Apparatus and method for a safety system of cameras for advantageously viewing vehicular traffic by the driver
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system for a road vehicle for use by a driver of the road vehicle to view traffic in adjacent lanes of the vehicle, while driving the road vehicle, comprising:
- a safety system using a system of cameras in lieu of side view mirrors in the road vehicle, for checking traffic, in adjacent lanes, wherein the safety system includes a display screen positioned inside the road vehicle for viewing traffic in adjacent lanes before making a safe lane change, in lieu of checking the side view mirrors;
the system of cameras is configured with, a computer processor, a memory and the display screen;
the computer processor receives inputs from the system of cameras where the inputs have a sequence of images representing views of traffic in adjacent lanes of the road vehicle and temporarily saves the images in the memory;
the processor processes the sequences of images and creates composite views of the traffic in adjacent lanes, wherein the processor processes a sequence of composite views by removing background images in each view and then processing each view to determine size and type of vehicles, if any in the composite views, and searches for each vehicle a visual icon from a group of icons in the memory and displays the composite views by placing visual icons, thereby enabling the driver to have a situational awareness of the traffic in adjacent lanes of the road vehicle while the road vehicle is in motion or is at rest;
the processor receives and processes the sequence of images at a rate of substantially 24 images per second that provide a real time view of traffic in adjacent lanes of the road vehicle on the display screen to the driver in lieu of or in addition to use of glass mirrors.
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Abstract
A system for a motor vehicle for use by a driver of the vehicle to view the surroundings of the vehicle, while driving the vehicle has a system of digital cameras, a computer processor, a memory and a display screen. The processor receives inputs from the system of cameras where the inputs have a sequence of images representing views of surroundings of the vehicle and temporarily saves the images in the memory. The processor processes the series of images to create composite views of the surroundings and displays the composite views on the display screen.
11 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for a road vehicle for use by a driver of the road vehicle to view traffic in adjacent lanes of the vehicle, while driving the road vehicle, comprising:
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a safety system using a system of cameras in lieu of side view mirrors in the road vehicle, for checking traffic, in adjacent lanes, wherein the safety system includes a display screen positioned inside the road vehicle for viewing traffic in adjacent lanes before making a safe lane change, in lieu of checking the side view mirrors; the system of cameras is configured with, a computer processor, a memory and the display screen; the computer processor receives inputs from the system of cameras where the inputs have a sequence of images representing views of traffic in adjacent lanes of the road vehicle and temporarily saves the images in the memory; the processor processes the sequences of images and creates composite views of the traffic in adjacent lanes, wherein the processor processes a sequence of composite views by removing background images in each view and then processing each view to determine size and type of vehicles, if any in the composite views, and searches for each vehicle a visual icon from a group of icons in the memory and displays the composite views by placing visual icons, thereby enabling the driver to have a situational awareness of the traffic in adjacent lanes of the road vehicle while the road vehicle is in motion or is at rest; the processor receives and processes the sequence of images at a rate of substantially 24 images per second that provide a real time view of traffic in adjacent lanes of the road vehicle on the display screen to the driver in lieu of or in addition to use of glass mirrors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A system of electronic mirrors for a road vehicle that enable a driver of the road vehicle to view traffic in adjacent lanes of the road vehicle, while driving the road vehicle, comprising:
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a safety system using a system of cameras in lieu of side view mirrors in the road vehicle, for checking traffic, in adjacent lanes, wherein the safety system includes a display screen positioned inside the road vehicle for viewing traffic in adjacent lanes before making a safe lane change, in lieu of checking the side view mirrors; the system of cameras, uses, at least two different cameras that are mounted on an exterior of the road vehicle; a processor and a memory, the processor receives inputs from the system of cameras, the inputs have a sequence of images representing views of traffic in adjacent lanes of the road vehicle and temporarily saves the images in the memory; the processor processes the sequence of images to create and display a sequence of composite images of the traffic in adjacent lanes for display on the display screen; wherein the processor processes the sequence of composite images by removing background images in each composite image and then processing each composite image to determine size and type of vehicles, if any in the composite images, and searches for each vehicle a visual icon from a group of icons in the memory and displays the composite images by placing visual icons, thereby enabling the driver to have a situational awareness of the traffic in adjacent lanes of the road vehicle while the road vehicle is in motion or is at rest; the processor receives and processes the sequence of images at a rate of substantially 24 images per second that provide a real time view of traffic in adjacent lanes of the road vehicle on the display screen to the driver in lieu of or in addition to use of glass mirrors. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for a system of digital cameras for a road vehicle that enable a driver of the road vehicle to view traffic in adjacent lanes of the road vehicle, while driving the road vehicle, comprising steps of:
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providing a safety system using the system of digital cameras in lieu of side view mirrors in the road vehicle, for checking traffic, in adjacent lanes, wherein the safety system includes a display screen positioned inside the road vehicle for viewing traffic in adjacent lanes before making a safe lane change, in lieu of checking the side view mirrors; mounting the system of digital cameras, with at least two different cameras on an exterior of the road vehicle; having a processor and a memory, the processor receiving inputs from the system of digital cameras, the inputs having a sequence of images representing views of traffic in adjacent lanes of the vehicle and temporarily saving the images in the memory; processing by the processor the sequence of images to create and display a sequence of composite images of traffic in adjacent lanes for display on the display screen; wherein the processor processes the sequence of composite images by removing background images in each composite image and then processing the each composite image to determine size and type of vehicles, if any in the composite images, and searches for each vehicle a visual icon from a group of icons in the memory and displays the composite images by placing visual icons, thereby enabling the driver to have a situational awareness of the traffic in adjacent lanes of the road vehicle while the road vehicle is in motion or is at rest; the processor receives and processes the sequence of images at a rate of substantially 24 images per second that provide a real time view of traffic in adjacent lanes of the road vehicle on the display screen to the driver in lieu of or in addition to use of glass mirrors. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification