Surroundings exhibiting system and surroundings exhibiting method

• US 7,653,486 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2005
• Issued: 01/26/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Toshiya, Yamamoto, Takeshi, Miake, Aki, Itoh, Megumi, Okuda, Mitsukazu, Doi, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Black; Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Olsen; Lin B
• Application Number:
  US10/598,106
• Publication Number:
  US 20070173983A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,805 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/211, 348/148, 340/435, 340/436
• US Class Current: 701/301
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/27 providing all-round vision, e.g. using omnidirectional cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/102 using 360 degree surveillance camera system
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/306 using a re-scaling of images
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/404 triggering from stand-by mode to operation mode
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/70 characterised by an event-triggered choice to display a specific image among a selection of captured images
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8093 for obstacle warning
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

There is provided a system for showing a multi-directional image of surroundings of transportation device requiring a manual maneuver, when starting the transportation device in a parked state (stop state). The surroundings exhibiting system is constituted by an omnidirectional camera, an ignition instruction detection sensor, a control section including a CPU and a frame memory, and a liquid crystal panel. The omnidirectional camera captures an omnidirectional image of the surroundings around the transportation device in synchronization with a driver'"'"'s ignition instruction detected by the ignition instruction detection sensor. Further, the captured image data is temporally stored in the frame memory, and the stored image data is sequentially transmitted to the liquid crystal panel so as to be displayed thereon.

Claims

1. A surroundings exhibiting system for use in a transportation device, the surroundings exhibiting system comprising:

an image capturing section arranged to capture a multi-directional image of the surroundings of the transportation device;

a display section arranged to display at least a portion of the multi-directional image captured by the image capturing section;

a door sensor arranged to detect at least one of unlocking a door, opening the door, and closing the door; and

an ignition instruction detection sensor arranged to detect an operator'"'"'s ignition instruction to the transportation device;

wherein

the image capturing section is arranged to capture an image in synchronization with the detection of the at least one of unlocking the door, opening the door, and closing the door; and

the display section is arranged to display the image captured by the image capturing section in synchronization with the ignition instruction to show the operator the surroundings of the transportation device in a stopped state.

2. The surroundings exhibiting system as set forth in claim 1, wherein:

the image capturing section captures an omnidirectional image with respect to the transportation device.

3. The surroundings exhibiting system as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a frame memory arranged to store image data of the multi-directional image captured by the image capturing section;

wherein

the image data of the multi-directional image captured by the image capturing section is stored in the frame memory; and

a most recent image data among the image data stored in the frame memory is displayed on the display section upon the detection of the ignition instruction.

4. A surroundings exhibiting method of a transportation device, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting at least one of unlocking a door, opening the door, and closing the door;

starting capturing a multi-directional image of the surroundings of the transportation device in synchronization with the detection of the at least one of unlocking the door, opening the door, and closing the door;

detecting an operator'"'"'s ignition instruction to the transportation device; and

starting displaying at least a portion of the multi-directional image captured in the image capture step in synchronization with the ignition instruction to show the operator the surroundings of the transportation device in a stopped state.

5. A method for controlling a surroundings exhibiting system of a transportation device, the method comprising:

a process of detecting at least one of unlocking a door, opening the door, and closing the door;

an image capture start process of causing an image capturing section to start capturing a multi-directional image of surroundings of the transportation device in synchronization with the detection of the at least one of unlocking the door, opening the door, and closing the door;

a process of detecting an operator'"'"'s ignition instruction to the transportation device;

and

a display start process of causing a display section to start displaying at least a portion of the image captured by the image capturing section in synchronization with the ignition instruction to show the operator the surroundings of the transportation device in a stopped state.

6. A computer-readable storage medium including a surroundings exhibiting system control program for causing a computer to execute the method as set forth in claim 5.