JP2018022974A - On-vehicle camera device, on-vehicle camera adjustment device, and on-vehicle camera adjustment system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an on-vehicle camera device and an on-vehicle camera adjustment device that can use a low-cost integrated circuit without complicating a high-speed circuit to process an image-system signal even if an image has a high resolution or high frame rate.SOLUTION: An on-vehicle camera device includes: image sensor modules 110A-110B for taking an image; an image processing unit 120 for processing the image taken by the image sensor modules; an image signal transmission unit 130 for outputting image information 800 processed by the image processing unit; and a control signal communication unit 150 for communicating the control information 820 including information on image processing performed by the image processing unit on the basis of the image information output by the image signal transmission unit. The control signal communication unit communicates the control information after a preset time on the basis of a reference signal within an image frame included in the image information output by the image signal transmission unit. The image processing unit performs image processing in response to the control information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle camera device, an in-vehicle camera adjustment device, and an in-vehicle camera adjustment system that are mounted on an automobile.

  In recent years, a vehicle-mounted camera is sometimes used as an external recognition sensor for a vehicle-mounted safety device or a driving assistance device. Such a vehicle-mounted camera recognizes obstacles, preceding vehicles, road information, and the like in the outside world of the vehicle by processing the captured image. Preventive safety and driving assistance are realized by appropriately controlling the vehicle based on the recognition result.

  In order to use the recognition result for vehicle control, it is necessary to accurately detect the position of the recognized object. Therefore, it is necessary to consider a mechanism for adjusting the manufacturing tolerance of the in-vehicle camera and a mechanism for evaluating the recognition result, and communication of control information necessary for the adjustment and evaluation is required for the in-vehicle camera.

  Since the image processing by the in-vehicle camera is based on the processing for each frame of the image, all or part of the control information for adjustment, evaluation, image capturing control and recognition processing is synchronized with each frame of the image. It is normal to communicate.

  As an apparatus that communicates control information in synchronization with each frame of an image, there is an apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 describes that information is superimposed on an image signal using a blanking period of the image signal, and the information is transmitted in synchronization with the image.

JP 2014-72603 A

  However, especially when the image has a high resolution or a high frame rate, when the control signal is superimposed on the image signal, it is necessary to incorporate a part of the circuit that handles the control information into the high-speed circuit that handles the image system, and the high-speed circuit is complicated. It will become.

  As a result, due to the increase in circuit delay of the high-speed circuit part and the effect of optimization of the high-speed circuit, the logic increases beyond the functions handled, or the operation at the required operating frequency becomes difficult, and an inexpensive FPGA (Field-Programmable) There is a problem that low-cost integrated circuits such as Gate Array may not be used.

  The object of the present invention is to suppress the complexity of the high-speed circuit even if the circuit for processing the image system signal becomes high-speed due to handling images of high resolution, high frame rate, etc. An in-vehicle camera device, an in-vehicle camera adjustment device, and an in-vehicle camera adjustment system that can use a low-cost integrated circuit such as an FPGA.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

  (1) In an in-vehicle camera device, an image capturing unit that captures an image, an image processing unit that processes an image captured by the image capturing unit, and an image signal sending unit that outputs image information processed by the image processing unit And a control signal communication unit that communicates control information having information related to image processing performed by the image processing unit based on the image information output from the image signal transmission unit, the control signal communication unit including the image signal The control information is communicated after a preset time based on the reference signal in the image frame included in the image information output from the sending unit, and the image processing unit performs image processing in response to the control information.

  (2) An in-vehicle camera adjustment device that adjusts an in-vehicle camera device, an image signal receiving unit that receives image information from the in-vehicle camera device, and a signal processing unit that generates control information based on the received image information And a control signal communication unit that communicates control information with the in-vehicle camera device in synchronization with the received image information. The control signal communication unit is included in the image information received by the image signal receiving unit. Control information is output to the in-vehicle camera device after a predetermined time has elapsed based on a reference signal in the image frame, and the predetermined time is set based on the time required for the in-vehicle camera device to process the image information. .

  (3) In the in-vehicle camera adjustment system including the in-vehicle camera device and the in-vehicle camera adjustment device, the in-vehicle camera adjustment device is controlled in synchronization with the image signal receiving unit that receives image information from the in-vehicle camera device and the image information. A control signal communication unit that transmits information to the in-vehicle camera device, and the control signal communication unit of the in-vehicle camera adjustment device receives a reference signal in an image frame included in the image information in the image signal receiving unit. The control information is output to the control signal to the in-vehicle camera device after a predetermined time has elapsed since the reception, and the predetermined time is based on the time required for the in-vehicle camera device to process the image information. Is set.

  (4) In the in-vehicle camera device, in the in-vehicle camera unit having a configuration in which the in-vehicle camera unit having an imaging function and the image processing unit that receives the image information output of the in-vehicle camera unit and performs image recognition processing are separated. And the image processing unit mutually communicate control information, the image processing unit receiving an image signal from the in-vehicle camera unit, and a control signal transmitting the control information in synchronization with the image information. A communication unit, and the control signal communication unit receives the reference signal in the image frame included in the image information received by the image signal reception unit, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, The control information is output, and the predetermined time is set based on the time required for the in-vehicle camera unit to process the image information. That.

  According to the present invention, even when an image has a high resolution or a high frame rate, there is no complication of a high-speed circuit for processing an image signal, and a low-cost integrated circuit such as an inexpensive FPGA. Vehicle-mounted camera device, vehicle-mounted camera adjustment device, and vehicle-mounted camera adjustment system can be realized.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an in-vehicle camera device and an external device (such as an in-vehicle camera adjustment device) according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship of the internal communication of the vehicle-mounted camera apparatus in Example 1, and control communication with an external device. In Example 1, it is explanatory drawing of an example of the timing at the time of an external apparatus communicating with a vehicle-mounted camera apparatus using a control signal. 6 is a time chart when a control signal is transmitted and received between the in-vehicle camera apparatus and the external apparatus in the first embodiment and the external apparatus sets a value for the internal processing of the in-vehicle camera apparatus. It is a control signal time chart when an external apparatus sets the processing parameter of a vehicle-mounted camera apparatus, and an external apparatus acquires the internal process result of a vehicle-mounted camera apparatus. It is a control signal time chart when an external apparatus acquires the internal processing result of a vehicle-mounted camera apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between a vehicle-mounted camera internal process and control communication at the time of the external apparatus in Example 1 writing adjustment data in a vehicle-mounted camera apparatus. 6 is a time chart of control signals when the external apparatus transfers processing X requests and adjustment data to the in-vehicle camera apparatus in the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a vehicle-mounted camera internal process and control communication at the time of returning a vehicle-mounted camera apparatus to the operation | movement synchronized with an image frame after transfer of adjustment data. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of each signal line which comprises the control signal at the time of a vehicle-mounted camera apparatus shifting from the process X to a normal process state. It is a figure which shows the relationship of the internal communication of the vehicle-mounted camera apparatus in Example 2, and control communication with an external device. It is a time chart of control signal transmission / reception between the vehicle-mounted camera apparatus and external apparatus in Example 2. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between a vehicle-mounted camera internal process and control communication at the time of the external apparatus in Example 2 writing adjustment data in a vehicle-mounted camera apparatus. 10 is a time chart of control signals when an external apparatus transfers a processing X request and adjustment data to an in-vehicle camera apparatus in the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows the relationship of the internal communication of the vehicle-mounted camera apparatus in Example 3, and control communication with an external device. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of timing when an external device performs communication using a control signal with an in-vehicle camera device in the third embodiment. It is a control signal time chart when an external apparatus acquires the processing result of the image processing circuit A of a vehicle-mounted camera apparatus. It is a schematic block diagram of the vehicle-mounted camera apparatus provided with the vehicle-mounted camera unit and image processing unit by Example 4 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the control communication between the vehicle-mounted camera unit of Example 4, and an image processing unit, and the internal process of a vehicle-mounted camera unit.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Example 1
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an in-vehicle camera device and an in-vehicle camera adjustment device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, an in-vehicle camera adjustment system is configured by the in-vehicle camera device 100 and an external device 500 that is an in-vehicle camera adjustment device. The external device 500 corresponds to a device used for adjustment of the in-vehicle camera device 100 or a device used for acquisition or debugging of operation information.

  The in-vehicle camera device 100 includes two image sensor modules (image capturing units) 110A and 110B that capture images and convert them into electrical signals, an image processing circuit (image processing unit) A120 that functions as an accelerator for image processing, and image processing. A microcomputer A140 that performs control of the circuit A120, image processing by software, and overall control of the in-vehicle camera device 100, an image signal transmission unit 130 that serves as an interface for outputting captured images and images processed by the image processing circuit A120, and a microcomputer And a control signal communication unit 150 serving as a communication interface for control information required by A140.

  The image processing circuit A120 performs processing that is not efficient when processed by the microcomputer A140 and requires execution time for processing contents, for example, image exposure correction, distortion correction, and edge extraction processing. The in-vehicle camera device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is a camera device having a function of detecting a distance to an object by stereo vision, and therefore has two image sensor modules 110. The image processing circuit A120 includes a left image and a right image. It also has a function (parallax image generation function) for detecting the magnitude of parallax for a pixel group (pixels bundled in units of several horizontal and vertical pixels).

  The microcomputer A140 is connected to a CAN (Controller Area Network) and can communicate with another control device (not shown) existing in the vehicle using a CAN signal.

  The external device 500 includes an image signal receiving unit A530 serving as an interface for receiving the image signal 800 output from the in-vehicle camera device 100, and a control signal communication unit A550 serving as an interface for communicating the control signal 820 with the in-vehicle camera device 100. Control information output from the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 using the control information obtained by analyzing the image signal 800 and acquired from the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 (adjustment of image exposure correction, distortion correction, edge extraction processing, etc. performed by the image processing circuit A120) Information processing) and a synchronization information (vertical synchronization signal, horizontal synchronization signal, or a specific data pattern in the image signal 800) included in the image signal 800, within one frame of the image Timing is detected, and a signal is output after a specific time elapses from that timing. It includes a timing generator 560 which, in accordance with an instruction from the signal and the signal processing unit 540 from the timing generator 560, and a command generation unit 570 generates a command for control.

  The signal processing unit 540 constituting the external device 500 may be a dedicated device or a combination of a personal computer and dedicated software.

  With the configuration described above, the external apparatus 500 can communicate control information aiming at a specific timing within an image frame based on a timing that can be detected from the image signal 800.

  Adjustment of the in-vehicle camera device 100 is performed before shipping the product of the in-vehicle camera device 100 as a product. This is because, for example, several geometric patterns are imaged in advance by the two image sensor modules 110A and 110B, and the image signal 800 output via the image processing circuit A120 and the image signal sending unit 130 is output to the external device. 500 receives and determines from the received signal whether, for example, distortion correction or shading correction of the in-vehicle camera device 100 is necessary. If these corrections are necessary, the correction signal is output to the in-vehicle camera device 100. . The in-vehicle camera device 100 performs distortion correction and shading correction according to the received correction signal.

  The present invention is a technique regarding transmission and reception of control information between the in-vehicle camera device 100 and the external device 500 that is an in-vehicle camera adjustment device.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between internal processing of the in-vehicle camera device 100 and control communication with the external device 500 according to the first embodiment. An example of the internal processing of the in-vehicle camera device 100 and communication of control information (control communication) between the in-vehicle camera device 100 and the external device 500 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The in-vehicle camera device 100 sequentially outputs image frames 210 and 220 based on the image signal 800. A vertical synchronization period 201 exists between the image frames 210 and 220. The in-vehicle camera device 100 internally performs image processing according to the image frame. Since the internal processing of the in-vehicle camera device 100 is performed in units of the entire frame, the processing is performed on the image one frame before.

  Inside the in-vehicle camera device 100, there are a normal process in which sequential processes are executed and an interrupt process in which an interrupt process is performed on the normal processes. The normal processing is realized by the cooperative operation of the image processing circuit A120 and the microcomputer A140, and the interrupt processing is handled by using the interrupt execution function of the microcomputer A140.

  The cooperative operation of the image processing circuit A120 and the microcomputer A140 is realized by instructing the microcomputer A140 to start an image processing function to be executed by the image processing circuit A120 at a necessary timing.

  As normal processing of the in-vehicle camera device 100, processing A230 (exposure correction), processing B240 (distortion correction), and processing C250 (object recognition) are executed. In the interrupt process, control information associated with control communication is exchanged. Note that these processes are examples, and normal processes can be added / deleted / changed by the function of the in-vehicle camera device 100. In the interrupt process, processes other than those shown in FIG. 2 may be performed.

  Process A230 (exposure correction) is a process for correcting sensitivity variations of the image sensor module 110 and sensitivity variations due to pixels. In process B240 (distortion correction), the deformation of the image generated in the optical system is corrected. In process C250 (object recognition), an object is detected from the image by image recognition processing, and the three-dimensional estimated position of the object is calculated. In the process C250, an edge detection process and a parallax image generation process are also performed first as necessary.

  In the control communication, the external device 500 outputs a communication request signal serving as a command for designating a communication operation at an appropriate timing based on the synchronization information included in the image signal 800 output from the in-vehicle camera device 100. The external apparatus 500 outputs the communication request B360 at a timing in time for the start of the process B240, and subsequently outputs the process B setting 361 for setting the operation of the process B240 to the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100.

  After completion of the process A230 and at a timing in time for the start of the process C, the external apparatus 500 issues a communication request aC350 and subsequently outputs a process C setting 351 for setting the operation of the process C250 to the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100. At this time, in consideration of the processing time for processing the communication request instruction in the in-vehicle camera device 100, if it can be ensured that the collection of data necessary for communication of the processing A result 315 is completed after the processing A230 is completed, the processing before the processing A230 is completed. The output of the communication request aC350 may be started from the timing.

  The result acquisition of the process B240 is the same, and the external apparatus 500 issues the communication request b365 at a timing at which it can be guaranteed that the in-vehicle camera device 100 starts collecting data necessary for the communication of the process B result 325 after the completion of the process B240. Output.

  In the communication request for acquiring the processing result from the in-vehicle camera device 100, the communication request aC350, the communication request b365, etc., the processing result necessary for communication is collected by the communication processing 290 of the in-vehicle camera device 100, and the control signal communication unit B150 automatically Set so that the processing result can be output. The external device 500 outputs a communication request to the in-vehicle camera device 100 via the control signal 820 in response to the timing when the in-vehicle camera device 100 can output the processing result, and the in-vehicle camera device 100 performs processing corresponding to the communication request. As a result, that is, the process A result 315 is transmitted to the communication request aC350, and the process B result 325 is transmitted to the external apparatus 500 for the communication request b365.

  Since the communication request cA355 is a request for obtaining the result of the process C250 and setting the process A230, the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 processes the communication request after the process C250 is completed, and the next frame The data is output from the external device 500 at a timing in time for the setting of the process A230.

  Depending on the purpose of adjustment and evaluation, only part of the control communication may be performed. In addition, a function for issuing a request for performing only the result acquisition of the process A230 is added instead of issuing a request for both the setting to the vehicle-mounted camera device 100 and the result acquisition of the internal processing of the vehicle-mounted camera device 100 as in the communication request aC350. Good. For example, when adjusting the exposure correction, it is conceivable that only the setting of the processing A230 and the result acquisition are performed while the vehicle camera device 100 captures an image having uniform brightness. In this case, a communication request for performing only the process A setting 356 is prepared instead of the communication request cA355, and a communication request for acquiring only the process A result 315 is prepared instead of the communication request aC350. It can also be used.

  In the exposure correction adjustment process, a loop correction process is performed in which a brightness correction value is provisionally set for the process A230 and the setting value is updated based on the brightness unevenness of the image acquired via the image signal 800. Further, statistical information (maximum luminance, minimum luminance, luminance distribution tendency, etc.) acquired in the image processing of the in-vehicle camera device 100 in the process A230 is acquired as a result of the process A230, and is used for setting value update control and adjustment end determination. To do.

  The same applies to the distortion correction adjustment process, and it is possible to prepare and use a communication request for only setting and obtaining results for the process B240.

  In the distortion correction adjustment process, an in-vehicle camera device 100 captures an image printed with a certain pattern, obtains a provisional distortion correction value from the difference between the image acquired via the image signal 800 and the ideal image, and sets the process B240. Perform loop processing to update the value. The statistical information acquired in the image processing of the in-vehicle camera device 100 in the process B240 is also used as a reference for the update control of the set value and the adjustment end determination. However, if the image processing result of the in-vehicle camera device 100 in process B240 is unnecessary, a communication request for acquiring the process B result 325 is also unnecessary.

  The in-vehicle camera device 100 may have different frame output start timing and internal process start timing.

  That is, the in-vehicle camera device 100 can communicate a control signal at a timing independent of the reference signal of the image signal output from the image signal transmission unit 130. By appropriately setting a reference timing in the timing generation unit 560 of the external device 500, it is possible to deal with the in-vehicle camera device 100 in which the frame timing and the internal processing timing are different.

  Next, timing when the external apparatus 500 performs communication using the control signal 820 with the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of timing when the external apparatus 500 performs communication using the control signal with the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 in the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 3, in the first embodiment, each internal process of the in-vehicle camera device 100 is controlled to be executed within a certain range of time fluctuation Tf in order to realize a real-time process. The allowable time fluctuation Tf is the fluctuation time of the process of the microcomputer A140, and fluctuates around the dotted line between the processes A and B and the dotted line between the processes B and C shown in the figure.

  The communication timing is set by configuring the image processing circuit A120 of the in-vehicle camera device 100 to execute a specific process for a predetermined time, or performing an execution abort process of the software process executed by the microcomputer A140. That is, it is determined that the process A230 ends before the time Tai and before Taa from the reference timing (reference timing) determined based on the image frame, and the process B240 ends after the time Tbi and before Tba. For other processes, the same restriction is imposed on the end timing.

  The external device 500 sets the timing generation unit 560 in advance so that necessary control communication can be performed at a target timing. That is, the timing Tas for performing the communication request B and the process B setting 362 is set to a timing earlier than the time Tai (the end time of the process A). The timing Tbs for performing the communication request aC and the processing C setting 352 is set to a timing at which the in-vehicle camera device 100 processes the communication request after Taa and before Tbi.

  Further, the timing Tbr at which the external device 500 fetches the processing A result 315 from the in-vehicle camera device 100 can process the communication request by the communication processing 290 on the in-vehicle camera device 100 side, and the result of the processing A230 can be transmitted to the external device 500 In order to secure the time required to become the time, the timing with which the time is separated from Tbs is set.

  The operation of each signal line constituting the control signal 820 when the vertical synchronization timing of the image frame is used as a reference will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is a time chart when a control signal is transmitted and received between the in-vehicle camera device 100 and the external device 500 in the first embodiment, and the external device 500 sets a value for the internal processing of the in-vehicle camera device 100. 5 and 6 are control signal time charts when the external apparatus 500 acquires the internal processing result of the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100. FIG.

  4 to 6, the control signal 820 includes a control signal C821 serving as a clock for data communication, a control signal Dm825 that is a data signal communicated from the external device 500 to the in-vehicle camera device 100, and an external device from the in-vehicle camera device 100. The control signal Ds826 is a data signal to be communicated to 500. The data communication clock is always output from the external device 500. The vertical synchronization information 810 is information included in the image signal 800, and a portion indicating the vertical synchronization period 201 is described as an H state (high level state) for convenience.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating communication related to the communication request B 360 illustrated in FIG. 2 as an example in which the external device 500 sets a value for the internal processing of the in-vehicle camera device 100. In FIG. 4, a clock is output from the external device 500 to the control signal C821 after the lapse of Tas from the reference timing, which is the falling time of the vertical synchronization period, and the bit string indicating the communication request B360 and the processing B setting 361 are synchronized with this clock. The corresponding bit string is output to the control signal Dm825.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating communication related to the communication request aC350 as an example in which the external device 500 sets a value for the internal processing of the in-vehicle camera device 100 and acquires a result from the internal processing of the in-vehicle camera device 100. In FIG. 5, a clock is output from the external device 500 to the control signal C821 after the elapse of Tbs time from the reference timing which is the falling time of the vertical synchronization period, and the bit string indicating the communication request aC350 and the processing C setting 351 in accordance with this clock. Is output to the control signal Dm825. Once the clock of the control signal C821 is stopped, the clock is output again from the external device 500 to the control signal C821 after the Tbr time has elapsed from the reference timing. In accordance with this clock, the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 outputs a bit string corresponding to the process A result 315 to the control signal Ds826.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating communication related to the communication request B 360 as an example in which the external device 500 acquires the result of the internal processing of the in-vehicle camera device 100. In FIG. 6, Tcs and Tcr are determined based on the fluctuation range of the end time of the process C250 based on the same concept as the communication request aC350. A clock is output from the external device 500 to the control signal C821 after the elapse of Tcs time from the reference timing which is the falling time of the vertical synchronization period, and a bit string indicating the communication request b365 is output to the control signal Dm825 in accordance with this clock. Once the clock of the control signal C821 is stopped, the clock is output again from the external device 500 to the control signal C821 after the time Tcr has elapsed from the reference timing. In accordance with this clock, the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 outputs a bit string corresponding to the process B result 325 to the control signal Ds826.

  Note that the configuration of the control signal 820 described above is merely an example, and it is only necessary that other configurations can realize the same function. Also, the bit length corresponding to the communication request, the bit length used for setting data communication, and the bit length used for processing result communication may be changed according to the required data amount. However, the bit length of the communication request is fixed, the bit length of the setting data and the bit length of the processing result can be uniquely determined from the content of the communication request, and there is a difference between the in-vehicle camera device 100 and the external device 500. It is necessary to prevent it from occurring.

  Next, the relationship between the in-vehicle camera internal processing and the control communication when the adjustment data 381 of the in-vehicle camera device 100 determined using the external device 500 is written in the flash memory or the like mounted in the microcomputer A140 of the in-vehicle camera device 100 is shown in FIG. Will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between in-vehicle camera internal processing and control communication when the external apparatus 500 according to the first embodiment writes adjustment data to the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100.

  In FIG. 7, the adjustment data 381 needs to be written with parameters (brightness correction value, distortion correction value) for each pixel or every several to several tens of pixels, and has a large data amount and a low communication speed control signal. In 820, communication may not be completed within one frame. Therefore, a communication mode is prepared for communication using the control signal 820 at an independent timing regardless of the timing of the image frame.

  In order to write the adjustment data 381 to the in-vehicle camera device 100, the external device 500 outputs a process X request 380 using the control signal 820. The in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 that has received the process X request 380 performs a process corresponding to the process X request 380 in the communication process 290, and sets a flag for shifting the normal process of the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 to the process X280 (writing adjustment information). The in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 confirms the flag at the end of the process A230 and shifts the normal process to the process X280.

  Waiting for the time when the in-vehicle camera device 100 surely shifts to the processing X280, the external device 500 starts outputting the adjustment data 381, and the in-vehicle camera device 100 writes the adjustment data received in the processing X280 into the flash memory in the microcomputer A140. . When the data transfer rate of the control signal 820 is higher than the write rate of the flash memory, the external device 500 receives the control signal C821 every time constant data transfer is performed when writing to the RAM of the microcomputer A140 or transferring the adjustment data 381. This can be done by temporarily suspending the clock to secure the time for writing to the flash memory.

  Next, the operation of each signal line constituting the control signal 820 accompanying the transfer of the processing X request 380 and the adjustment data 381 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a time chart of control signals when the external apparatus 500 transfers the processing X request and adjustment data to the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 in the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 8, when the adjustment data 381 is written from the external apparatus 500 to the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100, a clock is output from the external apparatus 500 to the control signal C821 at an arbitrary timing when other communication is not performed by the control signal 820. A bit string corresponding to the processing X request 380 is output to the control signal Dm825 in accordance with this clock. The external device 500 outputs the bit string of the processing X request 380, and then outputs the clock to the control signal C821 again after the lapse of Txw time from the start of the processing X request, and outputs the bit string corresponding to the adjustment data 381 in accordance with this clock. To do.

  Since the in-vehicle camera device 100 operates regardless of the image frame during the execution of the process X280, the transfer of the adjustment data 381 can be continued regardless of the output timing of the vertical synchronization information of the vertical synchronization information 810.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between the in-vehicle camera internal processing and the control communication when the in-vehicle camera device 100 is returned to the operation synchronized with the image frame after the adjustment data 381 is transferred.

  In FIG. 9, the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 shifts to a process Y285 (waiting for instruction) state after the reception of the adjustment data 381 is completed. In this state, when the external device 500 outputs a return request 385 via the control signal 820, the in-vehicle camera device 100 enters a process Z289 (waiting for mode transition). After the vehicle camera apparatus 100 enters the process Z289 state, it waits for the completion of the vertical synchronization period 201 (specific timing), and then proceeds to process A (exposure correction) 230, which is a normal process state.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the operation of each signal line constituting the control signal 820 when the in-vehicle camera device 100 shifts from the process X280 to the normal process state.

  As shown in FIG. 10, after the communication of the adjustment data 381 is completed, the external device 500 stops the clock output to the control signal C821. When the external device 500 wants to shift the in-vehicle camera device 100 to the normal processing state again, it outputs a clock to the control signal C821 at an arbitrary timing, and outputs a bit string corresponding to the return request 385 to the control signal Dm825 in accordance with the clock. To do. Thereafter, the next vertical synchronization information 810 waits for the timing to be released, and the in-vehicle camera device 100 and the external device 500 shift to the normal processing state (processing state synchronized with the image frame).

  If the processing state synchronized with the image frame is not based on the vertical synchronization, it may be considered to shift to the normal processing state at the reference timing.

  Further, by issuing a communication request from the external device 500 in the middle of the processing inside the in-vehicle camera device 100 and acquiring the internal state at that time as a result, debugging of processing performed in the in-vehicle camera device 100 and investigation of processing speed are performed. It can be used for

  Furthermore, depending on the in-vehicle camera device 100, the image frame time may vary depending on the frame. In such a case, for example, in the vertical synchronization period 201, the external processing device 500 issues a communication request to acquire information on the frame type corresponding to the frame time of the next image frame, and the frame is similar to the procedure for acquiring other processing results. It is also possible to acquire the type result and change the next communication request issue timing (Tas, Tbs, Tbr, etc.) to the timing corresponding to the frame type based on this information.

  When the adjustment of the in-vehicle camera device 100 by the external device 500 is completed, the in-vehicle camera device 100 and the external device 500 are separated.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the external device 500 (the in-vehicle camera adjustment device) uses the video signal output from the in-vehicle camera device 100 as a reference timing, and the processing result (exposure) of the in-vehicle camera device 100 Processing, distortion correction processing, object recognition processing) information is output to the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100, and the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 transmits the processing result information to the external apparatus 500 by an interrupt process different from the normal process. The adjustment data 381 is output from the external device 500 to the in-vehicle camera device 100, and the mutual communication of control information such as the request signal, processing result information, and adjustment data between the in-vehicle camera device 100 and the external device is vertical synchronization. It is configured so that it can be executed not only in the period 201 but also in the image frame times 210 and 220.

  Therefore, the control signal can be separated from the image signal even when the communication of the control signal operates at the timing based on the video signal, and even if the image has a high resolution or a high frame rate, The in-vehicle camera device 100 and the in-vehicle camera adjustment device 500 that can use a low-cost integrated circuit such as an inexpensive FPGA without complicating a high-speed circuit for processing a system signal can be realized.

  Moreover, the vehicle-mounted camera adjustment system (100, 500) which combined the vehicle-mounted camera apparatus 100 and the vehicle-mounted camera adjustment apparatus 500 is realizable.

  Further, since the communication timing of the control information can be adjusted by the in-vehicle camera adjustment device 500 on the device side to which the in-vehicle camera device 100 is connected, it is also used for checking the internal state of the in-vehicle camera device 100 at a specific timing. This can be applied to debugging of the in-vehicle camera device 100.

(Example 2)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The second embodiment of the present invention is different from the first embodiment in the procedure in the case where a communication request for simultaneously performing setting and result reading from the external device 500 to the in-vehicle camera device 100 is issued, and the transition procedure to processing X280. As for the overall configuration, the second embodiment has the same configuration as the example shown in FIG.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the internal processing of the in-vehicle camera device 100 and the control communication between the external device 500 in the second embodiment, and FIG. 12 illustrates the relationship between the in-vehicle camera device 100 and the external device 500 in the second embodiment. It is a time chart of control signal transmission / reception.

  With reference to FIG.11 and FIG.12, the structure from which the procedure at the time of issuing the communication request which performs the setting to the vehicle-mounted camera 100 and the result reading simultaneously from the external apparatus 500 is demonstrated.

  In FIG. 11, setting and result acquisition for the in-vehicle camera device 100 are performed simultaneously from the external device 500 following the communication request aC350 and the communication request cA355.

  That is, after the communication request aC350, the process A result 315 and the process C setting 351 are communicated simultaneously, and after the communication request cA355, the process C result 335 and the process A setting 356 are simultaneously communicated.

  FIG. 12 shows the operation of each signal line of the control signal 820 corresponding to the communication request aC350 of FIG. In FIG. 12, a clock is output from the external device 500 to the control signal C821 after the elapse of Tbs time from the reference timing which is the fall of the vertical synchronization signal 810, and a bit string indicating the communication request aC350 is output to the control signal Dm825 in accordance with this clock. Is done. Once the clock of the control signal C821 is stopped, the clock is output again from the external device 500 to the control signal C821 after the time Tbb has elapsed from the reference timing. In synchronization with this clock, the external apparatus 500 outputs a bit string corresponding to the process C setting 351 to the control signal Dm825, and the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 outputs a bit string corresponding to the process A result 315 to the control signal Ds826.

  When the bit string corresponding to the process C setting 351 and the bit string corresponding to the process A result 315 are different from each other, the clock output to the control signal C821 is output in accordance with the long bit length. The side (in-vehicle camera device 100 or external device 500) that has received data having a short bit length ignores the extra data added to the end of the bit string. This procedure in the second embodiment has an advantage that the time used for the communication of the process C351 can be reduced compared to the first embodiment.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between in-vehicle camera internal processing and control communication when the external apparatus 500 according to the second embodiment writes adjustment data to the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100. FIG. 14 is a time chart of control signals when the external apparatus 500 transfers the processing X request and adjustment data to the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 in the second embodiment.

  A transition procedure to the process X280 will be described with reference to FIGS. This procedure is used when it is difficult to determine the time Txw in FIG. 8 described in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 13 shows the relationship between the in-vehicle camera internal processing and control communication. After the external device 500 outputs the processing X request 380, the in-vehicle camera device 100 can receive the adjustment data 381, that is, the processing X280 is executed. It is confirmed by polling the in-vehicle camera device 100 from the external device 500 that the state has been reached.

  The polling is performed by outputting a state confirmation 387 from the external device 500 to the control signal 820, and the in-vehicle camera device 100 responds to the state NG 345 or the state OK 346 via the control signal 820.

  FIG. 14 shows the operation of each signal line of the control signal 820 corresponding to the communication procedure of FIG. In FIG. 14, the external device 500 outputs a clock to the control signal C821 and outputs a bit string corresponding to the processing X request 380 to the control signal Dm825. In order to output the state confirmation 387 after the Tpfw time has elapsed since the clock was output to the control signal C821, the clock is again output to the control signal C821, and the bit string corresponding to the state confirmation 387 is set to the control signal Dm825. Output to.

  The state confirmation 387 is output at an interval Tpw until the state OK 346 is received from the in-vehicle camera device 100. When the output of the status confirmation 387 is completed, the clock output to the control signal C821 is stopped.

  After the status confirmation 387 is output, the external device 500 outputs a clock to the control signal C821 again to ensure the time required for the in-vehicle camera device 100 to prepare the response data, and the external device 500 outputs a clock to the control signal C821 to state NG345. Alternatively, a bit string corresponding to the state OK 346 is received.

  When the external device 500 receives the bit string corresponding to the state OK 346, the external device 500 starts transmitting the adjustment data 381 to the in-vehicle camera device 100 together with the clock.

  Note that the method of polling the in-vehicle camera device 100 by the external device 500 and confirming the state of the in-vehicle camera device 100 is not limited to confirming that the process has shifted to the process X280, but is assumed inside the in-vehicle camera device 100. It can also be applied to confirm whether or not For example, if a function of process A execution status confirmation for confirming the execution of process A230 is prepared for status confirmation, it is possible to detect whether or not process A230 is being executed. This can be used to confirm whether the control communication assumed between the apparatuses 100 is being performed.

  According to the second embodiment of the present invention, the same effect as the first embodiment can be obtained, and the time required for a communication request from the external device 500 to the in-vehicle camera device 100 can be shortened.

(Example 3)
Next, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described.

  The third embodiment of the present invention is an example in which the timing for issuing a communication request from the external device 500 to the in-vehicle camera 100 is different from the first embodiment. As for the overall configuration, Example 3 is also the same configuration as the example shown in FIG.

  In the third embodiment, the allowable range of fluctuation of the execution time of each process performed inside the in-vehicle camera device 100 is large, and a communication request is issued from the external device 500 after a specific time has elapsed from the reference timing based on the image signal 800. In this example, it is possible to cope with a case where it is difficult to obtain a targeted setting or result.

  The third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 to 17.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between internal processing of the in-vehicle camera device 100 and control communication with the external device 500 according to the third embodiment. 15, the third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a completion notification 349 is transmitted from the control signal communication unit B150 of the in-vehicle camera device 100 to the external device 500. The external device 500 can determine the timing at which the next communication request is output by receiving the completion notification 349.

  FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of an example of timing when the external apparatus 500 performs communication using the control signal with the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 in the third embodiment. Signals corresponding to the process A result 315 in FIG. Timing is shown.

  In FIG. 16, the communication request B and the process B setting 362 are output from the external apparatus 500 to the in-vehicle camera apparatus 100 after a lapse of Tas time from the reference timing because the fluctuation range of the process time of the process A230 is kept constant. However, the communication request aC and the process C setting 352 need to consider the processing time fluctuation of the process B240 in addition to the processing time fluctuation of the process A230, and it is difficult to issue a communication request from the external device 500 at a specific timing.

  Therefore, after confirming the completion notification 349 from the in-vehicle camera 100, the communication request aC and the processing C setting 352 are issued, so that control communication is performed at an appropriate timing according to the progress of the processing of the in-vehicle camera device 100.

  FIG. 17 is a control signal time chart when the external device 500 acquires the processing result of the image processing circuit A120 of the in-vehicle camera device 100, and the operation of each signal line of the control signal 820 related to the communication request aC350 of FIG. Indicates.

  In FIG. 17, since the completion notification 349 is mainly output from the in-vehicle camera device 100, the in-vehicle camera device 100 outputs a pulse indicating the completion notification 349 to the control signal Ds826 when the clock of the control signal C821 is stopped. The pulse width Tfw of the completion notification 349 is set to three cycles of the clock carried on the control signal C821, and the control signal is obtained by allowing the external device 500 to continuously sample twice at the normal sampling rate of communication performed by the control signal 820. The completion notification 349 can be stably acquired while filtering the short-time noise on the Ds 826.

  When the external device 500 waits for each internal process of the in-vehicle camera device 100 and issues the next communication request, there is no collision with the normal communication of the control signal Ds826 (communication synchronized with the clock of the control signal C821). However, when a communication request is issued from the external device 500 in the middle of the processing inside the in-vehicle camera device 100 and the internal state at that time is acquired as a result, there is a possibility of a collision, so the clock from the external device 500 is sent to the control signal C821. During the output period, the in-vehicle camera device 100 masks the output of the completion notification 349 and prioritizes communication corresponding to the clock.

  In this case, since the external device 500 may not be able to detect the completion notification 349, the communication procedure shown in the second embodiment is performed when communicating the setting or processing result corresponding to the communication request from the external device 500. The bit string indicating the state of the in-vehicle camera device 100 is always included in the bit string communicated by the control signal Ds 826 so that the external device 500 can grasp the processing state of the in-vehicle camera device 100 through normal communication.

  In the third embodiment, communication is performed according to the procedure shown in the first embodiment except that the completion notification 349 is used. Instead, communication may be performed according to the procedure shown in the second embodiment.

  According to the third embodiment of the present invention, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained, and the allowable range of fluctuation of the execution time of each process performed by the in-vehicle camera device 100 is large, so that targeted setting and result acquisition are difficult. Even in this case, the control communication can be performed at an appropriate timing.

Example 4
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 18 is a schematic configuration diagram of an in-vehicle camera device 100A according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, which includes in-vehicle camera units 115A and 115B and an image processing unit 505.

  In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the in-vehicle camera device 100 is divided into in-vehicle camera units 115A and 115B, and the communication of the control signal 820 between the in-vehicle camera units 115A and 115B and the image processing unit 505 is performed from the first to the embodiments. This is an example in which any one of the communication procedures of 3 is used.

  In FIG. 18, a plurality of in-vehicle camera units 115A and 115B can be connected to one image processing unit 505. The on-vehicle camera units 115 </ b> A and 115 </ b> B are units mainly for imaging, and have a light image processing and a mutual communication function with the image processing unit 505. The image processing unit 505 controls the in-vehicle camera units 115A and 115B via control signals 820A and 820B. The image processing unit 505 performs image recognition processing based on the image data acquired from the in-vehicle camera units 115A and 115B.

  In the in-vehicle camera units 115A and 115B, the outputs of the image sensor modules 110A and 110B are input to the image processing circuit C135, and after performing simple image processing (calculation of statistical information such as average luminance related to exposure), the image The image signals 800A and 800B are output via the signal transmission unit 130. Further, the in-vehicle camera units 115A and 115B use the control signal communication unit F155 to receive communication requests that are the control signals 820A and 820B from the image processing unit 505, set the operation of the image processing circuit C135, and the image sensor The operation timing and exposure control parameters of the modules 110A and 110B are set, and information obtained by the image processing circuit C135 is returned to the image processing unit 505 in accordance with a communication request from the image processing unit 505.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between control communication between the in-vehicle camera units 115 </ b> A and 115 </ b> B according to the fourth embodiment and the image processing unit 505 and internal processing of the in-vehicle camera unit 505.

  In FIG. 19, the in-vehicle camera units 115 </ b> A and 115 </ b> B output a completion notification 349 when processing H <b> 760 (exposure statistics) is completed. The image processing unit 505 receives the completion notification 349 and outputs a communication request h 710, and the in-vehicle camera units 115 A and 115 B respond with the communication processing 290 and return a processing H result 712 to the image processing unit 505.

  The image recognition unit 505 outputs data corresponding to the communication request I720 and the subsequent processing I setting 722 using the synchronization information included in the image signal 800A or 800B from any one of the in-vehicle camera units 115A and 115B as a reference timing.

  When the in-vehicle camera unit 505 receives the processing I setting 722, the in-vehicle camera unit 505 executes processing I770 (exposure start timing correction). In process I770, the image processing unit 505 starts exposure of the next frame based on the clock edge output to the control signal C821 of the control signals 820A and 820B and the waiting time until the start of exposure included in the data of the process I setting 722. Adjust the time. In particular, when the in-vehicle camera units 115A and 115B acquire a left image and a right image in stereo view, it is necessary to match the exposure timing on the left and right, and thus the process I770 is necessary.

  The communication between the vehicle-mounted camera units 115A and 115B and the image processing unit 505 shown in the fourth embodiment uses the completion notification 349, so that the control signals 820A and 820B are communicated according to the procedure shown in the third embodiment. However, when the process H720 almost coincides with the time of one frame, the timing of the communication request h710 can be determined by the elapsed time from the reference time determined from the image signal 800, so the first or second embodiment. It is conceivable to cope with the procedure shown in.

  According to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the control signal can be separated from the image signal even when the communication of the control signal operates at the timing based on the video signal. Even in this case, there is no complication of a high-speed circuit for processing an image signal, and a low-cost integrated circuit such as an inexpensive FPGA can be used. The in-vehicle camera units 115A and 115B and the image processing unit 505 The in-vehicle camera device 100A can be realized.

  In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to synchronize the exposure timing of the in-vehicle camera units 115A and 115B by utilizing that the communication timing of the control information can be adjusted to the timing based on the video signal in the image processing unit 505. It is also possible to perform control.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100, 100A ... Car-mounted camera, 110A, 110B ... Image sensor module, 115A, 115B ... Car-mounted camera unit, 120 ... Image processing circuit A, 130 ... Image signal sending part, 134 ... Image processing circuit B, 135 ... Image processing circuit C, 140 ... Microcomputer A, 145 ... Microcomputer B, 150 ... Control signal communication unit B, 155 ... Control signal communication unit F, 201 ... vertical synchronization period, 210 ... frame 1, 220 ... frame 2, 230 ... process A (exposure correction), 240 ... process B (distortion correction), 250 ... process C ( Object recognition), 280 ... Process X (Adjustment information writing), 285 ... Process Y (Waiting for instruction), 289 ... Process Z (Waiting for mode transition), 290 ... Communication processing, 315 ... Processing A 325 ... Process B result 335 ... Result 345 ... G 346 ... K 349 ... Completion notification 350 ... Communication request aC 351 ... Process C setting 352: Communication request aC and process C setting, 355 ... Communication request cA, 356 ... Process A setting, 360 ... Communication request B, 361 ... Process B setting, 362 ... Communication request B and processing B settings, 380 ... processing X request, 381 ... adjustment data, 385 ... return request, 387 ... status check, 500 ... external device (on-vehicle camera adjustment device), 530 ..Image signal receiving unit A, 535... Image signal receiving unit B, 540... Signal processing unit, 550... Control signal communication unit A, 555. Timing generation unit, 570... Command generation unit, 7 0 ... communication request h, 712 ... process H result, 720 ... communication request I, 722 ... process I setting, 760 ... process H (exposure statistics), 770 ... process I ( (Exposure start timing correction), 800, 800A, 800B ... image signal, 820, 820A, 820B ... control signal, 810 ... vertical synchronization information, 821 ... control signal C (clock), 825. .Control signal Dm, 826... Control signal Ds

Claims (16)

An image capturing unit for capturing an image;
An image processing unit for processing an image captured by the image capturing unit;
An image signal sending unit for outputting image information processed by the image processing unit;
A control signal communication unit for communicating control information having information related to image processing performed by the image processing unit based on the image information output by the image signal sending unit;
The control signal communication unit communicates the control information after a preset time based on a reference signal in an image frame included in the image information output from the image signal transmission unit, and the image processing unit An in-vehicle camera device mounted on a vehicle that performs image processing in response to the control information. The in-vehicle camera device according to claim 1,
When communicating the control information after a preset time based on the reference signal in the image frame included in the image information output from the image signal sending unit, the image processing unit An in-vehicle camera device that receives information for setting an image processing operation to be performed and outputs a result of image processing according to the control information to the control signal communication unit. The in-vehicle camera device according to claim 1,
The on-vehicle camera device, wherein the control signal communication unit performs an operation of communicating the control information at a timing independent of a timing of a reference signal in the image frame in accordance with an instruction by the control information. The in-vehicle camera device according to claim 3,
In order to return to the operation based on the timing of the reference signal in the image frame according to the instruction by the control information after communicating the control information at a timing independent of the timing of the reference signal in the image frame An in-vehicle camera device that waits for a specific reference signal in a reference signal frame in the image frame and then performs an operation based on the timing of the reference signal in the image frame. In the in-vehicle camera device according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
The image processing unit outputs the result of image processing according to the control information to the control signal communication unit simultaneously with reception of information for setting an image processing operation performed by the image processing unit. Camera device. The in-vehicle camera device according to claim 4,
When the control information is communicated at a timing independent of the timing of the reference signal in the image frame, it is determined that the control information can be communicated at the independent timing. An in-vehicle camera device having a function of performing polling using information. The in-vehicle camera device according to claim 2,
The on-vehicle camera device, wherein the control signal communication unit outputs a processing completion notification as the control information for each processing unit of the image processing unit. An in-vehicle camera adjustment device for adjusting an in-vehicle camera device,
An image signal receiving unit for receiving image information from the in-vehicle camera device;
A signal processing unit that generates control information based on the received image information;
A control signal communication unit for communicating control information with the in-vehicle camera device in synchronization with the received image information;
The control signal communication unit outputs control information to the in-vehicle camera device after a predetermined time has elapsed based on a reference signal in an image frame included in the image information received by the image signal receiving unit, The in-vehicle camera adjustment device, wherein the predetermined time is set based on a time required for the in-vehicle camera device to process image information. The in-vehicle camera adjustment device according to claim 8,
The control signal communication unit outputs control information to the in-vehicle camera device after a predetermined time has elapsed since the image signal receiving unit received the reference signal in the image frame included in the image information. The vehicle-mounted camera device outputs a clock used for outputting a signal for responding to the control information output by the control signal communication unit after a specific time has elapsed after outputting the control information. In-vehicle camera adjustment device. The in-vehicle camera adjustment device according to claim 8,
The in-vehicle camera adjustment device further comprising a communication mode in which the control signal communication unit communicates the control information regardless of a reference signal in an image frame included in the image information received by the image signal receiving unit. . The in-vehicle camera adjustment device according to claim 10,
Regardless of the reference signal in the image frame included in the image information received by the image signal receiving unit, when the control signal communication unit shifts to a communication mode for communicating the control information, the in-vehicle camera device An in-vehicle camera adjustment device characterized in that confirmation of transition to a communication mode is polled using the control information. In the vehicle-mounted camera adjustment device according to any one of claims 8 to 11,
A function for the control signal communication unit to output control information to the in-vehicle camera device after a predetermined time has elapsed after receiving a reference signal in an image frame included in the image information received by the image signal receiving unit; An in-vehicle camera adjustment device that uses the function of outputting the control information to the in-vehicle camera device using a completion notification in which the in-vehicle camera device outputs control information for each internal processing unit. In an in-vehicle camera adjustment system having an in-vehicle camera device and an in-vehicle camera adjustment device
The in-vehicle camera adjustment device has an image signal receiving unit that receives image information from the in-vehicle camera device, and a control signal communication unit that transmits control information to the in-vehicle camera device in synchronization with the image information,
The control signal communication unit of the on-vehicle camera adjustment device performs the control on the on-vehicle camera device after a predetermined time has elapsed since the image signal receiving unit received the reference signal in the image frame included in the image information. Information is output to the control signal, and the predetermined time is set based on a time required for the in-vehicle camera device to process the image information.   14. The in-vehicle camera adjustment system according to claim 13, wherein the in-vehicle camera has a function of outputting a completion notification to the control signal in units of internal processing, and the in-vehicle camera adjustment device uses the completion notification to perform the control. An in-vehicle camera adjustment system that also uses a function of outputting information to the control signal. In the in-vehicle camera device,
An in-vehicle camera unit having an imaging function;
An image processing unit that receives image information output of the in-vehicle camera unit and performs image recognition processing;
With
The in-vehicle camera unit and the image processing unit communicate control information with each other,
The image processing unit includes an image signal receiving unit that receives image information from the in-vehicle camera unit, and a control signal communication unit that transmits the control information in synchronization with the image information.
The control signal communication unit outputs the control information to the in-vehicle camera unit after a predetermined time has elapsed after receiving a reference signal in an image frame included in the image information received by the image signal receiving unit. The on-vehicle camera is characterized in that the predetermined time is set based on a time required for the on-vehicle camera unit to process image information. The in-vehicle camera according to claim 15,
A vehicle-mounted camera having a function of controlling the exposure timing of the vehicle-mounted camera unit using the control information.

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