Trailer Camera Rear View Stitching for Hitch-Angle Blind Spots
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rear view image display systems for tractors pulling trailers suffer from blind corners and unnatural image discontinuities due to varying hitch angles, leading to incomplete and disjointed views.
Innovation Solution
A rear view image display system using multiple cameras on the trailer and tractor, along with a hitch angle sensor, to generate a seamless and natural rear view image by replacing shielded areas with transformed images from corresponding trailer cameras, ensuring complete coverage behind the tractor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If images are synthesized from cameras on tractor and trailer, then rear view coverage is improved, but blind corners increase when hitch angle is large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the rear view into multiple directional ranges (shielded direction range, right replacement direction range, left replacement direction range, rear replacement direction range) and processes each segment separately using appropriate camera images, thereby eliminating blind corners while maintaining complete coverage
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the trailer right camera and trailer left camera as intermediary sources to capture and replace images in blind corner regions that are shielded from the tractor rear camera, thereby eliminating information loss in those areas
2Loss of information
If panorama view image is cut out and overlaid, then blind corner coverage is improved, but image continuity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different processing methods to different regions of the rear view image: the shielded direction range is replaced with transformed images from trailer cameras while maintaining consistent viewing points, ensuring local naturalness and overall image continuity without the discontinuities caused by fixed-size overlays
3Device complexity
If fixed-size panorama range is overlaid, then processing complexity is reduced, but image naturalness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically determines the replacement direction ranges based on the actual hitch angle detected by the sensor, allowing the processing regions to adapt to different trailer positions and maintain image naturalness under varying operating conditions
Data Source
AI summary
Rear view image display system to display tractor's rear view image with less blind corners naturally is provided. Of parts of region of rear view image captured by tractor rear camera situated on tractor rear portion, the region being shielded by trailer, parts, view within which in directions from tractor rear camera to themselves is image-captured by trailer's side cameras without being shielded by trailer are replaced with images transformed from images captured by side cameras to tractor rear camera's viewing point. Of the remaining parts, a part, view within which in direction from tractor rear camera to itself is image-captured by trailer's rear camera without being shielded by trailer is replaced with image transformed from image captured by trailer's rear camera to tractor rear camera's viewing point, to generate rear view image to be displayed. Each part is calculated based on trailer's detected hitch angle.