WO2020250977A1

WO2020250977A1 - Vehicle-mounted electronic mirror provided with image output

Info

Publication number: WO2020250977A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/023026
Authority: WO
Inventors: 亜矢子杉山
Original assignee: 株式会社村上開明堂
Priority date: 2019-06-14
Filing date: 2020-06-11
Publication date: 2020-12-17
Also published as: JPWO2020250977A1

Abstract

[Problem] To arrive at a configuration in which delay is reduced and an image can be outputted when image output is provided to a vehicle-mounted electronic mirror. [Solution] An input interface 16, a CPU 18, a display memory 20, a display control circuit 22, a display 24, and an output interface 26 are mounted in an electronic mirror 10. The input interface 16 inputs an image photographed by a camera 12. The CPU 18 performs a process for temporarily storing the image inputted from the input interface 16 in the display memory 20, reading the image from the display memory 20, and displaying the image on the display 24 via the display control circuit 22. The output interface 26 outputs the image inputted from the input interface 16 to the outside of the electronic mirror 10 without the intervention of the CPU 18 and the display memory 20.

Description

Automotive electronic mirror with image output

The present invention relates to an in-vehicle electronic mirror (hereinafter referred to as "electronic mirror") having a function of outputting an image to the outside.

As an electronic mirror, for example, there is one described in Patent Document 1 below. This electronic mirror is equipped with a drive recorder and has a function of wirelessly transmitting an image of field evidence captured by a camera and stored on a hard disk or a memory card to a monitor center (paragraph 0038). Here, the drive recorder is a device that records an image of the outside of the vehicle captured by a camera in order to use it as evidence of an accident.

Utility Model Registration No. 3113531

It is conceivable that the camera image input to the electronic mirror is output to the outside of the electronic mirror and used as a recorded image of the drive recorder, in addition to the original purpose of visualizing the surroundings of the vehicle. In this way, the number of cameras dedicated to the drive recorder can be reduced, which is convenient. However, while the drive recorder is required to be able to record an image at the moment of a collision accident, the image input to the electronic mirror has a slight delay due to display control after the input. Therefore, when the power supply from the vehicle battery to the electronic mirror is cut off at the moment of the collision due to the impact of the collision, the electronic mirror power supply is turned on before the image of the moment of the collision causing the delay is output from the electronic mirror. It is blocked. As a result, the image at the moment of the collision is not output from the electronic mirror to the outside and is not recorded in the drive recorder. Some drive recorders are equipped with a backup power supply so that the power supply of the drive recorder is not cut off by the impact of a collision. On the other hand, there is a demand that the electronic mirror does not want to be equipped with a backup power supply because of its weight, capacity, cost and the like. The present invention provides an electronic mirror capable of outputting an image with a reduced delay when the electronic mirror is provided with an image output.

The present invention is an electronic mirror that displays an image of the outside of a vehicle captured by a camera on a display. The electronic mirror includes an input interface, a CPU, a display memory, a display control circuit, a display, and an output interface. Is a circuit for inputting an image taken by a camera, and the CPU temporarily stores the image input from the input interface in the display memory, reads it from the display memory, and reads the display control circuit. It is a circuit that performs a process of displaying on the display via the above, and the output interface is a circuit that outputs an image input from the input interface to the outside of the electronic mirror without going through the CPU and the display memory. .. According to this, since the output interface outputs the image input from the input interface without going through the CPU and the display memory, it is possible to output the image with less delay from the electronic mirror. Further, since the image input from the input interface is output to the output interface without going through the CPU and the display memory, the CPU is compared with the case where the image input from the input interface is output to the output interface via the CPU and the display memory. The burden of data processing can be reduced.

In the present invention, the output interface can be a circuit that outputs the entire area of the image input from the input interface. According to this, the external device that inputs the output of the output interface can use the image of the entire area of the image input from the input interface of the electronic mirror. Here, the external device is a device such as a drive recorder provided outside the electronic mirror as a device separate from the electronic mirror.

In the present invention, the CPU stores the entire area of the image input from the input interface in the display memory, cuts out the image of the set area from the display memory, and obtains the cut out image. It can be a circuit that performs the first display control to be displayed on the display via the display control circuit. According to this, an image of an appropriate area can be cut out from the image input from the input interface and displayed on the display.

In the present invention, the CPU is a circuit that switches to the first display control to perform a second display control, and the second display control is an entire area of an image stored in the display memory. Can be changed to a size that can be displayed on the display (for example, reduced) so that the entire area of the resized image is displayed on the display. According to this, the entire area of the image input from the input interface and output from the output interface can be confirmed.

In the present invention, the CPU is a circuit that switches to the first display control to perform a third display control, and the third display control is an image of an entire area stored in the display memory and the said. The cropped images are each resized (for example, reduced) to an appropriate size, and the entire resized images are displayed side by side on the display, or the images of the entire area stored in the display memory are appropriately displayed. The size of the image can be changed (for example, reduced) to display the entire image of which the size has been changed on the display, and the area of the clipped image can be displayed in the image. According to this, it is possible to confirm by comparing the entire area of the image input from the input interface and output from the output interface with the area of the image displayed on the display by the first display control.

In the present invention, the CPU is a circuit that switches to the first display control and the second display control to perform a third display control, and the third display control is stored in the display memory. The image of the entire area and the clipped image are each changed to an appropriate size (for example, reduced), and the entire images of which the size is changed are displayed side by side on the display or stored in the display memory. The image of the entire area is changed to an appropriate size (for example, reduced), the entire image of which the size is changed is displayed on the display, and the area of the cut-out image is displayed in the image. It can be controlled. According to this, it is possible to confirm by comparing the entire area of the image input from the input interface and output from the output interface with the area of the image displayed on the display by the first display control.

In the present invention, the CPU can control to change the setting of the cutout area for cutting out the image from the display memory based on the operation of the operator. According to this, the operator can change the setting of the cutout area.

The present invention has a cut-out area setting memory for storing the set cut-out area information, that is, the cut-out area setting information, and the cut-out area setting memory can be used even if the power supply to the vehicle-mounted electronic mirror is cut off. It is composed of a non-volatile storage device that holds the cutout area setting information, and the CPU cuts out an image of the corresponding area from the display memory based on the cutout area setting information stored in the cutout area setting memory. It can be controlled. According to this, even if the power supply to the in-vehicle electronic mirror is cut off for some reason, the cutout area setting information can be retained. Therefore, when the power supply is restored, the control of cutting out the image of the corresponding area from the display memory can be resumed based on the held cutout area setting information.

In the present invention, the electronic mirror is equipped with an input interface for inputting a reproduced image of an external device (drive recorder or the like), and the CPU is a circuit that switches to the first display control and performs a fourth display control. In the fourth display control, the entire area of the image input from the input interface is stored in the display memory, the image stored in the display memory is displayed on the display, and the entire area of the image is displayed on the display. The size can be changed so that the entire area of the resized image can be displayed on the display. According to this, the electronic mirror can have a function of displaying the reproduced image of the external device on the display. In this case, the input interface for inputting the reproduced image of the external device may be configured as a separate body from the output interface, or may be configured as an input / output interface (the output interface also serving as an input interface). In addition to switching to the first display control to perform the fourth display control, the CPU switches to the first display control and the second display control to perform the fourth display control, or Switch to the first display control and the third display control to perform the fourth display control, or switch to the first display control, the second control, and the third display control to perform the fourth display control. It can also be a circuit for controlling.

In the present invention, the electronic mirror may not be equipped with a backup power supply. According to this, the weight of the electronic mirror can be reduced while the electronic mirror can output an image with less delay.

It is a system block diagram which shows the embodiment of the electronic mirror by this invention, and shows the state which connected the rear camera and the drive recorder externally to the electronic mirror. It is a front view which shows typically an example of the display display at the time of the 1st display control by a CPU in the electronic mirror of FIG. It is a front view which shows typically an example of the display display at the time of the 2nd display control. It is a front view which shows typically an example (1st example) of the display display at the time of the 3rd display control. It is a front view schematically showing another example (second example) of the display display at the time of the third display control. 3 to 7 are diagrams for explaining the operation of changing the setting of the cutout area performed during the third display control (first example) and the display display during the first display control by the cutout area whose setting has been changed. is there. Of these, FIG. 3A shows the cutout area at the standard position of the standard magnification and the cutout area in the entire area of the image stored in the display memory (the entire area of the image taken by the rear camera), and the image in the image. Shows the subject image. An image displayed on the display during the first display control when the cutout area is set as shown in FIG. 3A is shown. A state in which the cutout region is translated from the state of FIG. 3A is shown. An image displayed on the display during the first display control when the setting of the cutout area is changed as shown in FIG. 4A is shown. The state where the cut-out area is expanded from the state of FIG. 3A is shown. An image displayed on the display during the first display control when the setting of the cutout area is changed as shown in FIG. 5A is shown. A state in which the cutout area is reduced from the state of FIG. 3A is shown. An image displayed on the display during the first display control when the setting of the cutout area is changed as shown in FIG. 6A is shown. A state in which the cutout region is rotated from the state of FIG. 3A is shown. An image displayed on the display during the first display control when the setting of the cutout area is changed as shown in FIG. 7A is shown.

An embodiment of the electronic mirror according to the present invention will be described below. In FIG. 1, the electronic mirror 10 is configured as an electronic inner mirror, and is configured as one article that is integrally assembled as a whole. The electronic mirror 10 is suspended and installed on the ceiling at the center of the left and right at the upper front of the vehicle interior. The electronic mirror 10 is not equipped with a drive recorder. The rear camera 12 is an electronic camera (movie camera) such as a digital camera or an analog camera. The rear camera 12 is installed in the center of the rear part of the outside of the vehicle with the optical axis directed toward the rear of the vehicle. The rear camera 12 and the electronic mirror 10 are connected to each other by a signal cable 14. The signal (serial signal) of the image (moving image) behind the vehicle captured by the rear camera 12 is input to the electronic mirror 10 via the signal cable 14.

The electronic mirror 10 includes an input interface 16, a CPU 18, a display memory 20, a display control circuit 22, a display 24 such as a liquid crystal display 24, an output interface 26, and a cutout area setting memory 27 in a housing (not shown). There is. The electronic mirror 10 is not equipped with a backup power source such as a secondary battery or a supercapacitor. The display surface of the display 24 is exposed from the opening of the housing toward the rear of the vehicle so that the driver or the like can visually recognize the displayed image. The input interface 16 is a circuit for inputting an image taken by the rear camera 12. The input interface 16 includes a deserializer and converts the input serial image signal into a parallel signal. The CPU 18 temporarily stores the entire area of the image converted into the parallel signal (here, equal to the entire area of the image taken by the rear camera 12) in the display memory 20 (buffer memory such as a frame memory). .. The CPU 18 further reads an image of a display area from the display memory 20 and performs a process of displaying the image on the display 24 via the display control circuit 22. The image is delayed by, for example, about 2 to 3 frames by passing through the CPU 18 and the display memory 20.

The cutout area setting memory 27 is a memory that stores the setting information (cutout area setting information) of the "cutout area" that cuts out the image to be displayed among all the areas of the image stored in the display memory 20. Here, for convenience of explanation, the cutout area at the standard magnification is set as an area of a size to be displayed in the entire area of the display 24 at the same magnification (that is, without thinning out pixels and interpolation). However, the magnification of the standard magnification is not limited to this setting. That is, instead of setting the magnification without thinning and interpolation of pixels as the standard magnification, it is also possible to set the magnification obtained by thinning or interpolating the pixels at an appropriate ratio as the standard magnification. Further, the size of the cutout area is not limited to this setting. That is, instead of setting the area that is the size to be displayed in the entire area of the display 24 at the standard magnification as the cutout area, the image size is reduced (that is, the pixels are thinned out as compared with the standard magnification) or enlarged. Then (that is, pixels are interpolated as compared with the standard magnification), an area having a size to be displayed in the entire area of the display 24 can be set as a cutout area. If the image size is reduced and displayed in the entire area of the display 24, the display becomes a wide-angle display as compared with the standard magnification. Further, if the image size is enlarged and displayed in the entire area of the display 24, the display becomes a narrow angle display as compared with the standard magnification. This makes it possible to change the angle of view. The cutout area is set by the cutout area setting operation by the operator, and the set cutout area information, that is, the cutout area setting information is stored in the cutout area setting memory 27. The CPU 18 cuts out (reads) an image of an area specified by the cutout area setting information stored in the cutout area setting memory 27 from the image stored in the display memory 20. Then, the CPU 18 reduces or enlarges the cut-out image to a size to be displayed in the entire area of the display 24, if necessary. Further, the CPU 18 temporarily stores the reduced or enlarged image in another area of the display memory 20, reads out the entire image stored in the other area, and uses the display control circuit 22 to read the entire area of the display 24. (1st display control). The cutout area setting memory 27 is composed of a non-volatile storage device such as a flash memory and an HDD device, and even if the power supply to the electronic mirror 10 is cut off, the stored cutout area setting information is retained.

The input interface 16 includes a distribution circuit, and distributes and supplies an image converted into a parallel signal to the output interface 26 in addition to the CPU 18. The output interface 26 includes a serializer, converts an input parallel image signal into a serial signal, and outputs the signal to the outside of the electronic mirror 10. The output interface 26 outputs the entire area of the image input from the input interface 16 (here, equal to the entire area of the image captured by the rear camera 12). Since the image supplied to the output interface 26 does not pass through the CPU 18 and the display memory 20, the output interface 26 can output an image without delay in the CPU 18 and the display memory 20 to the outside. Further, since the image supplied to the output interface 26 does not pass through the CPU 18 and the display memory 20, the data of the CPU 18 is compared with the case where the image is supplied to the output interface 26 via the CPU 18 and the display memory 20. The processing load can be reduced.

A drive recorder 28 (external recording device, external device) prepared separately from the electronic mirror 10 is externally connected to the output interface 26 via a signal cable 30. If the drive recorder 28 is equipped with a backup power supply such as a secondary battery or a supercapacitor, even if the power supply from the vehicle battery is cut off due to the impact of the accident, the images for a predetermined time before and after the accident are stored for evidence. be able to. The drive recorder 28 is a so-called two-input type and includes two

image input ports

32 and 34. A front camera 36 is connected to the image input port 32 via a signal cable 38. Like the rear camera 12, the front camera 36 is an electronic camera (moving camera) such as a digital camera or an analog camera. The front camera 36 is installed in the vehicle interior, for example, toward the front of the vehicle through the windshield. The image output from the output interface 26 of the electronic mirror 10 is input to the image input port 34. The drive recorder 28 uses the entire area of the front image (the entire area of the image captured by the front camera 36) and the entire area of the rear image (the image captured by the rear camera 12) sequentially input from the

image input ports

32 and 34. (All areas of) are recorded in the form of sequentially overwriting the old records. When the drive recorder 28 detects an impact of a predetermined value or more due to an accident, the drive recorder 28 saves an image for a predetermined time before and after the accident for evidence.

The display control of the display 24 by the CPU 18 will be described. The display control of the display 24 has a plurality of display control modes, and these plurality of display control modes can be selectively switched between the operation mode of the vehicle and the display control mode switching operation by the driver or the like.

<< First display control >>
The first display control is a control for displaying the vehicle during normal operation. At this time, the CPU 18 sequentially overwrites and records the entire area of the image of the rear camera 12 input from the input interface 16 in the display memory 20, and displays the entire area of the display 24 from the display memory 20. , The image of a part of the recorded image of the whole area is cut out. Then, the CPU 18 displays the cut-out image on the display 24 via the display control circuit 22. The display state on the display 24 at this time is shown in FIG. 2A. An image 40a of a horizontally long region cut out from an image of the entire region of the rear camera 12 is displayed in the entire region of the display 24. The driver can drive and operate the vehicle while checking the rear on this display.

<< Second display control >>
The second display control is a control for confirming the entire area of the image of the rear camera 12 (that is, the shooting range of the evidence image captured by the drive recorder 28) and displaying for adjusting the shooting range as necessary. is there. This display control is executed by a display switching operation to the second display control by the driver or the like when the driving operation of the vehicle is stopped. At this time, the CPU 18 reads out the image of the entire area from the display memory 20 while sequentially overwriting and recording the entire area of the image of the rear camera 12 input from the input interface 16 in the display memory 20, and the entire area. The image is reduced to a size that can be displayed on the display 24. Further, the CPU 18 temporarily stores the reduced image in another area of the display memory 20, reads out the entire image stored in the other area, and displays the entire area of the reduced image on the display 24. The display state on the display 24 at this time is shown in FIG. 2B. The image 40b of the entire area of the rear camera 12 is displayed in the central area of the display 24. If the installation angle of the rear camera 12 can be adjusted, the driver or the like can adjust the installation angle of the rear camera 12 while observing this display. This makes it possible to eliminate the need for a display dedicated to the drive recorder for confirming the shooting range of the drive recorder 28.

<< Third display control (first example) >>
The third display control is a control for confirming the cutout area to be displayed by the first display control and performing a display for changing the setting of the cutout area as needed. This display control is executed by a display switching operation to the third display control by the driver or the like when the driving operation of the vehicle is stopped. At this time, the CPU 18 reads out the image of the entire area from the display memory 20 while sequentially overwriting and recording the entire area of the image of the rear camera 12 input from the input interface 16 in the display memory 20, and the entire area. The image of is reduced to a size that can be displayed on the display 24. Further, the CPU 18 temporarily stores the reduced image in another area of the display memory 20, reads out the entire image stored in the other area, and displays the entire area of the reduced image on the display 24. At the same time, the CPU 18 superimposes the area to be cut out and displayed by the first display control on the image of the entire area displayed on the display 24 with a frame line or the like. The display state on the display 24 at this time is shown in FIG. 2C. The image 40b of the entire area of the rear camera 12 is displayed in the central area of the display 24. Further, in this image 40b, a frame line 40c (hereinafter, the "cutout area" may be represented by reference numeral 40c) indicating an area (cutout area) of the image 40a to be cut out and displayed by the first display control is displayed. Will be done. That is, the display indicating the region of the image 40a is performed by the frame line 40c. The driver or the like can change the position of the cutout region by an appropriate operation of moving the frame line 40c in parallel. The cut-out area setting information regarding the cut-out area whose position has been changed is stored in the cut-out area setting memory 27 in the form of updating the cut-out area setting information previously stored. After that, the updated cutout area setting information is reflected in the first display control, and the image 40a of the cutout area whose position has been changed is displayed in the entire area of the display 24 during normal driving of the vehicle.

Further, the driver or the like can change the size of the cutout area by an appropriate operation of enlarging or reducing the area of the frame line 40c. The size of the cutout area can be changed with the aspect ratio unchanged. That is, the size of the cutout area can be changed while maintaining the aspect / width size ratio at a value corresponding to the aspect / width size ratio of the entire display area of the display 24. The resized cutout area is reflected in the first display control, and the image 40a of the resized cutout area is displayed in the entire area of the display 24 during normal driving of the vehicle. That is, when the size of the cutout area is increased, the wide-angle display is relatively wide and the subject image is displayed small. On the contrary, when the size of the cutout area is reduced, the display is relatively narrow and the subject image is displayed large.

In addition, the driver or the like can change the angle (inclination) of the cutout region by an appropriate operation of rotating the frame line 40c. The angle of the cutout region can be changed, for example, with the center of gravity of the cutout region as the center of rotation. The cut-out area whose angle has been changed is reflected in the first display control, and the image 40a of the cut-out area whose angle has been changed is displayed in the entire area of the display 24 during normal driving of the vehicle. This change in the angle of the cutout region can be used, for example, to correct the angle of the image when the rear camera 12 is installed tilted in the direction around the optical axis.

The operation of changing the setting of the cutout area performed at the time of the third display control (first example) will be described. FIG. 3A shows the cutout area 40c at the standard magnification and the standard position of the cutout area (for example, the center position of the whole area 40b of the image) in the total area 40b of the image stored in the display memory 20, and the cutout area 40c in the image. The subject image 42 is shown. FIG. 3B shows an image displayed on the display 24 during the first display control when the cutout area 40c is set as shown in FIG. 3A. According to FIG. 3B, the image of the crop area 40c is displayed on the display 24 at standard magnification (ie, without pixel thinning and interpolation).

FIG. 4A shows a state in which the cutout area 40c is translated from the state of FIG. 3A while keeping the vertical and horizontal sizes of the cutout area 40c. FIG. 4B shows an image displayed on the display 24 during the first display control when the setting of the cutout area 40c is changed as shown in FIG. 4A. According to FIG. 4B, the subject image 42 is relatively moved in the opposite direction on the display 24 by the amount that the cutout region 40c is translated.

FIG. 5A shows a state in which the cutout area 40c is expanded from the state of FIG. 3A (the aspect ratio of the cutout area 40c does not change). FIG. 5B shows an image displayed on the display 24 during the first display control when the setting of the cutout area 40c is changed as shown in FIG. 5A. According to FIG. 5B, the pixels are thinned out by the amount that the cutout region 40c is enlarged to display a relatively wide-angle lens, and the subject image 42 is displayed small on the display 24.

FIG. 6A shows a state in which the cutout area 40c is reduced from the state of FIG. 3A (the aspect ratio of the cutout area 40c does not change). FIG. 6B shows an image displayed on the display 24 during the first display control when the setting of the cutout area 40c is changed as shown in FIG. 6A. According to FIG. 6B, the pixels are interpolated to display a relatively narrow angle by the amount that the cutout area 40c is reduced, and the subject image 42 is displayed large on the display 24.

FIG. 7A shows a state in which the cutout area 40c is rotated while keeping the vertical and horizontal sizes of the cutout area 40c from the state of FIG. 3A. FIG. 7B shows an image displayed on the display 24 during the first display control when the setting of the cutout area 40c is changed as shown in FIG. 7A. According to FIG. 7B, the subject image 42 is relatively rotated in the opposite direction on the display 24 by the amount that the cutout region 40c is rotated.

<< Third display control (second example) >>
Another display example by the third display control will be described. The CPU 18 sequentially overwrites and records the entire area of the image of the rear camera 12 input from the input interface 16 in the display memory 20, reads out the image of the entire area from the display memory 20, and reduces the size to an appropriate size. At the same time, the CPU 18 reduces the image of the area cut out and displayed by the first display control to an appropriate size. Then, the CPU 18 temporarily stores the image of the entire reduced area and the image of the reduced cutout area in another area of the display memory 20, and reads out the entire images stored in the other area. The image of the entire reduced area and the image of the reduced cutout area are displayed side by side on the display 24. The display state on the display 24 at this time is shown in FIG. 2D. The image 40b of the entire area of the rear camera 12 and the image 40a cut out and displayed by the first display control are displayed side by side in the left and right areas of the display 24. The driver or the like can change the setting of the cutout area by an appropriate operation while looking at both

images

40b and 40a (similar to the first example, the position, size, angle, etc. are changed). The changed cutout area is reflected in the first display control, and the image 40a of the changed cutout area is displayed on the display 24 during normal driving of the vehicle.

The operation of the entire system of FIG. 1 when the vehicle is driven will be described.
《Normal driving》
During normal driving of the vehicle, an area to be displayed on the display 24 is cut out from the image taken by the rear camera 12 (first display control by the CPU 18), and the image of the cut out area is displayed on the display 24. .. The driver operates the vehicle while checking the situation behind the vehicle on the display 24. From the output interface 26, the entire area of the image captured by the rear camera 12 is output to the outside of the electronic mirror 10. The drive recorder 28 sequentially records the entire area of the image captured by the front camera 36 and the rear camera 12.

《In the event of a collision》
When the vehicle causes a collision and the drive recorder 28 detects an impact equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the drive recorder 28 saves images of the front camera 36 and the rear camera 12 at a predetermined time before and after the accident. When the power supply from the vehicle battery to the electronic mirror 10 is cut off due to a collision, the operation of the electronic mirror 10 is stopped and the display on the display 24 disappears. However, since the rear image output from the output interface 26 is an image without delay in the CPU 18 and the display memory 20, the rear image up to the moment of collision can be output from the output interface 26. At this time, if the power supply from the vehicle battery to the drive recorder 28 is also cut off at the same time, the operation of the drive recorder 28 also stops if the drive recorder 28 is not equipped with the backup power supply. However, if the drive recorder 28 can record the front and rear images input from the

image input ports

32 and 34 without delay, the front image and the rear image up to the moment of the collision are stored in the drive recorder 28. be able to. Alternatively, if the drive recorder 28 is equipped with a backup power supply, the drive recorder 28 can store an image in front of a predetermined time before and after the collision and an image in the rear until the moment of the collision.

In addition to the above-described embodiment, the electronic mirror 10 can be provided with a function of reproducing and displaying the saved image of the drive recorder 28. An example of modification in the case where the electronic mirror 10 of FIG. 1 is provided with such a function will be described. In FIG. 1, the “output interface 26” is changed to the “input / output interface 26” (an output interface that also serves as an input interface). At the same time, the "image input port 34" of the drive recorder 28 is changed to the "image input / output port 34". Dotted line arrows d1 and d2 indicate additional signal paths when the electronic mirror 10 is provided with a function of reproducing and displaying the stored image of the drive recorder 28. The image input / output port 34 has the above-mentioned function of inputting an image of the rear camera 12 supplied from the input / output interface 26, and a reproduced image of the image stored in the drive recorder 28 (photographed by the rear camera 12 or the front camera 36). It has a function of outputting the stored image to the outside (here, the electronic mirror 10) (dotted arrow d1). The input / output interface 26 inputs the reproduced image of the drive recorder 28 supplied from the image input / output port 34, in addition to the above-mentioned function of outputting the image of the rear camera 12 supplied from the input interface 16 to the drive recorder 28. It has a function (dotted arrow d1). The reproduced image input to the input / output interface 26 can be displayed on the display 24 via the CPU 18, the display memory 20, and the display control circuit 22 by the fourth display control described below.

<< Fourth display control >>
The fourth display control is a control for displaying a reproduced image of the image stored in the drive recorder 28 on the display 24. This display control is executed by a display switching operation to the fourth display control by the driver or the like when the driving operation of the vehicle is stopped. When performing the fourth display control, the drive recorder 28 is switched to the reproduction mode. As the image to be reproduced in the reproduction mode, the reproduction image of the rear camera 12 or the reproduction image of the front camera 36 can be selected by an arbitrary selection operation of the operator. As a result, among the images stored in the drive recorder 28, the reproduced image of the selected camera is output from the image input / output port 34 and input to the input / output interface 26 of the electronic mirror 10. At this time, if the electronic mirror 10 is switched to the fourth display control, the reproduced image of the drive recorder 28 input to the input / output interface 26 is input to the CPU 18 (dotted line arrow d2). The CPU 18 sequentially overwrites and records the entire area of the reproduced image in the display memory 20, reads out the image of the entire area from the display memory 20, and reduces the image of the entire area to a size that can be displayed on the display 24. Further, the CPU 18 temporarily stores the reduced image in another area of the display memory 20, reads out the entire image stored in the other area, and displays the entire area of the reduced image on the display 24. The display state on the display 24 at this time is the same as that shown in FIG. 2B. That is, in FIG. 2B, the entire area of the reproduced image is displayed in the area indicated by the reference numeral 40b in the center of the display 24. As a result, the driver or the like can confirm the image at the time of a collision accident or the like. By synchronizing the reproduced image of the rear camera 12 and the reproduced image of the front camera 36 at the same shooting time and displaying them side by side on the display 24, the situation such as a collision accident can be confirmed simultaneously from the front and rear directions of the vehicle. It can also be configured to allow.

The input / output interface 26 can be divided into an input interface and an output interface. Further, in this case, the input interface may be configured to also serve as the input interface 16, and the image to be input to the input interface 16 may be switched according to the display control mode. That is, during the first to third display controls, the image of the rear camera 12 is input to the input interface 16, and during the fourth display control, the reproduced image of the drive recorder 28 is input to the input interface 16.

In the above embodiment, the input interface 16 serial / parallel-converts the image, and the output interface 26 parallel / serial-converts the image and outputs it to the outside, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the input interface 16 and the output interface 26 may output the image of the input serial signal to the outside as a serial signal without serial / parallel conversion and parallel / serial conversion. In this case, the input interface 16 and the output interface 26 can be configured as, for example, a buffer amplifier for impedance matching. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the input interface 16 is configured to input an image of the entire region of the image captured by the rear camera 12, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the input interface 16 can also be configured to input an image of a part of the image captured by the rear camera 12. Further, in the above embodiment, the output interface 26 outputs an image of the entire area of the image input from the input interface 16, and the display memory 20 stores an image of the entire area of the image input from the input interface 16. However, it is not limited to this. That is, the output interface 26 outputs an image of a part of the image input from the input interface 16, and the display memory 20 stores the image of the part of the image input from the input interface 16. It can also be configured in.

In the above-described embodiment, the input interface inputs an image captured by a camera that captures the rear of the vehicle, but the input interface is not limited to this, and the input interface is left rear side, right rear side, left side, and right side of the vehicle. It is also possible to input an image captured by a camera that captures a person or the like.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the electronic mirror of the present invention is configured as an electronic inner mirror has been described, but the electronic mirror of the present invention can also be configured as an electronic outer mirror or the like.

In the above embodiment, the output interface outputs an image to the in-vehicle drive recorder, but the output interface is not limited to this, and the output interface can also output an image to the in-vehicle automatic braking system and the in-vehicle automatic driving system.

10 ... Electronic mirror (in-vehicle electronic mirror), 12 ... Rear camera, 14 ... Signal cable, 16 ... Input interface, 18 ... CPU, 20 ... Display memory, 22 ... Display control circuit, 24 ... Display, 26 ... Output interface Or input / output interface (output interface that also serves as an input interface), 27 ... cutout area setting memory, 28 ... drive recorder (external recording device, external device), 30 ... signal cable, 32 ... image input port, 34 ... image input port Alternatively, an image input / output port, 36 ... front camera, 38 ... signal cable, 40a ... image of an area cut out from the image of the entire area of the rear camera, 40b ... image of the entire area of the rear camera, 40c ... first display control Display (frame line) or cutout area indicating the area of the image to be cut out and displayed with, 42 ... Subject image, d1, d2 ... Additional signal path when the electronic mirror has a function to reproduce and display the saved image of the drive recorder. Dotted arrow

Claims

In an in-vehicle electronic mirror that displays an image of the outside of the vehicle captured by a camera on a display
The electronic mirror is equipped with an input interface, a CPU, a display memory, a display control circuit, a display, and an output interface.
The input interface is a circuit for inputting an image taken by a camera.
The CPU is a circuit that temporarily stores the image input from the input interface in the display memory, reads the image from the display memory, and displays the image on the display via the display control circuit. ,
The output interface is a circuit that outputs an image input from the input interface to the outside of the electronic mirror without going through the CPU and the display memory.
In-vehicle electronic mirror.
The vehicle-mounted electronic mirror according to claim 1, wherein the output interface is a circuit that outputs the entire area of an image input from the input interface.
The CPU stores the entire area of the image input from the input interface in the display memory, cuts out the image of the set area from the display memory, and displays the cut out image in the display control circuit. The vehicle-mounted electronic mirror according to claim 1 or 2, which is a circuit that performs a first display control to be displayed on the display via the above.
The CPU is a circuit that switches to the first display control and performs a second display control.
In the second display control, the image stored in the display memory is changed to a size that allows the entire area of the image to be displayed on the display, and the entire area of the resized image is displayed on the display. The vehicle-mounted electronic mirror according to claim 3, which is a control for performing.
The CPU is a circuit that switches to the first display control and performs a third display control.
In the third display control, the image of the entire area stored in the display memory and the cut-out image are each changed to an appropriate size, and the entire images of which the size is changed are arranged side by side on the display. The image of the entire area displayed or stored in the display memory is changed to an appropriate size, the entire image of which the size is changed is displayed on the display, and the image cut out in the image is displayed. The vehicle-mounted electronic mirror according to claim 3, which is a control for displaying an area of.
The CPU is a circuit that switches to the first display control and the second display control to perform a third display control.
In the third display control, the image of the entire area stored in the display memory and the cut-out image are each changed to an appropriate size, and the entire image of the changed size is arranged on the display. The image of the entire area displayed or stored in the display memory is changed to an appropriate size, the entire image of which the size is changed is displayed on the display, and the image cut out in the image is displayed. The vehicle-mounted electronic mirror according to claim 4, which is a control for displaying an area of.
The vehicle-mounted electronic mirror according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the CPU controls to change the setting of a cutout area for cutting out an image from the display memory based on an operation of the operator.
It has a cutout area setting memory for storing the set cutout area information, that is, the cutout area setting information.
The cutout area setting memory is composed of a non-volatile storage device that holds the cutout area setting information even when the power supply to the vehicle-mounted electronic mirror is cut off.
The vehicle-mounted device according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the CPU controls to cut out an image of a corresponding area from the display memory based on the cutout area setting information stored in the cutout area setting memory. For electronic mirror.
The electronic mirror is equipped with an input interface for inputting a reproduced image of an external device.
The CPU is a circuit that switches to the first display control and performs a fourth display control.
In the fourth display control, the entire area of the image input from the input interface can be stored in the display memory, and the image stored in the display memory can be displayed on the display in the entire area of the image. The vehicle-mounted electronic mirror according to claim 3, wherein the size is changed and the entire area of the resized image is displayed on the display.
The in-vehicle electronic mirror according to any one of claims 1 to 9, which is not equipped with a backup power supply.