Camera system for a motor vehicle

• US 9,630,568 B2
• Filed: 06/18/2013
• Issued: 04/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Volkswagen AG
• Original Assignee: Volkswagen AG
• Inventors: Kuhn, Thorsten, Kirchner, Alexander, Katzwinkel, Reiner
• Primary Examiner(s): Atala, Jamie
• Assistant Examiner(s): LIMA, FABIO S
• Application Number:
  US13/920,921
• Publication Number:
  US 20130342658A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,407 Days
• Field of Search: 348 47
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2011/0026 Windows, e.g. windscreen
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10021 Stereoscopic video; Stereoscopic image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30252 Vehicle exterior; Vicinity of vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/80 Geometric correction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/239 using two 2D image sensors having a relative position equal to or related to the interocular distance H04N13/243 takes precedence

Abstract

A camera system for acquiring a stereo image of the surroundings of a motor vehicle having two cameras and a control device, the camera system being arranged on the inside of a motor vehicle window and the two cameras looking outward through the motor vehicle window in order to observe the surroundings. Each of the two cameras has a camera-specific camera viewing cone which forms a penetrating cut surface with the window surface. In order to delimit the installation space of the camera system, the camera viewing cone of each camera is delimited by cropping the penetrating cut surface, the cropping of the two penetrating cut surfaces being performed symmetrically relative to the vertical plane of symmetry of the two cameras. The erroneous formation in the image of one camera viewing cone is compensated in the control device by the image information of the other camera viewing cone.

Claims

1. A camera system for acquiring a stereo image of the surroundings of a motor vehicle comprising two cameras and a control device arranged on the inside of a motor vehicle window,

wherein the two cameras look outward through the motor vehicle window to observe the motor vehicle surroundings, each camera having a camera-specific camera viewing cone which forms a penetrating cut surface with the window surface,

wherein the camera viewing cone of each camera is delimited by a physically masked out portion of the penetrating cut surface of the motor vehicle window, the physically masked out portions of the two penetrating cut surfaces are symmetric relative to the vertical plane of symmetry of the two cameras, and erroneous information caused by the physically masked out portion, in an image of one camera viewing cone is compensated for in the control device by image information, symmetrical thereto, of the other camera viewing cone,

wherein the physically masked out portion of a penetrating cut surface is formed by a cutting curve, which runs in an interior of the penetrating cut surface and forms two intersection points with a contour of the penetrating cut surface.

2. The camera system of claim 1, wherein the cutting curve between the two intersection points with the contour is formed by a strictly monotonic function.

3. The camera system of claim 1, wherein the penetrating cut surfaces have the shape of a trapeze.

4. The camera system of claim 3, wherein physically masked out portion of a left-hand penetrating cut surface in the viewing direction of the camera system relates to an outer, left-hand corner of the trapeze, and physically masked out portion of a right-hand penetrating surface relates to an outer, right-hand corner of the trapeze.

5. The camera system of claim 1, wherein the cutting curve of the right-hand penetrating surface forms a monotonically decreasing function in plan view and the cutting curve of the left-hand cutting surface forms a monotonically increasing function in plan view.

6. The camera system of claim 1, wherein the cutting curve running between the two intersection points is a convexly curved curve.

7. The camera system of claim 1, wherein the physically masked out portions are formed by a black printing on the motor vehicle window.

8. The camera system of claim 1, wherein the camera system has a housing for holding the two cameras and an inner covering.

9. A method for acquiring a stereo image of the surroundings of a motor vehicle having a camera system with two cameras and a control device the camera system being arranged on the inside of a motor vehicle window, the method comprising:

observing the motor vehicle surroundings using the two cameras to look outward through the motor vehicle window, wherein each camera has a camera-specific camera viewing cone which forms a penetrating cut surface with the window surface,

delimiting the camera viewing cone of each camera solely by a physical masking off a portion of the penetrating cut surface, the physical masked off portions of the two penetrating cut surfaces being performed symmetrically relative to the vertical plane of symmetry of the two cameras; and

compensating for erroneous information caused by the physical masked off portions in an image of one camera viewing cone, in the control device by image information, symmetrical thereto, of the other camera viewing cone,

wherein the physical masking off of a penetrating cut surface is performed by a cutting curve, which runs in an interior of the penetrating cut surface and forms two intersection points with a contour of the penetrating cut surface.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the cutting curve between the two intersection points with the contour is formed by a strictly monotonic function.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the penetrating cut surfaces have the shape of a trapeze.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein physical masking off of a left-hand penetrating cut surface in the viewing direction of the camera system relates to an outer, left-hand corner of the trapeze, and physical masking off of a right-hand penetrating surface relates to an outer, right-hand corner of the trapeze.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the cutting curve of the right-hand penetrating surface forms a monotonically decreasing function in plan view and the cutting curve of the left-hand cutting surface forms a monotonically increasing function in plan view.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the cutting curve running between the two intersection points is a convexly curved curve.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the physical masking off is formed by a black printing on the motor vehicle window.