 6. The ETC card presence / absence detection function (ETC card determination step) determines that the ETC card is not installed, and E When it is determined by the C lane detection processing unit 3 (ETC lane determination step) that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane, the notification determination processing unit 5 via the notification device 7 is not allowed to travel on the ETC lane. Notify that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane. As a result, it is possible to quickly notify the user that the ETC in-vehicle device 6 is in an unusable state without incurring costs, and to avoid a situation in which the flow of vehicles on the ETC lane is delayed. Can do.

  Moreover, in the ETC lane detection apparatus of the present embodiment, an existing front camera or rear camera is used as the road imaging apparatus 1, so that a separate camera is not impaired and the appearance impression is not impaired. Cost increase.

  Further, in the ETC lane detection device of the present embodiment, the viewpoint conversion device 2 converts the image captured by the road imaging device 1 into a corresponding image when looking down from a predetermined height, so that an ETC lane detection process is performed. Processing such as edge detection and color integration in the unit 3 is facilitated by one-dimensional processing, and the ETC lane detection accuracy can be improved.

  Furthermore, it is added that the risk level of the user can be reduced as an effect of the ETC lane detection apparatus and the ETC lane detection method of the present embodiment. In the future, if the number of ETC users has increased, it is possible that an abnormal approach to an obstacle or a preceding vehicle at the ETC toll booth may occur. In the ETC lane detection apparatus and the ETC lane detection method of the present embodiment, it is possible to easily detect and notify an abnormality, and thus it is possible to prevent such an abnormal approach.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, an ETC lane detection apparatus and an ETC lane detection method according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an ETC lane detection apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  4, the ETC lane detection device of the present embodiment includes a road imaging device 1, a viewpoint conversion device 2, a processing device 14 having an ETC lane detection processing unit 13 and a notification determination processing unit 5, and an ETC in-vehicle device 6. The alarm device 7 includes a vehicle speed sensor 11 that detects the vehicle speed of the vehicle, and a drive control device 12. The same components as those in the first embodiment (see FIG. 1) are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The drive control device 12 corresponds to the control means in the claims, and travels on the ETC lane by the ETC lane detection processing unit 13 (specific processing is equivalent to the ETC lane detection processing unit 3 of the first embodiment). When it is determined that the vehicle is in the middle, the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 11 is controlled to be a predetermined value or less.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a traveling state of a vehicle traveling on the ETC lane. The vehicle 101 is traveling on the road, the vehicle 102 is traveling on the ETC lane, and the vehicle 103 is traveling just before the ETC gate. A travel section until the ETC lane detection processing unit 13 determines that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane in the traveling state of the vehicle 102, and the vehicle 103 is in a traveling state by the driving force control of the drive control device 12. The limiter is applied so that the speed does not exceed 20-30 [km / h] (recommended speed in ETC lane).

  Next, an ETC lane detection method in the ETC lane detection apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the ETC lane detection method of this embodiment.

  First, in step S21, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling forward. Next, in step S22, the detection of the ETC lane by the ETC lane detection processing unit 13 is started with the determination that the vehicle is traveling forward in step S21.

  Next, in step S23, the ETC lane detection processing unit 13 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane. If it is determined in step S23 that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane, the process proceeds to step S24, and the notification determination processing unit 5 determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the ETC in-vehicle device 6 based on the notification from the ETC in-vehicle device 6. . For example, when an abnormal state such as no response is notified from the ETC in-vehicle device 6, the process proceeds to step S27, and when the abnormal state is not notified, the process proceeds to step S25. In step S25, the notification determination processing unit 5 determines whether an ETC card is inserted or not based on a notification from the ETC in-vehicle device 6. If the ETC card is not inserted, the process proceeds to step S27. If the ETC card is inserted, the process proceeds to step S26.

In step S <b> 26, the driving force is controlled by the drive control device 12 in the traveling section of the ETC lane. Specifically, for controlling the driving force, it is conceivable to prevent the vehicle speed from increasing above a certain speed, or to switch the power source such as HV at that time. In addition, as another aspect, it is possible to switch to automatic driving only in the ETC lane section and smooth the flow of the vehicle. On the other hand, when there is an abnormality in the ETC in-vehicle device 6, or there is an abnormality in the ETC in-vehicle device 6. If the ETC card is not inserted even if it is not present, information indicating that the vehicle cannot travel on the ETC lane is notified to the user via the notification device 7 in step S27.

  As described above, in the ETC lane detection device and the ETC lane detection method of this embodiment, the road imaging device 1 (imaging step) images the situation of the traveling road of the vehicle, and the viewpoint conversion device 2 (viewpoint conversion step). Then, a predetermined viewpoint conversion process is performed on the image information captured by the road imaging apparatus 1 (imaging step), and after the conversion process by the viewpoint conversion apparatus 2 (viewpoint conversion step) is performed by the ETC lane detection processing unit 3 (ETC lane determination step). It is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane based on the image of ETC, and it is determined whether or not the ETC card is mounted by the ETC card presence / absence detection function (ETC card determination step) of the ETC on-vehicle device 6. The ETC card presence / absence detection function (ETC card determination step) determines that the ETC card is not installed, and E When it is determined by the C lane detection processing unit 3 (ETC lane determination step) that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane, the notification determination processing unit 5 via the notification device 7 is not allowed to travel on the ETC lane. When the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane, the vehicle is determined to be traveling on the ETC lane by the ETC lane detection processing unit 3 (ETC lane determination step). The drive control device (control step) controls the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor to be a predetermined value or less. As a result, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, for example, in a toll gate where ETC lanes and lanes for manually paying charges are mixed, it is expected that abnormal approach to the preceding vehicle will occur due to variations in vehicle speed Even if it exists, there exists an effect that abnormal approach can be prevented beforehand.

  As a modification of the present embodiment, a step of starting control of the driving force may be added immediately before the notification step of step S27 in the flowchart of FIG. In this case, since the ETC lane cannot be traveled, the vehicle is going to travel on the ETC lane. Therefore, for example, the vehicle speed is limited to a lower speed than the speed limit in step S26 and the user manually pays the lane. A mode that facilitates movement is conceivable.

  In addition, as described in the first embodiment, when the user is informed of the fact that he / she cannot travel on the ETC lane but the user is about to enter the ETC gate, In order to avoid this collision, a driving force control step may be added in which the driving force is gradually relaxed after a predetermined time after the notification step of step S27 is executed, and the vehicle is finally forcibly stopped. By these modified modes, abnormal approach to the ETC lane can be prevented in advance.

  This is extremely useful for preventing traffic congestion in the ETC lane.

It is a block diagram of the ETC lane detection apparatus which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of the ETC lane detection method of 1st Example. FIG. 3A illustrates an image before viewpoint conversion, and FIG. 3B illustrates an image after viewpoint conversion, specifically illustrating the viewpoint conversion processing by the viewpoint conversion device. It is a block diagram of the ETC lane detection apparatus which concerns on 2nd Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the driving state of the vehicle which drive | works an ETC lane. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of the ETC lane detection method of 2nd Example.

Explanation of symbols

1 Road imaging device (imaging means)
2. Viewpoint conversion device (viewpoint conversion means)
3,13 ETC lane detection processing unit (ETC lane judging means)
4,14 processing device 5 notification determination processing section (notification means)
6 ETC in-vehicle device (ETC card judgment means)
7 Notification device (notification means)
11 Vehicle speed sensor 12 Drive control device (control means)
101-103 vehicles

Claims (6)

Imaging means for imaging the condition of the traveling path of the vehicle;
Viewpoint conversion means for performing predetermined viewpoint conversion processing on image information captured by the imaging means;
ETC lane determination means for determining whether the vehicle is traveling in an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System) lane based on the image after the conversion processing by the viewpoint conversion means;
ETC card determination means for determining whether or not an ETC card is installed in the ETC on-vehicle device of the vehicle;
When the ETC card determining means determines that the ETC card is not installed and the ETC lane determining means determines that the ETC lane is being traveled, a notification is made that the ETC lane is being traveled. Notification means for
An ETC lane detection device comprising: A vehicle speed sensor for detecting the vehicle speed of the vehicle;
Control means for controlling the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor to be equal to or less than a predetermined value when the ETC lane determination means determines that the vehicle is traveling on the ETC lane;
The ETC lane detection apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: The ETC lane detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit is a front camera or a rear camera. 4. The viewpoint conversion unit according to claim 1, wherein the viewpoint conversion unit converts an image captured by the imaging unit into a corresponding image when looking down from a predetermined height. ETC lane detector. An imaging step for imaging the situation of the traveling path of the vehicle;
A viewpoint conversion step of performing a predetermined viewpoint conversion process on the image information captured by the imaging step;
An ETC lane determination step for determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling in an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System) lane based on the image after the conversion processing in the viewpoint conversion step;
An ETC card determination step for determining whether an ETC card is mounted on the ETC in-vehicle device of the vehicle;
When it is determined that the ETC card is not installed in the ETC card determination step and it is determined that the ETC lane is traveling in the ETC lane determination step, it is notified that the ETC lane is traveling. An informing step,
A method for detecting an ETC lane, comprising: A vehicle speed detection step for detecting the vehicle speed of the vehicle;
A control step for controlling the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detection step to be a predetermined value or less when it is determined by the ETC lane determination step that the vehicle is traveling in the ETC lane;
The ETC lane detection method according to claim 5, wherein:

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