Passenger imaging device

Abstract

The present invention provides an occupant imaging device comprising: a camera (23) that captures an image of an area around the face of an occupant seating in a seat inside a cabin of a vehicle; and in-vehicle light emitters (16, 19, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28) that emit light having an illumination component necessary for the camera to capture the image of the occupant to be imaged. The camera performs the imaging operations at a timing when the light is being emitted from the in-vehicle light emitters.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is based on Japanese Application No. 2021-134842 filed on August 20, 2021, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. [Technical field]

[0002] The present disclosure relates to an occupant imaging device. [Background technology]

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which rear seat occupants are imaged by a rear seat camera and the captured camera image is displayed on a front seat display so that front seat occupants can check the situation of rear seat occupants while driving the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-25911 A Summary of the Invention

[0005] In the vehicle interior, a camera is arranged to capture an image of the occupant, and an illumination unit is arranged to irradiate light toward the occupant's face. That is, the camera captures the occupant's face with light emitted from the illumination unit irradiated around the occupant's face, and the occupant's facial image contained in the captured camera image is analyzed to monitor the occupant's condition. However, in a state in which light is emitted from the illumination unit, that is, in a configuration in which the light emission state of the illumination unit is directly visible to the occupant, there is a problem that the occupant who is concerned about the light emission state is stressed. A configuration in which a cover or the like is arranged to hide the light-emitting part of the illumination unit is assumed, but such a configuration increases the number of parts such as the cover and also has a problem of deteriorating the design.

[0006] The present disclosure aims to appropriately illuminate and capture an image of an occupant being imaged, without increasing the number of parts and compromising design.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle includes a camera that captures an image of the periphery of the face of an occupant seated in a seat inside a vehicle, and an in-vehicle light-emitting device that emits light including an illumination component required for the camera to capture an image of the occupant, with the illumination range being an area including the occupant. The camera performs an image capture operation at the timing when light is emitted from the in-vehicle light-emitting device. The in-vehicle light-emitting device includes at least one of an interior light, an ambient light, a decorative lighting unit for an air conditioner outlet, a decorative lighting unit for a speaker, and an indicator. The light is projected across multiple rows of seats. The light including the illumination components required for the camera to capture an image of the occupant, who is the subject of the image capture, is emitted from the in-vehicle light-emitting device, making it possible to eliminate the need for a conventional illumination unit. By eliminating the need for an illumination unit, the light-emitting state of the illumination unit is no longer directly visible to the occupant, and it is possible to prevent the occupant, who is concerned about the light-emitting state, from being stressed. In this case, there is no need to place a cover or the like to hide the light-emitting part of the illumination unit, and the number of parts is not increased. This makes it possible to appropriately illuminate and capture the occupant, who is the subject of the image capture, without avoiding an increase in the number of parts and deteriorating the design. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment and is a schematic diagram showing the interior of a vehicle; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the interior of a vehicle as viewed from the rear of the vehicle; [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an ambient light; [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a decorative lighting unit of an air conditioner outlet; [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a decorative lighting unit of a speaker; [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an indicator; [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which a camera is disposed on an overhead console; [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which a camera is disposed on a rearview mirror; [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which the camera is disposed on the instrument panel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] An embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. The left-right direction means the width direction of the vehicle, the front-rear direction means the length direction of the vehicle, and the up-down direction means the height direction of the vehicle. In addition, the description will be given for a vehicle in which the driver's seat is located on the right side facing the front of the vehicle, but when the vehicle in which the driver's seat is located on the left side facing the front of the vehicle is used, the positional relationship between the driver's seat and the passenger seat is only exchanged, and the rest can be applied in the same manner.

[0010] As shown in Fig. 1, a driver's seat 2 and a passenger seat 3 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction in a vehicle interior 1. A right rear seat 4 and a left rear seat 5 are arranged behind the driver's seat 2 and the passenger seat 3 as rear seats. A windshield 6 is arranged in front of the driver's seat 2 and the passenger seat 3.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 2, in the vehicle interior 1, a right B-pillar 8 is disposed near the right side of the headrest 2a of the driver's seat 2. The right B-pillar 8 is molded in a shape that curves from bottom to top to match the shape of the vehicle body. A right C-pillar 9 is disposed near the right side of the headrest 4a of the right rear seat 4. The right C-pillar 9 is also molded in a shape that curves from bottom to top to match the shape of the vehicle body. The right end of the ceiling 7, which is a portion that is connected to the upper end of the right B-pillar 8, the upper end of the right rear door 10, and the upper end of the right C-pillar 9, is inclined, and this inclined portion is a right inclined surface portion 11. The normal direction of the right inclined surface portion 11 is diagonally downward.

[0012] Similarly, a left B-pillar 12 is disposed near the left side of the headrest 3a of the passenger seat 3. The left B-pillar 12 is molded in a shape that curves from bottom to top to match the shape of the vehicle body. A left C-pillar 13 is disposed near the left side of the headrest 5a of the left rear seat 5. The left C-pillar 13 is also molded in a shape that curves from bottom to top to match the shape of the vehicle body. The left end of the ceiling 7, which is a portion that is connected to the upper end of the left B-pillar 12, the upper end of the left rear door 14, and the upper end of the left C-pillar 13, is inclined, and this inclined portion is made into a left inclined surface portion 15. The normal direction of the left inclined surface portion 15 is diagonally downward.

[0013] The right inclined surface portion 11 is provided with a right interior light 16, a right air conditioner outlet 17, and a right speaker 18. The left inclined surface portion 15 is provided with a left interior light 19, a left air conditioner outlet 20, and a left speaker 21. The ceiling 7 is provided with an ambient light 22. The ambient light 22 is configured by connecting a plurality of linear segments 22a to 22h, and is arranged so as to circle the end of the ceiling 7. For example, the ambient light 22 is always lit when the ignition is on. The linear segments 22a to 22h are individually controlled to be turned on, blink, or turned off. The right interior light 16, the left interior light 19, and the ambient light 22 correspond to in-vehicle light-emitting devices. A camera 23 is provided as an image sensor near the right interior light 16. The camera 23 has a camera lens and an image sensor that converts the incident light imaged by the camera lens into an electrical signal. The image sensor is, for example, a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS).

[0014] The range of illumination of the light emitted from the right interior light 16 includes the front seat row and the rear seat row, and the light emitted from the right interior light 16 includes illumination components required when the camera 23 captures an image of an occupant to be imaged. That is, the right interior light 16 includes a function as an illumination unit such as an LED that illuminates the occupant to be imaged. When the right interior light 16 is turned on at the timing when the camera 23 captures an image of the occupant to be imaged, the illumination components required for imaging are irradiated from the right interior light 16. When the camera 23 is a near-infrared camera, the illumination components of near-infrared light required for imaging by the near-infrared camera are included in the light irradiated from the right interior light 16, so that the red appearance of the near-infrared light illumination is suppressed, and the occupant can be imaged in a state where the near-infrared light is irradiated to the occupant. The left interior light 19 may include a function as an illumination unit that illuminates the occupant to be imaged.

[0015] The illumination component required when the camera 23 captures an image of an occupant to be imaged is not limited to the light emitted from the right interior light 16, but may be included in the light emitted from other vehicle-mounted light-emitting devices. To be more specific, the illumination component may be included in the light emitted from the ambient light 22 arranged on the ceiling. That is, the ambient light 22 may have a function as a lighting unit that illuminates the occupant to be imaged. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, when the ambient light 25 is arranged on the door trim 24 of the right rear door 10, the illumination component may be included in the light emitted from the ambient light 25. That is, the ambient light 25 may have a function as a lighting unit that illuminates the occupant to be imaged. The ambient light 25 also corresponds to a vehicle-mounted light-emitting device. When the camera 23 is a near-infrared camera, the red appearance of the near-infrared illumination is suppressed by including a near-infrared illumination component required for the near-infrared camera to capture an image in the light irradiated from the ambient lamps 22, 25, and the occupant can be imaged in a state where the occupant is irradiated with near-infrared light. When the camera 23 is an RGB camera, the visible light illumination component required for the RGB camera to capture an image is included in the light irradiated from the ambient lamps 22, 25, and the visible light illumination is suppressed, and the occupant can be imaged in a state where the occupant is irradiated with visible light. This can also be applied when the camera 23 is an RGBIR camera.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 4, for example, in a configuration in which the decorative lighting unit 26 is arranged around the left air conditioner outlet 20, the light emitted from the decorative lighting unit 26 may include the function of a lighting unit that illuminates the occupant to be imaged. The decorative lighting unit 26 also corresponds to an in-vehicle light-emitting device. For example, the decorative lighting unit 26 emits blue light when blowing cool air, emits red light when blowing warm air, and emits white light when not blowing air. When the camera 23 is a near-infrared camera, the illumination component of near-infrared light required for the near-infrared camera to capture an image is included in the light emitted from the decorative lighting unit 26, thereby suppressing the red appearance of the near-infrared light illumination, and making it possible to image the occupant in a state in which the near-infrared light is irradiated on the occupant. When the camera 23 is an RGB camera, the visible light illumination component required for the RGB camera to capture an image is included in the light irradiated from the decorative illumination unit 26, so that the visibility of the visible light illumination is suppressed, and the occupant can be imaged with visible light irradiated on the occupant. This can also be applied to the camera 23 being an RGBIR camera. The function of the illumination unit that illuminates the occupant to be imaged may be included in the decorative illumination unit (not shown) of the right air conditioner outlet 17.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 5, in a configuration in which the decorative lighting unit 27 is disposed around the left speaker 21, the decorative lighting unit 27 may include the light emitted from the decorative lighting unit 27. That is, the decorative lighting unit 27 may include a function as a lighting unit that illuminates the occupant to be imaged. The decorative lighting unit 27 also corresponds to an in-vehicle light-emitting device. When the camera 23 is a near-infrared camera, the near-infrared light illumination component required for the near-infrared camera to capture an image is included in the light emitted from the decorative lighting unit 27, thereby suppressing the red appearance of the near-infrared light illumination, and the occupant can be imaged in a state in which the near-infrared light is irradiated on the occupant. When the camera 23 is an RGB camera, the visible light illumination component required for the RGB camera to capture an image is included in the light emitted from the decorative lighting unit 27, thereby suppressing the appearance of the visible light illumination, and the occupant can be imaged in a state in which the visible light is irradiated on the occupant. The present invention can also be applied to the camera 23 as an RGBIR camera. The function of the lighting unit that illuminates the occupant being imaged may be included in a decorative lighting unit (not shown) of the right speaker 18.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 6, for example, in a configuration in which the indicator 28 is disposed near the camera 23, the indicator 28 may be included in the light emitted from the indicator 28. That is, the indicator 28 may include a function as an illumination unit that illuminates the occupant to be imaged. The indicator 28 also corresponds to an in-vehicle light-emitting device. The indicator 28 indicates whether the recognition operation of the camera 23 is valid or not, and is embodied by a pilot lamp, an icon, or the like. The indicator 28 is turned on when the recognition operation of the camera 23 is valid, and is turned off when the recognition operation of the camera 23 is invalid. In a case in which the camera 23 is a near-infrared camera, the illumination component of near-infrared light required for the near-infrared camera to capture an image is included in the light emitted from the indicator 28, thereby suppressing the red appearance of the illumination of the near-infrared light, and it becomes possible to image the occupant in a state in which the near-infrared light is irradiated on the occupant. When the camera 23 is an RGB camera, the visible light illumination component required for the RGB camera to capture an image is included in the light emitted from the indicator 28, so that the visibility of the visible light illumination is suppressed, and the occupant can be captured in a state where the occupant is being irradiated with visible light. This can also be applied to the camera 23 being an RGBIR camera.

[0019] For example, in a vehicle with three rows of seats, if the ambient lamp 22 or the like is configured to irradiate light across the second and third row seats, the position of the camera 23 may be movable depending on the seating position of the occupant to be imaged. That is, when the occupant to be imaged is seated in the second row seat, the camera 23 may be disposed in a position where the occupant sitting in the second row seat can be imaged, and when the occupant to be imaged is seated in the third row seat, the camera 23 may be disposed in a position where the occupant sitting in the third row seat can be imaged.

[0020] As described above, according to this embodiment, the following advantageous effects can be obtained. Light including illumination components required for the camera 23 to capture an image of an occupant is emitted from the interior lights 16, 19, the ambient lights 22, 25, the decorative illumination unit 26 of the air conditioner outlets 17, 20, the decorative illumination unit 27 of the speakers 18, 21, the indicators 28, etc., making it possible to eliminate the need for conventional illumination units such as LEDs. By eliminating the need for illumination units, the light emission state of the illumination units is no longer directly visible to the occupants, and it is possible to prevent the occupants who are concerned about the light emission state from being stressed. In this case, it is no longer necessary to place a cover or the like that hides the light-emitting part of the illumination unit, and the number of parts is no longer increased. As a result, it is possible to appropriately illuminate and capture an image of the occupant, without avoiding an increase in the number of parts and deteriorating the design.

[0021] The camera 23 may be arranged not only in a position close to the right interior light 16, but also in an overhead console, a rear-view mirror, an instrument panel, or the like so as to simultaneously capture images of a front seat occupant or a plurality of occupants including a front seat occupant and a rear seat occupant. As shown in FIG. 7, when an overhead console 29 is arranged on the ceiling 7, the camera 23 may be arranged on the overhead console 29. As shown in FIG. 8, when the camera 23 is arranged on the rear-view mirror 30, the camera 23 may be arranged on a support 31 supporting the rear-view mirror 30, the camera 23 may be embedded inside the rear-view mirror 30, or the camera 23 may be arranged on a frame 32 surrounding the rear-view mirror 30. As shown in FIG. 9, when the camera 23 is arranged on the instrument panel 33, the camera 23 may be arranged on a dashboard 34, the camera 23 may be embedded inside a center display 35, or the camera 23 may be arranged between the center display 35 and an air conditioner outlet 36. Furthermore, if the vehicle has three rows of seats, the camera 23 may be arranged on the rear seat ceiling, on the rear seat entertainment monitor, etc. so as to simultaneously capture images of multiple occupants including those in the second and third rows.

[0022] For example, by having ambient lamps 22 or the like irradiate light across the second and third row seats and making it possible to move the position of the camera 23 depending on the position where the occupant to be imaged is seated, the occupant to be imaged can be appropriately illuminated and imaged regardless of whether they are seated in the second or third row seats.

[0023] By utilizing the interior lights 16, 19, the ambient lights 22, 25, the decorative lighting unit 26 of the air conditioner outlets 17, 20, the decorative lighting unit 27 of the speakers 18, 21, and the indicators 28, and utilizing the existing installed equipment, this can be realized without separately installing new installed equipment.

[0024] Although the present disclosure has been described based on the embodiment, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment or structure. The present disclosure also includes various modifications and modifications within the equivalent range. In addition, various combinations and forms, as well as other combinations and forms including only one element, more than one element, or less than one element, are also within the scope and concept of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A camera (23) for capturing an image of the face of an occupant seated in a seat inside the vehicle; an in-vehicle light-emitting device (16, 19, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28) that emits light including an illumination component required when the camera captures an image of an occupant who is an image capture target, with the illumination range being a range including the occupant who is an image capture target; The camera performs an image capturing operation at a timing when light is emitted from the vehicle-mounted light emitting device, The in-vehicle light-emitting device includes at least one of an interior light, an ambient light, an air conditioner outlet decorative lighting unit, a speaker decorative lighting unit, and an indicator, and is an occupant imaging device that irradiates light across multiple seat rows.

2. 2. The passenger image pickup device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle-mounted light emitting device irradiates light at least toward a rear seat row.

3. The passenger image pickup device according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle-mounted light emitting device irradiates light at least toward a front row of seats.

4. The camera is an occupant imaging device described in any one of claims 1 to 3, which is movably arranged.

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