ELECTRONIC VIEWER FOR PEEPHOLE

• US 20090091618A1
• Filed: 10/06/2008
• Published: 04/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Leroy E. Anderson
• Original Assignee: Leroy E. Anderson
• Inventors: ANDERSON, LEROY E.
• Application Number:
  US12/245,996
• Publication Number:
  US 20090091618A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/143
• 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 1/26 to the rear of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/28 with an adjustable field of view
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/103 using camera systems provided with artificial illumination device, e.g. IR light source
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/306 using a re-scaling of images
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/406 using wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/808 for facilitating docking to a trailer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2628 Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

The invention is an electronic viewer for placement in a door so that a person inside a residence may view, on an electronic screen, a person who is outside the door. The unit includes a zoom function which zooms to the lower center, to the right, left, lower left, or lower right of the screen in order to give the user inside the door a better view of a person or persons outside the door.

Claims

1. An electronic viewer, comprising:

a digital camera lens for mounting in a position adjacent to a region to be viewed, with said region to be viewed remote from a user of said electronic viewer;

a digital viewing screen for mounting in a position at a selected distance from said digital camera lens, for convenient viewing of said region to be viewed by said user;

a zoom feature in which a selected region is magnified, in which the region magnified is a region other than the center of the image of said region to be viewed;

a zoom activation button;

wherein

an image viewed in the digital viewing screen is magnified when said zoom activation button, and said image is magnified to show greater detail of a part of the image which is not the center of the image.

2. The electronic viewer of claim 1 in which said zoom feature is configured to magnify a region of said image located in the lower center of said image.

3. The electronic viewer of claim 1 in which said zoom feature is based on software magnification of said image.

4. The electronic viewer of claim 1 in which said zoom feature is configured to magnify a region of said image located in the lower right of said image.

5. The electronic viewer of claim 1 in which said zoom feature is configured to magnify a region of said image located in the lower left of said image.

6. The electronic viewer of claim 1 in which said zoom feature is configured to magnify one of a plurality of regions of said image, in which the region to be magnified is not the center of the image.

7. The electronic viewer of claim 6 in which said electronic viewer further comprises a zone selection button, for selecting a region of said image to magnify.

8. The electronic viewer of claim 6 in which said electronic viewer further comprises a zone selection button in the form of a touch screen, for selecting a region of said image to magnify.

9. The electronic viewer of claim 1 in which digital camera lens'"'"' said zoom feature is configured to magnify one of a plurality of regions of said image, in which the region to be magnified is not the center of the image.

10. The electronic viewer of claim 7 which further comprises a magnification button to change magnification to different levels of magnification.

11. The electronic viewer of claim 7 which further comprises a brightness button to change brightness of said image to different levels of brightness.

12. The electronic viewer of claim 2 in which said digital camera lens is configured for mounting on the rear of an automobile, for viewing a region around a centrally located towing ball mounted on said automobile, with said zoom function configured to magnify an image of said towing ball in the lower center of said image.

13. The electronic viewer of claim 2 in which said digital camera lens is configured for mounting on one side of a door, with said digital viewing screen configured for placement on an opposite side of said door.

14. The electronic viewer of claim 2 which further includes a voice transmittal feature.

15. The electronic viewer of claim 2 in which said digital camera lens is configured for mounting in a stand for placement above printed material, to serve as a reading aid

16. The electronic viewer of claim 15 which further includes a light source for illuminating said printed material.

17. The electronic viewer of claim 2 in which said digital viewing screen is configured to be portable from said digital camera lens, for placement in any location chosen by a user.

18. The electronic viewer of claim 2 which further includes a plurality of cameras placed at various locations around a vehicle, with a monitor with a camera selection button or means to select which camera to display an image from on said monitor.

19. The electronic viewer of claim 17 which further comprises a selection means to select a region on each image of each camera for viewing, and a magnification means for magnification of the selected region of the selected image.

20. The electronic viewer of claim 18 which further comprises a magnification selection means for selecting different levels of magnification for the image selected from the various cameras.

21. The electronic viewer of claim 18, which further includes an alarm configured to sound when an object is within a specified distance of the viewer.