Camera with positionable light shade

• US 9,904,146 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2015
• Issued: 02/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Yuen, Ephraim C., Abdel-Rahman, Akram M., Patel, Shiv G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Haskins, Twyler
• Assistant Examiner(s): Trehan, Akshay
• Application Number:
  US14/926,537
• Publication Number:
  US 20170123293A1
• Time in Patent Office: 852 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 11/045 Lens hoods or shields
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 9/02 Diaphragms
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/74 by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means

Abstract

A product may include a lens and a shade. A field of view may be defined through the lens. An actuator may selectively position the shade within the field of view.

Claims

1. A method of blocking a light source from a field of view of a camera of a vehicle comprising:

providing an image sensor and a shade that blocks light from reaching the image sensor when positioned over the field of view;

supplying a time, by a clock, indicative of a location of a sun, to a processor of a controller;

supplying, by a compass, a directional heading of the vehicle to the processor;

determining, by the processor, a direction from which the light source is directed at the camera, by comparing the time and the directional heading to location information of the sun, by referencing a lookup table which includes the direction for the time, and factoring in the directional heading;

positioning, by an actuator mechanism, the shade within the field of view and in the direction by aligning the shade with the direction and moving the shade multi-directionally, by the actuator mechanism, to any point in the field of view in line with the direction;

leaving, by the positioning and by dimensions of the shade, an unshaded portion of the field of view; and

extracting, by the processor, information from the unshaded portion of the field of view.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the step of determining the direction from which the light source is directed at the camera comprises determining, by the processor, an angle α

defining a lateral direction to the light source and determining, by the processor, an angle β

defining a vertical direction to the light source, and comprising determining dimensions of the shade by using a known range of rays of the sun around a reference line directed at the sun.

3. The method according to claim 2 further comprising positioning, by the actuator mechanism, the shade so that a maximum elevation angle remaining unshaded in the field of view is less than the angle β

.

4. The method according to claim 2 further comprising providing the shade with a tip, positioning, by the actuator mechanism, the shade so that the tip is in line with a reference line defined by the angle α

.

5. The method according to claim 4 further comprising positioning the shade in a ring, and connecting multiple actuators between the ring and the shade.