Windshield Blackout Opening for Vehicular Camera Concealment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicular vision systems face challenges in designing a windshield-mounted camera system where the opaque blackout region obstructs the camera's view, leading to unnecessary light transmission and increased size of the light-transmitting window, which affects image distortion correction and module concealment.
Innovation Solution
A tailored light-transmitting window is designed within the blackout region, only allowing light to pass through the photosensing elements used in generating the dewarped image, reducing the window's size and shape to cover non-essential pixels, thereby minimizing light transmission and hiding more of the camera module.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the light-transmitting window is made larger to allow more photosensing elements to receive light, then the camera can capture more image data, but the blackout region cannot effectively hide the camera module and more windshield area is affected
Solution Approach 1:
The photosensor array is segmented into two distinct groups: used photosensors that require light transmission and unused photosensors that do not. The light-transmitting window is precisely positioned and sized to illuminate only the used photosensors, leaving the unused ones in darkness. This segmentation allows the system to achieve adequate image capture with a minimized window size, effectively hiding the camera module behind the blackout region.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the photosensor array are assigned different functional qualities. The central region (used photosensors) is designed to receive light for image capture, while the peripheral region (unused photosensors) is designed to remain dark. This local differentiation in light reception requirements allows the light-transmitting window to be optimized for minimal size while still providing sufficient light to the necessary sensors.
2Area of stationary object
If the light-transmitting window is reduced in size, then the camera module can be better concealed behind the blackout region, but fewer photosensing elements receive light which may affect image quality
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and identifies the specific subset of photosensors that are actually used in generating the dewarped image. By determining which photosensors contribute to the final image output and which do not, the system can extract only the necessary light-receiving elements from the full sensor array. This extraction allows the light-transmitting window to be sized precisely for the minimum required photosensors, reducing window size while maintaining image quality.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of providing light to all photosensors in the array, the system applies partial action by illuminating only the specific portion of sensors that are necessary for image generation. The unused photosensors are deliberately left without light, which is sufficient because they do not contribute to the final dewarped image output. This partial illumination strategy minimizes the light-transmitting window size while maintaining adequate image quality.
3Loss of information
If all photosensing elements are used to receive light, then complete image data is captured, but the light-transmitting window size increases reducing the effectiveness of the blackout region
Solution Approach 1:
The invention identifies and discards the data from unused photosensors that would not contribute to the final dewarped image. By determining which sensors are redundant for the specific image processing pipeline, the system can discard their light reception function. This discarding allows the light-transmitting window to be reduced in size, as fewer sensors need to be illuminated to achieve complete and useful image data.
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 approach reduces the size of the windshield blackout opening, minimizes background noise from internal reflections, and ensures only necessary pixels receive light, enhancing image processing and module concealment while maintaining effective object detection and driver assistance.
Implementation Method 1
The camera comprises a lens and an imager having a two dimensional array of photosensing elements
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicular vision system includes a camera disposed at an in-cabin surface of a vehicle windshield, which includes a blackout region and a light-transmitting window through the blackout region. The camera views through the windshield at the light-transmitting window. The field of view of the camera encompasses at least part of the blackout region around the light-transmitting window, such that some of the photosensing elements do not receive light that passes through the light-transmitting window. A control processes image data captured by the camera to provide a dewarped image and does not use some of the photosensing elements of the camera when providing the dewarped image. The light-transmitting window of the blackout region is sized and shaped such that the photosensing elements that are not used by the control in dewarping the image are the same photosensing elements that do not receive light that passes through the light-transmitting window.