US 6,222,447 · Granted 2001-04-24
The Backup Camera Patent That Made Reversing Safer
Imagine a camera on the back of your car that shows you what's behind you on a screen when you shift into reverse. This patent protects a system that adds helpful lines and arrows to that video feed, showing you exactly where your car will go — like GPS for backing up.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a rearview vision system that combines a rear-mounted camera with a display screen visible to the driver. What's protected here is the specific idea of overlaying graphics (like trajectory lines or path indicators) on top of the live camera feed, and critically, making that overlay appear only when the vehicle is in reverse gear and disappear when it shifts out of reverse.
Why it matters
This patent captures the core logic behind backup camera systems that are now standard on millions of vehicles. By protecting the combination of camera feed plus dynamic graphics overlay that responds to gear selection, Donnelly locked down a foundational piece of automotive safety technology. Backup cameras have become mandatory on new U.S. vehicles since 2018, making this early patent foundational intellectual property in a safety feature that prevents thousands of accidents annually.
Real-world use
When you shift a modern car or truck into reverse and glance at the dashboard screen, you're seeing technology directly descended from this patent — the camera feed with guide lines showing your predicted path.
Original USPTO abstract
A rearview vision system for a vehicle includes an image capture device mounted at the rear of the vehicle and having a field of view directed rearwardly of the vehicle. A display system is viewable by a driver of the vehicle. The display system displays a rearward image output of the image capture device. A graphic overlay is superimposed on the rearward image when the gear actuator of the vehicle selects a reverse gear. The graphic overlay may include indicia of the anticipated path of travel of the vehicle. The graphic overlay may be disabled when the gear actuator of the vehicle is not in reverse gear.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 6,222,447
- Filing date
- 1999-05-17
- Grant date
- 2001-04-24
- Assignee
- Donnelly Corporation
- Inventor(s)
- SCHOFIELD KENNETH, LARSON MARK L., VADAS KEITH J.
- CPC class
- H04N13/239
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