Position-Dependent Rear Camera for Pickup Truck Lift Gates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Rear-facing vehicle cameras installed in lift gates become ineffective when the lift gate is opened, as they point directly at the road surface and fail to provide useful information to the driver.
Innovation Solution
A rear camera system with a camera unit mounted on the rear-lift door, featuring a first and second field of view that overlap in a shared field of view, along with a sensor to determine the lift gate's position and a controller to adjust the image data for optimal viewing, ensuring the driver receives useful information regardless of the lift gate's position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the camera is installed in the lift gate, then the camera provides useful information when the lift gate is closed, but the camera points directly at the road surface and becomes ineffective when the lift gate is opened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the camera field of view adjustable based on the lift gate position. The camera system dynamically changes its viewing angle or crops the image data to prioritize the shared field of view when the lift gate is open, whereas it displays the full field of view when closed. This dynamic adaptation ensures the camera remains effective in both states, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and reliability.
2Area of moving object
If the camera provides a wide field of view to capture both open and closed positions, then the camera can see more area, but the image quality and relevance decrease when the lift gate is open
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the extraction principle by isolating and prioritizing the shared field of view region in the displayed image when the lift gate is open. Rather than displaying the entire wide-angle capture, the system extracts and emphasizes the relevant portion (shared field of view) that provides useful information, effectively removing the irrelevant road surface area from the primary display. This maintains image relevance while preserving the wide field of view capability for detection purposes.
Data Source
AI summary
A rear camera system for a vehicle with a rear-lift door including a camera unit mounted on the rear-lift door, the rear-lift door having open and closed positions, the camera unit having a first field of view when the rear-lift door is in the open position and a second field of view when the rear-lift door is in the closed position, the first and second fields of view overlapping in a shared field of view; a sensor configured to indicate when the rear-lift door is in the open or closed position; a controller configured to receive image data from the camera unit, determine whether the rear-lift door is in the open or closed position based on a signal received from the sensor, and adjust the image data to primarily include the shared field of view based on whether the rear-lift door is in the open position or the closed position.