Patent ID: 11889051
Assignee: MAGNA ELECTRONICS INC.
Field: Audio-visual technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  B | IPC B  H

Claim 10:
11. A method for testing a vehicular camera for a vehicular vision system, the method comprising:
providing a vehicular camera suitable for use on a vehicle, wherein the vehicular camera has a field of view;
providing a collimator assembly comprising an optic fixedly disposed within the collimator assembly and a target fixedly disposed within the collimator assembly, wherein, during testing of the vehicular camera, the target does not move relative to the collimator assembly;
wherein the collimator assembly comprises a light source that emits light to illuminate the target;
positioning the collimator assembly in the field of view of the vehicular camera such that (i) the vehicular camera images light that has been emitted by the light source and has reflected off the target and has passed through the optic and (ii) a longitudinal axis of the collimator assembly is aligned with a principal axis of the field of view of the vehicular camera;
wherein the target comprises aa plurality of first faces, and wherein each first face of the plurality of first faces is perpendicular to the principal axis of the field of view of the vehicular camera and (ii) a plurality of second faces, and wherein each second face of the plurality of second faces is parallel to the principal axis of the field of view of the vehicular camera;
wherein the plurality of first faces and the plurality of second faces that combine to form a stepped surface of the target;
wherein, with the collimator assembly positioned in the field of view of the vehicular camera, the optic is perpendicular to the principal axis of the field of view of the vehicular camera and each first face of the plurality of first faces of the stepped surface of the target is at a different distance from the vehicular camera than each other face of the stepped surface of the target;
capturing image data with the vehicular camera, wherein the captured image data is representative of at least three first faces of the plurality of first faces of the stepped surface of the target;
processing, via an image processor, image data captured by the vehicular camera; and
responsive to processing by the image processor of image data captured by the vehicular camera, estimating a defocus of the vehicular camera at each of the at least three first faces of the plurality of first faces of the stepped surface of the target.