IMAGE PROVIDING DEVICE

• US 20130271608A1
• Filed: 12/21/2011
• Published: 10/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Hiei, Yu, Okamura, Ryuji
• Application Number:
  US13/996,235
• Publication Number:
  US 20130271608A1
• 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 1/26 to the rear of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8026 in addition to a rear-view mirror system
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

An image providing device is installed in a vehicle and provides images of vehicle surroundings to a driver. The device includes a right side camera and a left side camera that respectively pick up an image of a first image pickup range and an image of a second image pickup range that does not overlap the first image pickup range in the vehicle surroundings, a first display that provides to the driver a right rear image picked up by the right side camera, a second display that is provided separately from the first display and provides to the driver a left rear image that is picked up by the left side camera, and an image display parameter correction unit that corrects an image display parameter of the left rear image according to an image display parameter of the right rear image.

Claims

1. An image providing device that is installed in a vehicle and provides an image of surroundings of the vehicle to a driver, comprising:

a first image pickup unit having a first image pickup range positioned in the vehicle surroundings;

a second image pickup unit having a second image pickup range that does not overlap the first image pickup range in the vehicle surroundings;

a first image providing unit that provides to the driver a first image that is an image picked up by the first image pickup unit;

a second image providing unit that is provided separately from the first image providing unit and provides to the driver a second image that is an image picked up by the second image pickup unit;

an image display parameter correction unit that corrects a second image display parameter of the second image provided by the second image providing unit, according to a first image display parameter of the first image provided by the first image providing unit; and

an attention object determination unit that determines whether or not an attention object to which the driver is to pay attention is present in the first image or the second image, wherein

the image display parameter correction unit performs correction hat emphasizes the image, from the first image and the second image, that is determined b the attention object determination unit to include the attention object.

4. The image providing device according to claim 1, wherein the image display parameter correction unit corrects the second image display parameter so as to become closer to the first image display parameter.

5. The image providing device according to claim 1, wherein the image display parameter correction unit corrects the first image display parameter and the second image display parameter so that a difference between the first image display parameter and the second image display parameter is reduced.

6. The image providing device according to claim 1, wherein the first image pickup unit is a right side camera that is provided on a front right side of the vehicle and picks up, as the first image, an image on a right rear side of the vehicle, and the second image pickup unit is a left side camera that is provided on a front left side of the vehicle and picks up, as the second image, an image on a left rear side of the vehicle.

7. The image providing device according to claim 1, wherein the first image providing unit and the second image providing unit are configured to be disposed side by side inside the vehicle.

8. The image providing device according to claim 1, wherein the image display parameter correction unit corrects both the first image display parameter and the second image display parameter.

9. The image providing device according to claim 1, further comprising an environment state detection unit that detects an environment state around the vehicle, wherein the image display parameter correction unit corrects the image display parameter on the basis of a detection result of the environment state detection unit.

10. The image providing device according to claim 9, further comprising a vehicle sensor that detects a running state of the vehicle, wherein the environment state detection unit detects the environment state around the vehicle on the basis of a detection result of the vehicle sensor.

11. The image providing device according to claim 9, further comprising an obstacle sensor that detects an obstacle present around the vehicle, wherein the environment state detection unit detects an arrangement state of the obstacle on the basis of obstacle information from the obstacle sensor.

12. The image providing device according to claim 9, wherein the environment state detection unit detects a daytime or nighttime state on the basis of the turn on/off state of headlights of the vehicle and detects a weather state by a wiper operation state in the vehicle.

13. The image providing device according to claim 1, wherein in correction of the first image display parameter and the second image display parameter, the correction of at least one of image brightness, luminance, color shade and sharpness is performed.

14. The image providing device according to claim 9, further comprising a parking state determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle is in a state before or after parking, wherein the parking state determination unit determines whether the vehicle is in the state before or after parking on the basis of the running state detected by the vehicle sensor.

2. (canceled)

3. (canceled)

15. (canceled)

16. (canceled)