Patent Document ID: 7526103
Application ID: 11105757
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. An imaging system for a vehicle comprising: an imaging device having a field of view exteriorly and forward of the vehicle in its direction of travel, said imaging device being operable to capture images representative of the exterior scene in the forward field of view; an image processor operable to process the captured images in accordance with an algorithm, said algorithm comprising a sign recognition routine and a character recognition routine, said image processor processing the captured images to detect signs in the field of view of said imaging device, said image processor (a) applying said sign recognition routine to the captured images to determine a sign type of the detected sign and generating a sign recognition output, and (b) responsive to said sign recognition output being indicative of the detected sign being a sign type of interest, then applying said character recognition routine to the captured images to determine information on the detected sign; and wherein an output generated by said image processor triggers at least one alert to a driver of the vehicle, said at least one alert comprising at least one of a visible alert, an audible alert and a tactile alert, wherein said alert is displayed on a display device that is viewable by the driver of the vehicle, wherein said display device comprises a laser display device, wherein said laser display device comprises at least one laser emitting device that is rastered across a display area to display information at a display viewing area for viewing by the driver of the vehicle, and wherein said laser emitting device is rastered across a reflector that reflects the laser beams onto the display viewing area for viewing by the driver of the vehicle.