Display system and method for operating a display system

Abstract

The invention relates to a display system for a vehicle, wherein the display system comprises a display arrangement (18) with a screen (20), a sensor arrangement (24) and at least one camera (22), wherein the at least one camera (22) is oriented opposite to a forward direction of travel of the vehicle and is configured to take pictures of an environment behind the vehicle, wherein the display arrangement (18) is rotatably mounted on a component of the vehicle, wherein the sensor arrangement (24) is configured to determine a rotational position (I, II) of the screen (20) relative to the horizon (28), and wherein the screen (20) is configured to align the images taken by the at least one camera (22) taking into account the sensor-determined rotational position (I, II) of the screen (20) relative to the horizon (28).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a display system for a vehicle and a method for operating a display system.

[0002] Document DE 10 2016 217 037 A1 describes a method for operating a display device of a motor vehicle.

[0003] A rear-view camera system that uses a rear-view mirror position is known from the publication DE 20 2014 102 291 U1.

[0004] A digital rearview mirror for a motor vehicle is known from the publication DE 10 2015 216 907 A1.

[0005] Document US 2020 / 0094740A1 describes an electronic mirror system for displaying an image depicting a scene behind a vehicle. In this system, coordinates on a display screen are defined by a horizontal and a vertical coordinate axis. The tilt angle of the display about the horizontal coordinate axis is adjustable relative to the vehicle's horizontal direction.

[0006] An image display device is known from US Patent 2020 / 0074594 A1. In this device, an imaging unit generates an inclined image. A receiving unit receives rotation data from the image and movement of a display area. An image processing unit rotates the image data in a coordinate system according to the degree of rotation received from the receiving unit.

[0007] Against this background, the task was to operate a so-called virtual rearview mirror of a vehicle appropriately.

[0008] This problem is solved by a display system and a method with the features of the independent claims. Embodiments of the display system and the method are described in the dependent claims and the description.

[0009] The display system is designed for a vehicle, e.g., a motor vehicle, and comprises a display arrangement with a screen, a sensor arrangement or sensors, and at least one camera. The at least one camera is mounted in or on the vehicle and is usually and / or preferably oriented at least opposite to the vehicle's forward direction of travel or to the rear, and is designed to capture and / or record images and / or video content from the area behind the vehicle. The at least one camera of the display system is also usually referred to as a camera and / or another camera. The display arrangement is rotatably and / or tiltably mounted on a component of the vehicle, e.g., in the vehicle's interior, with one display area of ​​the screen also oriented opposite to the vehicle's forward direction of travel.The sensor arrangement is designed to detect and / or record the rotation and / or tilt of the screen and / or display arrangement relative to the horizon or a horizontal line and / or to the component, wherein the screen is designed to align and / or display the images captured by the at least one camera as the display content, taking into account the sensor-detected and / or recorded rotation of the screen relative to the horizon and / or the horizontal line. The display arrangement with the screen can be used as a digital rear-view and / or interior mirror of the vehicle.

[0010] The at least one camera has a field of view for the environment it is to record and / or capture. The screen is designed to display only a portion of the environment captured by the at least one camera within the field of view. The images are displayed only within the portion of the total field of view captured by the at least one camera that completely encompasses, surrounds, and / or encloses the area containing the images to be displayed. The displayed content is limited to the portion within the field of view of the at least one camera that depends on the respective rotation position. Each camera has a single field of view. A common field of view can be created for images from multiple cameras. The at least one camera for the so-called...The camera integrated into the virtual and / or digital rearview mirror is typically rear-facing and provides images and / or video of the surroundings to the screen. The display system may also include at least one additional camera capable of capturing other areas in front of and / or beside the vehicle. This camera, which may include at least one additional camera, can be rotatable through 360° and / or oriented in the forward direction of travel. The display system can be used while driving forwards and in reverse, including during forward and reverse parking maneuvers. When the display system is in operation, images from the at least one camera are used, capturing the surroundings depending on the vehicle's direction of travel.

[0011] The sensor arrangement, which includes at least one sensor, e.g., a rotation sensor, is designed to determine the rotational position of the screen about at least one axis and / or relative to this at least one axis. The at least one axis considered to be a longitudinal axis, a transverse axis, and / or a vertical axis of the vehicle about which the screen with the display arrangement can rotate, with the screen assuming a sensorily detectable rotational position relative to the axis and / or the horizon.

[0012] In this embodiment, the display device has an optically switchable layer arranged on the screen or its display surface, completely covering it. The layer can be set to be transparent or reflective, and / or its transparency can be set and / or switched. If the layer is set to be transparent, the display content shown on the screen, which shows images within the field of view of the at least one camera, is visible through the layer, with the display arrangement acting as a virtual and / or digital mirror. If the layer on the screen is set to be reflective, the display device directly reflects the surroundings, with the display arrangement or the reflective layer alternatively acting as a real and / or analog mirror.

[0013] The display assembly with the screen can be mounted on a component in the vehicle's interior, for example, centrally on the headliner and / or at the top of the windshield. Depending on the layer's configuration, the display unit can function as either a virtual or analog rearview mirror and / or interior mirror. Alternatively, the display assembly can also be mounted laterally on an exterior wall of the vehicle and, depending on the layer's configuration, function as either a virtual or analog rearview mirror and / or exterior mirror.

[0014] A control unit of the display system is designed to control the screen and to ensure that the images captured by the at least one camera as display content are aligned horizontally relative to the horizon, taking into account the sensor-detected rotational position of the screen, and are only displayed within the field of view.

[0015] The method according to the invention is provided for operating a display system, for example, an embodiment of the display system described above, for a vehicle. The display system comprises a display arrangement with a screen or display, a sensor arrangement or sensor system with at least one sensor, and at least one camera. The at least one camera is oriented at least opposite to the forward direction of travel of the vehicle, and images of the area behind the vehicle are captured and / or recorded by the at least one camera. The display arrangement is rotatably mounted on a component of the vehicle, for example, in an interior space or on its exterior wall. A display area of ​​the screen is...The screen is also oriented opposite to the vehicle's forward direction of travel, with the sensor arrangement detecting and / or determining the rotational position of the screen and / or display relative to the horizon. The images captured by the at least one camera as display content are then displayed on the screen, taking into account the sensor-detected and / or determined rotational position of the screen relative to the horizon.

[0016] In this embodiment of the method, a field of view and / or viewing area is set for the at least one camera, within which the environment or images of the environment are recorded and / or captured by the at least one camera. A display content and / or a display area is set for the screen, within which the environment or images of the environment are shown. The field of view of the at least one camera completely surrounds, borders, and / or encompasses the display content of the screen. The field of view (FOV) of the at least one camera is spatially larger than the display content shown by the screen, which only shows a portion of the environment within the field of view of the at least one camera. Each rotational position to which the screen is turned is detected by sensors. The display content to be shown by the screen is adjusted with respect to...Its orientation on the screen is calculated by the control unit and displayed horizontally aligned with the horizon on the screen.

[0017] Typically, at least one camera continuously records images of the area behind the vehicle, with the images being displayed on the screen, e.g. in a video, one after the other, in the section of the entire field of view of the at least one camera, adjusted to the horizon and horizontally aligned.

[0018] In a further embodiment of the method, in an analog mode of the display system and / or display arrangement, a layer arranged on the screen is set to reflect light, whereby a mirror image of the environment is directly reflected by the display arrangement or the reflective layer. In contrast, in a digital mode of the display system and / or display arrangement, the images of the environment captured by the at least one camera are displayed on the screen.

[0019] If the viewer switches between the two aforementioned modes of the display, a seamless transition between analog and digital representation can be achieved without any jerking or jumping of the displayed area. Images displayed on the screen can also be altered, for example, enlarged or reduced. Typically, as with a real and / or analog mirror, they are displayed to scale and / or with a 1:1 magnification. The digital video and / or display content usually corresponds exactly to the analog representation of the analog mirror in terms of its image scale. When switching between analog and digital modes, a seamless and / or imperceptible change between the analog and digital representations is provided and / or displayed.

[0020] In its configuration, the display system can have one sensor, e.g., only the rotation sensor, or two sensors, e.g., the rotation sensor and the tilt sensor, for detecting the screen's orientation relative to the horizon. The screen's orientation relative to the horizon can be directly detected using only the rotation sensor, which is directly connected to the display device. Furthermore, the tilt sensor can also detect the tilt of the vehicle and / or the sensor assembly relative to the horizon. This tilt of the vehicle around at least one axis is taken into account when determining the screen's orientation relative to the horizon by the rotation sensor and / or tilt sensor.

[0021] Since the screen can be manually rotated by the viewer to adjust the displayed content relative to the vehicle component, any effect of the screen's rotation position relative to the horizon on the displayed content can be compensated for and / or, usually horizontally, balanced.

[0022] The screen's rotation relative to the horizon is detected by at least one sensor. Furthermore, the area displayed on the screen is adjusted within the overall field of view captured by at least one camera. In digital mode, the screen takes into account any rotation and / or shift of the displayed area within the field of view, similar to an analog mirror. The displayed content, derived from the images, is then rotated to the field of view and aligned horizontally with the horizon.

[0023] The display arrangement, which can be switched between modes, can also be designed and / or described as a mirror device with an integrated screen or display. The screen has at least one image-forming light source, typically light-emitting diodes (LEDs), such as inorganic or organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) or micro-light-emitting diodes (µLEDs). It can also have a backlight for the at least one light source, which may be located only at the edge of the screen (edge ​​backlight), positioned to the side of the screen, or distributed across the entire screen in an array (matrix backlight) behind the at least one light source. The backlight may, in some configurations, include a light control film (LCF) and / or a stack of optical layers arranged behind the at least one light source.The at least one image-forming light source can also be designed and / or referred to as a liquid crystal display (LCD). The screen can, for example, also incorporate self-emissive quantum dots as the at least one light source. The at least one sensor of the sensor arrangement, i.e., the rotation sensor for detecting the rotational position of the screen relative to the component and / or the tilt sensor for detecting the tilt of the vehicle and thus of the rotation sensor, can, for example, be designed as an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and / or as a rotary encoder, usually for three-axis rotational detection of the rotational position. The at least one camera has a wide-angle and / or wide-angle adjustable lens for capturing a large field of view of the surroundings.Based on the sensor-determined rotational position, the corresponding section within the overall captured field of view is derived, which contains more image information than is displayed on the screen in that section.

[0024] It is understood that the features mentioned above and those to be explained below can be used not only in the combinations specified, but also in other combinations or on their own, without leaving the scope of the present invention.

[0025] The invention is schematically illustrated with reference to embodiments in the drawing and is described schematically and in detail with reference to the drawing. Fig. 1a, Fig. Figure 1b shows a schematic representation of a state-of-the-art mirror. Fig. 2a, Fig. Figure 2b shows a schematic representation of a state-of-the-art screen example. Fig. Figure 3 shows in schematic representation the embodiment of the display system according to the invention for carrying out an embodiment of the method according to the invention.

[0026] The figures are described in a coherent and comprehensive manner. The same reference symbols are assigned to the same components.

[0027] The one in the Fig. 1a and Fig. 1b The schematically shown analogous mirror 2 is rotatably arranged on a component not shown and can be positioned differently relative to the component. Fig. 1a and Fig. Assume the positions shown in Figure 1b. The horizon 4 of the surroundings, indicated by a horizontal line and reflected by the mirror 2, is always horizontally aligned. If the mirror 2 is adjusted, for example, tilted clockwise to the right, the horizon 4 on the mirror 2 remains horizontal. Typically, changing the orientation of the mirror 2 changes the section of the reflected image of the surroundings. A viewer can adjust their required field of vision by adjusting the orientation of the mirror 2.

[0028] The one in the Fig. 2a and Fig. 2b The schematically shown screen 6 is rotatably mounted on a component not shown and can be positioned differently relative to the component. Fig. 2a and Fig. The positions shown in Figure 2b are assumed. The screen 6, which can also be used as a digital and / or virtual mirror, displays an environment captured by a camera not shown in further detail. A horizon 8 of the environment, indicated by a horizontal line, is always positioned along an axis of symmetry of the screen 6 in both positions. If the screen 6 is adjusted by a viewer, for example, tilted clockwise to the right, this has no effect on the actual orientation of any displayed image content and / or image section relative to the horizon, since only the screen 6 is rotated, without any adjustment to the displayed content. The horizon 8 shown on the screen 6 is rotated along with the screen 6, for example, tilted. The field of view displayed by the screen 6 remains unchanged in both positions.

[0029] The in Fig. Figure 3, a schematic embodiment of the display system according to the invention, is designed for a vehicle, here for a motor vehicle, wherein the display system comprises a display arrangement 18 with a screen 20, a sensor arrangement 24 or sensors, and a camera 22, wherein the camera 22 is oriented opposite to the forward direction of travel of the vehicle and is designed to capture and / or record images of an environment behind the vehicle. The display arrangement 18 with the screen 20 is rotatably mounted on a component of the vehicle (not shown), wherein a display area of ​​the screen 20 is also oriented opposite to the forward direction of travel of the vehicle.

[0030] The screen 20 is intended to be used here as a virtual and / or digital rearview mirror for the area behind the vehicle. In the embodiment of the method according to the invention, the area behind the vehicle is detected and / or recorded by the camera 22 within a field of view 26 of the camera 22. The horizon 28 of the area within the field of view 26 of the camera 22 is indicated here by a horizontal line.

[0031] A section of the area behind the vehicle, displayed as content on screen 20, is controlled and / or adjusted by a control unit 30 of the display system. This shows Fig.3 The display arrangement 18 with the screen 20 is in a first rotational position I as the virtual position of the digital rearview mirror, in which the longitudinal edges of the screen 20, which is rectangular here with rounded corners, are aligned parallel to the horizon 28. Then the display arrangement 18 with the screen 20 is rotated relative to the component about a longitudinal axis of the vehicle, which is oriented parallel to its forward direction of travel, into a second rotational position II as a further virtual position of the digital rearview mirror, which is detected here by the sensor arrangement 24.

[0032] The sensor arrangement 24 determines the respective rotation position I, II of the screen 20 of the display arrangement 18 relative to the horizon 28. The screen 20, prompted by control of the control unit 30, aligns and / or displays images of the surroundings captured by the camera 22, taking into account the sensor-detected rotation position I, II of the screen 20 relative to the horizon 28. In each rotation position I, II, the screen 20 displays only a section of the entire surroundings captured by the camera 22 within its field of view 26. The horizon 28 is always horizontally aligned on the screen 20 in each rotation position I, II, regardless of the orientation of the screen 20 or its longitudinal axes relative to the horizon 28.

[0033] In this configuration, the field of view 26 captured by camera 22, with a consistently horizontal horizon 28, is used as a reference for the displayed content of the surroundings. The screen 20 displays only a specific section within the field of view 26, with the field of view 26 completely encompassing and / or surrounding the section and / or the displayed content. The screen 20, which is rotatable around the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, is designed to assume a multitude of rotational positions I, II between two maximum adjustable positions. These positions cover a rotational space that lies entirely within the field of view 26 of camera 22. Only the section of the field of view 26 of the surroundings that is dependent on the respective rotational position I, II is displayed. REFERENCE MARK: 2 mirrors 4 Horizon 6 screen 8 Horizon 18 Display arrangement 20 screen 22 Camera 24 Sensor arrangement 26 field of vision 28 Horizon 30 Control unit I, II rotation position

Claims

Display system for a vehicle, wherein the display system comprises a display arrangement (18) with a screen (20), a sensor arrangement (24) and at least one camera (22), wherein the at least one camera (22) is oriented opposite to a forward direction of travel of the vehicle and is configured to capture images of an environment behind the vehicle, wherein the display arrangement (18) is rotatably mounted on a component of the vehicle, wherein the sensor arrangement (24) is configured to determine a rotational position (I, II) of the screen (20) relative to the horizon (28), wherein the screen (20) is configured to align the images captured by the at least one camera (22) taking into account the sensor-determined rotational position (I, II) of the screen (20) relative to the horizon (28), wherein the images displayed by the screen (20) are changed, i.e., enlarged or reduced. Display system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one camera (22) has a field of view (26) for the environment to be recorded by it, wherein the screen (20) is configured to display only a section of the entire environment recorded by the at least one camera (22) within the field of view (26). Display system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sensor arrangement (24) is configured to determine the rotational position (I, II) of the screen (20) about at least one axis of the vehicle. Display system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the display device has a layer arranged on the screen, the layer being adjustable to be transparent or reflective. Method for operating a display system for a vehicle, wherein the display system comprises a display arrangement (18) with a screen (20), a sensor arrangement (24) and at least one camera (22), wherein the at least one camera (22) is oriented opposite to a forward direction of travel of the vehicle, wherein the at least one camera (22) captures images of an environment behind the vehicle, wherein the display arrangement (18) is rotatably mounted on a component of the vehicle, wherein the sensor arrangement (24) determines a rotational position (I, II) of the screen (20) relative to the horizon (28), wherein the images captured by the at least one camera (22) are aligned by the screen (20) relative to the horizon (28) taking into account the sensor-determined rotational position (I, II) of the screen (20), and wherein the images displayed by the screen (20) are changed, i.e., enlarged or reduced. Method according to claim 5, wherein a field of view (26) is set for the at least one camera (22) within which the environment is recorded, wherein a display content is set for the screen (20) within which the images of the environment are shown, wherein the field of view (26) of the at least one camera (22) completely encloses the display content of the screen (20). Method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein in an analog mode of the display system a layer arranged on the screen (20) is set to reflect, wherein a mirror image of the environment is directly reflected by the display arrangement (18), and wherein in a digital mode of the display system the images of the environment taken by the at least one camera (22) are displayed on the screen (20).

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