Integrated video/data information system and method for application to commercial vehicles to enhance driver awareness
First Claim
1. An integrated video/data information system for use on-board a commercial vehicle, said system comprising:
- a digital integrated data bus for conveying among bus modules coupled to said bus video and data information in a digital format based on a predetermined bus protocol;
a plurality of bus compatible camera modules coupled to said integrated data bus, each camera module of said plurality comprising a camera for generating image data representative of a view thereof, each camera module operative as a bus module for transmitting, upon command, over said bus said image data in a digital format compatible with said predetermined bus protocol;
at least one bus compatible display module coupled to said integrated data bus, each display module comprising a display monitor for displaying image data for viewing by an operator, each display module operative as a bus module to receive from said bus, upon command, image data originating from a selected camera module of said plurality, and to display said image data on said display monitor thereof; and
a bus master module coupled to said integrated data bus for transmitting commands over said bus to said plurality of camera modules and said at least one display module, said commands comprising a first command for directing a selected camera module of said plurality to transmit image data thereof over said bus, and a second command for directing a selected display module of said at least one display module to receive image data corresponding to said selected camera module from said bus and to display said received image data on said display monitor thereof.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An integrated video/data information system for use on-board a commercial vehicle comprises a digital integrated data bus for conveying among bus compatible camera and display modules coupled to the bus video and data information in a digital format based on a predetermined bus protocol. Each camera module is operative to transmit, upon command, over the bus the image data in a digital format compatible with the predetermined bus protocol. Each display module is operative to receive from the bus, upon command, image data originating from a selected camera module, and to display the image data on a display monitor thereof. The system includes a bus master module coupled to the integrated data bus for transmitting commands over the bus to the camera and display modules. Such commands comprise a first command for directing a selected camera module to transmit image data thereof over the bus, and a second command for directing a selected display module to receive image data corresponding to the selected camera module from the bus and to display the received image data on the display monitor thereof. The first and second commands may be transmitted based on the operational status of the vehicle.
660 Citations
77 Claims
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1. An integrated video/data information system for use on-board a commercial vehicle, said system comprising:
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a digital integrated data bus for conveying among bus modules coupled to said bus video and data information in a digital format based on a predetermined bus protocol;
a plurality of bus compatible camera modules coupled to said integrated data bus, each camera module of said plurality comprising a camera for generating image data representative of a view thereof, each camera module operative as a bus module for transmitting, upon command, over said bus said image data in a digital format compatible with said predetermined bus protocol;
at least one bus compatible display module coupled to said integrated data bus, each display module comprising a display monitor for displaying image data for viewing by an operator, each display module operative as a bus module to receive from said bus, upon command, image data originating from a selected camera module of said plurality, and to display said image data on said display monitor thereof; and
a bus master module coupled to said integrated data bus for transmitting commands over said bus to said plurality of camera modules and said at least one display module, said commands comprising a first command for directing a selected camera module of said plurality to transmit image data thereof over said bus, and a second command for directing a selected display module of said at least one display module to receive image data corresponding to said selected camera module from said bus and to display said received image data on said display monitor thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A text overlay module disposeable on-board a commercial vehicle and coupleable between a display monitor and at least one existing communication bus of said vehicle for overlaying text messages onto image data for display on said display monitor, said module comprising:
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a bus interface circuit coupled to said at least one communication bus for receiving vehicle data representative of fault conditions and operational measurement and status data from the at least one communication bus;
a microcontroller coupled to said bus interface circuit and operative to respond to said received fault condition and operational data;
a memory for storing text messages corresponding to fault conditions and operational said microcontroller responsive to fault condition and operational data received from the at least one communication bus to access corresponding text messages from said memory and to overlay said text messages onto image data for display on said display monitor. - View Dependent Claims (33)
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34. A communication bus module operative to communicate alarm and operational data over at least one existing communication bus on-board a commercial vehicle, said module comprising:
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a bus interface circuit coupled to said at least one communication bus for transmitting alarm and operational data over the at least one communication bus;
a microcontroller coupled to said bus interface circuit and operative to control the transmission of alarm and operational data over the at least one communication bus;
a first interface circuit coupled to said microcontroller for receiving data signals representative of an operational status of the vehicle and for passing said operational status data to said microcontroller;
a second interface circuit coupled to said microcontroller for receiving and digitizing sensor signals from a plurality of on-board vehicle sensors operative to measure parameters of the vehicle and for passing said digitized sensor signals to said microcontroller;
a memory for storing thresholds corresponding to said sensor signals, said thresholds being based on the vehicle parameter being measured by the corresponding sensor;
said microcontroller operative to convert said operational status data into first bus messages and to control the transmission of said first bus messages over the at least one communication bus; and
said microcontroller further operative to generate data representative of alarm conditions determined from the digitized sensor signals and their corresponding thresholds, to convert said alarm condition data into second bus messages and to control the transmission of said second bus messages over the at least one communication bus.
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35. A diagnostic system for use on a commercial vehicle utilizing an at least one existing on-board communication bus and an existing on-board vision system including a camera for generating image data representative of a view thereof, and a display monitor for displaying said camera image data on a screen thereof, said vehicle including a plurality of electronic control units (ECUs) for monitoring the fault status of corresponding resources, said plurality of ECUs being coupled to said at least one communication bus for conveying fault condition and diagnostic data thereover, said system comprising:
a display generator unit including;
a microcontroller;
a bus interface circuit coupled between said microcontroller and the at least one communication bus for receiving fault condition and diagnostic data from the communication bus and passing said received data to said microcontroller;
a text overlay circuit coupled between the camera and display monitor and governed by said microcontroller for overlaying text messages onto the image data of the camera to form composite image data and for transmitting said composite image data to the display monitor for display thereon; and
a memory coupled to said microcontroller for storing text messages and text menu screens corresponding to said fault conditions; and
a communication bus module coupled to the at least one communication bus for receiving display command signals from a user interface and transmitting said display command signals over the at least one communication bus, said display command signals being received by the bus interface circuit and passed to the microcontroller for use in controlling the display of text messages and text menu screens on the display monitor. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A bus compatible converter circuit coupled between an integrated data bus having a predetermined bus protocol and a camera for generating an NTSC image signal representative of a view thereof, said converter circuit comprising:
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a first circuit coupled to said camera for converting said NTSC image signal into compressed digital video data representative thereof;
a second circuit coupled between said first circuit and said bus for transmitting said compressed digital video data over said bus in a format compatible with said predetermined bus protocol; and
a controller coupled to said first and second circuits for coordinating the operations of said first and second circuits. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44)
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45. A bus compatible converter circuit coupled between an integrated data bus having a predetermined bus protocol and a display monitor for displaying an NTSC image signal on a screen thereof, said converter circuit comprising:
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a first circuit coupled to said bus for receiving from said bus compressed digital video data representative of said NTSC image signal and in a format compatible with said predetermined bus protocol;
a second circuit coupled between said first circuit and said display monitor for converting said compressed digital video data into the NTSC image signal representative thereof for display on said monitor screen; and
a controller coupled to said first and second circuits for coordinating the operations of said first and second circuits. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48)
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49. An integrated video/data information system for use on-board a commercial vehicle including at least one existing communication bus, said system comprising:
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a plurality of cameras, each camera for generating an image signal representative of a view thereof;
a plurality of display monitors, each display monitor for displaying a camera generated image signal for viewing by an operator;
a matrix of switches disposed between said plurality of cameras and said plurality of display monitors;
a switch controller coupled to said matrix of switches for controlling said switches to connect the image signal from at least one camera to at least one display monitor for display on a viewing screen thereof, said switch controller being coupled to said at least one communication bus for receiving data therefrom; and
a bus communication module coupled to said at least one communication bus, said module operative to receive data signals representative of an operational status of the vehicle and to transmit said operational status data over the at least one communication bus, said switch controller operative to receive the operational status data from the at least one communication bus and to control the switches of said matrix based on said operational status data. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. A keyboard user interface for use on-board a commercial vehicle for communicating over at least one existing communication bus of said vehicle, said interface comprising:
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a keyboard comprising a multiplicity of character keys for selection by a user and for generating a coded digital word representative of a user selected character key thereof; and
a communication interface circuit coupled between said keyboard and the at least one communication bus, said communication interface circuit operative to receive said coded digital word, to convert the received coded digital word into a character message compatible with the at least one communication bus, and to transmit said character message over the at least one communication bus of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65)
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66. A method of communicating integrated video/data information on-board a commercial vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating from each of a plurality of bus compatible camera modules image data representative of a corresponding view thereof;
transmitting a first command over a digital integrated data bus to a selected camera module of said plurality to direct said selected camera module to transmit image data over said data bus in a digital format compatible with a predetermined bus protocol;
transmitting a second command over said digital integrated data bus to a bus compatible display module to direct said display module to receive from said data bus in accordance with said predetermined bus protocol said digitally formatted image data originating from said selected camera module and to display said image data; and
transmitting said first and second commands based on an operational status of said commercial vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77)
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Specification