Periphery monitoring device

• US 10,363,872 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2016
• Issued: 07/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Kubota, Naotaka, Watanabe, Kazuya, Yamamoto, Kinji, Nakasho, Takayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Beck, Leron
• Application Number:
  US15/562,979
• Publication Number:
  US 20180111553A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,218 Days
• Field of Search: 348148
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/00 Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/23 with a predetermined field of view
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/27 providing all-round vision, e.g. using omnidirectional cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/0235 of flat type, e.g. LCD
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/00 Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks safety belts or body harnesses in vehicles B60R22/00; devices, apparatus or methods for life-saving in general A62B; safety devices for propulsion unit control specially adapted for, or arranged in, vehicles B60K28/00; seats constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats, B60N2/42; energy-absorbing arrangements for hand wheels for steering vehicles B62D1/11; energy-absorbing arrangements for vehicle steering columns B62D1/19; harnessing in aircraft B64D25/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/105 using multiple cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/602 with an adjustable viewpoint
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/802 for monitoring and displaying vehicle exterior blind spot views
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A periphery monitoring device according the embodiment comprising: a first storage that stores therein road surface information in a moving direction of a vehicle including a plurality of wheels; a controller that generates underfloor information on an underfloor region of the vehicle from the road surface information, the underfloor region including at least part of a region of all the wheels; a second storage that is nonvolatile and stores therein the underfloor information when the vehicle ends driving; and a display that displays the underfloor information when the vehicle starts driving.

Claims

1. A periphery monitoring device comprising:

a first storage that stores therein road surface information in a moving direction of a vehicle including a plurality of wheels, the road surface information being imaged by an imager of the vehicle;

a controller that generates underfloor information on an underfloor region of the vehicle from the road surface information stored in the first storage, the underfloor region being a road surface previously imaged by the imager and including at least part of a region of the wheels of the vehicle in a current position on the previously imaged road surface;

a second storage that is nonvolatile and stores therein, at the time of power-off of the vehicle, the underfloor information which is generated on the basis of a stop position of the vehicle; and

a display that displays the underfloor information stored in the second storage, upon power-on of the vehicle.

2. The periphery monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein after the vehicle starts driving, the controller controls the display to display synthetic information in which of the underfloor information and current ambient information that corresponds to current ambient information on the vehicle are synthesized.

3. The periphery monitoring device according to claim 2, wherein the controller controls the display to display the underfloor information and the current ambient information in different formats.

4. The periphery monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein

the road surface information is a captured image of a road surface;

the current ambient information is a captured image of current surroundings of the vehicle; and

the controller controls the display to display a combination of an image of the underfloor information in one image format and an image of the current ambient information in a color image format, the one image format being selected from an image format group of a monochromatic image, a gray image, and a sepia image.

5. The periphery monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein

the second storage stores therein past ambient information that corresponds to ambient information on the vehicle before the vehicle ends driving;

and

the controller controls the display to display a combination of the road surface information and the past ambient information.

6. The periphery monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the display to display the underfloor information on the underfloor region of the vehicle, the underfloor region ranging from a rear end of a front wheel to a front end of a rear wheel in the moving direction of the vehicle.

7. The periphery monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the controller controls the display to display the underfloor information on the underfloor region of the vehicle, the underfloor region including a region where all the wheels connect a ground.

8. A periphery monitoring device comprising according to claim 1, wherein

the first storage is a volatile storage medium that stores the road surface information imaged by the imager, each time the vehicle moves in a certain distance.