Patent Application
20050200500
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The present invention relates in general to a device and a method to aid a colorblind driver of a motor vehicle, and more particularly, to a device and a method which increases the brightness and contrast of a traffic light to allow the driver who has color deficiency in recognizing the color of the traffic light.
Colorblindness is a condition in which certain colors cannot be distinguished, and is most commonly due to an inherited condition. It has been a general misconception that colorblind people see only black and white or shades of gray. While this sort of condition is possible, it is extremely rare. There are several kinds and degrees of color vision deficiencies, among which red/green colorblindness is by far the most common form. About 99% of the people affected by colorblindness have the problem of distinguishing red and green. Such type of colorblindness does not cause significant disability for most activities in our daily lives. However, driving a motor vehicle for this type of colorblindness can be very frustrating and hazardous.
In most states of the United States, vertical traffic lights with red on top, yellow in the center and green on the bottom are used. Therefore, many red/green colorblind drivers recognize the color of the light according to its vertical position. However, in certain States such as Texas, the colors of the traffic light are arranged horizontally thereby causing temporary problems for the colorblind drivers. Further, in the situation where there is only one light flashing with red and/or a yellow color, it causes the red or yellow colorblind people great difficulty to determine or recognize the correct color of light.
Thus there is a substantial need in the art to develop a colorblind driving aid and a method to improve color discrimination of the traffic light for colorblind people, particular those who suffer minor deficiency in red and green.
The present invention provides a colorblind driving aid installed in a vehicle for improving color discrimination of a traffic light. The colorblind driving aid includes a detector, a processor and a display. The detector is operative to detect a traffic light within a predetermined distance and a predetermined angle. The processor is operative to process the traffic light detected by the detector into a form with improved color discrimination. The traffic light processed by the processor is then displayed by the display. Preferably but optionally, the detector and the processor are integrated to one camera. The display may also be integrated to the same camera. The detector is preferably installed in a position inside the vehicle without obstructing the view of the driver. It also allows the detector to detect the traffic light through a windshield of the vehicle. The predetermined distance is a distance between the traffic light and the vehicle within which the traffic light is observable to the driver. When the detector is within the predetermined distance of the traffic light, the detector is operative to detect the traffic light in an area from about the 11 o'clock position to 4 o'clock position with respect to the driver.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the colorblind driving aid further comprises at least one filter to filter wavelengths of light beyond the wavelength ranges of red, yellow and green. The display may include a liquid crystal display, a light-emitting diode display, or a miniature of the traffic light on which the green light, yellow light and red lights are vertically arranged or arranged in accordance with the traffic light. To further enhance color discrimination of the traffic light, the colorblind driving aid may also comprise a memory of pre-recording sounds indicating colors of the traffic light and an audio device operative to output such sound. The audio device may include a speaker built-in the camera, an external speaker installed in the vehicle and in electric communication with the processor, or a built-in speaker of the vehicle. The memory may also pre-record texts indicating colors of the traffic light. By electrically connecting the memory with the display, the texts can be displayed by the display;
The present invention further provides a method of improving color discrimination of a traffic light for a colorblind driver. A traffic light positioned within a predetermined distance and a predetermined viewing angle is detected and processed into a form with improved color discrimination for the driver. The processed traffic light is then displayed to the driver. The step of processing the traffic light may include increasing brightness and/or contrast of the traffic light. The method may further comprise a step of filtering unwanted wavelengths of the detected light. Preferably but optionally, a step of generating a text indicating the color of the traffic light is performed either simultaneously or by a short instant before or after the step of displaying the light. A step of generating a sound indicating the color of the traffic light may also be performed to further assist the driver to discriminate the color of the traffic light.
These as well as other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the drawings therein:
Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purpose of illustrating preferred embodiments of the present invention only, and not for purposes of limiting the sane.
Preferably but optionally, the colorblind aid may further comprise a memory 18 in which a plurality of texts and sounds is pre-stored. For example, the texts and sounds of red, yellow, blue, and stop can be pre-recorded in the memory 16. When the light captured by the detector 11 and filtered by the filter 12 is input to the processor 14, the processor 14 is then operative to generate a signal to retrieve the text and/or sound of a memory 16 in correspondence with the color or information of the light. For example, when a red light is captured by the detector 11 and input to the processor 14, a signal operative to retrieve the text and/or sound of “red” is generated by the processor 14. The signal is then sent to the memory 16, such that the text and/or sound of “red” is output to a device operative to output the text and/or sound of “red”. In this embodiment, the memory 16 is in electric communication with an audio device 20 and the display 16 for outputting the sound and text retrieved thereby. The audio device 20 typically includes a speaker. Preferably but optionally, the memory 16 can be electrically connected to one or more of the existing built-in audio sound system speaker of the vehicle. The display for showing the text may be different from that for showing the brightened light according to specific requirement.
In the embodiment as shown in
While an illustrative and presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations except insofar as limited by the prior art.
