Patent Abstract:
An imaging system for use in a vehicle includes an imaging unit having a lens for imaging a state of affairs and a rotation mechanism for defining a state of the lens of the imaging unit. The rotation mechanism is operated to be either in a first position or in a second position. That is, the first position of the rotation mechanism arranges the lens in a state of separation from a room in the vehicle, and the second position of the rotation mechanism arranges the lens in a state of exposure to the room in the vehicle.

Full Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-143934 filed on May 17, 2005, the disclosure of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention generally relates to an imaging system for capturing an image in a vehicle.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Conventionally, an imaging system or a camera disposed in a vehicle is used to capture an image in and out of the vehicle. That is, for example, the imaging system is used to capture an image of an intruder in the vehicle. Japanese patent document JP-A-2004-289625 discloses a car security apparatus, system and method that monitors the inside and outside of an automobile.  
         [0004]     However, the camera suffers from tar of tobacco, chemical substance such as a cleaner solution or the like, and mucus from driver&#39;s body part adhered on a lens when the lens of the camera is always open to an atmosphere in the vehicle.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     In view of the above-described and other problems, the present invention provides an imaging system that reduces opportunity for a lens of a camera in a vehicle to be exposed to an atmosphere in a vehicle.  
         [0006]     The imaging system for use in a vehicle includes an imaging unit having a lens for imaging a state of affairs, and a rotation mechanism for defining a state of the lens of the imaging unit. The rotation mechanism is operated to be either in a first state or in a second state for defining the state of the lens, and the first position of the rotation mechanism arranges the lens in a state of separation from a room in the vehicle, while the second position of the rotation mechanism arranges the lens in a state of exposure to the room in the vehicle. In this manner, the camera is separated from the atmosphere in the vehicle for a decreased time. That is, the camera in the vehicle is retracted for protection from the exposure to the atmosphere and other substances when it is not in use.  
         [0007]     Further, the first position of the rotation mechanism arranges the lens in a less obstructive state relative to a sight of a driver in the vehicle in comparison to the second position of the rotation mechanism. In this manner, the camera is more suitably arranged in the vehicle in terms of driving environment for a driver of the vehicle when the camera is not used for imaging.  
         [0008]     Furthermore, the imaging system further includes an actuator for actuating the rotation mechanism and a controller for controlling the actuator. The actuator actuates the rotation mechanism to transit between the first position and the second position. The controller controls the actuator to cause the rotation mechanism to be in the first position when the vehicle is in use, and the controller controls the actuator to cause the rotation mechanism to be in the second position when the vehicle is not in use. In this manner, the lens of the camera suffers less from adhesion of tar of tobacco, chemical substances, human mucus or the like in the vehicle.  
         [0009]     In this case, “the controller controls the actuator to cause the rotation mechanism to be in the first position when the vehicle is in use,” means that the actuator is controlled at least at one timing for the duration of vehicle operation including a timing of transition from non-operation to operation for causing the rotation mechanism to be put in the first position. Further, “the controller controls the actuator to cause the rotation mechanism to be in the second position when the vehicle is not in use,” means that the actuator is controlled at least at one timing for the duration of vehicle non-operation including a timing of transition from operation to non-operation for causing the rotation mechanism to be put in the second position.  
         [0010]     For example, the imaging system may use an intrusion sensor for detecting an intrusion of a robber into the vehicle, and may control the actuator to cause the rotation mechanism to be put in the second state when the intrusion is detected by the detection sensor. In this manner, the camera is exposed to the atmosphere in the vehicle only in an occasion of intrusion, thereby making it difficult for the intruder to approach the vehicle from a dead angle of imaging or to turn away from the camera by using precaution.  
         [0011]     The imaging system may have another sensor beside the camera for sensing a physical quantity that propagates in the room of the vehicle, and may switch the positions of a sensing portion of the another sensor between a third position that separates the sensing portion from the atmosphere in the room of the vehicle and a fourth position that exposes the sensing portion to the atmosphere in the room by using another actuator. In this manner, the actuator and the another actuator are controlled together for switching the rotation mechanisms between the first position in association with the third position and the second position in association with the fourth position. As a result, the camera and the another sensor have less time and opportunity to be exposed to the atmosphere in the room of the vehicle, and are put in an integrated control state.  
         [0012]     The imaging system may have a flash for supporting imaging. In this case, the first position and the second position respectively correspond to an exposure state and an separation state of the camera and the flash to/from the atmosphere in the room of the vehicle. As a result, the flash has less time and opportunity to be exposed to the atmosphere in the room of the vehicle, and are put in an integrated control state. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an imaging system for a vehicle in operation in an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of an imaging system for a vehicle not in operation in the embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  shows a block diagram of the imaging system in the embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  shows a side view of a console when a camera and a flash are retracted in a body of the console;  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  shows a side view of the console when the camera and the flash are pulled out from the body of the console; and  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  shows a flowchart of a program executed in a security ECU. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0020]     Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the drawings.  
         [0021]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an imaging system disposed in a vehicle in operation as an embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 1 , the vehicle is in operation and under control of a driver who is authorized to control the vehicle. An overhead console  1  disposed above a room mirror  10  houses a movable portion  1   a  of the imaging system embedded therein, and an instrument panel  2  has a movable portion  2   a  of the imaging system embedded at an upper center surface of the panel  2 . A side pillar  3  has a movable portion  3   a  of the imaging system embedded at a top of the pillar  3 .  
         [0022]     The movable portions  1   a,    2   a,  and  3   a  are rotatably moved under control of the imaging system to be protruded from the overhead console  1 , from the instrument panel  2 , and from the side pillar  3  respectively when the vehicle is not in use as shown in  FIG. 2 . The movable portion  1   a  has, on a room facing side in a position protruded from the console  1 , a camera  11  capable of capturing a wide angle image or an all-round image accompanied by a flash  12  having LED or the like for imaging and lighting a view in the vehicle. The movable portion  2   b  has, on the room facing side in a position protruded from the panel  2 , an infrared sensor  13 . The movable portion  3   b  has, on the room facing side in a position protruded from the pillar  3 , a window sensor  14  for sensing breakage of windows.  
         [0023]     The infrared sensor  13  has a infrared light emission unit and a infrared light reception unit for reflection of the infrared light. The emission unit and the reception unit are exposed toward the room in the vehicle for detecting an intruder into the vehicle as shown in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0024]     The window sensor  14  has a microphone exposed toward the room in the vehicle for detecting a sound of window breakage as an indication of break-in into the vehicle.  
         [0025]     In this manner, the camera  11 , the flash  12 , the infrared sensor  13 , and the window sensor  14  are exposed toward the room in the vehicle by a rotation movement of the movable portions  1   a,    2   a  and  3   a  when the vehicle is not in use.  
         [0026]     The control over the movable portions  1   a,    2   a  and  3   a  by the imaging system is described in detail in the following.  
         [0027]      FIG. 3  shows a block diagram of the imaging system in the present embodiment of the invention. The diagram shows electrical connection between the components in the imaging system. The imaging system includes the camera  11 , the flash  12 , the infrared sensor  13 , the window sensor  14 , motors  15 ,  16 ,  17 , a door ECU  18 , an antenna  19 , and a security ECU  20  in addition to the movable portion  1   a,    2   a  and  3   a.    
         [0028]     The motor  15  is used to drive the movable portion  1   a  under control of the security ECU  20 . The motor  16  is used to drive the movable portion  2   a  under control of the security ECU  20 . The motor  17  is used to drive the movable portion  3   a  under control of the security ECU  20 .  
         [0029]      FIGS. 4 and 5  show side views of the console  1  for illustrating the movement of the movable portion  1   a.  The lower right in  FIGS. 4 and 5  is a direction of the room in the vehicle, that is, the direction of the front seats and back seats. The movable portion  1   a  and the console  1  are movably connected around an axis, and the motor  15  drives the movable portion  1   a  around the axis. That is, the movable portion  1   a  is driven by the motor  15  to be in a position shown in  FIG. 4  in an occasion, and is driven by the motor  15  to be in another position shown in  FIG. 5  in another occasion. In this manner, a lens  11   a  of the camera  11  and a light emission unit of the flash  12  are retracted in the console  1  for separation from the atmosphere in the vehicle by a rotational movement of the movable portion  1   a  in an occasion, and are exposed to the atmosphere in the vehicle in another occasion.  
         [0030]     The movable portion  2   a  is driven by the motor  16  in the same manner as the movable portion  1   a.  That is, the movable portion  2   a  and the panel  2  are movably connected around an axis, and the motor  16  drives the movable portion  2   a  around the axis. The movable portion  2   a  is driven by the motor  16  to retract the light emission unit and the light reception unit of the infrared sensor  13  in the panel  2  for separation from the atmosphere in the vehicle in an occasion, and is also driven to exposed the emission/reception unit toward the room in the vehicle in another occasion.  
         [0031]     The movable portion  3   a  is driven by the motor  17  in the same manner as the movable portion  1   a.  That is, the movable portion  3   a  and the pillar  3  are movably connected around an axis, and the motor  17  drives the movable portion  3   a  around the axis. The movable portion  3   a  is driven by the motor  17  to retract the microphon of the window sensor  14  in the pillar  3  for separation from the atmosphere in the vehicle in an occasion, and is also driven to exposed the microphone toward the room in the vehicle in another occasion.  
         [0032]     The door ECU  18  controls locking and unlocking of doors in the vehicle. For example, the door ECU  18  locks the door when it receives an authorized door lock request signal from a key-less entry terminal such as a smart key or the like carried by a user through the antenna  19 . The door ECU  18  unlocks the door when it receives an authorized door unlock request signal. The lock signal and the unlock signal may be a same signal or may be different signals. The door ECU  18  outputs a signal to the security ECU  20  when the door is locked and the door is unlocked.  
         [0033]     The security ECU  20  includes a microcomputer of well-known type having a CPU, a RAM, a ROM and the like. The security ECU  20  also includes non-volatile memories such as a flash memory, a backup RAM, a hard disk drive or the like that maintains its content while a power supply from a vehicle power source is interrupted. The CPU executes a program stored in the ROM, reads and writes data from/to the RAM and/or the non-volatile memories, reads data from the ROM and exchanges signals with the camera  11 , the flash  12 , the infrared sensor  13 , the window sensor  14 , the motors  15 ,  16 ,  17  and the door ECU  18 .  
         [0034]      FIG. 6  shows a flowchart of a program  100  repetitiously executed by the CPU. The CPU in the security ECU  20  execute a process of the program  100  in the following manner.  
         [0035]     In step S 110 , the process determines whether the door is locked. The process determines locking of the door based on reception of a door lock signal from the door ECU  18 . The process proceeds to step S 120  when the door is locked, and repeats step S 110  when the door is not locked.  
         [0036]     In step S 120 , the process controls the motors  16 ,  17  for driving the movable portions  2   a,    3   a  to expose the infrared sensor  13  and the window sensor  14  toward the room in the vehicle. In this manner, the light emission unit and the light reception unit of the sensor  13  as well as the microphone of the window sensor  14  are exposed as shown in  FIG. 2 . In this case, the exposed infrared sensor  13  is in a position that obstructs a sight of the driver when the driver sits in a driver&#39;s seat. The exposed infrared sensor  13  is positioned to suitably detect a person in the vehicle.  
         [0037]     In step S 130 , the process determines whether an intruder exists in the vehicle based on a signal from the infrared sensor  13 . The process proceeds to step S 140  when there is the intruder in the vehicle, and the process proceeds to step S 170  when there is no intruder in the vehicle.  
         [0038]     In step S 140 , the process controls the motor  15 , and rotational movement of the movable portion  1   a  exposes the camera  11  and the flash  12 . That is, the lens  11   a  of the camera  11  and the light emission unit of the flash  12  are moved into the vehicle to be exposed. In this case, the exposed camera  11  and the flash  12  are in a position that obstructs a sight of the driver toward the room mirror  10  when the driver sits in a driver&#39;s seat. The exposed camera  11  and the flash  12  are positioned to suitably capture a view in the vehicle.  
         [0039]     In step S 150 , the process controls the flash  12  to light the room in the vehicle, and also controls the camera  11  to capture an image of the room in the vehicle at the same time. In this manner, the camera  11  captures an image of the room in the vehicle which is lit by the light from the flash  12 , and the image is outputted to the security ECU  20 .  
         [0040]     In step S 160 , the process controls the non-volatile memories to acquire and stored the image outputted from the camera  11 . In this case, the image may be sent through communication such as a radio transceiver (not shown in the figure) to an e-mail address of an owner of the vehicle or a security control center recorded in the non-volatile memories. Further, a horn of the vehicle or the like may be used to call attention to a condition of the vehicle.  
         [0041]     In step S 170 , the process determines whether the door is unlocked based on reception of a door unlock signal from the door ECU  18 . The process proceeds to step S 180  when the door is unlocked, and the process returns to step S 130  when the door is not unlocked.  
         [0042]     In step S 180 , the process controls the motor  15  to retract the movable portion  1   a  having the camera  11  and the flash  12  into the overhead console  1 . In this manner, the lens  11   a  of the camera  11  and a light emission unit of the flash  12  are retracted in the console  1  for separation from the atmosphere in the vehicle by a rotational movement of the movable portion  1 a as shown in  FIG. 1 . Also in step S 180 , the process controls the motors  16 ,  17  to drive the movable portions  2   a,    3   a  to retract the infrared sensor  13  and the window sensor  14  into the instrument panel  2  and the side pillar  3 . In this manner, the light emission unit and the light reception unit of the infrared sensor  13  and the microphone of the window sensor  14  are retracted into the panel  2  or into the pillar  3  for separation from the room in the vehicle. The execution of the program concludes for the time after step S 160  or step S 180 .  
         [0043]     In this manner, the security ECU  20 , under control of the program  100  executed in the CPU, exposes the infrared sensor  13  and the window sensor  14  in the room of the vehicle, detects the intruder, and captures an image of the room in the vehicle by the camera  11  and the flash  12  when the vehicle is not in use after locking the door. The captured image is stored in the non-volatile memories. Further, the security ECU  20  retracts the camera  11  with the flash  12 , the infrared sensor  13  and the window sensor  14  respectively into the overhead console  1 , the instrument panel  2 , and the side pillar  3 .  
         [0044]     In this manner, the security ECU  20  controls exposure and separation of the camera  11  with the flash  12 , the infrared sensor  13  and the window sensor  14  to and from the room in the vehicle. That is, the lens  11   a  of the camera  11 , the light emission unit of the flash  12 , the light emission unit and the light reception unit of the infrared sensor  13  and the microphone of the window sensor  14  are separated from the atmosphere in the room of the vehicle when the vehicle is in use, thereby reducing possibility of adhesion of tar of tobacco, chemical substances such as a cleaner, or mucus from driver&#39;s body part onto the lens  11   a,  other units or the like. Further, the driver has a better view when the vehicle is in use, because the camera  11 , the sensor  13  are retracted.  
         [0045]     Furthermore, the camera  11  is exposed at a timing when the infrared sensor  13  detects the intrusion of the intruder into the room of the vehicle, thereby making it difficult for the intruder to approach the vehicle from a dead angle of imaging or to turn away from the camera by using precaution.  
         [0046]     Furthermore, the security ECU  20  executes another process for calling attention to the vehicle by sending e-mails through a communication device not shown in the figure to addresses of a security center and/or an owner of the vehicle stored in the ROM or the non-volatile memory upon detecting a glass breakage sound by the window sensor  14  when the vehicle is not in use, in parallel with the process of the program  100 . In addition, the horn of the vehicle or the like is used to make a warning sound.  
         [0047]     Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with the preferred embodiment thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art.  
         [0048]     For example, the security ECU  20  may expose the camera  11  with the flash  12  in addition to the infrared sensor  13  with the windows sensor  14  to the room at the same time when the door of the vehicle is locked.  
         [0049]     Further, the camera  11  may be disposed on the upper center portion of the instrument panel  2 , or on the side pillar  3  or another pillar. The camera  11  may also be disposed on a ceiling of the room in the vehicle. For example, the camera  11  disposed in a concave portion of the ceiling in the vehicle may be covered from the atmosphere in the room by covering the concave portion in the first state, and may be exposed to the room in the second state by sliding off a covering of the concave portion.  
         [0050]     Furthermore, the security ECU  20  may be a dedicated processor for executing a process that is identical to the process performed by execution of the program  100 .  
         [0051]     Furthermore, the use of the vehicle may be determined based on turning on/off of the main power source of the vehicle (IG, ACC etc.) instead of based on locking/unlocking the door of the vehicle.  
         [0052]     Furthermore, the movable portions  1   a,    2   a,    3   a  may be driven based on an input from a user operation instead of based on the use/non-use of the vehicle. That is, the camera  11 , the flash  12 , the infrared sensor  13  and the window sensor  14  may be exposed to the room by driving the movable portions  1   a,    2   a,    3   a,  and may be separated from the room by reversing the movement of the movable portions  1   a,    2   a,    3   a  upon receiving the an input from the user respectively.  
         [0053]     Furthermore, the movable portions  1   a,    2   a,    3   a  may be driven by a user&#39;s hand instead of a motor. That is, the camera  11  and other units on the movable portions  1   a,    2   a,    3   a  may be opened by the user&#39;s hand when the user enters into the vehicle, and may be retracted by the user&#39;s hand when the user comes out of the vehicle.  
         [0054]     Furthermore, the infrared sensor  13  may be replaced by an ultrasonic sensor, a radio wave sensor or the like, as long as it detects the intrusion of the intruder into the vehicle.  
         [0055]     Furthermore, the infrared sensor  13  and the window sensor  14  may be replaced by any sensor that receives propagation of physical quantity in the room of the vehicle.  
         [0056]     Furthermore, the lens  11   a,  the light reception unit and the light emission unit may be at least partially covered or separated in the room in the first state in comparison with the second state. In this manner, the lens  11   a  and other units may be less susceptible to tar and other foreign matter adhered thereon.  
         [0057]     Furthermore, the camera  11  may capture a view from the vehicle. For example, the camera  11  may capture a front view of the vehicle. In this case, the movable portions  1   a,    2   a,    3   a  may be opened in the first state when the vehicle is not in use by controlling the driving mechanisms, and may be retracted in the second state when the vehicle is in use by controlling the driving mechanisms.  
         [0058]     Such changes and modifications are to be understood as being within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1