Monitoring system, camera adjusting method and vehicle monitoring system

• US 6,911,997 B1
• Filed: 10/12/2000
• Issued: 06/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakagawa, Masamichi, Okamoto, Shusaku, Morimura, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): PHILIPPE, GIMS S
• Application Number:
  US09/807,333
• Time in Patent Office: 1,720 Days
• Field of Search: 348/148, 348/159, 348/169, 348/174, 348/119, 340/937, 340/461, 359/753, 382/103, 382/104, 382/105
• 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 2300/101 using cameras with adjustable capturing direction
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/105 using multiple cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/207 using multi-purpose displays, e.g. camera image and navigation or video on same display
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/30 characterised by the type of image processing
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/303 using joined images, e.g. multiple camera images
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/404 triggering from stand-by mode to operation mode
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/607 from a bird's eye viewpoint
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/802 for monitoring and displaying vehicle exterior blind spot views
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/806 for aiding parking
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8066 for monitoring rearward traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

To monitor both the surrounding of a vehicle and a place distant therefrom, there is mounted on the vehicle a twin-camera (23) composed of cameras (23L, 23R) forming a pair. To properly set the postures of the cameras (23L, 23R), their tilts, pans and twists around the optical axes are adjusted using, as indexes, the lengths of the portions, as captured by the cameras (23L, 23R), of the vehicle center line (BCL), the lengths of the portions, as captured by the cameras (23L, 23R), of the vehicle rear-end line (BEL), and the areas of the blind zones (S) in the capturing directions.

Claims

1. A monitoring system comprising a twin-camera composed of first and second cameras forming a pair,

said first and second cameras being disposed such that at least portions of the ranges to be captured thereby overlap each other, and that the optical axes thereof form a predetermined angle of divergence when said optical axes are projected on a camera installation plane parallel to said optical axes,

the twist around the optical axis of at least one of said first and second cameras being set such that when an u-v plane of the visual field range of said at least one camera is projected on a reference plane at a right angle to the optical axis of said at least one camera, the u axis is not parallel to and does not intersect, at a right angle, the intersecting line of said reference plane and said camera installation plane.

2. A monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein said twin-camera is mounted on a vehicle for capturing both the surrounding of said vehicle and a place distant therefrom.

3. A monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein said twin-camera is disposed such that said angle of divergence is not less than 50°

and not greater than 90°

, and that said twist is not less than 10° and

not greater than 35°

on the assumption that said twist is 0°

when said u axis on said reference plane is parallel to said intersecting line of said reference plane and said camera installation plane.

4. A monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein each of said first and second cameras has a visual field range in the form of a square.

6. A vehicle monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one of said first and second cameras for capturing the surrounding of a vehicle; and

an image processing unit for generating, from the images captured by said cameras, a synthesized image viewed from a virtual view point.

7. A vehicle monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one of said first and second cameras being disposed as corresponding to illumination means for irradiating light to the range to be captured by said at least one camera.

9. A vehicle monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one of said first and second cameras being mounted on said vehicle together with an openable member disposed at the front in the capturing direction of said at least one camera,

said openable member being so controlled as to be opened when said camera is used, and as to be closed when said camera is not used.

10. A vehicle monitoring system according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one of said first and second cameras being mounted on said vehicle at a non-movable part of its door mirror, its window visor or its door knob mounting part.

5. A method of adjusting a twin-camera composed of a pair of cameras mounted on a vehicle for capturing both the surrounding of said vehicle and a place distant therefrom,

said camera adjusting method being characterized in that the tilt, pan and twist around the optical axis of each of said pair of cameras, are adjusted using, as indexes, the length of a portion, as captured by each camera, of the straight line indicating the capturing direction, the length of a portion, as captured by each camera, of a straight line extending along the vehicle end, and the area of the blind zone in the capturing direction.

8. A vehicle monitoring system comprising:

one or a plurality of cameras for capturing the surrounding of a vehicle; and

an image processing unit for generating, from the images captured by said one or plurality of cameras, a synthesized image viewed from a virtual view point,

at least one of said one or plurality of cameras being so retractably mounted on said vehicle as to be ejected when said camera is used, and as to be housed when said camera is not used;

wherein said retractable camera is arranged such that its ejecting and housing is controlled according to at least one of the gear setting or travelling speed of said vehicle.