Vehicle equipped with means for illuminating/watching a side area thereof

• US 9,834,132 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2016
• Issued: 12/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Perungavoor, Sath V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brown, Jr., Howard D
• Application Number:
  US15/174,163
• Publication Number:
  US 20160280126A1
• Time in Patent Office: 547 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/0023 the element being a sensor, e.g. distance sensor, camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/247 for illuminating the close surroundings of the vehicle, e.g. to facilitate entry or exit for reverse drive B60Q1/22; by opening a side door B60Q1/323
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/323 on or for doors illuminated exterior door handles B60Q1/2669; illuminated door locks E05B17/10
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2400/40 Welcome lights, i.e. specific or existing exterior lamps to assist leaving or approaching the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/002 specially adapted for covering the peripheral part of the vehicle, e.g. for viewing tyres, bumpers or the like integrated in the windows B60R1/001; combined with rear-view mirrors B60R1/08
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/70 characterised by an event-triggered choice to display a specific image among a selection of captured images
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/01 operating on vehicle systems or fittings, e.g. on doors, seats or windscreens
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

In order to provide a vehicle in which a side road area of the vehicle to be watched by a side area watching camera is illuminated by a side area illumination lamp for illuminating a foot area of a man climbing into the vehicle when the vehicle is parked or driven carefully on an alley or a mountain road in the darkness, the vehicle is equipped with the side area illumination lamp for illuminating a side road area, a side area watching camera for watching the side road area, a navigation display and an electronic control unit, whereby the side area illumination lamp is put on when a man approaches the vehicle as well as when the vehicle is being driven at a vehicle speed less than a certain low threshold speed with the side area watching camera being made on.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising

a side area illumination lamp for illuminating a side road area of the vehicle,

a side area watching camera for watching the side road area of the vehicle,

a navigation display, and

an electronic control unit for controlling operations of the side area illumination lamp, the side area watching camera and the navigation display, wherein the electronic control unit:

puts on the side area illumination lamp for a certain time duration at a first final intensity when a person approaches the vehicle for foot area viewing illumination, and

also puts on the side area illumination lamp at a second final intensity lower than the first final intensity when the vehicle is being driven at a speed less than a certain threshold speed with the side area watching camera being in operation for camera shooting illumination.

2. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit changes an illumination pattern of the side area illumination lamp based on whether:

the side area illumination lamp is put on for the foot area viewing illumination for the certain time duration when the person approaches the vehicle or

the side area illumination lamp is put on for the camera shooting illumination when the vehicle is being driven at the speed less than the certain threshold speed with the side area watching camera being in operation.

3. A vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the illumination patterns for the foot area viewing illumination and the camera shooting illumination are both to gradually increase an intensity of the illumination, then to maintain the respective final intensities of the illumination for respective certain time durations and to gradually decrease the intensity of the illumination to zero.

4. A vehicle according to claim 2, wherein

the illumination patterns for the foot area viewing illumination and the camera shooting illumination are both to gradually increase an intensity of the illumination, then to maintain the respective final intensities of the illumination for respective certain time durations and to gradually decrease the intensity of the illumination to zero, and

the gradual increase of the intensity of the illumination in the camera shooting illumination is slower than that in the foot area viewing illumination.

5. A vehicle according to claim 2, wherein

the illumination patterns for the foot area viewing illumination and the camera shooting illumination are both to gradually increase an intensity of the illumination, then to maintain the respective final intensities of the illumination for respective certain time durations and to gradually decrease the intensity of the illumination to zero, and

the gradual decrease of the intensity of the illumination in the camera shooting illumination being quicker than that in the foot area viewing illumination.

6. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the side area illumination lamp and the side area watching camera are mounted in a door mirror.

7. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the side area watching camera is switched over between on and off conditions by a camera switch, and a view by the side area watching camera is displayed on the navigation display only when the side area watching camera is in the on condition.

8. A vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a brightness sensor for detecting a brightness of environment of the vehicle, wherein the electronic control unit prevents the side area illumination lamp from being put on when the brightness sensor is detecting the brightness above a certain level.

9. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein two sets of the side area illumination lamp and the side area watching camera are provided for the illumination and the watching of opposite sides of the vehicle.

10. A vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the navigation display divides a display screen into left and right side sections and shows views by the side area watching cameras.

11. A vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit puts on the side area illumination lamp for the certain time duration only when the person approaches the vehicle with a door lock releasing device.