Vehicle mirror system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10510318-B2
Application number	US-201715726423-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 6, 2017
Priority date	Nov 29, 2016
Publication date	Dec 17, 2019
Grant date	Dec 17, 2019

Abstract

A vehicle mirror system that includes: an electronic rear-view mirror that is switchable between a display mode in which the electronic rear-view mirror displays, by means of a display component, vehicle rear-view ages captured by an image capturing component provided at a rear portion of the vehicle, and a reflecting mode in which the electronic rear-view mirror shows, by optical reflection, what is behind the vehicle; and a control component that causes switching of the electronic rear-view mirror to either the display mode or the reflecting mode in a case in which a determination criterion relating to a field of view in a rear direction of the vehicle has been met.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle mirror system comprising:
an electronic rear-view mirror that is switchable between a display mode in which the electronic rear-view mirror displays, by means of a display component, vehicle rear-view images captured by an image capturing component provided at a rear portion of the vehicle, and a reflecting mode in which the electronic rear-view mirror shows, by optical reflection, what is behind the vehicle; and
circuitry configured to cause switching of the electronic rear-view mirror to either the display mode or the reflecting mode in a case in which a determination criterion relating to a field of view in a rear direction of the vehicle has been met,
wherein the vehicle is a vehicle having a roof that can be in an opened state and a closed state, and
wherein the circuitry is configured to cause switching of the electronic rear-view mirror from the display mode to the reflecting mode in case switching of the roof from the closed state to the opened state has been completed and in case the switching of the roof from the opened state to the closed state has been completed.

2. The vehicle mirror system of claim 1 , wherein:
the circuitry is configured to cause switching of the electronic rear-view mirror to the display mode in a case in which an operation for switching the roof of the vehicle from a closed state to an open state has been started and in a case in which an operation for switching the roof of the vehicle from an open state to a closed state has been started.

3. The vehicle mirror system of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is configured to calculate, using plural images obtained as a result of image capturing having been performed plural times at predetermined time intervals by the image capturing component, a degree of blurring and a degree of distortion in the images and, in a case in which at least one of the calculated degree of blurring or degree of distortion is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, causes switching of the electronic rear-view mirror to the reflecting mode.

4. The vehicle mirror system of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is configured to cause switching of the electronic rear-view mirror to the reflecting mode in a case in which the vehicle moves backward.

5. The vehicle mirror system of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is configured to cause switching of the electronic rear-view mirror to the display mode in a case in which an occupant is seated in a rear seat of the vehicle.

6. The vehicle mirror system of claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is configured to cause switching of the electronic rear-view mirror to the reflecting mode in a case in which image data representing images captured by the image capturing component is not output from the image capturing component.

7. A non-transitory recording medium storing a program that is executable by a computer to perform a process, the process comprising:
switching an electronic rear-view mirror to either a display mode or a reflecting mode in a case in which a determination criterion relating to a field of view in a rear direction of a vehicle has been met,
wherein
the display mode displays, by means of a display component, vehicle rear-view images captured by an image capturing component provided at a rear portion of the vehicle,
the reflecting mode shows, by optical reflection, what is behind the vehicle,
the vehicle is a vehicle having a roof that can be in an opened state and a closed state, and
circuitry is configured to cause switching of the electronic rear-view mirror from the display mode to the reflecting mode in case switching of the roof from the closed state to the opened state has been completed and in case the switching of the roof from the opened state to the closed state has been completed.

8. The non-transitory recording medium of claim 7 , wherein
the process includes switching the electronic rear-view mirror to the display mode in a case in which an operation for switching the roof of the vehicle from a closed state to an open state has been started and in a case in which an operation for switching the roof of the vehicle from an open state to a closed state has been started.

9. The non-transitory recording medium of claim 7 , wherein the process includes calculating, using plural images obtained as a result of image capturing having been performed plural times at predetermined time intervals by the image capturing component, a degree of blurring and a degree of distortion in the images and, in a case in which at least one of the calculated degree of blurring or degree of distortion is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, switching the electronic rear-view mirror to the reflecting mode.

10. The non-transitory recording medium of claim 7 , wherein the process includes switching the electronic rear-view mirror to the reflecting mode in a case in which the vehicle moves backward.

11. The non-transitory recording medium of claim 7 , wherein the process includes switching the electronic rear-view mirror to the display mode in a case in which an occupant is seated in a rear seat of the vehicle.

12. The non-transitory recording medium of claim 7 , wherein the process includes switching the electronic rear-view mirror to the reflecting mode in a case in which image data representing images captured by the image capturing component is not output from the image capturing component.

13. A vehicle mirror system comprising:
an electronic rear-view mirror that is switchable between a display mode in which the electronic rear-view mirror displays, by means of a display component, vehicle rear-view images captured by an image capturing component provided at a rear portion of the vehicle, and a reflecting mode in which the electronic rear-view mirror shows, by optical reflection, what is behind the vehicle; and
circuitry configured to cause switching of the electronic rear-view mirror to either the display mode or the reflecting mode in a case in which a determination criterion relating to a field of view in a rear direction of the vehicle has been met,
wherein the circuitry is configured to cause switching of the electronic rear-view mirror to the reflecting mode in a case in which the vehicle moves backward.

14. A non-transitory recording medium storing a program that is executable by a computer to perform a process, the process comprising:
switching an electronic rear-view mirror to either a display mode or a reflecting mode in a case in which a determination criterion relating to a field of view in a rear direction of a vehicle has been met,
wherein
the display mode displays, by means of a display component, vehicle rear-view images captured by an image capturing component provided at a rear portion of the vehicle,
the reflecting mode shows, by optical reflection, what is behind the vehicle, and
the process includes switching the electronic rear-view mirror to the reflecting mode in a case in which the vehicle moves backward.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Hirosawa Yasunori

Classifications

• G09G5/006 Primary

  Details of the interface to the display terminal (specific for a display terminal using a CRT G09G1/167; using a flat panel G09G3/2096; circuits for interfacing with colour displays G09G5/04) · CPC title

• B60R2300/8026

  in addition to a rear-view mirror system · CPC title

• G06F3/147 Primary

  using display panels · CPC title

• B60R2300/8066

  for monitoring rearward traffic · CPC title

• B60J7/12

  foldable; Tensioning mechanisms therefor, e.g. struts (B60J7/10, {B60J7/20} take precedence) · CPC title