JP6933955B2 - Side mirror device, side mirror system, and vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to side mirror devices, side mirror systems, and vehicles.

Conventionally, in order to monitor the rear side of an automobile, it has been proposed to attach a half mirror to the automobile and arrange a camera on the back surface of the half mirror (see, for example, Patent Document 1). As a result, the driver of the automobile can visually recognize the rear side through the half mirror and can confirm the rear side image captured by the camera on the display.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-186831

However, the amount of light transmitted through the half mirror as described above is reduced. Therefore, when an image is taken through a half mirror by the camera, it may be difficult for the camera to take a clear image, especially in an environment where the amount of light is low. Also, if the camera fails, the driver's rear-side visibility through only the half mirror may not be sufficient compared to a mirror with high reflectance.

The present disclosure provides side mirror devices, side mirror systems, and vehicles that allow the driver to better see the rear or side, depending on the environment.

The side mirror device of the present disclosure includes a dimming mirror, an image pickup device, and a controller. The dimming mirror is mounted on a vehicle, and its transmittance and reflectance can be changed. The image pickup apparatus includes an image pickup optical system, and the image pickup optical system is arranged so as to face a surface opposite to the reflection surface of the dimming mirror. The controller controls the transmittance and the reflectance of the dimming mirror. The controller reduces the transmittance of the dimming mirror when the exposure time of the imaging device is less than a predetermined time.

The side mirror system of the present disclosure includes a side mirror device and a display device. The side mirror device includes a dimming mirror, an image pickup device, and a controller. The dimming mirror is mounted on a vehicle, and its transmittance and reflectance can be changed. The image pickup apparatus includes an image pickup optical system, and the image pickup optical system is arranged so as to face a surface opposite to the reflection surface of the dimming mirror. The controller determines whether or not the image pickup apparatus is in an abnormal state or a stopped state based on a signal from the image pickup apparatus. When the controller determines that the image pickup apparatus is in an abnormal state or a stopped state, the controller raises the reflectance of the dimming mirror. The controller reduces the transmittance of the dimming mirror when the exposure time of the imaging device is less than a predetermined time. When the display device is determined to be in the abnormal state or the stopped state, the display device displays information indicating the abnormal state or the stopped state.

The vehicle of the present disclosure includes the side mirror device or side mirror system described above.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the driver can have a good view of the rear or side, depending on the environment.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a moving body equipped with the side mirror system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the side mirror system shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an external view of the side mirror device shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a correspondence relationship between the mirror surface of the side mirror device shown in FIG. 2 and an image. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the side mirror device shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the inside of the side mirror device shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the refraction of light by the dimming mirror. FIG. 8 is a timing chart for explaining the relationship between the exposure time and the blinking cycle when the exposure time is shorter than the blinking cycle of the light source. FIG. 9 is a timing chart for explaining the relationship between the exposure time and the blinking cycle when the exposure time is longer than the blinking cycle of the light source. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control procedure by the side mirror device of the present embodiment. FIG. 11 is a comparative example of the side mirror device. FIG. 12 is another comparative example of the side mirror device.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the side mirror system 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes a side mirror device 2 and a display device 3, and is mounted on the vehicle 4. Two side mirror systems 1 may be mounted on the vehicle 4.

"Vehicles" in the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, automobiles and industrial vehicles, and may include railroad vehicles, living vehicles, and fixed-wing aircraft traveling on runways. Automobiles include, but are not limited to, passenger cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, trolley buses and the like, and may include other vehicles traveling on the road. Industrial vehicles include industrial vehicles for agriculture and construction. Industrial vehicles include, but are not limited to, forklifts and golf carts. Industrial vehicles for agriculture include, but are not limited to, tractors, cultivators, transplanters, binders, combines, and lawnmowers. Industrial vehicles for construction include, but are not limited to, bulldozers, scrapers, excavators, mobile cranes, dump trucks, and road rollers. Vehicles include those that run manually. The classification of vehicles is not limited to the above. For example, an automobile may include an industrial vehicle capable of traveling on a road, and the same vehicle may be included in a plurality of categories.

As shown in FIG. 2, the side mirror device 2 includes a mirror unit 21, an image pickup device 22, and a mirror control unit 23.

As shown in FIG. 3, the mirror unit 21 includes a dimming mirror 211 and a mirror housing 212.

As shown in FIG. 4, the dimming mirror 211 is composed of a plurality of mirror segments 211a. The plurality of mirror segments 211a are arranged adjacent to each other in the in-plane direction. In the example shown in FIG. 4, each mirror segment 211a is rectangular, but this is not the case. Each mirror segment 211a may have any shape. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the dimming mirror 211 is composed of four mirror segments 211a arranged in a predetermined direction, seven in a direction orthogonal to the predetermined direction, and a total of 28 mirror segments 211a, but the present invention is not limited to this. The dimming mirror 211 may be composed of an arbitrary number of mirror segments 211a.

Each mirror segment 211a is a mirror whose transmittance and reflectance are changed by the control of the controller 232 described later. As the transmittance of each mirror segment 211a increases, the reflectance decreases. When the transmittance of each mirror segment 211a decreases, the reflectance increases. As an example, each mirror segment 211a includes a transparent substrate, a transparent electrode, a dimming mirror layer, a catalyst layer, an adhesive electrolyte, and an ion storage layer. When a voltage of a predetermined polarity is applied under the control of the controller 232, hydrogen ions in the ion storage layer of each mirror segment 211a move to the dimming mirror layer. The dimming mirror layer changes into a transparent metal hydride by reacting with hydrogen ions. As a result, the transmittance of the dimming mirror 211 increases and the reflectance decreases. When a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of a predetermined polarity is applied under the control of the controller 232, hydrogen ions are separated from the metal hydride of each mirror segment 211a and changed to a metal. As a result, the transmittance of each mirror segment 211a decreases and the reflectance increases. Since each mirror segment 211a is independently controlled by the controller 232, the transmittance of each mirror segment 211a can be changed independently.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the dimming mirror 211 may have a flat surface portion 211b and a curved surface portion 211c. The flat surface portion 211b is a portion of the dimming mirror 211 that is formed of a flat surface. The curved surface portion 211c is a portion formed by the curved surface in the dimming mirror 211. The curved surface portion 211c is arranged farther from the flat surface portion 211b with respect to the main body of the vehicle 4. In other words, the flat surface portion 211b may be closer than the curved surface portion 211c to the driver seated in the vehicle 4.

When at least a part of the light incident on the flat surface portion 211b is reflected from the rear or side of the vehicle 4, the dimming mirror 211 reaches the eyes of the driver sitting in the driver's seat. Arranged like this. For example, the dimming mirror 211 is arranged on the side surface of the vehicle body and in front of the position of the driver's eyes. As shown in FIG. 1, when the two side mirror systems 1 are mounted on the vehicle 4, the two dimming mirrors 211 each of the two side mirror systems 1 are arranged on the left and right outer surfaces of the vehicle body. NS.

The mirror housing 212 constitutes a case in which the reflecting surface 211r of the dimming mirror 211 is at least one outer surface together with the dimming mirror 211.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the image pickup apparatus 22 is housed in a case composed of a dimming mirror 211 and a mirror housing 212. As shown in FIG. 2, the image pickup apparatus 22 includes an image pickup optical system 221, an image pickup element 222, a processor 223, and a communication unit 224.

The imaging optical system 221 includes one or more lenses. The image pickup optical system 221 forms an image of light incident from the subject as a subject image on the image pickup surface of the image pickup device 222. A wide-angle lens can be adopted as the lens. As shown in FIG. 5, the image pickup apparatus 22 is arranged so that the image pickup optical system 221 faces the surface of the dimming mirror 211 opposite to the reflection surface 211r.

The image sensor 222 is composed of a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor, or the like. The image pickup device 222 is vertically attached to the optical axis OX of the lens formed by the image pickup optical system 221. The image sensor 222 captures a subject image and generates an image. Specifically, the image sensor 222 generates an image signal by photoelectrically converting a subject image imaged by the image pickup optical system 221.

The processor 223 may be, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Processor 223 determines the exposure time and gain based on the brightness of the subject by a known method. For example, the processor 223 may determine the exposure time and gain based on the amount of light received by the image sensor 222. In this case, the processor 223 determines that the exposure time is shortened as the amount of light received by the image sensor 222 increases. The processor 223 determines that the gain is lower as the amount of light received by the image sensor 222 increases. The processor 223 generates an image by causing the image pickup device 222 to image a subject image with a determined exposure time and gain.

The processor 223 may correct the distortion of the image generated by the image sensor 222.

For example, as described above, when the lens included in the imaging optical system 221 is a wide-angle lens, the processor 223 may correct the distortion generated in the image by the wide-angle lens by a known method.

For example, the processor 223 may correct the region of the image captured by the light transmitted through the curved surface portion 211c. As described above, the dimming mirror 211 has a flat surface portion 211b and a curved surface portion 211c. As shown in FIG. 7, the change in the optical path of _{the light L b} emitted through refraction with respect to the optical path of _{the light L b} incident on the flat surface portion 211b is the same even if the incident position of the _{light L b is different.} In contrast, with respect to the optical path of the light L _c incident on the curved surface portion 211c, the change of the optical path of the light emitted L _c via refraction varies depending on the incident position of the light L _c at the curved portion 211c. Therefore, the portion of the image formed by the light transmitted through the curved surface portion 211c may be distorted. The processor 223 may correct the distortion by using a distortion correction table predetermined according to the characteristics such as the curvature and the thickness of the curved surface portion 211c.

The processor 223 controls the communication unit 224 to transmit the image signal generated by the image sensor 222 to the mirror control unit 23 and the display device 3. When the distortion is corrected as described above, the processor 223 controls the communication unit 224 to transmit an image signal indicating the corrected image to the mirror control unit 23 and the display device 3. The processor 223 controls the communication unit 224 to transmit an exposure time signal indicating an exposure time to the mirror control unit 23.

The processor 223 detects an abnormality in the image pickup device 222 by a known method. When an abnormality is detected, the processor 223 controls the communication unit 224 to transmit an abnormality signal. The abnormality signal is a signal indicating that an abnormality has been detected in the image sensor 222.

The communication unit 224 transmits various signals under the control of the processor 223. Specifically, the communication unit 224 transmits an image signal to the display device 3. The communication unit 224 transmits the exposure time signal to the mirror control unit 23. The communication unit 224 transmits an abnormal signal to the mirror control unit 23.

As shown in FIG. 2, the mirror control unit 23 includes a communication unit 231 and a controller 232.

The communication unit 231 receives various signals from the display device 3 and the image pickup device 22. For example, the communication unit 231 receives an abnormal signal from the image pickup device 22. The communication unit 231 receives an image signal from the image pickup device 22. The communication unit 231 receives the exposure time signal from the image pickup apparatus 22.

The controller 232 may be a processor such as a CPU, for example. The controller 232 may be an integrated circuit such as a SoC (System-on-a-Chip) in which other components are integrated. The controller 232 may be configured by combining a plurality of integrated circuits.

The controller 232 controls the transmittance and reflectance of the dimming mirror 211 based on various signals received from the image pickup apparatus 22. The control based on various signals by the controller 232 includes a control based on whether or not various signals have been received. Here, the details of the control of the dimming mirror 211 executed by the controller 232 will be described.

The controller 232 determines whether or not the image pickup apparatus 22 is in an abnormal state or a stopped state. Specifically, when the controller 232 receives an abnormal signal from the image pickup device 22, the controller 232 determines that the image pickup device 22 is in an abnormal state. When the controller 232 does not receive a signal from the image pickup device 22, the controller 232 determines that the image pickup device 22 is in an abnormal state or a stopped state. When the controller 232 determines that the image pickup apparatus 22 is in an abnormal state or a stopped state, the controller 232 may increase the reflectance of the dimming mirror 211 to a level higher than the current reflectance. The controller 232 may, for example, increase the transmittance of the dimming mirror 211 to the maximum value of the reflectance that the dimming mirror 211 can realize.

The controller 232 may control the dimming mirror 211 based on the exposure time indicated by the exposure time signal transmitted from the image pickup apparatus 22. Specifically, the controller 232 determines whether or not the exposure time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time. The predetermined time may be, for example, the time of one cycle of the commercial power frequency. When the controller 232 determines that the exposure time of the image pickup apparatus 22 is less than a predetermined time, the controller 232 reduces the transmittance of the dimming mirror 211. The controller 232 may reduce the transmittance of the dimming mirror 211 until the exposure time determined by the processor 223 exceeds a predetermined time.

Here, an image generated by the image pickup apparatus 22 when a light source blinking at a predetermined frequency such as a traffic light and a headlight of another vehicle is included in the subject will be described. The light source that blinks at a predetermined frequency is, for example, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or an HID (High Intensity Discharge). As described above, the processor 223 determines that the exposure time is shorter as the brightness of the subject is higher. As shown in FIG. 8, when the exposure time determined by the processor 223 is shorter than the period of the light source, the exposure time corresponds to the lighting time of the light source in the imaging of the first frame, and the exposure time in the imaging of the second frame. May correspond to the light source turn-up time. In this case, even if the image pickup device 22 captures the same subject, the brightness in the images of the first frame and the second frame is different, so that flicker may occur in the image in which a plurality of images are continuously reproduced. ..

As described above, when the controller 232 reduces the transmittance of the dimming mirror 211, the processor 223 determines to increase the exposure time. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, the exposure time in the imaging time of each of the first frame and the second frame includes both the lighting time and the extinguishing time of the light source, and the brightness of the images in the first frame and the second frame. Difference can be reduced. Therefore, flicker generated in a video in which a plurality of images are continuously reproduced can be reduced.

The controller 232 may control the dimming mirror 211 based on the brightness values of the pixels constituting the image generated by the image sensor 222. Specifically, the controller 232 calculates a representative value of the brightness values of the plurality of pixels included in each region Ima for each of the plurality of regions Ima included in the image Im as shown in FIG. The representative value is a value obtained by performing a statistical calculation on the luminance value of a plurality of pixels, and is, for example, an average value, a median value, or the like. The controller 232 determines whether or not the representative value in each region Ima is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. When the controller 232 determines that there is a region Ima (high brightness region) in which the representative value of the brightness is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the controller 232 reduces the transmittance of the portion of the dimming mirror 211 corresponding to the high brightness region. The portion of the dimming mirror 211 corresponding to the high-luminance region is the mirror segment 211a through which the light forming the high-luminance region is transmitted, among the plurality of mirror segments 211a.

The controller 232 may control the display device 3 to enlarge or reduce the image generated by the image pickup device 22 based on the command input by the user. The controller 232 may control the brightness of the image displayed on the display device 3 based on the command input by the user.

When the communication unit 231 receives an abnormal signal from the image pickup device 22, the controller 232 causes the display device 3 to transmit a signal indicating that the image pickup device 22 is in an abnormal state. When the communication unit 231 does not receive the image signal from the image pickup device 22, the controller 232 causes the display device 3 to transmit a signal indicating that the image pickup device 22 is in an abnormal state or a stopped state.

When the controller 232 determines that the image pickup device 22 is in an abnormal state or a stopped state, the display device 3 displays information indicating the abnormal state or the stopped state. Specifically, when the display device 3 receives the signal transmitted from the communication unit 231 indicating that the image pickup device 22 is in the abnormal state or the stop state under the control of the controller 232, the display device 3 causes the image pickup device 22 to be in the abnormal state or the stop state. Display information indicating that it is in a state.

Subsequently, the control of the dimming mirror 211 by the controller 232 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The controller 232 starts processing when the side mirror device 2 is activated.

First, the controller 232 determines whether or not an abnormal signal has been received from the image pickup device 22 (step S11).

When the controller 232 determines that the abnormal signal has not been received, it determines whether or not the image signal has been received from the image pickup apparatus 22 (step S12).

When the controller 232 receives the image signal in step S12, the controller 232 receives the exposure time signal from the image pickup apparatus 22 (step S13).

Next, the controller 232 determines whether or not the exposure time indicated by the exposure time signal received in step S13 is less than a predetermined time (step S14).

When the controller 232 determines that the exposure time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, the controller 232 maintains the transmittance of the dimming mirror 211 (step S15).

When the controller 232 determines that the exposure time is less than a predetermined time, the controller 232 reduces the transmittance of the dimming mirror 211 (step S16).

Next, the controller 232 determines whether or not the image indicated by the image signal received from the image pickup apparatus 22 has a high-luminance region in which the representative value of the brightness is equal to or higher than a predetermined value (step S17).

When the controller 232 determines that the image has a high-luminance region, the controller 232 reduces the transmittance of the mirror segment 211a corresponding to the high-luminance region (step S18).

When the controller 232 determines that the abnormal signal has been received in step S11, or determines that the image signal has not been received in step S12, the controller 232 increases the reflectance of the dimming mirror 211 (step S19).

Next, the controller 232 controls the communication unit 231 to transmit a signal indicating an abnormality or stop of the image pickup device 22 to the display device 3 (step S20).

Next, the controller 232 controls the communication unit 231 to transmit a stop signal for stopping the display device 3 (step S21). When the abnormality signal is received in step S11, the controller 232 controls the communication unit 231 to transmit the stop signal for stopping the image pickup apparatus 22 (step S21).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the side mirror device 2 includes a dimming mirror 211 mounted on the vehicle 4, an image pickup device 22, and a controller 232 that controls the transmittance of the dimming mirror 211. Be prepared. Therefore, the transmittance and reflectance of the dimming mirror 211 can be changed according to the environment. Therefore, the driver can see the rear and side of the vehicle 4 satisfactorily by either the image generated by the image pickup device 22 through the dimming mirror 211 or the image reflected by the dimming mirror 211 and directly entering the field of view. can do.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when the controller 232 determines that the image pickup apparatus 22 is in an abnormal state or a stopped state, the controller 232 increases the reflectance of the dimming mirror 211. If the image pickup device 22 does not operate normally, the driver cannot visually recognize the image by the display device 3. At this time, since the reflectance of the dimming mirror 211 increases due to the decrease in the transmittance, the driver can see the rear and side of the vehicle 4 well through the dimming mirror 211 having a high reflectance. Can be done.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when the controller 232 determines that the exposure time of the image pickup apparatus 22 is shorter than the predetermined time, the controller 232 reduces the transmittance of the dimming mirror 211. When the transmittance of the dimming mirror 211 is reduced, the processor 223 determines to increase the exposure time as described above. Therefore, when the subject includes a light source that blinks periodically, the exposure time in the imaging time of each frame includes both the lighting time and the extinguishing time of the light source, and the brightness in a plurality of images including the image of the same subject. Difference can be reduced. Therefore, flicker generated in a video in which these images are continuously reproduced can be reduced.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when the controller 232 determines that the image has a high-luminance region, the controller 232 reduces the transmittance of the mirror segment 211a corresponding to the high-luminance region. As a result, the processor 223 shortens the exposure time or lowers the gain due to the high-luminance region, so that the brightness in the region other than the high-luminance region is lowered, and it becomes difficult for the driver to visually recognize the image. Can be avoided.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the dimming mirror 211 includes at least a curved surface portion 211c formed of a curved surface. For example, as in the comparative example shown in FIG. 11, when the dimming mirror 211 is composed of only the flat surface portion 211b, a part of the light to be incident on the imaging optical system 221 is blocked by the mirror housing 212 and cannot be incident. There is. Therefore, in particular, when the imaging optical system 221 includes a wide-angle lens, it may not be possible to image a subject in a range that the driver should see. Even when the dimming mirror 211 is composed of only the flat surface portion 211b, the dimming mirror 211 is made larger than the mirror surface of the dimming mirror 211 of the present embodiment as in the comparative example shown in FIG. Can capture a subject in a range that the driver should see. However, in this case, the side mirror device 2 becomes large, and when the vehicle 4 drives on a narrow road, there may be an inconvenience that the vehicle 4 easily comes into contact with an obstacle, a building, or the like along the road. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the dimming mirror 211 includes at least the curved surface portion 211c. Therefore, it is possible to avoid increasing the size of the side mirror device 2, and the image pickup device 22 can take an image of a subject in a range that the driver should see.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the image pickup apparatus 22 corrects the region of the image corresponding to the curved surface portion 211c. As described above, the portion of the image generated by the light transmitted through the curved surface portion 211c reaching the image pickup device 222 may be distorted. In the present embodiment, the image pickup apparatus 22 corrects the distortion. Therefore, the driver can visually recognize the distortion-corrected image.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when the controller 232 determines that the image pickup device 22 is in an abnormal state or a stopped state, the display device 3 displays information indicating the abnormal state or the stopped state. Therefore, the driver can recognize that the image pickup device 22 has an abnormality and that the image pickup device 22 is stopped. Therefore, the driver can be careful to visually recognize the surroundings through the dimming mirror 211, not through the display device 3.

Although the above embodiments have been described as representative examples, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications and substitutions can be made within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention should not be construed as being limited by the embodiments described above, and various modifications or modifications can be made without departing from the claims. For example, it is possible to combine the plurality of constituent blocks described in the embodiments and examples into one, or to divide one constituent block into one.

In the above-described embodiment, the processor 223 of the image pickup apparatus 22 corrects the distortion, but this is not the case. For example, the processor 223 may control the communication unit 224 to transmit an image signal indicating an image before the distortion is corrected to the mirror control unit 23. Then, the communication unit 231 of the mirror control unit 23 may receive the image signal, and the controller 232 may correct the distortion of the image indicated by the image signal.

In the above-described embodiment, the communication unit 224 transmits the image signal to the display device 3, but this is not the case. For example, the mirror control unit 23 may transmit the image signal received from the image pickup device 22 to the display device 3. In particular, when the controller 232 of the mirror control unit 23 instead of the processor 223 of the image pickup device 22 corrects the distortion of the image, the communication unit 231 of the mirror control unit 23 transmits an image signal indicating the corrected image to the display device 3. ..

In the above-described embodiment, the processor 223 determines the exposure time and the gain based on the amount of light received by the image sensor 222, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the processor 223 may cause the luminance sensor to detect the luminance of the subject. In this case, the luminance sensor may be built in the image pickup device 22 or may be configured separately from the image pickup device 22. The processor 223 determines that the higher the brightness detected by the brightness sensor, the shorter the exposure time. The processor 223 determines that the higher the brightness detected by the brightness sensor, the lower the gain.

In the above-described embodiment, the controller 232 controls the dimming mirror 211 based on various signals received from the image pickup apparatus 22, but the present invention is not limited to this. The controller 232 may control the dimming mirror 211 based on signals transmitted from various devices or devices separate from the image pickup device 22. For example, the controller 232 may receive a luminance signal indicating the luminance detected by the luminance sensor. The controller 232 may control the dimming mirror 211 based on the received luminance signal.

In the above-described embodiment, if the controller 232 determines that the image signal has been received in step S12, the process of steps S13 to S18 is executed, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the controller 232 may execute only the processes from step S13 to step S16 among the processes from step S13 to step S18. For example, the controller 232 may execute only the processes of steps S17 and S18 among the processes of steps S13 to S18.

1 Side mirror system 2 Side mirror device 3 Display device 4 Vehicle 21 Mirror unit 22 Imaging device 23 Mirror control unit 211 Dimming mirror 211a Mirror segment 211b Flat surface portion 211c Curved surface portion 211r Reflection surface 212 Mirror housing 221 Imaging optical system 222 Imaging element 223 Processor 224 Communication unit 231 Communication unit 232 Controller

Claims (8)

A dimming mirror that is mounted on the vehicle and has variable transmittance and reflectance,
An image pickup apparatus including an image pickup optical system and the image pickup optical system is arranged so as to face a surface opposite to the reflection surface of the dimming mirror.
A controller that controls the transmittance and the reflectance of the dimming mirror,
Equipped with a,
The controller, wherein the exposure time of the image pickup device is less than a predetermined time, the side mirror apparatus Ru lowers the transmittance of the switchable mirror. The controller determines whether or not the imaging device is in an abnormal state or a stopped state based on a signal from the imaging device, and when it is determined that the imaging device is in the abnormal state or the stopped state, the controller determines that the imaging device is in the abnormal state or the stopped state. The side mirror device according to claim 1, wherein the reflectance of the dimming mirror is increased. When the image generated by the image pickup apparatus has a high-luminance region in which the representative value of the brightness is higher than a predetermined value, the controller reduces the transmittance of the portion of the dimming mirror corresponding to the high-luminance region. The side mirror device according to claim 1 or 2. The dimming mirror includes at least a curved surface portion formed of a curved surface portion, and the image pickup apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 for correcting an image region generated by light transmitted through the curved surface portion. The side mirror device described. The fourth aspect of claim 4, wherein the dimming mirror further includes a flat surface portion formed by a flat surface in the dimming mirror, and the curved surface portion is arranged farther from the flat surface portion with respect to the main body of the vehicle. Side mirror device. The side mirror device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the image pickup device transmits an image signal indicating an image generated by the image pickup device to a display device. A dimming mirror mounted on a vehicle and capable of changing the transmittance and reflectance, and an imaging optical system are included, and the imaging optical system is arranged so as to face a surface opposite to the reflecting surface of the dimming mirror. Based on the imaging device and the signal from the imaging device, it is determined whether or not the imaging device is in an abnormal state or a stopped state, and when it is determined that the imaging device is in an abnormal state or a stopped state, the dimming is performed. increase the reflectivity of the mirror, the exposure time of the imaging device is less than a predetermined time, a side mirror apparatus comprising, a controller Ru lowers the transmittance of the light control mirror,
When it is determined that the imaging device is in the abnormal state or the stopped state, a display device that displays information indicating the abnormal state or the stopped state, and a display device.
Side mirror system with. A vehicle equipped with the side mirror device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 or the side mirror system according to claim 7.

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