Rearview device and motor vehicle with rearview device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11472345-B2
Application number	US-201917268157-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 7, 2019
Priority date	Aug 16, 2018
Publication date	Oct 18, 2022
Grant date	Oct 18, 2022

Abstract

A rearview device for a motor vehicle includes a camera arrangement for capturing a rearward traffic situation and a motor vehicle includes such a rearview device and a method for operating such a rearview device with an output unit which is partially reflective at least in regions, in particular a screen on which the rearward traffic situation captured by the camera arrangement is displayed as a camera image or this is visibly displayed by means of a conventional mirror image in the absence of a camera image and having a control unit for determining a degree of impairment of the camera image, the control unit, when a predetermined degree of impairment of the camera image is exceeded.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for operating a rearview device for a motor vehicle comprising a camera arrangement, an output unit including a screen, which is connected to the camera arrangement and is at least partially reflective in areas, and a control unit, comprising:
capturing a rearward traffic situation with the camera arrangement;
displaying the rearward traffic situation captured by the camera arrangement as a camera image for a driver of the motor vehicle on the output unit with suitable image properties which make a conventional mirror image of the partially reflective output unit at least predominantly invisible;
determining a degree of impairment of the camera image by the control unit;
automatically activating the output unit by the control unit in such a way that when a predetermined degree of impairment is exceeded, the camera image is no longer displayed on the output unit; and
visible imaging of the rearward traffic situation at least in areas on the output unit by means of the conventional mirror image of the rearward traffic situation,
wherein a degree of impairing of the camera image is caused due to contamination of the camera arrangement, and the control unit detects a removal of the contamination or a non-contamination-related disturbance and, in response thereto, switches the output unit back on.

2. The method according to claim 1 , comprising the further step of no longer displaying the camera image on the output unit if there is a non-contamination-related disturbance that may affect the observation of the rearward traffic situation.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the degree of impairment of the camera image in a two-dimensional arrangement of measuring areas in the camera image is determined separately for each measuring area by the control unit.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the control unit considers one of the measuring areas as impermissibly impaired if the predetermined degree of impairment for this measuring area is exceeded.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the control unit no longer displays the camera image on the output unit if 20% or more of the measuring areas are considered impermissibly impaired or when 10% or more of the measuring areas in the central main field are considered impermissibly impaired.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit, with the output unit switched off or being in a stand-by mode, further checks the camera images frame-by-frame to determine a removal of the contamination or the non-contamination related disturbance.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the driver of the motor vehicle manually inputs, whether the rearview device is to be operated in an electronic mode by means of displaying the rearward traffic situation recorded by the camera arrangement as a camera image or in a reflective mode by means of visible imaging of the rearward traffic situation at least in regions on the output unit by means of the conventional mirror image, the electronic mode always being set by default when the motor vehicle is put into operation.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the output unit is partially reflective at least in regions and, without a displayed camera image, visibly displays a conventional mirror image of the rearward traffic situation at least in regions of the output unit and, in a switched-on state, displays a camera image with suitable image properties which make the conventional mirror image appear at least predominantly invisible.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the degree of impairment of the camera image is caused due to at least one of contamination of the camera assembly or one or more non-contamination contamination-related disturbances from the group of a low charge status of an electric battery in an electric vehicle, a jerky camera image, a flickering camera image, a still image, and an EMC effect.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the degree of impairment of the camera image is determined in a two-dimensional arrangement of measuring areas in the camera image separately for each measuring area.

11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the two-dimensional arrangement of measuring areas covers the entire camera image.

12. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the measuring areas are arranged over the camera image and are square or rectangular with an edge ratio of small edge to large edge of more than 50%.

13. The method according to claim 10 , wherein the two-dimensional arrangement comprises a central main field of a plurality of measuring areas covering a central region of the camera image.

14. The method according to claim 10 , wherein one of the measuring areas is regarded as impermissibly impaired if the predetermined degree of impairment for this measuring area is exceeded.

15. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the camera image is no longer displayed on the output unit if 20% or more of the measuring areas are regarded as impermissibly impaired or if 10% or more of the measuring areas in the central main field are regarded as impermissibly impaired.

16. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the degree of impairment of the camera image is continuously determined.

17. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the output unit is a full-surface partially reflective output unit which, without a displayed camera image, displays a conventional mirror image visibly over the entire output unit.

Assignees

• Motherson Innovations Co Ltd

Inventors

• Rötzer Ilka
• Hein Peter

Classifications

• B60R1/12 Primary

  Mirror assemblies combined with other articles, e.g. clocks · CPC title

• B60R2300/8026

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

• B60R2001/1253

  with cameras, video cameras or video screens · CPC title

• B60R1/08

  involving special optical features, e.g. avoiding blind spots {, e.g. convex mirrors; Side-by-side associations of rear-view and other mirrors (B60R1/025, B60R1/10 take precedence)} · CPC title

• B60R1/26 Primary

  to the rear of the vehicle · CPC title