Patent Application
20220297704
In the automotive industry, there has been increased focus on preventing distracted driving. For example, with respect to in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems, various features that would require excessive attention from the driver are disabled while the vehicle is in motion.
Some exemplary embodiments provide an in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system. The IVI system includes a display device, an input device communicatively coupled to the display device, and one or more sensors disposed proximate to the input device, wherein the IVI system is configured to determine whether a driver or a passenger is utilizing the input device based on a detection by the one or more sensors.
Other exemplary embodiments provide a method for determining access to an in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system. The method includes determining whether a driver or passenger of the vehicle is accessing an input device of the IVI system based on a detection by one or more sensors disposed proximate the input device, and providing a predetermined level of access to the IVI system based on the determination of whether the driver or the passenger is accessing the input device.
The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments are related to a device, a system, and a method for determining the position of an operator of an in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system and modifying the functionality of the IVI system based on that determined position of the operator.
As noted above, reducing or substantially preventing distracted driving has been a focus of IVI system manufacturers. Typically, IVI systems automatically disable specific features while the vehicle is in motion. However, this may be undesirable in circumstances where the passenger is controlling the IVI system and wishes to have access to these disabled features. In addition, some IVI systems include sensors to detect when a hand is in proximity to the IVI system so that the IVI system can display specific controls when the sensors detect the presence of a hand.
According to embodiments of the present disclosure, an IVI system includes one or more sensors disposed proximate to the IVI controls. The one or more sensors are configured to determine a direction from which a user's hand approaches the IVI controls. Based on this determination, the IVI system may determine whether the driver or passenger is utilizing the IVI system controls. This determination is then used by the IVI system to disable or allow specific functions and/or modify the user interface (UI) of the IVI display. Although the following description is made with regards to an IVI system, it should be noted that this disclosure is equally applicable to an ordinary vehicle entertainment system.
As illustrated in
In some embodiments, the IVI system 200 may additionally change the configuration of the UI on the display screen based on the determination of whether the driver or passenger is accessing the IVI system 200. For example, as illustrated in
At 305, the IVI system (100 or 200) determines whether the vehicle is in motion. If it is determined that the vehicle is not in motion, the IVI system provides unrestricted access to the system. That is, no features are disabled if the vehicle is not in motion. If, however, the IVI system determines that the vehicle is in motion, at 315, the system determines whether the passenger side sensor(s) detect an object. If the passenger side sensor(s) does not detect an object, then, at 320, the IVI system enters driver mode and restricts access to one or more features of the system. If, however, the passenger side sensor(s) does detect an object, then, at 325, the IVI system determines if the driver side sensor(s) also detects an object. If the driver side sensor detects an object (in addition to the passenger side sensor), then the IVI system enters driver mode and restricts access to one or more features of the system. Such a scenario may occur if the passenger is utilizing the controls and the driver also attempts to utilize the controls contemporaneously. Such a scenario may also occur if the user attempts to circumvent the safety features of the IVI system by permanently blocking the passenger side sensor(s) so that the system always assumes the passenger is utilizing the input device while also attempting to utilize the input device.
However, if the driver side sensor(s) does not detect an object, then, at 335, the IVI system determines whether the IVI input device has not been utilized for a predetermined period of time even though the passenger side sensor(s) detects an object. Such a scenario may be encountered if the user attempts to circumvent the safety features of the IVI system by permanently blocking the passenger side sensor(s) so that the system always assumes the passenger is utilizing the input device. In such a scenario, if the IVI system determines that the passenger side sensor is indicating the presence of an object but the input device has not been utilized for a predetermined period of time, then the IVI system will enter driver mode and restrict access to one or more features of the system. If, however, the input device has been utilized within the predetermined period of time and the passenger side sensor(s) indicates the presence of an object, then the IVI system will provide unrestricted access at 345.
Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described exemplary embodiments may be implemented via other means or in any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof. For example, although the exemplary embodiments have been described with sensors disposed on the driver and passenger sides, the IVI system may alternatively include an array of sensors disposed around the IVI input device. In addition, the IVI system (100, 200) may additionally utilize additional input from sensors (e.g., seat occupancy sensors) disposed in the vehicle to confirm whether the passenger is accessing the IVI input device. In a further example, the exemplary embodiments of the above described method may be embodied as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that may be executed on a processor or microprocessor.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present disclosure, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalent.
