Working vehicle periphery monitoring system and working vehicle

• US 9,294,736 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2012
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Tanuki, Tomikazu, Kurihara, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhao, Daquan
• Application Number:
  US13/825,082
• Publication Number:
  US 20150222858A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,250 Days
• Field of Search: 348/148, 348/153, 348/143, 348/61, 348/159
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 1/27 providing all-round vision, e.g. using omnidirectional cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/105 using multiple cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/306 using a re-scaling of images
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/607 from a bird's eye viewpoint
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/00 2D [Two Dimensional] image generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4038 Image mosaicing, e.g. composing plane images from plane sub-images
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/165 for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A working vehicle periphery monitoring system includes: a plurality of image capturing devices capturing a periphery of a working vehicle to output image information; a bird'"'"'s eye image synthesizing unit synthesizing the image information to generate bird'"'"'s eye image information for displaying a bird'"'"'s eye image on a monitor; and a display control unit displaying, on the monitor, at least one of a first bird'"'"'s eye image obtained by superimposing a first vessel image including at least the vessel other than a part of the vessel at a rear side of the working vehicle and front and rear wheels displayed with the vessel on an area of the working vehicle in the bird'"'"'s eye image and a second bird'"'"'s eye image obtained by superimposing a second vessel image including at least all of the vessel and the front and rear wheels displayed with the vessel on the area of the working vehicle in the bird'"'"'s eye image.

Claims

1. A working vehicle periphery monitoring system that monitors a periphery of a working vehicle including a vehicle body frame which supports front wheels and rear wheels and a vessel which protrudes toward a rear side of the vehicle body frame than the rear wheels to load freight thereon, the working vehicle periphery monitoring system comprising:

a plurality of image capturing devices each of which is attached to the working vehicle and captures the periphery of the working vehicle to output a piece of image information;

a bird'"'"'s eye image synthesizing unit that acquires a plurality of pieces of the image information and synthesizes the acquired image information to generate bird'"'"'s eye image information for displaying a bird'"'"'s eye image of the working vehicle and the periphery of the working vehicle on a display device; and

a display control unit that switches between a first image and a second image wherein

a first image is obtained by superimposing

a first vessel image including at least the vessel other than a part of the vessel at the rear side of the working vehicle, and the first vessel image also includes the front wheels and rear wheels displayed with the vessel on an area in which the working vehicle is present in the bird'"'"'s eye image and by displaying a lower area of the vessel rear portion, near a rear end of the vessel, on the bird'"'"'s eye image corresponding to the part of the vessel and

a second image is obtained by superimposing

a second vessel image including at least all of the vessel and the front wheels and rear wheels displayed with the vessel on the area in which the working vehicle is present in the bird'"'"'s eye image to be displayed on the display device.

2. The working vehicle periphery monitoring system according to claim 1,

wherein the display control unit displays all of the front and rear wheels.

3. The working vehicle periphery monitoring system according to claim 1,

wherein as the rear wheels, a plurality of vehicle wheels are displayed at each of left and right sides of the vessel.

4. The working vehicle periphery monitoring system according to claim 1,

wherein in the first vessel image, a rear side of the vessel beyond an end of the rear wheel at the rear side of the working vehicle is excluded.

5. A working vehicle comprising:

the working vehicle periphery monitoring system according to claim 1.

6. The working vehicle periphery monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein a display showing a part corresponding to an outer peripheral portion of the portion near the rear end of the vessel is included in the first image.

7. A working vehicle periphery monitoring system that monitors a periphery of a working vehicle including a vehicle body frame which supports front wheels and rear wheels and a vessel which protrudes toward a rear side of the vehicle body frame than the rear wheels to load freight thereon, the working vehicle periphery monitoring system comprising:

a plurality of image capturing devices each of which is attached to the working vehicle and captures the periphery of the working vehicle to output a piece of image information;

a bird'"'"'s eye image synthesizing unit that acquires a plurality of pieces of the image information and synthesizes the acquired image information to generate bird'"'"'s eye image information for displaying a bird'"'"'s eye image of the working vehicle and the periphery of the working vehicle on a display device; and

a display control unit that switches between one of a first image and a second image

wherein the first image obtained by superimposing

a first vessel image including at least the vessel other than a part of the vessel at the rear side of the working vehicle, and the first vessel image also includes all of the front wheels and rear wheels displayed with the vessel on an area in which the working vehicle is present in the bird'"'"'s eye image and by displaying a lower area of the vessel rear portion, near a rear end of the vessel, on the bird'"'"'s eye image corresponding to the part of the vessel and

the second image obtained by superimposing

a second vessel image including at least all of the vessel and all of the front wheels and rear wheels displayed with the vessel on the area in which the working vehicle is present in the bird'"'"'s eye image to be displayed on the display device,

wherein as the rear wheels, a plurality of vehicle wheels are displayed at each of left and right sides of the vessel, and

wherein in the first vessel image, a rear side of the vessel beyond an end of the rear wheel at the rear side of the working vehicle is excluded.

8. A working vehicle comprising:

the working vehicle periphery monitoring system according to claim 7.