Abstract:
A wireless camera system for mobile operations, comprising a mobile device, a software application, and at least one camera module, the at least one camera module comprising an image capture device, a memory, and a communications link, wherein the at least one camera module is mounted on or near a vehicle, wherein the software application is executing on the mobile device, wherein images captured by the at least one camera module may be transmitted over the communications link to the mobile device, wherein the software application processes images received from the at least one camera module, and wherein the software application displays the processed images on the screen of the mobile device.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority in International Patent Application No. PCT/US2015/025199, filed Apr. 9, 2015, which claims priority in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/977,556, filed Apr. 9, 2014, both of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    This invention relates to the field of mobile machinery, and specifically to a wireless camera system for mobile operations. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    The practice of agriculture has been largely the same for many years. Advances in electronic vehicle control and sensors have allowed machines to become more efficient and for the production rate of agricultural crops to be increased dramatically. However, true advances in agriculture are not possible without veering away from these common practices and thinking in a dramatically different way. 
         [0006]    What is needed in the art is a system for performing planting and harvesting functions which is not limited by past equipment limitations. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    This invention describes a wireless camera system for mobile operations. 
         [0008]    One aspect of the present invention is a wireless camera system for mobile operations, comprising a mobile device, a software application, and at least one camera module, the at least one camera module comprising an image capture device, a memory, and a communications link, wherein the at least one camera module is mounted on or near a vehicle, wherein the software application is executing on the mobile device, wherein images captured by the at least one camera module may be transmitted over the communications link to the mobile device, wherein the software application processes images received from the at least one camera module, and wherein the software application displays the processed images on the screen of the mobile device. 
         [0009]    This aspect and others are achieved by the present invention, which is described in detail in the following specification and accompanying drawings which form a part hereof 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a wireless agricultural camera system. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of how the user can create graphics as reference marks on camera view as shown on a mobile device. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is an alternate illustration of how the user can create graphics as reference marks on camera view as shown on a mobile device. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is an illustration of one method for placing wireless cameras on a vehicle to obtain a 360 degree view around the vehicle. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  shows an illustration of how views from multiple cameras might be merged to obtain a complete 360 degree view. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     I. Introduction, Environment, and Preferred Embodiment 
       [0015]    As required, detailed aspects of the present invention are disclosed herein, however, it is to be understood that the disclosed aspects are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. 
         [0016]    Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience in reference only and will not be limiting. For example, up, down, front, back, right and left refer to the invention as orientated in the view being referred to. The words, “inwardly” and “outwardly” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the aspect being described and designated parts thereof Forwardly and rearwardly are generally in reference to the direction of travel, if appropriate. Said terminology will include the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar meaning. 
       II. Preferred Embodiment Wireless Camera System 
       [0017]    With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 5  thereof, a new wireless camera system for mobile applications will be discussed.  FIGS. 1 through 5  relate to a system of wireless cameras which can be used to monitor operations on or around an agricultural vehicle or other mobile application. It should be noted that, although the camera system and examples shown herein relate to a camera system for use on an agricultural vehicle, the same system can be used on any type of system, whether a mobile or stationary system. 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  shows the components of the wireless camera system. A number of wireless cameras  14  (shown in  FIG. 1  as A, B, C, and D, but any number of cameras may be present in the system, from one to many) are mounted on various locations on the vehicle. Each camera  14  is placed to show a different area of the vehicle or surrounding environment of interest to the operator. These cameras  14  are self-contained, self-powered units that can be moved and adjusted as needed, and they are capable of transmitting and receiving data over a wireless connection  16 . In an alternate embodiment, the cameras  14  may tie into vehicle power rather than being self-powered units. The cameras  14  may each have a built-in mounting system, which may be a clamp, a magnetic mount, a screw or bolt mount, or any other appropriate time of mounting method or mechanism. 
         [0019]    It should be noted that the term “wireless connection” here is meant to be inclusive of any type of communication technology that does not require a hard-wired connection. This may include Bluetooth, 80211 Wi-Fi, cellular connection, or any other appropriate type of wireless protocol. 
         [0020]    These cameras  14  transmit images to a mobile device  10  such as an iPad or similar device, and their captured video and images (camera views)  12  may be displayed on the screen of the mobile device. The view  12  from each camera  14  may be displayed on a split screen such that two or more of the views  12  are visible at once, or the operator can select a single camera view  12  to display at a given moment. Alternately, two or more camera views  12  may be “stitched together” to form a single seamless image showing more area than any single camera  14  could show independently. This stitching function will be discussed in more detail in the discussion of  FIG. 5  below. 
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is a close up view of how a user of the mobile device  10  of the present invention may interact with one or more of the camera views  12  to create reference graphics.  FIG. 2  shows the mobile device  10  with alive image  12  of a grain cart  26  or a similar vehicle or application. The operator of a harvester (combine) using the wireless camera system can use the image  12  of the grain cart (in this example) so that they can properly position the unloading auger  24  of the combine properly over the grain cart  26 . If the unloading auger  24  is not positioned properly, grain  28  being unloaded from the combine unloading auger  24  may spill over the side and onto the ground. 
         [0022]    Once the operator finds a position of the combine and unloading auger  24  that works, they can interact with the mobile device view  12  and create a “reticule” or crosshairs graphic  22  that is superimposed over the view  12 . This “reticule”  22  can be remembered by the application running on the mobile device  10  and can be brought up on a subsequent image of the grain cart as a reference point. That is, the reticule  22  can be displayed by the software on the mobile device  10  such that it appears in essentially the same spot on the subsequent image or view  12 , and can be used as a reference for positioning for the operator of the combine during the unloading operation. 
         [0023]    Similarly, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the operator can draw lines  30  or other shapes on the display to be used as references points. The example image in  FIG. 3  is of the tank of a combine or grain cart  26 . The straight lines  30  shown in  FIG. 3  may have been drawn there by a farmer with a lot of experience in how full to fill a grain tank  26  before it needs to be unloaded. So the farmer can operate the mobile device  10  so that it displays the view  12  of the grain tank  26  and then draw slope lines  30  on the view  12  so that an inexperienced operator will know approximately when to stop by unloading the harvested grain until the slopes of the pile of grain  28  approximately matches the slope of the reference lines  30 . These reference lines  30  can be saved for later display on similar views  12 . 
         [0024]    The application running on the mobile device may have intelligent software routines which remember the position of the lines  30  based on the camera angle present when the lines  30  were created, and use this information to reposition the lines  30  for later display with similar views  12 . Obviously, lines  30  drawn on an image as seen from one view angle  12  will look different if you switch to an alternate view angle  12 . The application may have software to compensate for this fact, perhaps searching for key indexing points on the view  12  to line up the reference lines  30 , or perhaps remembering the location in space of the camera at the time the image was taken. 
         [0025]    Another use of the wireless camera system of the present invention is to create a 360-degree view of the environment around the tractor or vehicle. This is shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
         [0026]      FIG. 4  shows an overhead view of a typical tractor  100  with four cameras  14  mounted on the cab roof (or anywhere else on the vehicle  100 , as appropriate). Each camera  14  is covering a different view of the environment around the tractor  100 . More than four cameras  14 , mounted in a circular pattern around the vehicle  100 , could be used to capture additional detail from the environment. The dashed lines  32  in  FIG. 4  are provided for reference only, showing the approximate viewing angle of each of the four wireless cameras  14  shown in this embodiment and example. 
         [0027]    The video or images captured from these cameras could then be “stitched together” by the software application running on the mobile device  10  to create a 360-degree view, as shown in  FIG. 5 . The example image in  FIG. 5  shows an image of a tractor  100 , which may be a graphical representation of the tractor/vehicle  100  pulled from a library of models, or an actual image of a vehicle of the same style. The tractor  100  is superimposed on actual video footage that has been stitched together. That is, the imagery taken from the four cameras  14  can be processed and joined together into a larger image. Dashed lines  40  are shown on the display of the mobile device  10 , showing the dividing lines between the four images. The images from each camera  14  are shown in  FIGS. 5  as  34   a,    34   b,    34   c,  and  34   d.  Assuming the cameras  14  are positioned as shown on the tractor  100  as seen in  FIG. 4 , each camera  14  will capture images from one of four directions, and the images may be tweaked to make them fit together into a larger image. Because the images may overlap, an algorithm running on the mobile device  10  could use the overlapping imagery to join the images into a single larger image. The dashed lines  40  may actually be displayed on the mobile device  10  to show which image comes from which camera. The image displayed in this manner will be composed of real images, showing real-world things such as roads  38  and hazards  36 . 
         [0028]    Additional graphics routines may allow the operator to spin the view visible on the mobile device so that he or she can see a panoramic view of the environment, or to see a simulated 3D environment based on the images seen in the images. 
         [0029]    The cameras described in the examples above are shown focused “inwardly”, that is, they show images of the tractor itself However, as these cameras are mobile and self-contained, they can be mounted to see imagery external to the vehicle. For example, a camera could be mounted on the boom of a sprayer, pointed down and slightly ahead of the spray nozzles, to allow the operator to see obstructions or humans or animals in the path of the spray. 
         [0030]    Having described the preferred embodiments, it will become apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims. The examples and processes defined herein are meant to be illustrative and describe only particular embodiments of the invention.