The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 16, 1999
Filed:
Nov. 18, 1997
Hubert Weisser, Lehre, DE;
Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg, DE;
Abstract
In a method of measuring visibility from a vehicle in motion, images taken by an optical-electronic camera are transformed into selected image features establishing the loci of defined brightness variations in the images. A range determination of the selected features relative to the optical-electronic camera is carried out followed by filtration of the range readings to establish the prevailing visibility for a vehicle operator or a sensor system based on image processing. The advantage over conventional active methods is that, without requiring an active transmitter, the true visual object contrast as well as the atmospheric transmission enters into the visibility determination.