Vehicle Off-Center Detection Using Dual Side Displays
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing parking assistance technologies for vehicles, such as back monitors and top-view monitors, often create blind spots and require drivers to alternately check side mirrors multiple times to ensure equal positioning within a parking frame, making it difficult for inexperienced drivers to park correctly.
Innovation Solution
A parking assistance apparatus with cameras mounted on the front sides of the vehicle to capture rear images, displaying these images on dedicated displays on either side of the driver, along with a calculator to determine vehicle off-center positioning, allowing recognition of leftward or rightward off-center status from a single display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a back monitor is used to capture and display rear images, then the driver can see the rear of the vehicle, but the parking frame deviates from the field of vision as the vehicle enters the parking frame, making visual recognition difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a 2D back monitor view to a synthesized 3D bird's-eye view by combining images from multiple cameras (front, rear, left, right). This dimensional transformation allows the driver to see the vehicle's position relative to the parking frame from an overhead perspective, solving the problem of the parking frame deviating from the field of vision during rearward parking.
2Loss of information
If a top-view monitor with synthesized bird's-eye view is used, then the positional relationship between vehicle and parking frame is recognizable, but blind spots are produced due to image conversion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the bird's-eye view display with electronic side mirror images from the left and right cameras. This combination allows the driver to simultaneously see the overhead positional relationship and the actual side views, eliminating blind spots created by image conversion alone and providing comprehensive visual information for safe parking.
3Loss of information
If images corresponding to side mirrors are separately displayed on left and right displays, then side views are visible, but the driver must alternately check left and right images multiple times to park equally
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the bird's-eye view showing the centerline with the electronic side mirror images on both left and right displays. This integration allows the driver to see both side views simultaneously along with the positional relationship to the parking frame center, eliminating the need to alternately check displays and enabling equal parking in a single attempt.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides real-time visual feedback by displaying the vehicle's position relative to the parking frame centerline alongside the side mirror views. This feedback mechanism allows the driver to immediately see whether the vehicle is centered or off-center and make adjustments without alternating between displays, reducing parking time and improving accuracy.
4Ease of operation
If only back monitor or bird's-eye view is used, then parking assistance is provided, but it is insufficient for securing complete visual recognition of the rear vehicle state
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the display system multi-functional by using the same left and right displays to show both electronic side mirror images and bird's-eye view information simultaneously. This universal display approach provides comprehensive visual recognition of the rear vehicle state, combining the benefits of side views and overhead positional information in a single integrated system.
Data Source
AI summary
A parking assistance apparatus mounted on a vehicle includes a display processor that displays an image on a right-side display disposed on a right side with respect to a driver, and displays an image on a left-side display disposed on a left side with respect to the driver located in the interior of the vehicle, and a calculator that recognizes boundary lines of a parking area located in the rear of the vehicle, and specifies a gap in a vehicle width direction between the vehicle and one of the boundary lines on each of the left side and the right side to determine a leftward off-center or a rightward off-center. The display processor displays a vehicle off-center image indicating a result determined by the calculator on each of the right-side display and the left-side display together with the image captured.