Claims
- 1. A control method for automatically adjusting a view range of a camera of a turning vehicle to show a desired view on a display, comprising steps of:
receiving an output of a navigation system; determining a turning operation of said vehicle according to said output of said navigation system; triggering said camera to move in response to said turning operation of said vehicle; and showing image picked up by said camera on said display.
- 2. The control method according to claim 1 further comprising a step of determining a turning level of said turning operation, said camera being triggered to move to an extent corresponding to said turning level.
- 3. The control method according to claim 2 wherein a plurality of image frames of said camera are shown on said display during said camera is moving to said extent.
- 4. The control method according to claim 2 wherein said navigation system is an electronic compass.
- 5. The control method according to claim 4 wherein said turning level of said vehicle is determined by comparing said output of said electronic compass with a preset value.
- 6. The control method according to claim 5 wherein said receiving, comparing and triggering steps are repeated to dynamically adjust a view angle of said camera of said vehicle.
- 7. The control method according to claim 6 further comprising a step of counting a time period, wherein said time period is accumulatively counted when said turning level is kept to be zero, and said time period is counted over whenever said turning level is determined to be non-zero.
- 8. The control method according to claim 7 wherein said output of said electronic compass replaces for said preset value to serve as a new preset value, and said camera is triggered to be restored to its initial position when said counted time period exceeds a predetermined value.
- 9. The control method according to claim 5 wherein said output of said electronic compass is indicative of one of sixteen direction zones, said preset value is indicative of one of said sixteen direction zones, and said turning level is determined to be zero when said output of said electronic compass and said preset value indicate the same direction zone.
- 10. The control method according to claim 9 wherein said turning level correlates to an angle between said direction zones indicated by said output of said electronic compass and said preset value.
- 11. The control method according to claim 2 wherein said navigation system is a global positioning system (GPS).
- 12. The control method according to claim 11 wherein said turning level correlates to a predetermined turning angle under the guidance of said GPS.
- 13. The control method according to claim 12 further comprising a step of triggering said camera to be restored to its initial position when said GPS indicates the completion of a turning operation by said predetermined turning angle.
- 14. A control device for automatically adjusting a view range of a camera of a turning vehicle, comprising a microprocessor which repetitively receives an output of a navigation system, determines a turning operation of said vehicle according to said output of said navigation system, and triggers said camera to move in response to said turning operation of said vehicle and transmit the captured image to a display while said camera is moving.
- 15. The control device according to claim 14 wherein said microprocessor further determines a turning level of said turning operation, and said camera is triggered to move to an extent corresponding to said turning level.
- 16. The control device according to claim 15 wherein said navigation system is a global positioning system (GPS).
- 17. The control device according to claim 15 wherein said navigation system is an electronic compass.
- 18. The control device according to claim 17 wherein said microprocessor further performs a timing operation to accumulatively count a time period when said turning level is zero, and said time period is counted over when said turning level is non-zero.
- 19. The control device according to claim 17 further comprising a timer electrically connected to said microprocessor for counting a time period, wherein said time period is accumulatively counted whenever said microprocessor determines said turning level is zero, and said time period is counted over whenever said microprocessor determines said turning level is non-zero.
- 20. The control device according to claim 19 wherein said microprocessor has said output of said electronic compass replace for said preset value to serve as a new preset value, and triggers said camera to be restored to its initial position when said counted time period exceeds a predetermined value.
- 21. A view-range adjusting system for rendering various view ranges in response to a turning operation of a vehicle, comprising:
a vehicular camera for capturing environmental image; a display receiving and displaying said environmental image for the driver's reference; and a control device controlling said environmental image to be displayed in various view ranges when said vehicle turns differentially by repetitively receiving an output of a navigation system, determining said turning operation of said vehicle according to said output of said navigation system, and triggering said vehicular camera to capture said environmental image in a desired view range in response to said turning operation.
- 22. The view-range adjusting system according to claim 21 wherein
said control device further determines a turning level of said turning operation, and said desired view range of said environmental image captured by said vehicular camera depends on said turning level.
- 23. The view-range adjusting system according to claim 21 wherein
said navigation system is a global positioning system (GPS).
- 24. The view-range adjusting system according to claim 21 wherein
said navigation system is an electronic compass.
- 25. The view-range adjusting system according to claim 21 wherein
said vehicular camera is rotated to capture said environmental image in various view ranges.
- 26. The view-range adjusting system according to claim 21 wherein
said vehicular camera is zoomed in/out to capture said environmental image in various view ranges.
- 27. The view-range adjusting system according to claim 21 wherein
said camera is disposed on the rear bumper of said vehicle.
- 28. The view-range adjusting system according to claim 21 wherein
said display is disposed at a console beside the driver's seat.
- 29. The view-range adjusting system according to claim 21 wherein
said display is integrated into an interior rearview mirror beside the driver's seat.
- 30. The view-range adjusting system according to claim 21 wherein
said display is a head-up display disposed at the front windscreen.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION
[0001] This patent application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) application of a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/047,762 filed Jan. 15, 2002 and now pending, which is a continuation-in-part (CIP) application of a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/946,094 filed Sep. 4, 2001 and now issued. The contents of the related patent applications are incorporated herein for reference.
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10047762 |
Jan 2002 |
US |
Child |
10845825 |
May 2004 |
US |
Parent |
09946094 |
Sep 2001 |
US |
Child |
10047762 |
Jan 2002 |
US |