Image display system and display used in image display system

• US 9,845,053 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2015
• Issued: 12/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ukeda, Takaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Nawaz, Talha M
• Application Number:
  US14/714,246
• Publication Number:
  US 20150336511A1
• Time in Patent Office: 949 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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 1/25 to the sides of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/202 displaying a blind spot scene on the vehicle part responsible for the blind spot
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/802 for monitoring and displaying vehicle exterior blind spot views

Abstract

The image display system includes a display that is provided on an interior surface of a vehicle body structure and that includes a first display region facing the doorway, and a camera adapted to capture an image of a blind spot region outside the vehicle body structure. When the door is in a closed state, the image display system is adapted to cause the display to display the image of the blind spot region, and when the door is in an open state, the image display system is adapted to cause the display to display an illumination image of a fixed pattern.

Claims

1. An image display system to be mounted within a vehicle, the vehicle including a door that is provided on a doorway and a vehicle body structure that blocks view of a driver of the vehicle, the image display system comprising:

a display provided in an interior surface of the vehicle body structure and including a first display region facing the doorway;

a camera adapted to capture an image of a blind spot region outside the vehicle body structure, wherein the blind spot region is caused by the view of the driver to be blocked by the vehicle body structure; and

a controller adapted to cause the display to display the image of the blind spot region captured by the camera, when the door is in a closed state, and to cause the display to display an illumination image of a fixed pattern using at least the first display region of the display to light the doorway when the door is in an open state,

wherein

the camera is adapted to capture an image of an extended region including the image of the blind spot region,

the image display system further comprises an image processor adapted to generate the image of the blind spot region based on the image of the extended region captured by the camera, by extracting, from the image of the extended region, the image of the blind spot region in a shape of the display,

the vehicle body structure comprises a front pillar,

an interior surface of the front pillar includes a curved shape, and

the display is provided in the interior surface of the front pillar along the curved shape of the interior surface of the front pillar.

2. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein

the vehicle further includes a windshield, and the front pillar is located at a boundary between the door and the windshield.

3. The image display system according to claim 2, wherein

the display further includes a second display region not facing the doorway.

4. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein

the display comprises pixels, and

when the fixed pattern in the illumination image is displayed using the at least the first display region, at least two pixels included in the first display region are lit with the same brightness.

5. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein

the display comprises pixels including sub-pixels of different colors, and

when the fixed pattern in the illumination image is displayed using the at least the first display region, a ratio of a brightness among sub-pixels included in at least two pixels of the first display region is the same among the at least two pixels.

6. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein

the display comprises pixels,

the display further includes a second display region not facing the doorway, and

when the fixed pattern in the illumination image is displayed using the at least the first display region, all pixels included in the first display region are lit with a first brightness, and all pixels included in the second display region are lit with a second brightness that is lower than the first brightness.

7. The image display system according to claim 6, wherein

the vehicle further includes a windshield, and the front pillar is located at a boundary between the door and the windshield,

the interior surface of the front pillar includes the curved shape, which is curved from a portion closer to the door to a portion closer to the windshield,

the first display region is located at a portion closer to the door on the interior surface of the front pillar, and

the second display region is located at a portion closer to the windshield on the interior surface of the front pillar.

8. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein the image processor further determines whether the image of the blind spot region includes a human image, and

when it is determined that the human image is included in the image of the blind spot region, the image processor generates a symbol image that attracts attention of the driver to a human represented by the human image to combine the image of the blind spot region with the symbol image.

9. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein

the display includes a first light emitting element which emits red light, a second light emitting element which emits blue light, a third light emitting element which emits green light, and a fourth light emitting element which emits illumination light, and

the controller is adapted to cause the fourth light emitting element to emit the illumination light when causing the display to display the illumination image.

10. The image display system according to claim 9, wherein

the first light emitting element, the second light emitting element, the third light emitting element, and the fourth light emitting element are current driven type light emitting elements, and

a width of an aperture through which light emitted from the fourth light emitting element is emitted is smaller than a width of an aperture through which light emitted from each of the first light emitting element, the second light emitting element, and the third light emitting element is emitted.

11. The image display system according to claim 9, wherein the display includes a lens on an optical path of a light emitted from the fourth light emitting element which emits the illumination light.

12. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein

the vehicle further includes a driver seat, a passenger coat, seat and a windshield,

the door comprises a first door on a side of the driver coat, seat and a second door on a side of the passenger seat,

the front pillar comprises a first front pillar located at a boundary between the first door and the windshield, and a second front pillar located at a boundary between the second door and the windshield,

the display is provided on an interior surface of each of the first front pillar and the second front pillar, and

the controller is adapted to cause the display provided on the interior surface of the first front pillar to display the illumination image when the first door is in the open state, and to cause the display provided on the interior surface of the second front pillar to display the illumination image when the second door is in the open state.

13. The image display system according to claim 1, further comprising

an electronic control circuit adapted to detect whether the door is in the open state or in the closed state,

wherein the controller is adapted to control the display based on the detection by the electronic control circuit.

14. A display equipped with the image display system according to claim 1.

15. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein the camera is provided inside the front pillar.

16. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein the image processor extracts the image of the blind spot region from the image of the extended region based on the shape of the display and the inclination of the front pillar.

17. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein the image processor generates the blind spot region by

extracting a cutout region image from the image of the extended region, the cutout region image having a shape of the display and an inclination angle determined based on the inclination of the front pillar, and

rotating the cutout region image, and performing coordinate transformation into an orthogonal coordinate system.