Vehicle night vision system
First Claim
1. A vehicle night vision system, comprising;
- an infrared camera mounted on a part of a vehicle body;
an onboard display unit for displaying at least an image captured by the infrared camera;
an illumination sensor adapted to detect an illumination level exterior of the vehicle body; and
a control unit for displaying an image captured by the infrared camera on the display unit and controlling the display unit according to an output signal from the illumination sensor;
wherein the control unit activates the display unit when an illumination level detected by the illumination sensor has persisted to be below a prescribed level for a prescribed period of time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a vehicle night vision system, the display unit is activated only when an illumination level below the prescribed level has persisted for more than the prescribed period of time so that the display unit would not be activated when the low illumination level lasts only for a short period of time and the night vision system would not be required. Therefore, when the vehicle passes through a short tunnel during daytime, the display unit would not be activated and the vehicle operator is prevented from being unnecessarily distracted. On the other hand, when the vehicle passes through a long tunnel or when the sun has set and the illumination level of the road ahead is low, the night vision system is activated without fail, and assists the vehicle operator'"'"'s vision.
10 Citations
6 Claims
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1. A vehicle night vision system, comprising;
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an infrared camera mounted on a part of a vehicle body;
an onboard display unit for displaying at least an image captured by the infrared camera;
an illumination sensor adapted to detect an illumination level exterior of the vehicle body; and
a control unit for displaying an image captured by the infrared camera on the display unit and controlling the display unit according to an output signal from the illumination sensor;
wherein the control unit activates the display unit when an illumination level detected by the illumination sensor has persisted to be below a prescribed level for a prescribed period of time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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Specification