Camera System for Large Vehicles Eliminating Mirror Drag
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle mirrors pose challenges such as being impact targets, introducing drag, and not providing a unified view for drivers, especially in varying lighting conditions, and require adjustments based on driver height and posture, which can compromise safety and visibility around school buses.
Innovation Solution
A 360-degree vehicle-borne camera system with multiple cameras positioned around the vehicle to provide a comprehensive view, displayed on monitors within the driver's cabin, eliminating the need for external mirrors and allowing for adjustable viewing angles and lighting adjustments to enhance visibility and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If conventional external mirrors are used to enhance driver's view, then visibility around the vehicle is improved, but the mirrors become impact targets and introduce drag
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical external mirrors with camera systems that capture images of the vehicle's surroundings and display them on monitors inside the driver's cabin. This creates a visual copy of the external environment without the physical presence of mirrors, thereby eliminating impact targets and drag while maintaining enhanced visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the mechanical mirror system with an electronic camera and display system. Instead of using physical mirrors mounted on the vehicle exterior, the system uses cameras to capture images and electronic displays to present the visual information to the driver, replacing a mechanical system with an electronic one.
2Illumination intensity
If multiple external mirrors are positioned to provide comprehensive view, then visibility is improved, but the driver must look in multiple directions and through dirty or wet windows
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple camera views into a unified display system within the driver's cabin. Instead of requiring the driver to physically turn and look at multiple external mirrors positioned at different locations, the system combines the visual information from multiple cameras and presents it on monitors that the driver can view from a single position inside the cabin.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces monitors as an intermediary between the external environment and the driver's eyes. The monitors serve as a medium that translates and presents the visual information captured by external cameras, allowing the driver to view the surroundings without directly looking through side windows or at external mirrors.
3Illumination intensity
If external mirrors are adjusted for different driver heights and postures, then individual visibility needs are met, but the mirrors require frequent adjustment and re-adjustment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal viewing system that serves all drivers regardless of height or posture. The camera and monitor system is positioned and configured to provide an optimal view for the driver's cabin environment as a whole, eliminating the need for individual adjustments that different drivers would need to make to external mirrors.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides automatic adaptation to different drivers without requiring manual adjustment. The camera angles, monitor positions, and display configurations are designed to work optimally for the driver's cabin space, allowing the system to serve different drivers automatically without their intervention for mirror adjustment.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle-borne camera-based observation system for monitoring areas adjacent a vehicle or passenger vehicle, such as a bus or schoolbus, is disclosed, to provide safer operation for passersby, including for children, and driver convenience. The system includes several cameras, and several monitors in a driver's area displaying all of the fields of view from the cameras, such that each monitor may be controllable to show either the field of view of a first camera or a the field of view of a second camera, according to a driver selection or according to an automatic selection. Night vision, automatic tracking, and illumination systems are also provided.