Identification apparatus and identification method

Abstract

An identification apparatus for identifying vehicles and/or vehicle components includes: an image signal receiving unit receiving from an image signal source an image signal containing image data of a vehicle and/or of at least one vehicle component; a memory unit storing data of vehicles and/or at least one vehicle component; a comparison unit comparing the image data received with image data of the data sets stored in the memory unit, and to identify those data sets which contain image data that match the received image data; and an image signal data generating unit which generate output image signal data for at least one output image, the output image signal data containing at least a portion of the received image data and data from the data sets stored in the memory unit which have been identified by the comparison unit.

Claims

1. An apparatus for providing a user-interactive interface display regarding at least one vehicle component of a vehicle, the identification apparatus comprising: a memory storing a respective data set for each of a plurality of vehicle components and storing a plurality of identifications of respective combinations of multiple ones of the data sets, wherein each of at least a subset of the data sets includes an image of the respective vehicle component with which the data set is associated; an interface; and processing circuitry; wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: receive via the interface image signals obtained from a camera; begin a comparison of image data of the image signals with images of the data sets stored in the memory; identify a subset of the data sets that is each determined in the begun comparison to include an image matching at least a portion of the image data of the received image signals; determine which of the combinations includes at least a predefined threshold number of data sets of the identified subset of data sets; use the determined combinations to determine information regarding identification of a model of the vehicle; based on a result of the determination of the information regarding the identification of the model of the vehicle, continue the comparison of the image data of the image signals, limiting the continuation of the comparison to images of fewer of the data sets; generate, and output to a display via the interface, the user-interactive interface display including an image included in the received image signals with data from the stored data sets that are identified in the continued comparison overlaid on the image, the overlaid data being graphically associated with respective portions of the displayed image identified as corresponding to a respective one of the at least one vehicle component, wherein each of at least one of the associated portions is a selectable region in response to selection of which additional information of the respective data set whose overlaid data is graphically associated with the respective region.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is additionally configured to output instructions to modify at least one of a position of the camera, an orientation of the camera, and an illumination, if none of the data sets stored in the memory is identified by the comparison as matching the image data.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is additionally configured to output instructions to modify at least one of a position of the camera, an orientation of the camera, and an illumination, if at least two of the data sets stored in the memory are identified based on the comparison as matching the image data and are of at least two different vehicle components such that the image data are not unambiguously associable with only one vehicle component.

4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the receipt of the image signals is via a wireless connection.

5. The apparatus as recited in claim 4, wherein the camera is part of at least one of a smartphone, a computer, and a set of data glasses.

6. The apparatus as recited in claim4, wherein the display to which the output is provided is a component of at least one of a smartphone, a computer, and a set of data glasses.

7. A method for providing a user-interactive interface display regarding at least one vehicle component of a vehicle, wherein a memory stores a respective data set for each of a plurality of vehicle components and storing a plurality of identifications of respective combinations of multiple ones of the data sets, wherein each of at least a subset of the data sets includes an image of the respective vehicle component with which the data set is associated, the method comprising: acquiring, by processing circuitry, image signals obtained from a camera; beginning, by the processing circuitry, a comparison, by the processing circuitry, of image data of the image signals with images of data sets stored in a memory that stores a respective data set for each of a plurality of vehicle components and stores a plurality of identifications of respective combinations of multiple ones of the data sets, wherein each of at least a subset of the data sets includes an image of the respective vehicle component with which the data set is associated identifying, by the processing circuitry, a subset of the data sets stored in the memory that is each determined in the begun comparison to include an image of the received image signals; determining, by the processing circuitry, which of the combinations includes at least a predefined threshold number of data sets of the identified subset of data sets; using, by the processing circuitry, the determined combinations to determine information regarding identification of a model of the vehicle; based on a result of the determination of the information regarding the identification of the model of the vehicle, continuing, by the processing circuitry, the comparison of the image data of the image signals, limiting the continuation of the comparison to images of fewer of the data sets; the processing circuitry generating and outputting the user-interactive interface display including an image included in the received image signals with data from the stored data sets that are identified in the continued comparison overlaid on the image, the overlaid data being graphically associated with respective portions of the displayed image identified as corresponding to a respective one of the at least one vehicle component, wherein each of at least one of the associated portions is a selectable region in response to selection of which additional information of the respective data set whose overlaid data is graphically associated with the respective region.

8. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising the display to which the user-interactive interface display is output.

9. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to respond to the comparison identifying a particular one of data sets as matching by outputting an instruction to adjust a condition of the camera to obtain new image data on the basis of which to re-perform the comparison of the same vehicle components imaged in the image data that has been matched to the particular data set.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an exemplifying embodiment of a motor vehicle diagnostic system having an automatic identification apparatus.

(2) FIG. 2 shows an example of an image acquisition and reproduction unit on whose display unit the image of an engine compartment is displayed.

(3) FIG. 3 shows an example of an image acquisition and reproduction unit on whose display unit a component list is displayed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(4) FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an exemplifying embodiment of a motor vehicle diagnostic system having an automatic identification apparatus 1.

(5) A user 16 operates an image acquisition and reproduction unit 4, which can be a commercially usual smartphone, a commercially usual tablet PC, or a set of data glasses, and which is equipped with an image acquisition unit 5, an image reproduction unit 7, and a transmission/reception unit 9.

(6) User 16 holds image acquisition and reproduction unit 4 in such a way that image acquisition unit 5 can acquire at least one image of vehicle 2 and/or images of components 15a, 15b, 15c of vehicle 2 which are relevant for diagnosis, for example engine 15a or parts of the engine, mirror 15b, or wheels 15c.

(7) From transmission and reception unit 9 integrated into image acquisition and reproduction unit 4, the data of the at least one image acquired by image acquisition unit 5 are transferred via a preferably wireless data connection 18, which can be embodied e.g. as a WLAN data connection or Bluetooth® data connection, to an image data receiving unit 8 that is part of a stationary part 6 of identification apparatus 1.

(8) Identification apparatus 1 also has a memory unit 12 in which data sets having vehicle data, in particular image data of vehicles 2 and/or of vehicle components 15a, 15b, 15c, are stored. A comparison unit 10 that is likewise part of identification apparatus 1 compares the image data received by image signal receiving unit 8 with the image data stored in memory unit 12 in order to identify data sets that contain image data that are identical to the image data, acquired by image acquisition unit 5, of vehicle 2 or of components 15a, 15b, 15c thereof.

(9) In order to allow identification of the model of vehicle 2 that has been imaged, identification apparatus 1 also has a data set combination memory unit 12a in which data set combinations are stored, each data set combination in particular being associated with a vehicle model; and a combination identification unit 13 that is embodied to compare the data sets identified by comparison unit 10 with data set combinations stored in data set combination memory unit 12a, and to output those data set combinations in which at least a predefined number of the data sets identified by comparison unit 10 are contained.

(10) Once vehicle 2 being imaged, or its components 15a, 15b, 15c, have been identified, additional information, for example the model of vehicle 2 that has been identified, the model of a component 15a, 15b, 15c that has been identified, and/or its installation location, are taken from memory unit 12.

(11) Identification apparatus 1 also encompasses an image signal generating unit 11 that is embodied to generate an image output signal, the data taken from memory unit 12 in particular also being used to generate the image output signal. The data taken from memory unit 12 are combined with the image data received by image signal receiving unit 8, for example by the fact that the information taken from memory unit 12 is overlaid into the image acquired by image acquisition unit 9, in particular in association with the respective position of an identified component 15a, 15b, 15c. Components 15a, 15b, 15c of vehicle 2 which are visible in the image acquired by image acquisition unit 9 can in this fashion be unambiguously identified and displayed together with the image data acquired by image acquisition unit 9.

(12) The image output data generated by image signal generating unit 11 are transferred by a transmitting unit contained in an image signal output unit 14, via (wireless) data connection 18, to image acquisition and output unit 4 and are displayed there on a display unit 7 embodied there, which can be embodied in particular as a screen or touchscreen.

(13) It is thus easily possible for user 16 to identify vehicle 2, or components 15a, 15b, 15c of said vehicle 2, imaged with image acquisition unit 5 and to obtain additional information regarding vehicle 2 or components 15a, 15b, 15c.

(14) In addition, comparison unit 10 can output instructions to user 16 via screen 7, for example to improve the illumination and/or to modify the position and/or orientation of image acquisition unit 5 in order to improve the quality of the image acquired by image acquisition apparatus 5.

(15) In particular, comparison unit 10 can generate instructions to modify the image acquisition position, image acquisition perspective, and/or illumination if comparison unit 10 has not identified at least one data set that contains the received image data.

(16) Alternatively or additionally, such instructions can also be outputted if comparison unit 10 has identified multiple data sets and the acquired image data therefore cannot be unambiguously associated with one component 15a, 15b, 15c, and/or if one of the identified data sets contains instructions to modify the image acquisition position, image acquisition perspective, and/or illumination because the image data contained in the data set are ambiguous and therefore cannot be unambiguously associated with one component 15a, 15b, 15c.

(17) The division of identification apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 into a mobile image acquisition apparatus 5 and a stationary image evaluation apparatus 6 allows image acquisition apparatus 5 to be particularly light and compact. It is also possible, however, to embody image acquisition apparatus 5 and image evaluation apparatus 6 as a common, integrated unit.

(18) In an alternative exemplifying embodiment, it is also possible for only comparison unit 10 and image signal generating unit 11 to be integrated into image acquisition apparatus 5, and for memory unit 12 to be embodied as an external memory that is accessed, for example, via a mobile Internet connection. The external memory can be made available as a virtual Internet memory (e.g. by way of a “cloud” service).

(19) FIG. 2 shows an exemplifying embodiment of an image acquisition and reproduction unit 4 that is embodied in this instance as a smartphone on whose display unit 7 an image of the interior of an opened engine compartment is displayed. In the displayed image, the individual components 15a, 15b, 15c, which are disposed inside the engine compartment and have been recognized by comparison unit 10, are identified by virtual labels associated with the individual components 15a, 15b, 15c. The virtual labels allow user 16 to easily identify and localize components 15a, 15b, 15c in the engine compartment of motor vehicle 2.

(20) Additionally or on request, a list of components 15a, 15b, 15c identified by comparison unit 10 can be displayed to user 16 on screen 7. An example of an image acquisition and reproduction unit 4 on whose screen 7 a list of this kind is displayed is shown in FIG. 3.

(21) By selecting (“clicking on”) individual components 15a, 15b, 15c, or their labels in the image shown in FIG. 2, or individual entries in the list shown in FIG. 3, additional information regarding the individual components 15a, 15b, 15c, for example their naming code (e.g. Ax.y for control unit), the name of the respective component 15a, 15b, 15c (e.g. “engine controller”), and/or indications as to additional information, for example a functional description or pin allocation, the manufacturer and/or order number of the respective component 15a, 15b, 15c, which is stored in the data set in memory unit 12 associated with the respective component 15a, 15b, 15c, can be displayed.

(22) If identification apparatus 1 is used to detect the specific model of the vehicle, then in addition to the exact designation of the vehicle (model) it is also possible e.g. to display the cubic capacity, the size and number of exhaust pipes, and/or equipment variants such as air conditioning, ABS, etc.