Driving aiding system

• US 20020145663A1
• Filed: 04/04/2002
• Published: 10/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Iida, Ryosuke, Mizusawa, Kazufumi, Yoshida, Takashi, Okamoto, Shusaku, Miwa, Michio, Hirama, Yuichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,006,127 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/118
• CPC Class Codes: B60D 1/36 for facilitating connection, e.g. hitch catchers , visual guide means, signalling aids B60D1/465 takes precedence; vehicle signalling in general B60Q; optical arrangements specially adapted for viewing trailer-hitches B60R1/003
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/173 Reversing assist
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/179 Distances to obstacles or vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/21 using cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/173 Reversing assist
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/179 Distances to obstacles or vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/21 using cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/28 characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/029 Steering assistants using warnings or proposing actions to the driver without influencing the steering system
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/165 for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees

Abstract

There are provided a displaying means arranged at a position that can be looked at from a driver'"'"'s seat of a vehicle, an image picking-up means for picking up an image of a rear portion of the vehicle containing at least a part of a hitch that is provided to the rear portion of the vehicle, and an image processing means for causing the displaying means to display a synthesized image that is obtained by image-processing an image picked up by the image picking-up means, wherein a hitch image 35a of own vehicle in addition to an image 41a of a trailed vehicle and an image 42a of the coupler are displayed on a screen of the displaying means. As a result, the relative positional relationship between the hitch and the destination coupler can be checked on the screen and thus the hitch coupling operation can be facilitated.

Claims

1. A driving aiding system comprising:

a displaying means arranged at a position that can be looked at from a driver'"'"'s seat of a vehicle;

an image picking-up means for picking up an image of a rearward direction of the vehicle containing at least a part of a hitch that is provided to a rear portion of the vehicle; and

an image processing means for causing the displaying means to display a synthesized image that is obtained by image-processing an image picked up by the image picking-up means.

2. A driving aiding system according to claim 1, wherein the image processing means comprises a means for cutting out and deforming an image which at least cuts out and deforms a predetermined area of the synthesized image.

3. A driving aiding system according to claim 2, wherein said means for cutting out and deforming an image comprises an image enlarging means.

4. A driving aiding system according to claim 2, wherein said means for cutting out and deforming an image comprises an image transformation means which transforms an image by changing a viewpoint.

5. A driving aiding system according to claim 2, wherein the image processing means has a means for switching an image to be displayed at the image displaying means between the synthesized image and an image that is obtained by said cutting out and deforming means.

6. A driving aiding system according to claim 2, wherein the image processing means has a means for displaying the synthesized image and an image that is obtained by cutting out a predetermined area of the synthesized image and deforming in parallel on one screen of the displaying means.

7. A driving aiding system according to claim 5, wherein the image processing means has a means for displaying a guide line indicating a display area of the extracted image in the synthesized image.

8. A driving aiding system according to claim 6, wherein the image processing means has a means for displaying a guide line indicating a display area of the extracted image in the synthesized image.

10. A driving aiding system according to claim 5, wherein the image processing means has a means for displaying a guide line for guiding a position of a trailed vehicle side coupler to be coupled to the hitch on a screen of the displaying means.

9. A driving aiding system comprising:

a displaying means arranged at a position that can be looked at from a driver'"'"'s seat of a vehicle;

an image picking-up means for picking up an image of a rearward direction of the vehicle; and

an image processing means for superposing an illustrated image of a hitch indicating a presence position of the hitch equipped to a rear portion of the vehicle onto a synthesized image to display when the synthesized image that is obtained by image-processing an image picked up by the image picking-up means is displayed on the displaying means.