Image processor and monitoring system

• US 20020039136A1
• Filed: 05/25/2001
• Published: 04/04/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nobori, Kunio, Ishii, Hirofumi, Nakagawa, Masamichi, Okamoto, Shusaku, Morimura, Atsushi
• Granted Patent: US 6,912,001 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• 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 1/27 providing all-round vision, e.g. using omnidirectional cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/105 using multiple cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/30 characterised by the type of image processing
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/303 using joined images, e.g. multiple camera images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

In an image processor for synthesizing images that have been taken by multiple cameras mounted on a vehicle, even if any movable part of the vehicle has changed its state, the synthesized image will have no unnatural part. A pixel synthesizer receives the images that have been captured by the cameras included in an imaging section and generates the synthesized image by reference to a mapping table. Receiving a signal indicative of the state of a movable part such as the door or hood of the vehicle, a display mode changer disables at least one of the cameras that is taking an image to be affected by any change in the state of the movable part. For that purpose, the changer rewrites mapping data stored on the mapping table and thereby eliminates the image in question from the synthesized image.

Claims

1. An image processor comprising an image processing section, which receives multiple images that have been taken by cameras mounted on a vehicle to monitor surroundings of the vehicle, generates a synthesized image from the multiple images and outputs the synthesized image to a display device,

wherein the image processing section switches display modes of the synthesized image in accordance with a state of a movable part of the vehicle.

2. The processor of claim 1, wherein if a change in the state of the movable part has altered the position or direction of at least one of the cameras to make the synthesized image unnatural, the image processing section switches the display modes of the synthesized image from a normal mode into an alert mode.

3. The processor of claim 2, wherein in the alert mode, the image processing section generates the synthesized image without using the image taken by the camera that has had the position or direction thereof changed.

4. The processor of claim 2, wherein in the alert mode, the image processing section does not output the synthesized image.

5. The processor of claim 2, wherein in the alert mode, the image processing section outputs an alert message instead of, or along with, the synthesized image.

6. The processor of claim 1, wherein if due to a change in the state of the movable part, the image of the movable part occupies a different portion of the image taken by at least one of the cameras to make the synthesized image unnatural, the image processing section switches the display modes of the synthesized image from a normal mode into an alert mode.

7. The processor of claim 6, wherein in the alert mode, the image processing section generates the synthesized image without using the image which has been taken by the camera and the different portion of which the image of the movable part now occupies.

8. The processor of claim 6, wherein in the alert mode, the image processing section does not output the synthesized image.

9. The processor of claim 6, wherein in the alert mode, the image processing section outputs an alert message instead of, or along with, the synthesized image.

10. The processor of claim 1, wherein the movable part comprises at least doors, hood and trunk of the vehicle, and

wherein the image processing section switches the display modes of the synthesized image in accordance with opening and closing of the doors, hood or trunk.

11. The processor of claim 1, wherein the movable part comprises at least tires of the vehicle, and

wherein the image processing section switches the display modes of the synthesized image in accordance with a steering angle of wheels on which the tires are fitted.

12. A monitoring system comprising:

multiple cameras, mounted on a vehicle, for taking images of surroundings of the vehicle;

a display device; and

an image processing section, which receives the images taken by the cameras, generates a synthesized image from the images and then outputs the synthesized image to the display device,

wherein the image processing section switches display modes of the synthesized image in accordance with a state of a movable part of the vehicle.