POSITION DEPENDENT REAR FACING CAMERA FOR PICKUP TRUCK LIFT GATES

• US 20130128039A1
• Filed: 11/23/2011
• Published: 05/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH, Robert Bosch LLC (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Meier, Michael R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,830,317 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/00 Arrangement of optical signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor for lighting vehicle interior B60Q3/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle

Abstract

A rear camera system for a vehicle with a rear-lift door including a camera unit mounted on the rear-lift door, the rear-lift door having open and closed positions, the camera unit having a first field of view when the rear-lift door is in the open position and a second field of view when the rear-lift door is in the closed position, the first and second fields of view overlapping in a shared field of view; a sensor configured to indicate when the rear-lift door is in the open or closed position; a controller configured to receive image data from the camera unit, determine whether the rear-lift door is in the open or closed position based on a signal received from the sensor, and adjust the image data to primarily include the shared field of view based on whether the rear-lift door is in the open position or the closed position.

Claims

1. A rear camera system for a vehicle with a rear-lift door, the system comprising:

a camera unit mounted on the rear-lift door, the rear-lift door having an open position and a closed position;

the camera unit having a first field of view when the rear-lift door is in the open position and a second field of view when the rear-lift door is in the closed position;

wherein the first field of view and the second field of view overlap in a shared field of view;

a sensor configured to indicate when the rear-lift door is in the open position or the closed position; and

a controller configured to

receive image data from the camera unit,

determine whether the rear-lift door is in the open position or the closed position based on a signal received from the sensor, and

adjust the image data to primarily include the shared field of view based on whether the rear-lift door is in the open position or the closed position.

2. The rear camera system of claim 1, wherein the rear-lift door has an outer surface that is vertical when the rear-lift door is in the closed position, and wherein the camera unit is oriented such that a central axis of the camera unit is at an oblique angle relative to the outer surface of the rear-lift door.

3. The rear camera system of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a level sensor to detect an orientation of the rear-lift door.

4. The rear camera system of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a switch to detect whether the rear-lift door is latched.

5. The rear camera system of claim 1, further comprising a display unit to display the adjusted image data.

6. The rear camera system of claim 1, wherein the shared field of view comprises a region behind the vehicle.

7. The rear camera system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is selected from the group consisting of a sport-utility vehicle, a pick-up truck, a station wagon, a van, a minivan, and a passenger vehicle having a trunk.

8. The rear camera system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to crop the image data to primarily include the shared field of view.

9. A rear camera system for a vehicle with a rear-lift door, the system comprising:

a camera unit mounted on the rear-lift door and positioned at an angle relative to the rear-lift door, the rear-lift door having an open position and a closed position;

the camera unit having a first field of view when the rear-lift door is in the open position and a second field of view when the rear-lift door is in the closed position;

wherein the first field of view and the second field of view overlap in a shared field of view, wherein the shared field of view comprises a region behind the vehicle;

a sensor configured to indicate when the rear-lift door is in the open position or the closed position; and

a controller configured to

receive image data from the camera unit,

determine whether the rear-lift door is in the open position or the closed position based on a signal received from the sensor,

crop the image data from the camera unit to primarily include the shared field of view based on whether the rear-lift door is in the open position or the closed position, and

display the adjusted image data on a display unit.

10. The rear camera system of claim 9, wherein the sensor comprises a level sensor to detect an orientation of the rear-lift door.

11. The rear camera system of claim 9, wherein the sensor comprises a switch to detect whether the rear-lift door is latched.

12. The rear camera system of claim 9, wherein the rear-lift door has an outer surface that is vertical when the rear-lift door is in the closed position, and wherein the camera unit is oriented such that a central axis of the camera unit is at an oblique angle relative to the outer surface of the rear-lift door.

13. The rear camera system of claim 9, wherein the vehicle is selected from the group consisting of a sport-utility vehicle, a pick-up truck, a station wagon, a van, a minivan, and a passenger vehicle having a trunk.