Method and device for simultaneous enhancing safety of driving and security of drivers

• US 6,738,088 B1
• Filed: 06/10/1998
• Issued: 05/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alexander Uskolovsky
• Original Assignee: Alexander Rozenbaum, Alexander Uskolovsky
• Inventors: Rozenbaum, Alexander, Uskolovsky, Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): An, Shawn S.
• Application Number:
  US09/095,462
• Time in Patent Office: 2,169 Days
• Field of Search: 348/148, 348/164, 348/118, 348/149, 348/151, 358/335, 358/108, 358/103, 359/896, 386/68, 386/117, 382/104, 382/106, 396/427, 396/428, 396/429, 396/502
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/04 Mounting of cameras operative during drive; Arrangement of controls thereof relative to the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2011/0033 Rear-view mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

The method and device help avoid traffic accidents and violations through significant enhancing safety and convenience of driving by providing a far better rear and side observation including in darkness, and reliably prevent, if an accident/violation occurs, from misjudging, owing to an unbeatable legal evidence through recording the objective pattern of the accident/violation . It is accomplished by positioning into a vehicle an onboard digital camera having at least one lens with a photo-receiver, shooting permanently the surroundings at an predetermined frequency, showing images captured on at least one onboard screen, and making the running sequence of images through digital memory so that a latest image captured is recorded and stored in digital memory expelling an oldest one and the overall amount of the images and, hence, duration of time recorded does not change. When responding to an accident/violation, at the instant of occurrence plus a predetermined delay, shooting stops (either automatically by an impact of a collision, or manually), and digital memory retains the congealed sequence of images just before, during, and shortly after the event.

Claims

1. A method of avoidance of traffic accidents and violations through significant enhancing safety and convenience of driving by providing a better observation including under limited visibility conditions comprising:

a) positioning aboard a vehicle at least one digital camera with facile attaching and detaching, said digital camera having at least one photoreceiver, one lens for forward view, and one lens for rear view, whereby an user can employ the camera separately from said vehicle for regular manually operated applications;

b) continuously shooting at a predetermined frequency by the camera, unless turned off manually, surroundings of said vehicle;

c) filtering out by said camera under limited visibility conditions the visible part of received light flow including dazzling headlights to give significantly distinct vision of said surroundings to a driver under low light or fog, rain, snowfall or smoky conditions;

d) showing images captured in front and on the sides of, and behind said vehicle by said digital camera on at least one onboard screen so that said driver can see forward, left and right, and rear views of a full real-time picture of said surroundings at a glance, including under low light or fog, rain, snowfall or smoky conditions.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said camera having said lens with photoreceiver for forward view is fixedly disposed on the interior rearview mirror assembly to observe the situation in front of said vehicle and at least one lens with photoreceiver for rear view is fixedly disposed mesially on said vehicle to observe the situation behind and on the sides of said vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the lenses with photoreceivers are fixedly disposed on right and left outside rearview mirrors of said vehicle to eliminate “

blind”

spots and provide a fill picture for observing the situation on the sides of and behind said vehicle, and the lens with photoreceiver for forward view is fixedly disposed on the interior rearview mirror assembly to observe the situation in front of said vehicle.

4. A method of reliable prevention, if an accident/violation occurs, from misjudging, owing to an unbeatable legal evidence through recording the fill objective pattern of the accident/violation comprising:

a) positioning aboard a vehicle at least one digital camera with facile attaching and detaching, said digital camera having at least one photoreceiver, one lens for forward view, one lens for rear view, means for selectively reading out said photoreceiver to get image signals, solid state digital memory to store said image signals, a data processor, a terminating manually operated switch, and a terminating automatic impactresponsive circuit;

b) continuously shooting at a predetermined frequency and recording by the camera, unless turned off manually, surroundings of said vehicle, therewith filtering out under limited visibility conditions the visible part of received light flow including dazzling headlights in front of and from behind said vehicle to give significantly distinct pictures of said surroundings just before, during, and shortly after the accident/violation;

c) making a running sequence of images captured through the digital memory by said data processor so that a latest image captured is recorded and stored in said memory therewith expelling an oldest image after said memory is full, whereby the overall amount of images in said memory and thus duration of time recorded does not change;

d) responding to an accident/violation, at the instant of occurrence plus a predetermined delay, the shooting is stopped by at least one of terminating the impactresponsive automatic circuit and the manually operated switch, whichever is earlier, and said memory retains the congealed sequence of images just before, during, and shortly after the occurrence;

e) reviewing by persons interested from said memory the sequence of images captured in front and on the sides of and behind said vehicle by said digital camera to get the full objective pattern of an accident/violation.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said camera with facile attaching and detaching to use for regular manually operated applications is incorporated fixedly into an interior rearview mirror assembly.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein at least one lens with photoreceiver for rear view is fixedly disposed mesially on said vehicle to record the situation behind and on the sides of said vehicle, and one lens with photoreceiver for forward view is disposed fixedly on the interior rearview mirror assembly to record the situation in front of said vehicle.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the lenses with photoreceivers are fixedly disposed on outside rearview mirrors of said vehicle to eliminate “

blind spots” and

provide a full side picture for recording the situation on the sides of and behind said vehicle.

8. A vehicle vision system for avoidance of traffic accidentt/violations through significant enhancing safety and convenience of driving by providing a better observation including under limited visibility conditions and reliable prevention, if an accident/violation occurs, from misjudging, owing to an unbeatable legal evidence through recording the objective pattern of the accident/violation comprising:

a) aboard a vehicle, at least one readily attaching and detaching digital camera for shooting continuously at a predetermined frequency surroundings by the camera, unless turned off manually, having;

at least one lens with a photoreceiver;

means for selectively reading out said photoreceiver to get image signals;

solid state digital memory to store said image signals;

a data processor making a running sequence of images captured through the memory so that a latest image captured is recorded and stored in said memory, therewith expelling an oldest image after said memory is full, and the overall amount of the images in said memory and thus duration of time recorded does not change;

a terminating automatic impactresponsive circuit and a terminating manually operated switch to stop said shooting responding to an accident/violation at the instant of occurrence plus a predetermined delay, and to provide that said memory retains the congealed sequence of images just before, during, and shortly after the occurrence;

means for selectively filtering out under limited visibility conditions the visible part of received light flow including dazzling headlights in front of and from behind said vehicle to give significantly distinct pictures of said surroundings under low light or fog, rain, snowfall, or smoky conditions;

b) at least one onboard screen for showing images captured by said camera so that a driver of said vehicle can see forward left and right, and rear views of a full real-time picture of said surroundings at a glance.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said camera with facile attaching and detaching to use for regular manually operated applications is fixedly incorporated into an interior rearview mirror assembly.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein said lens with photoreceiver for forward view is fixedly disposed on the interior rearview mirror assembly to observe and record the situation in front of said vehicle and at least one lens with photoreceiver for rear view is fixedly disposed mesially on said vehicle to observe and record the situation behind and on the sides of said vehicle.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein said lenses with photoreceivers are disposed on right and left outside rearview mirrors of said vehicle, to eliminate “

blind spots” and

provide a full picture for observing and recording the situation on the sides of and behind said vehicle.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein images captured in front and on the sides of and behind said vehicle by said lenses with photoreceivers are reproduced on at least one onboard screen to show correspondingly the forward, left and right, and rear views so that said driver can see a full real-time picture of said surroundings at a glance, including under low light or fog, rain, snowfall, or smoky conditions.