VEHICULAR AROUND-VIEW DRIVING MONITOR AND RECORDER

• US 20120262578A1
• Filed: 04/18/2011
• Published: 10/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ACARD Technology Corp.
• Original Assignee: ACARD Technology Corp.
• Inventors: WENG, Mao Huai, Liao, Hsia Pin
• Application Number:
  US13/088,758
• Publication Number:
  US 20120262578A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/00 Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/27 providing all-round vision, e.g. using omnidirectional cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/303 using joined images, e.g. multiple camera images
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/408 using a data bus
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/607 from a bird's eye viewpoint
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A vehicular around-view driving monitor and recorder includes a plurality of wide-angle cameras, a real-time image monitoring and recording/playing unit, a visual image operation system, and a display device, which enables a real-time monitoring and recording of around-view raw image data shot by wide-angle cameras. The present invention also performs a real-time visual processing which includes data correction toward the twisted raw images, image overlapping and a combination of algorithmic operation via the visual image operation system to convert those raw images shot from cameras into round-view ones shown on the display which fits the driver'"'"'s visual practice and driving habit, and provides better safety, correct and convenient visual assistance and driving judgment. Alternatively, the processed images could be displayed in a bird-view mode to have an additional circumferential reference. Therefore, it is applicable to drivers'"'"' visual assistance and the recovery of traffic evidence of various types of vehicles.

Claims

1. A vehicular around-view driving monitor and recorder, comprising:

a plurality of wide-angle cameras, which are respectively mounted to locations around the structure of the vehicle to shoot the round-view raw images;

a real-time image monitoring and recording/playing unit, which is connected to a plurality of wide-angle cameras to synchronously receive and store the raw images;

a visual image operation system, connected to a plurality of wide-angle cameras to receive the raw images, is further comprising a raw image acquisition unit, a visual image processing unit, and a display processing unit, wherein the raw image acquisition unit synchronously receiving and temporarily storing the raw images from the wide-angle cameras and is forward connected with the visual image processing unit for further processing the temporarily stored raw images, and the visual image processing unit is forward connected with the display processing unit; and

a display device, connected to the display processing unit of the visual image operation system, which is configured onboard a vehicle to display the processed visual images from the visual image operation system.

2. A vehicular around-view driving monitor and recorder according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of wide-angle cameras realize an angular covering range of full view (360 degrees).

3. A vehicular around-view driving monitor and recorder according to claim 1, wherein the real-time image monitoring and recording/playing unit comprises a memory connected thereto, and the memory is a hard disk drive or a memory card.

4. A vehicular around-view driving monitor and recorder according to claim 1, wherein the real-time image monitoring and recording/playing unit comprises a transmission port for further output or downloading, the transmission port is one of universal serial bus, high speed serial bus, Integrated Device Electronics, Small Computer System Interface, or Serial Advanced Technology Attachment.

5. A vehicular around-view driving monitor and recorder according to claim 1, wherein the raw image acquisition unit comprises a random access memory which is a dynamic random access memory or a static random access memory.

6. A vehicular around-view driving monitor and recorder according to claim 1, wherein the real-time visual raw data processing and algorithmic operation of distortion correction, image overlapping, and a combination of the raw images conversion are carried out in the visual image processing unit.

7. A vehicular around-view driving monitor and recorder according to claim 1, wherein the visual image is displayed in a bird-view mode.

8. A vehicular around-view driving monitor and recorder according to claim 6, wherein the visual image is displayed in a bird-view mode.