Light source detection and categorization system for automatic vehicle exterior light control and method of manufacturing

a technology for automatic vehicle exterior light control and light source detection, applied in the direction of optical radiation measurement, photometry using electric radiation detectors, instruments, etc., can solve the problems of pixel non-uniformity, pixel sensitivity variation, and difficulty in adjusting the sensitivity of the pixel, so as to simplify the manufacturing method and reduce the cost. , the effect of facilitating the replacement of the lens system

Inactive Publication Date: 2005-01-13
STAM JOSEPH S +5
View PDF54 Cites 15 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0019] In another embodiment of the manufacturing method of the present invention, a precision transfer molding apparatus is employed to transfer mold a lens system assembly proximate the pixel array. Molding the lens system assembly and the encapsulate block in one step simplifies the manufacturing method and results in lower cost.
[0020] In yet another embodiment of the manufacturing method of the present invention, a precision transfer molding apparatus is employed to transfer mold an encapsulate block with a precision lens system assembly mounting structure. A lens system assembly is provided with a mating mounting structure such that the lens system assembly can be “snap” fit into place. This manufacturing method provides for ease in lens system assembly replacement.

Problems solved by technology

In known automatic vehicle exterior light control systems, the associated small size of projected, distant, light sources severely impairs the ability of the system to accurately determine the color and brightness of the corresponding light source.
This is due largely to the fact that known sensors, and individual sensors of known pixel arrays, have a non-uniform response; depending upon the region of the pixel where light is incident, the sensitivity of the pixel will vary.
Pixel non-uniformity becomes especially problematic when attempting to determine the color and brightness of small, distant light sources.
When the light sources are small, distant sources, minor misalignment of the first lens system relative to the second lens system can cause significant error in the relative color measurement.
The distant light source projected by the red spectral filtering lens system may be incident onto a sensitive region of a pixel, while the light source may be projected onto an insensitive region by the second lens system, causing an erroneously high redness value.
Consequently, distant taillight detection of known systems is less than satisfactory in certain scenarios.

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Light source detection and categorization system for automatic vehicle exterior light control and method of manufacturing
  • Light source detection and categorization system for automatic vehicle exterior light control and method of manufacturing
  • Light source detection and categorization system for automatic vehicle exterior light control and method of manufacturing

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

example 1a

[0098] The optical system of this example is constructed as depicted and described with regard to FIG. 3 and results in a sharply focused optical system. The pixel array is a complementary metal-oxide silicon (CMOS) active pixel array comprising a 64 pixels horizontal×80 pixels vertical array of 30 μm, photogate pixels. The thickness of the encapsulate block (dimension C as shown in FIG. 3), measured from the top surface of the pixel array to the top surface of the encapsulate block, is 3.75 mm. Each lens system has a diameter of 4.4 mm, a radius of curvature of 2.6 mm and a conic constant of −0.4. The thickness of the lens system assembly (dimension A in FIG. 3) is 3.0 mm. The centers of the individual lens systems are spaced by 1.44 mm; each lens system is truncated on one side to place the center-to-center distance of the lens systems at the desired distance to form the lens system assembly. Sub windows of 60 pixels horizontally×26 pixels vertically are chosen for image acquisiti...

example 1b

[0102] In order to achieve accurate digital sampling of the imaged scene in accordance with the present invention, the optical system of example 1a should be modified to have a spatial frequency cutoff that is less than, or equal to, the Nyquist frequency limit of the pixel array. This is achieved in accordance with the present invention by modifying the thickness of the encapsulate block to produce a more “blurred” image with a lower spatial frequency cutoff. FIG. 7 depicts the MTF plot of the optical system described in example 1a modified with the thickness of the encapsulate block (dimension C as shown in FIG. 3) reduced to 3.65 mm. This reduction in block height limits the absolute spatial frequency cutoff of the optical system to approximately 17 cycles / mm, shown at reference 705 in FIG. 7, roughly the same as the limit of the pixel array of 16.67 cycles / mm.

[0103]FIG. 7 also depicts plots of modulation transfer functions, in dashed and dotted lines, of alternated embodiments ...

example 2

[0167] The optical system of this example of the present invention employs a high resolution pixel array to achieve a wider field of view and greater discrimination of distinct light sources. A 176 pixels horizontal×144 pixels vertical pixel array (commonly referred to as quarter-common image format (QCIF)) containing 15 μm pixels is used. The configuration of the optical system is as shown in FIG. 3. Lens systems with a diameter of 3.5 mm, a radius of curvature of 2.15 mm and a conic constant of −0.4 are used. The lens system assembly is 3.0 mm thick (dimension A as shown in FIG. 3), the adhesive layer is 0.25 mm thick (dimension B as shown in FIG. 3) and the encapsulate block is 2.5 mm thick (dimension C as shown in FIG. 3). Sub-windows of 120 pixels horizontal by 50 pixels vertical on each half of the pixel array are used for a field of view of approximately 29° horizontal×12° vertical (approx. 0.241 / pixel). FIG. 36 depicts a MTF plot of the optical system of this example using a...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to view more

PUM

No PUM Login to view more

Abstract

In at least one embodiment, optical systems include a lens system assembly, a spectral filter material and a pixel array configured such that small, distant light sources can be reliably detected. In at least one embodiment, the optical systems provide accurate measurement of the brightness of the detected light sources and identification of the peak wavelength and dominant wavelength of the detected light sources. In at least one embodiment, the optical systems provide improved ability to distinguish headlights of oncoming vehicles and taillights of leading vehicles from one another, as well as from other light sources.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 208,142, filed on Jul. 30, 2002, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to automatic vehicle exterior light control systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to light source detection and categorization systems for use with automatic vehicle exterior light control. [0003] Automatic exterior light control systems for vehicles have been developed that utilize various light sensors and, or, an array of sensors (commonly referred to as an array of “pixels” or “pixel arrays”) to control the state of external lights of a controlled vehicle. These systems may, for example, be employed to detect the headlights of oncoming vehicles and the taillights of leading vehicles and to dim, or switch, the high beam headlights of a controlled vehicle off when headlights or tai...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to view more

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to view more
Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): B60Q1/00G01V8/10G01J1/02G01J1/04G01J1/42G01J3/51G06V10/143
CPCB60Q1/1423B60Q2300/112B60Q2300/314B60Q2300/41B60Q2300/42G01J1/0403G01J1/04G01J1/32G01J1/42G06K9/00825G06K9/2018B60Q2300/45G06V20/584G06V10/143
Inventor STAM, JOSEPH S.BECHTEL, JON H.REESE, SPENCER D.TUTTLE, DARIN D.BUSH, GREGORY S.OCKERSE, HAROLD C.
Owner STAM JOSEPH S
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Try Eureka
PatSnap group products

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic.

© 2024 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap