Drive Assist Display Correcting Wide-Angle Lens Distortion

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional drive assist display apparatuses face difficulties in accurately displaying the relationships between a vehicle and its surroundings, particularly with wide-angle lenses causing distortion and making it hard to distinguish straight lines, and with multiple cameras leading to discontinuity in the driver's eye line guidance.

Innovation Solution

The apparatus simultaneously displays the front, left, right, and down wide areas of the vehicle's surroundings with corrected images that maintain directional relationships, displaying straight lines as straight lines and perpendicular lines as vertical lines, and parallel lines as horizontal lines, with adjustable virtual sight lines and image expansion to enhance visibility.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Area of moving object

If a wide-angle lens is used to capture a wider area, then the coverage area is improved, but the image distortion increases making it difficult to distinguish straight lines

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecoverage areaVSAvoidimage distortion
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of moving objectVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the wide-angle captured image into multiple regions (first region for front view, second region for side view, third region for rear view) and applies different correction methods to each region. This segmentation allows the system to maintain the wide coverage advantage while reducing distortion in each specific direction through targeted correction algorithms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies different correction characteristics to different regions of the image. The first region (front view) uses one set of correction parameters, the second region (side view) uses another set, and the third region (rear view) uses a third set. This local quality approach ensures that each region's specific distortion characteristics are addressed appropriately while maintaining overall image coherence.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Area of moving object

If multiple vehicle-mounted cameras are used to capture a wider area, then the coverage area is improved, but the discontinuity in eye line guidance increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecoverage areaVSAvoideye line guidance continuity
Core Design Contradiction:
Area of moving objectVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the images from multiple vehicle-mounted cameras (front camera, side cameras, rear camera) into a single integrated display. By combining these multiple views and applying unified correction characteristics, the system creates a continuous visual field that maintains eye line guidance continuity while achieving wide-area coverage that would be impossible with a single camera.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Device complexity

If the wide image is displayed in a limited display area, then the device complexity is reduced, but the image quality and visibility deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedisplay system complexityVSAvoidimage quality
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent transforms the wide-angle distorted image into a corrected representation that maintains spatial relationships by applying dimensionality-adjusted correction characteristics. This allows the system to display comprehensive wide-area information in a limited display area while preserving image quality and spatial accuracy through mathematical transformation rather than simple compression.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentEP2471689B1Driving support display device
Publication Date: 2018.07.04 PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO LTD
  • EP2471689B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2471689B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2471689B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Provided is a drive assist display apparatus which can realize, from imaging to displaying the front, left, right and down wide area of the backward or frontward of a vehicle, displaying in high visibility of a form of an imaged subject in accordance with purposes, improving visibility of directional and positional relationships between the imaged subject and the vehicle, and facilitating a movement of the eye line targeting to the subject on the display. It is assumed that planes are respectively perpendicular relationship with the vehicle front-back direction, the downward direction being vertically in perpendicular relationship with the vehicle front-back direction, the leftward direction being horizontally in perpendicular relationship with the vehicle front-back direction, and the rightward direction being horizontally in perpendicular relationship with the vehicle front-back direction. Square subjects assumed to be on the planes are displayed as squares or rectangles each having an area equal to one another on respective regions in accordance with the direction. The regions include a forward correction image display region 41-1 and other display regions. The forward correction image display region 41-1 is in the vicinity of the other display regions. The vicinity area has the same display image corresponding to a straight line being coincident with a straight line being in vertical with respect to the ground surface or being in the vehicle front-back direction. The bottom side of a leftward or rightward correction image display region 41-3L or 41-3R and the left or right side of a downward correction image display region 41-2 are straight lines coincident with respective vehicle front-back direction straight lines.