Patent attributes
An image processing apparatus detecting a wheelchair passenger for an elevator. This image processing apparatus includes a TV camera installed so that a hail where passengers are waiting is monitored through the camera, which is located in the vicinity of the elevator door, a face area extraction unit, a wheelchair area estimation unit, and a wheelchair existence judgment unit. The image processing apparatus is operated in the following manner, one or a several passengers' face area is identified by the face area extraction unit in the image picked-up by the TV camera, and the position of the face area in the image is detected. If the passenger is sitting in a wheelchair, the area where the wheelchair is likely to be in the image is estimated by the wheelchair area estimation unit from the position of the face area. The estimated area where the wheelchair is likely to be is checked by the wheelchair existence judgment unit, to determine whether the wheelchair is present.
