Front camera

Abstract

A front camera (102) for a motor vehicle (100), comprising a sensor unit (200) having a camera chip (201) and an optical unit (202, 906) for acquiring image data (205), an interface unit (210, 414, 416, 418) for providing ultrasonic and / or radar data (212), and an evaluation unit (208) for evaluating the image data and ultrasonic and / or radar data (205, 212).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a front camera, a driver assistance system, a motor vehicle, and a method for operating a front camera.

Background Art

[0002] In Europe, it is expected that it will be mandatory to equip passenger cars with front cameras and ultrasonic sensors. Procedures for evaluating vehicle safety, such as the Euro NCAP protocol, also require radar sensors if the vehicle in question is to be given high safety standards.

[0003] Current vehicle architectures typically provide multiple separate control units for controlling different sensor types. Such an approach tends to be costly due to the large number of components and associated assembly processes.

[0004] As a result, efforts have been made to unify vehicle architectures. For example, US Patent Application Publication No. 2017 / 0236660 discloses an emergency braking system. This comprises a control unit 40, shown in Figure 2, connected to an ultrasonic sensor 10, a camera 20, and a radar sensor 30 for signal transmission. The control unit 40 evaluates these signals and performs an emergency braking operation if necessary.

[0005] A further approach for integrating functions into a control unit is known from German Patent Application Publication No. 102017121302. This describes a reverse assistance system, in particular for commercial vehicles. The reverse assistance system comprises, on the one hand, a control unit which wirelessly receives and evaluates sensor signals. On the other hand, the control unit is designed to evaluate vehicle-related data independently of the sensor signals.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

[0007] In view of this background, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved method, particularly with respect to the integration of driving assistance functions.

[0008] According to a first aspect, a front camera for an automobile is provided. The front camera includes a sensor unit having a camera chip and an optical unit for acquiring image data, an interface unit for providing ultrasonic and / or radar data, and an evaluation unit for evaluating the image data and ultrasonic and / or radar data. and is provided with.

[0009] As already mentioned in the introduction, passenger cars will be standardly equipped with both a front camera and ultrasonic and / or radar sensors (also referred to herein as "ultrasonic / radar sensor unit") in the future. According to this method, the evaluation unit of the front camera evaluates both the image data and the ultrasonic and / or radar data here. Therefore, at least for evaluation, hardware can be saved or simplified.

[0010] Another advantage is that the front camera is equipped with a powerful processor for processing image data at the factory. This computing power can also be used to evaluate ultrasonic and / or radar data. This brings significant cost advantages, particularly for lower-class vehicles.

[0011] The sensor unit includes a camera chip (also referred to as an imaging device). For example, the camera chip may be a CMOS chip. The sensor unit has an optical unit, particularly a lens and / or an objective lens (e.g., a plurality of lenses, and in some cases, a lens holder) upstream of the camera chip. The optical unit or the lens and / or the objective lens guides light from around the vehicle to the camera chip, and the camera chip generates image data as a function of the intensity distribution of the incident light. For example, the camera chip can have a resolution of more than 1 megapixel or more than 5 megapixels. The camera chip can be arranged on a printed circuit board ("printed circuit board: PCB"). In particular, the camera chip can be arranged on a first printed circuit board, and the evaluation unit (and / or the control unit described later) can be arranged on a second printed circuit board different from the first printed circuit board. The printed circuit board and / or the first and / or second printed circuit boards may be arranged in the housing of the front camera described later.

[0012] The interface unit preferably forms a boundary with the peripheral part of the front camera. Therefore, ultrasonic waves and / or radar data generated at other locations within the vehicle are provided via the interface unit. For example, the front camera may also have a plurality of interface units, and each interface unit may be connected or connectable to one or more sensor units. The plurality of sensor units connected to each interface unit may be of one type of sensor unit or various types of sensor units. For example, some rear ultrasonic sensor units may be connected to the first interface unit of the front camera, and some front ultrasonic sensor units may be connected to the second interface unit of the front camera. Alternatively, a mixture of front ultrasonic sensor units and rear ultrasonic sensor units can be connected to the same interface unit of the front camera.

[0013] The evaluation unit evaluates the provided image data as well as ultrasonic and / or radar data. The one image data and the other ultrasonic and / or radar data can be evaluated simultaneously and / or with a time delay. The evaluation unit can be configured to provide the corresponding evaluation results to one or more driver assistance functions. The driver assistance functions can be implemented partially or fully inside or outside the front camera. Examples of the mentioned driver assistance functions are emergency brake assistance, parking assistance functions (rearward and / or forward), automatic parking, pedestrian monitoring, adaptive driving control, lane departure warning function and / or light assistance function.

[0014] The motor vehicle is, for example, a passenger car or a commercial vehicle.

[0015] The front camera is configured to image the area in front of the vehicle's direction of travel using its sensor unit. For example, the opening angle in the horizontal plane of the imaging area may be greater than 90°, 100°, or 110°. The front camera is preferably arranged behind the windshield, preferably in the area of the rearview mirror, particularly at the base of the rearview mirror.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the front camera has a housing in which a sensor unit, an interface unit and / or a computer unit are arranged inside or on top.

[0017] The mentioned units, ideally all of them, can advantageously be assembled as a single component, thereby reducing the assembly effort. In particular, the camera chip can be arranged completely inside the housing, and the optical unit can be arranged at least partially inside the housing.

[0018] According to another embodiment, the interface unit is configured to provide ultrasonic or radar data when the ultrasonic or radar data is generated by sensor units connected in a daisy chain.

[0019] In other words, the interface unit can be connected for signal transmission to sensor units coupled in a daisy chain. The sensor units are in particular ultrasonic sensors and / or radar sensors.

[0020] The effect of the daisy chain is that it is not necessary to wire all sensor units to the front camera. Rather, since the sensor units are connected in series, a single wired or wireless connection between the interface unit and the first sensor unit in series suffices to connect all sensor units to the interface unit for signal transmission. This advantageously reduces the cable wiring effort and the vehicle weight and thus has a positive effect on the CO2 footprint. The cable wiring savings are particularly relevant to the preferred arrangement of the front camera behind the windshield at the height of the rearview mirror. However, there, suitable cables for connecting the sensor units to the front camera have to pass through the A-pillar and the roof, for example, if only relatively little space is available.

[0021] According to a further embodiment, the front camera comprises a control unit configured to control a number of sensor units of the motor vehicle for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic and / or radar signals for generating ultrasonic and / or radar data.

[0022] The ultrasonic and / or radar data (electrical signals) can be obtained from ultrasonic and / or radar signals (acoustic signals and electromagnetic waves respectively). For example, the ultrasonic and / or radar signals can be preprocessed by the (respective) sensor units. For example, one or more sensor units can calculate the signal transmission time, generate a timestamp, perform trilateration, and / or perform analog-to-digital or digital-to-analog conversion. For example, the number of sensor units can be 1, 2, 5, or 10 or more.

[0023] According to one embodiment, the evaluation of image data and / or ultrasonic and / or radar data includes scanning the environment of the motor vehicle, object recognition, and / or object tracking.

[0024] For example, through evaluation, objects such as pedestrians, other vehicles, and road signs can be detected within the image data.

[0025] Depending on the sensor unit used, the evaluation of ultrasonic and / or radar data can be performed such that the environment is scanned first. This includes, in particular, the signal transmission time between the transmission of a transmission signal, in particular an ultrasonic transmission signal or a radar transmission signal, and the reception of a related reflected response signal or echo signal, in particular an ultrasonic echo signal or a radar echo signal, the already mentioned determination of the distance to an obstacle within the environment of the motor vehicle, the determination of the position of the obstacle within the environment of the motor vehicle by trilateration of the determined distances, the determination of the height of the obstacle within the environment by a plurality of signal transmission times related to single and multiple reflections, and other similar features. In other variants, the above-mentioned scanning, for example, the acquisition of the signal transmission time, is performed at least partially within each sensor unit or for all sensor units within one or more sensor units. However, similarly, the environment can also be scanned based on the image data.

[0026] The evaluation unit can also perform object recognition and / or object tracking based on the image data, ultrasonic, and / or radar data. For this purpose, for example, a Bernoulli filter can be used. As part of the evaluation by the evaluation unit, the image, ultrasonic, and / or radar data can be evaluated separately and / or together (so-called fusion).

[0027] According to a further embodiment, the front camera has one or more processors, in particular microprocessors, and the evaluation unit and / or the control unit are implemented on one or more microprocessors.

[0028] The evaluation unit and / or the control unit can be implemented by hardware and / or software technologies on one or more microprocessors. For example, in a hardware-based implementation form, the evaluation unit and / or the control unit can be formed by an ASIC. In the case of a software-based implementation form, the evaluation unit and / or the control unit are provided as program codes stored in a memory such as a flash memory, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, etc. Alternatively, the program code can be downloaded to a volatile memory such as RAM via a network connection during startup or as needed. The implementation form in one or more microprocessors of the evaluation unit and / or the control unit provides the execution of the corresponding program code by one or more microprocessors. In particular, by virtualizing a single physically existing microprocessor, two or more microprocessors can be provided. Subsequently, the corresponding program code can be executed by the virtualized microprocessor.

[0029] According to a further embodiment, the front camera has a preprocessing unit, and the preprocessing unit preprocesses the provided ultrasonic signals and then provides them to the evaluation unit.

[0030] The preprocessing can include, for example, generating time stamps and assigning them to the ultrasonic and / or radar data. The preprocessing can include converting (also referred to as "ultrasonic data" herein) and / or measuring, in particular scanning, the electrical ultrasonic signals (for example, analog / digital).

[0031] According to a further embodiment, the preprocessing unit is implemented on a microprocessor other than the evaluation unit and / or the control unit, in particular on an ASIC.

[0032] In the preprocessing unit, it is easy to implement specific functions that require appropriately adapted hardware. The adapted hardware, as in the case of an ASIC, enables the preprocessing steps to be executed faster and / or more efficiently on the data. The preprocessing unit may further be implemented in the form of hardware and / or software. The "other" microprocessor can also be provided as a virtualized microprocessor (software-based implementation) or a physical microprocessor (hardware-based implementation).

[0033] According to a further embodiment, the front camera is designed to be connected to the first and second numbers of sensor units by said or one (or more) further interface units, and it is preferred that the first and / or second numbers are different.

[0034] This advantageously enables a scalable approach so that the same front camera can be attached to vehicles having different variants of the equipment. These variants of the equipment provide, for example, the first or second number of driver assistance functions. For example, the first and second numbers of sensor units can each be 1, 2, 3, 5 or 10 or more. The second number of sensor units can include the first number of sensor units.

[0035] According to one embodiment, the evaluation unit and / or the control unit is configured to detect whether the first number and / or the second number of sensor units are connected to the interface unit. Depending on the result, ultrasonic and / or radar data or other data, such as lidar data, of the detected number of sensor units are evaluated by the evaluation unit. Alternatively or additionally, the detected number of sensor units are partially or fully controlled by the control unit to generate ultrasonic and / or radar data, and / or other data, such as lidar data. This automatic detection and the ability to enable signal transmission of various numbers of sensor units connected to the interface unit further simplifies the scalability of the front camera for various variants of the respective vehicle's various devices.

[0036] According to a further embodiment, the said or further interface unit is further configured to provide driver monitoring data, GPS or cloud data and / or to connect a heating element for preventing window fogging.

[0037] This makes it possible to provide additional driver assistance functions.

[0038] According to a further embodiment, the said or further interface unit comprises a multi-pole plug, a multi-pole socket, a bus and / or an Ethernet link.

[0039] For signal transmission via a multi-pole plug or a multi-pole socket, a plurality of sensor units can be easily connected. The bus is, for example, a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus. Alternatively or additionally, the interface unit may comprise a communication module for wireless communication with a number of sensor units. For example, the communication module can communicate by means of WLAN or Bluetooth.

[0040] According to a second aspect, a driver assistance system for a motor vehicle is provided. This is a front camera as described above, and a number of sensor units connected to the interface unit of the front camera and configured to generate ultrasonic and / or radar data from the transmitted and received ultrasonic and / or radar signals is included.

[0041] According to one embodiment, the sensor units are coupled to each other in one or more daisy chains.

[0042] Preferably, the sensor units in the daisy chain are wired together. In another variant, the sensor units in the daisy chain are connected wirelessly to each other.

[0043] According to a third aspect, a motor vehicle having a front camera or a driver assistance system as described above is provided.

[0044] According to a fourth aspect, a method for operating a front camera, in particular the front camera as described above, is provided. The method comprises the following steps, namely acquiring image data by a sensor unit, said sensor unit comprising a camera chip and an optical unit, providing ultrasonic and / or radar data by an interface unit, and evaluating the image data as well as the ultrasonic and / or radar data using an evaluation unit.

[0045] The embodiments and features proposed for the first aspect apply mutatis mutandis to the second, third and fourth aspects, and vice versa.

[0046] As used herein, "One" or "a" does not exclude the possibility that two or more corresponding elements may be provided unless otherwise specified.

[0047] Further possible implementations of the present invention also include combinations of features or embodiments that are not explicitly mentioned above or below with respect to the exemplary embodiments. Those skilled in the art will also add individual aspects in this case as improvements or additions to each basic form of the present invention.

[0048] Further advantageous configurations and aspects of the present invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims of the present invention and the exemplary embodiments described below. The present invention will be described in more detail below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0049]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0050] Unless otherwise specified, the same or functionally identical elements are given the same reference numerals in the drawings.

[0051] Figure 1 shows a schematic plan view of a motor vehicle 100, in an exemplary embodiment a passenger car. The motor vehicle 100 provides one or more vehicle assistance functions such as an emergency braking function and / or parking assistance. For this purpose, the vehicle has a front camera 102 and a number of sensor units. For example, the number of sensor units can include a rear ultrasonic sensor unit 104 (at the rear of the vehicle), a front ultrasonic sensor unit 106 (at the front of the vehicle), side-mounted ultrasonic sensor units 108, 110 (in the lateral regions at the rear and front of the vehicle 100), a rear corner radar sensor unit 112, a front corner radar sensor unit 114, and a front radar sensor unit 116. In addition to the sensor units mentioned and illustrated here, other sensor units, for example additional cameras, may also be provided additionally or alternatively.

[0052] Figure 2 schematically shows the front camera 102 of Figure 1 according to an embodiment. This comprises an optical sensor unit 200 having a camera chip 201 for acquiring image data from the environment 118 (see Figure 1) in front of the motor vehicle 100 in the direction of travel. The sensor unit 200 further comprises an optical unit 202, in particular an objective lens having one or more lenses, which guides the light 204 from the environment 118 onto the camera chip 201. The sensor unit 200 or the camera chip 201 provides the image data 205 to an evaluation unit 208 which is also part of the front camera 102.

[0053] Furthermore, the front camera 102 comprises an interface unit 210 for also providing ultrasonic and / or radar data 212 to the evaluation unit 208.

[0054] The evaluation unit 208 is configured to evaluate the provided image data 206 as well as the provided ultrasonic and / or radar data 212.

[0055] The sensor unit 200, the interface unit 210, and the evaluation unit 208 can be accommodated in a common housing 214. The interface unit 210 is designed here, for example, as a socket recessed in the housing 214, and provides the signal transmission connection of the front camera 102 to the periphery. The optical unit 202, which is partially integrated into the housing 214, guides the light 204 from the environment into the housing 214 towards the camera chip 201. Otherwise, the housing 214 may be substantially closed. The housing 214 may be made of, for example, plastic or metal. Particularly preferably, the housing 214 comprises one or more cooling fins for cooling one or more microprocessors of the front camera 102, in particular where the evaluation unit 208 is implemented. In the example of FIG. 2, a physical microprocessor 216 is provided, on which the evaluation unit 208 is implemented in software, i.e., in the form of a computer program, when the computer program is executed by the microprocessor 216.

[0056] The sequence of the basic method is shown in FIG. 3. In step S1, the sensor unit 200 acquires the image data 205. In step S2, the interface unit 210 provides the ultrasonic and / or radar data 212. In step S3, the evaluation unit 208 evaluates the image data 205 and the ultrasonic and / or radar data 212.

[0057] Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of the vehicle assistance system 400. This includes a front camera 102 in a further embodiment, and the sensor units 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116 described in connection with FIG. 1. Around the front camera 102, a heating element 402 for removing fog from the front windshield 120 (see FIG. 1) of the automobile 100 and a human-machine interface 404 such as a navigation system are also shown. The human-machine interface 404 can be configured to capture data, particularly navigation data, from the cloud 406, especially wirelessly. The human-machine interface 404 may include, for example, a sensor unit for monitoring the driver's state. For example, a system for detecting driver drowsiness can be provided.

[0058] The ultrasonic sensor units 104, 106, 108, 110 can form a plurality of daisy chains. In each daisy chain, at least two of the sensor units (which may be of the same type or different types, for example, there may be only rear sensor units 104 in a row, or there may be a mixed set of sensor units 104, 106) are connected in series with each other. The signal transmission (i.e., the transmission of ultrasonic data) between the serially connected sensor units can be performed wirelessly or wired. Thus, in an exemplary embodiment, three daisy chains 408, 410, 412 are obtained, and only one first sensor unit among them is connected to the interface unit 414 of the front camera 102 for signal transmission for transmitting ultrasonic data. For example, for this purpose, three separate cables can be supplied from the respective first sensor units of the daisy chains 408, 410, 412 through the A, B, and / or C pillars to the front camera 102. The cables can be connected to the interface unit 414 separately or via a common multi-pole plug. Alternatively or additionally, the respective first sensor units of each daisy chain 408, 410, 412 can be connected wirelessly to the interface unit 414, for example, via WLAN.

[0059] The front radar sensor unit 116 can be connected to the interface unit 416 of the front camera 102 for transmitting radar data, for example, via a CAN bus or Ethernet. This data connection can be wired or wireless. Similarly, the corner radar sensor units 112, 114 can be connected wirelessly or wired to the interface unit 418 of the front camera 102, for example, via a CAN bus or Ethernet.

[0060] The heating element 402 is wired to the interface unit 403 of the front camera 102. Next, the human-machine interface 404 or the vehicle actuator can be connected to the interface unit 420 via Ethernet or to the interface unit 422 of the front camera 102 via the CAN bus. This can be done wirelessly or wired.

[0061] In contrast to FIG. 2, the front camera 102 according to FIG. 4 further has a microcontroller 424. For example, the control unit 426 is implemented as software on the microcontroller 424. The control unit 426 is designed to control the above-mentioned units belonging to the periphery (hereinafter also referred to as the peripheral device 428) and / or to use them for monitoring and / or controlling communication. For example, the control unit 426 can be configured to control the ultrasonic sensor units 104, 106, 108, 110 to transmit and receive respective ultrasonic signals. Then, the ultrasonic data received from the front camera 102 via the interface unit 414 is evaluated by the evaluation unit 208.

[0062] According to an exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 4, the preprocessing of the ultrasonic data is preferably performed by a preprocessing unit 430 implemented, for example, as an ASIC. Thus, for example, the signal waveforms provided by the ultrasonic sensor units 104, 106, 108, 110 (in analog or digital form, depending on the design of the ultrasonic sensor units 104, 106, 108, 110) are provided with time stamps, which simplifies the calculation of the signal transmission time by the evaluation unit 208 from the signal waveforms and the time stamps. Further or alternatively, the signal waveforms can be converted from analog to digital form on the preprocessing unit. Further or alternatively, the preprocessing unit can be used to scan (or generally measure) the provided signal waveforms. In this case, in the ultrasonic sensor units 104, 106, 108, 110, only the conversion from a mechanical ultrasonic signal (echo) to an electrical ultrasonic signal (in this case also called ultrasonic data) is performed, for example.

[0063] In addition to the evaluation of the ultrasonic data, the evaluation unit 108 is also configured to evaluate the radar data provided by the interfaces 416, 418. The evaluation of the ultrasonic and / or radar data by the evaluation unit 208 includes, for example, scanning the environment of the vehicle. This includes, in particular, the measurement of the signal transmission time, triangulation, etc. Further, based on the ultrasonic and radar data, object recognition or even object tracking can be performed, for example, using a Bernoulli filter.

[0064] As already explained in connection with FIG. 2, light is collected from the environment 118 in front of the vehicle at an angle greater than, for example, 90° or greater than 100° (in the horizontal plane) (see the opening angle α in FIG. 4) and imaged on the camera chip 200. The corresponding image data 205 is also evaluated by the evaluation unit 208. This can be performed simultaneously or with a time delay with respect to the evaluation of the ultrasonic and radar data 212. The evaluation of the image data 205 includes, for example, object recognition for recognizing objects such as other vehicles, the distances to them, road signs, etc.

[0065] In a software-based implementation of the evaluation unit 208, this is stored in a non-volatile memory 432 such as a flash EEPROM, for example, and can be loaded into the working memory 434 when the front camera 102 is started, for example, when the vehicle 100 is started. For example, the working memory is designed as a Low-Power Double Data Rate (LPDDR) SDRAM. And the program code 208 is executed by the microprocessor 216. The microprocessor 216 is preferably a video processor.

[0066] Additional functions can be implemented by the microcontroller 424. For example, it can monitor communication via the above-mentioned bus and / or Ethernet link. Further, tasks such as fault monitoring, fault diagnosis, and AD conversion within the front camera 102 can be assigned. Also, functional safety tasks can be implemented. For example, the microcontroller 424 can monitor the video processor 216 for correct operation.

[0067] FIG. 5 shows the video processor 216 and the microcontroller 424 according to another embodiment in the details of FIG. 4. In this case, both the evaluation unit 208 and the control unit 426 are implemented on the video chip, especially in software technology. The microcontroller 424 is only assigned the other tasks described above, but the control of sensor units such as ultrasonic sensors or radar sensors is not assigned. In principle, virtualization on the microprocessor can also be provided. For example, the microprocessor 216 can virtualize two microprocessors 500, 502, the control unit 426 is implemented on one microprocessor 500, and the evaluation unit 208 is implemented on the microprocessor 502. It is also possible to provide one or more virtualized microprocessors using the microprocessors 216, 424, on which the evaluation and / or control units 208, 426 are implemented in software technology.

[0068] Figure 7 shows a flow diagram of a method according to a further exemplary embodiment. The method according to Figure 7 is supplemented by step S4 compared to the method of Figure 3. In step S4, the result obtained from the evaluation by the evaluation unit 208 is provided to one or more driver assistance functions. The driver assistance functions can be implemented, for example, in the front camera 102 itself using hardware and / or software technologies. Such a driver assistance function 436 (see Figure 4) is implemented, for example, as a computer program on the microprocessor 216. However, this can also be implemented on the microcontroller 424 or another microprocessor of the front camera 102. The driver assistance functions can also be provided outside the front camera. For this purpose, the evaluation result is transmitted via a communication connection, such as a CAN bus or an Ethernet link, to a corresponding computer unit inside or outside the motor vehicle 100.

[0069] Figure 6 shows examples of possible driver assistance functions that can be implemented based on the peripheral device 428 and the front camera 102 of Figure 4.

[0070] By image recognition by the front camera 102, for example, pedestrian detection and a corresponding emergency braking function (driver assistance function 700) can be provided.

[0071] The rear ultrasonic sensor unit 104 can be used to provide reverse parking assistance (driver assistance function 702).

[0072] The front ultrasonic sensor unit 106 can be used to provide forward parking assistance (driver assistance function 704).

[0073] The side-mounted ultrasonic sensor units 108, 110 can be used to provide an automatic parking function (driver assistance function 706).

[0074] The front corner radar sensor unit 114 can be used to provide turning assistance (driver assistance function 708).

[0075] The front radar sensor unit 116 is used to provide distance cruise control (driver assistance function 710), and the rear corner radar sensor unit 112 is used to provide lane departure warning assistance (driver assistance function 712).

[0076] A special advantage of the driver assistance system according to FIG. 4 is its scalability. That is, one or more of the peripheral devices 428 may be provided according to the variations of the equipment of the manufactured motor vehicle 100. This means that a subset of the peripheral devices 428 can be selected in the vehicle manufacturing process. As shown in FIG. 6, according to the selected sensor unit, basic functions such as driver assistance functions 700 and 702 can be provided, which will be legal requirements in the near future. Furthermore, additional sensor units 106-116 can be selected in the vehicle configuration process to add one or more of the driver assistance functions 704-712.

[0077] To provide such scalability, it may be necessary to detect the peripheral device 428 connected to the front camera 102 (in the manufacturing process of vehicle 1 or subsequent upgrade) before step S0 of FIG. 7, that is, before step S1. For this purpose, for example, a detection unit 438 (FIG. 4) for detecting the connected peripheral device 428 can be implemented on the microcontroller 424 when the camera 102 is powered on. Next, in step S4, when the front camera (if it provides a driver assistance function) or a computer unit outside the front camera 102, for example, in the vehicle or in the cloud, according to the detected specific peripheral device 428, if these provide their respective driver assistance functions, the driver assistance function is provided.

[0078] FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the front camera 102 according to a further embodiment. FIG. 9 shows the front camera 102 of FIG. 8 as viewed obliquely from above, showing the front camera 102 without the housing 214.

[0079] The front camera 102 includes a housing 214 in which the electronic device 900 shown in FIG. 9 is disposed. The electronic device 900 includes a main printed circuit board 902, an image recorder assembly 904 having an objective lens 906 as an optical unit 202, an electrical connection lead 908, an optional electrical image recorder connector portion 910, and an electrical plug connector portion 912 (here a socket) as an interface unit 210.

[0080] The main printed circuit board 902 is, for example, substantially rectangular. The main printed circuit board 902 carries a processor, for example, on one or both sides, which will be described in more detail later. The main printed circuit board 902 is electrically connected to the image recorder assembly 904 via the connection lead 908.

[0081] Returning to FIG. 8, it is shown that the housing 214 can be composed of an upper part 800 and a lower part 802. The upper part 800 and the lower part 802 are each preferably manufactured from a conductive material, for example, metal. In this way, the electronic device 20 is electrically shielded from the environment. Further, the housing 214 can have one (or more) cooling fins 804, which are arranged here in the upper part 800, for cooling the electronic device 900.

[0082] Preferably, the image recorder assembly 904 is also arranged on the side of the main printed circuit board 902 where the plug connector portion 912 is arranged. With the front camera 102 attached, the image recorder assembly 904 is fixed to the upper part 800 of the housing 214 such that the objective lens 906 exits the housing 214 through the corresponding objective lens opening.

[0083] As further shown in FIG. 9, the lens 906 is fixed on the image recorder printed circuit board 914 of the image recorder assembly 904. The camera chip 201 is arranged, for example, on the image recorder printed circuit board 914 on the side facing the optical unit 906 (in the light direction behind the optical unit 906). The image recorder printed circuit board 914 is electrically connected to the main printed circuit board 902 by the electrical connection leads 908 and the optional electrical image recorder connector portion 910. The electrical connection leads 908 are designed, for example, as flexible ribbon cables, especially so-called flexible printed circuit (FPC) cables. The electrical image recorder connector portion 910 is designed, as an example, to connect an FPC cable. The electrical image recorder connector portion 910 connects the electrical connection leads 908 to corresponding conductor tracks on the main printed circuit board 902.

[0084] The main printed circuit board 902 includes, for example, one or more of the video processor 216 and / or the microcontroller 424, or other processors mentioned in this specification, especially the microprocessors 500, 502. Generally speaking, the main printed circuit board 902 includes the evaluation unit 208 and / or the control unit 426.

[0085] Similarly, the image recorder printed circuit board 914 can include one or more of the above-mentioned processors, microcontrollers, and / or units (either all or individually). For example, the image recorder printed circuit board 914 may include the evaluation unit 208.

[0086] The evaluation unit 208 and / or the control unit 426 can also be divided across a plurality of the above-mentioned printed circuit boards 902, 914, processors 216, 500, 502, and / or the microcontroller 424 (especially in the case of software-based implementations for each case).

[0087] Although the present invention has been described based on exemplary embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto and may actually be modified in various ways.

Explanation of Signs

[0088] 100 Automobile 102 Front Camera 104 Rear Ultrasonic Sensor Unit 106 Front Ultrasonic Sensor Unit 108 Rear Corner Ultrasonic Sensor Unit 110 Front Corner Ultrasonic Sensor Unit 112 Rear Corner Radar Sensor Unit 114 Front Corner Radar Sensor Unit 116 Front Radar Sensor Unit 118 Environment 120 Windshield 200 Sensor Unit 201 Camera Chip 202 Optical Unit 204 Light 205 Image Data 206 Video Processor 208 Evaluation Unit 210 Interface Unit 212 Ultrasonic and / or Sensor Data 214 Housing 216 Video Processor 400 Vehicle Support System 402 Heating Element 403 Interface Unit 404 Human Machine Interface and / or Vehicle Actuator 406 Cloud 408 Daisy Chain 410 Daisy Chain 412 Daisy Chain 414 Interface Unit 416 Interface Unit 418 Interface Unit 420 Interface Unit 422 Interface Unit 424 Microcontroller 426 Control Unit 428 Peripheral Equipment 430 Pretreatment Unit 432 ROM 434 RAM 436 Driver Assistance Function 438 Detection Unit 500 Virtual Microprocessor 502 Virtual Microprocessor 700 - 712 Driver Assistance Function 800 Upper Part 802 Lower Part 804 Cooling Fin 900 Electronic Equipment 902 Primary Printed Circuit Board 904 Image Recorder Assembly 906 Lens 908 Connection Lead 910 Image Recorder Connector Part 912 Plug Connector Part 914 Image Recorder Printed Wiring Board α Angle S0 - S4 Method Steps

Claims

1. A front camera (102) for an automobile (100), comprising: a sensor unit (200) having a camera chip (201) and an optical unit (202, 906) for acquiring image data (205); an interface unit (210, 414, 416, 418) for providing ultrasonic and / or radar data (212); and an evaluation unit (208) for evaluating the image data and the ultrasonic and / or radar data (205, 212). The front camera (102) is provided with the above components.

2. The front camera according to claim 1, further comprising a housing (214) in which the sensor unit (200), the interface unit (210, 414, 416, 418) and / or the evaluation unit (208) are arranged internally or on the upper part.

3. The front camera according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the interface unit (210, 414, 416, 418) is configured to provide the ultrasonic and / or radar data (212) when the ultrasonic and / or radar data (212) are generated by sensor units (104 - 110) coupled in a daisy chain (408, 410, 412).

4. The front camera according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a control unit (426) configured to control a plurality of sensor units (104 - 116) of the automobile (100) to transmit and receive ultrasonic and / or radar signals to generate the ultrasonic and / or radar data (212).

5. The front camera according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the evaluation of the image data and / or the ultrasonic and / or radar data includes scanning of the environment (118) of the automobile (100), object recognition, and / or object tracking.

6. The front camera according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising one or more processors (216, 424, 500, 502), in particular microprocessors, wherein the evaluation unit (208) and / or the control unit (426) are implemented on the one or more microprocessors (216, 424, 500, 502).

7. A front camera according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising a preprocessing unit (430) that preprocesses the provided ultrasonic data and then provides it to the evaluation unit (208).

8. The front camera according to claim 7, wherein the preprocessing unit (430) is implemented on a microprocessor other than the evaluation unit (208) and / or the control unit (426), particularly an ASIC.

9. The front camera according to any one of claims 1 to 8, configured to be connected to the first and second numbers of sensor units (104 to 112) by the or further interface unit (210, 414, 416, 418), wherein the first and second numbers are preferably different.

10. The front camera according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the or further interface unit (403, 420, 422) is further configured to provide driver monitoring data, GPS or cloud data, and / or to connect a heating element (402) for preventing window fogging.

11. The front camera according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the or the further interface unit (210, 414, 416, 418) comprises a multi-pole plug, and / or a multi-pole socket, and / or a bus, and / or an Ethernet link.

12. A driver assistance system (400) for a motor vehicle (100), a front camera (102) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, a plurality of sensor units (104 to 116) connected to the interface unit (210, 414, 416, 418) of the front camera (102) and configured to generate the ultrasonic and / or radar data (212) from the transmitted and received ultrasonic and / or radar signals A driver assistance system (400) comprising.

13. The driver assistance system according to claim 12, wherein the sensor units (104 to 110) are coupled to each other by one or more daisy chains (408, 410, 412).

14. The driver assistance system according to claim 13, wherein the sensor units (104 to 110) in the daisy chain (408, 410, 412) are coupled to each other by wire.

15. An automobile (100) comprising the front camera (102) or the driver assistance system (400) according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

16. A method for operating a front camera (102), comprising: a step (S1) of acquiring image data (205) by a sensor unit (200), the sensor unit (200) comprising a camera chip (201) and an optical unit (202, 906); step (S1); a step (S2) of providing ultrasonic and / or radar data (212) by an interface unit (210, 414, 416, 418); a step (S3) of evaluating the image data and ultrasonic and / or radar data (205, 212) using an evaluation unit (208); and a method including the above.

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