JP2006248365A - Back monitoring mirror of movement body, driver photographing device, driver monitoring device and safety driving support device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To certainly photograph the eyes and its peripheral part without obstructing a back visual field of a driver. <P>SOLUTION: The driver photographing device is provided with an inside rear view mirror 1 installed at an oblique and upper part at a front side of the driver; LED 2 for irradiating to an area corresponding to the face of the driver 3 with an infrared ray; and an infrared camera 4 installed on an oblique and upper part of a rear side of the inside rear view mirror 1. The inside rear view mirror 1 is constituted by a first reflection mirror 1a reflecting a visible light and transmitting the infrared ray; ad a second reflection mirror 1b provided at the back with an angle θ relative to the mirror 1a and reflecting the infrared ray. The rear visual field of the driver 3 is provided by the first reflection mirror 1b and the infrared ray irradiated on the face of the driver by the LED 2 transmits through the first reflection mirror 1a, is reflected by the second reflection mirror 1b and advances to the infrared camera 4. Thereby, the face image of the driver 3 is photographed by the infrared camera 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a rear monitoring mirror suitable for a moving body such as an automobile, a driver photographing apparatus suitable for photographing a driver's face using the mirror, and a driver monitoring apparatus using the driver photographing apparatus. About.

  Safety technology has been developed to detect the state of a driver by taking a picture of the face centered on the eyes of the driver of the car, such as detecting the driver's drowsy driving or driving aside.

  For this purpose, an infrared camera is installed on the dashboard, instrument panel, around the rearview mirror, inside the rearview mirror, etc., and this infrared camera makes the driver look dazzled from the front of the driver. The image is directly taken with infrared rays so that there is no occurrence and stable irradiation is possible.

However, the position of the driver's face varies greatly depending on the physique, posture, and seat seat setting, so these shooting methods use an infrared camera with a large angle of view that sufficiently covers the expected range of the face. In addition, it is necessary to specify a face portion from an image with a large angle of view photographed in this way. Therefore, by taking advantage of the fact that the driver's eyes are always reflected in the rearview mirror when the rearview mirror is properly adjusted, the rear view mirror is used to capture images from the rear. An apparatus that always acquires an image of an eye portion has been proposed (Patent Document 1).
JP-A-11-304428

  However, the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 has the following problems.

(1) The installation position of the photographing device is limited. In particular, in order to acquire an image whose eye portion is the center of the image, it is necessary to install the photographing device on a straight line that extends backward from the room mirror.

(2) The rear view is partially hidden by the photographing device. Therefore, the rear view providing function for the driver, which is the original function of the rearview mirror, is hindered.

(3) In order to reduce the hindrance to the above-mentioned rear view providing function, it is necessary to reduce the size of the photographing apparatus and dispose the photographing apparatus as far as possible from the room mirror.

(4) As the distance between the photographing device and the rearview mirror increases, the image acquired through the rearview mirror becomes a narrow region centered on the driver's eyes, and facial image information other than the eyes can be obtained. It becomes difficult. Further, when the driver's face position changes, the possibility that the eye portion is not included in the image increases.

(5) Since the photographing device is visually recognized by the driver, it gives a psychological pressure or anxiety that the driver is being monitored.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a rear monitoring mirror suitable for a device that reliably captures an eye part without obstructing the driver's rear view, and a driver photographing device using the mirror.

  The rear monitoring mirror of the moving body of the present invention includes a first reflecting means that reflects visible light and transmits infrared light, and a first reflecting means that is provided behind the first reflecting means at a predetermined angle θ and reflects infrared light. 2 reflection means.

  In the present invention, by using the first reflecting means as a conventional room mirror, visible light from the rear field of view is reflected by the first reflecting means and reaches the driver's eyes without fail. On the other hand, by providing a driver illumination device that irradiates infrared rays toward a region corresponding to the driver's face, for example, a dashboard, the infrared ray reflected on the driver's face is transmitted through the first reflecting means, Reflected by the second reflecting means. Since the angle formed by the first reflecting means and the second reflecting means is set to a predetermined angle θ, the direction in which the infrared light is reflected by the second reflecting means is the direction of visible light from the rear view. Completely different from the direction. For this reason, when a photographing device is provided at a position for receiving the infrared light reflected by the second reflecting means, the rear view is not hindered by the photographing device.

  In addition, since the photographing apparatus does not interfere with the rear view, it is provided at a position close to the second reflecting means, or is set at a position with a high degree of freedom by setting the predetermined angle θ to an appropriate angle. Is possible. Thereby, fine adjustment of the photographing position of the face is possible, and it becomes easy to photograph a wide range including the eye part.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, a camera such as an infrared camera is installed in the direction of 2θ with respect to the center line of the rear field of view by the first reflecting means.

  From the general optical principle, when the angle formed by the first reflecting means and the second reflecting means is θ, visible light and infrared light incident on the first reflecting means from the same direction are the first and second, respectively. Reflected by the reflecting means, and proceeds in the respective directions. The angle formed by the directions of the reflected light rays is always 2θ regardless of the incident angle incident on the first reflecting means. This is the same even if the traveling direction of light is reversed.

Therefore, in a state where the driver is adjusted so that the driver can visually recognize the rear with the first reflecting means, the camera always displays the facial image centered on the driver's eyes, regardless of the driver's face position. It can be acquired without obstructing the field of view.
By providing the camera with an angle-of-view control means for blocking light from other than the rear monitoring mirror, flare, ghost, and the like due to unnecessary light can be prevented.

  Further, by covering the camera with a cover that does not transmit visible light but transmits infrared light, the driver cannot see the camera. This eliminates the feeling of pressure as monitored by the camera.

The driver photographing apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that the infrared camera is a camera such as a CMOS infrared camera having a high dynamic range.
Furthermore, the driver monitoring device of the present invention detects the driver's face or eyes from the driver photographing device and an image photographed by the driver photographing device, and drives based on the detected face or eye image. And an image recognition device for determining the state of the person.

  In the present invention, by using a camera such as a CMOS infrared camera with a high dynamic range, it is possible to take a beautiful image of the driver's face and eyes even in an environment where there is a large contrast between light and dark. Compared to the case where the entire screen is illuminated, it is easier to identify the face and recognize the face, and it is possible to make an accurate determination even when determining the state of the driver.

  In the present invention, it is also possible to use an imaging means (camera) having sensitivity in the visible light region. In this case, a filter that transmits only near infrared light may be used.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to capture an image of the driver's face, particularly the eyes and the vicinity thereof, at an angle different from the center line of view while securing the view of the driver. For this reason, this rear monitoring mirror is used for monitoring a driver of a moving body such as an automobile, so that the driver's face, in particular, the eye and its surroundings can be accurately captured without obstructing the driver's rear view. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine whether the driver is in a dozing state or a side-by-side driving state.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a driver photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This driver photographing device emits infrared rays (including near infrared rays, the same applies hereinafter) toward the driver's face from the front or slightly below the driver, reflects the reflected light with the rearview mirror, and The driver's face is photographed by an infrared camera installed obliquely above.

  The captured image is input to the image recognition device, the face is recognized, the driver's state is determined, such as dozing / aside driving / decrease in attention, and the result is used as a warning if necessary. Used. In the image recognition device, the driver's state is, for example, presence or absence of eye detection, gaze direction, gaze direction movement, face direction, face direction movement, eyelid state, blink, pupil state, presence of glasses, etc. It is detected by information obtained from images around the eyes, and the driver's state such as dozing / side-by-side driving / decrease in attention is determined from these information.

  FIG. 1 is a side view of a passenger compartment of an automobile. The rearview mirror 1 is provided in the vicinity of the ceiling in front of the center inside the passenger compartment so that the angle can be adjusted. This room mirror 1 corresponds to the rear monitoring mirror of the present invention.

  When the driver 3 sits in the driver's seat, the direction (angle) of the rear-view mirror 1 is adjusted so that a rear view can be secured through the rear-view mirror 1 before starting driving. The driver 3 adjusts so that the field of view through the rearview mirror 1 can cover the rear window 5, that is, the vehicle behind can be monitored through the rearview mirror 1 and the rear window 5. The infrared camera described later does not exist in the visual field behind the driver when adjusted in this way.

  The driver's face is irradiated by the LED 2 which is an infrared irradiation means. This LED 2 is provided on the dashboard 6. This LED 2 is an infrared high-brightness LED, and emits infrared light. The installation location of the LED 2 may be anywhere as long as it can irradiate the driver's face, such as the dashboard 6 or the center portion of the steering (handle portion). Since the driver's face does not fluctuate greatly during driving, the irradiation range of the LED 2 is appropriately reduced by a lens or the like (not shown). The irradiation range should just be a driver | operator's face, especially eyes, and its peripheral region, and does not need to be a large range, such as an upper body.

  The infrared rays irradiated to the driver's face part are diffusely reflected and proceed to the room mirror 1. This infrared ray is reflected by the second reflection mirror of the room mirror 1 and proceeds to the infrared camera 4. As a result, the driver's face, particularly the eyes and images of the peripheral portion thereof, are captured by the infrared camera 4.

  Note that the rear view 10 and the center line 11 of the driver 3 through the rearview mirror 1 are not a requirement for the driver 3 (or the vision of the driver 3) as a component, but the position of the rearview mirror 1, the rear window 5 is a structural characteristic of the automobile determined by the position and size of 5.

  An infrared camera 4 having sensitivity to infrared rays is provided on an obliquely upper ceiling portion behind the room mirror 1. The infrared camera 4 captures the driver's face by infrared rays reflected by the second reflection mirror of the room mirror 1. The infrared camera is preferably a high dynamic range CMOS infrared camera (HDRC). That is, the inside of a car: in particular, the driver's seat has a clear field of view directly in the outside world. For example, the photographing conditions such as high contrast by direct sunlight and extremely low illuminance at night are poor conditions. Even under such conditions, a CMOS infrared camera with a high dynamic range has a dynamic range close to that of the human retina so that the response to the light intensity has a logarithmic relationship. Thereby, it is possible to capture an image with a high dynamic range of 0.01 lux to 100,000 lux, in which the contrast ratio of a bright subject and a dark subject within the same screen is 10 million times.

  As a result, even with a subject with a strong contrast (strong contrast), such as a face illuminated by direct sunlight, the highlight area becomes white and the shadow area becomes black as in the conventional image sensor. It will not be an image of “overexposure” or “blackout”.

  In the dashboard 6, there is provided an image recognition device 7 that performs light emission control of the LED 2 and image recognition processing based on the output of the infrared camera 4.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the room mirror 1. FIG. 3 is a specific configuration diagram of the room mirror 1.

  The room mirror 1 supports the first reflection mirror 1a, the second reflection mirror 1b provided behind the first reflection mirror 1a at a predetermined angle θ, and the mirrors 1a and 1b. And a support arm 1d that holds the housing 1c and fixes it to the vehicle body. The housing 1c and the support arm 1d are connected in a rotatable structure so that the driver can adjust to obtain a good rear view. The housing 1c and the support arm 1d are rotatable in the vertical and horizontal directions. The first reflecting mirror 1a is composed of a cold mirror described later in detail.

  In this embodiment, the first reflecting mirror 1a and the second reflecting mirror 1b are fixed at a predetermined angle θ. However, when changing the face area to be imaged or changing the position of the infrared camera 4 For example, the angle may be changed.

  The cold mirror that is the first reflecting mirror 1a has a property of reflecting light in the visible light region and transmitting infrared light generated by the LED 2. In the present embodiment, the infrared rays generated by the LED 2 are in the near-infrared range of 900 nm to 1040 nm with a wavelength of 950 nm as the center. Therefore, the first reflecting mirror 1a has a property of transmitting light having a wavelength of 900 nm or more and reflecting light of 400 nm to 700 nm which is a visible region of the human eye. The cold mirror used in the present embodiment uses a principle based on the interference effect of the vacuum deposited film on the glass, but without such a principle, the reflection / transmission property according to the wavelength as described above. Can be used instead of a cold mirror.

  The second reflecting mirror 1b is a mirror that reflects near infrared rays having a wavelength of 800 nm to 1040 nm. Other wavelengths may be reflected, absorbed, or transmitted as long as they have the property of reflecting light of that wavelength. In this embodiment, a mirror made of silver-plated glass, which can be easily obtained at low cost, is used.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the visible light component of the light incident on the rearview mirror 1 from the rear view center line A is reflected by the first reflecting mirror 1 a and travels in the direction X of the driver's eyes. Infrared light emitted from the LED 2 is irradiated on the face of the driver, reflected from the face, reaches the room mirror 1, passes through the first reflecting mirror 1 a, is reflected by the second reflecting mirror 1 b, and is reflected by the infrared camera 4. Head in direction Y. Of the light incident from the rear view, the infrared component transmitted through the first reflecting mirror 1a is reflected by the second reflecting mirror 1b and travels in a direction Z different from the driver's eyes.

  The infrared camera 4 is installed on a straight line Y that goes rearward at an angle 2θ with the rear view center line A at the ceiling of the vehicle interior of the vehicle, and shoots the entire room mirror 1 in the direction of the room mirror 1. Shoot with a sufficient angle of view.

  From the optical principle, when the angle formed by the first reflecting mirror 1a and the second reflecting mirror 1b is θ, visible light and infrared light incident on the first reflecting mirror 1a from the same direction from the direction X are respectively The first and second reflecting mirrors 1a and 1b are reflected and travel in the respective directions. At this time, the angles formed by the reflected light directions are always independent of the incident angle incident on the first reflecting mirror 1a. 2θ. This is the same even if the traveling direction of light is reversed. Therefore, the angle formed between the infrared ray incident from the direction X and reflected by the second reflecting mirror 1b and traveling in the direction Y and the visible ray incident from the direction A is independent of the incident angle of the visible ray from the direction A. , Always 2θ.

  Here, the direction A coincides with the center of the rear field of view, the direction X is the irradiation direction of infrared rays reflected from the driver's face portion from the LED 2, and the direction Y coincides with the center of the angle of view of the infrared camera 4.

  In the above configuration, the driver 3 uses the first reflecting mirror 1a as a normal rear monitoring mirror, while a driver who cannot visually recognize infrared rays is not aware of the infrared rays emitted from the LED 2. Therefore, the rear view from the direction A is secured by the first reflecting mirror 1a. On the other hand, the infrared rays emitted from the LED 2 are reflected by the driver's face, transmitted through the first reflecting mirror, and further reflected by the second reflecting mirror to reach the infrared camera 4. Therefore, the driver's face image is reliably captured by the infrared camera 4.

  Since the first reflecting mirror 1a is adjusted so that the driver 3 can visually recognize the rear, the infrared camera 4 always has a face centered on the driver's eyes regardless of the position of the driver's face. Images can be acquired.

  In the above description, the vertical plane is described, but the same applies to the horizontal plane. That is, by installing the infrared camera 4 at a position that forms an angle twice as large as the angle θ formed by the first and second reflecting mirrors 1a and 1b on the horizontal and vertical planes, A face image centered on the eyes of the driver 3 can always be taken. And since the range of the position where the face may exist in the image is limited, the image obtained in this way is used when the image recognition device 5 searches the eye or its peripheral portion from the image. The amount of processing is greatly reduced as compared with the prior art.

  FIG. 4 is an internal configuration diagram of the LED 2.

  The lighting control means 20 controls light emission / non-light emission of light projection and the light emission amount when light is emitted. For example, unnecessary power consumption and heat generation can be avoided by emitting light only when shooting and not emitting light when not shooting. Alternatively, it is also conceivable to use a method of controlling the light emission amount so that the driver is sufficiently strong for photographing when infrared rays are irradiated from the outside around the driver. Furthermore, it is possible to control for usage such that the infrared camera 4 emits light in synchronization with the moment when the image is acquired, or the image at the time of light emission and the image at the time of non-light emission are individually acquired and the difference is compared. .

  The LED drive unit 21 supplies light to the LED unit 22 in accordance with an instruction from the lighting control unit 11 to control light emission. By controlling the drive current, the intensity of the emitted infrared light can be controlled.

  The LED unit 22 is one or a plurality of infrared LED elements that generate infrared rays by a current supplied from the LED driving unit 12. In this embodiment, a near-infrared LED element (for example, GL381 manufactured by Sharp Corporation) that generates near-infrared rays having a wavelength in the range of 800 nm to 1040 nm centering on 950 nm is used. The number of infrared LED elements used is determined by the required light quantity and the light emission quantity of each element. The wavelength of the emitted infrared light is almost invisible to humans, has a suitable reflectance for the driver's face to capture images, is available at low cost, can be photographed with an inexpensive image sensor, and does not attenuate significantly in the air. Must have characteristics. The wavelength range used in the present embodiment satisfies the requirement, but it goes without saying that other wavelength ranges may be used as long as the requirement is satisfied.

  The lens 23 converges the infrared rays generated by the LED unit 22 so as to have an appropriate spread angle. In the present embodiment, the light beam is spread so as to uniformly irradiate a region where the driver's face may exist. Alternatively, the lens 23 is unnecessary if the light emission directivity of the infrared LED element itself satisfies the appropriate divergent angle.

  FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of the infrared camera 4.

  The infrared rays incident on the infrared camera 4 are converged by the lens 41 through the angle-of-view control means 40, imaged on the infrared imaging element 42, converted into electronic data, and output as image data by the image data output means 43. The

  The angle-of-view restriction means 40 is for blocking light from a portion other than the room mirror 1 of the image to be photographed. Since one of the problems of the present invention is to photograph the driver's face through the rearview mirror 1, not only the light reflected by the rearview mirror 1 is unnecessary, but also flare, ghost and stray light. This is not preferable because it causes noise. Therefore, it is desirable to limit the light rays incident on the infrared imaging element 42 to the room mirror 1 and its surroundings by the view angle limiting means. Although the rearview mirror 1 is movable, its movement is a rotational movement centering on the rotation mechanism of the connection portion between the housing 1c and the support arm 1d, and the rear view to be obtained by the driver passes through the rear window 5 of the vehicle. Since it is a field of view, its movable range is limited and predictable. Therefore, by using an angle-of-view restricting means that allows the room mirror 1 to capture the entire movable range and shields the outside of the range, it is possible to limit the incident of light rays other than necessary to the infrared imaging element 42. it can. If the influence of unnecessary rays does not matter or if the lens 41 has such a view angle limiting function, the view angle limiting means 40 may be omitted.

  As the infrared imaging element 42, an element having sufficient sensitivity to infrared rays having a wavelength generated by the LED 2 is used. In the present embodiment, the wavelength of infrared rays generated by the LED 2 is in a wavelength range from 800 nm to 1040 nm with a peak wavelength of 950 nm. In general, silicon photodiodes have sensitivity not only in the visible light region but also in the near-infrared region with a wavelength of about 1100 nm. Therefore, infrared using an image sensor such as a CCD or CMOS manufactured using the principle of silicon photodiodes. Camera can be used. For example, the example of the CCD image pickup device ICX429ALL manufactured by Sony has a sensitivity of about 20% of the peak sensitivity even at a wavelength of 950 nm, and thus is suitable in terms of sensitivity as the infrared image pickup device 42 in the present embodiment. A high dynamic range CMOS infrared camera, which is planned using a silicon photodiode having the same infrared sensitivity, is more preferable. Further, in order to reduce the influence of disturbance light, it is possible to prevent the imaging element from sensing light having a wavelength other than the wavelength range of light from the LED 2 by using a filter such as a filter that blocks visible light and transmits infrared light. good.

  It is sufficient that the angle of view of the infrared camera 4 is large enough to capture the entire room mirror 1. If the radius of the circle including the room mirror 1 is 100 mm and the distance from the infrared camera 4 to the room mirror 1 is 300 mm, the appropriate spread angle is 2 * tan-1 (100/300), that is, about 37 degrees. is there. At that time, if the size of the rearview mirror 1 is 200 mm in the horizontal direction and 50 mm in the vertical direction, and the distance from the rearview mirror 1 to the driver's face is 400 mm, the range in which the driver's face is photographed The size is 116mm in the vertical direction and 466mm in the horizontal direction, which is large enough to photograph the driver's eyes.

  The image acquired by the infrared camera 4 is sent to the image recognition device 7 (see FIG. 1).

  The image recognition device 7 processes the received image data, and recognizes and outputs information relating to the driver's state necessary for realizing the safety function and comfort function of the vehicle from the driver face information in the image. There are various functions realized by the driver's state obtained from the driver's face image, and the present invention does not specify the recognition function, but in this embodiment, as an example, the line-of-sight detection function for the armpit detection function Shall have.

  As a method for realizing the side-by-side detection, there is a method of detecting the driver's line of sight and determining that the direction of the line of sight is directed in an appropriate direction at an appropriate timing. The method by detecting the line of sight is highly accurate and highly reliable in that it detects the actual gaze direction as compared to the method of determining by the direction of the face of the operator, which is another implementation method. On the other hand, the image recognition process for detecting the line of sight is significantly more advanced than the image recognition process for detecting the orientation of the face, and can quickly and reliably detect the driver's eyes from the input image. Required. Since the present invention captures the driver's eye part, the line-of-sight detection function is suitable as an embodiment of the present invention.

In the present invention, the image recognition device 7 can be used as a safe driving support device by connecting a notification means.
In the safe driving support device, the image recognition device 7 performs the line-of-sight detection. In the present embodiment, the image recognition device 7 can detect the line of sight using an image around the eyes of the driver that is reflected in the rearview mirror, so that the driver can gaze in the direction of the rearview mirror in order to confirm the rear. When the eye is pointed, the line of sight can be detected with high accuracy because the front of the eyeball faces the camera. Accordingly, it is possible to detect the presence / absence of the action of the driver confirming backwards more accurately than a camera attached in front of the driver's seat. Therefore, for example, it is possible to determine that the driver's attention is reduced if the driver looks only in a certain forward direction and does not turn his gaze toward the rear mirror for a long time of 5 minutes or longer. Become. In the safe driving support device, when it is detected that the attention is reduced in the image recognizing device 7, an informing means performs a voice message, display on the display device, blinking LED, kickback to the steering wheel or pedal, etc. A configuration that alerts the driver to confirm the rear is adopted. In this way, the driver's attention can be reduced, and the driver's attention can be recovered when the driver is not paying sufficient attention to the surrounding situation other than the front.

  In the safe driving support device, the face direction can also be used as important information for safe driving support. In the image recognition device 7, it is possible to detect the face direction using an image near the driver's eyes reflected in the rearview mirror, particularly when the driver turns his face in the rearview mirror direction on the passenger seat side. Since the image of the eyes is nearly symmetrical, the face direction can be detected very accurately by determining this. Then, when the face direction is not facing the front for a certain period of time, the notification means informs the driver by voice message, display on the display device, blinking of the LED, kickback to the steering wheel or pedal, etc. On the other hand, a structure that calls attention to confirm the rear is adopted.

  It should be noted that the face direction detected using the image around both eyes or the image around the side of the side face in which only one eye is reflected can be effectively used in the same manner as the information on the line of sight for safe driving support.

  FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of the image recognition device 7.

  The image data sent from the infrared camera 4 is sent to the eye detection means 70. The eye detection means 70 detects human eyes from the image, sends the detected eye partial image data to the line-of-sight detection means 71, and simultaneously sends the eye detection success / failure information, ie, the presence / absence information of the eye detection result to the determination means.

  The line-of-sight detection means 71 detects the line-of-sight direction from the shape of the entire eye and the relative position of the pupil in the eye part from the image data of the eye part, and outputs it as the line-of-sight information output 72. At the same time, the presence / absence information of the line-of-sight detection result is sent to the determination means.

  The determination unit 73 determines the state of the eye from the presence / absence information of eye detection and the presence / absence information of eye-gaze detection, and outputs it as the determination information output 74. The information output to the determination information output 74 is, for example, an eye detection failure when no eyes are detected, but this is used as information indicating that the driver may not be facing forward. Alternatively, the eye detection is successful, but when the line of sight is not detected, the line of sight detection is failed, and this is used as information indicating that the driver may have closed the eyes. Alternatively, when eye detection succeeds regardless of eye detection failure, it is used as information indicating the reliability of eye information output, such as the possibility that misrecognition in some image recognition processing has occurred. It is also possible.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an installation position example of the infrared camera 4.

  The angle θ formed by the second reflection mirror 1b and the second reflection mirror 1b can be arbitrarily set in the range of zero to 90 degrees. For this reason, the degree of freedom of the installation position of the infrared camera 4 can be increased by adjusting the angle θ. For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the infrared camera 4 is brought close to the second reflecting mirror 1b, a wide range centering on the eyes of the driver 3 can be photographed. As described above, when the infrared camera 4 is moved away from the second reflecting mirror 1b, the eye of the driver 3 and a narrow range around it can be photographed. In any case, since the infrared camera 4 does not interfere with the rear view, the driver 3 can always monitor the rear without any problem.

  As described with reference to FIG. 3, external light 30 including infrared rays, for example, light from a headlight of a subsequent vehicle, may be emitted toward the rearview mirror 1 from the rear as illustrated in FIG. 8. In the conventional room mirror 1, strong infrared light is applied to the face of the driver 3. In this embodiment, the external light 30 from this direction passes through the first reflecting mirror 1 b as shown in the figure. However, since the second reflecting mirror 1b reflects the light in the direction Z different from the face of the driver 3, the captured image is not affected.

  In FIG. 8, the infrared camera 4 is completely hidden from the driver 3 by covering the infrared camera 4 with a cover 31 that does not transmit visible light but transmits infrared light. By comprising in this way, the psychological pressure feeling with respect to the driver | operator 3 can be eliminated, and the restrictions on interior design can also be eliminated.

  In addition, although this embodiment showed the example applied to the motor vehicle, it is also possible to apply to a rail vehicle, a ship, etc. besides a motor vehicle.

The figure explaining the structure of the driver | operator imaging device which is embodiment of this invention The figure which shows the structure of the room mirror 1 The figure which shows the specific structure of the room mirror 1 The figure which shows the structure of LED2 The figure which shows the structure of the infrared camera 4 The figure which shows the structure of the image recognition apparatus 7 The figure which shows the example of installation of the infrared camera 4 The figure which shows the cover which hides the infrared camera 4

Explanation of symbols

1-room mirror 1a-first reflection mirror 1b-second reflection mirror 2- (near infrared high brightness) LED
3-Driver 4-Infrared camera 7-Image recognition device

Claims (8)

A first reflecting means for reflecting visible light and transmitting infrared light; and a second reflecting means for reflecting infrared light provided behind the first reflecting means at a predetermined angle θ. A rear view mirror of a moving object. A first reflecting means that reflects visible light and transmits infrared light; and a second reflecting means that is provided behind the first reflecting means at a predetermined angle θ and reflects infrared light. A rear-viewing mirror installed obliquely above the front;
A driver illumination device that emits infrared rays toward an area corresponding to the driver's face;
A camera having sensitivity to infrared rays installed obliquely above and behind the rear monitoring mirror;
A driver photographing apparatus comprising: 3. The driver photographing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the camera is installed in a direction of 2θ with respect to a center line of a rear view by the first reflecting means. 4. The driver photographing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the camera includes an angle-of-view control unit that blocks light from a portion other than the rear monitoring mirror. 5. 5. The driver photographing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a cover that covers the camera and transmits infrared rays without transmitting visible light is provided.   The driver photographing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the camera is a high dynamic range camera. The driver photographing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 6,
An image for detecting a driver's face or eyes from an image photographed by the driver photographing apparatus, and determining a driver's state such as a nap, a side-by-side driving, a decrease in attention, etc. based on the detected face or eye image A recognition device;
Driver monitoring device with A safe driving support comprising: the driver monitoring device according to claim 7; and a notification means for notifying the driver based on information representing the state of the driver determined by the driver photographing device. apparatus.

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