On-Vehicle Image Pickup Apparatus with Illustration Border Line
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional on-vehicle image pickup apparatuses fail to accurately display the boundary between a vehicle and its surroundings, leading to incorrect distance judgments and potential collisions, especially on inclined or rough roads, due to obscured areas near the front and rear ends of the vehicle.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus combines images from multiple cameras with an image processing section that displays an illustration border line indicating the vehicle's outer shape, including no-image portions where camera views are obstructed, and adjusts the border line's position based on vehicle attitude and speed to enhance safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If cameras are mounted at the front end and rear end of the vehicle, then the vehicle structure is simplified, but the areas close to the front end and rear end cannot be captured due to the cameras being recessed toward the center
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a 3D camera mounting problem to a 2D coordinate system solution by projecting images onto a plane and using coordinate transformations to map and fill the no-image portions, effectively solving the coverage gap through dimensional transformation and mathematical mapping
2Measurement precision
If the outline of the illustration of the vehicle is displayed in agreement with the actual outline, then the display is accurate, but drivers cannot correctly judge the distance to obstacles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary illustration border line that mediates between the actual vehicle outline and the obstacle images. This border line is deliberately positioned to include no-image portions, creating a visual buffer that helps drivers accurately judge distances while maintaining the true vehicle outline for reference
3Area of stationary object
If dead areas are filled with a specific color, then the display is complete, but the operator cannot intuitively understand what the filled portion indicates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses specific color schemes and shading patterns to differentiate no-image portions from actual image areas. The illustration border line incorporates visual cues through color and pattern variations that intuitively indicate these are areas not captured by cameras, maintaining display completeness while preserving semantic clarity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides a natural and accurate display of the vehicle's position relative to obstacles, adding a safety margin to the displayed distance and reducing the risk of collisions by ensuring the driver understands the vehicle's perimeter and distance to obstacles.
Implementation Method 1
The cameras each have a lens capable of focusing the light of an image in a wide-angle space area and an optical-detector that detects the lights focused by the lens
Data Source
AI summary
Images taken by a plurality of cameras mounted on a vehicle are combined and an image of the surrounding area is developed, in a plane, around a vehicle display portion. The vehicle display portion shows an illustration border line indicative of the outer shape of the vehicle. The outline of the vehicle indicated by the illustration border line is drawn slightly larger than the outer shape of the actual image of the vehicle. This allows margin areas to be formed between the vehicle and its surroundings, thus reducing the possibility of a collision with an obstacle during driving.