CN1688978A - 360-degree car video camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a video camera system with a 360 DEG range for digital video recording of the interior and exterior of a motor vehicle.

Description

360-degree car video camera system

related application

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 10/227,170, filed August 23, 2002, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 10/10/186,544, filed July 1, 2002 application and a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent Application No. 10/005,380, filed December 3, 2001, which in turn is U.S. Patent Application No. 09/494,060, filed January 28, 2000 And the continuation-in-part of published US Patent No. 6,333,759 and the continuation-in-part of US Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/124,624 filed on March 16, 1999, this application claims priority under 35 USC 120.

technical field

The present invention relates to video camera systems in automobiles. In particular, the present invention relates to video cameras for visual recording of the interior and exterior of motor vehicles over a 360° range to provide documentary evidence to police officers or vehicle owners.

Background technique

It is well known to utilize video tape systems for use in vehicles. US Patent No. 4,789,904 relates to a vehicle monitoring system. The system features a camera and control head inside the police vehicle, and a television recorder housed in the vehicle's bulletproof, fireproof vault.

This system is used as a surveillance system for video tapes located in the trunk of a vehicle.

A system with 360° coverage would be preferred so that the 360° area can be tape-videod simultaneously so that both the interior and exterior of the vehicle can be tape-videod. It would be nice to be able to retract the camera when not in use.

Contents of the invention

The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a video camera system for tape video recording within 360° around the location of the camera.

Another object is to provide a camera with a 360° range located behind and below the rearview mirror of a motor vehicle.

Yet another object is a VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) for rapid imaging.

It is a further object to provide a commercial VCR system that operates away from the vehicle battery.

Another object is to locate the multiplexer and VCR either in the glove box or in the trunk of the motor vehicle.

Yet another object is to provide a video camera system that can provide police officers with 360° synchronous tape video recordings for use as evidence of the situation of vehicles and/or individuals within the confines of police vehicles.

Yet another object is to provide a video camera system that can provide a 360° synchronous tape video record for a car owner to use as evidence of vehicle theft or police abuse that occurs within the owner's vehicle range.

Another object is to provide a video camera system that can provide the owner with a 360° synchronized tape video recording for use as documentary evidence of accidents and injuries that occur within the owner's vehicle range for relevant insurance purposes.

Other objects will become more apparent from the foregoing description and description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is a top view of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a view of the monitor seen along line 2 in Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view cut along line 3-3 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view cut along line 4-4 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the camera has a circular housing;

Fig. 6 shows yet another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the camera has a cube housing;

Fig. 7 shows another embodiment of the present invention, wherein each of the four cameras on different sides of the mirror is set into the mirror or mirror housing of the rearview mirror, so as to provide 360° around the rearview mirror. observe; and

Fig. 8 is a front view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 7, wherein a camera (camera 1) is arranged on the front surface of the rearview mirror, and two other cameras (cameras 3 and 4) are arranged on opposite sides of the rearview mirror;

Fig. 9 is the side view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 7, and it has shown the situation that video camera 4 is arranged on the side surface of rearview mirror; With

Fig. 10 is a rear view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 7, showing a situation where a camera (camera 2) is provided to the rear surface of the rearview mirror.

Detailed ways

Referring to the accompanying drawings, FIG. 1 is a top view of the present invention, and a 360-degree video camera system is installed inside a motor vehicle 1 . The 360 degree video camera system includes a camera housing 5, a multiplexer unit 15 and a video cassette recorder (VCR) 18, and optionally a monitor 19, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , the camera housing 5 can be mounted on a bracket 7 of a rearview mirror 8 of the motor vehicle 1 . As shown in Figure 3, the camera housing 5 is movable, and when not in use, it can be retracted and placed in position A behind the rearview mirror 8, or extended to the position A below the rearview mirror 8 when in use. position b. The hinge mechanism 9 can move the camera on its seat from position A to position B in an articulated manner, and vice versa. In addition, other mechanical structures can also be used, for example, the camera seat is designed as a telescopic rod, which is used to extend and retract the camera to the back or the bottom of the rearview mirror respectively.

The camera housing 5 is preferably shaped to accommodate a four-chip CCD or PC51 series CMOS inline miniature video camera sold by Super Circuits, Inc., Leander, Texas, mounted on a 1 pc that provides a 360 degree view of the interior and exterior of the vehicle. inches to 2 inches on the seat. These tiny video cameras can be black and white or color cameras. It should of course be understood that any other micro-camera system could be used and the invention is not limited to these specific examples.

There is also a swivel unit for the camera housing 5 connected to the rearview mirror.

The system preferably includes a 5-inch or 6-inch LCD video monitor for viewing the images recorded by the cameras (Figure 2). Monitors can be color or black and white and can be flipped up and down.

Wiring runs from the camera housing to the multiplexer, which simultaneously records the time and date of all four miniature video cameras either in color or black and white. The wiring is preferably run through a wiring harness (not shown) to the VCR operating with the miniature video camera and multiplexer 15 away from the vehicle battery 22, the wiring for the miniature camera, multiplexer 15 and VCR 18 being connected to all The wiring harness is connected to the vehicle battery 22 from these components.

Preferably, the camera housing 5 can be configured in any geometric shape and is not limited to the shapes described here. The camera housings shown in Figures 3 to 5 are annular or circular with lenses mounted on each side. Preferably, four miniature video cameras are arranged at 90-degree intervals on each side of the casing, of course, the number of cameras 11 can be changed if necessary. Miniature video camera 11 provides the camera casing 5 of 360 degree range, is used for displaying and recording everything around camera casing 5, that is to say, can record motor vehicle through the windshield of motor vehicle 1, side window and rear window. interior and exterior of motor vehicles. The camera housing 5 and the camera 11 can be remote from the battery of the motor vehicle, as shown in FIG. 1 .

The system includes a multiplexer 15 and a VCR 18. The multiplexer 15 can make the scenes recorded from all the cameras 11 of the camera housing 5 put together to provide a 360-degree picture. Therefore, in a four-camera setup, the multiplexer 15 aligns the images of the four cameras side by side for side-by-side display of the images recorded in the VCR 18 and displayed on the monitor 19 . VCR18 records these images. A suitable multiplexer 15 for use with the present invention is the DPX4 type multiplexer for color video tape and the MX4M type for black and white video tape, these multiplexers are available from Advanced Technology Purchased from Video Inc. of Redmond, Washington. Of course, the present invention is not limited to any one particular multiplexer model.

Multiplexer 15 and VCR 18 are co-located and preferably stacked on top of each other as shown in FIG. 1 in the trunk of the motor vehicle or in the glove box (not shown) of the motor vehicle dashboard.

As shown in Figure 1, the wiring between the camera housing 5, the multiplexer 15, the VCR 18 and the optionally used monitor 19 can be placed behind the panels of the vehicle's side walls, roof and dashboard to It does not draw attention to the installation of the present invention, and the wiring is hidden for aesthetics. Monitor 19 , VCR 18 and multiplexer 15 may also be connected from vehicle battery 22 . Therefore, it is preferable that the wiring of all four cameras 11 , multiplexer 15 and VCR 18 is connected to a wiring harness connected to the vehicle battery 22 . In addition, any other power sources such as batteries for video cameras, multiplexers and VCRs may also be provided.

Alternatively, the camera housing 5 may be part of a rearview mirror housing. In other words, the camera housing may be integrated with or provided within the housing of the rear view mirror (see the embodiments described below with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10 ).

In another embodiment (not shown), the miniature video camera can be a miniature digital camera, and instead of the multiplexer unit and VCR, the miniature digital camera can be wired to a digital recording system. Instead of the multiplexer unit and VCR, a digital recording system could be located in the dashboard glove box or trunk, and likewise, a miniature digital video camera could be located in the place of the video camera and camera housing 5 described herein. Examples of digital video cameras that can be used with the present invention include, but are not limited to, the JVC DVM90 and Sony DCRPC 9. Examples of digital video cameras that can be used include (but are not limited to) Sony GVD 300, Sony GVD 600, and Mobil viewII digital recorders.

In another embodiment of the present invention, four micro-camera systems can be arranged in the rearview mirror or its housing. As shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, four cameras (cameras 1, 2, 3 and 4) are arranged inside the rearview mirror. As shown in FIG. 7, camera 1 is provided in the front surface of the rear view mirror, and cameras 3 and 4 are provided in opposite sides of the rear view mirror (see FIGS. 8 and 9). FIG. 10 shows a case where another camera, namely camera 2, is provided to the rear side of the rearview mirror. Thus, four cameras mounted to the rearview mirror provide a 360-degree view around the rearview mirror. Also, the monitor can be mounted and attached to the rear view mirror which can be flipped down for viewing. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the number of cameras shown in the drawings or the specific positions shown in the drawings. Additionally, monitors may be located elsewhere in the vehicle (not shown). One or more of these miniature camera systems are conventionally designed by SVS (Subsea Vidoe Systems, Inc.), whose address is Elizabeth City, N.C. These micro camera systems have the following technical specifications:

Four miniature day/night cameras, rearview mirror, external clip mount type for car video system 480-line high-resolution, flip-down color LCD video screen (flip-down monitor) with camera switch (1-5 cameras ): Pickup element: 1/3″CCD, Snc: internal; AGC: automatic; RF output: composite (lvp-p); white balance: automatic; minimum illumination: 0.31lx., 0.0lux; voltage: 10-16V DC , 150mA; Size: 1.75 Dia.×2.5 inches Lg.; Weight: 154 grams; Vibration: about 1000g; Temperature: -40℃～+50℃; Mirror surface: tempered heat-resistant glass (Pyrextempered).

The high-resolution 16X color zoom camera is usually made by SVS, and it is used in the present invention with the following technical specifications:

This high resolution color day/night camera offers motor remote control or manual zoom with 16X zoom lens with 3.9-54.6mm. The lens also incorporates an autofocus feature, whereby control functions are minimized. A remote zoom unit is also included with the camcorder. All of our AV-Z cameras are waterproof and our minimum specification covered is 300 feet of water depth. The tiny lens motor does not allow for 1000g vibration levels, however, with our specified camera stabilization technology it is still able to achieve an impressive 0.5ms 150g continuous vibration, which is still beyond the specification of any other standard camera. Any RS-232 serial data port is available for full computer control of more than ten controllable functions. Such systems can provide video cameras for practical harsh environments.

The technical specifications for this video camera system include:

Pickup element: 1/4″CCD, Snc: internal; AGC: automatic; RF output: composite (lvp-p); white balance: automatic; minimum illumination: 0.01lux.; voltage: 10-16V DC, vibration: 150g; Temperature: -40℃～+50℃; mirror surface: tempered heat-resistant glass.

Another embodiment of the present invention that can employ a camera system as conventionally manufactured by SVS uses a DVR or digital video recorder as the digital recording system without the need for a multiplexer. The camera system can be either wired to the DVR or wirelessly connected to the DVR. The DVR can be located in the vehicle or remotely from the vehicle so that the camera system can be connected to the DVR with wireless transmission. Furthermore, the DVR model is a portable/mobile television video recorder customarily manufactured by SVS with the following characteristics:

Broadcast quality MPEG 1 and 2 recording, 1-5 cameras, 30FPS; programmable

e video compression for optimal recording (e video compression for, optimal recording); wearable 1 channel audio recording (lchannel audio recording with wearable), wireless microphone (600′ transmission from car, 600′ transmission from car) ); instant playback of 1-5 cameras while still recording; compatible with NTSC or PAL; simple VCR like wearable wireless remote control operation; secure password protected access to computer/internet and custom cameras with the aforementioned SVS The system records up to 30 days.

Technical specifications include:

ISO/IEX 13188-3, 2 (MPEG-2); data stream type: basic, program and transport (Elementary, Program and Transport.), half pixel accuracy (Half PEL accuracy); video encoder: horizontal resolution Rate - 720, 640, 480, 320, 160; Vertical resolution - 480, 240, 112 (NTSC), 576, 288, 144 (PAL); Preprocessor: Programmable 2D (7×6) spatial filter noise reduction ;Motion Estimation: Pand B-picture +/-100(H)X+/-34(V); Input: (a) composite video: 1×, input resistance: 75 Ohm, 1.0Vp-p standard 525 /60(NTSC), 625/50(PAL); Audio: 1×; Balance level - up to 3V p-p.

Although the invention has been described as being specific to motor vehicles, it may also be used in other vehicles including, but not limited to, airplanes, boats, trains, and the like.

Although preferred embodiments have been described herein for purposes of disclosure, numerous changes in the arrangement of method steps and apparatus components may be made by those skilled in the art. These changes are to be included within the concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (13)

1. A video system for a motor vehicle comprising: A camera housing provided inside a motor vehicle comprising a plurality of cameras located on each side of the housing to provide a 360° range of video recording images received by the lens, the camera housing being combined into the rear view mirror of said vehicle; A digital video recorder for compositing and recording all recorded images received from the cameras, thereby providing a 360° ambient recording around the camera housing. 2. The video system according to claim 1, wherein said camera S transmits said recorded image to a digital television video recorder by wireless transmission. 3. The video system according to claim 1, wherein said video camera S transmits said recorded image to said digital television video recorder through wired transmission. 4. The video system of claim 1, wherein the digital television video recorder is located inside the vehicle. 5. The video system of claim 1, wherein said digital television video recorder is located remotely from said motor vehicle. 6. The video system of claim 1, further comprising a flip-down monitor coupled to said rearview mirror for displaying said recorded image. 7. The video system according to claim 1, wherein the camera housing is circular, and the cameras are arranged at intervals of 90 degrees. 8. The video system of claim 1, wherein the camera housing is a cube with a lens mounted in each side of the cube camera housing. 9. The video system of claim 1, wherein the digital television video recorder is located in a glove box on the inside of the trunk of the vehicle. 10. The video system of claim 1, wherein said digital television video recorder is located in the trunk of said motor vehicle. 11. The video system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of cameras are disposed within said rearview mirror such that said rearview mirror is said camera housing of said cameras. 12. A method for digital image recording in a motor vehicle, comprising the steps of: A camera housing comprising a plurality of cameras positioned on each side of the housing to provide a 360° range of developed and recorded images received by a lens, the camera housing being the Part housings of rear view mirrors of vehicles; The images are composited and recorded by a digital video recorder, thereby providing a 360° recording of the environment around the camera housing. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the plurality of cameras are disposed in the rear view mirror such that the rear view mirror is the camera housing of the cameras.

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