Stored vision for automobiles

• US 20100171831A1
• Filed: 03/12/2010
• Published: 07/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kenneth Eugene Arant
• Original Assignee: Kenneth Eugene Arant
• Inventors: Arant, Kenneth Eugene
• Granted Patent: US 8,319,619 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41422 located in transportation means, e.g. personal vehicle arrangements specially adapted for transportation systems in broadcast systems H04H20/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera

Abstract

A method for the driver of an automotive vehicle to avoid distraction from the task of driving, but yet to preserve and later recover legal evidence of events, objects, or conditions that may be encountered during the driving of the vehicle, by utilizing a perimeter optical viewing system in conjunction with a central digital recording system to record and subsequently retrieve images of those events, objects, or conditions.

Claims

1. A stored vision method for operating an automobile so that the driver may avoid distraction from the task of driving but yet be able to monitor all unfavorable external events, objects, or conditions that may be encountered during the driving of the vehicle, and to preserve and later recover legal evidence of those conditions, objects, or events, comprising the steps of:

(a) supporting a plurality of optical viewing lenses from the vehicle around its periphery in order to view events, objects, or conditions outside the vehicle;

(b) positioning a central digital recording medium within the automotive vehicle in a secure location;

(c) positioning digital camera apparatus within the vehicle in a cooperative relationship with both the viewing lenses and the central recording medium;

(d) providing means in the vehicle operable while the vehicle is moving, but inacessible to the driver while driving, for electrically energizing both the camera apparatus and the central recording medium, so as to acquire in real time optical information of images captured by the lenses, convert the optical information into electrical form, and record the electrical information in the central recording medium; and

(e) when the vehicle is stopped, retrieving the thus-recorded electrical information and reconstituting the images that were captured while the driver was driving the vehicle.

2. A method for the driver of an automotive vehicle to avoid distraction from the task of driving but yet be able to record all external events, objects, or conditions that may be encountered during the driving of the vehicle, and to record and later recover legal evidence of those conditions, objects, or events, comprising the steps of:

(a) supporting a plurality of optical viewing lenses in fixed positions upon the vehicle around its periphery such that each lens has a fixed field of view in a horizonal plane relative to the vehicle;

(b) positioning a central digital recording medium within the automotive vehicle in a secure location;

(c) continuously energizing both the digital recording medium and all of the viewing lenses while the vehicle is moving so as to acquire optical information of images captured by the lenses, convert the optical information into electrical form in actual time, and record the electrical information in a time division process in actual time on separate tracks in the central recording medium; and

(d) when the vehicle is stopped, retrieving the thus-recorded electrical information from the separate tracks of the recording medium and reconstituting for each individual viewing lens the images that were captured in its corresponding fixed field of view.