Driving-operation assist and recording medium

• US 7,277,123 B1
• Filed: 10/06/1999
• Issued: 10/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nobori, Kunio, Ishii, Hirofumi, Morimura, Atsushi, Nakagawa, Masamichi, Okamoto, Shusaku
• Primary Examiner(s): VO, TUNG T
• Application Number:
  US09/581,004
• Time in Patent Office: 2,918 Days
• Field of Search: 348/14.1, 348118-175, 340/461, 340/901, 340/937, 359/896, 382/104, 382/283, 701/41, 701/301
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/28 with an adjustable field of view
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/102 using 360 degree surveillance camera system
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/105 using multiple cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/302 combining image information with GPS information or vehicle data, e.g. vehicle speed, gyro, steering angle data
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/303 using joined images, e.g. multiple camera images
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/305 merging camera image with lines or icons
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/307 virtually distinguishing relevant parts of a scene from the background of the scene
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/607 from a bird's eye viewpoint
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/806 for aiding parking
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8086 for vehicle path indication
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/02 Steering position indicators ; Steering position determination; Steering aids
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/027 Parking aids, e.g. instruction means
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/028 Guided parking by providing commands to the driver, e.g. acoustically or optically
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 Geographic models
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A vehicle-operation assist includes a circumferential-state imager for imaging a circumferential state of a vehicle with a camera and generating a circumferential-state image; a synthetic-image generator for generating a synthetic image by superimposing on the circumferential-state image, an assumed-movement pattern of the vehicle performing a predetermined series of driving operations; and a display for displaying the synthetic image. The circumferential-state imager has at least one camera and a camera parameter table for storing characteristics of the camera and generating the circumferential-state image on the basis of the camera characteristics.

Claims

1. A vehicle operation assist for a vehicle mounted with a camera, said vehicle operation assist comprising:

an imaging unit operable to generate a circumferential state image using an output image from the camera, said circumferential state image viewed from a virtual viewpoint, said virtual viewpoint being different from a viewpoint of the camera;

a synthetic-image generating unit operable to generate a synthetic image by using the circumferential state image and an assumed-movement pattern image which is based on a predetermined driving operation of the vehicle, the assumed-movement pattern image including a movement of the vehicle between a start position of the vehicle and a parking position of the vehicle in case of performing the predetermined driving operation; and

a display unit operable to display the synthetic image,

wherein the assumed-movement pattern image includes tire traces.

2. A method of vehicle operation assist comprising the steps of:

(a) imaging a circumferential state of a vehicle;

(b) generating a circumferential-state image of the vehicle as viewed from a virtual viewpoint based on the imaging of step (a);

(c) generating a synthetic image of the vehicle by using the circumferential state image of the vehicle with respect to an assumed-movement pattern image which is obtained from a series of a predetermined driving operation for the vehicle, the assumed-movement pattern image including a movement of the vehicle between a start position of the vehicle and a parking position of the vehicle in case of performing the predetermined driving operation; and

(d) displaying the synthetic image of the vehicle,

wherein the assumed-movement pattern image includes tire traces.