×

Method and system for visualizing the environment of a vehicle with a distance-dependent merging of an infrared and a visual image

  • US 7,834,905 B2
  • Filed: 12/17/2004
  • Issued: 11/16/2010
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2002
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
Patent Images

1. Method of visualizing an environment of a vehicle in darkness, the method comprising the acts of:

  • providing a visual image or its digital data of the environment, preferably a colored visual image, the visual image showing visible objects; and

    providing an infrared image or its digital data of the environment, the infrared image showing the infrared radiation emanating from the visible and/or other objects;

    wherein the visual image or its digital data are provided by a visual camera sensitive in a visual spectral range, preferably a color-sensitive visual camera, or a first sensor, and the infrared image or its digital data are provided by an infrared camera sensitive in the infrared spectral range or a second sensor;

    wherein the visual camera or the first sensor or its lens system has a first optical axis, and the infrared camera or the second optical sensor or its lens system has a second optical axis, which are offset parallel to one another so that the cameras or sensors provide at least partially different cutouts of the environment of the vehicle in the form of a first and a second cutout;

    wherein the provided first cutout and the provided second cutout are completely or partially superposed or merged by a superposing or merging device with respect to pixels and/or areas, and wherein during the merging at least one distance-dependent adaptation parameter obtained during calibration for different distances, particularly at least one registration or transformation parameter, is taken into account, and the adaptation parameter or parameters are stored during the calibration in a data memory in the vehicle; and

    wherein the distance between the vehicle and a vehicle driving in front of it is determined by a transmitting and receiving device and it is checked by the superposing or merging device whether the actually used distance-dependent adaptation parameter is suitable for the determined distance for providing a ghost-image-free merged image and, in the event of a lacking suitability, at least one additional suitable distance-dependent adaptation parameter is determined and the latter is used for providing a partially merged image which shows the vehicle driving ahead.

View all claims
  • 1 Assignment
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×