NIGHT VISION DEVICE FOR A VEHICLE
First Claim
1. A night vision arrangement for a vehicle, the night vision arrangement comprising an infra-red-sensitive camera fixed to the motor vehicle to capture an image of a roadway in front of the vehicle, the image having a predetermined horizontal angular field of view, the camera generating a video signal representing the image, the arrangement further comprising a display unit adapted to display at least part of the captured image to a driver of the vehicle, the arrangement further comprising a signal processing unit adapted to process the video signal, and a sensor unit adapted to sense one or more parameters of a movement of the vehicle, and to provide a control signal, the arrangement being such that, in use, the signal processor electronically processes the video signal so that the field of view of the image displayed by the display unit is selected in accordance with the said control signal, wherein a part of the image captured by the camera is selected for display, that part being selected in dependence upon a direction of movement of the vehicle, the sensor being adapted to sense the direction of movement of the vehicle, wherein the sensor senses an instantaneous position of the vehicle in a co-ordinate system to derive a signal corresponding to the driving direction and/or speed of the vehicle
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In a night vision arrangement for a motor vehicle in which a camera captures an infra-red image of the roadway in front of the vehicle, a video signal generated by the camera is processed by a signal processor so that the field of view of the image displayed by a display unit is selected in accordance with a control signal. The control signal is generated by a signal generator which is responsive to one or more parameters of the movement of the vehicle. The width of the field of view may be decreased with increasing speed. The axial direction of the field of view may be adjusted depending upon the nature of a turning movement of the vehicle.
-
Citations
16 Claims
- 1. A night vision arrangement for a vehicle, the night vision arrangement comprising an infra-red-sensitive camera fixed to the motor vehicle to capture an image of a roadway in front of the vehicle, the image having a predetermined horizontal angular field of view, the camera generating a video signal representing the image, the arrangement further comprising a display unit adapted to display at least part of the captured image to a driver of the vehicle, the arrangement further comprising a signal processing unit adapted to process the video signal, and a sensor unit adapted to sense one or more parameters of a movement of the vehicle, and to provide a control signal, the arrangement being such that, in use, the signal processor electronically processes the video signal so that the field of view of the image displayed by the display unit is selected in accordance with the said control signal, wherein a part of the image captured by the camera is selected for display, that part being selected in dependence upon a direction of movement of the vehicle, the sensor being adapted to sense the direction of movement of the vehicle, wherein the sensor senses an instantaneous position of the vehicle in a co-ordinate system to derive a signal corresponding to the driving direction and/or speed of the vehicle
- 6. A night vision arrangement for a vehicle, the night vision arrangement comprising an infra-red-sensitive camera fixed to the motor vehicle to capture an image of a roadway in front of the vehicle, the image having a predetermined horizontal angular field of view, the camera generating a video signal representing the image, the arrangement further comprising a display unit adapted to display at least part of the captured image to a driver of the vehicle, the arrangement further comprising a sensor unit adapted to sense a speed of the vehicle and to generate a control signal, the control signal controlling an arrangement which is operative so that the angular extent of the field of view of the image displayed by the display unit is related to the speed of the vehicle, wherein a part of the image captured by the camera is selected for display, that part being selected in dependence upon a direction of movement of the vehicle, the sensor being adapted to sense the direction of movement of the vehicle, wherein the sensor senses an instantaneous position of the vehicle in a co-ordinate system to derive a signal corresponding to the driving direction and/or speed of the vehicle.
Specification