ELECTRONIC AUTOMOBILE PROXIMITY VIEWER

• US 20090115847A1
• Filed: 11/07/2008
• Published: 05/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Leroy E. Anderson
• Original Assignee: Leroy E. Anderson
• Inventors: Anderson, Leroy E.
• Application Number:
  US12/267,382
• Publication Number:
  US 20090115847A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/0023 the element being a sensor, e.g. distance sensor, camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/22 for reverse drive
• 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 2300/105 using multiple cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/406 using wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

An electronic automobile proximity viewer for with a viewscreen mounted on a dashboard of an automobile, and one or more digital camera units mounted at peripheral locations of an automobile. From the view screen the use can select which image from which camera unit to view, and can direct the selected camera unit to zoom in on an object near the automobile, including zooming in to regions of the selected image which are not in the center of the image.

Claims

1. An electronic proximity viewer for automobiles for automobiles, comprising:

at least one digital camera lens units for mounting on an automobile in a position for viewing one or more regions near said automobile for viewing objects near said automobile, with said region to be viewed remote from a user of said electronic proximity viewer for automobiles;

a digital viewing screen unit for mounting inside said automobile in a position at a convenient to the user and distant from said digital camera lens, for convenient viewing of said region near said automobile, said digital viewing screen unit having a view screen;

a off center zoom feature in said viewing screen unit in which a selected region is magnified, in which the region magnified includes regions other than the center of the image of said region to be viewed;

a zoom activation button; and

a zone selection 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 including regions of the image other than the center of the image.

2. The electronic proximity viewer for automobiles 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 proximity viewer for automobiles of claim 1 in which said zoom feature is based on software magnification of said image.

4. The electronic proximity viewer for automobiles 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 proximity viewer for automobiles 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 proximity viewer for automobiles 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 proximity viewer for automobiles of claim 1 in which said electronic proximity viewer for automobiles further comprises a zone selection button in the form of a touch screen, for selecting a region of said image to magnify.

8. The electronic proximity viewer for automobiles 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.

9. The electronic proximity viewer for automobiles of claim 1 which further comprises a magnification button to change magnification to different levels of magnification.

10. The electronic proximity viewer for automobiles of claim 1 which further comprises a brightness button to change brightness of said image to different levels of brightness.

11. The electronic proximity viewer for automobiles of claim 1 in which said digital camera lens is configured for mounting on the rear of an automobile, for viewing a region behind said automobile.

12. The electronic proximity viewer for automobiles of claim 1 in which said digital camera lens is configured for mounting on the left and right rear corners of an automobile, for viewing a region adjacent to the left and right rear corners of said automobile.

13. The electronic proximity viewer for automobiles of claim 1 which further comprises a light source which may be activated to illuminate a region adjacent the automobile.

14. The electronic proximity viewer for automobiles of claim 1 which further includes a plurality of digital camera lens units placed at selected locations around a vehicle, with said viewing screen having a camera selection button to select one of said digital camera lenses from which to display an image on said monitor.

15. The electronic proximity viewer for automobiles of claim 14 which further comprises a zone 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.

16. The electronic proximity viewer for automobiles of claim 14 which further comprises a magnification selection means for selecting different levels of magnification for the image selected from the various cameras.

17. The electronic proximity viewer for automobiles of claim 14, which further includes an alarm configured to sound when an object is within a specified distance of the viewer.