PLUG-IN TO ENABLE CAD SOFTWARE NOT HAVING GREATER THAN 180 DEGREE CAPABILITY TO PRESENT IMAGE FROM CAMERA OF MORE THAN 180 DEGREES

• US 20110050844A1
• Filed: 08/27/2009
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Iwazaki, Koki
• Granted Patent: US 8,310,523 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/36
• 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 2300/102 using 360 degree surveillance camera system
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/305 merging camera image with lines or icons
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/047 Fisheye or wide-angle transformations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture
• 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

A plug-in is provided to a CAD program on a vehicle to permit the CAD program to present an image from a vehicle-mounted video camera that exceeds a 180 degree field of view, even though the core CAD program without plug-in is designed to present no more than a 180 degree field of view image.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a vehicle;

a camera mounted on the vehicle and generating a camera image having a field of view in excess of 180 degrees;

a processor accessing a computer-aided design (CAD) assembly to generate, from the camera image, a display image with a field of view of more than 180 degrees; and

a display mounted in the vehicle and communicating with the processor to present the display image.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the camera is mounted on a rear of the vehicle.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the display image with a field of view of more than 180 degrees depicts a distorted image of an object in the field of view of the camera.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the CAD assembly includes a core module incapable of generating, from the camera image, a display image with a field of view of more than 180 degrees, and a plug-in module cooperating with the core module to generate, from the camera image, a display image with a field of view of more than 180 degrees.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor presents on the display a user interface for receiving user input to the processor, the user input defining the field view.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the user input defines at least one of a horizontal field of view in excess of 180 degrees or a vertical field of view in excess of 180 degrees.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the user input defines both a horizontal field of view in excess of 180 degrees and a vertical field of view in excess of 180 degrees.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the user input defines an aspect ratio.

9. A tangible computer readable storage medium bearing instructions executable by a processor to undertake logic comprising:

receiving a camera image having a field of view in excess of 180 degrees;

accessing a computer-aided design (CAD) assembly to generate, from the camera image, a display image with a field of view of more than 180 degrees, the CAD assembly including a core module incapable of generating, from the camera image, a display image with a field of view of more than 180 degrees, and a plug-in module cooperating with the core module to generate, from the camera image, a display image with a field of view of more than 180 degrees; and

presenting the display image on a visual display.

10. The medium of claim 9, wherein the medium is mounted in a vehicle.

11. The medium of claim 9, wherein the display image with a field of view of more than 180 degrees depicts a distorted image of an object in the field of view of the camera.

12. The medium of claim 9, wherein the medium bears instructions to cause the processor to present on the display a user interface for receiving user input to the processor, the user input defining the field view.

13. The medium of claim 12, wherein the user input defines at least one of a horizontal field of view in excess of 180 degrees or a vertical field of view in excess of 180 degrees.

14. The medium of claim 13, wherein the user input defines both a horizontal field of view in excess of 180 degrees and a vertical field of view in excess of 180 degrees.

15. The medium of claim 12, wherein the user input defines an aspect ratio.

16. Method comprising:

presenting, on a display, a user interface permitting user input representing a camera field of view;

using the user input to generate a display image from a camera image, the display image having the field of view input from the user interface; and

presenting the display image on the display, the display image being characterized by the field of view.

17. The method of claim 16, comprising mounting the display in a vehicle.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the user input defines at least one of a horizontal field of view in excess of 180 degrees or a vertical field of view in excess of 180 degrees.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the user input defines both a horizontal field of view in excess of 180 degrees and a vertical field of view in excess of 180 degrees.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the user input defines an aspect ratio.