Method, system, computer program product and medium for projecting images or videos

Abstract

The invention relates to a method, a system, a computer program product and a computer readable medium for projecting at least one image or video inside or outside a vehicle (19), in particular a passenger car. The method comprises the following steps: providing data of an image or video in a data store (1); the image or video data is read by means of a microcontroller (2) of the vehicle (9) and an image signal is forwarded to a light projector (4) displaying the image or video, as long as a control device (5) of the vehicle (19) having a higher computing performance than the microcontroller (2) is not activated, the microcontroller (2) being suitable for processing the image or video data, and the microcontroller (2) being suitable for transmitting the image or video data to the light projector (4). In order to present data by means of the light projector (4); once the control device (5) is activated, the control device (5) is switched from the microcontroller (2) as a data source for the light projector (4) to the microcontroller (2) as a data source for the light projector (4) after a specified duration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method, a system, a computer program product and a computer-readable medium for projecting at least one image or video inside or outside a vehicle, in particular a sedan. Background Art

[0002] DE 10 2012 221 762 B4 discloses a vehicle having a light projector, wherein the head-up light projector projects light onto a windshield.

[0003] DE 10 2012 212 178 B4 discloses a vehicle having a light projector which projects light onto a projection surface outside the vehicle, in particular behind the vehicle, if the ambient light has too low an intensity when parking. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a method and a system for projecting images and videos which allow a reliable and durable projection.

[0005] This object is achieved by the technical solution of the independent claim. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are given in the dependent claims.

[0006] The invention relates to a method for projecting at least one image or video inside or outside a vehicle, in particular a passenger car, comprising the following steps:

[0007] providing image or video data in a data storage device,

[0008] reading out the image or video data by means of a microcontroller of the vehicle and forwarding the image signal to a light projector for displaying the image or video, as long as a control device of the vehicle having a higher computing performance than the microcontroller is not activated, wherein the microcontroller is suitable for processing the image or video data in order to display these by means of the light projector,

[0009] As soon as the control device is started, after a predetermined period of time, a switch is made from the microcontroller to the control device as the data source for the light projector.

[0010] The vehicle preferably has a passenger compartment and advantageously has at least a first row of seats and a second row of seats, and optionally further rows of seats. The term "vehicle" includes motor vehicles for transporting people, goods, etc., such as cars, trucks, buses, motorhomes, motorcycles, etc. In particular, the term includes motor vehicles for transporting people. In addition or alternatively, the hybrid vehicle or electric vehicle can be a pure electric vehicle (BEV) or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) depending on the embodiment. However, other drive forms can also be used, for example in the form of a diesel or gasoline-driven vehicle. Instead of a vehicle on the road, the vehicle can also be on the track in the form of a rail vehicle.

[0011] The image or video data can be stored in an adapted codec or format in any desired data memory, such as a flash data memory.

[0012] A semiconductor chip, also called a microcontroller (also called a μcontroller, μC, MCU or single-chip microcomputer), contains a processor and at the same time also peripheral functions. In many cases, the working and program memory is also partially or completely located on the same chip. A microcontroller is a single-chip computer system. For some microcontrollers, the term "System-on-a-Chip (SoC)" is also used. Modern microcontrollers often also have complex peripheral functions, such as CAN (Controller Area Network) interfaces, LIN (Local Interconnect Network) interfaces, USB (Universal Serial Bus) interfaces, I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) interfaces, SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) interfaces, serial interfaces or Ethernet interfaces, PDM outputs, LCD controllers and drivers, and analog-to-digital converters. Some microcontrollers also have programmable digital and / or analog or mixed function blocks.

[0013] The microcontroller is suitable for processing image or video data and is able to transfer it to the light projector in a suitable format or codec (such as MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, Flash or 3GP) and present it.

[0014] A light projector is an arbitrary light projector, which is an optical device that uses this optical device to project a two-dimensional template as an image on an image surface or projection surface in an enlarged manner at other locations by appropriately guiding the light beam (reflector, lens). The template is transparent (slide, photographic film) or moving (video projection, movie projector) as a transmitted light image. The light projector can also be a head-up projector, which is a display system in which the user can maintain his or her line of sight and therefore his or her head posture because the information is projected into his or her field of vision, for example, onto the windshield of the vehicle. The user can then not only observe the road in his or her field of vision, but also read the information inserted by means of the head-up projector, such as certain vehicle data, speed, torque, etc.

[0015] The control device of the vehicle can be a conventional control device, which can be a computer system and, for example, runs using the operating system Linux. Therefore, the vehicle's applications, such as a navigation system, a multimedia system, or other digital displays inside the vehicle, are run on the control device. The control device of the vehicle is usually started after the vehicle starts. The duration for starting can be 5 to 15 seconds depending on the control device used. The control device of the vehicle has a significantly higher computing performance than a microcontroller, so that complex computing operations for decoding video data, video rendering, and video streaming can also be implemented with the help of the control device.

[0016] When switching from a microcontroller as a data source to a control device as a data source, a data connection of the light projector for inputting data is separated from the microcontroller and established to the control device by means of a switching device in the form of an electronic circuit, so that after the switching, the image data or video data of the control device can be presented by means of a light transformation.

[0017] One advantage of the method is that when the control device is activated, the microcontroller is used as the data source for the images or videos to be displayed by means of the light projector, since the microcontroller is available immediately after the vehicle is switched on or started. After the control device has been activated, a switch is made from the microcontroller to the control device as the data source, so that applications running on the control device, such as navigation device applications or video streaming applications, can be displayed by means of the light projector.

[0018] A further advantage of the method is that, by displaying the image or video, it is already indicated to the user at startup that the vehicle, in particular the display device, has been switched on and is active.

[0019] Advantageously, the switchover from the microcontroller to the control device can take place after a duration of at least 5 seconds.

[0020] Depending on the control device used, the activation may last between 5 and 15 seconds.

[0021] Advantageously, video streaming and video rendering, which cannot be realized with the microcontroller, can be realized with the control device, wherein after a switchover from the microcontroller to the control device, the video data can be forwarded to the light projector and displayed.

[0022] Thus, after the switch from the microcontroller as data source to the control device as data source, video rendering and video streaming can be realized, so that the corresponding application can be displayed by means of a light projector. In contrast, by means of a microcontroller, only stored images or video files are displayed by means of a light projector. The stored images or stored videos can be, for example, logos of vehicles or advertising videos.

[0023] Advantageously, the image or video can be projected by means of a light projector onto a projection surface next to the vehicle or inside the vehicle on the front windshield and / or side windows.

[0024] The light projector can be integrated, for example, in one of the side doors of the vehicle so that when the vehicle is opened, an image is projected onto the ground next to the vehicle using the light projector. The light projector can also be integrated inside the vehicle and project the image or video onto a projection surface on the front and / or side windows. Thus, the image or video is displayed to the user outside or inside the vehicle before the control device is activated.

[0025] Advantageously, the control device can forward the video data to a video interface which converts the video data into an adapted video format, wherein the video data can be forwarded to the light projector in the adapted video format and can be displayed.

[0026] The video data provided by the control device are thereby converted into a video format or a video codec adapted for the light projector in order to be able to project the video data.

[0027] The present invention also includes a system for implementing the above method in a vehicle, in particular a passenger car, the system comprising:

[0028] A data memory, which is designed to provide image or video data; a microcontroller, which is designed to read and process image or video data; a light projector, which is suitable for displaying image or video data; a control device with higher computing performance than the microcontroller, which is designed to enable video streaming and video rendering for video data; a switching device, which is designed to, once the control device is started, switch from the microcontroller as the data source to the control device as the data source after a specified time period.

[0029] The system of the present invention for carrying out the method can be integrated into a vehicle as an electronic circuit.

[0030] One advantage of the system is that when the control device is started, the microcontroller is used as a data source and displays images or videos to the user. After the control device has been started, the control device is switched to as the data source by means of a switching device, so that complex applications, such as navigation system applications or video streaming applications, can also be run on the control device and the corresponding information can be displayed to the user on a graphical user interface.

[0031] A further advantage of the system is that, by displaying the image or video, it is already shown to the user at startup that the vehicle, in particular the display device, is switched on and is active.

[0032] The present invention also includes a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the method is executed by a computer, cause the computer to execute one of the embodiments of the method explained above.

[0033] The present invention also includes a computer-readable medium on which the computer program product is stored. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Various embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the accompanying drawings and described in detail below. In the accompanying drawings:

[0035] Figure 1 A schematic diagram is shown for explaining a method for projection;

[0036] Figure 2 Shown for implementation Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the system of the method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] In the following text, unless otherwise indicated, the same reference numerals are used for identical and identically acting elements.

[0038] exist Figure 1 , a simplified diagram for explaining a method for projecting at least one image or video inside or outside a vehicle is shown. In a first step, the data of the image or video are provided in a data memory 1, preferably a flash data memory. In a second step, the image or video data are read out by means of a microcontroller 2 of the vehicle and the image signal (as indicated by arrow 3) is forwarded to a light projector 4 for presentation by means of the light projector 4, as soon as a control device 5, preferably a computer system with a Linux operating system or another operating system, is started.

[0039] As soon as control device 5 is started, a switchover device 6 , which may preferably be integrated in light projector 4 , is used to switch from microcontroller 2 to control device 5 as the data source for light projector 4 , preferably after a defined period of at least 5 seconds.

[0040] The control device forwards the video data to the video interface 7 (as indicated by arrow 8 ), wherein the video data is converted into a video format adapted to the light projector 4 and the converted video data is forwarded to the light projector 4 in the adapted video format (as indicated by arrow 9 ) for display.

[0041] If the light projector 4 is a head-up display, the light projector 4 may also include an operating device 10, which controls the head-up display according to the image data or video data, for example, for displaying or projecting onto the windshield of the vehicle. The operating device 10 may be, for example, a DLPC chipset (Automotive digital micromirror device controller) for controlling the head-up display.

[0042] In this case, the control device 5 has a higher computing performance than the microcontroller 2 , so that complex applications, such as video streaming applications or navigation applications, can be run on the control device.

[0043] Figure 2 Shown is a method for implementing Figure 1 Schematic diagram of a vehicle 19 of a system of the method in which an image or video is projected onto a first projection surface 22 on the ground next to the vehicle 19 by means of a first light projector 20 in a front side door 21 or onto a second projection surface 25 by means of a second light projector 23 in a rear side door 24, as indicated by dashed lines. The light projector 4 can also be integrated in the vehicle interior so that the projection surface is positioned on a windshield 26 or a side window 27 of the vehicle 19 and the image or video is projected onto this projection surface.

Claims

1. A method for projecting at least one image or video inside or outside a vehicle (19), in particular a passenger car, the method comprising the following steps: Providing image or video data in a data memory (1), The method comprises reading image or video data by means of a microcontroller (2) of a vehicle (19) and forwarding image signals to a light projector (4) for displaying the image or video, as long as a control device (5) of the vehicle (19) having a higher computing performance than the microcontroller (2) is not activated, wherein the microcontroller (2) is suitable for processing the image or video data in order to display these data by means of the light projector (4), As soon as the control device (5) is started, after a predetermined period of time, the data source for the light projector (4) is switched from the microcontroller (2) to the control device (5).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: After a duration of at least 5 seconds, the microcontroller ( 2 ) is switched to the control device ( 5 ).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: Video streaming and video rendering are not possible with the microcontroller (2), but are possible with the control device (5), wherein after a switch from the microcontroller (2) to the control device (5), the video data are forwarded to the light projector (4) and displayed.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: An image or video is projected by means of a light projector (4, 20, 23) onto a projection surface (22, 25) next to the vehicle (19) or inside the vehicle (19) on a windshield (26) and / or a side window (27).

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The control device (5) forwards the video data to a video interface (7), which converts the video data (9) into an adapted video format, wherein the video data (9) are forwarded in the adapted video format to a light projector (4) and displayed.

6. A system for a vehicle (19), in particular a passenger car, for carrying out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising: A data storage device (1) is designed to provide image or video data, A microcontroller (2) is designed to read and process image or video data. a light projector (4) suitable for displaying image or video data, A control device (5) having a higher computing performance than the microcontroller (2), the control device being designed to enable video streaming and video rendering for video data, A switching device is provided which is designed to switch from the microcontroller (2) as a data source to the control device (5) as a data source after a predetermined period of time, once the control device (5) has been started.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein: The switching device is designed to switch from the microcontroller (2) to the control device (5) after a period of 5 to 10 seconds.

8. The system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein: The light projector (4) has a projection surface (22, 25) on the ground next to the vehicle (19), inside the vehicle (19) on the front windshield (26) and / or inside the vehicle (19) on the side windshield (27), wherein images or videos are projected onto the projection surfaces (22, 25) by means of the light projector (4).

9. A system according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein: The control device (5) forwards the video data to a video interface (7), which is suitable for converting the video data (9) into an adapted video format in order to forward the video data (9) in the adapted video format to a light projector (4) and display them. 10 . A computer program product comprising instructions which, when the method is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to claim 1 .

11. Computer readable medium on which a computer program product according to the preceding claim is stored.

Images