Patent ID: 8224035

Claim:
An eye detecting device comprising: an image generating means for generating a face image; a nostril detecting means for detecting a nostril in the face image; an eye searching area setting means for setting an eye searching area in the face image based on a position of the nostril detected by the nostril detecting means; an eye searching means for searching an eye with the eye searching area set by the eye searching area setting means; and a lower eyelid detecting means and an upper eyelid detecting means as the eye searching means, wherein the lower eyelid detecting means detects a vertically changing edge, whose luminance changes from bright to dark in a direction from bottom to top of the face image, by searching the eye searching area, which is set by the eye searching area setting means, from a top thereof, the lower eyelid detecting means determines a first vertically changing edge fulfilling a predetermined condition as a lower eyelid, and the upper eyelid detecting means determines a vertically changing edge, whose luminance changes from dark to bright in the direction from bottom to top of the eye searching area and exists in an area above the detected lower eyelid, as an upper eyelid.