Patent Application
20110141271
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to cars and particularly, to a car with a rearview capture system.
2. Description of Related Art
For safety consideration, some cars are equipped with a rearview capture system. The rearview capture system includes a camera disposed on the car with a view of the rear of the car, and a display. The rearview capture system gives the driver a rearview on the display. However, the rearview capture system normally requires external power source such as the car's battery and may drain the car's battery.
Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art.
The components of the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the embodiments of a car with a rearview capture system. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views.
Referring to
The rearview capture system 100 includes a processor 101, a camera unit 105, a display unit 107, a rechargeable battery 109, an energy conversion device 119, a storage unit 115, and a tuning 117.
The camera unit 105 is configured to capture rearward looking images from the rear portion 207. The camera unit 105 includes a base 1050 and a camera 1052 mounted on the base 1050. The camera 1052 may be a water-proof and wide-angle camera. The base 1050 is set in the rear portion 207 to hold the camera 1052. In other embodiments, the base 1050 can be set in the body 209, therefore, the camera 1052 captures images through the rear window 205. In other embodiments, in order to protect the camera 1052, the camera unit 105 may include a waterproof case (not shown) for receiving the camera 1052.
The tuning unit 117 is configured for receiving television (TV) and radio signals. In this embodiment, the tuning 117 includes a TV tuner for receiving the TV signals and a frequency/amplitude modulation (FM/AM) tuner for receiving radio signals.
The display unit 107 is configured for displaying the images captured by the camera unit 105, and outputting the received TV signals and the radio signals received by the tuning 117. The display unit 107 may be, for example, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display or a liquid crystal display. The display unit 107 is set to be viewed by a driver in the compartment 201. The storage unit 115 is configured for storing the images captured by the camera unit 105.
The energy conversion device 119 is configured for converting one or more types of natural energy into electrical energy and storing the electrical energy in the rechargeable battery 109. The energy conversion device 119 includes a solar panel 111 and a wind energy conversion unit 113.
The solar panel 111 is set somewhere in or on the car 200 where it can best receive sunlight. In this embodiment the panel 111 is set on the back of the display unit 107 to receive sunlight penetrating through the windshield 203. Referring to
The rechargeable battery 109 is provided on the body 209, and configured for powering the rearview capture system 100. The rechargeable battery 109 includes a positive electrode 1090 and a negative electrode 1092. When the front electrode 1110 is electrically connected to the positive electrode 1090, and the back electrode 1114 is electrically connected to the negative electrode 1092, the rechargeable battery 109 is charged by the solar panel 111. In this embodiment, the front electrode 1110 and the back electrode 1114 are electrically connected to the positive electrode 1090 and the negative electrode 1092 respectively through conductive wires, and those wires are hidden inside the body 209.
Further referring to
The turbine 13 includes a support member 130, a rotating shaft 132, and a plurality of blades 134. The plurality of blades 134 is provided on the rotating shaft 132, in this embodiment, the number of the blades 134 is three. The rotating shaft 132 is connected to the support member 130 (see
The generator 14 is provided on the body 209 and configured for generating electrical energy. The generator 14 includes a rotor 140, a stator 140, and a driving belt 144. The rotor 140 is connected to the rotating shaft 132 by the driving belt 144. The driving belt 144 is provided inside the support member 130. The plurality of blades 134 rotates the rotating shaft 132 in a direction indicated by an arrow S, and the driving belt 144 rotates along a direction indicated by two arrows M and N. The rotor 140 of the generator 14 rotates in a direction indicated by an arrow P, and drives the stator 140 to output voltage. The negative and positive voltage outputs of the generator 13 are connected to the anode 1090 and the cathode 1092 of the rechargeable battery 109 respectively to form a circuit (not shown) that can charge the rechargeable battery 109. In this embodiment, the generator 14 further includes an input shaft (not shown) coupled to the rotating shaft 123.
The processor 101 is for controlling the camera 1052 to capture images. The processor 101 is further configured for receiving the images captured by the camera 1052, and sending the captured images to the display unit 107 to display. The processor 101 is also configured for receiving the TV signals and the radio signals received by the tuning 117, and sending the received TV signals and radio signals to a display and a loudspeaker of the display unit 107 as outputs. The processor 101 is further configured for controlling the rechargeable battery 109 to power the rearview capture system 100. The processor 101 is also configured for storing images captured by the camera 1052 into the storage unit 115.
The rearview capture system 100 convert solar energy and wind energy into electrical energy to provide power through the solar panel 111 and the wind energy conversion unit 113. The car 200 using the rearview capture system 100 implements recycle of green energy, and conforms to current concerns over environmental friendliness.
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous has been described with reference to particular embodiments, but the present disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments described and exemplified, and the embodiments are capable of considerable variation and modification without departure from the scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200910311387.1 | Dec 2009 | CN | national |
