Driving support method and driving support apparatus
First Claim
1. A driving support method for assisting a driver of a vehicle by displaying an image of an area which is hidden from the driver, as a blind spot, when looking from the driver'"'"'s position, which blind spot is created by one of a plurality of pillars of the vehicle, using an imaging device which is mounted on or in the vehicle, the method comprising:
- detecting a position of the driver;
detecting an angle of a mirror;
determining the driver'"'"'s eye direction;
calculating a range of view which the driver is able to see in the mirror, on the basis of the detected position of the driver and the detected angle of the mirror;
calculating the area which is hidden as the blind spot, when looking in the determined eye direction from the driver'"'"'s position;
displaying an image, corresponding to the calculated blind spot area on a medial side of the one pillar of the vehicle, which image is formed from image data captured by the imaging device;
responsive to a determination that the driver'"'"'s eye direction is toward the mirror, identifying one pillar, among the plurality of pillars, included within the calculated range of view and creating the blind spot in the mirror, on the basis of the detected position of the driver and the detected angle of the mirror and displaying the mirror blind spot image on the medial side of the identified one pillar; and
responsive to a determination that the drivers eye direction is not toward the mirror, calculating the area which is hidden as a blind spot created by a pillar associated with the driver'"'"'s eye direction, on the basis of the detected position of the driver, and displaying an image of the blind spot created by the associated pillar on the medial side of the associated pillar.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A driving support method and apparatus for displaying, on a medial side of a pillar of the vehicle, an image of an area which is hidden as a blind spot in a rear-view mirror mounted on or in a vehicle, when looking in the mirror from the driver'"'"'s position and which is created by the pillar. The apparatus detects a head position of a driver, detects the angle of the rear-view mirror, calculates the area which is hidden as the blind spot on the basis of the detected driver'"'"'s head position and the detected angle of the rear-view mirror, and projects an image of the area corresponding to the blind spot onto the pillar, the projected image being formed from image data which is obtained from a blind spot camera mounted on the vehicle.
13 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A driving support method for assisting a driver of a vehicle by displaying an image of an area which is hidden from the driver, as a blind spot, when looking from the driver'"'"'s position, which blind spot is created by one of a plurality of pillars of the vehicle, using an imaging device which is mounted on or in the vehicle, the method comprising:
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detecting a position of the driver; detecting an angle of a mirror; determining the driver'"'"'s eye direction; calculating a range of view which the driver is able to see in the mirror, on the basis of the detected position of the driver and the detected angle of the mirror; calculating the area which is hidden as the blind spot, when looking in the determined eye direction from the driver'"'"'s position; displaying an image, corresponding to the calculated blind spot area on a medial side of the one pillar of the vehicle, which image is formed from image data captured by the imaging device; responsive to a determination that the driver'"'"'s eye direction is toward the mirror, identifying one pillar, among the plurality of pillars, included within the calculated range of view and creating the blind spot in the mirror, on the basis of the detected position of the driver and the detected angle of the mirror and displaying the mirror blind spot image on the medial side of the identified one pillar; and responsive to a determination that the drivers eye direction is not toward the mirror, calculating the area which is hidden as a blind spot created by a pillar associated with the driver'"'"'s eye direction, on the basis of the detected position of the driver, and displaying an image of the blind spot created by the associated pillar on the medial side of the associated pillar. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A driving support apparatus for assisting a driver of a vehicle by displaying an image of an area which is hidden from the driver, as a blind spot, when looking from the driver'"'"'s position, which blind spot is created by the presence of one of a plurality of pillars of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
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an imaging device mounted on or in the vehicle, for capturing an image including the blind spot; driver'"'"'s position detecting means for detecting a position of the driver; mirror position detecting means for detecting an angle of a mirror; eye direction detecting means for determining the driver'"'"'s eye direction; range of view calculating means for calculating a range of view which the driver is able to see in the mirror, on the basis of the detected position of the driver and the detected angle of the mirror; blind spot calculating means for calculating the area which is hidden as a blind spot, when looking in the determined eye direction from the driver'"'"'s position, which blind spot is created by one of the plurality of pillars; image synthesis means for generating an image of the blind spot, using image data provided by the imaging device; and image outputting means for outputting the image of the blind spot onto a medial side of the one pillar of the vehicle; and
wherein;responsive to a determination by the eye direction detecting means that the driver'"'"'s eye direction is toward the mirror, the blind spot calculating means identifies one pillar, among the plurality of pillars, included within the calculated range of view and creating the blind spot in the mirror, on the basis of the detected position of the driver and the detected angle of the mirror and the image outputting means outputs the generated blind spot image onto the medial side of the identified one pillar; and responsive to a determination by the eye direction detecting means that the driver'"'"'s eye direction is not toward the mirror, the blind spot calculating means calculates the area which is hidden as a blind spot created by a pillar associated with the driver'"'"'s eye direction, on the basis of the detected position of the driver, and the image outputting means outputs an image of the blind spot created by the associated pillar onto the medial side of the associated pillar. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification